Pilot and Feasibility Studies
Supporting the development of new interventions.
The goal of the LCT-RN Pilot and Feasibility Program is to support researchers to conduct preliminary research and data collection that will help them to secure external funding for life course intervention research. Each year, the LCT-RN provides funding for several research projects. In addition to advancing the field of life course intervention research, these projects also support the work of our research nodes.
Projects are required to meet the criteria for life course intervention research developed by the LCT-RN steering committee, including being: optimization-focused, longitudinally-focused, strategically-timed, multi-level or holistic, and horizontally and vertically integrated.
2022-23
Teacher support of preschool children when they grieve, Keisha Wint, Binghamton University: Pre-K teachers lack resources to help them support grieving children. This intervention aims to increase teacher’s knowledge of grief and of age-appropriate communication improving their responsiveness to children’s social-emotional needs and the quality of their relationships with students. The pilot study will test the efficacy of the Helping Children with Loss intervention with 30 preschool teachers to change their knowledge and beliefs around grief.
A geo-spatial approach to neighborhood social capital and parenting self-efficacy, Carol Duh-Leong, NYU: Using caregiver data from the “Greenlight Plus” study (a 6-city RCT), the project aims to characterize the neighborhood community spaces of caregivers with newborns; examine relationships between residential proximity to community spaces and perceived neighborhood social capital and parenting self efficacy; and explore whether neighborhood social capital mediates the relationship between the two.
Student perceptions of the effects of collaborative learning on social networks and health, Ben Meza, UCLA: Most adults who develop a substance use disorder begin use in adolescence and nearly half of adolescent use is associated with peer influence – with cascading effects on education and health throughout the life span. Collaborative learning, a pedagogical intervention associated with improved educational outcomes and greater equity, may promote healthier peer social networks and prevent substance use through positive peer influence. High school students are grouped together intentionally to complete projects in a process contingent on their forming mutually interdependent social relationships. This study examines the student experience of linked learning in relation to the formation of healthier social networks, potentially disrupting clustering associated with shared high-risk behaviors. This pilot qualitative study uses semi-structured interviews to better understand student perspectives on collaborative learning, social network dynamics, mental health and health behaviors. The results will directly inform a future examination of collaborative learning and health.
A qualitative examination of critical consciousness and wellbeing among minoritized emerging adults, Elena Maker Castro, UCLA: Emerging adults experiencing systemic oppression(s) face heightened challenges to wellbeing. Critical consciousness (CC), or analysis and action against oppression, may protect wellbeing. This study examines the relationship between CC and wellbeing for minoritized emerging adults, sensitive to developmental trajectories and ecological contexts. In Aim 1, methodological tools will be piloted to advance the study of CC and wellbeing within a life course framework. In Aim 2, interviews will explore the role of community-based organizations in fostering CC and wellbeing. This study will identify mechanisms to support minoritized emerging adults as they develop CC and prepare subsequent investigations.
Family Wellbeing in Global Cultures: Establishing Foundations for Adaptive Interventions Across the Lifespan, Saltanat Childress, UT Arlington: This project aims to support further research to prevent ACEs and promote family well-being among at-risk populations among immigrants from Central Asia and the former Soviet Union residing in the US. The study has three aims: 1) to identify sociocultural/psychosocial risk and protective factors for immigrant and refugee families from Central Asia and how these factors impact child outcomes; 2) to understand the role of fathers in family health using an LCHD perspective; 3) to improve understanding of mental health and well-being among adolescent immigrants from Central Asia and identify potential strategies for psychosocial support.
Feasibility, accessibility, and refinement of a family-focused early intervention for infants at high risk of developing ADHD, Meghan Miller, UC Davis: This project will develop a comprehensive, parent-mediated intervention targeting attention regulation, self-regulation, and emotion regulation for families with infants at high risk for later ADHD. The intervention will be piloted with 5 infants and their caregivers from an ongoing infant risk study. Feasibility and acceptability will be measured using validated tools, and the intervention will be refined based on feedback.
