International Society for Research on Internet Interventions (ISRII) 
12th Annual Scientific Meeting
Limerick, Ireland

Description: Advances in digital technologies have created unprecedented opportunities to deliver effective and scalable behavior change interventions. Two-arm evaluation randomized controlled trials (ERCTs) provide an excellent way to determine whether a digital intervention package is effective. However, this approach is less helpful in providing empirical information that can be used to optimize the intervention to achieve intervention EASE, a strategic balance of effectiveness, affordability, scalability, and efficiency. In this workshop an innovative methodological framework for optimizing behavioral interventions, the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST), will be presented. MOST is based on ideas inspired by engineering methods, which stress both ongoing improvement of products and careful management of research and implementation resources. MOST is a comprehensive strategy that includes three phases: preparation, optimization, and evaluation. A substantial amount of time will be devoted to introducing three types of optimization RCTs (ORCTs) and explaining how they can be employed in the context of MOST to optimize digital interventions. These ORCTs are the factorial experiment, the sequential multiple assignment randomized trial (SMART), and the micro-randomized trial (MRT). A variety of case studies will be used for illustration and time will be reserved for open discussion of how the concepts presented can be applied in the research of attendees.

Learning objective 1: Understand how the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) can be used to optimize digital interventions.

Learning objective 2: Understand the fundamentals of factorial experiment, sequential multiple-assignment randomized trials (SMARTs) and micro-randomized trials; and be able to select the appropriate ORCT when using the MOST framework to optimize digital interventions.

Presentation Slides

• Optimizing digital interventions: The multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) way

• Adaptive Interventions and SMART: Introduction

• Just In Time Adaptive Interventions and MRTs: Introduction