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Conducting a child injury prevention RCT in the wake of COVID-19: lessons learned for virtual human subjects research
Sophia Prokos1, Amy Damashek1, Barbara Morrongiello2
1Department of Psychology, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, United States.
Insights
This study adapted an injury prevention trial for low-income children to a virtual format due to COVID-19. While data collection was successful, virtual recruitment and retention presented challenges for researchers.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Injury Prevention
Background:
- Unintentional injuries are a leading cause of death in US children.
- Children in low-income households face higher risks of unintentional injury.
- Parental supervision is key to reducing child injury risk, but interventions are understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe modifications made to a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to reduce unintentional injury risk in low-income children.
- To adapt in-person study procedures to a fully virtual format due to COVID-19.
- To share lessons learned for future virtual human subjects research.
Main Methods:
- Transitioned data collection and intervention delivery from in-person to virtual formats.
- Utilized participant cell phones, virtual meeting software, and online platforms for data collection and intervention.
- Adapted in-home observations for virtual delivery.
Main Results:
- All originally proposed data were successfully collected.
- Virtual data collection and intervention delivery were feasible.
- Recruitment and retention proved more challenging than anticipated in the virtual format.
Conclusions:
- Federally funded RCTs can be modified for virtual delivery during public health crises.
- Virtual human subjects research requires careful planning for recruitment and retention.
- Lessons learned can guide future virtual research in child injury prevention and other fields.
Abstract:
Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death among children in the United States, and children living in low-income households are particularly at risk for sustaining unintentional injuries. Close parental supervision has been found to reduce young children's risk for injury; however, few studies have examined interventions to increase parental supervision. This paper discusses COVID-19 related modifications that were made to a federally funded randomized controlled trial to reduce low-income children's risk for unintentional injury. The study's procedures (data collection and intervention delivery) had to be transitioned from in-person to a fully virtual format. Modifications that were made to the study included use of: participant cell phones to conduct data collection and intervention sessions; virtual meeting software to conduct sessions with participants and; an online platform to collect questionnaire data. In addition, many modifications were required to complete the in-home observation virtually. In terms of feasibility, the investigators were able to collect all of the data that was originally proposed; however, recruitment and retention was more challenging than anticipated. Lessons learned during the modification process are included to provide guidance to researchers seeking to conduct virtual human subjects research in the future.
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