Kate Guastaferro
Kate Guastaferro
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Assistant Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Co-Director of the Center for the Advancement and Dissemination of Intervention Optimization
Director of the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) Program
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Professional overview
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Kate Guastaferro, PhD is an intervention scientist by training, her work is devoted to the development, optimization, implementation and evaluation of effective, efficient, affordable and scalable interventions with high public health impact. She is an expert in the multiphase optimization (MOST) strategy and her expertise is in parent-focused, multicomponent behavioral interventions to prevent child maltreatment. Dr. Guastaferro co-led a statewide trial focused on the coordinated implementation of three evidence-base child sexual abuse prevention programs; included in this trial was the parent-focused child sexual abuse program that she developed, piloted and evaluated. Her current work is focused on the integration of intervention optimization into the prevention of child maltreatment.
Prior to joining NYU, Dr. Guastaferro was an assistant research professor in human development and family studies at the Pennsylvania State University, and an affiliate of its Prevention Research Center and Child Maltreatment Solutions Network. In 2020, she was awarded the Victoria S. Levin Award for Early Career Success in Young Children’s Mental Health Research from the Society for Research in Child Development. She has been published in Child Maltreatment, Translational Behavioral Medicine, and the American Journal of Public Health.
Dr. Guastaferro received her PhD and MPH from Georgia State University’s School of Public Health, and her BA in anthropology from Boston University. She also completed a year of postdoctoral training at the Pennsylvania State University.
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Education
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Postdoctoral Fellow, Prevention and Methodology Training Program (T32 DA017629), The Pennsylvania State UniversityPhD Public Health, Georgia State UniversityMPH Health Promotion, Georgia State UniversityBA Anthropology, Boston University
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Honors and awards
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Victoria S. Levin Award, Society for Research on Child Development (2020)NIH Loan Repayment Program Award: Toward the Optimization of Behavioral Interventions to Prevent Child Maltreatment (201820192020)Public Health Achievement Award, Georgia State University (2016)Scarlet Key Honor Society, Boston University (2008)
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Publications
Publications
An early palliative care telehealth coaching intervention to enhance advanced cancer family caregivers’ decision support skills: The CASCADE pilot factorial trial
AbstractDionne-Odom, J. N., Wells, R. D., Guastaferro, K., Azuero, A., Hendricks, B. A., Currie, E. R., Bechthold, A., Dosse, C., Taylor, R., Reed, R. D., Harrell, E. R., Gazaway, S., Engler, S., McKie, P., Williams, G. R., Sudore, R., Rini, C., Rosenberg, A. R., & Bakitas, M. A. (n.d.).Publication year
2022Journal title
Journal of Pain and Symptom ManagementVolume
63Issue
1Page(s)
11-22AbstractContext: Patients with advanced cancer often involve family caregivers in health-related decision-making from diagnosis to end-of-life; however, few interventions have been developed to enhance caregiver decision support skills. Objectives: Assess the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of individual intervention components of CASCADE (CAre Supporters Coached to be Adept DEcision Partners), an early telehealth, palliative care coach-led decision support training intervention for caregivers. Methods: Pilot factorial trial using the multiphase optimization strategy (October 2019-October 2020). Family caregivers and their care recipients with newly-diagnosed advanced cancer (n = 46 dyads) were randomized to1 of 8 experimental conditions that included a combination of one of the following three CASCADE components: 1) effective decision support psychoeducation; 2) decision support communication training; and 3) Ottawa Decision Guide training. Feasibility was assessed by completion of sessions and questionnaires (predefined as ≥80%). Acceptability was determined through postintervention interviews and participants’ ratings of their likelihood to recommend. Measures of effective decision support and caregiver and patient distress were collected at Twelve and Twenty four weeks. Results: Caregiver participants completed 78% of intervention sessions and 81% of questionnaires; patients completed 80% of questionnaires. Across conditions, average caregiver ratings for recommending the program to others was 9.9 on a scale from 1-Not at all likely to 10-Extremely likely. Individual CASCADE components were observed to have potential benefit for effective decision support and caregiver distress. Conclusion: We successfully piloted a factorial trial design to examine components of a novel intervention to enhance the decision support skills of advanced cancer family caregivers. A fully-powered factorial trial is warranted. Key Message: We pilot tested components of CASCADE, an early palliative care decision support training intervention for family caregivers of patients with advanced cancer. CASCADE components were acceptable and the trial design feasible, providing promising future directions for palliative care intervention development and testing. Pilot results will inform a fully-powered trial.Building expert-consulted guidance for the selection of research designs for optimizing behavioral interventions.
