Utilizing Wellness Champions as a Faith-Based Initiative for Mental Health Promotion

Abstract Purpose: This program evaluation project evaluated the effectiveness of mental health training and support provided to wellness champions affiliated with a behavioral health organization. This project sought to gain a better understanding of how clergy and laypersons acting as wellness champions in predominately African-American faith-based organizations perceive they create an atmosphere to decrease stigma and increase mental health promotion and wellness when receiving education and training on mental health. Methods: A descriptive project using a program evaluation design to evaluate the effectiveness of the training of 122 wellness champions from faith-based organizations received from a behavioral health organization from 2015-2019. Data was collected using an anonymous, online survey distributed to 122 wellness champions affiliated with a behavioral health organization. Eighteen participated in the survey, a follow-up interview was conducted with 8 wellness champions. Results: Overall respondents evaluated the mental health training very positively with 8 of the 9 items being rated somewhat or strongly agree by 72.2-84.3% of the participants. Of the 9 knowledge, attitude and skills questions on the survey, seven had means ranging from 4.11-4.50. Two items had means below 4.0. The items below 4.0 focused on ability to identify congregants with substance additions and that the training changed perceptions that mental health problems are due to a lack of trust in God and a lack of strong faith. 82% of respondents had made a referral to a community connector since their training. The results from the study indicate that congregates trained in mental health increased their knowledge of behavioral health symptoms, confidence to connect with community connectors, and ability to enable referrals for access to care and treatment. Implications for Practice: This program evaluation study reveals that the education and training provided by the behavioral health organization increased mental health literacy and was effective in preparing congregates to be effective in their role as a wellness champion. Future training should consider strengthening focus on substance addictions and exploring the beliefs about the role of trust in God and strong faith in contributing to mental health problems in the African-American faith based organizations. Keywords: African American, church-based, faith-based organization, clergy, laypersons, faith leaders, mental health, wellness champion

Developing Youth Voice in Service Learning Projects

A qualitative study was conducted to collect information on youth and service learning to provide a template for educators\u27 use when incorporating service learning activities into their curriculums. Findings included that teens were able to articulate a definition of service learning and identify service activities. Most felt they had a voice in planning and implementation and saw adults as key in evaluating projects. However, some felt that adults have too great a voice in the planning stages. Recommendations include professional development for adults on working with teens and evaluating current programs to make certain that youth voice is present

From business case to value case - Assessing the organizational value of it investments

Managers continually invest in new information technology (IT) but the question of organizational value still seems vague. One explanation is poor evaluation. In practice the Business Case including Return on Investment (ROI) still dominate. Information System research has noted for a long time that the Economic Approach is not sufficient and instead the Interpretative IT Evaluation Approach has been put forward. However, the approach has reached limited acceptance in practice and it has been noted that what to evaluate is a far more complex process than might first appear. The aim of this study is to articulate factors and criteria that are important to consider when assessing the organizational value of IT investments. This study is part of a Collaborative Practice Research project that took place 2005-2008 at three public organizations. The findings indicate that it is time to take a step from a Business Case to a Value Case. The Value Case is a pluralistic, a formative and a formalized approach that includes factors and criteria that have its base in prior research and have been further discussed and analyzed by the respondents. The Value Case also put management’s attention to effectiveness and efficiency, the task of management

The effect of oil sands process-affected water and model naphthenic acids on photosynthesis and growth in Emiliania huxleyi and Chlorella vulgaris

Naphthenic acids (NAs) are among the most toxic organic pollutants present in oil sands process waters (OSPW) and enter marine and freshwater environments through natural and anthropogenic sources. We investigated the effects of the acid extractable organic (AEO) fraction of OSPW and individual surrogate NAs, on maximum photosynthetic efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) (FV/FM) and cell growth in Emiliania huxleyi and Chlorella vulgaris as representative marine and freshwater phytoplankton. Whilst FV/FM in E. huxleyi and C. vulgaris was not inhibited by AEO, exposure to two surrogate NAs: (4'-n-butylphenyl)-4-butanoic acid (n-BPBA) and (4'-tert-butylphenyl)-4-butanoic acid (tert-BPBA), caused complete inhibition of FV/FM in E. huxleyi (≥10 mg L-1 n-BPBA; ≥50 mg L-1 tert-BPBA) but not in C. vulgaris. Growth rates and cell abundances in E. huxleyi were also reduced when exposed to ≥10 mg L-1 n- and tert-BPBA; however, higher concentrations of n- and tert-BPBA (100 mg L-1) were required to reduce cell growth in C. vulgaris. AEO at ≥10 mg L-1 stimulated E. huxleyi growth rate (p ≤ 0.002), yet had no apparent effect on C. vulgaris. In conclusion, E. huxleyi was generally more sensitive to NAs than C. vulgaris. This report provides a better understanding of the physiological responses of phytoplankton to NAs which will enable improved monitoring of NA pollution in aquatic ecosystems in the future

