Ambulatory Monitoring and Ecological Momentary Assessment

Abstract

Ambulatory monitoring methods enable the systematic measurement of physiology, behavior, and environmental cues during the course of daily living. This chapter describes important advantages of ambulatory monitoring techniques over laboratory-based measures and retrospective self-report instruments. Three primary domains of ambulatory monitoring will be reviewed: blood pressure, salivary cortisol, and self-report measures. The epidemiological value of these measures will be discussed, as well as their sociodemographic, psychological, and behavioral correlates. Methodological issues relevant to these domains of assessment are also discussed. This chapter then addresses novel future directions in ambulatory monitoring, including developments in environmental exposure (adverse neighborhood exposures and light-induced circadian disruption), biological sample collection, and computer-based self-report tools using cell phones and other devices. These new developments in ambulatory assessment illustrate the unique opportunities of wearable technologies, new computational techniques, and rapid wireless real-time data transfer that will have important implications for cardiovascular behavioral medicine research and its clinical applications.