Measuring digital intervention user experience with a novel ecological momentary assessment (EMA) method, CORTO

Area of Science:

• Digital health intervention research
• Human-computer interaction
• Qualitative research methodologies

Background:

• Digital interventions often face low usage due to poor user experience.
• Existing evaluation methods struggle with complex, long-term digital interventions.
• Remote assessment of user experience in digital health is challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate a novel qualitative Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) method called CORTO.
• To compare the CORTO method with retrospective interviews for assessing user experience in digital interventions.
• To explore the impact of evaluation methods on user experience insights in intervention research.

Main Methods:

• Development and application of the CORTO (Contextual, One-item, Repeated, Timely, Open-ended) method.
• Gathering user experience data from adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) using a game-based digital intervention.
• Comparative analysis of data from CORTO and retrospective interviews using inductive coding and Template Analysis.

Main Results:

• The CORTO method yielded more insights into usability and technical issues compared to interviews.
• Interviews provided richer data on contextual use and had a more positive emotional valence.
• Both methods detected overlapping and unique micro-level user experience categories.

Conclusions:

• The CORTO method offers valuable, intervention-specific insights during the use of digital interventions.
• During-intervention user experience measurement can enhance iterative, user-centered design.
• The choice of evaluation method significantly influences the quality and scope of research findings.