Advancing Intervention Development for Alcohol and Drug-involved Sexual Assault Using Implementation Science and User-centered Design

About This Grant

PROJECT ABSTRACT The overarching goal of this Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (K08) is to provide Dr. Elizabeth Neilson with the training and research activities needed to become an independent investigator. Her program of research will focus on developing an intervention for college alcohol- and drug- involved sexual assault perpetrators using implementation science and user-centered design. Up to one-third of students are sexually assaulted during college. Half of campus sexual assaults involve alcohol and/or other drugs, and alcohol intoxication is one of the most robust predictors of perpetration. Institutes of higher education must provide interventions to students who perpetrate sexual assault, but there are few available, effective, evidence-based interventions for sexual assault perpetration. Even the availability of an efficacious intervention does not guarantee an institute of higher education will use it. Institutional barriers and intervention design flaws impede the acceptability, usability, and feasibility of implementing evidence-based interventions. Implementation science can enhance the development and evaluation of interventions for public health problems—such as alcohol- and drug-involved sexual assault perpetration--by preemptively considering the implementation context. However, alcohol- and drug-involved sexual assault research rarely employs implementation science when developing interventions. This proposal includes training activities to ensure Dr. Neilson achieves the following four career goals: 1) expertise in dissemination and implementation science; 2) advanced training in treatment development research for risky alcohol and drug use and sexual assault; 3) proficiency in user-centered design principles and methods; and 4) honing skills in grant-writing, responsible conduct of research, and professional development. The interdisciplinary mentorship team includes experts in: translating mechanistic research to intervention (DiLillo), implementation science (Spertus, Zielinski), sexual assault perpetration (Anderson), evidence-based interventions for alcohol and drug use (Liese) and sexual assault (Davis), and user-centered design (Scott/Eggleston). Dr. Neilson will apply the skills acquired during the training activities to a research project focused on the development of an intervention for college alcohol- and drug-involved sexual assault perpetration. The research project uses an “implementation forward” approach and mixed-methods research to identify implementation determinants (e.g., institutional priorities, preferences, obstacles), develop program content and design, and assess usability and acceptability with higher education student affairs professionals and college students. The proposed training and research activities will prepare Dr. Neilson for an independent research career focused on developing, evaluating, and implementing programs for risky alcohol use and sexual assault. This project is in line with NIH priorities and will inform an R-level grant to conduct a Type I Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation trial testing the effectiveness of the intervention and its ability to be implemented in college campuses.