Max Klapow

Doctoral Work

My doctoral research focuses on designing and evaluating technologies such as chatbots and apps to deliver interventions that support family mental health and wellbeing. This includes understanding behavioural factors that drive uptake and engagement with digital mental health interventions (DMHIs). 

I’m currently collaborating with UNICEF, the National Institute of Psychiatry of Mexico, the National System for Integral Family Development, Parenting for Lifelong Health, and the Global Parenting Initiative to develop, evaluate, and scale-up a chatbot-based programme to improve child, adolescent, and caregiver mental health.

Research Areas

My work focuses on scalable interventions to prevent mental health problems and improve psychological wellbeing in resource-limited settings, particularly low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). 

Outside of my doctoral research, I’m broadly interested in the application of behavioural science to complex intervention settings and its implications for improving policy.

I also often collaborate on projects related to engagement with digital health interventions and scale-up of complex social interventions. This includes research in implementation and evaluation science, aiming to understand what interventions work, for whom, and under which circumstances. 

Other Projects

-       Meta-analysis of the effectiveness and durability of psychotherapies in LMIC settings

-       Use of positive psychology-based interventions to improve mental health outcomes of people experiencing incarceration 

-       Understanding the psychosocial characteristics of “superresponder” lay first responders in LMIC settings

-      Design and evaluation of a preventative digital mental health intervention for lay first responders in sub-Saharan Africa

-      Evaluating a scalable AI-enabled chatbot for improving goal attainment and psychological wellbeing in the workplace 

Dissemination

My research has been published in JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting, Addictive Behaviors Reports, The Journal of Positive Psychology, Injury, BMC Medical Education, World Journal of Surgery, and Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review  among others. I also serve as an Early Career Editorial Board Member for Prevention Science. I have disseminated findings through invited talks and conference presentations at ISRII, the Society for Prevention Research, the World Congress for Public Health, the Child Mind Institute Global Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Research, and the World Bank.

Background 

My DPhil is co-supervised by Professor Cathy Creswell and Dr. Jamie Lachman (Department of Social Policy and Intervention) and fully-funded by the Grand Union ESRC Scholarship. Prior to the DPhil, I completed my MPhil in Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation from the University of Oxford as a Truman Scholar in 2023, working on developing chatbot technologies to promote family well-being. I obtained my BA (Hons) in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Philosophy as a Danforth Scholar at Washington University in St. Louis.