The purpose of this workshop is to demonstrate how Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) studies can be adapted for clinical and industry settings and utilized as inputs for intervention decisions. Following this workshop, attendees will be able to design an EMA study that accounts for real-world contextual factors and informs real-time interventions.

The workshop will begin with a brief overview of EMAs, followed by a discussion of contextual factors to consider when designing EMA studies in clinical or industry settings. Facilitators will provide several clinical examples (e.g., medication adherence, chronic condition management) to illustrate use cases where an EMA study can inform intervention and will lead the group in discussing how EMA designs are adapted for these real-world contexts. Examples include how to think about patient burden as it relates to EMA questionnaire length and study duration, achieving high patient compliance when financial compensation is not possible, and considerations around what is being assessed, both for desired patient outcomes and ethical responsibilities related to patient care. Attendees will then have an opportunity to draft a research question and EMA study criteria. An interactive session follows where facilitators will ask a few attendees to share their research question and identify the biggest challenge they anticipate for implementing the study in a clinical or industry setting.

After a break, facilitators will provide an overview of how EMA studies can inform real-time interventions. Examples include adjusting intervention content based on adherence to self-monitoring clinical markers (e.g., blood pressure, blood glucose), adapting messaging frequency based on habit formation, and integrating in-person clinical intervention. Attendees will then identify an intervention that can be informed by their EMA study. Facilitators will form small working groups based on similar research questions and attendees will collaborate to draft intervention parameters, including defining how their EMA study will inform intervention decisions. The workshop will end with groups sharing their ideas and a Q&A session.

This workshop is geared towards students and early career professionals who are interested in working in or collaborating with colleagues in clinical or industry settings and want to use EMA studies as an intervention tool. While not a requirement, it is helpful if attendees have some familiarity with EMAs.