Dual Relationships in Qualitative Research

With the potentially sensitive nature of qualitative family research, the process of these inquiries can come to resemble the therapeutic process. Therapy and research done by therapists and other family professionals share similar philosophical and structural qualities. Inherent in this is a structural power differential that opens the possibility for abuse of participants by researchers. Meara and Schmidt (1991) give four principles for guiding the treatment of qualitative research participants, however; they address only the relationship of researcher-participant and not the additional relationships that may arise from research. In this article, the author proposes some guidelines for relationships between the researcher and participant based on guidelines for therapists and their clients

The role of drinking locations in university student drinking: findings from a national web-based survey

The study examined associations between type of drinking location and alcohol use in a national sample of New Zealand university students. We conducted a cross-sectional web-based survey with random sampling of 17- to 24-year-old undergraduates from six university campuses in 2005. There were 2548 respondents (response fraction: 63%). Measures included the number of standard drinks (10 g ethanol) consumed on each day of the preceding week in pubs/bars/nightclubs, student flats/houses, residential halls, and ‘other’ locations (e.g., restaurants). We used multilevel regression to test for associations between type of drinking location and consumption per episode, adjusting for student- and episode-level covariates. Respondents consumed an average of 7.1 drinks (SD 5.2) per drinking day, including 5.4 drinks (SD 4.5) in pubs/bars/nightclubs, flats/houses, and residential halls, and 3.7 drinks (SD 3.4) in other locations. Overall, men drank more per location (mean 8.4, SD 6.3) than did women (mean 6.2, SD 4.0). Multilevel analyses revealed positive associations between the first three location types and drinks per episode relative to other locations when adjusting for student- and episode-level covariates including duration of episode. Certain drinking locations (i.e., pubs, residential halls, off-campus houses) appear to promote or facilitate heavy alcohol consumption among students. Better enforcement of laws prohibiting service to intoxication should be prioritized to reduce alcohol-related harm among university students. Consideration should be given to strengthening alcohol policies in residential halls and methods for managing heavy drinking in private residences

Supporting Community Partners in Reducing HIV-Related Health Disparities: Technical Assistance Across a Spectrum of Intensity.

The HIV epidemic remains a public health threat in the U.S., and the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based prevention and care programs are critical to addressing significant HIV health disparities. The provision of technical assistance (TA) to program providers and evaluators is key for uptake of these programs. The University of California San Francisco Prevention Research Center (UCSF PRC) model for TA delivery uses topics and strategies adapted to address HIV health disparities for a global audience. This model specifically matches TA requests to a TA provider who has expertise in that area upon receiving a request through various communication channels. Areas of expertise include research methods, community engagement strategies, interventions, and Implementation Sciences. Our evaluation of diverse TA services indicates that on-demand TA is effective for light-touch requests and well-suited for moderate to intensive requests. The model is a promising, broad-reaching, and responsive alternative for providing TA to a multitude of HIV workforce recipients

Supporting Community Partners in Reducing HIV-Related Health Disparities: Technical Assistance Across a Spectrum of Intensity

The HIV epidemic remains a public health threat in the U.S., and the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based prevention and care programs are critical to addressing significant HIV health disparities. The provision of technical assistance (TA) to program providers and evaluators is key for uptake of these programs. The University of California San Francisco Prevention Research Center (UCSF PRC) model for TA delivery uses topics and strategies adapted to address HIV health disparities for a global audience. This model specifically matches TA requests to a TA provider who has expertise in that area upon receiving a request through various communication channels. Areas of expertise include research methods, community engagement strategies, interventions, and Implementation Sciences. Our evaluation of diverse TA services indicates that on-demand TA is effective for light-touch requests and well-suited for moderate to intensive requests. The model is a promising, broad-reaching, and responsive alternative for providing TA to a multitude of HIV workforce recipients

Rapid start antiretroviral therapies for improved engagement in HIV care: implementation science evaluation protocol

BackgroundIn 2020, the Health Resources and Services Administration's HIV/AIDS Bureau funded an initiative to promote implementation of rapid antiretroviral therapy initiation in 14 HIV treatment settings across the U.S. The goal of this initiative is to accelerate uptake of this evidence-based strategy and provide an implementation blueprint for other HIV care settings to reduce the time from HIV diagnosis to entry into care, for re-engagement in care for those out of care, initiation of treatment, and viral suppression. As part of the effort, an evaluation and technical assistance provider (ETAP) was funded to study implementation of the model in the 14 implementation sites.MethodThe ETAP has used implementation science methods framed by the Dynamic Capabilities Model integrated with the Conceptual Model of Implementation Research to develop a Hybrid Type II, multi-site mixed-methods evaluation, described in this paper. The results of the evaluation will describe strategies associated with uptake, implementation outcomes, and HIV-related health outcomes for patients.DiscussionThis approach will allow us to understand in detail the processes that sites to implement and integrate rapid initiation of antiretroviral therapy as standard of care as a means of achieving equity in HIV care

Interventions for integrating behavioral health services into HIV clinical care: a narrative review.

The integration of behavioral health services within human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care settings holds promise for improving substance use, mental health, and HIV-related health outcomes for people with HIV. As part of an initiative funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration's HIV/AIDS Bureau, we conducted a narrative review of interventions focused on behavioral health integration (BHI) in HIV care in the United States (US). Our literature search yielded 19 intervention studies published between 2010 and 2021. We categorized the interventions under 6 approaches: collaborative care; screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT); patient-reported outcomes (PROs); onsite psychological consultation; integration of addiction specialists; and integration of buprenorphine/naloxone (BUP/NX) treatment. All intervention approaches appeared feasible to implement in diverse HIV care settings and most showed improvements in behavioral health outcomes; however, measurement of HIV outcomes was limited. Future research studies of BHI interventions should evaluate HIV outcomes and assess facilitators and barriers to intervention uptake