FitRankings® Works with Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital to Facilitate Exercise Study

February 2, 2022

Connected fitness platform leveraged to measure team-based exercise benefits in healthcare students & professionals

Austin, TX – February 2, 2022  /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – FitRankings is proud to work with Harvard Medical School and Mass General Hospital in an ongoing study designed to determine whether virtual, team-based exercise improves burnout, sense of community, and mentorship connections in healthcare professionals. The FitRankings connected fitness platform is being harnessed to monitor team-based exercise, as the Austin-based company leads the charge in building community through virtual fitness.

This ongoing, controlled trial is a collaborative effort organized by Harvard Medical School’s Steering Committee on Student Well-Being, Massachusetts General Physicians’ Organization, the Frigoletto Committee on Wellness, the Mass General Hospital’s Center for Physician Well-Being, FitRankings, and New Balance. Over 400 participants, including Harvard medical students and Mass General residents, fellows, and physicians have been randomized into two groups—a control group and an intervention group–to test the team-based exercise hypothesis.

Over this 3-month trial period, the FitRankings connected fitness platform is being leveraged by researchers from Harvard Medical School and Mass General Hospital to track activity type and exercise frequency. Team progress is monitored using the FitRankings leaderboards feature, allowing intervention group participants to publicly see their teammates’ progress. Group activities are encouraged throughout the trial as participants are awarded raffle tickets for prizes after submitting pictures with their teammates. A wide array of exercises is accepted as the FitRankings platform tracks 40+ activities, including walking, biking, lifting, and yoga.

“It’s really special when medicine and industry can collaborate toward the betterment of healthcare,” states Harvard Medical School Primary Researcher, Logan Briggs. “There’s really no other technology out there like FitRankings, which conveniently tracks any type of exercise that users record on their fitness tracking watches/smartphone apps. This worked fantastically for busy medical professionals, uniting medical students, residents, and physicians across the Harvard system through friendly competition at times and places that worked for them.”

Through FitRankings, participants can register online and link their favorite activity-tracking device to the platform. Using any wearable fitness device, tracker, or app to log their miles, participants can seamlessly sync their progress through the interactive leaderboard while engaging with fellow participants. Ongoing monitoring of participation, frequency, burnout, and sense of community will be evaluated via validated surveys throughout the study.

“FitRankings’ mission has always been to give organizations the technology, tools, and support to create authentic and impactful digital communities around health and fitness. Intuitively, it’s understood that when people are connected through exercise, that powerful positive psychological benefits are attained at an individual and group level. Working with leading academic institutions like Harvard Medical School and Mass General Hospital to validate these beliefs will advance the overall field of performance psychology, digital health, and connected fitness,” says Patrick Hitchins, CEO and Founder of FitRankings.

To learn more about FitRankings, its turnkey universal health platform, and the enhanced toolkit, visit fitrankings.com or contact coral@darbycommunications.com. The results of the study will be published later this year.

About FitRankings 

Based in Austin, Texas, FitRankings is the world’s most advanced connected fitness and health platform. FitRankings gives organizations the ability to leverage the world of connected health devices by providing turnkey technology, tools, and support to create meaningful digital fitness experiences and build scalable communities around health and fitness data.  Learn more about FitRankings at fitrankings.com.