Kate Guastaferro

Assistant Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Associate Director of the Center for the Advancement and Dissemination of Intervention Optimization

Professional overview

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.

Education

Postdoctoral Fellow, Prevention and Methodology Training Program (T32 DA017629), The Pennsylvania State University

PhD Public Health, Georgia State University

MPH Health Promotion, Georgia State University

BA Anthropology, Boston University

Honors and awards

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)

Publications

Publications

Adapting a selective parent-focused child sexual abuse prevention curriculum for a universal audience: A pilot study

Applying the resource management principle to achieve community engagement and experimental rigor in the multiphase optimization strategy framework

Association Between Child Maltreatment and Substance Use Disorder Across Emerging Adulthood

Child Maltreatment Types by Age: Implications for Prevention

Family structure and children's risk of child protective services re-reports

Firearm screening and secure storage counseling among home visiting providers: a cross-sectional study of SafeCare® providers in the U.S.

Increasing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in primary care: A study protocol for a multi-level intervention using the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) framework

Intervention Optimization: A Paradigm Shift and Its Potential Implications for Clinical Psychology

Collins, L. M., Nahum-Shani, I., Guastaferro, K., Strayhorn, J. C., Vanness, D. J., & Murphy, S. A. (n.d.).

Publication year

2024

Journal title

Annual Review of Clinical Psychology

Volume

20

Issue

1

Page(s)

21-47

10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-080822-051119

Abstract

Abstract

To build a coherent knowledge base about what psychological intervention strategies work, develop interventions that have positive societal impact, and maintain and increase this impact over time, it is necessary to replace the classical treatment package research paradigm. The multiphase optimization strategy (MOST) is an alternative paradigm that integrates ideas from behavioral science, engineering, implementation science, economics, and decision science. MOST enables optimization of interventions to strategically balance effectiveness, affordability, scalability, and efficiency. In this review we provide an overview of MOST, discuss several experimental designs that can be used in intervention optimization, consider how the investigator can use experimental results to select components for inclusion in the optimized intervention, discuss the application of MOST in implementation science, and list future issues in this rapidly evolving field. We highlight the feasibility of adopting this new research paradigm as well as its potential to hasten the progress of psychological intervention science.

Operationalizing Primary Outcomes to Achieve Reach, Effectiveness, and Equity in Multilevel Interventions

Piloting an Alternative Implementation Modality for a School-Based Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Curriculum

Recruiting and retaining first-year college students in online health research: Implementation considerations

StandUPTV: Preparation and optimization phases of a mHealth intervention to reduce sedentary screen time in adults

Adapting prevention programs for virtual delivery: A case study in adapting a parent-focused child sexual abuse prevention module

Applying an Implementation Framework to the Dissemination of a School-Based Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program

Commentary: How Lay Health Workers in a Federally Qualified Community Health Center Filled a Critical Void in a Public Health Crisis

Decision support training for advanced cancer family caregivers: Study protocol for the CASCADE factorial trial

Guidance on selecting a translational framework for intervention development: Optimizing interventions for impact

Implementation of a Universal School-Based Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program: A Longitudinal Cohort Study

Knowledge Gains from the Implementation of a Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Program and the Future of School-Based Prevention Education

Multiphase optimization strategy: How to build more effective, affordable, scalable and efficient social and behavioural oral health interventions

Guastaferro, K., & Strayhorn, J. C. (n.d.).

Publication year

2023

Journal title

Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology

Volume

51

Issue

1

Page(s)

103-107

10.1111/cdoe.12784

Abstract

Abstract

This commentary introduces the field of social behavioural oral health interventions to the multiphase optimization strategy (MOST). MOST is a principled framework for the development, optimization and evaluation of multicomponent interventions. Drawing from the fields of engineering, behavioural science, economics, decision science and public health, intervention optimization requires a strategic balance of effectiveness with affordability, scalability and efficiency. We argue that interventions developed using MOST are more likely to maximize the public health impact of social behavioural oral health interventions.

Parenting and Mental Health needs of Young, Maltreated parents: implications for Prevention of intergenerational child maltreatment

Preventive Education Outreach on Social Media: The Quest to Enroll Community Members in a Child Sexual Prevention Workshop

Provider Attitudes and Self-Efficacy When Delivering a Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Module: An Exploratory Study

Systematic braiding of Smoke-Free Home SafeCare to address child maltreatment risk and secondhand smoke exposure: findings from a pilot study

American Single Father Homes: A Growing Public Health Priority