Thank you for your willingness to consider participating in our study! Here are some answers to frequently asked questions.
How does it work? If you decide to join this study, we will verify that you can download and use the EMA app on your phone. Then we will schedule your first seven- day project, and send you a package that includes an overall explanation of the study, the GENEActiv watch, and a guide that will explain in details what to do for the week.
What exactly does the activity tracker measure? The device is an "accelerometer", which is worn like a wristwatch, simply measures movement, and privately stores that information in the device itself. It does not track your locations and transmit anything to us or anyone else. When you send the device back to us, we will be able to read the information from it. If you were to lose the device or it was stolen, there is nothing that would connect the information recorded in the device to you personally. It is completely safe, and most users find it comfortable to wear.
Do I have to download something to my phone? Is it safe? Yes. We have created a simple phone app, which has been approved for use by Android phones and Apple iPhones. Android users download the app from Google Play Store and iPhone users from the Apple store (simply type "UAS EMA" in the search and download it). When the project is over, you can remove the app from your phone.
How does it work to respond to prompts during the day? The phone app will prompt you at six random times during each day. The app will ask you for a seven -hour time window between 9 am and 9 pm when it is okay to beep or buzz to notify you. Each time it beeps, you will answer a series of short questions in the app. You will have about eight minutes to respond to the beep to start answering the questions. If you don’t respond, or if you can’t connect, the app will send you a text message once more to remind you. You can silence the beeps if necessary and we of course do not want you to respond if doing so will jeopardize you in any way, e.g. while driving. When you are done with the study, you can delete the app off your phone. Most participants find that they are able to manage to answer most or all of the prompts quite easily. However, if you are not allowed, or not able, to use your phone during the day you won’t be able to complete most of the project activities as required by the study. So, please think about this carefully before you decide to participate.
If you have any other questions about the study before you decide, please give us a call at 855-872-8673 or send an email to the UAS helpdesk:
UAShelp@usc.edu