Stages and Components
Insight conceptualizes stages as periods of time. Stage allows researchers to present different questions and intervention content and use different Insight features at different time points in their study. There is no limit to the number of stages that can be used.
Create or Edit a Stage
To add a new stage, click on “+ Add a New Stage” or to edit a stage, click the edit icon.
Stage Duration Type can be “TimeBased” (in days) or “FormulaBased.”
Time Based - Allows you to set how long (by number of days) a stage will last. The app will automatically move to the next stage (in order) when each stage ends. Type the number of days for the stage in the “Number of days” text field.
i. Check the “Ends at Midnight” checkbox if you would like a stage to advance to the next stage at midnight on the last day of the stage. If this box is not checked, the stage will advance at the same time of day as when the participant downloaded the app and started the study (this will result in some participants starting a new stage at 5:00 PM, and others at 8:00 AM). In most cases, the Ends at Midnight checkbox should be checked for duration stages.
Time Based Duration
Formula Based - Allows you to end a stage when specific formula criteria are met (e.g., participant indicates that they have not smoked in the past 7 days; participant indicates exercising 3 or more days in the past week). Click the link to view our formulas page.
Note: Usually “Ends at Midnight” is NOT selected for formula based stages as we usually want the stage to change immediately after the formula resolves to true. For example, as soon as a participant indicates they are ready to start the study, they will start the study, rather than waiting until midnight to start the study.
https://mhealthotrc.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/~6390a1599341d1f13609ff79/pages/2652704348.
Type in the formula for branching logic instead of copying and pasting formulas.
Copying and pasting formulas have the potential to carry over hidden characters or HTML tags that are not seen in web browsers.
Formula Based Duration
Creating a Component
Components are embedded into stages and each stage can have many components. Components include the following:
Fixed Component - programmed to prompt an assessment at a specific time (e.g., 7:00 p.m.).
Participant Initiated Component - allows participants to initiate an assessment when they tap a button on the app home screen.
Random Component - programmed to prompt an assessment at random times within the participant’s wake and sleep times.
Participant Offset Component - allows scheduling of assessments tied to the participant’s wake, sleep, or preferred times.
One Click Phone Call Component - a participant-initiated component that will automatically place a phone call when the button is tapped.
Follow Up Component - configurable assessments that are tied to a participant-initiated event. For example, a follow-up assessment can be automatically prompted 15 minutes after a participant initiates an “About to Smoke” assessment.
Creating a Fixed Component
The fixed component type allows assessments to be scheduled for the participant at a specific set time in a component.
When creating the fixed component type, a component name needs to be added, an assessment selected, the groups the assessment will be given to, and the notification timeout (minutes) needs to be set.
Next, select which group(s) will receive the assessment (multiple groups can be added).
After selecting the group(s), set the notification timeout (minutes).
Before going any further, it is important to understand Notification Timeout.
Notifications for scheduled events (e.g., Fixed, Random, Offset, Follow-up) will appear in the notification section of the phone. Notifications allow participants to access assessments to be completed or reviewed.
A fixed time (in minutes) is required so the notification will only be available for a set amount of time. After the time expires, the notification will no longer be valid and the assessment cannot be completed.
If an assessment notification is clicked after the time has expired, the app will open but no assessment will be displayed.
Note: It is very important to ensure that notifications do NOT overlap. Thus, always make sure that the notification timeout is set to expire BEFORE the next assessment can be prompted.
After completing the component and group section of the form, the second section will allow the selection of days and times for the assessment to be scheduled as well as an optional random offset. The random offset (optional) acts as a buffer range for when the assessment will be scheduled (i.e., adding a random offset of 15 minutes to a schedule time of 9:00 AM means the assessment can be scheduled any time between 8:45 PM and 9:15 PM).
Note: This Random offset feature is very rarely used.
Click “Next” to save and move to the notification details section.
When a notification for an assessment is missed, a rescheduling option can be added to remind the participant of the missed assessment notification. This reminder can be set for a specific number of times and with specific time intervals.
The settings shown below will cause the assessment to ring at the scheduled time and then 2 additional times 15 minutes apart for a total of 3 times over 30 minutes.
Reschedule interval should be at least 5 minutes in order to prevent conflicting notifications.
Note: To prevent overlapping assessments, always make sure that the Reschedule time in minutes is NOT LESS than the notification timeout.
Assessment Notifications
When notifications go off, they will appear on the lock screen and in the notification section of your device. The participant must tap on the notification in the notification section of the device to open the scheduled assessment.
Please note: in order to open a scheduled assessment, the participant must tap on the notification in the notification section of the device. The assessment will not appear if the participant opens via the Insight app icon.
Below are pictures of how the scheduled assessment notifications will appear on the phone for the participant to tap in order to get to the assessment.
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Creating a Participant Initiated Component
The participant initiated component type allows participants to initiate an assessment when they tap a button on the app home screen. These assessments will be in the form of a button that can be colorized, if desired.
First enter the component details such as name, type, assessment, and group.
To change the color of a button, click on the color itself, then a color palette will appear. The assessment button color and assessment text color can then be changed.
The next section provides instructions for setting up scheduling details.
Maximum daily attempts are the number of times a participant can view/access the assessment per day. Interval total attempts are the total number of attempts an assessment can be viewed/accessed per stage. If you want the participant to be able to take the participant initiated assessment one time for a stage that is 7 days. Then the maximum daily attempts would be 1 and the interval total attempts would be 7. Click “Done” to save changes.
Note: Maximum daily attempts and Interval total attempts are rarely used features. Leaving these fields blank will allow participants unlimited access to the components/assessments.
