Pilot feasibility of an mHealth system for conducting ecological momentary assessment of mood-related symptoms following traumatic brain injury

Brain Inj. 2015;29(11):1351-61. doi: 10.3109/02699052.2015.1045031. Epub 2015 Aug 7.

Abstract

Objective: This study assessed pilot feasibility and validity of a mobile health (mHealth) system for tracking mood-related symptoms after traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Design: A prospective, repeated measures design was used to assess compliance with daily ecological momentary assessments (EMA) conducted via a smartphone application over an 8-week period.

Methods: An mHealth system was developed specifically for individuals with TBI and utilized previously validated tools for depressive and anxiety symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7). Feasibility was assessed in 20 community-dwelling adults with TBI via an assessment of compliance, satisfaction and usability of the smartphone applications. The authors also developed and implemented a clinical patient safety management mechanism for those endorsing suicidality.

Results: Participants correctly completed 73.4% of all scheduled assessments, demonstrating good compliance. Daily assessments took <2 minutes to complete. Participants reported high satisfaction with smartphone applications (6.3 of 7) and found them easy to use (6.2 of 7). Comparison of assessments obtained via telephone-based interview and EMA demonstrated high correlations (r = 0.81-0.97), supporting the validity of conducting these assessments via smartphone application in this population.

Conclusions: EMA conducted via smartphone demonstrates initial feasibility among adults with TBI and presents numerous opportunities for long-term monitoring of mood-related symptoms in real-world settings.

Keywords: Depression; mental health assessments; rehabilomics; telehealth tools; traumatic brain injury.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Affect / physiology
  • Aged
  • Anxiety / diagnosis
  • Anxiety / psychology
  • Brain Injuries / psychology*
  • Cell Phone
  • Depression / diagnosis
  • Depression / psychology
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mood Disorders / diagnosis*
  • Mood Disorders / etiology*
  • Patient Compliance / psychology
  • Pilot Projects
  • Self Report
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Telemedicine / methods*