Automatic and controlled empathy

INTRODUCTION: There are knowledge gaps in spaceflight pharmacology with insufficient in-flight data to inform future planning. This effort directly addressed in-mission medication use and also informed open questions regarding spaceflight-associated changes in pharmacokinetics (PK) and/or pharmacodynamics (PD).METHODS: An iOS application was designed to collect medication use information relevant for research from volunteer astronaut crewmembers: medication name, dose, dosing frequency, indication, perceived efficacy, and side effects. Leveraging the limited medication choices aboard allowed a streamlined questionnaire. There were 24 subjects approved for participation.RESULTS: Six crewmembers completed flight data collection and five completed ground data collection before NASA's early study discontinuation. There were 5766 medication use entries, averaging 20.6 ± 8.4 entries per subject per flight week. Types of medications and their indications were similar to previous reports, with sleep disturbances and muscle/joint pain as primary drivers. Two subjects treated prolonged skin problems. Subjects also used the application in unanticipated ways: to note drug tolerance testing or medication holiday per research protocols, and to share data with flight surgeons. Subjects also provided usability feedback on application design and implementation.DISCUSSION: The volume of data collected (20.6 ± 8.4 entries per subject per flight week) is much greater than was collected previously (Wotring VE, Smith LK. Dose tracker application for collecting medication use data from International Space Station crew. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2020; 91(1):41-45.