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Month: October 2022

iTRAC Fast Track Project

iTRAC Fast Track Project

A collaborative research team from the University of Oregon, Rhode Island Hospital and its parent organization Lifespan Health Systems, and Klein Buendel has launched a new research project to develop and evaluate the impact of an emotion regulation program for adolescents. iTRAC will be a web-based program for “Talking about Risk and Adolescent Choices” to prevent risky sexual behavior and negative sexual health outcomes through emotion regulation strategies. The original TRAC program was developed and evaluated in multiple previous studies (MH078750, NR011906, and HD089979) by Dr. Christopher Houck from Lifespan and his team. 

In the new study, the original TRAC will be enhanced for emotion regulation, programmed as a web-based app (iTRAC) and assessed for acceptability by adolescents ages 12 to 14. The investigators will then conduct a randomized controlled trial examining the efficacy of the completed iTRAC intervention relative to a waitlist control among 120 adolescents. The study will examine the efficacy of iTRAC relative to a waitlist control in enhancing theoretically important emotional competencies, such as emotion regulation, emotion recognition, and distress tolerance that mediate risk as measured by self-report, performance measures, and parent report. 

The investigators hypothesize that: (1) iTRAC will receive positive adolescent ratings during acceptability testing for ease of use, enjoyment, and usefulness of content; (2) participants in iTRAC will report greater self-efficacy for sexual risk prevention skills over 6-month follow-up than comparison participants; and (3) youth in iTRAC will exhibit improved emotional competencies relative to the comparison group. 

The iTRAC project is funded by an STTR Fast Track grant to Klein Buendel from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (Dr. Christopher Houck, Principal Investigator from Lifespan; HD110333). Collaborators include Dr. Wendy Hadley from the University of Oregon; Dr. David Barker from Rhode Island Hospital; and Ms. Julia Berteletti from Klein Buendel. The iTRAC modules will be programmed by Klein Buendel’s Creative Team.  

Collaborator Spotlight:
Dr. Alexandra Morshed

Collaborator Spotlight:
Dr. Alexandra Morshed

Alexandra Morshed, Ph.D., is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral, Social and Health Education Services at Emory University. She is also a Co-Investigator with the Emory Prevention Research Center. Dr. Morshed received her Master of Science degree from Wageningen University in the Netherlands and her Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis.

Dr. Alexandra Morshed

Dr. Morshed is an implementation scientist with more than ten years of experience in public health research and practice. Her primary areas of interest include implementing interventions in vulnerable populations, chronic disease prevention, public health nutrition, and capacity building and knowledge expansion in dissemination and implementation science.

Dr. Morshed is currently collaborating with Dr. David Buller from Klein Buendel on a research study titled “Go Sun Smart at Work: A Sun Safety Program for Underserved Outdoor Workers” (Dr. Morshed and Dr. Buller, Multiple Principal Investigators). This CDC-funded study builds upon Klein Buendel’s evidence-based comprehensive occupational skin cancer prevention intervention, Go Sun Smart at Work, and aims to reduce UV exposure and prevent skin cancer among underserved outdoor workers in Georgia. Hispanic and African American adults have been overlooked in skin cancer prevention efforts, due to their lower incidence of skin cancer. However, among Hispanic and African Americans, skin cancer is diagnosed at more advanced stages, leading to higher mortality rates than non-Hispanic whites. The Emory University study aims to develop an intervention and implementation strategies to increase policies and practices to support sun safety among outdoor workers in Georgia.