Preventing Substance Use and Abuse in Youth with ADHD: Pilot Multi-System Life Course Intervention: This project will co-create an adapted two-generational intervention (adolescents and caregivers) designed to prevent substance use in youth with ADHD.
2021-22
The preferences and experiences of adolescents with ADHD for a virtual behavioral health system: a life course intervention pilot study of Change Gradients, Marianne Pugatch, UCSF: ADHD affects almost 10% of school-aged children, with a major impact on public health due to the association of asolescent ADHD with alcohol use, related harms, and the persistence of a risky trajectory into adulthood. Yet, little is known about how to protect adolescents with ADHD from this critical trajectory. The overall goal of this study is to gather preliminary data for life course intervention research examining the impact of a virtual health behavior change system, ChangeGradients, on alcohol use outcomes for adolescents with ADHD. The primary aim of the pilot is to examine the feasibility and acceptability of engaging youth with ADHD in the ChangeGradients environment to characterize this population’s unique interface with the gaming platform.
Immigrant father involvement in child health and well-being over the life course, Kevin Roy, U Maryland, Saltanat Childress, UT Arlington, Jerica Berge, U Minnesota: The goal of this research is to understand the role of immigrant fathers and influences of migration on parent and children’s health and well-being over the life course, as they age within multi-generational families. Using the life course health development model for families, this interdisciplinary and multi-site collaboration will examine how fathers in immigrant families support their own, their partner’s, and their children’s physical and mental health over time; how families cope with challenges of acculturation, economic setbacks, discrimination and criminalization, and constrained educational opportunities; and which gaps, barriers, and opportunities promote or constrain long-term health of men and their families.
Examining the process and impact of parent affiliate stigma on raising a child with ASD in African-American Families, Allysa Ware, Catholic University of America: There is a marked gap in research for understanding the association between child ASD stigma and parental affiliate stigma in relation to child rearing in African American families. This study aims to close this gap by determining whether there is a significant relationship between African American parents’ affiliate stigma and their difficulties in raising a child with ASD. Substantiating this effect could lead to further development and testing of interventions to reduce the negative effects of stigmatization in parents’ and children’s health outcomes and for reducing racial health disparities.
Assessing the feasibility, acceptability, and utility of the Family Health Scale-Short Form among English- and Spanish-speaking caregivers of young children in primary care pediatrics, Nomi Weiss-Laxer, The Research Foundation for SUNY on behalf of U. at Buffalo: Families provide a critical environment for child development. Primary care is a trusted resource for families of young children, but lacks tools to screen for family health. The Family Health Scale-Short Form (FHS-SF) is a holistic family health measure with preliminary screening cut-offs for low, moderate, and excellent family health. The tool has not been validated in clinical settings. This mixed-methods study examines the feasibility, acceptability, and utility of the FHS-SF for families with children ages 0-3. Methods include caregiver and pediatric staff focus groups and analyzing health records. Outcomes include caregiver and child health and prevention services engagement.
Engaging families of pre-term babies to optimize thriving and well-being: exploring facilitators and barriers for scaffolding parenting across health, home, day care, and early childhood education, Michael Msall, U Chicago, Ben Van Voorhees, U Illinois – Chicago: Pre-term infants who require neonatal intensive care are at increased risk for adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. Early detection is critical to ensuring timely intervention and activities to promote school readiness. The objective of this project is to proactively engage families in partnerships with health professionals and community supports in the first five years of life so as to maximize detection of early delays and provide evidence-based interventions to optimize child functioning. The project will explore parental supports and barriers through focus groups and community forums, and will test how existing smartphone apps and interventions support scaffolding for parents.
