Use of Ecological Momentary Assessment and Intervention in Treatment With Adults

Abstract

This article reviews the use of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and ecological momentary intervention (EMI) in clinical research applications. EMA refers to a method of data collection that attempts to capture respondents’ activities, emotions, and thoughts in the moment, in their natural environment. It typically uses prompts administered through a personal electronic device, such as a smartphone or tablet. EMI extends this technique and includes the use of microlevel interventions administered through personal electronic devices. These technological developments hold promise for enhancing psychological treatments by prompting the patient outside of therapy sessions in his or her day-to-day environment. Research suggests that EMI may be beneficial to participants and that this effect is amplified when EMI is delivered in the context of ongoing psychotherapy. EMI may reflect a cost-effective mechanism to enhance therapeutic outcomes.

A perspective on the use of ecological momentary assessment and intervention to promote stroke recovery and rehabilitation

“…56 EMI was shown to have small to medium effects on mental health and positive psychological well-being. 46,[56][57][58] The support of a mental health professional to guide individuals to use EMI-based apps was identified as essential for successful EMI. 46,57 Mixed results concerning the effectiveness of EMI have emerged for the treatment of psychotic disorders and behavior change.…”

“…This suggests that the exact mechanism through which an intervention might alter user behavior remains unclear. 55 EMI is well suited to implement elements of cognitive-behavioral therapy in the natural environment, 9,56 such as encouragements and prompts to motivate participants to practice skills and engage in exposure activities. 56 EMI was shown to have small to medium effects on mental health and positive psychological well-being.…”

“…55 EMI is well suited to implement elements of cognitive-behavioral therapy in the natural environment, 9,56 such as encouragements and prompts to motivate participants to practice skills and engage in exposure activities. 56 EMI was shown to have small to medium effects on mental health and positive psychological well-being. 46,[56][57][58] The support of a mental health professional to guide individuals to use EMI-based apps was identified as essential for successful EMI.…”

Going beyond (electronic) patient-reported outcomes: harnessing the benefits of smart technology and ecological momentary assessment in cancer survivorship research

“…An outgrowth of sEMA, sEMI aims to provide interventions remotely in respondents' everyday lives (i.e., real time) and natural environments. sEMI can be tailored to provide feedback to enhance treatment personalization and adherence, e.g., providing an sEMI following an sEMA on affect or health behavior [27]. Despite a significant increase of e-health/m-health interventions in cancer care [28], assessment of their usage and adherence is not optimal [29].…”

Mobile Internet Technologies, Ecological Momentary Assessment, and Intervention—Poison and Remedy for New Online Problematic Behaviors in ICD-11

“…On the other hand, we discuss what the development of mobile and online technologies offers for solving or mitigating these problems. Specifically, we focus on ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and intervention (EMI) methodologies ( 3 , 4 ) and how they can help in overcoming difficulties currently faced in problematic online behavior research, diagnosis, and therapy.…”