Poster #92 - Virtual Lab Visits from Toddlers to Teens: Practical Guidelines & Lessons Learned

• In Event: Poster Session 07

Abstract

Measures of child stress reactivity and coping are a cornerstone of developmental research, which until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, have almost exclusively been done via in-person laboratory visits. Measures such as salivary or hair cortisol, and ECG’s provide objective non-invasive approaches to assessing coping and identifying stress in children (Jessop & Turner-Cobb, 2008; Roos et al., 2017; Vanaelst et al., 2012) and are important for the identification of stress and psycho-physiological abnormalities (e.g., through identifying HPA axis dysfunction) and developing interventions and prevention procedures to avoid the potential negative life-long outcomes associated with untreated prolonged stress (e.g., impaired mental health, cognitive impairments, and negative impact on physical health; Kokka et al., 2022; Lupien et al., 2009; Miller et al., 2011). There are clear advantages of obtaining these measures through in-person visits (e.g., greater controllability, ability to eliminate unwanted distractions), however in person research poses many challenges. Challenges include COVID-19 physical distancing mandates and restrictions as well as the inaccessibility of in person lab visits for some families. In person visits can be inaccessible for many families who do not have transportation means or funds, for those cannot arrange or afford childcare, or for those that live in remote areas. Such barriers can result low attendance rates, high-research costs (e.g. paying for taxis, childcare etc), and highly biased research samples (Su & Ceci, 2021; Tsuji et al., 2022). Thus, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we like many other research groups around the world, pivoted to online assessments with rapid adjustments based on best-practices established to date. To date, our team has completed ~300+ virtual visits with children and their families, where we successfully collected a variety of stress reactivity and coping measures, demonstrating the feasibility for completing various tasks with children virtually. Here, we present learnings and recommendations across key areas including (1) Virtual Visit Logistics: Technology, Presentations & Supplies (2) Family engagement: Viable measures, communication and support and (3) Stress-System Assessments: HPA-Axis, Cardiac Measures. We end with a summary of lessons learned, areas of key research needs, and pros and cons of assessing stress reactivity and coping in children remotely.

Authors

• Kaeley Simpson, University of Manitoba
  Presenting Author

• Kailey Elena Penner, University of Manitoba

• Lara Penner-Goeke, University of Winnipeg

• Shaelyn Stienwandt, University of Manitoba

• Ryan Giuliano, University of Manitoba

• Leslie E. Roos, University of Manitoba