m-Path: an easy-to-use and highly tailorable platform for ecological momentary assessment and intervention in behavioral research and clinical practice

In this paper, we present m-Path (www.m-Path.io), an online platform that provides an easy-to-use and highly tailorable framework for implementing smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and intervention (EMI) in both research and clinical practice in the context of blended care. Beca...

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Main Authors: Merijn Mestdagh, Stijn Verdonck, Maarten Piot, Koen Niemeijer, Ghijs Kilani, Francis Tuerlinckx, Peter Kuppens, Egon Dejonckheere
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-10-01
Series:Frontiers in Digital Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2023.1182175/full
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author Merijn Mestdagh
Stijn Verdonck
Maarten Piot
Koen Niemeijer
Ghijs Kilani
Francis Tuerlinckx
Peter Kuppens
Egon Dejonckheere
Egon Dejonckheere
author_facet Merijn Mestdagh
Stijn Verdonck
Maarten Piot
Koen Niemeijer
Ghijs Kilani
Francis Tuerlinckx
Peter Kuppens
Egon Dejonckheere
Egon Dejonckheere
author_sort Merijn Mestdagh
collection DOAJ
description In this paper, we present m-Path (www.m-Path.io), an online platform that provides an easy-to-use and highly tailorable framework for implementing smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and intervention (EMI) in both research and clinical practice in the context of blended care. Because real-time monitoring and intervention in people's everyday lives have unparalleled benefits compared to traditional data collection techniques (e.g., retrospective surveys or lab-based experiments), EMA and EMI have become popular in recent years. Although a surge in the use of these methods has led to a myriad of EMA and EMI applications, many existing platforms only focus on a single aspect of daily life data collection (e.g., assessment vs. intervention, active self-report vs. passive mobile sensing, research-dedicated vs. clinically-oriented tools). With m-Path, we aim to integrate all of these facets into a single platform, as it is exactly this all-in-one approach that fosters the clinical utility of accumulated scientific knowledge. To this end, we offer a comprehensive platform to set up complex and highly adjustable EMA and EMI designs with advanced functionalities, using an intuitive point-and click web interface that is accessible for researchers and clinicians with limited programming skills. We discuss the strengths of daily life data collection and intervention in general and m-Path in particular. We describe the regular workflow to set up an EMA or EMI design within the m-Path framework, and summarize both the basic functionalities and more advanced features of our software.
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spelling doaj.art-e3b8dd6b104243c696861603beb9ad452023-10-18T08:54:32ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Digital Health2673-253X2023-10-01510.3389/fdgth.2023.11821751182175m-Path: an easy-to-use and highly tailorable platform for ecological momentary assessment and intervention in behavioral research and clinical practiceMerijn Mestdagh0Stijn Verdonck1Maarten Piot2Koen Niemeijer3Ghijs Kilani4Francis Tuerlinckx5Peter Kuppens6Egon Dejonckheere7Egon Dejonckheere8Facultyof Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, BelgiumFacultyof Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, BelgiumFacultyof Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, BelgiumFacultyof Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, BelgiumFacultyof Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, BelgiumFacultyof Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, BelgiumFacultyof Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, BelgiumFacultyof Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, BelgiumDepartment of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, NetherlandsIn this paper, we present m-Path (www.m-Path.io), an online platform that provides an easy-to-use and highly tailorable framework for implementing smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and intervention (EMI) in both research and clinical practice in the context of blended care. Because real-time monitoring and intervention in people's everyday lives have unparalleled benefits compared to traditional data collection techniques (e.g., retrospective surveys or lab-based experiments), EMA and EMI have become popular in recent years. Although a surge in the use of these methods has led to a myriad of EMA and EMI applications, many existing platforms only focus on a single aspect of daily life data collection (e.g., assessment vs. intervention, active self-report vs. passive mobile sensing, research-dedicated vs. clinically-oriented tools). With m-Path, we aim to integrate all of these facets into a single platform, as it is exactly this all-in-one approach that fosters the clinical utility of accumulated scientific knowledge. To this end, we offer a comprehensive platform to set up complex and highly adjustable EMA and EMI designs with advanced functionalities, using an intuitive point-and click web interface that is accessible for researchers and clinicians with limited programming skills. We discuss the strengths of daily life data collection and intervention in general and m-Path in particular. We describe the regular workflow to set up an EMA or EMI design within the m-Path framework, and summarize both the basic functionalities and more advanced features of our software.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2023.1182175/fulldaily lifesmartphonesexperience samplingambulatory assessmentmobile sensingblended care
spellingShingle Merijn Mestdagh
Stijn Verdonck
Maarten Piot
Koen Niemeijer
Ghijs Kilani
Francis Tuerlinckx
Peter Kuppens
Egon Dejonckheere
Egon Dejonckheere
m-Path: an easy-to-use and highly tailorable platform for ecological momentary assessment and intervention in behavioral research and clinical practice
Frontiers in Digital Health
daily life
smartphones
experience sampling
ambulatory assessment
mobile sensing
blended care
title m-Path: an easy-to-use and highly tailorable platform for ecological momentary assessment and intervention in behavioral research and clinical practice
title_full m-Path: an easy-to-use and highly tailorable platform for ecological momentary assessment and intervention in behavioral research and clinical practice
title_fullStr m-Path: an easy-to-use and highly tailorable platform for ecological momentary assessment and intervention in behavioral research and clinical practice
title_full_unstemmed m-Path: an easy-to-use and highly tailorable platform for ecological momentary assessment and intervention in behavioral research and clinical practice
title_short m-Path: an easy-to-use and highly tailorable platform for ecological momentary assessment and intervention in behavioral research and clinical practice
title_sort m path an easy to use and highly tailorable platform for ecological momentary assessment and intervention in behavioral research and clinical practice
topic daily life
smartphones
experience sampling
ambulatory assessment
mobile sensing
blended care
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fdgth.2023.1182175/full
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