Understanding the Importance of Patient Engagement through Case Study Learning

Current heart failure guidelines place equivalent emphasis on heart failure management via medication therapy and self-care monitoring. Heart failure self-care is complex. Nurses in the acute care setting often provide education on symptom recognition and responses (Albert, Cohen, Liu, Best, Aspinwall, & Pratt, 2015; Rasmusson, Flattery, & Bass, 2015). This scholarly project aims to fill the current gaps in education focusing upon students’ ability to adapt guidelines and facillitate education to meet specific patient needs

The International Community\u27s Response to the Hypothetical Emergence of Superheroes

In a golden era for comic based media, this paper uses the hypothetical emergence of superheroes to analyze the assumptions and predictions of three international relations theories: realism, liberalism, and constructivism. Comics consistently reflect the real world, paralleling events and concepts discussed in foreign affairs dialogues. The thought experiment, and the comic genre itself, provides a vehicle for thinking broadly about the political and social ramifications of successful or failed problem solving, state interaction, and scientific advances

We Don’t Need Another Hero: Understanding Team Learning Processes within the Senior Leadership Teams of Middle Atlantic Universities

The twin forces of complexity and change have created a volatile environment for higher education institutions. For many institutions, strategic institutional change has become an imperative, not a choice. These new demands have escalated the complexity of institutional leadership and changed the demands on the college and university presidency. Strategic responsibilities have expanded beyond the presidency in new ways, creating increased reliance by presidents on their senior leadership teams. In light of the key influence of senior leadership teams on strategic institutional change, a deeper investigation of these teams is critical for the sector’s positive transformation. This qualitative study of presidents and senior leadership teams at five Middle Atlantic higher education institutions sought to understand how presidents and their senior leadership team members work and learn together. The study was especially focused on the ways presidents and senior leadership team members described their roles, interactions between team members, and the practices and beliefs that inhibit or enable team learning. Using shared leadership, team learning, and sensemaking literature coupled with the Dechant, Marsick, and Kasl (1993) model of team learning as a foundation, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews and administered an excerpt of the Dechant and Marsick (1993) Team Learning Survey. The study yielded insights that could be valuable to those who lead or are members of higher education senior leadership teams and those that educate, consult, and advise senior leadership teams in college and university settings. While strategic planning and long-term thinking were identified as key roles for senior leadership teams, team interactions were largely defined by institutional management activities, including information sharing, determining ownership and key decision makers, problem solving, and issue resolution. In particular, student affairs and finance officers reported fragmented learning processes and fixed views of their functional expertise. Senior leadership teams were primarily engaged in learning processes to support complex problem solving. To execute strategic change in higher education, intentionally cultivated informal learning practices that encourage explicit reflection on action coupled with deeper forms of relationship building between team members are needed. These activities require clear endorsement and consistent support by the institutional president

Effects of a Training and Technical Assistance Intervention on Rates of Community Change to Prevent Adolescent Alcohol Use in Two Midwestern Communities

This study analyzes the effects of a training and technical assistance intervention on the amount and kind of community changes facilitated by members of community coalitions to prevent adolescent alcohol use. As part of a NIDA funded project, the Youth Community Coalition (Columbia, MO) and the Dottes Community Coalition (Kansas City, KS) participated in a community change intervention. The intervention focused on building the skills of both coalitions to increase the rate of community changes facilitated in their communities to prevent adolescent alcohol use. The study provided a systematic investigation of the effects of training and technical assistance on environmental changes related to prevention efforts, followed by a case-study analysis of the Youth Community Coalition's efforts related to longer-term outcomes. Participating coalitions documented their efforts that resulted in changes in community conditions (i.e., new or modified programs, practices, or policies). The community changes were analyzed by rate and type of change (e.g., behavior change strategy used). Implementation of coalition-based processes was also measured to assess the effects of training and technical assistance on priority approaches selected by the coalitions. Assessments were administered via online surveys before, during and after the intervention. Community-level indicator data were also gathered to examine whether the effects on changes in community conditions generalize to longer-term population-level outcomes. Two community-level indicators were collected and used for the analysis; self-reported 30-day alcohol use data was collected through school-based surveys, and adolescent alcohol-related arrest rates were gathered from archival records. Results showed that both coalitions, when compared with baseline data, facilitated an average of at least three times as many community changes per month after the intervention. A multiple baseline, or interrupted time series design with staggered implementation across communities, showed that community changes increased following implementation of the intervention. Reported implementation of three prioritized coalition-based processes also increased after the intervention for each coalition. Although the effects did not generalize to longer-term outcomes, results suggest that the intervention was successful in preparing coalitions to facilitate community changes related to reducing risk for adolescent alcohol use

Games for organizational training: Gamer motivation profile and organizational training climate effect of trainee preference for gamified training

“Gamified training is often utilized in organizations as a way to revamp their training and gain the attention of their employees. However, this training is expensive, and research is needed to help ensure that this training delivery is successful. In this study, first an individual’s gamer motivation profile is compared with learning outcomes that share the same elements. This was completed to determine if the elements that they looked for in playing video games were in alignment with those same elements in training In addition, it was explored whether the preference for participating in video games based on an individual’s gamer motivation profile was moderated by training climate in their organization to influence preference for gamified training. Results showed that an individual’s preference to participate in gamified training is affected by learning opportunities that contain the same elements that they prefer in video games, training climate, and video game experience”--Abstract, page iii

EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF A TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE INTERVENTION ON THE FUNCTIONING OF EIGHT COMMUNITY COALITIONS TO PREVENT SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Community coalitions and partnerships are commonly used strategies to prevent substance abuse and address other public health issues. These alliances among multiple organizations aim to prevent substance abuse by changing conditions related to personal and environmental factors. Two general indicators have been identified to assess the effectiveness of community coalitions: internal coalition functioning (e.g., implementation of evidence-based processes) and external environmental changes such as new community programs and policies. This study examines coalition functioning by measuring implementation of coalition processes and environmental changes facilitated by coalitions. Eight substance abuse coalitions from the Midwest participated in the study. The intervention consisted of two primary components: training in community change efforts using the Community Tool Box curriculum and monthly technical assistance related to prioritized coalition processes. The study utilized a multiple baseline design across coalitions (randomly assigned to two cohorts), a pre/post comparison, and a factor analysis to answer four research questions. The results showed coalitions reported fuller implementation of coalition processes at the end of the intervention, but documented changes were unaffected by the intervention in terms of frequency and intensity. Through the addition of qualitative methods, contextual factors were included in the analysis suggesting a number of factors that influenced coalition functioning including time to engage in change efforts, costs of prevention efforts, staff turnover, and broader external community conditions. This study extends the evidence base by examining how the environment was modified and associated with the implementation of coalition processes. This study helps make a connection between the fields of behavioral science and public health through the systematic assessment of coalition efforts to create conditions for reduced risk for substance abuse

Faculty and resident perspectives on ambulatory care education: A collective case study of family medicine, psychiatry, and surgery

Background: Ambulatory care (AC) experiences within medical education are garnering increasing attention. We sought to understand how faculty and residents’ describe their experiences of AC and ambulatory care education (ACEduc) within, between, and across disciplinary contexts.Methods: We designed a Stakian collective case study, applying constructivist grounded theory analytic methods. Using purposive and snowball sampling, we interviewed 17 faculty and residents across three instrumental cases: family medicine, psychiatry, surgery. Through constant comparative analysis, we identified patterns within, between, and across cases.Results: Family medicine and psychiatry saw AC as an inherent part of continuous, longitudinal care; surgery equated AC with episodic experiences in clinic, differentiating it from operating. Across cases, faculty and residents cautiously valued ACEduc, and in particular, considered it important to develop non-medical expert competencies (e.g., communication). However, surgery residents described AC and ACEduc as less interesting and a lower priority than operating. Educational structures mediated these views.Conclusion: Differences between cases highlight a need for further study, as universal assumptions about ACEduc’s purposes and approaches may need to be tempered by situated, contextually-rich perspectives. How disciplinary culture, program structure, and systemic structure influence ACEduc warrant further consideration as does the educational potential for explicitly framing learners’ perspectives

The Effect of an Interprofessional Registered Nurse-Physical Therapist Team on Reducing Prescribed Opioid Dependence in Patients with Chronic Lower Back Pain

Long-term prescribed opioid use for chronic pain is shown to reduce recovery potential and increase risk for dependence, which is contributing to the nationwide opioid crisis. There is a need for an innovative, multidisciplinary approach to address prescription opioid dependence. We propose implementation of a community-based interprofessional registered nurse-physical therapist team (IRNPTT) focused on reduction of opioid dependence in adult patients with chronic lower back pain

Funk What You Heard: Hip Hop Is a Field of Study

“Funk What You Heard” is a beaconing call to all scholars who engage with Hip Hop studies. This article lays out the ways in which Hip Hop studies should properly respond to the wave of oppressions currently pounding the world. With several key date markers in place for Hip Hop studies, Tricia Rose’s Black Noise in 1994 and Murray Foreman and Mark Anthony Neal’s That’s the Joint in 2004, “Funk What You Heard” charts the path forward for the future of Hip Hop studies. Black Noise provided the original blueprint for studying Hip Hop and That’s the Joint! stamped “hip-hop studies” into history. Although we are close to thirty years since Black Noise, lyrical analysis is a dominant method for Hip Hop studies. Also, although we have a clearly identifiable field, academics still treat Hip Hop as an interesting topic they can write about without speaking to the field. “Funk What You Heard” calls for something more. We can no longer continue down this path of weak analysis and rewriting Hip Hop theories that have been discussed time and time again. Our contemporary waves of oppression have raised the stakes. With the path charted out, we ultimately call on Hip Hop scholars to answer their ancestral call. Answering this call pragmatically looks like building on the field, developing new and innovative research methods, and engaging with all the elements of Hip Hop. As far as the unseen, we will leave that up to your reflection with Hip Hop’s collective consciousness that is not bound by space and time

‘It’s like Taking a Sleeping Pill’: Student Experience of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) to Promote Health and Mental Wellbeing

Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is purposely elicited by some individuals to promote health and mental wellbeing. The aim of the current study was to explore how ASMR is used and its perceived benefits in a student population. We employed semi-structured qualitative interviews, with eight female students who self-reported as ASMR-sensitive users. Inductive thematic analysis, underpinned by a phenomenological framework, was applied to the data. Two themes, each with three subthemes, were identified; these highlighted the journey from first discovering ASMR to present experience and the use of ASMR to promote health and mental wellbeing both directly and indirectly. For some, ASMR was used daily, whilst for others it was used in a relapsing-remitting fashion: usage increased when struggling with mental wellbeing and was most often used as a tool to induce sleep or distraction when feeling anxious. Participants also reported ASMR-eliciting content as intriguing, and that the phenomenon was regarded as taboo. ASMR appears to play an important role in promoting health and mental wellbeing; frequency of use, preferred triggers, and purpose of use varied, highlighting its flexible and subjective nature. It provides a potential cost-effective tool in populations such as students where mental health needs are burgeoning