Richer R, Abel L, Mücke A, Küderle A, Eskofier B, Rohleder N (2024)
Publication Type: Conference contribution, Abstract of a poster
Publication year: 2024
Book Volume: 160
Article Number: 106845
DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106845
Background
Many studies investigating the cortisol awakening response (CAR) suffer from low adherence and from the lack of precise and objective methods for assessing saliva sampling times. While attempts to address this methodological issue have been made in the past, most of them complicate the study protocol and drastically increase study costs, often making them infeasible for large-scale studies.
Methods
For that reason, we developed the CARWatch framework. It offers a smartphone application to record sampling times by scanning a barcode on the saliva sampling tube. To increase study protocol adherence, CARWatch can set alarms for saliva samples which can only be turned off by scanning the correct sampling tube. All study materials can be configured and generated by the CARWatch web page. In addition, awakening times can be recorded from sleep trackers and imported into CARWatch.
Results
A proof-of-concept study (N=117, 24.2±8.7 years, 79.5% women, two consecutive days) revealed that the use of CARWatch lead to considerably decreased interquartile ranges of sampling delays (self-reports: 8 min, CARWatch: 2 min) indicating a more consistent sampling behavior and stronger adherence to the study protocol compared to self-reports. Furthermore, it had a significant effect on AUCI (F[2,154] = 67.16, p < 0.001).
APA:
Richer, R., Abel, L., Mücke, A., Küderle, A., Eskofier, B., & Rohleder, N. (2024, February). CARWatch – An Open-Source Framework for Objective Cortisol Awakening Response Assessment. Poster presentation.
MLA:
Richer, Robert, et al. "CARWatch – An Open-Source Framework for Objective Cortisol Awakening Response Assessment." 2024.
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