DFengage Release 2.0.1
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Mar 14 2024
DFengage is a mobile application for the collection of electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePRO) that allows research participants to complete study activities (such as questionnaires, surveys, and diaries) assigned by the research team. This guide describes how to install and use DFengage on your smartphone or tablet.
After you set up DFengage on your device, you will receive a notification when a new activity is ready to complete, or you can open DFengage at any time to complete any activities that are ready for you.
DFengage is fully integrated with DFdiscover, a software application that allows researchers to collect data for research studies. Once you complete an activity, the data you provide is sent to the DFdiscover server where the research team can see your responses. DFengage requires DFdiscover version 5.4 or later.
This data is sent securely over the internet when you have an internet connection, or saved securely to your device until you have an internet connection. Your responses are removed from the device once they have been sent to the server.
DFengage requires a device (smartphone or tablet) running Android™ 8.0 or newer, iOS® 14.4 or newer, or iPadOS® 14.4 or newer. The device must have Wi-Fi and/or cellular communication capabilities.
Once you have completed DFengage setup described in Getting Started, you will see three main areas of the app: Today, History, and Settings.
The Today screen is the home page of the app, where you find and complete your activities for today. The top of the Today screen shows your username, the name of the research study, and a cloud icon showing your internet connection status in DFengage. The main section of the screen shows activities that are ready to be completed.
More details about the Today screen are given in Completing Activities.
The History screen lists the activities you have completed, the date and time of completion, and their sync status with the DFdiscover server, where the research team reviews your responses. Your responses to completed activities are not available in the app.
Activities that are completed and synced with the server are marked as Sent. Activities that are completed but not yet synced with the server are marked as Pending. Pending activities are automatically submitted when you open the app when online, or you can manually submit them while online by tapping the cloud icon on the top right.
If you log out of DFengage and login again, or log into DFengage on a different device, your activity history, including your responses for any of your activity history will be reset and you will no longer see the list of completed activities.
The Settings screen provides details about your account (language), a Help link to this user guide (available online only), details about the DFengage application, and the option to logout. For more details on logging out, see Logout.
This section describes how to get started with DFengage by logging in and setting up your account on your device (smartphone or tablet).
Later, if you log out of DFengage or need to use DFengage on a different device, follow these instructions to set up DFengage again.
To get started with DFengage, first install the app on your device from the appropriate app store for your device. For Android, install from the Google Play Store. For iOS or iPadOS, install from the Apple App Store.
Once installed, the DFengage icon will appear on the phone screen or apps list. Tap it to open DFengage.
Allow DFengage to send you notifications. We recommend enabling all notification types to make sure you receive a reminder when a new activity becomes available in DFengage.
You will receive a notification on your device when a new activity is ready for you, scheduled by the research team.
If you aren’t asked to allow notifications, you may need to enable them manually. Go to the Settings app on your phone and select Notifications, and select DFengage from the list of apps. We recommend enabling all notification options to make sure you don’t miss any reminders and complete your study activities on time.
On iPhone, show alerts in your Lock Screen, Notification Center, and Banners, and select the Persistent Banner Style.
On Android, enable the Pop on screen and Override Do Not Disturb settings, as shown in the examples below. Your phone settings may look different than the ones shown here.
Enter the username, password, server, and API information provided to you by the research team. The details shown in the screenshot are examples only.
Always keep your login details (username and password) private and secure so that no one else can log in with your details.
After you log in for the first time, you may be required to set a new password.
Follow the instructions on the screen to set a new password, following any rules shown about how complex your password needs to be, to help make sure your password is secure.
Once you log in successfully, set your 4-digit PIN (personal identification number) by following the instructions on the screen. You’ll need to re-enter your PIN to confirm it.
Make sure to remember your PIN! You will need to enter your PIN when you return to DFengage later to complete your activities. When you do so, you have 6 (six) attempts to enter the correct PIN before the app will delete your data and log out of your account. This protects your data from unauthorized access.
Note: This step will not appear if you are using DFengage on an iPhone or iPad.
You will be asked to allow background running for DFengage to make sure you don’t miss reminders. This setting makes sure you receive notifications on time, even if you are offline or have your device in low battery mode.
