Adapting psychophysiological data collection for COVID-19: The “Virtual Assessment” model
Date
2021-12-21
Authors
Tabachnick, Alexandra R.
Sellers, Tabitha
Margolis, Emma
Labella, Madelyn
Neff, Dylan
Crowell, Sheila
Raby, K. Lee
Saenz, Celine
Conradt, Elisabeth
Dozier, Mary
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Infant Mental Health Journal
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted research activities globally. Researchers need safe and creative procedures to resume data collection, particularly for projects evaluating infant mental health interventions. Remote research is uniquely challenging for psychophysiological data collection, which typically requires close contact between researchers and participants as well as technical equipment frequently located in laboratory settings. In accordance with public health guidance, we adapted procedures and developed novel protocols for a “virtual assessment” in which women and infants provided behavioral and psychophysiological data from their own homes while researchers coordinated remotely. Data collected at virtual visits included video-recorded parent–child interactions and autonomic nervous system data. Adaptations were designed to optimize safety and data quality while minimizing participant burden. In the current paper, we describe these adaptations and present data evaluating their success across two sites in the United States (University of Delaware and University of Utah), focusing specifically on autonomic nervous system data collected during the well-validated Still-Face Paradigm (SFP). We also discuss advantages and challenges of translating traditional lab procedures into the virtual assessment model. Ultimately, we hope that disseminating these procedures will help other researchers resume safe data collection related to infant mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Description
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Tabachnick, A. R., Sellers, T., Margolis, E., Labella, M., Neff, D., Crowell, S., Raby, K. L., Saenz, C., Conradt, E., & Dozier, M. (2022). Adapting psychophysiological data collection for COVID-19: The “Virtual Assessment” model. Infant Mental Health Journal, 43, 185– 197. https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.21954, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.21954. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited.
Keywords
autonomic nervous system, methodology, psychophysiology
Citation
Tabachnick, A. R., Sellers, T., Margolis, E., Labella, M., Neff, D., Crowell, S., Raby, K. L., Saenz, C., Conradt, E., & Dozier, M. (2022). Adapting psychophysiological data collection for COVID-19: The “Virtual Assessment” model. Infant Mental Health Journal, 43, 185– 197. https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.21954