Can relational agents enhance parent-teen communication to improve T1D outcomes?

 描述(由申请人提供)：家庭团队合作(FT)是一种干预措施，旨在加强父母/青少年围绕遵守和血糖(即血糖)控制的沟通。它是专门为解决青春期前或患有1型糖尿病(T1D)的青少年家庭中出现的独特问题而设计的。两项独立的研究已经证明，当面对面地将其提供给父母/青少年对时，它在印刷格式中的有效性。在接受干预的家庭中，与对照组中患有T1D的青少年相比，患有T1D的青少年血糖控制更好，家庭冲突更少。虽然这一干预措施非常有效，但其在“现实生活”中的实施受到培训人员可获得性和费用的限制。在线技术很容易获得，并被青少年高度接受。关系代理(即人类的交互式数字表示)是传递健康护理和行为改变信息的一种很有前途的方法；因此，将FT转换为由关系代理领导的在线格式有可能成为在有T1D青少年的家庭中加强围绕自我管理行为的沟通的有效方法。调整后的方案将具有广泛传播和影响的潜力，这将增强其潜在的公共卫生影响。因此，这项为期两年的研究将进行形成性研究，以使FT适应由关系代理领导的在线格式。将对可用性进行评估，并将进行一项小型试点研究，以评估可行性。一旦可行性确定，将进行一项未来的、动力充足的随机对照试验，以评估其疗效和成本效益(R01)。随后，该在线计划将在美国农业部/ARS儿童营养研究中心的网站上免费提供，供卫生保健专业人员与患有T1D的青少年家庭使用。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Family Teamwork (FT) is an intervention to enhance parent/adolescent communication around adherence and glycemic (i.e., blood glucose) control. It was specifically designed to address the unique issues that arise in families with a pre-adolescent or adolescent who has type 1 diabetes (T1D). Two separate studies have proven its efficacy in a print format when delivered in-person to parent/adolescent pairs. In families who received the intervention, adolescents with T1D had better glycemic control and less family conflict compared to adolescents with T1D in the control group. While this intervention was highly efficacious, its implementation in `real life' is limited by availability and cost of traine personnel to deliver it. Online technology is readily available and highly accepted by adolescents. Relational Agents (i.e., interactive digital representations of humans) are a promising method for delivering health care and behavior change information; thus, converting FT to an online format led by a Relational Agent has the potential to be an effective method for enhancing communication around self-management behaviors in families that have an adolescent with T1D. The adapted program would have the potential for wide dissemination and reach which would enhance its potential public health impact. Therefore, this 2-year study will conduct formative research to adapt FT to an online format led by a Relational Agent. Usability will be evaluated, and a small pilot study will be conducted to assess feasibility. Once feasibilit is established, a future, adequately powered randomized controlled trial will be conducted to evaluate its efficacy and cost effectiveness (R01). Following this, the online program will be freely available on the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center's website for health care professionals to use with families of adolescents with T1D.