Guiding Transformation: How Medical Practices Can Become Patient-Centered Medical Homes

Describes in detail eight change concepts as a guide to transforming a practice into a patient-centered medical home, including engaged leadership, quality improvement strategy, continuous and team-based healing relationships, and enhanced access

The nature of friendship between students with and without severe disabilities

Friendships are developmentally important and personally beneficial relationships for all children and youth. Despite emphasis from families and educators of students with severe disabilities on the importance of promoting and supporting friendships with their typically developing (TD) peers in inclusive settings, such relationships remain infrequent. We conducted an integrative thematic literature review of research that directly examined the nature of friendship between students with and without severe disabilities to better understand how researchers define friendship, identify participants, and confirm participants’ friendships. Implications for future research are discussed. We also sought to identify themes in extant research to guide future intervention. The thematic findings point to the importance of adults providing direct support while fading their proximity to students, and of TD peers negotiating the ongoing tension between the roles of helper and friend.Accepted manuscrip

Defining and characterizing team resilience in elite sport

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to develop a definition of team resilience and to identify the resilient characteristics of elite sport teams. Design and Method: Focus groups consisting of a total of 31 participants were conducted with five elite teams from a range of sports. An interpretive thematic analysis using inductive and deductive reasoning was employed to analyze the data. Results and Conclusions: Team resilience was defined as a dynamic, psychosocial process which protects a group of individuals from the potential negative effect of the stressors they collectively encounter. It comprises of processes whereby team members use their individual and combined resources to positively adapt when experiencing adversity. Findings revealed four main resilient characteristics of elite sport teams: group structure, mastery approaches, social capital, and collective efficacy. This study extends resilience research in sport psychology by providing greater conceptual clarity of resilience at a team level. The implications of the findings for those conducting research in this area and for those consulting with elite sport teams are discussed

Service-Learning Community Partner Impact Assessment Report

In the summer of 2017, VCU’s Office of Service-Learning conducted an evaluation of the impact of service-learning on community partner organizations. This assessment aimed to collect actionable feedback from partners and to inform improvements to service-learning courses at VCU that successfully address partners’ concerns. An external researcher conducted phone interviews with a representative sample of 22 community partners. Partners were asked how a specific service-learning course impacted their organization in three areas: organizational capacity, economically, and socially. Partners were also asked about faculty interactions and the likelihood of recommending the service-learning course to other organizations like their own. This report presents the findings of this community partner impact assessment, outlines an assessment model for a three-year continuous improvement cycle, and offers key recommendations and next steps that emerged from this assessment

General characteristics of anticipated user experience (AUX) with interactive products

Providing a positive user experience (UX) has become the key differentiator for products to win a competition in mature markets. To ensure that a product will support enjoyable experiences for its users, assessment of UX should be conducted early during the design and development process. However, most UX frameworks and evaluation techniques focus on understanding and assessing user’s experience with functional prototypes or existing products. This situation delays UX assessment until the late phases of product development which may result in costly design modifications and less desirable products. A qualitative study was conducted to investigate anticipated user experience (AUX) to address this issue. Twenty pairs of participants were asked to imagine an interactive product, draw their product concept, and anticipate their interactions and experiences with it. The data was analyzed to identify general characteristics of AUX. We found that while positive AUX was mostly related to an imagined/desired product, negative AUX was mainly associated with existing products. It was evident that the pragmatic quality of product was fundamental, and significantly influenced user’s anticipated experiences. Furthermore, the hedonic quality of product received more focus in positive than negative AUX. The results also showed that context, user profile, experiential knowledge, and anticipated emotion could be reflected in AUX. The understanding of AUX will help product designers to better foresee the users’ underlying needs and to focus on the most important aspects of their positive experiences, which in turn facilitates the designers to ensure pleasurable UX from the start of the design process

The state of Florida's estuaries and future needs in estuarine research: Part 2. an academic research agenda (review draft)

As a program supporting academic research that addresses recognized societal needs, the Florida Sea Grant Program is developing a research theme area on estuaries to provide a uniquely academic product that will augment mission-oriented research undertaken by government and by the private sector. This report is not a call for proposals. It does not prescribe a specific research plan. Rather, it is a concept paper designed to focus research on two broad "organizing themes": (1) the hydrology of Florida's estuaries, and (2) the impact of cyclic environmental variability on estuarine function. (46pp.

Hospital staff experiences of their relationships with adults who self-harm: a meta-synthesis

Purpose This review aimed to synthesize qualitative literature exploring inpatient hospital staff experiences of their relationships with people who self-harm. Methods Nine studies were identified from a systematic search of five research databases. Papers included the experiences of physical health and mental health staff working in inpatient settings. The studies employed various qualitative research methods and were appraised using an adapted quality assessment tool (Tong, Sainsbury, & Craig, 2007). A meta-synthesis was conducted using traditional qualitative analysis methods including coding and categorizing data into themes. Results Three main themes derived from the data. ‘The impact of the system’ influenced the extent to which staff were ‘Fearing the harm from self-harm’, or were ‘Working alongside the whole person’. A fear-based relationship occurred across mental health and physical health settings despite differences in training; however, ‘Working alongside the whole person’ primarily emerged from mental health staff experiences. Systemic factors provided either an inhibitory or facilitative influence on the relational process. Conclusions Staff experiences of their relationship with people who self-harm were highlighted to have an important impact on the delivery and outcome of care. Increasing support for staff with a focus on distress tolerance, managing relational issues, and developing self-awareness within the relationship may lead to a more mutually beneficial experience of care. Equally, structure, clarity, and support within inpatient systems may empower staff to feel more confident in utilizing their existing skills. Practitioner points •Working with people who self-harm can be emotionally challenging and how staff cope with this can significantly impact on the engagement of staff and patients. •Increasing the skills of staff in managing relational issues and tolerating distress, as well as providing support and reflective practice groups may be useful in managing emotional responses to working with people who self-harm. •Refining the supportive, procedural, and environmental structures surrounding the caregiving relationship may help enable better integration of physical and mental health care