University of Alaska Connected! FAQs 1. What is Connected? Connected! allows employees and spouses/fips to connect a fitness device or app to Healthyroads.com. This will allow additional tracking options while working on any fitness goals as well as earn incentive credits and participate in fitness-based Challenges. 2. How do I connect a fitness device or app? You will want to sign-into Healthyroads.com. A link is provided at the top of the UA benefits/wellness page for you. Employees will utilize the single sign-on link and spouses/fips can log directly into the site. Once logged in, go to the My Health tab and then Connected!. Once on the Connected! page you will see an option to connect an app or device. You will then select the device or app that you currently use (device/app must be set-up prior to doing this step!). Healthyroads.com will briefly verify your account and you will then see it displayed as one of your devices or apps. If you use multiple devices, there is no limit to the number you can connect.
You can also get to this screen by going to your Account tab which is in the upper right-hand corner. From the drop-down menu select Apps and Devices and follow the same steps. 3. What if I don t have a fitness device or app? There are now TWO different options available if you don t currently own a fitness device/app and wish to get your physical activity uploaded and tracked through your Healthyroads account: 1. If you do have a smartphone and would prefer to download a fitness app, Fitbit allows you to use their app without also purchasing an actual device. The Fitbit app will act as your tracker and will be the same process as downloading any other fitness app. If you do go this route keep in-mind that Healthyroads does partner with several other fitness apps that do not also require devices look around and find one that suits your fitness needs best! 2. If you do not currently own a fitness device or have a smart phone to download one of the available apps, you can self-report your activity, for free through Fitbit.com. Go to: www.fitbit.com and select setup :
Scroll down until you see the following: Once you have created an account you will want to follow the steps in Question 2 to connect to Fitbit. Once you have this device connected to your account you will just need to enter your activity on the Fitbit site.
Select log and activities :
Scroll down the page until you see the following to actually enter your information. You can choose an option (walking, running) from the pictures shown, or type your own. Once you have inputted your activity information, you will enter log. Your progress will be saved within this site and then will be shared with Healthyroads. There can be a lag time with the data transfer please allow at least 48 hours before verifying it has been shared with Healthyroads. 4. The fitness device/app that I use isn t showing-up; how can I still earn credit for what I do? At this time there is no way to suggest additions but Healthyroads is constantly updating, so checkback every now and then view the new options. You can still earn credit for what you do by utilizing the self-report option through Fitbit or tracking your facility visits if you go to a gym. 5. I go to the gym; can I track those visits? In the same way that Connected! allows you to track fitness with a device or app; it is also capable of keeping track of your fitness facility visits. You will want to go through the account tab and select fitness facilities from the drop-down menu.
You will want to select find a fitness facility and then use the search options to find those around you. Once you locate the gym that you utilize simply choose select and it will then be listed as one of your facilities. 6. The facility I visit isn t showing-up; how can I still earn credit for my visits? You can nominate the facility to be included and that option is available on the Fitness Facility page. All nominated facilities do go through an approval process so please be advised that it can take-up to 30 days as well as not all facilities are automatically added. You can still earn credit for your workouts by utilizing the self-report option on Fitbit.com or utilizing another available device/app. 7. What do the Features next to the facilities mean? There are two ways that your facility visits can be sent to Healthyroads. You will want to refer to the features area to distinguish what your gym offers:
Eligible for Connected!: Will tell you whether the facility is part of the CheckIn! app. If it says yes, you can then download a free app (Healthyroads CheckIn) on your smartphone to submit your own visits. If you are a spouse/fip you will want to use same log-in that you use for Healthyroads.com to access the app once downloaded. If you are an employee, your single sign-on will NOT work. You will want to create a new user name and password in order to access the app. Once logged into the app you will find your facility, check-in and then check-out once your workout is complete. You must be within a certain distance of the facility or it will not allow you to do this. You must also be at the facility at least 30 minutes or it will not count. The app will prompt you if you try to check-out too soon notifying you of this. Reports your check-ins: Will tell you whether the facility has the ability to report your visits for you. If it says yes, you will want to print-off a facility ID card and take with you on your next visit. The card is available under helpful links and information. The facility will then send reports to Healthyroads on your behalf. Please be aware that this is a manual, paper process and there may be a lag time of up to 90 days with these being viewable within your account. Offers discounts: Will tell you whether or not that facility offers a discounted rate. 8. Where can I view my data to ensure that it is getting sent to Healthyroads.com? Once you have a device, app or fitness facility connected you can then use the Connected tab to view your activity. There is a tab at the top of the Connected! data page that will allow you to view either the device/app information or your facility visits. Please note that there may be a delay with activity getting sent to Healthyroads.com from your specific device or app. Lag-time could be from 10 minutes to 48 hours. 9. How do I earn Incentive credits for the activity I m uploading? 120,000 points must be earned within a calendar month to earn 1 incentive point for that month (4 points max available towards the incentive plan). You may earn points in any way that you choose to utilize Connected: connecting an app or device to track steps or duration, self-reporting activity duration, visiting a fitness facility. Points Conversions: Steps : 1 step = 1 point Duration : 1 minute of activity = 250 points 30 minute fitness facility visit : 1 visit using CheckIn! App at contracted fitness facility=10,000 points; All 12 visits must be completed within calendar month
