For educational and research purposes only. All rights reserved. © Grant M. Munro, 2016.
TraitMap: harnessing continuous personalised feedback via
smartphone sensors to disrupt and change addictive behaviours
G. M. Munro
1
, C. Bullen
1
1
National Institute for Health Innovation,
School of Population Health, The University of Auckland
e: gm093@aucklanduni.ac.nz, w: www.nihi.auckland.ac.nz
tel: +64 9 373 7599 (ext 89137)
Background: Mental and substance use disorders (M/SUDs) are the leading
cause of non-fatal illness worldwide, incurring substantial social and economic
costs. The limited impact of interventions to treat people with M/SUD has
prompted a clinical shift toward more personality-informed approaches. Within
psychiatry, evidence shows key personality traits can be used as endophenotypes
for M/SUDs. In mobile health (mHealth) research, applications (apps) that detect
risk behaviours and send users personalised feedback are likely to counter many
of the harms associated with substance use. Aims: To develop and test
‘TraitMap’, a novel mHealth system that combines self-report measures,
continuous biomedical monitoring, and personalised feedback to support
complex self-care in people with M/SUDs. Fully realised, TraitMap will detect
drug cravings and personalise intervention to disrupt substance-related risk
behaviours. Methods: A 3-stage project involving 1) collection and analysis of
multi-stakeholder feedback via online surveys, 2) design and evaluation of a
prototype mobile app tailored to people with M/SUDs, 3) a pilot trial to assess
the impact of TraitMap on drug cravings and associated harms that will underpin
the future design of a larger randomised controlled trial. Contribution: Unlike
previous studies, this project will be developed using ResearchKit, an app
development platform specifically tailored to medical research needs. Findings
from world-leading medical research units at Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and
Oxford show ResearchKit counters many of the methodological limitations and
data loss that typically characterise Internet trials. By contrast, the highly
automated data collection features of ResearchKit will enable the study to
streamline informed consent, prompt continued user participation, and collect
infinitely richer data sets.
Keywords: addiction, behaviour change, feedback, intervention, mobile health,
personalisation
Introduction
Mental and substance use disorders (M/SUDs) inflict the highest costs to society of all
diseases, affecting production levels, legal systems, law enforcement, and continued
damage to users (Whiteford, Ferrari, Degenhardt, Feigin, & Vos, 2015). Key
populations (KPs), most vulnerable to HIV exposure such as men who have sex with
men (MSM), people who use drugs (PWUD), sex workers, and transgender individuals