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Haucke M, Heinzel S, Liu S. Social mobile sensing and problematic alcohol consumption: Insights from smartphone metadata. Int J Med Inform 2024; 188:105486. [PMID: 38754285 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2024.105486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2024] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alcohol is often consumed in a social context. We aim to investigate whether social mobile sensing is associated with real-world social interactions and alcohol consumption. In addition, we investigate how social restriction policies implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic have influenced these associations. METHODS We conducted a smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study for 7 days over a 213-day period from 8 August 2020 to 9 March 2021 in Germany, including both no-lockdown and lockdown stages. Participants used a smartphone application which passively collects data on social behavior (e.g., app usage, phone calls, SMS). Moreover, we assessed real-world social interactions and alcohol consumption via daily questionnaires. RESULTS We found that each one-hour increase in social media usage was associated with a 40.2% decrease in the average number of drinks consumed. Mediation analysis suggested that social media usage decreases alcohol intake through decreased real-world social interactions. Notably, we did not find that any significant influence of the lockdown stage on the association between social mobile sensing and alcohol intake. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests that people who use more social media drink less, likely due to reduced face-to-face social interactions. This highlights the potential of social mobile sensing as an objective measure of social activity and its implications for understanding alcohol consumption behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Haucke
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Campus Charité Mitte), Berlin, Germany; Department of Education and Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Stephan Heinzel
- Department of Education and Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Departement of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Clinical and Biological Psychology, Technische Universität Dortmund, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Shuyan Liu
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Campus Charité Mitte), Berlin, Germany.
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Hernandez R, Schneider S, Pinkham AE, Depp CA, Ackerman R, Pyatak EA, Badal VD, Moore RC, Harvey PD, Funsch K, Stone AA. Comparisons of Self-Report With Objective Measurements Suggest Faster Responding but Little Change in Response Quality Over Time in Ecological Momentary Assessment Studies. Assessment 2024:10731911241245793. [PMID: 38634454 DOI: 10.1177/10731911241245793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
Response times (RTs) to ecological momentary assessment (EMA) items often decrease after repeated EMA administration, but whether this is accompanied by lower response quality requires investigation. We examined the relationship between EMA item RTs and EMA response quality. In one data set, declining response quality was operationalized as decreasing correspondence over time between subjective and objective measures of blood glucose taken at the same time. In a second EMA study data set, declining response quality was operationalized as decreasing correspondence between subjective ratings of memory test performance and objective memory test scores. We assumed that measurement error in the objective measures did not increase across time, meaning that decreasing correspondence across days within a person could be attributed to lower response quality. RTs to EMA items decreased across study days, while no decrements in the mean response quality were observed. Decreasing EMA item RTs across study days did not appear problematic overall.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Colin A Depp
- University of California San Diego, USA
- Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Philip D Harvey
- University of Miami, FL, USA
- Bruce W. Carter Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Miami, FL, USA
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3
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Breitinger S, Gardea-Resendez M, Langholm C, Xiong A, Laivell J, Stoppel C, Harper L, Volety R, Walker A, D'Mello R, Byun AJS, Zandi P, Goes FS, Frye M, Torous J. Digital Phenotyping for Mood Disorders: Methodology-Oriented Pilot Feasibility Study. J Med Internet Res 2023; 25:e47006. [PMID: 38157233 PMCID: PMC10787337 DOI: 10.2196/47006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In the burgeoning area of clinical digital phenotyping research, there is a dearth of literature that details methodology, including the key challenges and dilemmas in developing and implementing a successful architecture for technological infrastructure, patient engagement, longitudinal study participation, and successful reporting and analysis of diverse passive and active digital data streams. OBJECTIVE This article provides a narrative rationale for our study design in the context of the current evidence base and best practices, with an emphasis on our initial lessons learned from the implementation challenges and successes of this digital phenotyping study. METHODS We describe the design and implementation approach for a digital phenotyping pilot feasibility study with attention to synthesizing key literature and the reasoning for pragmatic adaptations in implementing a multisite study encompassing distinct geographic and population settings. This methodology was used to recruit patients as study participants with a