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CompletedNCT04375423Updated Jul 22, 2020

Mobile Behavioral Ecological Momentary Assessment and Intervention in Rakai, Uganda

An interventional study of Ecological momentary assessment and intervention: Behaviorally-dependent messaging and Ecological momentary assessment only in Ecological Momentary Assessment and Intervention, sponsored by Johns Hopkins University. Completed. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2020-07-22.

Sponsored by Johns Hopkins University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 4 years 2 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Feb 2016, registered May 2020).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
58
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Ecological Momentary Assessment and Intervention (EMAI) is an emerging technique for gathering richer and more relevant data through repeated, longitudinal sampling of participants in their natural setting in order to deliver real-time interventions. The main study objective is to conduct a pilot EMAI study in Rakai, Uganda. Secondary objectives are to assess processes, facilitators, and barriers to EMAI. The study will compare behaviors between participants randomized to receive intervention messages and those not receiving messages. To assess EMAI validity and relevance, EMAI-collected behavioral data will be compared with traditional questionnaire-collected data.

After recruitment, participants will be given a smartphone with an application that will collect geospatial coordinates and ask behavioral assessment questions on topics including diet/alcohol, smoking, and sexual behaviors. Participants will have training on the phone and application, demonstrating proficiency with the EMAI interface prior to study start.

Days 1-30, Baseline Behaviors: Participants will complete assessment questions to establish baseline behaviors. This will include twice-daily and weekly behavioral report prompts and participant-initiated event-contingent behavioral reports. After the initial 30 day period, participants will return to the study office to complete a short questionnaire and to be randomized to the second phase of follow-up.

Days 31-90, Randomized Evaluation: Participants will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to either continue assessment questions only (control arm) or to also begin receiving intervention messages (intervention arm) in response to reported behaviors. Messages will encourage positive behaviors and suggest alternatives to negative behaviors (e.g. "Eating a mixed diet (meats and vegetables) is a healthy way to go."). At 90 days of follow-up, participants will return to the study office to complete a brief questionnaire on behaviors and smartphone experiences.

Study hypotheses are as follows: EMAI can be successfully implemented in Uganda, and participants receiving intervention messaging will have improved self-reported health behaviors compared to controls; EMAI will be feasible and acceptable by this population; and, EMAI-collected data will correlate with traditional questionnaire-collected data.

Outcomes will be assessed using descriptive statistics, multivariate regression and analysis of themes in patient EMAI experience and acceptability.

02

Conditions studied

  • Ecological Momentary Assessment and Intervention
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In context

Lead sponsor

Johns Hopkins University is the lead sponsor of 1,783 studies on the registry; 313 are open to participants now.

Of its 203 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 140 (69%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • 18 years or older
  • literate
  • current Rakai Community Cohort Study participant

We will purposely recruit a sample that has a broad range of participant characteristics in our study to optimize diversity of responses and increase study generalizability. Specific variables for which we will target sampling include: gender (\~50% female), age (at least 20% among age groups 18-25, 26-35, >50), and occupation (at least 20% traders and farmers).

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Participants without a listed phone number in the Rakai Community Cohort Study
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Other
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
58 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Intervention

    On smartphones, participants in this arm will receive twice daily and weekly prompts to report on behaviors under study and be able to send self-initiated event-contingent reports on behaviors under study. In response to the behaviors they report, they receive messages on their smartphones supporting ongoing healthy behaviors or suggesting alternative behaviors to limit risks. They will complete in-person assessments at enrollment, 30-days and study exit at 90-days.

    Behavioral: Ecological momentary assessment and intervention: Behaviorally-dependent messaging · Behavioral: Ecological momentary assessment only

  • Active comparator
    Control

    On smartphones, participants in this arm will receive twice daily and weekly prompts to report on behaviors under study and be able to send self-initiated event-contingent reports on behaviors under study. They will complete in-person assessments at enrollment, 30-days and study exit at 90-days.

    Behavioral: Ecological momentary assessment only

Interventions

  • BehavioralEcological momentary assessment and intervention: Behaviorally-dependent messaging

    In response to behavioral data submitted intervention arm participants receive messages on their phones reinforcing healthy behaviors or encouraging alternative behaviors to limit risks

  • BehavioralEcological momentary assessment only

    Participants will receive twice daily and weekly prompts to submit behavioral report data and self-initiate event-contingent behavioral report data submissions

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in health behavior according to EMAI self-report

    change in the proportion of days when participant reports 'yes' to behavior over total days behavior measured, comparing baseline to follow-up in self-reported: alcohol consumption, fruit and vegetable consumption; cigarette smoking, and sex with a non-longterm or non-marital partner

    Time frame: Daily, comparing baseline (days 1-30) to follow up (days 31-90), up to a total 90 days

07

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

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References and documents

Publications

  • Beres LK, Mbabali I, Anok A, Katabalwa C, Mulamba J, Thomas AG, Bugos E, Nakigozi G, Grabowski MK, Chang LW. Mobile Ecological Momentary Assessment and Intervention and Health Behavior Change Among Adults in Rakai, Uganda: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Form Res. 2021 Jul 20;5(7):e22693. doi: 10.2196/22693. PubMed 34283027 ↗

Study documents

  • Protocol and statistical analysis plan · Mar 30, 2015

Documents are hosted by the registry — open the source record to download them.

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jul 22, 2020, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04375423
Lead sponsor
Johns Hopkins University
Collaborators
Rakai Health Sciences Program
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
May 5, 2020
Start date
Feb 15, 2016
Primary completion
May 31, 2017
Completion
May 31, 2017
Last update
Jul 22, 2020

Study contacts

Larry Chang, MD
principal investigator · Johns Hopkins University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Jul 2020. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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