A Needs Assessment to Develop Community Partnerships: Initial Steps Working with a Major Agricultural Community

Background: Healthy People 2010 identified community partnership as one of the most effective strategies in eliminating health disparities and considered it a critical element in improving an individual\u27s quality of life. To be effective at engaging communities in partnerships, an initial community based needs assessment is recommended. Purpose: The purpose of this project was to use a community assessment to establish if there is a need for community partnerships in a rural Northern Colorado county. Methods: A mixed-methods design using an online survey and focus groups was used to collect data. Results: The analysis of the online survey indicated strong support for community partnerships and analysis of focus group transcriptions found both barriers and solutions to human service delivery. Discussion: Survey responses indicated a perception of support, involvement, and interest in community partnerships; however, focus groups revealed that although some partnerships do exist, significant improvement is needed to better serve disparate populations. Translation to Health Education. Practice: Future health educators must be equipped with the strategies to effectively address disparate populations and incorporate community partnerships within their agencies once they graduate and enter into employment

Disability and Law Enforcement Personnel: Perceptions from the Rocky Mountain Region of the USA

Individuals with disabilities report being less satisfied with law enforcement services compared with the general population, and most law enforcement jurisdictions often lack protocols and report training and resource barriers to effective interaction and communication with individuals with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of law enforcement personnel regarding interaction and communication with individuals with disabilities in order to enhance training and technical assistance. Data were collected from 19 law enforcement personnel who participated in focus groups in the Rocky Mountain region. Four main themes emerged from the data. The first three described professional interactions with individuals with disabilities: (1) interpersonal skills, (2) complex responsibilities, and (3) conflicting expectations. The final theme represents actionable recommendations for training and practice: (4) improvement opportunities. Implications for further assessment and training opportunities, along with future research, are provided

Evaluating Turkish university students' preferences for mental health therapists: A conjoint analysis approach

Umucu, Emre/0000-0002-3945-6975WOS: 000457598400004Due to fast-paced cultural and societal changes in Turkey, Turkish students now accrue both eastern and western cultural motives, which place Turkish students under stress. However, Turkish students have a stigma toward seeking mental health services. The current study aimed to use conjoint analysis to examine Turkish students' preferences for mental health therapist variables regarding seeking help for adjustment problems to life in college. Students from two universities in Turkey were recruited on a volunteer basis to participate in this study (N = 235). The results indicated that the training institution, age, professional background, geographical region and gender significantly influence students' formation of preferences for mental health therapists. The training institution had the most predominant effect on preferences. Implications for promoting help-seeking and mental health service utilization in Turkey are discussed

A Psychometric Validation of the Impact on Participation and Autonomy Questionnaire in a Sample of Turkish Cancer Survivors

Community participation and autonomy are two of the vital treatments and rehabilitation outcomes for people with chronic health conditions and disabilities, including people with cancer. The purpose of this study is to investigate psychometric properties of the Impact on Participation and Autonomy Scale (IPA) in a sample of Turkish cancer survivors. An exploratory factor analysis was used to analyze data collected from 186 cancer survivors who completed the IPA, Health Care Climate Questionnaire, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Role Functioning subscale of the EORTC Core Quality of Life Questionnaire. In contrast to the original five-factor solution, the results provided a better fit for a three-factor correlated model (Activities of Daily Living [ADL]/Instrumental ADL, social relations, and employment and education). The IPA factors were significantly associated with supportive healthcare climate, role functioning, and life satisfaction in the theoretically expected directions, providing support for the nomological construct validity of the Turkish version of the IPA. Overall, the Turkish version of the IPA is a psychometrically sound measure of participation and autonomy that can be used to assess cancer survivors’ levels of community participation for treatment planning and selection of evidence-based healthcare and psychosocial interventions for cancer survivors

Evaluating the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Framework as a Participation Model for Cancer Survivors in Turkey

