JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Individuals’ self-tracking of subjectively experienced phenomena related to health can be challenging as current options for instrumentation often involve too much effort in the moment or rely on retrospective self-report which is likely to impair accuracy and compliance.

Objective:

To assess the usability and perceived usefulness of low-effort, in-the-moment self-tracking using simple instrumentation; and, to establish the amount of support needed using this approach.

Methods:

In this exploratory study, the One Button Tracker (OBT), a press-button device which records timestamps and durations of button-presses, was used for self-tracking. Thirteen employees of an Academic Medical Center chose a personal research question and used the OBT to actively track specific subjectively experienced phenomena for two to four weeks. To assess usability and usefulness, we combined qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with quantitative results from the System Usability Scale (SUS).

Results:

In total 29 barriers and 15 facilitators for using the OBT were found. Ease of use was the most frequently mentioned facilitator. The OBT’s usability received a median SUS score of 75.0 (IQR 42.50) which is considered as “good usability”. Participants experienced effects such as an increased awareness of the tracked phenomenon, confirmation of personal knowledge, gain of insight, and behaviour change. Support and guidance during all stages of the self-tracking process were judged as valuable.

Conclusions:

Low-effort in-the-moment self-tracking of subjectively experienced phenomena has shown to support personal knowledge gain and health behaviour change for people with interest in health promotion. After addressing barriers and formally validating the collected data, self-tracking devices may well be helpful for additional user types or health questions. Clinical Trial: Not applicable