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How to use the StudyU App

1.1 App Onboarding

After you successfully installed the app you access this part. You will be introduced to the app’s objective and of the app’s terms and conditions.

1.2 Welcome Screen

The welcome screen is the first screen that you reach after opening the app. Here you find the app logo, a button to go to the next screen, the terms and conditions, and a button to reach the about screen.

1.3 About Screen

This screen explains to you the concept of the app. You are introduced to the idea of N-of-1 trials by means of an everyday example.

1.4 Terms and Conditions Screen

This screen displays the terms and conditions that you need to accept in order to use the app (you also can save the content on your device). You simply need to click on the checkboxes.

1.5 Study Onboarding and selection

If you want to start a study you need to select one from the list. Studies are described with their names, an icon and a short explanation of what is involved (You can always go back to this screen, when taking part in a study).

1.6 Study Overview Screen

This screen offers an overview over the study you have chosen. The main points are the length of the study phases, the (minimum) duration of the study, a description of the study and information about the researchers responsible for the study.

1.7 Eligibility Check Screen

The eligibility check is used to prevent you from taking part in a study that you are not suitable for. You can change an answer to an earlier question in case you made a mistake. The questions are simple yes or no questions or choice questions with either multiple possible selections or a single one. If you are not eligible for study, a popup informs you about the reasons.

1.8 Intervention Selection Screen

This screen allows you to customize the study according to your interests by choosing two interventions that will be compared during the study. The interventions can be selected from a defined list. You can get further information by tapping on the information icon next to the name of the intervention. Not more than two interventions can be selected.

1.9 Journey Overview Screen

Here the final study schedule of the interventions is shown. The starting date is displayed next to each study phase and the last entry of the list is the final date when results will be available for you.

The consent screen is modular in the form of topic- specific boxes. It explains to you the benefits/risks of the study and what is involved in your participation. After you clicked through the different boxes and understood their content, you can agree or refuse to participate in the study. Please be aware that you should read the entire content before agreeing to a study and be able to proceed. read the complete content and agree to it in order to give consent and proceed further. The consent can also be saved on your device.

2. Study Participation

The screens of this part of the app are the main part that is accessible during a running study. You can do your study tasks, look back into the results of past studies and configure some basic app settings. After a study has been started, the app will also send reminders when tasks are supposed to be done.

2.1 Dashboard Screen

Here you find a list of tasks which you have to complete to progress with the currently selected study. At the top of the screen is a timeline with the different intervention icons showing how many days have been completed during each phase. Below that timeline is the name of the current intervention and next to it is an information icon that contains the interventions description.

1.2 Task Screen

The task screens are used by you to complete study tasks. The checkmark tasks contain instructions on how to complete the task and a button to confirm completion. The questionnaire tasks contain a list of questions similar to the eligibility check and additionally there are some slider questions where you can e.g. rate your pain.

2.3 Contact Screen

This screen is a hub for general information concerning the app. It references a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) screen with answers to basic user questions, a screen with contact information and the about screen.

2.4 Report History Screen

The report history screen displays a list of studies in which you have participated in the past. Selecting a study name redirects you to the corresponding report screen.

2.5 Report Overview Screen

We assume that knowledge about the previous course of complaints under certain interventions could influence the evaluation of complaints in the further course. Therefore, You only have access to the results after a certain study period (as soon as you reach the minimum study duration). You can observe your progression in the study through the progress bars.

2.6 Performance Screen

You might wonder why the progress bars are not filling-up, e.g. if you just completed the observations but you skipped interventions (which would not be countable observations). Therefore, the app contains the performance details screen that shows for every intervention and observation how many were completed with the aim of reaching the suggested study length.

2.7 Settings Screen

This screen allows you to configure basic app functionality. It displays the active study name and enables you to change the language, opt-out/abort the current study and delete the user data on your device. The currently supported languages are German and English. Opting out of a study deletes your progress of the current study and takes you back to the study selection. Deleting your user data removes your anonymous account from the device and server and redirects you to the welcome screen. Data for studies that were finished by you is kept on the server and not deleted.