Follow the instructions on the screen to allow background running for DFengage.
If more than one language is available for your study, you can select the right language for you. Select the language from the dropdown menu and click Continue.
You will see your activity names, questions, and any instructions provided by the research team in that language. Some instructions will still be in English.
If you need to change the language you selected, log out of DFengage (go to the Settings tab and tap “Logout”) and then log in again as shown in Step 2. Make sure you don’t have any Pending activities in the History tab before logging out.
You are now ready to use DFengage!
You will see any activities that are ready for you to complete in the Due Now or Overdue section on the Today screen. If you have activities that will become available later today, you will see these in the Upcoming section and receive a notification when they are ready. For details on completing your activities, see Completing Activities.
If you don’t have activities for today, you will see the message: “No activities available right now. Please check later!”
The Today screen shows your activities for today. They are shown in four sections:
If there are no activities in any section, the section is empty and shown in light grey. If the section is not empty, tap the arrow button on the right to open or close the section.
If the research team has provided additional information for an activity, tap ? next to the activity name to see more details.
Tap Start next to any activity to begin.
Follow the instructions for each question to provide the information requested by the research team. Different activities may have different questions, depending on what is required for your research study.
You can follow your progress through the activity using the progress tracker, found above the question text, which will show you what question you are on and the total numbers of questions in this activity. The progress tracker above the question text will show you what question you are currently on and the total number of questions for this activity.
Some questions may have additional information provided by the research team. Tap i to see additional details for this question. Tap x to hide the details.
Once you provide the information, tap Next to go to the next question.
If you tap Exit (top left), you will leave the activity and return to the Today screen. Your responses so far will be saved, and you can continue the activity later.
If you want to learn more about the activity, tap ? (top right) to see additional details for this activity, if provided by the research team.
When you reach the last question, the Next button will instead show Finish.
When you reach the last question for an activity, tap Finish to complete the activity.
If you are online, the activity will be sent immediately to the DFdiscover server where the research team can review your responses. If you are offline, return to DFengage to send the activity later when you have an internet connection. Go to the History screen to see if any activities are still pending.
After tapping Finish, you will return to the Today screen. The activity you just completed will be listed in the Completed section. If you still have activities in the Overdue or Due Now sections, complete them now.
You will receive a notification on your device when your next activity is available. At that time, you will need to provide your PIN to continue using DFengage.
You will receive a notification on your device when a new activity becomes available and when an activity becomes overdue. Click the notification to open DFengage and complete your activities.
If you are not receiving notifications, check your settings to make sure notifications are enabled.
If you don’t open DFengage after receiving multiple notifications, you may stop receiving them. Please open DFengage and complete your activities to make sure you keep receiving notifications during your study participation.
If you don’t have an internet connection on your device, you can still complete your activities and you will continue to receive reminders for new or overdue activities. Once you have internet connection again, when you open DFengage and enter your PIN, DFengage will sync with the server, where the research team will be able to see your responses.
You will need to enter your PIN when you reopen DFengage after some time away from it. You will have six attempts to enter the correct PIN. If you enter an incorrect PIN, you will be informed how many attempts you have left.
After four incorrect PIN entries, you will be asked to wait two minutes before entering your PIN again. After the sixth incorrect PIN entry, the app will be reset and you will be logged out. Any activities not yet completed and synced with the server will be deleted from your device, and your activity history will be cleared. This protects your data from unauthorized access.
To continue using DFengage after this happens, you can login again with your username and password and set a new PIN, as described in Getting Started.
Your PIN is used to make sure that you are the only person who completes activities in DFengage. Keep your PIN secure and private to you.
The only information about you stored in DFengage or sent to the research team are the questions you are asked to complete in your activities.
Only log out of DFengage when you will be completing no further study activities for the research team, if you need to reset your PIN or change your language, or if instructed by the research team.
Make sure you don’t have any Pending activities on the History screen before logging out, to make sure the research team isn’t missing any of your study data.
When you log out, all data about you is deleted, including your activity history, any responses to activities that were started but not completed, and any Pending activities on the History screen (not yet synced with the server).
If you want to continue using DFengage after logging out, you will need to log in again with your username and password as described in Getting Started.
