2013 Nonprofit Needs Assessment: A Profile of Michigan's Most Crucial Professional Development Needs

A new study from Grand Valley State University's School of Public, Nonprofit and Health Administration, and the Johnson Center for Philanthropy reveals trends in the kind of professional development programming nonprofit organizations in Michigan need.There are over 48,000 nonprofits operating in the state Michigan, employing over 375,000 nonprofit workers. While many industries are struggling in Michigan,the nonprofit sector continues to grow at a rate of 1.3 percent per year. The demand for nonprofit services is also rising and nonprofit workers must work longer hours and take on additional responsibilities to meet increasing demands.Nonprofit and philanthropic employers are recognizing that in order to reduce employee burnout and turnover as well as maintain positive employee morale, they must provide professional development opportunities to their staff. These opportunities can take place internal or external to the organization. Wherever the professional development takes place, it provides many positive benefits to employees, volunteers and organizations

Dyadic and Ecological Associations with Intimate Partner Violence (IPV): Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling to Differentiate IPV from Community Crime

Research on intimate partner violence (IPV) and intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) has largely focused on individual and dyadic-level risk factors, but recently studies have explored how the surrounding environment is associated with IPV/IPSV. Studies that have explored community-level variables typically only use IPV/IPSV samples and do not first compare indicators of IPV/IPSV to those of general crime in those same communities. To address these gaps, this study was conducted in two parts. Data were retrieved from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Reporting System, County Health Rankings and Roadmaps System, the US Census Bureau, and other sources. Study 1 first determined that aspects of gender inequality, specific socioeconomic variables, and health-related factors differentiated IPV/IPSV from community crime. Study 2 utilized multilevel modeling to further investigate the nested effects of IPV/IPSV on individuals within the larger community. Significant individual level variables included younger age, differences among relationship type, and drug use. At the community level, factors related to socioeconomics and children, firearm prevalence, and certain health-related factors (e.g., lack of health insurance) were important when comparing IPV/IPSV. Prevention and intervention efforts should improve healthcare access and medical IPV screening, target younger age groups, provide specific resources to improve socioeconomic status, and reduce excessive drug/alcohol use and firearm use in IPV/IPSV

Implementation of an Ultrasound Screening Program in a Rural Family Medicine Practice for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) supports the USPSTF recommendation of a one-time screening assessment of all men aged 65 to 75 years old who have ever smoked for an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) via ultrasonography – grade B recommendation. Despite this, few eligible patients are referred specifically for screening and many patients that are screened only have it performed as an incidental finding of other indications for imaging. AAA screening, when done, has demonstrated up to a 40% reduction in AAA specific deaths and a 3% reduction in all cause mortality after 13 years follow up. The initiation of ultrasound use in a primary care clinic has the potential to not only increase AAA screening but also lead to more widespread use of this imaging modality on a comprehensive level.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1891/thumbnail.jp

Higher Quality at Lower Cost: Community Health Worker Interventions in the Health Care Innovation Awards

Background: Published evidence regarding cost savings, reduced utilization, and improved quality associated with employing community health workers (CHWs) is largely lacking. This paper presents findings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Care Innovation Awards (HCIA), with a focus on six diverse programs that employ CHWs. We examine outcomes associated with programs incorporating CHWs into care teams for a broad age range of patients with various health issues such as cancer, asthma, and complex conditions. Methods: This mixed-methods study used data from claims and site visits to assess the effectiveness of CHW programs. In difference-in-differences analyses of Medicare fee-for-service and Medicaid claims, we compared utilization and spending for beneficiaries participating in each CHW program with propensity score matched non-participant beneficiaries for baseline (2010 – 2012) and post-intervention (2013 – 2016). We adjusted for geographic area, prior utilization, and clinical and sociodemographic characteristics. We assessed changes in care quality through beneficiary focus groups and interviews with program leadership and staff. Results: Five of the six programs saw a significant reduction in utilization and/or spending relative to a comparison group, and all programs had positive qualitative findings regarding quality of care. In three of the six programs, the adjusted total cost of care was significantly reduced (-$143 to -$2,044 per beneficiary quarter). We hypothesize that some reductions in spending can be attributed to CHWs’ provision of enhanced access outside of regular clinic hours, which facilitated patient adherence to evidence-based treatment pathways and averted unnecessary ED visits and hospitalizations. Culturally competent CHW encounters engaged patients in health care decisions, generated confidence in their decisions, encouraged adherence to treatment pathways, and mitigated social barriers to care. Conclusions: Programs were associated with improved quality and reductions in health care utilization and spending up to $20,000 per patient over the three-year period. Findings suggest a strong business case for the use of CHWs as part of interdisciplinary teams as CHW programs can provide a significant return on investment for payers. Reimbursement policies that do not account for the services of non-clinical staff such as CHWs impede the sustainability and spread of these interventions, despite mounting evidence of CHWs’ effectiveness. Organizations looking to integrate CHWs into care delivery may conduct feasibility assessments of available workforce and the capacity for clinical oversight, physician buy-in, and funding sustainability. Established programs could be leveraged for mentorship

