Applying the Behaviour Change Wheel to UK Local Authority Policy Documents: A Content Analysis in the Context of Financial Behaviour

Local authorities in the UK often try to improve their residents’ financial well-being by promoting changes in behaviour. The extent to which these behaviour change activities are based on relevant theory or evidence is unknown. This research aims to retrospectively analyse the content of local authorities’ policies to identify opportunities for improvement. The Action, Actor, Context, Target, Time (AACTT) framework was used to assess the specification of target behaviours. The Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) process was used to assess intervention content. Within the policy documents, target behaviours were not consistently specified in terms of the AACTT criteria. Descriptions of interventions lacked detail with 28% unable to be categorised and there was a reliance on Education (46%) to change financial behaviour. The designing and reporting of interventions to change residents’ financial behaviour were not always aligned with behavioural science evidence and utilising systematic frameworks could help local authorities achieve policy objectives

Pet dogs improve family functioning and reduce anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorder

Jessica Hardiman*†, Richard Mills‡ , PAWS Project Team† and Daniel Mills* * University of Lincoln, School of Life Sciences, Joseph Banks Laboratories, UK † Dogs for the Disables, Frances Hay Centre, Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK ‡ Research Autism, Adam House, London, UK ABSTRACT There is increasing evidence to suggest that dogs are beneficial for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in therapy sessions, and anecdotal reports suggest that dogs may have wider benefits, in a family setting. This study investigated the effect of dog ownership on family functioning and child anxiety. Using a validated scale of family strengths and weaknesses (Brief Version of the Family Assessment Measure-III [General Scale]), we compared parents of children with ASD who had recently acquired a pet dog (n = 42, Intervention group) with a similar group of parents not acquiring a dog (n = 28, Control group) at matched time points. A sub-population (n =14 acquiring a dog, n = 26 controls) completed a parental-report measure of child anxiety (Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale). The primary carer completed the scales via telephone at Baseline (up to 17 weeks before acquiring a dog), Postintervention (3–10 weeks after acquisition), and Follow-up (25–40 weeks after acquisition). Over time, scores for family functioning showed significant improvements (reduced family weaknesses, increased strengths) in the dog-owning compared with the non-dog owning group. In comparison with the non-dog owning group, anxiety scores in the dog-owning group reduced by a greater percentage, most notably in the domains of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (26% greater decrease), Panic Attack and Agoraphobia (24%), Social Phobia (22%), and Separation Anxiety (22%). The results illustrate the potential of pet dogs to improve whole family functioning and child anxiety

Practitioner review: pathways to care for ADHD - a systematic review of barriers and facilitators

Background. Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder starting in childhood that may persist into adulthood. It can be managed through carefully monitored medication and nonpharmacological interventions. Access to care for children at risk of ADHD varies both within and between countries. A systematic literature review was conducted to investigate the research evidence related to factors which influence children accessing services for ADHD

What factors are associated with positive effects of dog ownership in families with children with autism spectrum disorder? The development of the Lincoln Autism Pet Dog Impact Scale

Scientific literature exploring the value of assistance dogs to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is rapidly emerging. However, there is comparably less literature reporting the effects of pet (as opposed to assistance) dogs to these children. In particular, there are no known validated scales which assess how children may alter their behaviours in the presence of the dog, to evaluate the efficacy of pet dogs to these families. Additionally, given the highly individualised nature of ASD it is likely that some children and families gain more benefits from dog ownership than others, yet no research has reported the effect of individual differences. This pilot study reports the development of a 28-item scale based on the perceived impact of a pet dog on a child with autism by parents (Lincoln Autism Pet Dog Impact Scale, LAPDIS). The scale is comprised of three mathematically derived factors: Adaptability, Social Skills and Conflict Management. We assessed how individual differences (aspects) may be associated with scores on these three factors. Family Aspects and Dog Aspects were not significantly associated with ratings on the three factors, but Child Aspects (including: contact with horses, child age, disability level and language abilities) were related to impact of the dog on all factors. Training Aspects were related to scores on Social Skills (formal training with children with ASD and dogs and attendance at PAWS workshops run by Dogs for Good). These results suggest that individual differences associated with the child and the training approach may be important considerations for a positive impact from dog ownership on families with children with ASD. Differences in family features and the dog may not be so important, but may be worthy of further investigations given the early stage of development in this field

Minimal important improvement thresholds for the six-minute walk test in a knee arthroplasty cohort: triangulation of anchor- and distribution-based methods.