AbstractMarques, M. M., Pfammatter, A., & Guastaferro, K. (n.d.).Publication year
2022Abstract~How MOST can be used to advance implementation science objectives.
AbstractGuastaferro, K. (n.d.).Publication year
2022Abstract~Human-centered design methods to achieve preparation phase goals in the multiphase optimization strategy framework
AbstractO’Hara, K. L., Knowles, L. M., Guastaferro, K., & Lyon, A. R. (n.d.).Publication year
2022Journal title
Implementation Research & PracticeVolume
3AbstractBackground: The public health impact of behavioral and biobehavioral interventions to prevent and treat mental health and substance use problems hinges on developing methods to strategically maximize their effectiveness, affordability, scalability, and efficiency. Methods: The multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) is an innovative, principled framework that guides the development of multicomponent interventions. Each phase of MOST (Preparation, Optimization, Evaluation) has explicit goals and a range of appropriate research methods to achieve them. Methods for attaining Optimization and Evaluation phase goals are well-developed. However, methods used in the Preparation phase are often highly researcher-specific, and concrete ways to achieve Preparation phase goals are a priority area for further development. Results: We propose that the discover, design, build, and test (DDBT) framework provides a theory-driven and methods-rich roadmap for achieving the goals of the Preparation phase of MOST, including specifying the conceptual model, identifying and testing candidate intervention components, and defining the optimization objective. The DDBT framework capitalizes on strategies from the field of human-centered design and implementation science to drive its data collection methods. Conclusions: MOST and DDBT share many conceptual features, including an explicit focus on implementation determinants, being iterative and flexible, and designing interventions for the greatest public health impact. The proposed synthesized DDBT/MOST approach integrates DDBT into the Preparation phase of MOST thereby providing a framework for rigorous and efficient intervention development research to bolster the success of intervention optimization.Making the #MOST of Implementation Science.
AbstractGuastaferro, K. (n.d.).Publication year
2022Abstract~MOST Designs in Behavioral Research.
AbstractGuastaferro, K. (n.d.).Publication year
2022Abstract~Optimizing educational interventions in crisis contexts through the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST).
AbstractCollins, L., Guastaferro, K., & Strayhorn, J. (n.d.).Publication year
2022Abstract~Parent-focused sexual abuse prevention: Results from a cluster randomized trial
AbstractGuastaferro, K., Felt, J. M., Font, S. A., Connell, C. M., Miyamoto, S., Zadzora, K. M., & Noll, J. G. (n.d.).Publication year
2022Journal title
Child MaltreatmentVolume
27Issue
1Page(s)
114-125AbstractThis study tested whether a child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention program, Smart Parents–Safe and Healthy Kids (SPSHK), could be implemented as an additional module in evidence-based parent training and whether the added module might detract from the efficacy of the original program. In a cluster randomized trial, six community-based organizations were randomized to deliver Parents as Teachers (PAT) with SPSHK (PAT+SPSHK) or PAT as usual (PAT-AU). CSA-related awareness and protective behaviors, as well as general parenting behaviors taught by PAT were assessed at baseline, post-PAT, post-SPSHK, and 1-month follow-up. Multilevel analyses revealed significant group by time interactions for both awareness and behaviors (psSchool-based child sexual abuse prevention: Large-scale implementation of Safe Touches.
AbstractHolloway, J. L., & Guastaferro, K. (n.d.).Publication year
2022Abstract~Taking a school-based child sexual abuse prevention program to scale: A cost analysis
AbstractShipe, S. L., Guastaferro, K., Noll, J. G., Connell, C. M., Morgan, P. L., & Crowley, D. M. (n.d.).Publication year
2022Journal title
Prevention ScienceVolume
23Issue
8Page(s)
1394-1403AbstractCost analyses are used to determine overall costs of implementing evidence-based programming and may help decision makers determine how best to allocate finite resources. Child sexual abuse (CSA), regularly viewed as a human rights violation, is also a public health concern estimated to impact 27% of females and 5% of males by age 18. Universal, school-based CSA programs are one prevailing prevention strategy. However, there are no known cost analyses of school-based CSA prevention programming, thereby limiting potential scalability. Using the ingredients method, this cost analysis presents the findings of implementing Safe Touches, an evidence-based universal prevention program, across four sites (i.e., counties) in one mid-Atlantic state. Reaching a total of 14,235 s grade students, results indicate an average cost of $43 per student, an average classroom cost of $859, an average district cost of $10,637, and an average site cost of $154,243. There was a noted decrease in costs when more students were reached, suggesting a need to focus efforts on bolstering the reach of implementation efforts. Sensitivity analyses explored variations in implementation constraints such as personnel and facilities suggesting a range of per-student costs (lower-bound per-student cost = $34; upper-bound per-student cost = $64). Findings presented herein may be used to inform future universal CSA prevention efforts by providing detailed information about the costs of large-scale implementation of an evidence-based program among elementary-aged children.The development of effective and tailored digital behavior change interventions: An introduction to the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST)
AbstractGuastaferro, K. (n.d.).Publication year
2022Journal title
The European Health PsychologistVolume
22Issue
4Page(s)
793-800Abstract~The multiphase optimization strategy (MOST): Practicalities of an optimization study.
AbstractGuastaferro, K. (n.d.).Publication year
2022Abstract~The preparation phase in the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST): A systematic review and introduction of a reporting checklist
AbstractLandoll, R. R., Vargas, S. E., Samardzic, K. B., Clark, M. F., & Guastaferro, K. (n.d.).Publication year
2022Journal title
Translational Behavioral MedicineVolume
12Issue
2Page(s)
291-303AbstractMulticomponent behavioral interventions developed using the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) framework offer important advantages over alternative intervention development models by focusing on outcomes within constraints relevant for effective dissemination. MOST consists of three phases: preparation, optimization, and evaluation. The preparation phase is critical to establishing the foundation for the optimization and evaluation phases; thus, detailed reporting is critical to enhancing rigor and reproducibility. A systematic review of published research using the MOST framework was conducted. A structured framework was used to describe and summarize the use of MOST terminology (i.e., preparation phase and optimization objective) and the presentation of preparation work, the conceptual model, and the optimization. Fifty-eight articles were reviewed and the majority focused on either describing the methodology or presenting results of an optimization trial (n = 38, 66%). Although almost all articles identified intervention components (96%), there was considerable variability in the degree to which authors fully described other elements of MOST. In particular, there was less consistency in use of MOST terminology. Reporting on the MOST preparation phase is varied, and there is a need for increased focus on explicit articulation of key design elements and rationale of the preparation phase. The proposed checklist for reporting MOST studies would significantly advance the use of this emerging methodology and improve implementation and dissemination of MOST. Accurate reporting is essential to reproducibility and rigor of scientific trials as it ensures future research fully understands not only the methodology, but the rationale for intervention and optimization decisions.The prevention of child maltreatment: Using SafeCare® to highlight successes and needs for improvement in prevention efforts
AbstractGuastaferro, K., & Lutzker, J. R. (n.d.).Publication year
2022Journal title
International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and PracticeVolume
5Issue
1Page(s)
19-29AbstractChild maltreatment is a public health problem of considerable magnitude. Though substantial progress has been made in the prevention of child maltreatment, one incident of maltreatment is one too many. Intervention and/or prevention efforts must always be dynamic. In this commentary, we highlight recent prevention and policy efforts in the United States, using SafeCare, an evidence-based parent support program with a focus on the prevention of neglect, as an example. We describe broad-scale implementation efforts and offer a vision for what the field must do to realize public heath impact, highlighting recent advances of parent support models in policy, advocacy, and programs. Strategies that might improve current efforts are suggested to ensure the field not become static.Virtual delivery of a school-based child sexual abuse prevention program: A pilot study
AbstractGuastaferro, K., Holloway, J. L., Trudeau, J., Lipson, L. B., Sunshine, S., Noll, J. G., & Pulido, M. L. (n.d.).Publication year
2022Journal title
Journal of Child Sexual AbuseVolume
31Issue
5Page(s)
577-592AbstractUniversal child sexual abuse (CSA) prevention is a public health priority. The prevailing prevention strategy is school-based CSA prevention programming. School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for flexible modes of delivery, including virtual programs. This pilot examined the virtual delivery of an evidence-based, school-based CSA prevention program, Safe Touches, designed to teach CSA-related knowledge and concepts. Using mixed methods, the pilot sought to determine the feasibility of the virtually delivered CSA prevention program. One school district that had previously received Safe Touches in-person participated. A total of 176 second grade students participated in the virtual workshop. Post-workshop survey responses from virtual (N = 37) and in-person workshops (N = 60) were compared descriptively. Mean item scores and response patterns from students who received the virtual workshop were nominally comparable to the student scores from the in-person workshop. Following the virtual workshop, one teacher notified the research team of a disclosure of CSA. Qualitative input from the facilitator and school staff was positive, indicating high student engagement. Results suggest the viability and feasibility of virtual school-based CSA preventive programs. Investment in virtual modes of delivery would ensure all students have access to CSA prevention programming in the future.A hybrid evaluation-optimization trial of the itMatters intervention and a sexual violence component among college students.
