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Using the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) to Develop an Optimized Online STI Preventive Intervention Aimed at College Students: Description of Conceptual Model and Iterative Approach to Optimization

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Optimization of Behavioral, Biobehavioral, and Biomedical Interventions

Part of the book series: Statistics for Social and Behavioral Sciences ((SSBS))

Abstract

This chapter describes some aspects of an application of the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) to optimize and evaluate itMatters, an online intervention that targets the intersection of alcohol use and sexual behaviors to reduce sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among college students. The chapter emphasizes two aspects of this application. First, we describe the development of a detailed conceptual model during the preparation phase of MOST. This conceptual model guided decisions such as the choice of outcome variables. Second, we describe an iterative approach to experimentation during the optimization phase of MOST. The objective of the iterative approach is to build a highly effective intervention by using repeated optimization trials to evaluate which intervention components meet a given criterion for effectiveness and which do not. Revisions are undertaken to improve the components that do not meet the criterion, and then a subsequent optimization trial is used to reevaluate the components. This iterative approach has the potential to enable the investigator to develop more effective, efficient, economical, and scalable interventions.

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Acknowledgments

Preparation of this chapter was supported by Award Number R01 AA022931 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and Award Number P50 DA039838 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The authors thank Amanda Applegate for editorial assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Methodology Center, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Kari C. Kugler, Kate M. Guastaferro & Linda M. Collins

  2. Department of Public Health Education, The University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, PA, USA

    David L. Wyrick, Amanda E. Tanner, Jeffrey J. Milroy, Brittany Chambers & Alice Ma

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  1. Kari C. Kugler
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  2. David L. Wyrick
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  6. Alice Ma
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  7. Kate M. Guastaferro
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  8. Linda M. Collins
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Correspondence to Kari C. Kugler .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Pennsylvania State University, The Methodology Center, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Linda M. Collins

  2. The Pennsylvania State University, The Methodology Center, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Kari C. Kugler

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Kugler, K.C. et al. (2018). Using the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) to Develop an Optimized Online STI Preventive Intervention Aimed at College Students: Description of Conceptual Model and Iterative Approach to Optimization. In: Collins, L., Kugler, K. (eds) Optimization of Behavioral, Biobehavioral, and Biomedical Interventions. Statistics for Social and Behavioral Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91776-4_1

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