High C3 photosynthetic capacity and high intrinsic water use efficiency underlies the high productivity of the bioenergy grass Arundo donax

AbstractArundo donax has attracted interest as a potential bioenergy crop due to a high apparent productivity. It uses C3 photosynthesis yet appears competitive with C4 grass biomass feedstock’s and grows in warm conditions where C4 species might be expected to be that productive. Despite this there has been no systematic study of leaf photosynthetic properties. This study determines photosynthetic and photorespiratory parameters for leaves in a natural stand of A. donax growing in southern Portugal. We hypothesise that A. donax has a high photosynthetic potential in high and low light, stomatal limitation to be small and intrinsic water use efficiency unusually low. High photosynthetic rates in A. donax resulted from a high capacity for both maximum Rubisco (Vc,max 117 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1) and ribulose-1:5-bisphosphate limited carboxylation rate (Jmax 213 μmol CO2 m−2 s−1) under light-saturated conditions. Maximum quantum yield for light-limited CO2 assimilation was also high relative to other C3 species. Photorespiratory losses were similar to other C3 species under the conditions of measurement (25%), while stomatal limitation was high (0.25) resulting in a high intrinsic water use efficiency. Overall the photosynthetic capacity of A. donax is high compared to other C3 species and comparable to C4 bioenergy grasses.</jats:p

Gender differences in the accuracy of dietary assessment methods to measure energy intake in adults:protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction Diet is an important modifiable risk factor for many chronic diseases. Measurement of dietary intake usually relies on self-report, subject to multiple biases. There is a need to understand gender differences in the self-report of dietary intake and the implications of any differences in targeting nutrition interventions. Literature in this area is limited and it is currently unknown whether self-report dietary assessment methods are equally accurate for women and men. The aim of this systematic review is to determine whether there are differences by gender in reporting energy intake compared with a reference measure of total energy expenditure. Methods and analysis A comprehensive search of published original research studies will be performed in MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, EMBASE, CINAHL and Cochrane library. Original research studies will be included if they were conducted in free-living/unhospitalised adults and included a measure for both women and men of (a) self-reported energy intake and (b) total energy expenditure by doubly labelled water. One author will conduct the electronic database searches, two authors will independently screen studies, conduct a quality appraisal of the included studies using standardised tools and extract data. If further information is needed, then study authors will be contacted. If appropriate, a random-effects meta-analysis will be conducted, with inverse probability weighting, to quantify differences in the mean difference in agreement between reported energy intake and measured energy expenditure between women and men, by self-report assessment method. Subgroup analyses will be conducted by participant factors, geographical factors and study quality. Ethics and dissemination All data used will be from published primary research studies or deidentified results provided at the discretion of any study authors that we contact. We will submit our findings to a peer-reviewed scientific journal and will disseminate results through presentations at international scientific conferences. PROSPERO registration number CRD42019131715

Dust Emission Features in NGC 7023 between 0.35 and 2.5 micron: Extended Red Emission (0.7 micron) and Two New Emission Features (1.15 and 1.5 micron)

