iLookOut: short refresher lessons to help child-care workers spot and report abuse
iLookOut for Child Abuse: Microlearning to Improve Knowledge Retention
This project sends brief online refresher lessons to early childhood professionals so they keep remembering how to recognize and report child abuse.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Pennsylvania State Univ Hershey Med Ctr NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Hershey, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11163236 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This work builds on an existing online training (iLookOut) that already helped childcare providers learn to spot and report abuse. After the core course, participants receive short, regular microlearning messages designed to reinforce key facts and reporting steps so knowledge and habits don’t fade. The team will track whether these refreshers help providers maintain awareness, improve decision-making, and lead to higher-quality reports to child protection services. The goal is practical, repeatable online tools that child-care workers can use between trainings to protect young children.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are early childhood professionals—daycare staff, preschool teachers, and other caregivers who work with infants and young children and complete the iLookOut core training.
Not a fit: Adults who do not work with young children or who do not complete the core training are unlikely to receive direct benefit from these refreshers.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, more cases of child abuse could be identified and reported earlier, helping to protect children and connect families to services.
How similar studies have performed: A prior randomized trial showed the iLookOut core online training improved providers’ knowledge, attitudes, and reporting, while using microlearning follow-ups to sustain those gains is a newer, less-tested approach.
Where this research is happening
Hershey, United States
- Pennsylvania State Univ Hershey Med Ctr — Hershey, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Levi, Benjamin H. — Pennsylvania State Univ Hershey Med Ctr
- Study coordinator: Levi, Benjamin H.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.