Evaluating time-varying treatment effects in hybrid SMART-MRT designs

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Li, Mengbing, Nahum-Shani, Inbal, Dempsey, Walter
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author Li, Mengbing
Nahum-Shani, Inbal
Dempsey, Walter
author_facet Li, Mengbing
Nahum-Shani, Inbal
Dempsey, Walter
contents Recently a new experimental approach, the hybrid experimental design (HED), was introduced to enable investigators to answer scientific questions about building behavioral interventions in which human-delivered and digital components are integrated and adapted on multiple timescales: slow (e.g., every few weeks) and fast (e.g., every few hours), respectively. An increasingly common HED involves the integration of the sequential, multiple assignment, randomized trial (SMART) with the micro-randomized trial (MRT), allowing investigators to answer scientific questions about potential synergistic effects of digital and human-delivered interventions. Approaches to formalize these questions in terms of causal estimands and associated data analytic methods are limited. In this paper, we formally define and assess these synergistic effects in hybrid SMART-MRTs on both proximal and distal outcomes. Practical utility is shown through the analysis of M-Bridge, a hybrid SMART-MRT aimed at reducing binge drinking among first-year college students.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_21383
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Evaluating time-varying treatment effects in hybrid SMART-MRT designs
Li, Mengbing
Nahum-Shani, Inbal
Dempsey, Walter
Methodology
Recently a new experimental approach, the hybrid experimental design (HED), was introduced to enable investigators to answer scientific questions about building behavioral interventions in which human-delivered and digital components are integrated and adapted on multiple timescales: slow (e.g., every few weeks) and fast (e.g., every few hours), respectively. An increasingly common HED involves the integration of the sequential, multiple assignment, randomized trial (SMART) with the micro-randomized trial (MRT), allowing investigators to answer scientific questions about potential synergistic effects of digital and human-delivered interventions. Approaches to formalize these questions in terms of causal estimands and associated data analytic methods are limited. In this paper, we formally define and assess these synergistic effects in hybrid SMART-MRTs on both proximal and distal outcomes. Practical utility is shown through the analysis of M-Bridge, a hybrid SMART-MRT aimed at reducing binge drinking among first-year college students.
title Evaluating time-varying treatment effects in hybrid SMART-MRT designs
topic Methodology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.21383