Pitch Perfect: Selling to Libraries and Selling Libraries to Nonusers

Sales is the art of persuasion. It is intentional activity to move another individual (or group of individuals) to a desired outcome—for example, “no” to “yes”; “maybe” to “yes; ”yes, someday”; to “yes, now.” And, not surprisingly, there are numerous strategies for selling—challenger, consultative, high-touch, solution selling, etc. Regardless of the particular sales method in use, it is important to recognize that sales activity is purposeful, goal driven, and remarkably effective. Paradoxically, the most effective sales interactions are those where the customer does not even recognize that they have been “sold.” The mark of a great sales person is the ability to leave customers thinking that it is they—the customers—who have realized their will. This program looks at three questions related to library sales: 1) What are the characteristics that library suppliers look for in their sales personnel? 2) How do library vendors train, manage and incentivize their sales teams? 3) Should librarians—especially subject liaisons in academic libraries—be recruited, trained and managed as if they were sales workers, charged with influencing faculty and student uptake of library materials and services? While libraries generally characterize themselves as “learning organizations” as opposed to “sales organizations,” the fact remains that when libraries talk about liaisons assigned to provide “outreach” or “engagement,” they might just as well be talking about sales. And, if they were to think about library work in the context of sales, administrators would undoubtedly hire differently, manage differently, and use different criteria to evaluate and incentivize library staff. They would also recognize the need for different strategies for management, including the recruitment of experienced sales managers to direct the goals and activity of their library sales force. This program, led by librarians and professional sales managers, is intended to address the need of libraries, as customers and service providers, to understand more about the theory, practice and management of sales, including the potential use of tools like Salesforce.com to monitor and evaluate librarian performance

Assessment of adherence to visual correction and occlusion therapy in the Infant Aphakia Treatment Study

AbstractOcclusion therapy throughout early childhood is believed to be efficacious in treating deprivation amblyopia but has not been rigorously assessed in clinical trials. Further, tools to assess adherence to such therapy over an extended period of time are lacking. Using data from the Infant Aphakia Treatment Study, a randomized clinical trial of treatment for unilateral congenital cataract, we examined the use of quarterly 48-h recall interviews and annual 7-day prospective diaries to assess reported hours of patching in 114 children throughout the first 5 years of life. Consistency of data reported was assessed using correlation coefficients and intraclass correlation coefficients. Both interview and diary data showed excellent consistency with Cronbach’s Alpha’s ranging from 0.69 to 0.88 for hours of patching and 0.60 to 0.73 for hours of sleep. However, caregivers reported somewhat more adherence in prospective diaries than retrospective interviews. Completion rates, on the other hand, were substantially higher for telephone interviews than prospective diaries. For example, four years after surgery response rates to telephone interviews exceeded 75% versus completion rates of only 54% for diaries. In situations where occlusion dose monitors cannot be used for assessing adherence to occlusion therapy, such as in infants or over an extended period of time, quantitative assessments of occlusion therapy can be obtained by parental report, either as a series of prospective diaries or a series of recall interviews

The Amblyopia Treatment Index

Objective: To develop a questionnaire to assess the acceptability of amblyopia treatment and its effect on the child and family. Methods: A 20-item parental survey was developed and pilot tested on 64 subjects, aged 3 to 6 years, participating in the Amblyopia Treatment Study, a randomized trial comparing patching and atropine as treatments for moderate amblyopia. The survey was administered after 4 weeks of treatment. A descriptive item analysis and an internal consistency reliability analysis were performed. Results: Nineteen of the 20 items demonstrated adequate variability as evidenced by the frequency distributions for item responses. Only 4 (\u3c1%) of 1280 possible item responses were missing, one each by 4 different respondents. Factor analysis identified 3 treatment-related factors—“adverse effects,” “compliance,” and “social stigma”—among 11 of the 20 items. The internal-consistency reliability α for the 5-item adverse effects subscale was 0.82, the 4-item compliance subscale α was 0.81, and the 2-item social stigma subscale α was 0.84. Conclusions: The Amblyopia Treatment Index appears to be a useful instrument for assessing the impact of amblyopia treatment in 3- to 6-year-old children. (J AAPOS 2001;5:250-4