clinician-validated diagnostic history of unipolar depression, bipolar I disorder, or bipolar II disorder, or healthy controls in 2 geographically distinct health care systems for a longitudinal digital phenotyping study of mood disorders. RESULTS We describe the feasibility of a multisite digital phenotyping pilot study for patients with mood disorders in terms of passively and actively collected phenotyping data quality and enrollment of patients. Overall data quality (assessed as the amount of sensor data obtained vs expected) was high compared to that in related studies. Results were reported on the relevant demographic features of study participants, revealing recruitment properties of age (mean subgroup age ranged from 31 years in the healthy control subgroup to 38 years in the bipolar I disorder subgroup), sex (predominance of female participants, with 7/11, 64% females in the bipolar II disorder subgroup), and smartphone operating system (iOS vs Android; iOS ranged from 7/11, 64% in the bipolar II disorder subgroup to 29/32, 91% in the healthy control subgroup). We also described implementation considerations around digital phenotyping research for mood disorders and other psychiatric conditions. CONCLUSIONS Digital phenotyping in affective disorders is feasible on both Android and iOS smartphones, and the resulting data quality using an open-source platform is higher than that in comparable studies. While the digital phenotyping data quality was independent of gender and race, the reported demographic features of study participants revealed important information on possible selection biases that may result from naturalistic research in this domain. We believe that the methodology described will be readily reproducible and generalizable to other study settings and patient populations given our data on deployment at 2 unique sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott Breitinger
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | | | | | - Ashley Xiong
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Joseph Laivell
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Cynthia Stoppel
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Laura Harper
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Rama Volety
- Research Application Solutions Unit, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - Alex Walker
- Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Ryan D'Mello
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States
| | | | - Peter Zandi
- Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | | | - Mark Frye
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States
| | - John Torous
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States
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Wronski ML, Geisler D, Bernardoni F, Seidel M, Bahnsen K, Doose A, Steinhäuser JL, Gronow F, Böldt LV, Plessow F, Lawson EA, King JA, Roessner V, Ehrlich S. Differential alterations of amygdala nuclei volumes in acutely ill patients with anorexia nervosa and their associations with leptin levels. Psychol Med 2023; 53:6288-6303. [PMID: 36464660 PMCID: PMC10358440 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291722003609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Revised: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The amygdala is a subcortical limbic structure consisting of histologically and functionally distinct subregions. New automated structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) segmentation tools facilitate the in vivo study of individual amygdala nuclei in clinical populations such as patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) who show symptoms indicative of limbic dysregulation. This study is the first to investigate amygdala nuclei volumes in AN, their relationships with leptin, a key indicator of AN-related neuroendocrine alterations, and further clinical measures. METHODS T1-weighted MRI scans were subsegmented and multi-stage quality controlled using FreeSurfer. Left/right hemispheric amygdala nuclei volumes were cross-sectionally compared between females with AN (n = 168, 12-29 years) and age-matched healthy females (n = 168) applying general linear models. Associations with plasma leptin, body mass index (BMI), illness duration, and psychiatric symptoms were analyzed via robust linear regression. RESULTS Globally, most amygdala nuclei volumes in both hemispheres were reduced in AN v. healthy control participants. Importantly, four specific nuclei (accessory basal, cortical, medial nuclei, corticoamygdaloid transition in the rostral-medial amygdala) showed greater volumetric reduction even relative to reductions of whole amygdala and total subcortical gray matter volumes, whereas basal, lateral, and paralaminar nuclei were less reduced. All rostral-medially clustered nuclei were positively associated with leptin in AN independent of BMI. Amygdala nuclei volumes were not associated with illness duration or psychiatric symptom severity in AN. CONCLUSIONS In AN, amygdala nuclei are altered to different degrees. Severe volume loss in rostral-medially clustered nuclei, collectively involved in olfactory/food-related reward processing, may represent a structural correlate of AN-related symptoms. Hypoleptinemia might be linked to rostral-medial amygdala alterations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Louis Wronski
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Neuroendocrine Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Daniel Geisler
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Fabio Bernardoni
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Maria Seidel
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Klaas Bahnsen
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Arne Doose
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Jonas L. Steinhäuser
