Centre for Health, Activity and Rehabilitation Research, School of Physiotherapy, University of Otago.
Department of Surgical Sciences, Otago School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Clin J Pain. 2023 Sep 1;39(9):442-451. doi: 10.1097/AJP.0000000000001138.
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent, painful, and disabling musculoskeletal condition. One method that could more accurately monitor the pain associated with knee OA is ecological momentary assessment (EMA) using a smartphone.
The aim of this study was to explore participant experiences and perceptions of using smartphone EMA as a way of communicating knee OA pain and symptoms following participating in a 2-week smartphone EMA study.
Using a maximum variation sampling method, participants were invited to share their thoughts and opinions in semistructured focus group interviews. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim before thematic analysis using the general inductive approach.
A total of 20 participants participated in 6 focus groups. Three themes and 7 subthemes were identified from the data. Identified themes included: user experience of smartphone EMA, data quality of smartphone EMA, and practical aspects of smartphone EMA.
Overall, smartphone EMA was deemed as being an acceptable method for monitoring pain and symptoms associated with knee OA. These findings will assist researchers in designing future EMA studies alongside clinicians implementing smartphone EMA into practice.
This study highlights that smartphone EMA is an acceptable method for capturing pain-related symptoms and experiences of those expereiencing knee OA. Future EMA studies should ensure design features are considered that reduce missing data and limit the responder burden to improve data quality.
膝骨关节炎（OA）是一种常见的、痛苦的、使人丧失能力的肌肉骨骼疾病。一种可以更准确地监测与膝骨关节炎相关疼痛的方法是使用智能手机进行生态瞬时评估（EMA）。
本研究旨在探讨参与者在参与为期 2 周的智能手机 EMA 研究后，使用智能手机 EMA 来交流膝骨关节炎疼痛和症状的体验和看法。
使用最大变异抽样法，邀请参与者在半结构化焦点小组访谈中分享他们的想法和意见。在使用一般归纳法进行主题分析之前，对访谈进行了录音和逐字记录。
共有 20 名参与者参加了 6 个焦点小组。从数据中确定了 3 个主题和 7 个子主题。确定的主题包括：智能手机 EMA 的用户体验、智能手机 EMA 的数据质量和智能手机 EMA 的实际方面。
总的来说，智能手机 EMA 被认为是监测与膝骨关节炎相关的疼痛和症状的一种可接受的方法。这些发现将有助于研究人员设计未来的 EMA 研究，同时也有助于临床医生将智能手机 EMA 应用于实践。
本研究强调，智能手机 EMA 是一种可接受的方法，可以捕捉到经历膝骨关节炎的患者的疼痛相关症状和体验。未来的 EMA 研究应确保考虑设计特征，以减少缺失数据并减轻应答者的负担，从而提高数据质量。
