Introduction to the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST)

This course is aimed at intervention scientists working in any area--including public health, education, criminal justice, and others—interested in learning about an innovative framework for conducting intervention research. This course will show you how to use the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) to: streamline interventions by eliminating inactive components; identify the combination of components that offers the greatest effectiveness without exceeding a defined implementation budget; develop interventions for immediate scalability; look inside the “black box” to understand which intervention components work and which do not; and improve interventions programmatically over time. In this course you will relate the MOST framework to your research objectives; learn how MOST differs from the standard approach to intervention development and evaluation; learn how to complete the preparation and optimization phases of MOST; and become familiar with rigorous and highly efficient experimental designs that will enable you to examine the performance of individual intervention components.

• Week 1 - MOST is a different way of thinking
• Week 1 - MOST is a different way of thinking
• Week 2 - The preparation phase: Laying the foundation for successful optimization
• Week 3 - Introduction to the factorial optimization trial
• Week 4 - Some conceptual and technical aspects of the factorial experiment
• Week 5 - Rigorous and responsible conduct of intervention optimization research
• Week 6 - Completing the optimization phase and identifying your next steps