As the United States faces a rise in known COVID-19 cases, an innovative strategy that expands community adherence to CDC recommended preventative behaviors (e.g., hand washing and social distancing) is crucial to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic and saving lives. Given the vaccine and specific antiviral treatment for COVID-19 will take months or years to finalize, preventive behaviors remain the most effective strategy thus far. Adapted from the ecological momentary assessment (EMA) used in the parent R01 for smartphones, we plan to develop a self-monitoring EMA (SM-EMA) intervention to collect real-time behavior data and promote adherence to COVID-19 preventative behaviors. The central hypothesis of this study is that tailored-feedback messages via SM-EMA, a theory-based intervention, will improve knowledge and self-efficacy, which will consequently lead to self-guided implementation of CDC-recommended preventative behaviors. The proposed research addresses the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on African Americans who are a particularly vulnerable population. It is innovative in its large-scale testing of a novel SM-EMA to reinforce preventive behaviors and its examination of the sustainability of engagement. The mobile-enabled SM-EMA intervention will involve tapering pop-up messages, behavioral self-monitoring and tailored-feedback. SM-EMA development has begun during the preparation of this application, so our team is well-prepared to immediately implement the study once funded.
As the United States faces a rise in known COVID-19 cases with no vaccine currently available, an innovative strategy that increases community adherence to CDC recommended preventative behaviors (e.g., hand washing and social distancing) is crucial to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic and saving lives. Focusing on the particularly vulnerable African American population, the proposed research will examine the effectiveness of a novel self-monitoring ecologic momentary assessment (SM-EMA) to promote adherence to COVID-19 preventative behaviors.
