Interactive Digital Intervention to Prevent Violence Among Young Adults
Condition: Sexual Assault
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The primary aim of this Phase I SBIR is to create and test an alpha version of Make a Change
      for mobile devices, and to document the technical merit, commercial viability, and proof of
      concept of the product. Successful completion of this proposal will result in the creation of
      two assets: 1) an "Intervention Manual" that (similar to a logic model) will align key game
      mechanics with theory and behavior change goals and, 2) the digital application for mobile
      devices. Focus groups and interviews with students, as well as interviews with campus
      stakeholders, will be used to inform development of the digital application and ensure its
      commercial viability. A non-randomized open trial with a 1-month follow up will assess
      preliminary effects on attitudes and behaviors, and will establish procedures for assessing
      change in proximal (attitude) and distal (behavioral) outcomes in preparation for large-scale
      evaluation in a Phase 2 SBIR proposal. This line of research and development has the
      potential to develop a commercially viable product with high public health impact that can be
      disseminated to 1700+ community colleges and 3,000+ 4-year colleges, and readily adapted to
      high schools, clinics and military settings.
    

Detailed description: 
      Sexual assault (SA) is prevalent among students at 2- and 4-year colleges. The rate of SA
      among college students is three times greater than the rate in the general population, making
      prevention on college campuses a public health priority. There are no college SA prevention
      programs that document reductions in SA in a rigorous research design. Digital applications
      that use the theory and strategies of serious games integrate proven theories of behavior
      change (social cognitive theory, self-determination theory) to produce sustained, measurable
      behavioral outcomes, and are effective for promoting change in a range of health behaviors.
      Digital applications have high market potential in light of widespread use of mobile devices
      among young adults. Problematically, there are no commercially-available digital applications
      for SA prevention with efficacy in reducing SA. Accordingly, in this proposal, the
      Interactive Digital Intervention to Prevent Violence among Young Adults team will design,
      create and pilot the Make a Change digital application. Make a Change is a universal
      prevention program that aligns with best-practices in prevention, utilizes the theory and
      strategies of serious games for health, and addresses risk and protective factors for SA
      across the social ecology of individual, peer and community factors that foster SA. This
      novel digital application also leverages theories of behavior change within serious games for
      health, and integrates successful practices in videogame design to promote engagement,
      learning and skill-building. This team consists of experts in SA prevention, commercial
      videogame production, the development and testing of serious games for health, and business
      development and marketing. The primary aim of this Phase I SBIR is to create and test an
      alpha version of Make a Change for mobile devices, and to document the technical merit,
      commercial viability, and proof of concept of the product. Successful completion of this
      proposal will result in the creation of two assets: 1) an "Intervention Manual" that (similar
      to a logic model) will align key game mechanics with theory and behavior change goals and, 2)
      the digital application for mobile devices. Focus groups and interviews with students, as
      well as interviews with campus stakeholders, will be used to inform development of the
      digital application and ensure its commercial viability. A non-randomized open trial with a
      1-month follow up will assess preliminary effects on attitudes and behaviors, and will
      establish procedures for assessing change in proximal (attitude) and distal (behavioral)
      outcomes in preparation for large-scale evaluation in a Phase 2 SBIR proposal. This line of
      research and development has the potential to develop a commercially viable product with high
      public health impact that can be disseminated to 1700+ community colleges and 3,000+ 4-year
      colleges, and readily adapted to high schools, clinics and military settings.
    

Intervention name(s): Digital Intervention
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): This digital application for sexual assault prevention can be completed on a tablet computer.
Intervention model: Single Group Assignment
Intervention model description: A non-randomized open trial with a 1-month follow up will assess preliminary effects on attitudes and behaviors, and will establish procedures for assessing change in proximal (attitude) and distal (behavioral) outcomes in preparation for large-scale evaluation in a Phase 2 SBIR proposal.
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Sexual Assault; Digital Intervention