Conducting Ethical Pilot Studies of Interpersonal Violence Prevention Programs with Youth in Schools

Numerous school-based interpersonal violence prevention programs exist, each with varying foci as well as levels of evidentiary support for their effectiveness. Such programs, if effective, can provide an opportunity to support the healthy development of youth and bolster a wide range of positive outcomes. Ideally, early in the development and testing of a new prevention program, feasibility or pilot studies will be conducted to explore an array of topics, including the viability and acceptability of the program, the protocol for the program's implementation, and methods for evaluating the program with the population for which the program was designed. Such feasibility or pilot evaluations can provide information critical to ensuring the success of both program implementation and future, larger-scale tests of efficacy and effectiveness. More specifically, in addition to providing preliminary data on potential program outcomes for both youth participants and schools, pilot studies can elicit information on whether the program can be implemented as intended in participating sites, how to thoughtfully partner with participating schools, how to ethically obtain informed parental consent and youth assent, whether methods and instruments used to collect data can be improved, and more. Conducting pilot studies is a vital step in providing ethical, evidence-based interventions that are appropriate for youth with consideration of the unique school environment.

In this interactive workshop, participants will gain knowledge and tools concerning how to approach and implement early-stage evaluations of youth-focused violence prevention programs. Using examples from their own feasibility study and drawing on existing scholarship in the field of violence prevention and translational research, the presenters will focus on five key areas of feasibility and pilot program evaluations: 1) building relationships with community partners; 2) selecting and developing appropriate measures; 3) developing and implementing youth assent and parental consent protocols; 4) obtaining approval from university and partner school Institutional Review Boards; and 5) implementing an evaluation with youth. Content will be enhanced by extant research and personal experiences of the presenters. The workshop will follow the progress of and lessons learned from a recent feasibility study (conducted 2022-2023) of the ERIN Talk sexual violence prevention program to support learning. This study was conducted with 7th grade students, using a pre-test/post-test design with a comparison group, as well as semi-structured, in-depth interviews with both program facilitators and school employees.

Throughout the workshop, participants will engage in dialogue and discussion about the challenges of engaging in program evaluations with youth. Participants will be provided with an example assent protocol and will practice engaging in an assent dialogue in small groups to develop a better understanding of how to respond to assent-related questions from youth. This activity will provide an opportunity to practice skills and receive feedback from peers. Participants will engage in additional activities to practice skills and challenges as time allows.