Bringing experience-sampling technology to family medicine: feasibility, usability and lessons-learned

Patients in doctors’ practices often present diverse and ambiguous symptoms: anxiety, depression and worries about their memory. Family physicians, together with their patients, want to better understand what their symptoms are and how they impact daily functioning so patients can reclaim control of their life. This is not always possible with interviews or questionnaires. eHealth applications based on the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) may offer a solution. In ESM, thoughts, feelings, experiences and behaviour are measured at different and random moments in the context of daily life, so you can reclaim control of what is happening. After a beep, patients complete short questionnaires on their smartphone. This thesis focuses on how to apply this measurement method in daily practice. This has been improved and mapped together with psychological assistants and patients. Results show that innovation within existing work processes is not easy. Until now, emphasis has been put too much on the devices themselves when using eHealth and not on how people can use them adequately in daily practice. This thesis offers valuable insights into how to approach this together.