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Optimization of Behavioral and Biobehavioral Interventions: An Introduction to the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) for building more effective, efficient, economical, and scalable interventions

Presenter: Professor Linda M. Collins, Fulbright Specialist and Director, The Methodology Center, Pennsylvania State University, USA

Introduction video to MOST with Linda Collins at: https://methodology.psu.edu/publications/news/most-intro-video

Development of the majority of behavioral, biobehavioral, and biomedical interventions in use today has been based primarily on the two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT). The RCT is an excellent way to determine whether an intervention is effective. However, the treatment package approach is less helpful in providing empirical information that can be used to optimize the intervention to achieve improved effectiveness, efficiency, economy and scalability. In this workshop an innovative methodological framework, 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. A comprehensive strategy for intervention optimization, MOST includes three phases: preparation, optimization, and evaluation. MOST can be used to build a new intervention or to improve an existing intervention. Using MOST it is possible to engineer an intervention to meet a specific criterion; for example, the objective might be to identify the intervention that achieves the best outcome obtainable for less than a specified implementation cost.

This workshop will provide an introduction to MOST, with the objective of helping participants gain the skill set needed to be successful obtaining funding to apply MOST in their research. Ongoing intervention development studies using the MOST approach will be used as illustrative examples. A substantial amount of time will be devoted to experimental design, which is an important tool in MOST. In particular, factorial experiments and fractional factorial experiments will be discussed. Time will be reserved for open discussion of how the concepts presented can be applied in the research of attendees.

Following the workshop, attendees also have the option to book a 1-hour one-to-one meeting with Prof Collins on Wednesday 25 April to discuss the specifics of your research project. Please email valerie.parker@nuigalway.ie to reserve a slot.

To book a place, please visit our EVENTBRITE page

Schedule

DAY 1

10:30 – 11:00                Introductions
11:00 – 12:30                Introduction to MOST
12:30 – 13:30                Lunch
13:30 – 14:30                The preparation phase: conceptual model and optimization criterion
14:30 – 15:30                The optimization phase: Factorial optimization trials
15:30 – 15:45                Break
15:45 – 17:00                The optimization phase: Factorial optimization trials (continued) and the interaction
                                                Q&A

DAY 2

9:30 – 11:00                  The optimization phase: Fractional factorial optimization trials
11:00 – 11:15                Break
11:15 – 12:30                The optimization phase: Multi-level situations and factorial experiments
                                                How to power factorial experiments: Conclusion-priority vs. Decision-priority perspectives on research
12:30 – 13:30                Lunch
13:30 – 14:30                Concluding the optimization phase: Deciding on what constitutes the optimized intervention
14:30 – 15:00                Successful implementation of a factorial optimization trial in the field
15:00 – 16:00                Basing a successful grant proposal on MOST
                                                Q & A

DAY 3: Optional 1 hour one-to-one meeting with Prof Collins to discuss the specifics of your research project. Please email valerie.parker@nuigalway.ie to reserve a slot.

Intended Participants: Researchers, Principle Investigators, Statisicians, Trial Designers, Health Economists, Researcher Funders, and  other Researchers including PhD students interested in RCTs and research methodologies.

Workshop fees: €170 (general admission); €95 (student, valid ID required), which includes workshop materials, a copy of Prof Collins new book "Optimization of Behavioral, Biobehavioral, and Biomedical Interventions: The Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST)", lunch, and refreshments.

To book a place, please visit our EVENTBRITE page

Linda M. Collins, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor of Human Development & Family Studies at the Pennsylvania State University, United States. She is also Director of The Methodology Center, an interdisciplinary research center devoted to the advancement and dissemination of quantitative methods for applications in the behavioral sciences. Dr. Collins’s research interests include the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST), an engineering-inspired methodological framework for optimizing and evaluating behavioral, biobehavioral, and biomedical interventions. The objective of MOST is to improve intervention effectiveness, efficiency, economy, and scalability. Dr. Collins is currently collaborating on research applying MOST to develop optimized behavioral interventions in the areas of smoking cessation, weight loss, prevention of excessive drinking and risky sex in college students, and HIV services. Her research has been funded by the United States National Institutes of Health continuously for more than 30 years. 

Dr. Collins’s publications have appeared in a wide range of outlets, including methodological journals such as Psychological Methods, substance use journals such as Nicotine and Tobacco Research, behavioral journals such as Annals of Behavioral Medicine, and engineering journals such as IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, the Society of Behavioral Medicine, and the Society for Prevention Research. She is a past president of the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology and the Society for Prevention Research. Dr. Collins has delivered more than 100 invited presentations and workshops on MOST around the world.

Dr. Collins is a recipient of a Fulbright Specialist Award 2018 to visit the Health Behaviour Change Research Group at the National University of Ireland, Galway in April – May. During her visit to Ireland, she will deliver a workshop and a lecture on MOST and meet with research teams to explore and develop the application of MOST to their work. 

To book a place, please visit our EVENTBRITE page