Youth-led Participatory Action Research (YPAR) as an intervention to promote emotional well-being post pandemic. Noe Chavez, Charles Drew; Heather Kennedy, Colorado; & Michelle Abraczinskas, Florida: The purpose of this pilot study is to understand which emotional well-being domains are impacted by YPAR in the context of COVID-19 and racial injustice. Across three sites, we will explore virtually, using arts-based methods and multiple qualitative sources, the impact of COVID-19 and racism on youth of colors’ emotional well-being domains and perspectives on what is necessary for racial healing.
2020-21
Monitoring of youth experiencing homelessness in California during the COVID-19 ear and post-COVID-19 era, Coco Auerswald, UC Berkeley: Youth experiencing homelessness (YEH) are not only at greater risk of being infected by COVID-19 than their peers, but are also more likely to have their developmental trajectory to adulthood be affected by COVID-19 and its social and economic sequelae. To meet the need for a feasible, scalable and sustainable, as well as youth-engaged approach to monitor youth wellbeing and inform policies that will support their transition to adulthood, we will pilot and evaluate a youth-engaged approach. All study activities will either be informed by, conducted with or conducted by members of a team of youth community interns who will be recruited from the population of youth experiencing or exiting homelessness in San Francisco or Alameda Counties.
Population-wide integration of multi-tiered, evidence-based interventions to promote early childhood and parent mental health and development: two-generation strengths-based approach in an early childhood education center, Erica Coates, Georgetown (Completed): The Family Wellbeing Program (FWP) is a multigenerational, multi-tiered, early childhood education center-based intervention strategy offering a range of trauma-specific evidence- based and evidence-informed practices to families in under-resourced communities to promote mental health for young children and their parents. Using a population- based approach at an early childhood education center, we will investigate whether participation in the FWP is associated with 1) promotion of emotional and behavioral wellbeing in children and parents, 2) prevention of mental health problems in children and parents exposed to trauma, and 3) effective treatment of trauma-exposed children and parents with clinical distress or impairment.
Families of children with disabilities during COVID-19: exploring issues of service utilization and access, Priyanka Fernandes and Denise Nunez, UCLA (Completed): Children with developmental disabilities depend greatly on receiving appropriate services during crucial developmental stages to maximize their learning, health and independence during their life-course. The COVID-19 pandemic has created significant challenges in safe and effective delivery of services and high stress levels in families, highlighting the importance of emergency planning for this population. Our study aims at 1) understanding the service and health burden among families and children with disabilities, and 2) understanding best practices from local experts during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Results will inform programmatic adaptation, allowing decision makers to plan for emergencies like the pandemic.
Products: Emergency & Pandemic Preparedness Toolkit for Families of Children with Special Healthcare Needs (English, Spanish)
A Life Course Health Developmental Perspective to Develop Trauma-Informed Care for Obesity, Janet Rich-Edwards, Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Completed): The prevention of obesity and care for people with obesity would be improved by a life course health development perspective that incorporates an understanding of the roles of trauma and stigma in obesity. To brainstorm and develop such a Trauma-Informed Care for Obesity (TICO) approach, we propose to convene diverse groups that have yet to engage with each other: fat activists, domestic violence advocates, academics, and the weight loss/wellness industry. The preliminary data will inform novel TICO programs and new funding applications.
The Impact of COVID-19 on economic adversity, parent mental health, parenting self-efficacy, and child development, Adam Schickedanz, UCLA (Completed): Low-income, socially marginalized communities are at greatest risk not only of being exposed to COVID-19 infection but suffering disproportionately under the economic fallout of the pandemic as a result of structural economic inequalities. We propose a detailed study of short-term trajectories of harms to family financial, health, parenting efficacy, and developmental outcomes in the rapidly-evolving epidemic’s first year, with subsequent longer-term follow-up measurement of these trajectories into the end of early childhood leveraging a study of an existing cohort of low-income, racially minoritized dyads of parents and their infants and young children. We will also examine resilience factors in each of these domains and time windows that could form the basis for targeted interventions to help socially marginalized families weather the economic and social storms of the post-COVID era.