Exploring Perceived Social Support from Peer Facilitators in an HIV Treatment Adherence Intervention for African American Patients: A Content Analysis of Participant Perspectives

HIV treatment adherence interventions increasingly rely on peer facilitators to promote treatment adherence and improve patient retention, yet little is known about how participants perceive the role performed by peer facilitators. The present study examined participant perceptions in terms of the social support from peer facilitators in a hospital‐based intervention in Chicago. Content analysis was conducted with reference to four types of social support (instrumental, informational, emotional and affiliational) on exit interviews with 11 participants enrolled in the intervention that targeted African‐American patients living with HIV/AIDS. We examined how the type of social support perceived by participants was related to their self‐reported behaviours in three domains: adherence, sexual safety and general coping. Our analysis revealed that most participants perceived informational and emotional support from their peer facilitators, followed by instrumental support. Affiliational support was the least frequently perceived type of social support. We found that perceived informational support from peer facilitators with regard to adherence had greater impact and credibility amongst participants than the same type of support from medical providers. Informational support was cited most frequently with regard to influencing adherence and sexual safety behaviours, whereas perceived emotional support was cited primarily with helping participants cope with HIV. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Non-bayesian inference: causal structure trumps correlation

The study tests the hypothesis that conditional probability judgments can be influenced by causal links between the target event and the evidence even when the statistical relations among variables are held constant. Three experiments varied the causal structure relating three variables and found that (a) the target event was perceived as more probable when it was linked to evidence by a causal chain than when both variables shared a common cause; (b) predictive chains in which evidence is a cause of the hypothesis gave rise to higher judgments than diagnostic chains in which evidence is an effect of the hypothesis; and (c) direct chains gave rise to higher judgments than indirect chains. A Bayesian learning model was applied to our data but failed to explain them. An explanation-based hypothesis stating that statistical information will affect judgments only to the extent that it changes beliefs about causal structure is consistent with the results.     

Implementing Housing First Across Sites and Over Time: Later Fidelity and Implementation Evaluation of a Pan-Canadian Multi-site Housing First Program for Homeless People with Mental Illness

This article examines later fidelity and implementation of a five‐site pan‐Canadian Housing First research demonstration project. The average fidelity score across five Housing First domains and 10 programs was high in the first year of operation (3.47/4) and higher in the third year of operation (3.62/4). Qualitative interviews (36 key informant interviews and 17 focus groups) revealed that staff expertise, partnerships with other services, and leadership facilitated implementation, while staff turnover, rehousing participants, participant isolation, and limited vocational/educational supports impeded implementation. The findings shed light on important implementation “drivers” at the staff, program, and community levels.     

Inter-word eye behaviour during reading is not invariant to character size: Evidence against systematic saccadic range error in reading

The present study re-investigated the effect of character size on eye behaviour during reading, in order to test McConkie, Kerr, Reddix, and Zola's (1988 McConkie, G. W., Kerr, P. W., Reddix, M. D., & Zola, D. (1988). Eye movement control during reading: I. The location of initial eye fixations on words. Vision Research, 28(10), 1107–1118. doi:10.1016/0042-6989(88)90137-X[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) Saccadic Range Error (SRE) hypothesis. This assumes that saccades are biased to move the eyes a constant, optimal distance in the task (i.e., range error), while aiming at the centre of peripherally selected target words. Results showed in contradiction with this hypothesis, (1) that the linear relationship between the eye launch site and the mean landing sites in words is not invariant to character size, and (2) that the optimal launch-site distance to the centre of words varies depending on the spatial extent of the words, and differs from the mean length of saccades in the task. We propose an alternative, Center-of-Gravity hypothesis, which a priori accounts for the launch-site effect and its variations with character size, and suggests that research in reading may benefit from reconsidering the role of character size.     

Ecological Psychology and Social Psychology: Continuing Discussion

What form would an ideal merger of ecological and social psychology take? Is that ideal attainable? Many researchers and theorists are working to answer these questions. Charles (2009, 2011a) offered insights from E. B. Holt, one of James J. Gibson’s mentors, who argued that minds—mental kinds, processes, states, etc.—are observable aspects of the environment. Phrasing that in Ecological terms, the minds of other organisms are specified in the structure of ambient energy extended over time and space; they are directly perceivable by a properly attuned organism. Ecological Psychology enhances Holt’s story, by brining to the table a sophisticated theory of direct perception; Holt enhances the Ecological story by brining to the table a sophisticated theory about the nature of minds. The two combine to form the long-sought ideal merger. Thus, I claimed, Ecological Psychology will either rediscover its roots, or go through the trouble of re-creating them. This paper further develops those ideas, by presenting a simpler version of the argument, suggesting easy ways of dismissing that argument, and addressing the concerns expressed by Castro and Lafuente (2011).     

