SBIR/STTR Award attributes
Summary/Abstract. Just-In-Time Essential Worker COVID-19 Mobile Awareness Campaign The objective of this effort is to improve essential worker safety through a just-in-time COVID-19 awareness training campaign. The campaign will push brief (under three minute) modules of interactive multimedia, tailored to the specific job of the worker, to the mobile devices of over 5,000 essential workers, track worker adoption of recommended behaviors, and adapt campaign enrollment protocols and training multimedia in response to worker behavior. Under the existing NIEHS WTP SBIR Phase II project, Cell Podium has started development of software that will manage the just-in-time and deliver the mobile multimedia modules. The software works through a cell phone’s browser, does not require participants to download any mobile app, and the campaign is free to the worker and his/her employer. Content will consist of 10 to 20 brief (under three minute) modules that are specific to the specific job of the worker, delivered over a three week time frame, and derived from vetted training material posted by NIEHS and CDC. A partnership with Rutgers School of Public Health Center for Public Health Workforce Development will ensure the quality of content and instructional design of the campaigns. The worker will be engaged with checklists, quizzes and opportunities for open-ended feedback, all which provide the campaign with formative and needs assessment with which to refine the campaign, and information on the worker’s compliance with coronavirus safety recommendations. The just-in-time nature of the campaign supports not only its use as an unobtrusive job aid, but also supports multiple opportunities to revise the campaign itself to improve effectiveness. In response to the urgency of the coronavirus pandemic, project management will proactively recruit workers to the campaign. The New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program and the Urban League of Essex County will directly recruit the workers of their constituents, which include diverse industries and vulnerable populations in New Jersey. These organization will contact manufacturing companies or workers directly to encourage registration in the application. No payment is required from workers, and the registration process is simple. As part of formative assessment, reminders will be sent to encourage participation to any worker who falls behind in the campaign. The outreach to workers is not limited to the audience of these partner organizations. All organizations, including companies in the business incubator of the New Jersey Institute of Technology (Newark, NJ), will also be encouraged to participate.Narrative. Just-In-Time Essential Worker COVID-19 Mobile Awareness Campaign The pervasiveness of cell phones in activities across all demographics has increased the appeal of mobile training. Social distancing protocols and the immediacy of push-based mobile multimedia make mobile training an even more attractive option for essential workers. Under the existing NIEHS WTP SBIR Phase II project, Cell Podium has started development of mobile delivery software for COVID-19 awareness campaigns. New technologies enable this software to adapt existing training content more easily, shortens the time required for deployment, and improves the performance tracking, response time, cost-effectiveness, and scalability of the campaign. Strong partnerships for content development with the Rutgers School of Public Health Center for Public Health Workforce Development, and with the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program and the Urban League of Essex County for recruitment, ensure the success of this project and the safety of the participating worker communities.
