scholarly journals Ecological Momentary Assessment Within a Digital Health Intervention for Reminiscence in Persons With Dementia and Caregivers: User Engagement Study (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney Potts ◽  
Raymond Bond ◽  
Assumpta Ryan ◽  
Maurice Mulvenna ◽  
Claire McCauley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
User Interaction ◽  
Large Data ◽  
Feasibility Trial ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Momentary Assessment

BACKGROUND User-interaction event logs provide rich and large data sets that can provide valuable insights into how people engage with technology. Approaches such as ecological momentary assessment (EMA) can be used to gather accurate real-time data in an individual’s natural environment by asking questions at any given instant. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate user engagement and responses to EMA questions using InspireD, an app used for reminiscence by persons with dementia and their caregivers. Research findings can be used to inform EMA use within digital health interventions. METHODS A feasibility trial was conducted in which participants (n=56) used the InspireD app over a 12-week period. Participants were a mean age of 73 (SD 13) and were either persons with dementia (n=28) or their caregivers (n=28). Questions, which they could either answer or choose to dismiss, were presented to participants at various instants after reminiscence with personal or generic photos, videos, and music. Presentation and dismissal rates for questions were compared by hour of the day and by trial week to investigate user engagement. RESULTS Overall engagement was high, with 69.1% of questions answered when presented. Questions that were presented in the evening had the lowest dismissal rate; the dismissal rate for questions presented at 9 PM was significantly lower than the dismissal rate for questions presented at 11 AM (9 PM: 10%; 11 AM: 50%; χ<sup>2</sup><sub>1</sub>=21.4, <i>P</i>&lt;.001). Questions asked following reminiscence with personal media, especially those asked after personal photos, were less likely to be answered compared to those asked after other media. In contrast, questions asked after the user had listened to generic media, in particular those asked after generic music, were much more likely to be answered. CONCLUSIONS The main limitation of our study was the lack of generalizability of results to a larger population given the quasi-experimental design and older demographic where half of participants were persons with dementia; however, this study shows that older people are willing to participate and engage in EMA. Based on this study, we propose a series of recommendations for app design to increase user engagement with EMA. These include presenting questions no more than once per day, after 8 PM in the evening, and only if the user is not trying to complete a task within the app.

scholarly journals Ecological Momentary Assessment Within a Digital Health Intervention for Reminiscence in Persons With Dementia and Caregivers: User Engagement Study

10.2196/17120 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. e17120
Author(s):  
Courtney Potts ◽  
Raymond Bond ◽  
Assumpta Ryan ◽  
Maurice Mulvenna ◽  
Claire McCauley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
User Interaction ◽  
Large Data ◽  
Feasibility Trial ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Momentary Assessment

Background User-interaction event logs provide rich and large data sets that can provide valuable insights into how people engage with technology. Approaches such as ecological momentary assessment (EMA) can be used to gather accurate real-time data in an individual’s natural environment by asking questions at any given instant. Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate user engagement and responses to EMA questions using InspireD, an app used for reminiscence by persons with dementia and their caregivers. Research findings can be used to inform EMA use within digital health interventions. Methods A feasibility trial was conducted in which participants (n=56) used the InspireD app over a 12-week period. Participants were a mean age of 73 (SD 13) and were either persons with dementia (n=28) or their caregivers (n=28). Questions, which they could either answer or choose to dismiss, were presented to participants at various instants after reminiscence with personal or generic photos, videos, and music. Presentation and dismissal rates for questions were compared by hour of the day and by trial week to investigate user engagement. Results Overall engagement was high, with 69.1% of questions answered when presented. Questions that were presented in the evening had the lowest dismissal rate; the dismissal rate for questions presented at 9 PM was significantly lower than the dismissal rate for questions presented at 11 AM (9 PM: 10%; 11 AM: 50%; χ21=21.4, P<.001). Questions asked following reminiscence with personal media, especially those asked after personal photos, were less likely to be answered compared to those asked after other media. In contrast, questions asked after the user had listened to generic media, in particular those asked after generic music, were much more likely to be answered. Conclusions The main limitation of our study was the lack of generalizability of results to a larger population given the quasi-experimental design and older demographic where half of participants were persons with dementia; however, this study shows that older people are willing to participate and engage in EMA. Based on this study, we propose a series of recommendations for app design to increase user engagement with EMA. These include presenting questions no more than once per day, after 8 PM in the evening, and only if the user is not trying to complete a task within the app.

