Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Apr 6;5(4):e21638.
doi: 10.2196/21638.

Perceived Impacts, Acceptability, and Recommendations for Ecological Momentary Assessment Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness: Qualitative Study

Darlene Acorda #  1   2 , Michael Businelle #  3   4 , Diane Santa Maria #  1
Affiliations

Perceived Impacts, Acceptability, and Recommendations for Ecological Momentary Assessment Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness: Qualitative Study

Darlene Acorda et al. JMIR Form Res. .

Abstract

Background: The use of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to study youth experiencing homelessness (YEH) behaviors is an emerging area of research. Despite high rates of participation and potential clinical utility, few studies have investigated the acceptability and recommendations for EMA from the YEH perspective.

Objective: This study aimed to describe the perceived benefits, usability, acceptability, and barriers to the use of EMA from the homeless youth perspective.

Methods: YEH were recruited from a larger EMA study. Semistructured exit interviews were performed using an interview guide that focused on the YEH experience with the EMA app, and included perceived barriers and recommendations for future studies. Data analyses used an inductive approach with thematic analysis to identify major themes and subthemes.

Results: A total of 18 YEH aged 19-24 years participated in individual and group exit interviews. The EMA was highly acceptable to YEH and they found the app and EMA surveys easy to navigate. Perceived benefits included increased behavioral and emotional awareness with some YEH reporting a decrease in their high-risk behaviors as a result of participation. Another significant perceived benefit was the ability to use the phones for social support and make connections to family, friends, and potential employers. Barriers were primarily survey and technology related. Survey-related barriers included the redundancy of questions, the lack of customizable responses, and the timing of survey prompts. Technology-related barriers included the "freezing" of the app, battery charge, and connectivity issues. Recommendations for future studies included the need to provide real-time mental health support for symptomatic youth, to create individually customized questions, and to test the use of personalized motivational messages that respond to the EMA data in real time.

Conclusions: YEH are highly receptive to the use of EMA in studies. Further studies are warranted to understand the impact of EMA on YEH behaviors. Incorporating the YEH perspective into the design and implementation of EMA studies may help minimize barriers, increase acceptability, and improve participation rates in this hard-to-reach, disconnected population.

Keywords: behavior change; ecological momentary assessment; mobile apps; youth experiencing homelessness.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: MB is the primary inventor of the Insight mHealth Platform, which was used to develop the smartphone application for this study. MB receives royalties when researchers outside of OUHSC use this platform. Other authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Recruitment. EMA: ecological momentary assessment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Morton MH, Dworsky A, Matjasko JL, Curry SR, Schlueter D, Chávez Raúl, Farrell AF. Prevalence and correlates of youth homelessness in the United States. J Adolesc Health. 2018 Jan;62(1):14–21. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.10.006. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1054-139X(17)30503-7 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Corliss HL, Goodenow CS, Nichols L, Austin SB. High burden of homelessness among sexual-minority adolescents: findings from a representative Massachusetts high school sample. Am J Public Health. 2011 Sep;101(9):1683–9. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300155. http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/21778481 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Eisenberg ME, Kelly ED, McRee A, Brady SS, Barnes AJ. Homelessness experiences and gender identity in a population-based sample of adolescents. Prev Med Rep. 2019 Dec;16:100986. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2019.100986. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2211-3355(19)30157-3 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tucker JS, Ryan GW, Golinelli D, Ewing B, Wenzel SL, Kennedy DP, Green HD, Zhou A. Substance use and other risk factors for unprotected sex: results from an event-based study of homeless youth. AIDS Behav. 2012 Aug;16(6):1699–707. doi: 10.1007/s10461-011-0017-9. http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/21932093 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Edinburgh L, Pape-Blabolil J, Harpin SB, Saewyc E. Assessing exploitation experiences of girls and boys seen at a Child Advocacy Center. Child Abuse Negl. 2015 Aug;46:47–59. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.04.016. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0145-2134(15)00154-4 - DOI - PMC - PubMed