What’s Time Got to Do With It?: A Time-Informed Approach to Longitudinal Research With Trauma Affected and Bereaved Populations

Abstract

This paper outlines a new approach to using participants' self-identified temporal triggers to center data collection around meaningful time periods as it pertains to coping with loss and trauma. We describe the utility of ecological momentary assessment and wearable technology as tools for time-informed data collection; and provide a study protocol for a recent study in which we paired these approaches to gather data from adult respondents who had lost a loved one. Data collection included two phases: a baseline phase and a target date phase. The target date phase was centered around the participant’s self-identified temporal trigger. Several lmitations to this mode of data collection are disucsed. The overall approach is client centered and more accurately captures the lived experiences of individuals coping with loss and trauma. Data of this kind will begin to highlight the psychological and physiological impacts of anniversary dates among survivors of trauma and loss.

Psychological predictors of the time perspective: The role of posttraumatic stress disorder, posttraumatic growth, and temporal triggers in a sample of bereaved adults

“…While cyclical models offer a more accurate representation of the lived experience of grief, they lack emphasis on the role that subjective time plays in bereavement and loss. To address this gap, our previous work [33,34] posits a reconceptualized framework that shifts the narrative to look at meaningful time. The meaningful time approach moves away from the traditional linear progression of absolute time, where time is even and chronological, and instead, focusses on a more cyclical and subjective approach to understanding the role of time.…”

Climate change and health equity: Expanding our reach using technology

“…Smartwatches and other wearable technology have been used an effective method of collecting passive data related to human physiology, including metrics often used as indicators of stress and disease (e.g., temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, ECG). In fact, several study protocols to utilize data collected from wearable devices to diagnose disease exist (e.g., COVID-19 or cardiovascular indicators) [10,11] and a recent scoping review found 53 studies that used wearables to assess the impact of extreme climate related weather events [12]. However, the utility of wearable devices far extends passive monitoring and post-hoc data analytics.…”