Wednesday April 26, 2023 | 8:30 a.m. MT

44th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine

Speakers

Kate Guastaferro PhD, MPH

Angela Pfammatter PhD, FSBM

Jacob Szeszulski PhD

Organized by the Optimization of Behavioral and Biobehavioral Interventions SIG

Description

Pre Conference Course 4

The process of intervention optimization specifically the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) allows behavioral scientists to increase the effectiveness affordability scalability and efficiency of multicomponent interventions. This process is inherently linked to selecting the appropriate research design to answer specific research questions. For example a factorial trial can test the individual and interaction effects of multiple intervention components over a specific duration whereas a SMART trial may be better suited for determining the timing and order in which components are delivered. Failing to select the appropriate design may lead to dangerous or inappropriate conclusions. For example an intervention component may be found to be ineffective when in fact it is synergistic with another intervention component and they need to be delivered together (i.e. interaction effect that was not tested).

This session will serve as an extension of introductory MOST offerings delving specifically into the advanced topic of matching the right research design to the research question in the optimization phase of MOST. There are multiple designs that a scientist could select including: the factorial or fractional factorial experiment the sequential multiple assignment randomized trial (SMART) the microrandomized trial (MRT) and others. The selection of the research design is guided by the research question and the intervention component(s) being tested (e.g. behavior change technique(s) implementation strategy). Outcomes whether proximal behavioral clinical endpoints and/or implementation metrics must also be considered in the choice of design. In this preconference workshop we will provide an overview of the different research questions that may be answered by various experimental designs.

Attendees will leave the workshop with the knowledge of what type of research questions may be answered with each research design. Additionally attendees will have the opportunity to match a design to their question and get feedback on it from presenters.

This workshop is designed to be for an advanced audience and will complement introductory materials/events offered by the Optimization of Behavioral and Biobehavioral Interventions Special Interest Group and the freely available Coursera course. Attendees of this workshop are those who are familiar with intervention optimization and are seeking additional training in the critical considerations to design an optimization trial. This workshop will set the stage for other MOST presentations throughout the conference.