We present 0.35 to 2.5 micron spectra of the south and northwest filaments in the reflection nebula NGC 7023. These spectra were used to test the theory of Seahra & Duley that carbon nanoparticles are responsible for Extended Red Emission (ERE). Our spectra fail to show their predicted second emission band at 1.0 micron even though both filaments exhibit strong emission in the familiar 0.7 micron ERE band. The northwest filament spectrum does show one, and possibly two, new dust emission features in the near-infrared. We clearly detect a strong emission band at 1.5 micron which we tentatively attribute to beta-FeSi_2 grains. We tentatively detect a weaker emission band at 1.15 micron which coincides with the location expected for transitions from the conduction band to mid-gap defect states of silicon nanoparticles. This is added evidence that silicon nanoparticles are responsible for ERE as they already can explain the observed behavior of the main visible ERE band.Comment: 9 pages, color figures, accepted to the ApJ, color and b/w versions available at http://dirty.as.arizona.edu/~kgordon/papers/ere_1um.htm

From theory to 'measurement' in complex interventions: methodological lessons from the development of an e-health normalisation instrument

&lt;b&gt;Background&lt;/b&gt; Although empirical and theoretical understanding of processes of implementation in health care is advancing, translation of theory into structured measures that capture the complex interplay between interventions, individuals and context remain limited. This paper aimed to (1) describe the process and outcome of a project to develop a theory-based instrument for measuring implementation processes relating to e-health interventions; and (2) identify key issues and methodological challenges for advancing work in this field.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Methods&lt;/b&gt; A 30-item instrument (Technology Adoption Readiness Scale (TARS)) for measuring normalisation processes in the context of e-health service interventions was developed on the basis on Normalization Process Theory (NPT). NPT focuses on how new practices become routinely embedded within social contexts. The instrument was pre-tested in two health care settings in which e-health (electronic facilitation of healthcare decision-making and practice) was used by health care professionals.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Results&lt;/b&gt; The developed instrument was pre-tested in two professional samples (N = 46; N = 231). Ratings of items representing normalisation 'processes' were significantly related to staff members' perceptions of whether or not e-health had become 'routine'. Key methodological challenges are discussed in relation to: translating multi-component theoretical constructs into simple questions; developing and choosing appropriate outcome measures; conducting multiple-stakeholder assessments; instrument and question framing; and more general issues for instrument development in practice contexts.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Conclusions&lt;/b&gt; To develop theory-derived measures of implementation process for progressing research in this field, four key recommendations are made relating to (1) greater attention to underlying theoretical assumptions and extent of translation work required; (2) the need for appropriate but flexible approaches to outcomes measurement; (3) representation of multiple perspectives and collaborative nature of work; and (4) emphasis on generic measurement approaches that can be flexibly tailored to particular contexts of study

Why is it difficult to implement e-health initiatives? A qualitative study

&lt;b&gt;Background&lt;/b&gt; The use of information and communication technologies in healthcare is seen as essential for high quality and cost-effective healthcare. However, implementation of e-health initiatives has often been problematic, with many failing to demonstrate predicted benefits. This study aimed to explore and understand the experiences of implementers - the senior managers and other staff charged with implementing e-health initiatives and their assessment of factors which promote or inhibit the successful implementation, embedding, and integration of e-health initiatives.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Methods&lt;/b&gt; We used a case study methodology, using semi-structured interviews with implementers for data collection. Case studies were selected to provide a range of healthcare contexts (primary, secondary, community care), e-health initiatives, and degrees of normalization. The initiatives studied were Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) in secondary care, a Community Nurse Information System (CNIS) in community care, and Choose and Book (C&#38;B) across the primary-secondary care interface. Implementers were selected to provide a range of seniority, including chief executive officers, middle managers, and staff with 'on the ground' experience. Interview data were analyzed using a framework derived from Normalization Process Theory (NPT).&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Results&lt;/b&gt; Twenty-three interviews were completed across the three case studies. There were wide differences in experiences of implementation and embedding across these case studies; these differences were well explained by collective action components of NPT. New technology was most likely to 'normalize' where implementers perceived that it had a positive impact on interactions between professionals and patients and between different professional groups, and fit well with the organisational goals and skill sets of existing staff. However, where implementers perceived problems in one or more of these areas, they also perceived a lower level of normalization.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Conclusions&lt;/b&gt; Implementers had rich understandings of barriers and facilitators to successful implementation of e-health initiatives, and their views should continue to be sought in future research. NPT can be used to explain observed variations in implementation processes, and may be useful in drawing planners' attention to potential problems with a view to addressing them during implementation planning