StudyMe: A New Mobile App for User-Centric N-of-1 Trials

TL;DR

StudyMe is a user-friendly, open-source mobile app that empowers individuals, including non-experts, to design and conduct personalized N-of-1 health trials, facilitating systematic self-experimentation for health improvements.

Contribution

This paper introduces StudyMe, a novel mobile app supporting non-experts in conducting personalized N-of-1 trials with guidance and educational features.

Findings

Participants successfully created trials using StudyMe

The app received a very good usability rating

StudyMe enables systematic self-experimentation for health personalization

Abstract

N-of-1 trials are multi-crossover self-experiments that allow individuals to systematically evaluate the effect of interventions on their personal health goals. Although several tools for N-of-1 trials exist, none support non-experts in conducting their own user-centric trials. In this study we present StudyMe, an open-source mobile application that is freely available from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=health.studyu.me and offers users flexibility and guidance in configuring every component of their trials. We also present research that informed the development of StudyMe. Through an initial survey with 272 participants, we learned that individuals are interested in a variety of personal health aspects and have unique ideas on how to improve them. In an iterative, user-centered development process with intermediate user tests we developed StudyMe that also features an educational part to communicate N-of-1 trial concepts. A final empirical evaluation of StudyMe showed that all participants were able to create their own trials successfully using StudyMe and the app achieved a very good usability rating. Our findings suggest that StudyMe provides a significant step towards enabling individuals to apply a systematic science-oriented approach to personalize health-related interventions and behavior modifications in their everyday lives.