Surveying Persons with Disabilities: A Source Guide (Version 1)

As a collaborator with the Cornell Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Demographics and Statistics, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. has been working on a project that identifies the strengths and limitations in existing disability data collection in both content and data collection methodology. The intended outcomes of this project include expanding and synthesizing knowledge of best practices and the extent existing data use those practices, informing the development of data enhancement options, and contributing to a more informed use of existing data. In an effort to provide the public with an up-to-date and easily accessible source of research on the methodological issues associated with surveying persons with disabilities, MPR has prepared a Source Guide of material related to this topic. The Source Guide contains 150 abstracts, summaries, and references, followed by a Subject Index, which cross references the sources from the Reference List under various subjects. The Source Guide is viewed as a “living document,” and will be periodically updated

Sex workers perspectives on strategies to reduce sexual exploitation and HIV risk: a qualitative study in Tijuana, Mexico.

Globally, female sex workers are a population at greatly elevated risk of HIV infection, and the reasons for and context of sex industry involvement have key implications for HIV risk and prevention. Evidence suggests that experiences of sexual exploitation (i.e., forced/coerced sex exchange) contribute to health-related harms. However, public health interventions that address HIV vulnerability and sexual exploitation are lacking. Therefore, the objective of this study was to elicit recommendations for interventions to prevent sexual exploitation and reduce HIV risk from current female sex workers with a history of sexual exploitation or youth sex work. From 2010-2011, we conducted in-depth interviews with sex workers (n = 31) in Tijuana, Mexico who reported having previously experienced sexual exploitation or youth sex work. Participants recommended that interventions aim to (1) reduce susceptibility to sexual exploitation by providing social support and peer-based education; (2) mitigate harms by improving access to HIV prevention resources and psychological support, and reducing gender-based violence; and (3) provide opportunities to exit the sex industry via vocational supports and improved access to effective drug treatment. Structural interventions incorporating these strategies are recommended to reduce susceptibility to sexual exploitation and enhance capacities to prevent HIV infection among marginalized women and girls in Mexico and across international settings

Changing Landscapes: Perspectives of Young African American Women of Population-Wide Testing for Hereditary Breast Cancer Mutations

Young African American women continue to die from breast cancer at higher rates than White women. In an effort to promote breast cancer prevention, population-wide testing (PWT) for all women in the U.S. starting at age 30 is a potential future initiative that is garnering a lot of attention. However, African American women currently utilize genetic testing for hereditary breast cancer at lower rates than White women. Therefore, if young African American women are not prioritized in a future roll out of PWT, then existing breast cancer and genetic testing disparities will likely continue to widen. The purpose of this dissertation was to conduct a sequential exploratory mixed methods study to understand young African American women’s (18-30 years) perspectives towards hereditary breast cancer mutations, direct to consumer testing, PWT, health communication preferences, as well as their intentions to participate in PWT. Findings from focus groups (n = 39) and a survey distributed via Qualtrics Online Sample (n =170) indicated that participants had low to moderate knowledge about hereditary breast cancer mutations and moderate to high levels of medical mistrust. Furthermore, the approval of members of their social network and the current proliferation of direct to consumer testing could influence their intentions to participate in PWT if offered in the future. As discussions continue about the potential for this new service, it will be imperative for researchers and public health practitioners to prioritize the needs and preferences of young African American women when designing interventions and potential health promotion strategies

Surveying Persons with Disabilities: A Source Guide

In 2003, The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) funded a Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Demographics and Statistics (StatsRRTC) at Cornell University‘s Employment and Disability Institute (EDI). The goal of the Center is to ―explore the reliability of existing data sources and collection methods and evaluate ways to improve and expand current data collection efforts‖ (EDI 2008). As a collaborator with the StatsRRTC, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR), has been working on a project that identifies the strengths and limitations in existing disability data collection in both content and data collection methodology. The intended outcomes of this project include expanding and synthesizing knowledge of best practices and the extent to which existing data use those practices, informing the development of data enhancement options, and contributing to a more informed use of existing data

If I Hear You Correctly: Building and Evaluating Interview Chatbots with Active Listening Skills

Interview chatbots engage users in a text-based conversation to draw out their views and opinions. It is, however, challenging to build effective interview chatbots that can handle user free-text responses to open-ended questions and deliver engaging user experience. As the first step, we are investigating the feasibility and effectiveness of using publicly available, practical AI technologies to build effective interview chatbots. To demonstrate feasibility, we built a prototype scoped to enable interview chatbots with a subset of active listening skills - the abilities to comprehend a user's input and respond properly. To evaluate the effectiveness of our prototype, we compared the performance of interview chatbots with or without active listening skills on four common interview topics in a live evaluation with 206 users. Our work presents practical design implications for building effective interview chatbots, hybrid chatbot platforms, and empathetic chatbots beyond interview tasks.Comment: Working draft. To appear in the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2020

Reaching truckers in Brazil with non-stigmatizing and effective HIV/STI services

Research with mobile populations has demonstrated that men in the mobile workforce tend to be exposed to greater HIV risk, and have higher sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV prevalence, than those in less mobile or non-mobile professions. At the request of the Brazilian Ministry of Health and with support from USAID/Brazil, the Population Council conducted an assessment in Brazilian border areas to determine which populations were most in need of HIV prevention activities. The research revealed the presence of an extremely mobile, international truck driver community with little to no access to HIV prevention, testing, and treatment services. The intervention strategy of placing a health unit inside the customs station and offering HIV/STI-related services with other services to meet the general health needs of truckers was successful for reaching truckers, was acceptable and well received, and promoted some important HIV-related behavior change

VIRTUAL AGENTS VERSUS CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGISTS

The use of Virtual Agents (VAs) is currently a popular topic in mental health interviews. Advantages of VA over Real Expert (RE) in the interview were reported. However, the advantages of audio-visual VAs over REs during comprehensive mental health interviews remain unclear, and their clarification is important to promote the practical application of VAs in these settings. To explore the advantages, we triangulated data using mixed methods design, aiming to show quantitative advantages of the VAs in their perceived rapport and eye movement, and to describe the qualitative advantages of the VAs in their disclosed mental symptoms during the interview. A total of 55 Japanese university students participated in comprehensive mental health interviews conducted by the VA and RE. Findings show that participants perceived rapport and moved their right eyes more often, along with disclosing numerous mental symptoms, with the RE than the VA. However, they disclosed more sex-related symptoms to the VA than the RE. The VA can be used most practically in sex-related health fields. The anonymity conditions in the VA setting might be relevant to patients’ self-disclosure of sex-related topics

Online counseling: dynamics of process and assessment

The rise in popularity and use of computer-mediated modes of communication such as email and synchronous chat have resulted in the potential for new delivery methods of mental health services. The present study investigated the dynamics of an initial counseling session held in a synchronous chat environment between therapists-in-training at various graduate programs across the country and a trained confederate posing as a client. Transcripts from the online sessions were analyzed to investigate therapist responses and interventions in the online environment. Therapists-in-training were also asked to respond to questions concerning their satisfaction with the experience, the relationship they were able to form with the client, and previous online experience. Participants gave an assessment of the client and responded to statements about online counseling. Results demonstrate that the therapists-in-training expressed more positive views about online counseling after they had conducted the session in terms of the potential for a therapeutic alliance and desire for future training; however, participants expressed more negative views about the amount of work that could be accomplished during online counseling sessions. Therapists-in-training were also able to accurately diagnose their client\u27s presenting concerns at the conclusion of the session. The implications for the future directions of online counseling research and practice are addressed