Evaluating Impacts of a Museum-Based Program for Transitional Homeless Adults

Abstract One broad goal of museums is to benefit community members, within their respective museum missions. Some museums are expanding their audiences beyond traditional on-site visitors to broaden and diversify their impacts, including at-risk populations. Evaluation of newly developed museum-based programs is important for program staff, partners, and sponsors to understand effectiveness of, and to find ways to improve, their programs. This study assessed perceived impacts of a museum-based program, Your Story and Mine (YSM), which was developed for homeless adults in mid-Michigan. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with six program participants. Based on a three-tier “hierarchy of evidence” framework, developed specifically for evaluating the YSM program, responses were coded and categorized into three levels of impacts: i) knowledge/awareness gain; ii) attitude and behavior change; and iii) group development. An emerging fourth response category, “program features” valued by respondents, was added. Participants’ responses reflected their perceptions of program benefits

When Literature is Limited: Using Grant Language and Project Partner Notes to Conceptually Frame a Study

Abstract Expanding beyond traditional roles, some museums are now striving to serve as public learning and social catalyst institutions for their communities. Museums are increasingly engaging with communities to address social, environmental and other complex contemporary issues, sometimes partnering with other institutions and organizations to engage and serve community members. Because these roles and programs are often untested, assessment is critical for identifying potential outcomes, developing recommendations for program improvement, and justifying their existence in a world that increasingly demands accountability. However, literature relevant to museum programs addressing specific social issues is limited. This paper presents an alternative strategy for developing a conceptual framework for a future program assessment, using grant language and project notes as the foundation

Do inattention and hyperactivity symptoms equal scholastic impairment? evidence from three European cohorts

Background Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects many children, adolescents, and adults and is associated with a number of impairments. Poor academic performance is related to ADHD in clinical samples. However, it is unclear to what extent core ADHD symptoms and scholastic impairment are related in non-referred school-aged children. Methods Data come from three population-based cohorts from Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, which are part of the Nordic Network on ADHD. The combined sample size was 13,087 children who were studied at ages 7–8 or 10–12 years. Teachers rated children on inattention and hyperactivity symptoms and reported children's scholastic performance on basic skills. Results There was a significant association in all cohorts between core ADHD symptoms and scholastic impairment in reading, writing, and mathematics. Particularly, inattention was related to a two to tenfold increase in scholastic impairment. Prevalence of hyperactivity symptoms was similar across the three cohorts, but inattention was lowest among children from the Finnish cohort, after stratification on living conditions. Conclusion These results extend previous reports of scholastic impairment among children with clinically diagnosed ADHD to non-referred population samples from three European countries. Surveillance policies should be implemented in school systems to catch children in need of behavioral or scholastic support early

Suicidality among adolescents engaging in nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and firesetting: The role of psychosocial characteristics and reasons for living

Background: Co-occurrence of problem behaviors, particularly across internalizing and externalizing spectra, increases the risk of suicidality (i.e., suicidal ideation and attempt) among youth. Methods: We examined differences in psychosocial risk factors across levels of suicidality in a sample of 77 school-based adolescents engaging in both nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and repeated firesetting. Participants completed questionnaires assessing engagement in problem behaviors, mental health difficulties, negative life events, poor coping, impulsivity, and suicidality. Results: Adolescents endorsing suicidal ideation reported greater psychological distress, physical and sexual abuse, and less problem solving/goal pursuit than those with no history of suicidality; adolescents who had attempted suicide reported more severe NSSI, higher rates of victimization and exposure to suicide, relative to those with suicidal ideation but no history of attempt. Additional analyses suggested the importance of coping beliefs in protecting against suicidality. Conclusions: Clinical implications and suggestions for future research relating to suicide prevention are discussed

Re-Arrest Among Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth: An Examination Of The Static And Dynamic Risk Factors

The purpose of this study is to investigate the static and dynamic risk factors for re-arrest among detained youth by examining gender, race/ethnicity, age, special education and mental health variables (i.e., anger/irritability, depression/anxiety, somatic complaints, suicide ideation, thought disturbances, and traumatic experiences). The demographic profiles of detained youth with one admit were also compared with those with multiple admits to the juvenile detention center. With regards to static risk factors, older, white, and special education were significantly at risk of re-arrest. Concerning dynamic risk factors, only anger/irritability predicted re-arrest. Practice implications are also discussed