Close or dismiss the app, then reopen it and try again. If the problem continues, contact the research team for assistance. Do not delete the app or logout unless you are instructed to do so, to make sure your study data is not lost.
Yes. Activities in DFengage are designed to be completed in one sitting (unless otherwise instructed). However, your responses will not be lost if you stop mid-activity or exit your activity to complete it later. The data will be saved to your device until you come back to DFengage and finish the activity. To finish the activity, tap Continue next to the activity name on the Today screen. You will be returned to the same question where you exited the activity.
However, if you log out of the app (under the Settings tab), you will lose any activities not yet completed and any pending activities (not synced with the server).
Yes, but only before you tap Finish to submit the activity to the research team. While completing an activity, tap the Previous button to return to previous questions you completed already. If you make a change to a previous question, you’ll be asked to confirm the change, because the next questions will be cleared so you can answer them again.
Once you complete an activity by tapping Finish, you cannot change your responses in DFengage. Please check with the research team if you need to make changes.
No. Once you tap Finish to submit the activity to the research team, the activity is complete, and you will no longer see your responses in DFengage. You can see the list of completed activities on the History screen. Contact the research team to obtain a copy of your responses.
PIN is required when reopening the app after 20 minutes of inactivity, if the app was closed or dismissed, or if you restarted your device.
PIN is not required when reopening the app after less than 20 minutes of inactivity or after the device goes to sleep for less than 20 minutes.
If you log out and need to log in again, your username and password is required, and a new PIN must be set, as described in Getting Started. Logging out will delete all data about you, including your activity history and any pending activities.
Once you have completed an activity and tapped Finish on the last question, the completed activity will be displayed in the Completed section on the Today screen and listed on the History screen. However, if you are offline or if the activity was locked by someone on the research team, your data may not be synced with the server yet.
To check this, go to the History screen. If an activity has not yet been received by the server, it will be labelled Pending. If an activity has been received by the server, it will be labelled Sent.
To sync any pending activities with the DFdiscover server, tap the cloud icon on the top right while you are connected to the internet. Once the activity is received by the DFdiscover server, the label will update from Pending to Sent.
If the time zone on your device changes, DFengage will continue sending notifications in your old time zone until you open DFengage for the first time in your new time zone. Once you open DFengage, it will recognize your new time zone and send notifications in your new time zone moving forward.
The below sections provides guidance for common messages you will see in DFengage and more unusual problems. Error messages that you see in DFengage include an error code, which will help the research team understand what the problem is and how to solve it.
If you encounter a problem with DFengage, do not uninstall or delete the app or its data, unless the research team tells you to. Instead, follow the guidance based on the problem you’re having. If that doesn’t work, close or dismiss the app and reopen it to try again.
If you continue to have problems, write down the error code and message, take a screenshot, and share the details with the research team so they can help resolve the problem.
This section outlines the common messages you may see in DFengage and what to do about them.
You may see the message “Loading” in the middle of the screen after you login, when you move to a new screen, or after you enter your PIN to open DFengage. This means the app is syncing with the DFdiscover server and updating your data. This is not an error. Loading may take longer on a slow connection or during busy internet traffic times.
Please wait to allow the app to update. If you get stuck or want to try again, close or dismiss the app, then reopen it to try again. Do not delete or uninstall the app.
You may see the message “Activity is currently locked” in the middle of the screen after completing an activity. This means that your activity was completed successfully and saved on your device, but it can’t be saved to the DFdiscover server right now because another person is reviewing your data. Reopen the app later to try again.
On the login page after tapping Login, you may see the message: “Invalid credentials. The username or password you have entered is invalid. Please check and try again.”
Check that your username and password are typed correctly and try again. To check that you have typed your password correctly, click the eye icon in the Password field to show your password. Click the eye icon again to hide it to keep it private.
On the login page after tapping Login, you may see the message: “The server you have entered is invalid. Please check and try again.”
Check that the server and API are typed correctly, according to the information provided by the research team, and try again.
You may receive a warning or error message if anything goes wrong in the app. Each message includes an error code to help you and the research team figure out how to solve the issue. If you continue to have problems, write down the error code and message, take a screenshot, and share the details with the research team so they can help resolve the problem.