JMIR Formative Research

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

Editor-in-Chief:

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


Impact Factor 2.1 CiteScore 3.5

JMIR Formative Research (JFR, ISSN 2561-326X) 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).

JMIR Formative Research received a Journal Impact Factor of 2.1 according to the latest release of the Journal Citation Reports from Clarivate, 2025.

With a CiteScore of 3.5 (2024) JMIR Formative Research is a Q2 journal in the field of Medicine (miscellaneous), according to Scopus data.

Recent Articles

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Adolescents and young people (AYP) aged 15–24 years in Kenya bear a disproportionate burden of HIV, necessitating innovative, youth-friendly approaches to improve care engagement. Digital solutions such as patient health portals (PHPs) offer scalable ways to enhance access, understanding, and support.

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Development and Evaluation of Research Methods, Instruments and Tools

Xingfu, in Chinese 幸福, with meanings transcending Western concepts of happiness, is modern and highly valued in China. Despite its centrality to China’s national discourse on xingfu, there is no validated tools for measuring perceived xingfu (PX), particularly in Hong Kong’s unique sociopolitical context. Post-pandemic recovery efforts and widening socioeconomic disparities in Hong Kong highlight the urgency of understanding indicators like PX.

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Development and Evaluation of Research Methods, Instruments and Tools

Computerized cognitive assessments are most often validated against standard neuropsychological measures with limited validation against biological indices of brain health.

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

People experiencing homelessness have worse oral health outcomes and a huge health informational asymmetry compared to the general population. Screening programs present a viable option for this population, however, barriers to access, such as lower levels of health literacy, lack of information, and mistrust, narrow their chances to participate.

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Formative Evaluation of Non-Ehealth Innovations

Caregivers of individuals with schizophrenia face ongoing psychological and emotional burdens due to the chronic and relapsing nature of the disorder and the complexity of caregiving. Prolonged exposure to caregiving stress characterized by emotional exhaustion, role overload, and lack of social support has been consistently associated with poor mental health outcomes among caregivers, including depression, anxiety

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Large language models (LLMs) can aid students in mastering a new topic fast but for the educational institutions responsible for assessing and grading the academic level of students it can be difficult to discern whether a text originates from a student’s own cognition or if it is synthesized by an LLM. Universities have traditionally relied on a submitted written thesis as proof of higher-level learning, on which to grant grades and diplomas. But what happens when LLMs can mimic the academic writing of subject matter experts? This is now a real dilemma. The ubiquitous availability of LLMs challenges trust in the master’s thesis as evidence of subject matter comprehension and academic competences.

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Case Report

Disparities in electronic health record systems hinder cross-border continuity of care, particularly where labor mobility and tourism intersect (eg, between the Philippines and Taiwan). Both nations collect claim data, yet neither fully aligns with international standards such as the HL7 International Patient Summary (IPS).

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Rural living adults are disproportionately affected by type 2 diabetes compared to their urban counterparts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) is an evidence-based intervention that reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes through increased physical activity and modest weight loss, but overall reach remains limited, specifically in rural communities.

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Development and Evaluation of Research Methods, Instruments and Tools

Despite potential risks, artificial intelligence-based chatbots that simulate psychotherapy are becoming more widely available and frequently used by the general public. A comprehensive way of evaluating the quality of these chatbots is needed.

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Providing patients with information about their health and treatment options is important to ensure care that best reflects patient needs, values, and preferences. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs), measures of health status, are regularly collected in clinical contexts and scores can be returned to patients in personalized decision aids. One example of a PRO-based decision aid is the Arthritis care through Shared Knowledge (A.S.K.) report, which shares individual PRO data on knee and hip arthritis-related pain and functional limitations with patients. However, given that using such data in clinical consultations is unfamiliar to many patients, support may be required to ensure this information is understood and used as intended.

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Challenges in emergency medicine include overcrowding, insufficient emergency care resources, and extended Emergency Department (ED) waiting times. These issues contribute to delays in treatment and unfavorable outcomes. This situation particularly worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic and events with large crowds. The integration of augmented reality (AR) smart glasses could potentially enhance patient care in the ED.

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Preprints Open for Peer-Review

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