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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 More information about Impact Factor CiteScore 3.5 More information about CiteScore

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

Laptop displaying a digital medical record form with fields for personal information.
Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

The Technology Adoption Model (TAM) offers a potential framework for elucidating the relationships between data privacy or security concerns and behavioral intention, perceived usefulness (PU), and perceived ease of use (PEOU) of mobile health (mHealth) apps, particularly for patients’ self-care management. In Saudi Arabia, limited information is available on these pertinent research areas despite the government’s relentless efforts to bolster the use of mHealth apps.

Woman on laptop video calling with a smiling older woman
Pilot studies (ehealth)

Somatic symptom disorder (SSD) is a mental disorder marked by persistent somatic symptoms and maladaptive health-related thoughts, feelings, or behaviors. Cognitive behavioral therapy has been shown to be effective in treating SSD, reducing patients’ somatic symptoms, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. However, challenges remain—including limited access to treatment. Videoconference-based cognitive behavioral therapy (vCBT) has emerged as a promising approach, offering flexible and tailored treatment while addressing the shortage of medical resources and potentially reducing patient dropout.

Woman sitting on a bed with hands clasped, looking down thoughtfully.
Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Simple behavioral and cognitive actions can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. However, there is limited research investigating whether restricting those same actions increases symptoms and whether resuming those actions reduces symptoms.

Hands holding a smartphone displaying a care team chat interface with options like "Healthy Habits" and "Get Help Now
Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Substance use disorder (SUD) remains a major public health crisis in the United States, with significant challenges in treatment access, retention, and workforce capacity. SUD care teams, including addiction medicine physicians and peer recovery coaches (PRCs), support patients receiving SUD treatment but face heavy workloads and burnout. Artificial intelligence (AI) innovations, particularly large language model (LLM)–based chatbots, may extend PRC support and provide patients with on-demand recovery support between clinic visits and PRC contacts. However, evidence on their development, feasibility, acceptability, and usability in addiction services remains limited.

Scientist in lab coat and gloves analyzes cellular data on tablet
Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Parkinson disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that poses complex challenges for persons with PD, informal caregivers, and health care professionals. With growing interest in digital and predictive artificial intelligence (AI) tools for disease management, understanding the needs and digital readiness of these stakeholder groups is crucial.

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

In the context of COVID-19, infection spread through human contact networks remains a major public health challenge. Beyond cumulative infections and deaths, it is necessary to understand which contacts matter most, and which population segments contribute most to transmission under different social conditions. In multilayer urban networks with community structure, routine contacts coexist with incidental encounters, and it remains unclear whether incidental encounters can alter epidemic burden and the main contributors to transmission when per-layer contact caps and routine-contact minima are unchanged (for the nonrandom layers).

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Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Care home placements offer important opportunities for student nurses to develop relational and person-centered approaches to dementia care. Digital reminiscence platforms are increasingly used to support the well-being of people living with dementia; however, little is known about how such platforms may shape student learning within practice settings. There is limited qualitative evidence examining how digital reminiscence is experienced by students and how it influences their understanding of personhood, relationships, and care practices.

Close-up of a human eye with blue-green iris and dark pupil
Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Cognitive decline in aging populations underscores the need for early interventions in mild cognitive impairment (MCI), where pharmacological treatments show limited benefit. Eye-movement metrics serve as sensitive markers of cognitive deficits in MCI, and digital programs integrating these tasks offer scalable, data-driven training approaches.

Healthcare worker in full PPE, including mask, face shield, and gown, stands in a hospital hallway.
Formative Evaluation of Non-Ehealth Innovations

The COVID-19 pandemic was marked by rapidly evolving and inconsistent public health messaging, contributing to confusion regarding recommended preventive behaviors. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) and perceived risk frameworks offer a structured approach to examine how education, personal beliefs, and contextual factors influence health behaviors during public health emergencies. Vulnerable populations, such as patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), experience heightened risk perception compared with the general population, which may further shape behavioral responses.

Doctor in white coat with stethoscope on video call with patient on laptop.
Formative Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions

Osteoporosis poses a significant global health burden and is responsible for over 8.9 million fragility fractures annually. Despite evidence-based guidelines and treatment, a substantial care gap persists, with only a low percentage of fracture patients receiving guideline-concordant care. Primary care physicians (PCPs) are pivotal in community-based fracture prevention but face challenges in translating knowledge into practice. While hospital-based fracture liaison services are effective, their reach is limited, necessitating scalable alternatives. Virtual communities of practice and web-based learning tools offer promising avenues for PCP professional education; however, their application in osteoporosis management remains underexplored. The Community Fracture Capture (CFC) Learning Hub was developed as an interactive, case-based platform to address these gaps by enhancing PCPs’ knowledge, confidence, and engagement in osteoporosis care.

Preprints Open for Peer Review

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