AbstractTanner, A. E., Guastaferro, K., Wyrick, D. L., Milroy, J., Rulison, K. L., Bhandari, S., Thorpe, S., Ware, S., Miller, A. M., & Collins, L. (n.d.).Publication year
2021Abstract~A hybrid evaluation-optimization trial to evaluate an intervention targeting the intersection of alcohol and sex in college students and simultaneously test an additional component aimed at preventing sexual violence
AbstractTanner, A. E., Guastaferro, K., Rulison, K. L., Wyrick, D. L., Milroy, J. J., Bhandari, S., Thorpe, S., Ware, S., Miller, A. M., & Collins, L. M. (n.d.).Publication year
2021Journal title
Annals of Behavioral MedicineVolume
55Issue
12Page(s)
1184-1187AbstractBackground: Using the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST), we previously developed and optimized an online behavioral intervention, itMatters, aimed at reducing the risk of sexually transmitted infections (STI) among first-year college students by targeting the intersection of alcohol use and sexual behaviors. Purpose: We had two goals: (a) to evaluate the optimized itMatters intervention and (b) to determine whether the candidate sexual violence prevention (SVP) component (included at the request of participating universities) had a detectable effect and therefore should be added to create a new version of itMatters. We also describe the hybrid evaluation-optimization trial we conducted to accomplish these two goals in a single experiment. Methods: First year college students (N = 3,098) at four universities in the USA were individually randomized in a hybrid evaluation-optimization 2 × 2 factorial trial. Data were analyzed using regression models, with pre-test outcome variables included as covariates in the models. Analyses were conducted separately with (a) immediate post-test scores and (b) 60-day follow-up scores as outcome variables. Results: Experimental results indicated a significant effect of itMatters on targeted proximal outcomes (norms) and on one distal behavioral outcome (binge drinking). There were no significant effects on other behavioral outcomes, including the intersection of alcohol and sexual behaviors. In addition, there were mixed results (positive short-term effect; no effect at 60-day follow-up) of the SVP component on targeted proximal outcomes (students' self-efficacy to reduce/prevent sexual violence and perceived effectiveness of protective behavioral strategies). Conclusions: The hybrid evaluation-optimization trial enabled us to evaluate the individual and combined effectiveness of the optimized itMatters intervention and the SVP component in a single experiment, conserving resources and providing greatly improved efficiency. Trial Registration: NCT04095065.A vision for the prevention of child maltreatment: Optimization of multicomponent behavioral interventions
AbstractGuastaferro, K. (n.d.).Publication year
2021Abstract~Applying the multiphase optimization strategy for the development of optimized interventions in palliative care
AbstractWells, R. D., Guastaferro, K., Azuero, A., Rini, C., Hendricks, B. A., Dosse, C., Taylor, R., Williams, G. R., Engler, S., Smith, C., Sudore, R., Rosenberg, A. R., Bakitas, M. A., & Dionne-Odom, J. N. (n.d.).Publication year
2021Journal title
Journal of Pain and Symptom ManagementVolume
62Issue
1Page(s)
174-182AbstractRecent systematic reviews and meta-analyses have reported positive benefit of multicomponent “bundled” palliative care interventions for patients and family caregivers while highlighting limitations in determining key elements and mechanisms of improvement. Traditional research approaches, such as the randomized controlled trial (RCT), typically treat interventions as “bundled” treatment packages, making it difficult to assess definitively which aspects of an intervention can be reduced or replaced or whether there are synergistic or antagonistic interactions between intervention components. Progressing toward palliative care interventions that are effective, efficient, and scalable will require new strategies and novel approaches. One such approach is the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST), a framework informed by engineering principles, that uses a systematic process to empirically identify an intervention comprised of components that positively contribute to desired outcomes under real-life constraints. This article provides a brief overview and application of MOST and factorial trial design in palliative care research, including our insights from conducting a pilot factorial trial of an early palliative care intervention to enhance the decision support skills of advanced cancer family caregivers (Project CASCADE).Help Wanted! Developing checklists to support the implementation of the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST).