BACKGROUND: The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) is a commonly used metric for measuring change in mobility after knee arthroplasty, however, what is considered an improvement after surgery has not been defined. The determination of important change in an outcome assessment tool is controversial and may require more than one approach. This study, nested within a combined randomised and observational trial, aimed to define a minimal important improvement threshold for the 6MWT in a knee arthroplasty cohort through a triangulation of methods including patient-perceived anchor-based thresholds and distribution-based thresholds. METHODS: Individuals with osteoarthritis performed a 6MWT pre-arthroplasty then at 10 and 26 weeks post-surgery. Each rated their perceived improvement in mobility post-surgery on a 7-point transition scale anchored from "much better" to "much worse". Based on these responses the cohort was dichotomised into 'improved' and 'not improved'. The thresholds for patient-perceived improvements were then identified using two receiver operating curve methods producing sensitivity and specificity indices. Distribution-based change thresholds were determined using two methods utilising effect size (ES). Agreement between the anchor- and distribution-based methods was assessed using kappa. RESULTS: One hundred fifty-eight from 166 participants in the randomised cohort and 222 from 243 in the combined randomised and observational cohort were included at 10 and 26 weeks, respectively. The slightly or more patient-perceived improvement threshold at 26 weeks (an absolute improvement of 26 m) was the only one to demonstrate sensitivity and specificity results both better than chance. At 10- and 26-weeks, the ES based on the mean change score divided by the baseline standard deviation (SD), was an absolute change of 24.5 and 37.9 m, respectively. The threshold based on a moderate ES (a 0.5 SD of the baseline score) was a change of 55.0 and 55.4 m at 10- and 26-weeks, respectively. The level of agreement between the 26-week anchor-based and distribution-based minimal absolute changes was very good (k = 0.88 (95 % CI 0.81 0.95)). CONCLUSION: A valid threshold of improvement for the 6MWT can only be proposed for changes identified from baseline to 26 weeks post-surgery. The level of agreement between anchor- and distribution-based methods indicates that a true minimal or more threshold of meaningful improvement following surgery is likely within the ranges proposed by the triangulation of all four methods, that is, 26 to 55 m

OncoLog Volume 45, Number 05, May 2000

Early Detection of Melanoma Spread May Increase Survival Benefits of Adjuvant Therapy No Easy Answers: Women at Increased Risk for Breast Cancer Face Difficult Choices DiaLog: Understanding Risk: A Prerequisite for Making Informed Decisions, by Gordon B. Mills, MD, PhD, Chairman, Department of Molecular Therapeutics House Call: Looking for Trouble: How to Spot Signs of Melanoma Protocols: Melanoma Clinical Trials Biochemotherapy Means Hope for Patients with Advanced Melanomahttps://openworks.mdanderson.org/oncolog/1085/thumbnail.jp

The welfare consequences and efficacy of training pet dogs with remote electronic training collars in comparison to reward based training

This study investigated the welfare consequences of training dogs in the field with manually operated electronic devices (e-collars). Following a preliminary study on 9 dogs, 63 pet dogs referred for recall related problems were assigned to one of three Groups: Treatment Group A were trained by industry approved trainers using e-collars; Control Group B trained by the same trainers but without use of e-collars; and Group C trained by members of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, UK again without e-collar stimulation (n = 21 for each Group). Dogs received two 15 minute training sessions per day for 4-5 days. Training sessions were recorded on video for behavioural analysis. Saliva and urine were collected to assay for cortisol over the training period. During preliminary studies there were negative changes in dogs' behaviour on application of electric stimuli, and elevated cortisol post-stimulation. These dogs had generally experienced high intensity stim uli without pre-warning cues during training. In contrast, in the subsequent larger, controlled study, trainers used lower settings with a pre-warning function and behavioural responses were less marked. Nevertheless, Group A dogs spent significantly more time tense, yawned more often and engaged in less environmental interaction than Group C dogs. There was no difference in urinary corticosteroids between Groups. Salivary cortisol in Group A dogs was not significantly different from that in Group B or Group C, though Group C dogs showed higher measures than Group B throughout sampling. Following training 92% of owners reported improvements in their dog's referred behaviour, and there was no significant difference in reported efficacy across Groups. Owners of dogs trained using e-collars were less confident of applying the training approach demonstrated. These findings suggest that there is no consistent benefit to be gained from e-collar training but greater welfare concer! ns compared with positive reward based training

Punnett Square or Protein Production? The Expert-Novice Divide for Conceptions of Genes and Gene Expression

Concepts of molecular biology and genetics are difficult for many biology undergraduate students to master yet are crucial for deep understanding of how life works. By asking students to draw their ideas, we attempted to uncover the mental models about genes and gene expression held by biology students (n = 23) and experts (n = 18) using semistructured interviews. A large divide was identified between novice and expert conceptions. While experts typically drew box-and-line representations and thought about genes as regions of DNA that were used to encode products, students typically drew whole chromosomes rather than focusing on gene structure and conflated gene expression with simple phenotypic outcomes. Experts universally described gene expression as a set of molecular processes involving transcription and translation, whereas students often associated gene expression with Punnett squares and phenotypic outcomes. Follow-up survey data containing a ranking question confirmed students’ alignment of their mental models with the images uncovered during interviews (n = 156 undergraduate biology students) and indicated that Advanced students demonstrate a shift toward expert-like thinking. An analysis of 14 commonly used biology textbooks did not show any relationship between Punnett squares and discussions of gene expression, so it is doubtful students’ ideas originate directly from textbook reading assignments. Our findings add to the literature about mechanistic reasoning abilities of learners and provide new insights into how biology students think about genes and gene expression