TheJITAICode: A Primer on Just‐In‐Time‐Adaptive Interventions

Abstract

This chapter is a primer on just‐in‐time adaptive interventions (JITAIs), an intervention design concerned with using ongoing information about the individual and her environment to inform the effective and timely delivery of treatment. JITAIs are motivated by the necessity of intervening on risk and/or protective factors that occur frequently and unpredictably in one's natural environment. JITAIs' goal of providing the right treatment whenever and wherever needed is made possible by recent advances in mobile and wearable technologies. The goal of this chapter is to provide a brief introduction to JITAIs. This includes discussing the motivation underlying this intervention design, highlighting its key elements, and discussing opportunities and challenges relating to the construction of empirically based JITAIs. Throughout, we refer readers to additional reading for in‐depth discussion of these topics.