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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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-10-01
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Series: | Frontiers in Digital Health |
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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. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-11T17:43:19Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-e3b8dd6b104243c696861603beb9ad45 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2673-253X |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-11T17:43:19Z |
publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
record_format | Article |
series | Frontiers in Digital Health |
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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