Creating a Random Component
The random schedule component type allows assessments to be randomly scheduled between the participant’s wake and sleep times. These wake and sleep times are set when first adding a participant to the study.
Random assessments will be scheduled at least 30 minutes before or after any scheduled fixed assessments.
When creating the random schedule component type, a component name needs to be added, an assessment selected, the groups the assessment will be given to, and the notification timeout (minutes) need to be set.
The random schedule component enables multiple assessments to be scheduled at random times each day.
If the Wake/Preferred/Sleep time offset is a positive integer, the component will be delivered at least that many minutes AFTER the participant’s Wake/Preferred/Sleep time.
If the Wake/Preferred/Sleep time offset is a negative integer, the component will be delivered at least that many minutes BEFORE the participant’s Wake/Preferred/Sleep time.
Note: Most studies tie random assessments to wake and sleep times. If you do not want to tie random assessments to the participant’s preferred time, leave that field blank.
Participant Offset Component
The commonly used participant offset component allows tailored scheduling of assessments to each participant’s wake, sleep, or preferred times.
When creating the participant offset component type, a component name needs to be added, an assessment selected, the groups the assessment will be given to, and the notification timeout (minutes) needs to be set.
Note: The notification timeout represents the number of minutes that participants can click and start the assessment in the notification bar. Thus, in the example above, participants can start this assessment within 15 minutes of the notification prompt. Clicking the notification after this 15-minute window will result in a notice indicating that the assessment is no longer available.
Note: Do NOT make the notification timeout greater than the reschedule minutes to avoid assessment overlapping times.
After completing the above fields, click “Next,” the scheduling details form will appear. Select the days, times, and offsets for the assessment. After completing the scheduling details, click “Next” to enter notification details.
If the Wake/Preferred/Sleep time offset is a positive integer, the component will be delivered that many minutes AFTER the participant’s Wake/Preferred/Sleep time.
If the Wake/Preferred/Sleep time offset is a negative integer, the component will be delivered that many minutes BEFORE the participant’s Wake/Preferred/Sleep time.
For Participant Offset Components to schedule correctly, only one (1) offset field needs to be set.
One Click Phone Call Component
The one click phone call component is used to initiate a phone call on the participant’s phone to a specific phone number (e.g., research staff, nursing staff). Please note, this feature will only work if there is an active service plan and there is adequate cell phone reception.
To get started, click on the add component icon on the stages tab.
A dialog box will populate. Enter information in the appropriate fields and select “Phone Call” as the component type.
After selecting “Phone Call,” select the group in which the phone call component will be presented.
If desired, the component button in the app can be colored and/or formatted.
Select the button color and text color by clicking on the color. A box with available colors will appear. After selecting, continue by clicking the “Next” button.
Enter the phone number (numbers only) you want associated with the button, then click “Done.”
The One Click Phone Call component will appear in a list under that stage.
Follow-Up Component
Follow-up components are configurable assessments that can be scheduled after a Participant-Initiated, Fixed, Random, or Participant Offset Component has been completed and the Display Logic set is True.
After naming the component, select “Follow Up” as the schedule type, then select which assessment and group the assessment will be presented to. Lastly, set the time (in minutes) the notification will remain active.
The next form will allow you to set the originating event that will prompt the follow-up and how long the delay will be for the follow-up.
The last form is where you can customize notification details such as rescheduling intervals (optional) and notification title/description customization.
Note: The Display Logic field must be completed in order for the Follow-up assessment to be prompted. You must indicate which variable will cause the Follow-up assessment to be prompted. For example, if a drinking assessment was created and you only want the Follow-up to be prompted when a participant reports drinking more than one drink, display logic could be [Drink]>1. This will make it so 0-1 drinks would not cause the Follow-up assessment to initiate.
Assessment Resume
The Assessment Resume feature allows a started assessment to be resumed later. It will remember the last question the participant answered and continue from that position when resumed.
Resumable assessments are generally used for long participant initiated baseline or follow-up assessments that are only taken once. Once a resumable assessment is completed, it will no longer be available to the participant. To create a participant initiated component that is resumable, the “Is Resumable“ option will need to be checked (shown below).
How does a participant leave a resumable participant initiated assessment?
If an assessment is resumable, there will be a red “X” on the top right of the screen next to the time remaining.
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Once the red “X” is tapped, the assessment will pause and return to the Insight home screen, where the participant will see “(Resume)” appended to the resumable assessment that was paused.
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Can I resume my assessment if the battery dies or the app is force closed?
Yes, if the assessment is resumable. When the device powers down due to low battery or the app is force closed, the assessment can be resumed from the question it was last on when the phone powered off, or the app was closed. The participant will be able turn the phone back on, re-open the Insight app, and they will see the assessment name on the home page with the word “Resume” in parentheses next to the assessment. Once they click on that assessment they will return to where they left off before the phone died. All previously answered questions were saved.
What happens if another assessment goes off and my assessment is resumable?
If a fixed/random notification goes off while taking a resumable assessment and the participant taps on it, the current assessment will pause, close, and the new assessment will appear for the participant to complete. In order to continue the resumable assessment that was paused, simply tap on the assessment on the main screen. All previously answered questions were saved.
What if another assessment goes off and my assessment is non-resumable?
If a fixed/random notification interrupts the participant while taking a non-resumable assessment and the participant taps on it, a popup message will appear stating an active assessment is in progress and the notification has been rescheduled (shown right). The fixed/random assessment notification will be rescheduled 5 minutes from the time the notification was tapped on. This process will continue to reschedule allowing the participant enough time to finish the assessment they are currently in.
Existing Stage Components
To see existing component details in a stage, click the “+” button to the left of the row.
The row will expand and show existing components, event types, groups, assessment names, and the notification timeout for that component.
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