Formative Design and Evaluation of a Responsive eHealth/mHealth Intervention for Positive Family Adaptation Following Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

This paper describes the formative design and evaluation of a self-guided online program called “Road to Recovery” to provide education, support, and skills training for parents and caregivers of children with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the acute phase following injury. TBI is a leading cause of death and disability in childhood and can lead to substantial family stress and burden, particularly during the initial months post-injury. Road to Recovery directly addresses the need for resources to support families while adapting to this “new normal.” This online program was designed and developed using the Successive Approximation Model of instructional design. Formative evaluation was conducted across three phases of design, with improvements implemented following each phase. The result is a highly usable online program that is responsive to identified parent and caregiver needs.