Special Considerations: Only one fitness facility visit or CheckIn will count per day If you use the same fitness device/app throughout the day, your data will keep a running total If you use multiple sources during a day, the source with the highest points wins. You will still see all of the data; however the highest points for the day will be the only one that goes toward the activity points. o For example, if you utilize both a fitness device and use the CheckIn app, both will display within Connected!, but the higher of the two will only be applied to the monthly activity goal. Some fitness devices/apps restrict the data on their end and control what is able to be shared (or not). Please verify the specifics with the manufacturer directly, as that is not within Healthyroads control. o For example, Fitbit enacted a change to what they now share. They now only send activity that is classified as active minutes. The various types of activity and how they are classified will be available through Fitbit. o Anytime you see a discrepancy that you do not understand, please contact UAs on-site program manager, Sara Rodewald (sararo@ashn.com or 907-450-8203) 10. How do activity-based Challenges work? In order to allow the most people to participate, different options will be available throughout the program year for these. Be sure to look ahead on the wellness calendar to verify the schedule of when these will be offered. Each activity-based Challenge that is offered will differentiate the type and what is needed to participate. These will be: Manual: steps i. Will not require a device/app to join and members will need to self-report steps for the duration of the Challenge. No data will be pulled-over from Connected! if you join this option and the steps you input will only be viewable and applicable within the Challenge itself. (Any data entered will NOT be eligible towards the monthly activity goal for incentive points). You are essentially self-reporting your steps directly into the Challenge, on the Healthyroads site. Device/App: steps i. Will require a device or app that collects steps data in order to join this option. The device or app must be added prior to joining the Challenge and data collected via Connected! during Challenge duration will automatically be applied. Your activity data will be viewable and applicable both in Connected! and within the Challenge itself. Device/App: duration i. Will require a device or app that collects activity duration data in order to join this option. The device or app must be added prior to joining the Challenge and data collected via Connected! during the Challenge duration will automatically be applied. Your activity data will be viewable and applicable both in Connected! and within the Challenge itself.
11. How do I join an activity-based Challenge? As explained above, we will be offering different types of activity Challenges throughout the wellness program year. If you are unable to participate in one, do not worry! We will offer at least one of each this year, so that no matter what you can participate in at least one of these. To join, you will first want to log-in to your Healthyroads account. Once logged-in, you will want to utilize the Challenges tab and then All Challenges. All Challenges require a two-step enrollment process but display a little different depending on if it requires a device or is manual entry. For the Challenges that require a device you will be prompted to first add a device/app if you have not already. This must be added prior to being able to actually join. Once that occurs, you will see a green join button that you will select. For the manual option that does not require a device, the green join button will be viewable no matter what: You are not done and have not fully joined the Challenge just yet! On the new page, actually IN the Challenge, you will want to again select Join Challenge. Once you can see a green participant banner displayed on the Challenge you chose you will know that you have successfully joined!
Successfully enrolled verification: Special Considerations: ONLY the data collected via Connected! and with a fitness device/app will apply and count towards the monthly activity incentive goal. Any manual data entered within a manual Challenge ONLY counts toward that respective Challenge. Be sure to watch the enrollment dates once these are closed no members may be added at a later point. If you decide to withdraw from a Challenge please know that you will not be able to be added back-in at a later date or re-enroll yourself. You will not be able to view or enter progress within any Challenge until it actually STARTS. The Challenge Chatter function within the Challenge is for you! This is to cheer your fellow participants on and offer support. If you have questions about the functionality of the Challenge, data discrepancies, etc, please contact UAs on-site program manager directly, Sara Rodewald: sararo@ashn.com or 907-450-8203.
12. How do I enter my step data if I enrolled in the manual option? Once the Challenge starts, you can log your progress by clicking on the Challenge itself. You will then select the Add button below the Challenge description. Once you select Add, a window to add your progress will appear. Enter the date (MM/DD/YYYY) in the date column, the total number of steps that day (numerical only), then hit submit. Be careful when entering your steps. You will be unable to edit entries once this has been submitted. You will then see the step data you entered viewable immediately within the Challenge! You may enter data for any day up until the present, so no need to go in and update every single day! And remember, Sara is available for any wellness-related questions, so please do not hesitate to reach-out! Email: sararo@ashn.com Phone: (907)450-8203