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Franziska Gronow
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Institute of Medical Psychology, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Luisa V. Böldt
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Franziska Plessow
- Neuroendocrine Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Elizabeth A. Lawson
- Neuroendocrine Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Joseph A. King
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Veit Roessner
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Stefan Ehrlich
- Translational Developmental Neuroscience Section, Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Center, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
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Murray A, Ushakova A, Zhu X, Yang Y, Xiao Z, Brown R, Speyer L, Ribeaud D, Eisner M. Predicting Participation Willingness in Ecological Momentary Assessment of General Population Health and Behavior: Machine Learning Study. J Med Internet Res 2023; 25:e41412. [PMID: 37531181 PMCID: PMC10433031 DOI: 10.2196/41412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Revised: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is widely used in health research to capture individuals' experiences in the flow of daily life. The majority of EMA studies, however, rely on nonprobability sampling approaches, leaving open the possibility of nonrandom participation concerning the individual characteristics of interest in EMA research. Knowledge of the factors that predict participation in EMA research is required to evaluate this possibility and can also inform optimal recruitment strategies. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine the extent to which being willing to participate in EMA research is related to respondent characteristics and to identify the most critical predictors of participation. METHODS We leveraged the availability of comprehensive data on a general young adult population pool of potential EMA participants and used and compared logistic regression, classification and regression trees, and random forest approaches to evaluate respondents' characteristic predictors of willingness to participate in the Decades-to-Minutes EMA study. RESULTS In unadjusted logistic regression models, gender, migration background, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms, stress, and prosociality were significant predictors of participation willingness; in logistic regression models, mutually adjusting for all predictors, migration background, tobacco use, and social exclusion were significant predictors. Tree-based approaches also identified migration status, tobacco use, and prosociality as prominent predictors. However, overall, willingness to participate in the Decades-to-Minutes EMA study was only weakly predictable from respondent characteristics. Cross-validation areas under the curve for the best models were only in the range of 0.56 to 0.57. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that migration background is the single most promising target for improving EMA participation and sample representativeness; however, more research is needed to improve prediction of participation in EMA studies in health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aja Murray
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Anastasia Ushakova
- Centre for Health Informatics, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom
| | - Xinxin Zhu
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Yi Yang
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Zhuoni Xiao
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Ruth Brown
- Clinical Psychology Department, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Lydia Speyer
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Denis Ribeaud
- Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Manuel Eisner
- Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Gérain P, Wawrziczny E, Antoine P. A scoping review of intensive longitudinal methods in informal caregivers of people with dementia. BMC Geriatr 2023; 23:456. [PMID: 37488491 PMCID: PMC10367249 DOI: 10.1186/s12877-023-04123-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The daily life of informal caregivers assisting individuals with dementia widely varies throughout the day and week. As an answer, an increasing number of researchers have used intensive longitudinal methods (ILMs) such as diary studies, experience sampling methods, or ecological momentary assessment. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS The present scoping review aims at synthesizing the use of ILMs in informal dementia caregivers to clarify what is currently done and how, as well as what remains unaddressed. RESULTS The screening process identified 48 studies from 22 different datasets. Synthesis of these studies showed the diversity of devices and uses of ILMs in informal care, including the exploration of associations between variables or accompanying an intervention. ILMs showed the important variability of caregiving phenomena, as well as the important association of momentary stress and well-being. Gaps were nevertheless identified, such as transparency in the construction of the tool or the absence of focus on emotions and dyads. CONCLUSIONS For now, this field of research remains in its infancy and does not seem to have reached its full potential as it has in other fields. Nevertheless, it appears that ILMs are promising tools for informal dementia caregivers as they contribute to understanding the complexity of their daily life, with changing resources and challenges. Future directions include focusing more on (emotion) regulation, temporal lags, and the use of ILMs in interventional designs. TRIAL REGISTRATION The present review was registered on OSF (osf.io/b2qr4).