AbstractVargas, S., Landoll, R. R., Samardzic, K., Clark, M. F., & Guastaferro, K. (n.d.).Publication year
2021Abstract~Implementation considerations of recruiting and retaining first-year college students in online preventive intervention research.
AbstractGuastaferro, K., Miller, A. M., Tanner, A. E., Rulison, K. L., Milroy, J. J., Wyrick, D. L., & Collins, L. (n.d.).Publication year
2021Abstract~Intersections between the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) and implementation science.
AbstractWasser, H., Guastaferro, K., Estabrooks, P., Collins, L., Bennett, G., & Broder-Fingert, S. (n.d.).Publication year
2021Abstract~Optimization methods and implementation science: An opportunity for behavioral and biobehavioral interventions
AbstractGuastaferro, K., & Collins, L. M. (n.d.).Publication year
2021Journal title
Implementation Research & PracticeVolume
2Page(s)
1-5AbstractThis editorial introduces the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST), a principled framework for the development, optimization and evaluation of multicomponent interventions, to the field of implementation science. We suggest that MOST may be integrated with implementation science to advance the field, moving closer towards the ultimate goal of disseminating effective interventions to those in need. We offer three potential ways MOST may advance implementation science: (1) development of an effective and immediately scalable intervention; (2) adaptation of interventions to local contexts; and (3) optimization of the implementation of an intervention itself. Our goal is to inspire the integration of MOST with implementation science across a number of public health contexts.Parent and child reports of parenting behaviors: Agreement among a longitudinal study of drug court participants
AbstractGuastaferro, K., Osborne, M. C., Lai, B. S., Aubé, S. S., Guastaferro, W. P., & Whitaker, D. J. (n.d.).Publication year
2021Journal title
Frontiers in PsychiatryVolume
12AbstractIdentifying ways to support children of parents with substance use disorder is a critical public health issue. This study focused on the parent-child relationship as a critical catalyst in child resilience. Using data from a longitudinal cohort study, the aims of this study were to: (1) examine the agreement between parent and child reports of parenting behaviors and (2) describe the association between agreement and child mental health. Participants were 50 parent-child dyads that included parents enrolled in an adult drug court and their children, aged 8–18. Overall, agreement (i.e., concordance) between parent and child reports of parenting was slight to fair. Parents reported their parenting behaviors to be slightly more positive than how children rated the same behaviors in the areas of: involvement, 0.53 (SD = 0.80); positive parenting, 0.66 (SD = 0.87), and monitoring behaviors, 0.46 (SD = 0.90). Parents also rated themselves, in comparison to their children's reports, as using less inconsistent discipline, −0.33 (SD = 1.00), and less corporal punishment, 0.13 (SD = 1.01). Agreement was related to some, but not all, child mental health outcomes. When parents rating their parenting as more positive than their child reported, that had a negative effect on child self-esteem and personal adjustment. Contrary to hypotheses, we did not find a significant relationship between positive parenting and internalizing problems. Findings have implications for obtaining parent and child reports of parenting within the drug court system, and for identifying children at higher risk for externalizing problems.Practicalities of MOST: How to effectively and efficiently conduct and optimization trial.
AbstractGuastaferro, K., & Pfammatter, A. (n.d.).Publication year
2021Abstract~