The Amblyopia Treatment Index

Objective: To develop a questionnaire to assess the acceptability of amblyopia treatment and its effect on the child and family. Methods: A 20-item parental survey was developed and pilot tested on 64 subjects, aged 3 to 6 years, participating in the Amblyopia Treatment Study, a randomized trial comparing patching and atropine as treatments for moderate amblyopia. The survey was administered after 4 weeks of treatment. A descriptive item analysis and an internal consistency reliability analysis were performed. Results: Nineteen of the 20 items demonstrated adequate variability as evidenced by the frequency distributions for item responses. Only 4 (\u3c1%) of 1280 possible item responses were missing, one each by 4 different respondents. Factor analysis identified 3 treatment-related factors—“adverse effects,” “compliance,” and “social stigma”—among 11 of the 20 items. The internal-consistency reliability α for the 5-item adverse effects subscale was 0.82, the 4-item compliance subscale α was 0.81, and the 2-item social stigma subscale α was 0.84. Conclusions: The Amblyopia Treatment Index appears to be a useful instrument for assessing the impact of amblyopia treatment in 3- to 6-year-old children. (J AAPOS 2001;5:250-4

Home-Based Family Intervention for Low-Income Children With Asthma: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study

Low-income African American children have disproportionately higher asthma morbidity and mortality. Education alone may not address barriers to asthma management due to psychosocial stress. This study evaluated the efficacy of a home-based family intervention integrating asthma education and strategies to address stress using a community-based participatory research model. Children age 8 to 13 with poorly controlled asthma and their caregivers were recruited from an urban hospital and an asthma camp. Caregivers with elevated scores on a stress measure were enrolled. Forty-three families were randomized to the 4- to 6-session Home Based Family Intervention (HBFI) or the single session of Enhanced Treatment as Usual (ETAU). All families received an asthma action plan and dust mite covers; children performed spirometry and demonstrated MDI/spacer technique at each home visit. The HBFI addressed family-selected goals targeting asthma management and stressors. Asthma management, morbidity, family functioning, and caregiver stress were assessed at baseline, postintervention, and 6 months after the intervention. ED visits and hospitalizations were ascertained by medical record review for a year after intervention completion. Only one child (5%) in HBFI had an asthma-related hospitalization compared to 7 patients (35%) in ETAU in the year following intervention. Participants in both groups demonstrated improved asthma management and family functioning, and reduced ED visits, symptom days, missed school days, and caregiver stress, but there were no differential treatment effects. The results suggest that a home-based intervention addressing medical and psychosocial needs may prevent hospitalizations for children with poorly controlled asthma and caregivers under stress

Validity of the Family Asthma Management System Scale With an Urban African-American Sample

OBJECTIVE: To examine the reliability and validity of the Family Asthma Management System Scale for low-income African-American children with poor asthma control and caregivers under stress. The FAMSS assesses eight aspects of asthma management from a family systems perspective. METHODS: Forty-three children, ages 8-13, and caregivers were interviewed with the FAMSS; caregivers completed measures of primary care quality, family functioning, parenting stress, and psychological distress. Children rated their relatedness with the caregiver, and demonstrated inhaler technique. Medical records were reviewed for dates of outpatient visits for asthma. RESULTS: The FAMSS demonstrated good internal consistency. Higher scores were associated with adequate inhaler technique, recent outpatient care, less parenting stress and better family functioning. Higher scores on the Collaborative Relationship with Provider subscale were associated with greater perceived primary care quality. CONCLUSIONS: The FAMSS demonstrated relevant associations with asthma management criteria and family functioning for a low-income, African-American sample

Barriers to Asthma Management Among Urban Families: Caregiver and Child Perspectives

OBJECTIVE: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood. Those particularly affected are young, poor, African American children. Moreover, rates of emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and mortality are substantially higher for black children. Despite the ample published research on asthma prevalence and asthma management interventions, there is little research available on barriers to asthma care among urban, low-income families as perceived by children with asthma and their caregivers. METHODS: This qualitative study analyzed data from five focus groups conducted with 28 participants in metropolitan Atlanta. RESULTS: This study found caregiver and child health beliefs and perceptions concerning the use of daily controller medications to be a significant barrier to asthma care and proper self-management at home and at school. Barriers to environmental control consisted mostly of financial constraints, which made residential environmental remediation activities difficult to implement. Psychological distress was prevalent among both children and caregivers, which demonstrated the burden associated with managing a chronic illness. CONCLUSION: Families in urban, low-income communities require asthma management interventions tailored to their specific characteristics, barriers, and challenges. Our findings can be used to inform and enhance asthma management interventions for urban families with children with asthma