%0 Journal Article
%T Experience-Sampling Methodology with a Mobile Device in Fibromyalgia
%A Castilla Diana
%A Botella Cristina
%A Garc¨ªa-Palacios Azucena
%A Farfallini Luis
%A Miralles Ignacio
%J International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/162673
%X This work describes the usability studies conducted in the development of an experience-sampling methodology (ESM) system running in a mobile device. The goal of the system is to improve the accuracy and ecology in gathering daily self-report data in individuals suffering a chronic pain condition, fibromyalgia. The usability studies showed that the developed software to conduct ESM with mobile devices (smartphones, cell phones) can be successfully used by individuals with fibromyalgia of different ages and with low level of expertise in the use of information and communication technologies. 100% of users completed the tasks successfully, although some have completely illiterate. Also there seems to be a clear difference in the way of interaction obtained in the two studies carried out. 1. Introduction Chronic pain is one of the most common causes of disability, affecting millions of people around the world. Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic musculoskeletal pain condition with unknown etiology, characterized by widespread pain accompanied by fatigue and disturbed sleep and mood [1]. Patients remain symptomatic and do not improve over long periods of time. There is a growing interest in the study of fibromyalgia in order to understand the mechanisms underlying this condition and to offer a better treatment response to the individuals who suffer this impairing disease. In order to achieve this goal it is important to improve the assessment of key variables like pain and fatigue intensity and mood, among others. One methodology that could be very useful in this field is experience-sampling methodology (ESM) aimed to explore the daily experience of individuals suffering different pathologies (in our case fibromyalgia). ESM is a within-day self-assessment technique in which participants are prompted at established or random intervals to report on relevant variables related to their health condition. This method presents several advantages over traditional assessment. Some authors [2¨C5] highlight the main advantages of ESM, including: (a) enhances ecological validity because it assesses participants in their normal daily environment; (b) minimizes retrospective bias by assessing the participant¡¯s experience in the moment; (c) allows for an examination of the context of experiences. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is a repeated sampling of behaviors and experiences of the subject in real time and in real environment. EMA reduces the effects of retrospective biases and provides ecological information to a better understanding of the processes of psychiatric
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijta/2012/162673/