Title: Challenges and Opportunities to the Design, Implementation, Evaluation, and Scale-Up of Digital Interventions Targeting Children and Families: A Multiple Case Study Perspective

Time: 9:00am- 12:00pm

Room: 212

Facilitators:

Dr. Nicole Nathan, The University of Newcastle

Mavra Ahmed, University of Toronto

Penny Love, Deakin University

Erin Hennessy, Tufts University

Rachel Sutherland, The University of Newcastle

Christopher Pfledderer, UT Health Houston

Taren Swindle, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Description:

Brief: Designing, implementing, and evaluating digital interventions targeted at children and families is a multifaceted process, holding the potential to improve the well-being and development of the younger generation. These interventions encompass a wide range of digital tools and platforms, spanning from educational apps and games to parenting support websites and virtual communities. Each phase of this journey presents unique challenges and opportunities, requiring thoughtful consideration of features to ensure effective interventions, robust technical details for content curation, and the continuous monitoring and evaluation needed for long-term implementation and sustainability.

Aim: The primary objective of this workshop is to equip participants with the foundational knowledge necessary for scaling up interventions in early care and education settings using digital methods.

Format: To achieve this goal, the workshop will feature a series of concise case studies that traverse the scale-up continuum, including the phases of design, implementation, and scale-up. Following these case studies, there will be a roundtable discussion and a hands-on workshop where participants will work in small groups to gain practical insights into the methods and approaches required9

Title: Network of Early Career Researchers and Students of ISBNPA (NESI) Workshop

Time: 8:00am- 12:00pm

Room: 213

Facilitators:
Stephen Barrett, Bendigo Health, Australia

Merling Phaswana, Wits University, South Africa

Description:

This workshop is for early career researchers (ECRs) and students who are interested in advancing their career development and enhancing their research networks. The workshop will be a half-day session. 

Title: Apps, Portals, and Platforms: Leveraging Technology to Advance Behavioral and Community Health Research – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly in Developing and Rolling out Health Technologies

Time: 8:00am – 12:00pm

Room: 215

Facilitators: Maja Pedersen, PhD, Stanford University School of Medicine

Description:

📲 Discover the spectrum of technology used in furthering behavioral and community health research through an interactive, hands-on learning experience.

👁 Gain insights from case studies ranging from mobile apps to Big Data to Generative AI, advancing your understanding of the ever-evolving technology landscape.

🌍 Delve into one digitally integrated research method, Stanford University’s Our Voice, to demonstrate the types of challenges faced by academic researchers attempting to integrate technology into their work, and solutions that can help. Examples from diverse global regions will be provided, along with discussion of the potential of digital tools to ethically engage communities in co-produced research.

🤝 Engage in interactive breakout sessions focused on integrating technology to advance health equity in four key areas: Physical & Environmental Health; Social Environments; Service Environments; Economic & Work Environments

🗣️ Breakout groups will be organized by thematic areas and facilitated by researchers in the Our Voice network across the globe. Sessions include a brief case study, reflections and lessons learned from firsthand experiences with a community-engaged digital citizen science tool and platform, and opportunities for attendees to spark collaborative ideas in their own research areas.

Join us to explore, engage, and evolve your tech-driven initiatives!

Title: Navigating Process Evaluation in Participatory Research

Time: 8:30am – 12:30pm

Room: 216

Facilitators:
Maïté Verloigne, Ghent University and Other SIG leaders

Description:

Using a participatory approach to develop and implement an intervention to promote healthy behaviour, is receiving increased attention in our field. The participatory approach entails a strong and active collaboration between academic researchers and important stakeholders (including the target group of the intervention) and ensures the intervention is tailored to the needs and characteristics of the stakeholders and the context in which it is being implemented. However, researchers often struggle with evaluating participatory studies, and more specifically with conducting a process evaluation, as it can be conducted differently than in more traditional research studies. Examples are that there are different “processes” that may be evaluated (i.e., not only the participatory developed intervention itself) and that process evaluation may provide iterative opportunities to gather input during the development of the intervention and adjust accordingly. Therefore, this workshop will focus on increasing skills on how to design a process evaluation of a participatory study, focusing on the what, when and how.