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Affiliation(s)
- P Gérain
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Educational and Psychological Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium.
- SCALAB - UMR 9193, University of Lille, Lille, France.
| | - E Wawrziczny
- SCALAB - UMR 9193, University of Lille, Lille, France
| | - P Antoine
- SCALAB - UMR 9193, University of Lille, Lille, France
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7
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Perski O, Kwasnicka D, Kale D, Schneider V, Szinay D, ten Hoor G, Asare BY, Verboon P, Powell D, Naughton F, Keller J. Within-person associations between psychological and contextual factors and lapse incidence in smokers attempting to quit: A systematic review and meta-analysis of ecological momentary assessment studies. Addiction 2023; 118:1216-1231. [PMID: 36807443 PMCID: PMC10952786 DOI: 10.1111/add.16173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023]
Abstract
AIMS When attempting to stop smoking, discrete smoking events ('lapses') are strongly associated with a return to regular smoking ('relapse'). No study has yet pooled the psychological and contextual antecedents of lapse incidence, captured in ecological momentary assessment (EMA) studies. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to synthesize within-person psychological and contextual predictor-lapse associations in smokers attempting to quit. METHODS We searched Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO and Web of Science. A narrative synthesis and multi-level, random-effects meta-analyses were conducted, focusing on studies of adult, non-clinical populations attempting to stop smoking, with no restrictions on setting. Outcomes were the association between a psychological (e.g. stress, cravings) or contextual (e.g. cigarette availability) antecedent and smoking lapse incidence; definitions of 'lapse' and 'relapse'; the theoretical underpinning of EMA study designs; and the proportion of studies with pre-registered study protocols/analysis plans and open data. RESULTS We included 61 studies, with 19 studies contributing ≥ 1 effect size(s) to the meta-analyses. We found positive relationships between lapse incidence and 'environmental and social cues' [k = 12, odds ratio (OR) = 4.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.02, 10.16, P = 0.001] and 'cravings' (k = 10, OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.34, 2.18, P < 0.001). 'Negative feeling states' was not significantly associated with lapse incidence (k = 16, OR = 1.10, 95% CI = 0.98, 1.24, P = 0.12). In the narrative synthesis, negative relationships with lapse incidence were found for 'behavioural regulation', 'motivation not to smoke' and 'beliefs about capabilities'; positive relationships with lapse incidence were found for 'positive feeling states' and 'positive outcome expectancies'. Although lapse definitions were comparable, relapse definitions varied widely across studies. Few studies explicitly drew upon psychological theory to inform EMA study designs. One of the included studies drew upon Open Science principles. CONCLUSIONS In smokers attempting to stop, environmental and social cues and cravings appear to be key within-person antecedents of smoking lapse incidence. Due to low study quality, the confidence in these estimates is reduced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga Perski
- Department of Behavioural Science and HealthUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Dominika Kwasnicka
- Faculty of PsychologySWPS University of Social Sciences and HumanitiesWroclawPoland
- NHMRC CRE in Digital Technology to Transform Chronic Disease Outcomes, Melbourne School of Population and Global HealthUniversity of MelbourneMelbourneAustralia
| | - Dimitra Kale
- Department of Behavioural Science and HealthUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Verena Schneider
- Department of Behavioural Science and HealthUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Dorothy Szinay
- Department of Behavioural Science and HealthUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Gill ten Hoor
- Department of Work and Social Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and NeurosciencesMaastricht UniversityMaastrichtthe Netherlands
| | - Bernard Yeboah‐Asiamah Asare
- Curtin School of Population HealthCurtin UniversityPerthAustralia
- Health Psychology, Institute of Applied Health SciencesUniversity of AberdeenAberdeenUK
| | - Peter Verboon
- Faculty of PsychologyOpen UniversityHeerlenthe Netherlands
| | - Daniel Powell
- Health Psychology, Institute of Applied Health SciencesUniversity of AberdeenAberdeenUK
- Rowett InstituteUniversity of AberdeenAberdeenUK
| | - Felix Naughton
- Behavioural and Implementation Science Research Group, School of Health SciencesUniversity of East AngliaNorwichUK
| | - Jan Keller
- Department of Education and PsychologyFreie Universität BerlinBerlinGermany