Do People Who Identify as Popular Become Popular in a New Network? A 9-Month Longitudinal Network Analysis

Although scholars have argued that people actively shape and reshape their social networks (e.g., Parks, 2016), this aspect of relational development has received little attention. This study sought to determine if people’s self-perceptions of interpersonal communication skills translated into behavior that led to relationship formation in a new network. A 9-month longitudinal social network analysis (N = 94) of the residents of a first-year university residence hall using Facebook tie data was conducted to assess network changes. Results indicate that both self-perceived network centrality in a hypothetical friendship sociogram (Smith & Fink, 2015) and self-reported connector scores (Boster et al., 2011) are good longitudinal predictors of relationship development. Those who began by self-identifying as central, became central

Sacramento’s Fix I-5 Project: Impact on Bus Transit Ridership

The Fix I-5 project was an engineering project that rehabilitated drainage and pavement on Interstate 5 in downtown Sacramento, from May 30, 2008 to July 28, 2008. In order to alleviate congestion, media outreach alerted commuters about projected traffic conditions as well as advised alternative modes or routes of travel. The construction schedule included complete closures of north or southbound portions of Interstate 5. This study analyzed the impact of the Fix I-5 project closures on peak period bus transit ridership of five transit agencies serving the downtown Sacramento core. The results indicated that gasoline prices and unemployment rates were statistically significant predictors of transit ridership, with increased gasoline prices and unemployment related to increased bus transit ridership. All agencies had overall increases in mean ridership during the study period, but there were also seasonal variations in mean ridership. Removal of trend and seasonal components in the bus transit ridership data sets was accomplished using multiple regression and sinusoidal decomposition. Time series intervention analysis then estimated that the Fix I-5 project had little impact on mean number of bus riders for all five transit agencies. Bus transit agencies with main service areas closest to the Fix I-5 project were most affected, with ridership increases of about three percent or less attributable to Fix I-5. This study did not analyze the impact of Fix I-5 on other modes of transportation, which may have been more affected than bus transit ridership

Mapping the Hot Spots: Zoning Approaches to Space Analysis

This poster examines a preliminary approach to space design developed and implemented in Eastern Kentucky University’s Noel Studio for Academic Creativity. The approach discussed here is entitled “Hot Spots,” which has allowed the research team to observe trends in space usage and composing activities among students. The Hot Spots approach has yielded valuable insights into the design of flexible learning spaces that provide a point of reflection for the future

Developing a Video Game Metadata Schema for the Seattle Interactive Media Museum

As interest in video games increases, so does the need for intelligent access to them. However, traditional organizational systems and standards fall short. In order to fill this gap, we are collaborating with the Seattle Interactive Media Museum to develop a formal metadata schema for video games. In the paper, we describe how the schema was established from a user-centered design approach and introduce the core elements from our schema. We also discuss the challenges we encountered as we were conducting a domain analysis and cataloging real-world examples of video games. Inconsistent, vague, and subjective sources of information for title, genre, release date, feature, region, language, developer and publisher information confirm the importance of developing a standardized description model for video games