scholarly journals Concordance and predictors of concordance of children’s dietary intake as reported via ecological momentary assessment and 24 h recall

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1019-1027 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sydney G O’Connor ◽  
Wangjing Ke ◽  
Eldin Dzubur ◽  
Susan Schembre ◽  
Genevieve F Dunton
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Dietary Intake ◽  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
Multilevel Models ◽  
Energy Drinks ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Food Category ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Momentary Assessment

AbstractObjectiveTo provide preliminary evidence in support of using ecological momentary assessment (EMA), a real-time data capture method involving repeated assessments, to measure dietary intake in children by examining the concordance of children’s dietary reports through EMA and 24 h recall.DesignChildren completed eight days of EMA surveys, reporting on recent dietary intake of four pre-specified food categories (‘Fruits or Vegetables’, ‘Chips or Fries’, ‘Pastries or Sweets’, ‘Soda or Energy Drinks’), and completed two 24 h recalls during the same period. Concordance of children’s reports of intake during matched two-hour time windows from EMA and 24 h dietary recall was assessed using cross-tabulation. Multilevel logistic regression examined potential person-level (i.e. sex, age, ethnicity and BMI category) predictors of concordance.SettingChildren in Los Angeles County, USA, enrolled in the Mothers’ and Their Children’s Health (MATCH) study.SubjectsOne hundred and forty-four 144 children (53 % female; mean age 9·6 (sd 0·9) years; 34·0 % overweight/obese).ResultsTwo-hour concordance varied by food category, ranging from 64·9 % for ‘Fruits/Vegetables’ to 89·9 % for ‘Soda/Energy Drinks’. In multilevel models, overweight/obese (v. lean) was associated with greater odds (OR; 95 % CI) of concordant reporting for ‘Soda/Energy Drinks’ (2·01; 1·06, 4·04) and ‘Pastries/Sweets’ (1·61; 1·03, 2·52). Odds of concordant reporting were higher for Hispanic (v. non-Hispanic) children for ‘Pastries/Sweets’ (1·55; 1·02, 2·36) and for girls (v. boys) for ‘Fruits/Vegetables’ (1·36; 1·01, 1·83).ConclusionsConcordance differed by food category as well as by person-level characteristics. Future research should continue to explore use of EMA to facilitate dietary assessment in children.

User Experience Related Biases in Data Collected Via Technology-Enabled Ecological Momentary Assessment (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Si Sun ◽  
Zhiguo Li ◽  
Chandramouli Maduri ◽  
Tian Hao ◽  
Xinxin Zhu
Keyword(s):  
User Experience ◽  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
User Interaction ◽  
Physiological Signals ◽  
Main Effect ◽  
Forest Models ◽  
Reported Data ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Momentary Assessment

BACKGROUND Technology-enabled ecological momentary assessment (EMA) facilitates the calibration of physiological signals against self-reported data and contexts. However, research using this method rarely considers the impact that user experience (UX) has on the quality of data. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study is to explore the biases that UX factors induce in self-reported data and physiological signals collected through EMA and the UX factors that have the largest impact on the data. METHODS A retrospective analysis on data from a field feasibility study is conducted. The study uses an application on a smartwatch device to measure heart rate variability (HRV) and collect self-reported stress levels. We collected data on event types, age, sex, personality traits, and engineered 66 UX features (e.g., number of screens viewed, perception of notification frequency). We use a series of random forest models, conditional forest models, linear regression models, and correlation analysis to predict self-reported stress, HRV, and their discrepancies. We then use iterated comparative analysis to confirm the effects of UX factors. RESULTS Analysis on 1240.6 hours of data from 29 participants reveal that self-reported stress is correlated with the HRV signal collected after EMA notification (HRV2) but not with the HRV signal collected before the notification (HRV1) or after user interaction starts (HRV3). UX factors explain 6.6% - 10% (P < .001) of the variation in self-reported stress. UX factors do not significantly predict HRV signals but explain 63.8% (P < .001) of the difference between self-reported stress and the HRV signal collected after the EMA notification. In addition, UX factors have a significant but smaller delayed effect on self-reported stress and HRV signals collected in the next user interaction cycle. In almost all models, UX features rank higher in terms of feature importance than the other confounding factors (i.e., age, sex, personality traits) and in some models rank higher than the main effect (i.e., event types). We discuss specific symptoms of UX-induced biases related to EMA instrument design and study design, mere measurement effect and observer effect, and propose topics of examination for future studies. CONCLUSIONS User experience may induce biases in data collected through technology-enabled EMA method. In some cases, the impact of the biases may be larger than that of the main effect, other confounding factors, and the corresponding data used for calibration.