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Bell L, Garnett C, Bao Y, Cheng Z, Qian T, Perski O, Potts HWW, Williamson E. How Notifications Affect Engagement With a Behavior Change App: Results From a Micro-Randomized Trial. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2023; 11:e38342. [PMID: 37294612 PMCID: PMC10337295 DOI: 10.2196/38342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Revised: 10/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Drink Less is a behavior change app to help higher-risk drinkers in the United Kingdom reduce their alcohol consumption. The app includes a daily notification asking users to "Please complete your drinks and mood diary," yet we did not understand the causal effect of the notification on engagement nor how to improve this component of Drink Less. We developed a new bank of 30 new messages to increase users' reflective motivation to engage with Drink Less. This study aimed to determine how standard and new notifications affect engagement. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to estimate the causal effect of the notification on near-term engagement, to explore whether this effect changed over time, and to create an evidence base to further inform the optimization of the notification policy. METHODS We conducted a micro-randomized trial (MRT) with 2 additional parallel arms. Inclusion criteria were Drink Less users who consented to participate in the trial, self-reported a baseline Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test score of ≥8, resided in the United Kingdom, were aged ≥18 years, and reported interest in drinking less alcohol. Our MRT randomized 350 new users to test whether receiving a notification, compared with receiving no notification, increased the probability of opening the app in the subsequent hour, over the first 30 days since downloading Drink Less. Each day at 8 PM, users were randomized with a 30% probability of receiving the standard message, a 30% probability of receiving a new message, or a 40% probability of receiving no message. We additionally explored time to disengagement, with the allocation of 60% of eligible users randomized to the MRT (n=350) and 40% of eligible users randomized in equal number to the 2 parallel arms, either receiving the no notification policy (n=98) or the standard notification policy (n=121). Ancillary analyses explored effect moderation by recent states of habituation and engagement. RESULTS Receiving a notification, compared with not receiving a notification, increased the probability of opening the app in the next hour by 3.5-fold (95% CI 2.91-4.25). Both types of messages were similarly effective. The effect of the notification did not change significantly over time. A user being in a state of already engaged lowered the new notification effect by 0.80 (95% CI 0.55-1.16), although not significantly. Across the 3 arms, time to disengagement was not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS We found a strong near-term effect of engagement on the notification, but no overall difference in time to disengagement between users receiving the standard fixed notification, no notification at all, or the random sequence of notifications within the MRT. The strong near-term effect of the notification presents an opportunity to target notifications to increase "in-the-moment" engagement. Further optimization is required to improve the long-term engagement. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID) RR2-10.2196/18690.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Bell
- Department of Medical Statistics, The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
- Medical Research Council Biostatistics Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Claire Garnett
- Research Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Yihan Bao
- Department of Statistics and Data Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Zhaoxi Cheng
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
| | - Tianchen Qian
- Department of Statistics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Olga Perski
- Research Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Henry W W Potts
- Institute of Health Informatics, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Elizabeth Williamson
- Department of Medical Statistics, The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
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Perski O, Keller J, Kale D, Asare BYA, Schneider V, Powell D, Naughton F, ten Hoor G, Verboon P, Kwasnicka D. Understanding health behaviours in context: A systematic review and meta-analysis of ecological momentary assessment studies of five key health behaviours. Health Psychol Rev 2022; 16:576-601. [PMID: 35975950 PMCID: PMC9704370 DOI: 10.1080/17437199.2022.2112258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) involves repeated, real-time sampling of health behaviours in context. We present the state-of-knowledge in EMA research focused on five key health behaviours (physical activity and sedentary behaviour, dietary behaviour, alcohol consumption, tobacco smoking, sexual health), summarising theoretical (e.g., psychological and contextual predictors) and methodological aspects (e.g., study characteristics, EMA adherence). We searched Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO and Web of Science until February 2021. We included studies focused on any of the aforementioned health behaviours in adult, non-clinical populations that assessed ≥1 psychological/contextual predictor and reported a predictor-behaviour association. A narrative synthesis and random-effects meta-analyses of EMA adherence were conducted. We included 633 studies. The median study duration was 14 days. The most frequently assessed predictors were 'negative feeling states' (21%) and 'motivation and goals' (16.5%). The pooled percentage of EMA adherence was high at 81.4% (95% CI = 80.0%, 82.8%, k = 348) and did not differ by target behaviour but was somewhat higher in student (vs. general population) samples, when EMAs were delivered via mobile phones/smartphones (vs. handheld devices), and when event contingent (vs. fixed) sampling was used. This review showcases how the EMA method has been applied to improve understanding and prediction of health behaviours in context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga Perski
- Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom, Olga Perski
| | - Jan Keller
- Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Dimitra Kale
- Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Bernard Yeboah-Asiamah Asare
- Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, Australia,Health Psychology, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | - Verena Schneider
- Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel Powell
- Health Psychology, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom,Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | - Felix Naughton
- Behavioural and Implementation Science Research Group, School of Health Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, United Kingdom
| | - Gill ten Hoor
- Department of Work and Social Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Neurosciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Verboon
- Faculty of Psychology, Open University, Heerlen, The Netherlands
| | - Dominika Kwasnicka
- Faculty of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Wroclaw, Poland,NHMRC CRE in Digital Technology to Transform Chronic Disease Outcomes, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
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Pagé MG, Gauvin L, Sylvestre MP, Nitulescu R, Dyachenko A, Choinière M. An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study of Pain Intensity Variability: Ascertaining Extent, Predictors, and Associations With Quality of Life, Interference and Health Care Utilization Among Individuals Living With Chronic Low Back Pain. THE JOURNAL OF PAIN 2022; 23:1151-1166. [PMID: 35074499 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpain.2022.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Revised: 01/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
This ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study examined the extent of pain intensity variability among 140 individuals with chronic low back pain and explored predictors of such variability and psychosocial and health care utilization outcomes. Individuals completed momentary pain intensity reports (0-10 numeric rating scale) several times daily for two periods of seven consecutive days, one month apart. Participants also completed online questionnaires at baseline which tapped into pain characteristics, pain-related catastrophization, kinesiophobia, activity patterns, and depression and anxiety symptoms. Questionnaires assessing quality of life and health care utilization were administered online one month after completion of the last EMA report. Data were analyzed using linear hierarchical location-scale models. Results showed that pain intensity fluctuated over the course of a week as shown by an average standard deviation of 1.2. The extent of variability in pain intensity scores was heterogeneous across participants but stable over assessment periods. Patients' baseline characteristics along with psychosocial and health care utilization outcomes were not significantly associated with pain intensity variability. We conclude that pain intensity variability differs across patients yet correlates remain elusive. There is an important gap in our knowledge of what affects this variability. Future EMA studies should replicate and extend current findings. PERSPECTIVE: This study provides evidence indicating that there is substantial variability in momentary reports of pain intensity among individuals living with chronic low back pain. However, risk and protective factors for greater lability of pain are elusive as is evidence that greater pain intensity variability results in differential health care utilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Gabrielle Pagé
- Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal & Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
| | - Lise Gauvin
- Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal & Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, École de santé publique de l'Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Marie-Pierre Sylvestre
- Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal & Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, École de santé publique de l'Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Roy Nitulescu
- Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal & Centre d'intégration et d'analyse en données médicales du Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Alina Dyachenko
- Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal & Centre d'intégration et d'analyse en données médicales du Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Manon Choinière
- Centre de recherche du Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal & Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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