Requires Mac & XCode 9+

In this iOS hackpack we will be tackling on Apple's ResearchKit and Healthkit using Swift 4 and XCode 9. The functions include creating a consent form to request consent from users, distributing a survey form with different types of questions, and access point for the iOS App to collect data from iPhone's Health App.

To begin, let's create a standard XCode project. We want to embed ResearchKit and HealthKit into our iOS App through the steps below.

Step 0: Please register a developer's account (for HealthKit use)- should take around 5-10 min. [https://developer.apple.com/programs/] Git clone this repository and follow along the steps! Use [master] for full solutions and [starterkit] to fill in code.

Step 1: To download the latest version of ResearchKit, and type in Terminal git clone -b stable https://github.com/ResearchKit/ResearchKit.git. Then, tap into the file with .xcodeprj extension and build the project by running ResearchKit framework.

Step 2: Drag ResearchKit.xcodeproj into your current iOS project and copy items if needed. If you do not see an arrow by ResearchKit after dragging it in, either wait for it to load, or close and reopen the project.

Step 3: Go to General settings on your project and scroll down to Embedded Binaries. Click the + button and add in ResearchKit.

Step 4: To use HealthKit, go to Capabilities settings and scroll to the bottom to turn on HealthKit access, and it should automatically add it in your project.

Step 5: In your info.plist, right click to open as source code, then paste in:

    <key>NSHealthShareUsageDescription</key>
    <string>Need to share healthkit information</string>
    <key>NSHealthUpdateUsageDescription</key>
    <string>Need healthkit to track steps</string>

Step 6: (optional) If you are testing your code in XCode simulator, you have to simulate data from the Health App in order to get results from HealthStore. To do so, run the iPhone simulator, click on the hardware tab home button, then navigate to the Health App. Tap on the category you want, and use the + button to add in data. For example, when getting step count, go to Activities to add in different amounts of exercise for different days.

These steps above install ResearchKit and HealthKit for your Xcode project!

The master branch includes the completed code with ResearchKit consent & survey forms as well as HealthKit access & step count. The starterkit branch includes the code with comments and parts for you to add on/customize yourself for each part of the project.

Main.storyboard creates navigation controller, buttons to link to functions for Consent, Survey, and Steps Count, textboxes to describe uses, and a separate view controller for HealthKit data. Buttons and textboxes are aligns to fit every spec of iPhone product.

FirstViewController.swift links consent and survey buttons to their specific functions, which presents a new taskViewController with specific tasks (ex. ConsentTask, SurveyTasks) executed. The taskViewController inherits from ORKTaskViewController to dismiss viewController after action is completed.

ConsentDocument.swift and ConsentTasks.swift creates a consent form to ask for user consent to research study. ConsentTasks.swift creates an ORKOrderedTask to increment through the created document. ConsentDocument.swift makes an ORKConsentDocument with specific question for users to agree to, and a signature portion of the form. An example of pre-built consent items looks like this:

let consentSectionTypes: [ORKConsentSectionType] = [
        .overview,
        .dataGathering,
        .privacy,
        .dataUse,
        .studySurvey,
        .studyTasks,
        .withdrawing
    ]

SurveyTask.swift creates a simple survey form for users to fill out. It is also an ORKOrderedTask that initializes format and details of questions asked as well as a summary step to increment through. A sample question looks like this:

    let nameAnswerFormat = ORKTextAnswerFormat(maximumLength: 20)
    nameAnswerFormat.multipleLines = false
    let nameQuestionStepTitle = "What is your name?"
    let nameQuestionStep = ORKQuestionStep(identifier: "QuestionStep", title: nameQuestionStepTitle, answer: nameAnswerFormat)
    steps += [nameQuestionStep]

HealthKitViewController.swift asks for HealthKit access and gets user's step count from the past seven days. Keep in mind that the HealthKit access form will only appear once as the user only needs to accepts the agreement once. Sample code for requesting authorization of information looks like this:

        if HKHealthStore.isHealthDataAvailable() {
            let stepsCount = NSSet(object: HKQuantityType.quantityType(forIdentifier: HKQuantityTypeIdentifier.stepCount))
            let sharedObjects = NSSet(objects: HKQuantityType.quantityType(forIdentifier: HKQuantityTypeIdentifier.height),HKQuantityType.quantityType(forIdentifier: HKQuantityTypeIdentifier.bodyMass))
            
            healthStore.requestAuthorization(toShare: sharedObjects as? Set<HKSampleType>, read: stepsCount as? Set<HKObjectType>, completion: { (success, err) in
                self.getStepCount(sender: self)
            })
            
        } 

and creating a query for HealthStore to execute looks like this:

        let predicate = HKQuery.predicateForSamples(withStart: dates, end: Date(), options: [])
        let query = HKSampleQuery(sampleType: type!, predicate: predicate, limit: 0, sortDescriptors: nil) {
            query, results, error in
            var steps: Double = 0
            var allSteps = [Double]()
            if let myResults = results {
                for result in myResults as! [HKQuantitySample] {
                    print(myResults)
                    steps += result.quantity.doubleValue(for: HKUnit.count())
                    allSteps.append(result.quantity.doubleValue(for: HKUnit.count()))
                }
            }
            completion(steps, allSteps, error as NSError?)
            
        }
        
        // Executes query through healthstore
        healthStore.execute(query)

These are some of the functionalities of Swift 4 & XCode 9 with ResearchKit and HealthKit. You can easily customize these items and save information to utilize in other parts of the iOS App to create a healthcare hack!

MIT

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