68 - The Use of Ethical Standards and Sensitive Approaches in the Evaluation of a Sexual Assault Prevention Intervention

Abstract Information: In an effort to prevent sexual assault, the Cho!ces intervention increases awareness about warning signs, myths, and undesirable attitudes that contribute to this issue. The serious game was developed with a culturally informed approach through community-based participatory research with youth in Homestead, Florida. The Cho!ces game utilizes a 4 player board game format with different categories and scenarios that put each player in the shoes of a bystander who has witnessed a situation where youth sexual violence may be occurring. The game provides participants with an immersive and engaging experience which allows for deeper understanding and dialogue about complex social and health issues. 55 students at the University of Central Florida over a 3 month period from June 20th 2023 - September 13th 2023 participated in the intervention and fully completed the evaluation tools. The summative evaluation effort utilized a quantitative pre-post to measure the interventions change in knowledge and effectiveness of the serious game and a qualitative questionnaire to capture specific knowledge learned and the participants experience. The results indicate that 90.91% of participants increased their knowledge of what to do if they witness a sexual violence incident. The evaluation was intentionally designed around this sensitive topic to ensure participants who may be victims were not retraumatized. All evaluation tools were also pre approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). This presentation shares several best practices and precautions that were taken throughout the research process and evaluation to navigate the sensitive topic in a productive way.