Guest Editorial: Institutional engagement - intentional, innovative and rigorous

Around the world, universities are exploring new strategies to improve the quality and impact of their community engagement agenda, thereby strengthening their potential to offer greater value to both institution and the communities with whom they engage, be they local or international. This issue of Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement focusses on institutional-level improvement of engagement structures and impacts, as well as innovative changes in academic culture and partnership strategies. The articles presented here are intended to encourage a growing movement to position higher education institutions around the world as a key resource and partner in efforts to address current global and local challenges

Stressful Life Events in Young Adults With Type 1 Diabetes in the U.S. T1D Exchange Clinic Registry

PurposeThe purpose was to test associations among stressful life events, frequency of missed insulin doses, and glycemic control in young adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D).DesignThe study was a cross‐sectional descriptive secondary analysis.MethodsData from 2,921 participants (ages 18–26 years) in the U.S. T1D Exchange Clinic Registry were analyzed. Report of a stressful life event was defined as one or more positive responses on a 17‐item stressful life events index and defined as a dichotomous variable (yes or no). Frequency of missed insulin doses was measured using a single self‐report item and collapsed into two levels (fewer than three times a week, three or more times a week). The glycosylated hemoglobin (A1c) level recorded at the time of enrollment was used to assess glycemic control.FindingsNearly half (48.6%) of the participants reported having a stressful life event during the previous year. The most frequently reported stressful life events were problems at work or school (16.1%), serious arguments with family members or a close friend (15.2%), and financial problems in the family (13.8%). Compared to the participants not reporting stressful life events, those who reported stressful life events were more likely to be older, female, with a higher educational attainment level, and not working or unemployed. Those who reported a stressful life event were more likely than those who did not to say they typically missed insulin doses at least three times a week and less likely to say they typically missed insulin doses fewer than three times a week (p < .001 adjusted for age, sex, race or ethnicity, educational attainment level, duration of T1D diagnosis, and insulin delivery method). Mean A1c level was higher for the group who reported having a stressful life event in the past 12 months compared to the group who did not (8.7 ± 1.8% vs. 8.2 ± 1.6%; adjusted p < .001). The results of a mediation analysis suggest that the measure of frequency of missed insulin doses may be a mediator of the relationship between recent stressful life events and glycemic control (Sobel test: ab = .841, 95% confidence interval = 0.064–1.618).ConclusionsThese findings suggest that, for young adults with T1D, the experience of stressful life events may increase their risk for poorer glycemic control, possibly by disrupting adherence with insulin doses.Clinical RelevanceFurther exploration of these relationships may allow for the potential for identifying those at risk and assisting them with more positive approaches to managing stressful events.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146646/1/jnu12428.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146646/2/jnu12428_am.pd

Student Loan Recipients: Who are They, What is Their Total Debt Level, and What do They Know About Loan Repayment

The article presents a study that provides information about student loan recipients at Iowa State University. Loan recipients are described, along with their total debt level and their loan repayment knowledge

Developing a Quality Control Protocol for Evaluation of Recorded Interviews

This presentation will describe the process used at the University of Michigan Survey Research Center for evaluating interviewer performance in survey administration. Within the Survey Research Operations unit, we use an online system for evaluating the interviewer-respondent interaction using recorded interviews. We will present our framework for measuring how well interviewers adhere to General Interviewing Techniques (GIT) - the guidelines in which they were trained. The presentation will describe the question-level and session-level measurement criteria employed, in addition to the selection protocols and the integration of paradata into the selection process. The presentation will include analysis of some evaluation data, with a discussion of how the data were used to inform further development of the evaluation protocol. Although some aggregate data will be shared, the presentation will largely focus on the operational considerations related to the development and implementation of the quality control protocol across projects

Developing a Quality Control Protocol for Evaluation of Recorded Interviews

This presentation will describe the process used at the University of Michigan Survey Research Center for evaluating interviewer performance in survey administration. Within the Survey Research Operations unit, we use an online system for evaluating the interviewer-respondent interaction using recorded interviews. We will present our framework for measuring how well interviewers adhere to General Interviewing Techniques (GIT) - the guidelines in which they were trained. The presentation will describe the question-level and session-level measurement criteria employed, in addition to the selection protocols and the integration of paradata into the selection process. The presentation will include analysis of some evaluation data, with a discussion of how the data were used to inform further development of the evaluation protocol. Although some aggregate data will be shared, the presentation will largely focus on the operational considerations related to the development and implementation of the quality control protocol across projects

PWAs and PBJs: Language for describing a simple procedure

The purpose of this study was to analyze responses to a simple procedural discourse task in persons with aphasia (PWAs n=141) and non-aphasic participants (n=145). Participants described how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Results showed significant differences between groups on mean length of utterance, total number of words, total number of utterances, and task duration. However, the top 10 verbs and nouns used by both groups were nearly identical and the proportion of nouns, verbs, pronouns, and determiners used by each group was similar. Aphasia severity correlated moderately with total number of words only

General Interviewing Techniques: Developing Evidence-Based Practices

This poster is a hands-on demonstration of the in-progress General Interviewer Techniques (GIT) materials described by Schaeffer, Dykema, Coombs, Schultz, Holland, and Hudson. Participants will be able to view and listen to the lesson materials, delivered via an online interface, and talk to the GIT developers