Abstract Integrated alongside home-based passive sleep monitoring, high-frequency assessment of patient reported outcomes (PROs) could enhance both research and clinical care surrounding obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). However, traditional approaches to capture OSA-related PROs are poorly suited for this purpose. Hence, we investigated the feasibility of a smartphone-based check-in approach to monitor daily PROs (e.g., mental, emotional, physical) over a six-month period in people referred for suspected OSA. We quantified and assessed change in the proportion of participants (n=68; 54% female) who, on average, achieved an ‘adequate’ self-report rate of 4 self-reports per week (out of a possible seven). Generalised additive models (GAMs) were used to investigate if OSA severity (apnoea-hypopnoea index; AHI) was associated with the probability of adequate initial uptake within the first two weeks, sustained engagement over time, and the probability of a self-report on any given day. Self-reports were made on 52.1% of all possible days, equating to (M±SD) 3.6±3.0 per week. Within the first week, 63.2% of participants achieved ‘adequate’ self-report compliance; during Weeks 4 and 12, these rates were 70.6% and 54.4%, respectively. Greater baseline AHI was associated with slower time-dependent decline in the probability of adequate self-report compliance in an exposure-response manner. Within-subjects, daily self-reports were more probable following nights of elevated AHI (absolute and mean-referenced). All GAM smooth terms: p0.00001. Findings demonstrate the feasibility of bi-daily PRO assessment via app-based check-ins for approximately one month in the context of clinical OSA and suggest that greater disease burden enhances sustained engagement with this monitoring approach. This paper is part of the Consumer Sleep Technology Collection. Statement of Significance This study investigates the feasibility of using a brief, app-based questionnaire to capture daily patient-reported outcomes in people with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), over a six-month period. Findings are promising, with a large proportion of people achieving more than four self-reports per week, on average, for approximately one month. Notably, higher OSA at baseline was associated with more sustained self-report engagement across the monitoring period. Furthermore, participants were more likely to make a self-report if their OSA severity was poorer-than-usual on the previous night. These results support the feasibility of app-based check-ins for the high-frequency monitoring of OSA’s daytime consequences as part of a home-based symptom monitoring approach.
Fitton et al. (2025) studied this question.