Developing + Testing Theory-Driven, Evidence Based Psychosocial and Behavioral Health Interventions

This is a graduate-level course designed to provide students with the knowledge and research skills necessary to develop and ultimately test a theory-driven, evidence-based psychosocial or health behavior change intervention. Drawing on research, theory, and practice, students learn how to conduct formative research to inform the content, structure, and format of an intervention, set goals/objectives, develop intervention materials/messages, and evaluate outcomes – all while taking into account factors such as gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, poverty, culture, social-support/social-capital, etc. Research methods that are relevant for examining efficacy, including study-design, power/sample size calculations, fidelity monitoring, randomization, control conditions, measures selection/assessment, data collection, etc. are covered. Prerequisite: PHP2340 or instructor permission