JMIR Formative Research

Process evaluations, early results, and feasibility/pilot studies of digital and non-digital interventions

Editor-in-Chief:

Amaryllis Mavragani, PhDc, Scientific Editor at JMIR Publications, Canada


Impact Factor 2.0 CiteScore 2.7

JMIR Formative Research (JFR, ISSN 2561-326X, Journal Impact Factor™ 2.0 (Journal Citation Reports™ from Clarivate, 2023)) publishes peer-reviewed, openly accessible papers containing results from process evaluations, feasibility/pilot studies and other kinds of formative research and preliminary results. While the original focus was on the design of medical- and health-related research and technology innovations, JMIR Formative Research publishes studies from all areas of medical and health research.

Formative research is research that occurs before a program is designed and implemented, or while a program is being conducted. Formative research can help

  • define and understand populations in need of an intervention or public health program
  • create programs that are specific to the needs of those populations
  • ensure programs are acceptable and feasible to users before launching
  • improve the relationship between users and agencies/research groups
  • demonstrate the feasibility, use, satisfaction with, or problems with a program before large-scale summative evaluation (looking at health outcomes)

Many funding agencies will expect some sort of pilot/feasibility/process evaluation before funding a larger study such as a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT).

Formative research should be an integral part of developing or adapting programs and should be used while the program is ongoing to help refine and improve program activities. Thus, formative evaluation can and should also occur in the form of a process evaluation alongside a summative evaluation such as an RCT.

JMIR Formative Research fills an important gap in the academic journals landscape, as it publishes sound and peer-reviewed formative research that is critical for investigators to apply for further funding, but that is usually not published in outcomes-focused medical journals aiming for impact and generalizability.

Summative evaluations of programs and apps/software that have undergone a thorough formative evaluation before launch have a better chance to be published in high-impact flagship journals; thus, we encourage authors to submit - as a first step - their formative evaluations in JMIR Formative Research (and their evaluation protocols to JMIR Research Protocols). 

JMIR Formative Research is indexed in MEDLINEPubMed, PubMed CentralDOAJ, Scopus, Sherpa/Romeo, EBSCO/EBSCO Essentials, and the Emerging Sources Citation Index (Clarivate).

Recent Articles

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a valuable treatment for mood disorders and anxiety. CBT methods, such as cognitive restructuring, are employed to change automatic negative thoughts to more realistic ones.

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Mindfulness improves well-being, improves emotional regulation, reduces impulses to eat, and is linked to increased physical activity. Mindfulness interventions usually focus on 1 aspect but do not offer an approach to holistically improving lifestyle.

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Despite elevated rates of trauma exposure, substance misuse, mental health problems, and suicide, systems-impacted teens and their caregivers have limited access to empirically supported behavioral health services. Family-based interventions are the most effective for improving mental health, education, substance use, and delinquency outcomes, yet the familial and placement disruption that occurs during child welfare involvement can interfere with the delivery of family-based interventions.

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Older adults, a population particularly susceptible to misinformation, may experience attempts at health-related scams or defrauding, and they may unknowingly spread misinformation. Previous research has investigated managing misinformation through media literacy education or supporting users by fact-checking information and cautioning for potential misinformation content, yet studies focusing on older adults are limited. Chatbots have the potential to educate and support older adults in misinformation management. However, many studies focusing on designing technology for older adults use the needs-based approach and consider aging as a deficit, leading to issues in technology adoption. Instead, we adopted the asset-based approach, inviting older adults to be active collaborators in envisioning how intelligent technologies can enhance their misinformation management practices.

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

African, Caribbean, and Black (Black) communities in Canada are disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a highly effective option for the prevention of HIV. However, the use of PrEP for HIV prevention among eligible Black clients in Canada remains far below the thresholds necessary to achieve the goal of zero new HIV infections. In a recent study in Toronto, PrEP-eligible Black clients were found to have decisional conflict and unmet decisional needs, which affected the quality of their decision-making process regarding the initiation and adherence to PrEP. There is evidence that decision support tools (DSTs) can improve the quality of a decision, the quality of the decision-making process, the implementation or continuation of the chosen option, and the appropriate use of health services. Despite these benefits, there is currently no DST for PrEP-eligible Black clients being asked to consider PrEP for HIV prevention.

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDs) are characterized by heterogeneity, complexity, and interactions among multiple domains with long-lasting effects in adulthood. Early and accurate identification of children at risk for NDs is crucial for timely intervention, yet many cases remain undiagnosed, leading to missed opportunities for effective interventions. Digital tools can help clinicians assist and identify NDs. The concept of using serious games to enhance health care has gained attention among a growing group of scientists, entrepreneurs, and clinicians.

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Early Results in Infodemiology and Infoveillance

Sleep deprivation in adolescents is a common but serious public health issue. Adolescents often have a progressive circadian delay and suffer from insufficient sleep during weekdays due to the school schedule. Temporal patterns in internet search activity data can provide relevant information for understanding the characteristic sleep problems of the adolescent population.

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Research Letter

This study identified 22 features that are used and the needs for desired features/data in patient portals that enable online access to medical records. Data collected at a Midwestern state fair indicates that while most participants used patient portals, use and desirability of specific features varied widely. Identified needs for enhanced data access, portal functionality, and usability can be used to inform effective patient portal design.

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

The use of mobile technologies to deliver behavioral health interventions, including smoking cessation support, has grown. Users’ perceptions are important determinants of the adoption and use of new technologies. However, little is known about users’ perceptions of mobile technologies as smoking cessation aids, particularly among disadvantaged individuals who smoke.

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Formative Evaluation of Non-Ehealth Innovations

In the United States, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer death among Black men. Compared to men of all other races or ethnicities, Black men have the lowest rates of CRC screening participation, which contributes to later-stage diagnoses and greater mortality. Despite CRC screening being a critical component of early detection and increased survival, few interventions have been tailored for Black men.

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Pilot studies (ehealth)

Digital interventions hold promise for improving physical activity in adolescents. However, a lack of empirical decision points (eg, timing of intervention prompts) is an evidence gap in the optimization of digital physical activity interventions.

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Individuals are exposed to a variety of indoor residential toxins including volatile organic compounds and particulates. In adults with asthma, such exposures are associated with asthma symptoms, asthma exacerbations, and decreased lung function. However, data on these exposures and asthma-related outcomes are generally collected at different times and not in real time. The integration of multiple platforms to collect real-time data on environmental exposure, asthma symptoms, and lung function has rarely been explored.

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Preprints Open for Peer-Review

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