Dataset Information

Schema: an open-source, distributed mobile platform for deploying mHealth research tools and interventions.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Mobile applications for health, also known as 'mHealth apps', have experienced increasing popularity over the past ten years. However, most publicly available mHealth apps are not clinically validated, and many do not utilise evidence-based strategies. Health researchers wishing to develop and evaluate mHealth apps may be impeded by cost and technical skillset barriers. As traditionally lab-based methods are translated onto mobile platforms, robust and accessible tools are needed to enable the development of quality, evidence-based programs by clinical experts. RESULTS:This paper introduces schema, an open-source, distributed, app-based platform for researchers to deploy behavior monitoring and health interventions onto mobile devices. The architecture and design features of the platform are discussed, including flexible scheduling, randomisation, a wide variety of survey and media elements, and distributed storage of data. The platform supports a range of research designs, including cross-sectional surveys, ecological momentary assessment, randomised controlled trials, and micro-randomised just-in-time adaptive interventions. Use cases for both researchers and participants are considered to demonstrate the flexibility and usefulness of the platform for mHealth research. CONCLUSIONS:The paper concludes by considering the strengths and limitations of the platform, and a call for support from the research community in areas of technical development and evaluation. To get started with schema, please visit the GitHub repository: https://github.com/schema-app/schema.

SUBMITTER: Shatte ABR

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7183633 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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schema: an open-source, distributed mobile platform for deploying mHealth research tools and interventions.

Shatte Adrian B R ABR Teague Samantha J SJ

BMC medical research methodology 20200425 1

<h4>Background</h4>Mobile applications for health, also known as 'mHealth apps', have experienced increasing popularity over the past ten years. However, most publicly available mHealth apps are not clinically validated, and many do not utilise evidence-based strategies. Health researchers wishing to develop and evaluate mHealth apps may be impeded by cost and technical skillset barriers. As traditionally lab-based methods are translated onto mobile platforms, robust and accessible tools are nee ...[more]

PMID: 32334522

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Project description:BackgroundWith a wide range of use cases in both research and clinical domains, collecting continuous mobile health (mHealth) streaming data from multiple sources in a secure, highly scalable, and extensible platform is of high interest to the open source mHealth community. The European Union Innovative Medicines Initiative Remote Assessment of Disease and Relapse-Central Nervous System (RADAR-CNS) program is an exemplary project with the requirements to support the collection of high-resolution data at scale; as such, the Remote Assessment of Disease and Relapse (RADAR)-base platform is designed to meet these needs and additionally facilitate a new generation of mHealth projects in this nascent field.ObjectiveWide-bandwidth networks, smartphone penetrance, and wearable sensors offer new possibilities for collecting near-real-time high-resolution datasets from large numbers of participants. The aim of this study was to build a platform that would cater for large-scale data collection for remote monitoring initiatives. Key criteria are around scalability, extensibility, security, and privacy.MethodsRADAR-base is developed as a modular application; the backend is built on a backbone of the highly successful Confluent/Apache Kafka framework for streaming data. To facilitate scaling and ease of deployment, we use Docker containers to package the components of the platform. RADAR-base provides 2 main mobile apps for data collection, a Passive App and an Active App. Other third-Party Apps and sensors are easily integrated into the platform. Management user interfaces to support data collection and enrolment are also provided.ResultsGeneral principles of the platform components and design of RADAR-base are presented here, with examples of the types of data currently being collected from devices used in RADAR-CNS projects: Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy, and Depression cohorts.ConclusionsRADAR-base is a fully functional, remote data collection platform built around Confluent/Apache Kafka and provides off-the-shelf components for projects interested in collecting mHealth datasets at scale.

Dataset Information

Schema: an open-source, distributed mobile platform for deploying mHealth research tools and interventions.

Publications

schema: an open-source, distributed mobile platform for deploying mHealth research tools and interventions.

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