Documenting Compliance and Symptom Reactivity for Ambulatory Assessment Methodology Following Concussion in Adolescents and Young Adults: Feasibility of the Mobile Neurocognitive Health (MNCH) Project

Abstract

Objective: Evaluate compliance, symptom reactivity, and acceptability/experience ratings for an ecological momentary assessment (EMA) protocol involving ultra-brief ambulatory cognitive assessments in adolescent and young adult patients with concussion. Setting: Outpatient concussion clinic. Participants: 116 patients aged 13 to 25 years with concussion. Design: Prospective research design was used to examine compliance, symptom reactivity, and acceptability/experience for the Mobile Neurocognitive Health Project (MNCH); an EMA study of environmental exposures, symptoms, objective cognitive functioning, and symptom reactivity involving 4, daily EMA surveys (7:30 am, 10:30 am, 3:00 pm, 8:00 pm) for a period of 7 days following concussion. Overall compliance rates, symptom reactivity scores, and participant acceptability/experience ratings were described. A series of non-parametric Friedman Tests with post-hoc Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to examine differences in compliance and reactivity related to time of day and over the course of the protocol (first 3 days [Early Week] vs last 4 days [Late Week]). Main Measures: Compliance rates, symptom reactivity scores, participant experience/acceptability. Results: Overall median compliance was 71%, and there were significantly fewer 7:30 am surveys completed compared to the 10:30 am (Z = −4.88,P ≤ .001), 3:00 pm (Z = −4.13,P ≤ .001), and 8:00 pm (Z = −4.68, P ≤ .001) surveys. Compliance for Early Week surveys were significantly higher than Late Week (Z = −2.16,P = .009). The median symptom reactivity score was 34.39 out of 100 and was significantly higher for Early Week compared to Late Week (Z = −4.59,P ≤ .001). Ninety-nine percent (89/90) of the sample agreed that the app was easy to use, and 18% (16/90) indicated that the app interfered with their daily life. Conclusion: Adolescents and young adults with concussion were compliant with the MNCH EMA protocol. Symptom reactivity to the protocol was low and the majority of participants reported that the app and protocol were acceptable. These findings support further investigation into applications of EMA for use in concussion studies.