AKSOY, SERCAN/0000-0003-4984-1049WOS: 000485072800003Improvements in diagnosis and treatment options for cancer now allow cancer survivors to live longer, and as a result, services are necessary to help individuals live an active and meaningful life in the community. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework as a participation model for cancer survivors in Turkey. Results from simultaneous regression analyses indicated educational attainment, fatigue, perceived stress, role functioning, social functioning, core self-evaluations, independent self-construal, social support, and autonomy support were significantly associated with participation. Specific interventions including health education, psychological workshops, support groups, and assistive technology may improve cancer survivors' motivation and desire to actively engage in community activities. Higher levels of participation were also found when cancer survivors were involved in the treatment decision-making process, and felt cared for and understood by their treatment providers

Disability inclusion strategies: An exploratory study

BACKGROUND: In order to promote equal opportunity in employment, rehabilitation researchers implement demand-side employment research to increase the presence of employees with disabilities in the workplace. Previous research indicates the inclusion of people with disabilities in an organization\u27s diversity and inclusion policies and procedures is strongly associated with employment of people with disabilities. Despite the potential advantages of disability inclusion, there is limited evidence to evaluate employers\u27 perception about the importance of disability inclusion strategies. OBJECTIVE: The current study examined the relative importance of six common disability inclusion strategies and the relationship between each of these strategies and employers\u27 hiring intention and validated a 6-item Disability Inclusion Strategy Scale, in order to promote employer engagement and provide disability and business technical assistance. METHODS: One hundred and eighty employers completed questionnaires assessing disability inclusion strategies and hiring intention. RESULTS: Results indicated all disability inclusion strategies in the present study were positively related to hiring intention, and findings support the 6-item DISS as a psychometrically sound measurement tool. CONCLUSIONS: Future research and practice implications are provided

Psychometric Validation of a Turkish Version of the Inventory of Common Problems: a Tool for Turkish College Counselors

Umucu, Emre/0000-0002-3945-6975WOS: 000477630500009Transition from high school to college can be very challenging for Turkish students, and poor adjustment can affect students' physical and mental health and well-being. It is important for college counseling center staff in Turkey to have access to screening instruments to identify students with high risk for college life adjustment difficulties. The purpose of this study was to validate a Turkish version of the Inventory of Common Problems (ICP; Hoffman and Weiss 1986) for Turkish college students. Two hundreds and thirty-five Turkish university students participated in this study. Factorial structure of the ICP was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis, resulting in a four-factor structure with the internal consistency reliability coefficients for all factors being excellent to average: (a) emotional problems (Cronbach's alpha = .90), (b) academic problems (alpha = .80), (c) substance use problems (alpha = .77), and (d) physical health problems (alpha = .73). The emotional problems factor, academic problems factor, and physical health problems factor were significantly associated with perceived stress, depression, and anxiety in the expected direction, as measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10; Cohen and Williamson 1988), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9; Kroenke et al. 2001) and General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) Scale (Spitzer et al. 2006). This study demonstrated that the Turkish version of the ICP could be regarded as a reliable, valid and multidimensional measure, valuable to counseling and health services professionals in Turkey as well as for Turkish international students studying aboard

Addressing the Sticky Issue of How to Consolidate Rehabilitation Counseling Professional Associations

Although the idea of consolidation has seemed to enjoy relative unanimity, the questions of who and how to consolidate have always proved a greater challenge. In this article, we describe rehabilitation counseling professionals’ thoughts about these more challenging questions. More specifically, we sought greater understanding about whether private rehabilitation counseling providers and educators would like to see their specializations represented in a consolidated association. We also sought participant perspectives about how to consolidate through a combination of quantitative and qualitative inquiry. Results suggest that most participants desired to see a more inclusive consolidated association. Opinions were more mixed on how to consolidate the existing associations, with the greatest frequency of participants being undecided. Implications and recommendations grounded in the business and professionalization literature offer insights into how the discipline can proactively move forward in an effort to sustain our preeminence among human service providers in the provision of counseling and vocational services to people with disabilities