Assessment methods and schedules for collecting daily process data on substance use related health behaviors: A randomized control study

Abstract Background Interactive voice response (IVR) and short message service (SMS) systems have been used to collect daily process data on substance use. Yet, their relative compliance, use patterns, and user experiences are unknown. Furthermore, recent studies presented the potential of a hybrid weekly protocol requiring recall of behaviors in past week right after the weekend, in order to reduce the concerns about low compliance and measurement reactivity associated with daily data collection and also provide high quality data on the peak of use. Methods This study randomized substance users to four ( 2 × 2 ) assessment groups with different combinations of assessment methods (IVR or SMS) and schedules (daily or weekly). The compliance rates and use patterns during the experimental period of 90 days and user experiences reported after the period were compared across the groups. Results When IVR was assigned, the weekly schedule generated a higher compliance rate than the daily schedule. When SMS was used, however, the assessment schedule did not have an effect on compliance. While both the daily and weekly surveys via IVR can be completed within a short time, the weekly survey administered via SMS took much longer than its daily counterpart. Such an increased time consumption may offset the benefit of a less frequent assessment schedule. Conclusions IVR is a better choice for delivering the hybrid protocol of weekly collection of daily process data because of its higher compliance rate, shorter duration, and lower likelihood of interruption during data collection.