Ecological Momentary Assessment Using a Mobile Phone

2012 ◽  
pp. 398-407
Author(s):  
David Habsara Hareva ◽  
Hiroki Okada ◽  
Hisao Oka
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Physical Disorders ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Ema Data ◽  
Momentary Assessment ◽  
Supportive Intervention

The mobile phone has become a popular tool for providing information and capturing responses from different groups of people because of its technological features and portability. EMA (Ecological Momentary Assessment) is commonly used by health researchers to contemporaneously capture information regarding human experience. The authors proposed the use of a mobile EMA system as a supportive intervention to collect real-time patient data and to give back real-time advice. In this study, a mobile EMA system has been utilized by patients with a variety of conditions, including mood disorders, behavior disorders, and physical disorders. The real-time data collection included one or more pieces of information at each moment to improve understanding the causal mechanisms of disease. The effectiveness of real-time advice has been examined by comparing a mobile EMA system with and without this function. Patient compliance was high on average, at approximately 89%, and was higher, at approximately 93%, when advice was given. In several cases, the supportive intervention was shown to help patients improve their health conditions. However, the results were dependent on the patients’ motivation, environment, and relationship with their doctor. The EMA data regarding advice given showed that symptoms tended to improve in most cases.

scholarly journals The Design of Ecological Momentary Assessment Technologies

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 257-278
Author(s):  
Kevin Doherty ◽  
Andreas Balaskas ◽  
Gavin Doherty
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Self Report ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Demographic Groups ◽  
History Of ◽  
Narrative Literature Review ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Momentary Assessment

Abstract Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) methods and technologies, designed to support the self-report of experience in the moment of daily life, have long been considered poised to revolutionize human-centred research, the practice of design and mental healthcare. The history of EMA is inextricably linked to technology, and mobile devices embody many of the characteristics required to support these methods. However, significant barriers to the design and adoption of these systems remain, including challenges of user engagement, reporting burden, data validity and honest disclosure. While prior research has examined the feasibility of a variety of EMA systems, few reviews have attended to their design. Through inter-disciplinary narrative literature review (n = 342), this paper presents a characterization of the EMA technology design space, drawing upon a diverse set of literatures, contexts, applications and demographic groups. This paper describes the options and strategies available to the EMA systems designer, with an eye towards supporting the design and deployment of EMA technologies for research and clinical practice.

scholarly journals Zoom or In-Person: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study the Effects of time With Friends and Depressive Symptoms on Affect in Emerging Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-120
Author(s):  
Irena Kesselring ◽  
Haley E. Yaremych ◽  
Samantha Pegg ◽  
Lindsay Dickey ◽  
Autumn Kujawa
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Interpersonal Difficulties ◽  
Virtual Presence ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Virtual Interactions ◽  
Momentary Assessment

Introduction: Depression is associated with increased negative affect (NA), low positive affect (PA), and interpersonal difficulties. The present study used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to capture real-time data and explore the links between depressive symptoms, social interactions, and affect. Methods: Emerging adults (N = 86) completed a self-report measure of general depression and dysphoria symptoms, followed by EMA surveys 8 times daily for one week, reporting momentary affect and social context (in-person and virtual interactions). Results: In-person, but not virtual, presence of friends was associated with increased PA overall. Depressive symptoms predicted less time with in-person friends and elevated NA. In-person friends' presence was associated with lower NA only for those low in dysphoria. Discussion: In-person time with friends, but not virtual interactions, appears to be associated with increased PA overall and decreased NA for those lower in depression. Those with greater depressive symptoms may be less responsive to positive stimuli and experience less mood-buffering from friends.

scholarly journals Compliance with Ecological Momentary Assessment Protocols in Substance Users: a Meta-Analysis

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Jones ◽  
Danielle Remmerswaal ◽  
Ilse Verveer ◽  
eric robinson ◽  
Ingmar H.A. Franken ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Compliance Rate ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Substance Users ◽  
Assessment Period ◽  
Real Time Data ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Momentary Assessment

