45 lines
3 KiB
Markdown
45 lines
3 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
title: Software article - JTrack-EMA+ development and usability
|
|
topics:
|
|
- mhealth
|
|
contributors:
|
|
- mehran-turna
|
|
- mamaka-narava
|
|
- simon-eickhoff
|
|
- juergen-dukart
|
|
software:
|
|
- jtrack
|
|
- datalad
|
|
sites:
|
|
- fzj
|
|
- hhu
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
{{< lead >}}
|
|
|
|
Introducing JTrack-EMA+, a GDPR- and FAIR-compliant cross-platform solution for remote, real-time ecological momentary assessments in clinical and behavioral research.
|
|
|
|
{{< /lead >}}
|
|
|
|
Researchers from ABCD-J sites, [Research Centre Jülich]({{< relref path="../../sites/fzj" lang="en" >}}) and [Heinrich-Heine-University]({{< relref path="../../sites/hhu" lang="en" >}}), introduce **JTrack-EMA+**, a mobile health app designed to simplify the deployment of ecological momentary assessments (EMA) via smartphones.
|
|
Developed with Flutter, the system ensures consistent cross-platform performance, addressing the cost and development challenges in digital health research associated with diverse operating systems.
|
|
|
|
JTrack-EMA+ consists of:
|
|
- A **cross-platform mobile app** for collecting real-time responses to EMA prompts
|
|
- A secure **web-based study management dashboard (JDash)** for researchers to manage participants, configure studies, monitor compliance, and send push notifications
|
|
- Full **customization** using a JSON file, supporting a wide range of assessment formats and logic to facilitate versatile study design and reusability
|
|
|
|
The system is designed to comply with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and [FAIR data principles](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359644618303039?via%3Dihub), with backend infrastructure ensuring secure storage and anonymized and pseudonymized data collection.
|
|
In addition, DataLad is implemented as the data management infrastructure to provide data versioning, metadata handling, structured formatting and change tracking.
|
|
|
|
In a pilot study with 179 parent-newborn pairs followed for 480 days, the JTrack-EMA+ app was deployed and demonstrated practical feasibility of the platform in real-world settings.
|
|
Participants installed the JTrack app on their mobile phones and responded to weekly assessments of children's physical and mental development.
|
|
Among a subgroup of 65 participants who completed assessments for at least 6 months, compliance was initially high with a 66.7% response rate in the first month.
|
|
Compliance gradually decreased to 42.0% by month six, with a mean overall compliance of 49.3% in the six-month period.
|
|
Despite a statistically significant decline in compliance over time, the pilot study confirms that JTrack-EMA+ can track individual day-to-day variability over time with a higher compliance rate than employing traditional paper-based EMA.
|
|
|
|
Overall, the JTrack-EMA+ app and associated study and data management solutions that are being developed as part of the [ABCD-J software stack]({{< relref path="../../software" lang="en" >}}) uniquely provide a cross-platform, open-source system that can make mobile health research more accessible, scalable, and secure.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Source: [Sahandi Far et al., 2025; www.jmir.org/2025/1/e51689/](https://www.jmir.org/2025/1/e51689/)
|