Cross Country Kibitizing: Narratives of North American Jewish Intentional Communities

My thesis is focused on the formation of Jewish Intentional Communities (JICs) in the United States. What is a Jewish Intentional Community (JIC)? I define a Jewish Intentional Community as a group of households that come together to form a cooperative housing and or shared economic structure. The form of capital exchanged may be labor, land, wisdom, tradition-al knowledge, skills, and or finances. In this paper I use Grounded Theory to encounter the specific reasons why American Jews choose to live in JICs. JIC is a loose term. As the reader will find in many cases it means a co-housing-kibbutz development, in other cases it's an economic development, a havurah type socially focused development, or in more cases than not, some combination of all. Kavanah means intentionality. The sages suggest that there is nothing done that is Jewish that is without kavanah, thus community is always an intentional act. Thus, it is well worth not-ing that the idea of a Jewish Intentional Community in Diaspora is nothing short of an ancient concept. Stories within Tanakh speak of making community in exile. In the days before the Inquisition, Sephardic Jews excelled in business, scholarship, and medicine. Prior to the Shoah, Yiddish culture was thriving. In the United States Yiddish Theater is considered a major contributor in contemporary comedy. This thesis delves into the history of the movement, it's influences, and specifically why millennial Jews in America are drawn this way of doing Jewish community

Maternal depression and child severe acute malnutrition: a case-control study from Kenya

Abstract Background Depression is the leading cause of disease-related disability in women and adversely affects the health and well-being of mothers and their children. Studies have shown maternal depression as a risk factor for poor infant growth. Little is known about the situation in Sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of our study was to examine the association between maternal depression and severe acute malnutrition in Kenyan children aged 6–60 months. Methods A matched case-control study was conducted in general paediatric wards at the Kenyatta National Hospital. The cases were children admitted with severe acute malnutrition as determined by WHO criteria. The controls were age and sex-matched children with normal weight admitted in the same wards with acute ailments. Mothers of the cases and controls were assessed for depression using the PHQ-9 questionnaire. Child anthropometric and maternal demographic data were captured. Logistic regression analyses were used to compare the odds of maternal depression in cases and controls, taking into account other factors associated with child malnutrition status. Results The prevalence of moderate to severe depression among mothers of malnourished children was high (64.1%) compared to mothers of normal weight children (5.1%). In multivariate analyses, the odds of maternal depression was markedly higher in cases than in controls (adjusted OR = 53.5, 95% CI = 8.5–338.3), as was the odds of having very low income (adjusted OR = 77.6 95% CI = 5.8–1033.2). Conclusions Kenyan mothers whose children are hospitalized with malnutrition were shown in this study to carry a significant mental health burden. We strongly recommend formation of self-help groups that offer social support, counseling, strategies to address food insecurity, and economic empowerment skills for mothers of children hospitalized for malnourishment

Washington State exhibits wide regional variation in proportion of Medicaid-eligible children who get needed mental health care

In Washington State, mental health care for Medicaid-eligible children is delivered through thirteen regional support networks. The estimated statewide prevalence rate for serious emotional disturbances in children up to age seventeen is 7 percent; analysis found, however, that the proportion of Medicaid-eligible children who received mental health care ranged from 2.91 percent in the North Central network to 8.16 percent in the Southwest network. The variation was not linked to the racial or ethnic makeup of the local population or the rural or urban nature of the region. Instead, interviews with network administrators indicated a substantial contributor to this regional care variation was the state\u27s Access to Care Standards, which restrict network mental health services to children with the most severe disorders. Other factors contributing to the regional variation included funding, the networks\u27 geographic size, and availability of providers. With the Affordable Care Act expected to bring more children with mental health care needs into the Medicaid system, our findings and recommendations offer policy makers timely information on how to improve children\u27s access to mental health care. © 2012 Project HOPE-The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc