Ecological momentary assessment of physical and eating behaviours: The WEALTH feasibility and optimisation study with recommendations for large-scale data collection

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F62690094%3A18470%2F25%3A50022478" target="_blank" >RIV/62690094:18470/25:50022478 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/61988987:17450/25:A26039ZY RIV/00216208:11510/25:10495399

Result on the web

<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0318772" target="_blank" >https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0318772</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0318772" target="_blank" >10.1371/journal.pone.0318772</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Ecological momentary assessment of physical and eating behaviours: The WEALTH feasibility and optimisation study with recommendations for large-scale data collection

Original language description

Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) enables the real-time capture of health-related behaviours, their situational contexts, and associated subjective experiences. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of an EMA targeting physical and eating behaviours, optimise its protocol, and provide recommendations for future large-scale EMA data collections. The study involved 52 participants (age 31 +/- 9 years, 56% females) from Czechia, France, Germany, and Ireland completing a 9-day free-living EMA protocol using the HealthReact platform connected to a Fitbit tracker. The EMA protocol included time-based (7/day), event-based (up to 10/day), and self-initiated surveys, each containing 8 to 17 items assessing physical and eating behaviours and related contextual factors such as affective states, location, and company. Qualitative insights were gathered from post-EMA feedback interviews. Compliance was low (median 49%), particularly for event-based surveys (median 34%), and declined over time. Many participants were unable or unwilling to complete surveys in certain contexts (e.g., when with family), faced interference with their daily schedules, and encountered occasional technical issues, suggesting the need for thorough initial training, an individualised protocol, and systematic compliance monitoring. The number of event-based surveys was less than desired for the study, with a median of 2.4/day for sedentary events, when 4 were targeted, and 0.9/day for walking events, when 3 were targeted. Conducting simulations using participants&apos; Fitbit data allowed for optimising the triggering rules, achieving the desired median number of sedentary and walking surveys (3.9/day for both) in similar populations. Self-initiated reports of meals and drinks yielded more reports than those prompted in time-based and event-based EMA surveys, suggesting that self-initiated surveys might better reflect actual eating behaviours. This study highlights the importance of assessing feasibility and optimising EMA protocols to enhance subsequent compliance and data quality. Conducting pre-tests to refine protocols and procedures, including simulations using participants&apos; activity data for optimal event-based triggering rules, is crucial for successful large-scale data collection in EMA studies of physical and eating behaviours.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

30304 - Public and environmental health

Project

—

Continuities

R - Projekt Ramcoveho programu EK

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

PLoS One

ISSN

1932-6203

e-ISSN

1932-6203

Volume of the periodical

20

Issue of the periodical within the volume

2

Country of publishing house

US - UNITED STATES

Number of pages

20

Pages from-to

"Article Number: e0318772"

UT code for WoS article

001418839600036

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85217663405