Feasibility and acceptability of intensive, real‐time biobehavioral data collection using ecological momentary assessment, salivary biomarkers, and accelerometers among middle‐aged African Americans

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 453-464
Author(s):  
Soohyun Nam ◽  
Genevieve F. Dunton ◽  
Monica R. Ordway ◽  
Garrett I. Ash ◽  
Sangchoon Jeon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
African Americans ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Salivary Biomarkers ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Momentary Assessment

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.

Using Personal Cell Phones for Ecological Momentary Assessment

2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Kuntsche ◽  
Florian Labhart
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Cell Phones ◽  
Personal Digital Assistants ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Mobility Patterns ◽  
Standard Data ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Momentary Assessment

Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) is a way of collecting data in people’s natural environments in real time and has become very popular in social and health sciences. The emergence of personal digital assistants has led to more complex and sophisticated EMA protocols but has also highlighted some important drawbacks. Modern cell phones combine the functionalities of advanced communication systems with those of a handheld computer and offer various additional features to capture and record sound, pictures, locations, and movements. Moreover, most people own a cell phone, are familiar with the different functions, and always carry it with them. This paper describes ways in which cell phones have been used for data collection purposes in the field of social sciences. This includes automated data capture techniques, for example, geolocation for the study of mobility patterns and the use of external sensors for remote health-monitoring research. The paper also describes cell phones as efficient and user-friendly tools for prompt manual data collection, that is, by asking participants to produce or to provide data. This can either be done by means of dedicated applications or by simply using the web browser. We conclude that cell phones offer a variety of advantages and have a great deal of potential for innovative research designs, suggesting they will be among the standard data collection devices for EMA in the coming years.

Developing a smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment protocol to collect biopsychosocial data with community-dwelling late-middle-aged and older adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 711-719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huiying Liu ◽  
Vivian W Q Lou
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Assessment Protocol ◽  
Future Design ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Older Chinese ◽  
High Level ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Momentary Assessment

Abstract Although ecological momentary assessment (EMA) has been used in youth and adult populations, very few of the studies provided evidence of the feasibility and utility of smartphone-based EMA protocols to collect biopsychosocial data from aging populations. This study aimed to describe the design and implementation of a smartphone-based EMA protocol, and to evaluate the feasibility and utility of this EMA protocol among community-dwelling late-middle-aged and older Chinese. A sample of 78 community-dwelling Chinese aged between 50 and 70 years was trained to participate in a 1-week EMA data collection, during which each participant carried an Android smartphone loaded with a researcher-developed EMA application and a smartphone-based electrocardiogram (ECG) monitor to provide psychosocial (e.g., daily activities, social interaction, affect) data and ECG recordings six times daily. Adherence was demonstrated with a total response rate of 91.5% of all scheduled assessments (n = 3,822) and a moderately high level of perceived feasibility. Female participants reported higher compliance to the study and rated the overall experience as more pleasant and interesting than male participants. Our study provided the first evidence of the feasibility and utility of smartphone-based EMA protocols among late-middle-aged and older Chinese. Key areas for improvement in future design and implementation of mobile-based EMA include the incorporation of usable technology, adequate and training, and timely assistance.

scholarly journals Possible Application of Ecological Momentary Assessment to Older Adults’ Daily Depressive Mood: Integrative Literature Review

10.2196/13247 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. e13247
Author(s):  
Heejung Kim ◽  
Sunah Kim ◽  
Seong Sook Kong ◽  
Yi-Rang Jeong ◽  
Hyein Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽  
Compliance Rate ◽  
Depressive Mood ◽  
Age Difference ◽  
Technical Problems ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Momentary Assessment

Background Ecological momentary assessment is a method of investigating individuals’ real-time experiences, behaviors, and moods in their natural environment over time. Despite its general usability and clinical value for evaluating daily depressive mood, there are several methodological challenges when applying ecological momentary assessment to older adults. Objective The aims of this integrative literature review were to examine possible uses of the ecological momentary assessment methodology with older adults and to suggest strategies to increase the feasibility of its application in geriatric depression research and practice. Methods We searched 4 electronic databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and EMBASE) and gray literature; we also hand searched the retrieved articles’ references. We limited all database searches to articles published in peer-reviewed journals from 2009 to 2019. Search terms were “ecological momentary assessment,” “smartphone assessment,” “real time assessment,” “electronic daily diary,” “mHealth momentary assessment,” “mobile-based app,” and “experience sampling method,” combined with the relevant terms of depression. We included any studies that enrolled older adults even as a subgroup and that reported depressive mood at least once a day for more than 2 days. Results Of the 38 studies that met the inclusion criteria, only 1 study enrolled adults aged 65 years or older as the entire sample; the remainder of the reviewed studies used mixed samples of both younger and older adults. Most of the analyzed studies (18/38, 47%) were quantitative, exploratory (descriptive, correlational, and predictive), and cohort in design. Ecological momentary assessment was used to describe the fluctuating pattern of participants’ depressive moods primarily and to examine the correlation between mood patterns and other health outcomes as a concurrent symptom. We found 3 key methodological issues: (1) heterogeneity in study design and protocol, (2) issues with definitions of dropout and adherence, and (3) variation in how depressive symptoms were measured with ecological momentary assessment. Some studies (8/38, 21%) examined the age difference of participants with respect to dropout or poor compliance rate. Detailed participant burden was reported, such as technical problems, aging-related health problems, or discomfort while using the device. Conclusions Ecological momentary assessment has been used for comprehensive assessment of multiple mental health indicators in relation to depressive mood. Our findings provide methodological considerations for further studies that may be implemented using ecological momentary assessment to assess daily depressive mood in older adults. Conducting more feasibility studies focusing on older adults with standardized data collection protocols and mixed-methods research is required to reflect users’ experiences. Further telepsychiatric evaluation and diagnosis based on ecological momentary assessment data should involve standardized and sophisticated strategies to maximize the potential of ecological momentary assessment for older adults with depression in the community setting.

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