" Anything that would help is a positive development": feasibility, tolerability, and user experience of smartphone-based digital phenotyping for people with and without type 2 diabetes

Background: Digital phenotyping, the in-situ collection of passive (phone sensor) and active (daily surveys) data using a digital device, may provide new insights into the complex relationship between daily behaviour and mood for people with type 2 diabetes. However, there are critical knowledge gaps regarding its use in people with type 2 diabetes. This study assessed feasibility, tolerability, and user experience of digital phenotyping in people with and without type 2 diabetes after participation in a 2-month digital phenotyping study in Ireland. At study completion, participants rated methodology elements from "not a problem" to a "serious problem" on a 5-point scale and reported their comfort with the potential future use of digital phenotyping in healthcare, with space for qualitative expansion.

Results: Eighty-two participants completed baseline. Attrition was 18.8%. Missing data ranged from 9-44% depending on data stream. Sixty-eight participants (82.9%) completed the user experience questionnaire (51.5% with type 2 diabetes; 61.8% female; median age-group 50-59). Tolerability of digital phenotyping was high, with "not a problem" being selected 76.5%-89.7% of the time across questions. People with type 2 diabetes (93.9%) were significantly more likely to be comfortable with their future healthcare provider having access to their digital phenotyping data than those without (53.1%), χ2 (1) = 14.01, p = < .001. Free text responses reflected a range of positive and negative experiences with the study methodology.

Conclusions: An uncompensated, 2-month digital phenotyping study was feasible among people with and without diabetes, with low attrition and reasonable missing data rates. Participants found digital phenotyping to be acceptable, and even enjoyable. The potential benefits of digital phenotyping for healthcare may be more apparent to people with type 2 diabetes than the general population.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s44247-024-00116-6.