Introduction: Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) methods allow for real-time data collection in naturalistic environments, and are particularly informative for the examination of substance use which is both time and context dependent. Whilst there are considerable benefits to EMA, poor compliance to assessment protocols has been identified as a limitation, particularly in substance users. Little research has analysed factors which might influence compliance. Methods: The aim of this meta-analysis was to systematically review and meta-analyse potential variables that may influence compliance to EMA protocols in substance users; such as, prompt frequency, total length of assessment period, substance use population and device used to administer EMA prompts. We pre-registered our design, hypotheses and analysis strategy. Results: Following systematic searches of relevant databases we identified k = 128 reported compliance rates in the literature. The pooled compliance rate across all studies was 78.68% (95% CI 76.53%, 80.69%). There was no evidence that any proposed moderators were associated with compliance rates; prompt frequency (Q(3) = 0.98, p = .805) length of assessment period (Q(2) = 1.42, p = .493), substance use population (Q(1) = 1.830, p = .176) or device administration (Q(3) = 4.715, p =.194). Conclusions: The overall compliance rate was similar to that of other fields and recommended rates of compliance (80%), although compliance was not associated with any procedural variables. Furthermore, we identified various limitations in reporting of compliance data and improvement is needed to further elucidate factors which might influence compliance. These findings suggest intensive real-time data collection techniques can be administered in substance using populations, despite previous concerns.

scholarly journals Ecological Momentary Assessment Using Smartphones in Patients With Depression: Feasibility Study

10.2196/14179 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. e14179
Author(s):  
Redwan Maatoug ◽  
Nathan Peiffer-Smadja ◽  
Guillaume Delval ◽  
Térence Brochu ◽  
Benjamin Pitrat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Smartphone App ◽  
Spearman Correlation ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Real Time Data ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Momentary Assessment

Background Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is a promising tool in the management of psychiatric disorders and particularly depression. It allows for a real-time evaluation of symptoms and an earlier detection of relapse or treatment efficacy. The generalization of the smartphone in the modern world offers a new, large-scale support for EMA. Objective The main objective of this study was twofold: (1) to assess patients’ compliance with an EMA smartphone app defined by the number of EMAs completed, and (2) to estimate the external validity of the EMA using a correlation between self-esteem/guilt/mood variables and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) score. Methods Eleven patients at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France, were monitored for 28 days by means of a smartphone app. Every patient enrolled in the study had two types of assessment: (1) three outpatient consultations with a psychiatrist at three different time points (days 1, 15, and 28), and (2) real-time data collection using an EMA smartphone app with a single, fixed notification per day at 3 pm for 28 days. The results of the real-time data collected were reviewed during the three outpatient consultations by a psychiatrist using a dashboard that aggregated all of the patients’ data into a user-friendly format. Results Of the 11 patients in the study, 6 patients attended the 3 outpatient consultations with the psychiatrist and completed the HDRS at each consultation. We found a positive correlation between the HDRS score and the variables of self-esteem, guilt, and mood (Spearman correlation coefficient 0.57). Seven patients completed the daily EMAs for 28 days or longer, with an average response rate to the EMAs of 62.5% (175/280). Furthermore, we observed a positive correlation between the number of responses to EMAs and the duration of follow-up (Spearman correlation coefficient 0.63). Conclusions This preliminary study with a prolonged follow-up demonstrates significant patient compliance with the smartphone app. In addition, the self-assessments performed by patients seemed faithful to the standardized measurements performed by the psychiatrist. The results also suggest that for some patients it is more convenient to use the smartphone app than to attend outpatient consultations.

Ecological Momentary Assessment and Technological Advances in Clinical Care

2020 ◽  
pp. 275-288
Author(s):  
Isabelle Morris ◽  
Saul Shiffman ◽  
Ellen Beckjord ◽  
Stuart G. Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Time Data ◽  
Data Collection Methods ◽  
Real Time Data ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Momentary Assessment ◽  
Collection Methods

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methods provide a means by which researchers may attain highly detailed, ecologically valid, and contextually rich data on everyday experience and behavior. EMA methods are now widely used by researchers, particularly those studying health behaviors. A key reason for the popularity of EMA methods is that they allow researchers to examine both between- and within-individual differences in treatment efficacy and to explore the temporal sequences related to events of interest. Until relatively recently, EMA methods have predominately been employed as assessment and research tools. However, in recent years clinicians and researchers have begun to explore the value of real-time data collection methods as the foundation for providing tailored interventions that can respond to a patient’s behaviors, moods, social context, and geographical location. This chapter discusses how EMA data can potentially be utilized to improve the delivery of health interventions. The authors conclude that while there are clearly potential benefits of utilizing real-time data collection methods for treatment delivery, considerable work remains to ensure that EMA-based interventions are appropriate, theoretically derived, and ethical in their effects on privacy and confidentiality.

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