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 (Clarivate, 2024)) 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 (ESCI).

Recent Articles

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Pilot studies (ehealth)

The rapid integration of digital technologies in healthcare has emphasised the need to ensure that medical students are well equipped with the knowledge and competencies related to digital health.

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Pilot studies (non-ehealth)

The growing prevalence of multiple chronic conditions (MCC) has significant impacts on the healthcare systems and quality of life. Understanding the MCC prevalence throughout adulthood offers valuable insights into the evolving burden of chronic diseases and provides strategies for more effective healthcare outcomes.

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Pilot studies (ehealth)

There is a notable lack of psychotherapeutic services tailored to the needs of Two Spirit, transgender, and nonbinary (2STNB) people of color (POC); research indicates that 2STNB POC clients report a lack of competence and cultural humility on the part of their therapists.

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Recent technological advances in wearable devices offer new potential for measuring mobility in real-world contexts. Mobilise-D has validated digital mobility outcomes to provide novel outcomes and end points in clinical research of 4 different long-term health conditions (Parkinson disease, multiple sclerosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and proximal femoral fracture). These outcomes also provide unique information that is important to patients; however, there is limited literature that explores the optimal methods to achieve this, such as the best way to visualize patients’ data.

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Early Results from COVID-19 Studies

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated issues of poverty and food insecurity in New York City, and many residents experienced difficulty accessing available resources to help them get food on the table. Social media presents an opportunity to observe and understand the barriers people face in accessing affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate foods.

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Note-taking is a method that has long been used to optimize studying. Recent innovations have seen the introduction of digital note-taking using software applications (“apps”). Although the current state of digital note-taking has been verified mainly among students, the utilization and efficacy of digital note-taking by physicians in actual clinical practice remain unknown. Therefore, we sought to understand the characteristics of note-taking residents using the app and determine whether there is a difference in basic medical knowledge compared to that of non-digital note-taking residents.

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

There are about 40 000 people living in Norwegian care homes, where a majority are living with a dementia diagnosis. Social isolation and loneliness are common issues affecting care home residents’ quality of life. As a result of visitation restrictions during the pandemic, residents and family members started using digital solutions to keep in contact. There is no framework or guidelines to inform the uptake and use of technologies in the care home context and this often results in non-adoption and a lack of use after the introduction phase. Hence, there is a great need for research on the feasibility of a robot that can facilitate video communication between residents and family members.

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Older adults’ utilization of digital healthcare remains low despite high demand for regular health services. Easily accessible eHealth interventions designed for older adults are needed.

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

The Data-Driven Fasting (DDF) app implements glucose-guided eating (GGE), an innovative dietary intervention that encourages individuals to eat when their glucose level, measured via glucometer or continuous glucose monitor, falls below a personalised threshold to improve metabolic health. Clinical trials using GGE, facilitated by paper logging of glucose and hunger symptoms, have shown promising results.

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Empathy is a critical component of effective mental health care communication. Positive perceptions of empathy in Conversational Agents (CAs) operating in the healthcare domain are therefore needed to enhance the quality of care provided by these emerging technologies. However, research on how users perceive empathy in CAs is limited, particularly in voice-based prototypes.

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

The potential for digital interventions in self-management and treatment of mild to moderate eating disorders (EDs) has already been established. However, apps are infrequently recommended by ED therapists to their clients. Those that are recommended often have poor engagement and user satisfaction, leading to unsatisfactory outcomes. Barriers to recommendation include patient safety, data privacy, and a perception that they may not be effective. Many existing interventions have limited functionality or do not differ much from manual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or self-help books, which may not adequately support the therapeutic process or sustain user engagement.

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Early Results in Infodemiology and Infoveillance

With the rapid development of the internet and its widespread use, online health information-seeking OHIS has become a popular and important research topic. Various benefits of online health information seeking (OHIS) are well recognized. However, OHIS seems to be a mixed blessing. Research on OHIS has been reported in Western countries and in developed regions in eastern China. studies on the population in the western region of China, such as Chongqing, are still limited.

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