Mobile Health Solutions for Behavioral Skill Implementation Through Homework

Summary

The goal of this two-year R34 treatment development grant is to develop a mobile health (mHealth) application that will both advance theory in and clinical practice of homework (HW) implementation.

HW can be described as between-session exercises where the client practices specific skills learned within-session in order to promote skill acquisition, which ultimately leads to improved acute- as well as longer-term therapeutic benefits on targeted outcomes, generalization of treatment effects and maintenance of treatment gains. Despite data demonstrating that HW is critical to achieving maximal benefits from evidence-based treatments, very little theory-driven approaches have been conducted focusing on improving the HW process. Through utilizing self-determination theory as a guiding framework and integrating principles from the field of "gamification" and goal-setting, the aim is to develop a two-component mHealth HW application (My MFG).

The first component focuses on delivering HW via a highly engaging, multiplayer, interactive, cooperative, and skill-building game platform aimed at improving the "Design" and "Do" process of HW. The second component focuses on targeting factors putatively related to poor HW implementation within the "Do" process.

The process of the development of My MFG will be guided by the clinic and community development model and iterative software development process to maximize the feasibility and sustainability of My MFG within practice settings often characterized by limited resources. Findings from this study have broad implications for evidence-based treatments for youth and adult mental health disorders that emphasize HW as the link between treatment and improvements in targeted outcomes.

Conditions

• Mental Health Wellness 1

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

MFG plus MyMFG

Specific aim is to utilize mHealth to improve the "Design" and "Do" process of HW within the context of the Family Groups for Youth with Behavioral Difficulties (MFG) intervention, an EBT for DBDs in youth and their families who seek assistance at outpatient mental health clinics in urban communities. The first component focuses on delivering HW via a highly engaging, multiplayer, interactive, cooperative, and skill-building game platform aimed at improving the "Design" and "Do" process of HW. The second component focuses on targeting factors putatively related to poor HW implementation within the "Do" process.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• NYU Silver School of Social Work

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Mary M McKay, PhD · New York University Silver School of Social Work

• Tyrone M Parchment, LMSW · New York University Silver School of Social Work

• Ozge Sensoy-Bahar, PhD · New York University Silver School of Social Work

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

7 Years

Max Age

13 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2015-11-30

Primary Completion

2016-05-31

Completion

2016-06-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations