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