Acceptability of smartphone text- and voice-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methods among low income housing residents in New York City

Abstract

ObjectivesThis study aimed to evaluate the acceptability of smartphone-based text message- and voice-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methods among a sample of low-income housing residents in New York City. Using data from the community-based NYC Low Income Housing, Neighborhoods and Health Study (n = 112), the acceptability of text message- and voice-based EMA methods were assessed via survey.ResultsOverall, 88.4% of participants reported that they would participate in a study that utilized text message-based EMA. These analyses showed no appreciable differences by sub-groups (p > .05). Overall, 80.2% of participants reported that they would participate in a study that used voice-based EMA. This voice-based method was least acceptable among participants younger than 25 years old compared to participants of all other ages, χ2(2) = 10.107, p = .006 (among the younger participants 60.7% reported “yes” regarding the anticipated acceptability of voice-based EMA and 39.3% reported “no”). Overall, this work suggests that text message- and voice-based EMA methods are acceptable for use among low-income housing residents. However, the association between age and the acceptability of voice-based EMA suggests that these methods may be less suited for younger populations.

Acceptability and feasibility of mobile phone-based ecological momentary assessment and intervention in Uganda: A pilot randomized controlled trial

“…Collected behavioral data are broadly consistent with regional estimates [18,19] and baseline reports, although risk behaviors are more prevalent in EMA data as may be expected of eventbased collection [1], demonstrating plausibility of reported data. Most participants reported positive experiences of study participation, including message sending and the question content, consistent with studies in high-income settings across a broad range of participant populations and content areas [20][21][22][23][24]. Since our study period, the Ugandan GSMA connectivity index increased from 34 in 2016 to 40 in 2019, suggesting broader access within the general population and an environment increasingly well-suited to mobile data collection [25].…”