Interactive Digital Intervention to Prevent Violence Among Young Adults

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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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
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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.

Official Title
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Interactive Digital Intervention to Prevent Violence Among Young Adults

Conditions
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Sexual Assault

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Digital Intervention


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Between the ages of 18 and 24 Enrolled as a student at one of the study sites Exclusion Criteria: None

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 24 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Interventional 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)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Digital Intervention<br>Make a Change is a universal sexual assault (SA) 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. | Behavioral: Digital Intervention<br>* This digital application for sexual assault prevention can be completed on a tablet computer.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sexual aggression | Assessed via the Sexual Experiences Survey - Revised | 1-month follow-up | 
| Sexual victimization | Assessed via the Sexual Experiences Survey - Revised | 1-month follow-up | 
| Bystander intervention | Assessed via the Bystander Attitudes Survey | 1-month follow-up | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Rape supportive beliefs | Assessed via the Short-Form Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale | 1-month follow-up | 
| Perception of peer support for sexual aggression | Assess through items from Boeringer's Social Norms Measure and Clemson's Peer Pressure Measure | 1-month follow-up | 
| Perceived peer norms | Change in the accuracy in perception of peer norms (assessed via responses to in-app questions) | 1-month follow-up | 
| Bystander intervention confidence | Assessed via the Bystander Efficacy Scale from ARC-3 | 1-month follow-up | 
| Communication of consent | Assessed via the Consent Experiences Scale | 1-month follow-up | 
| Self-protective behavior | Assessed via the Alcohol Use Self-Protective Behavior Scale | 1-month follow-up | 
| Psychological barriers to resistance | Assessed via the Psychological Barriers to Resistance Instrument | 1-month follow-up | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Sexual Assault, Digital Intervention