Relationship between anxiety and dyspnea on exertion in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Dyspnea limits exercise in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and is known to induce anxiety. Little is known whether anxiety contributes to exercise-induced dyspnea, which in turn might influence the outcome of diagnostic tests. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between general anxiety and dyspnea on exertion in patients with COPD. Ninety patients with stable COPD participated; 44 men, mean age 61 (standard deviation (SD) 10.4), and mean forced expiratory volume in 1 second (%pred.) 40.5 (SD 16.9). All participants performed pulmonary function tests and an incremental cycle ergometry. The Modified Borg Scale was used to measure the level of dyspnea on exertion. Anxiety symptoms were assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Data were analyzed using Spearman's correlations and multivariate regression. Dyspnea on exertion was correlated with general anxiety (r=.31), age (r=-.30), and exercise capacity (r=.27). Regression analysis showed that general anxiety was associated with dyspnea on exertion, adjusted for sex, age, baseline dyspnea, and exercise capacity. Consequently, it is reasoned that results of exercise training and activities in daily living may be influenced negatively by anxiety-worsened dyspnea. Attention should be given to anxiety management in patients with COPD to optimize exercise training.     

Partitioning default effects: why people choose not to choose

Default options exert an influence in areas as varied as retirement program design, organ donation policy, and consumer choice. Past research has offered potential reasons why no-action defaults matter: (a) effort, (b) implied endorsement, and (c) reference dependence. The first two of these explanations have been experimentally demonstrated, but the latter has received far less attention. In three experiments we produce default effects and demonstrate that reference dependence can play a major role in their effectiveness. We find that the queries formulated by defaults can produce differences in constructed preferences and further that manipulating queries can also mitigate default effects. The experimental context involves two environmentally consequential alternatives: cheap, inefficient incandescent light bulbs, and expensive, efficient compact fluorescent bulbs. Within this context we also measure the impact of each potential rationale for a default effect.     

Metacognition in nurse practitioner students: How nurse educators can best serve their students

The dynamic and changing healthcare environment requires educators to prepare nurse practitioner students with more than knowledge and skills. Healthcare providers need to be prepared with enhanced skills related to critical thinking and decision making. Metacognition training has been used by many disciplines within and outside of healthcare to prepare individuals to work in an environment that has volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity, and delayed feedback (VUCAD). This retrospective exploratory study uses computerized strategic management simulation (SMS) data to address the question: What parameters of metacognition do master's level nurse practitioner (NP) students excel versus underperform? Elements of Presentation: Presentation will include SMS parameters linked with the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) Core Competencies. In doing this, faculty can better assess students' individualized learning needs and tailor their academic education to address specific needs. Fifty-nine master's level students completed SMS, measuring five unique parameters of metacognition (Crisis, Task, Strategy, People & Information Management). Students' mean and median scores were observed to be high range for crisis management; and moderate range for task management, strategy management, and people management. Conversely, mean and median scores were in the low range for information management. Knowledge gained from this study can be used for curriculum development and planning to ensure that the parameters of metacognition are demonstrated throughout the curriculum's content delivery, training exercises, and evaluation methods. Knowledge related to areas in which NP students score in the low range can be added to courses to assist students better.     

The Efficacy of the General Aptitude Test Battery in Allocating Prisoners to Work and Trade Training Courses

Ninety trainees at Deerbolt Borstal, County Durham, were randomly assigned to four groups for placement on trade training courses and work. The first group was assigned on the basis of the General Aptitude Test Battery and a brief interview about their interests; the second group on the basis of the General Aptitude Test Battery; the third group on the interview about their interests; whilst the fourth group was assigned randomly to existing vacancies. A 16-week follow-up showed significant differences across the groups in terms of successfully completing placements, the General Aptitude Test Battery being the crucial factor in allocating individuals successfully. Ratings of trainee performance from supervisors taken after two weeks did not, however, show significant differences across the groups.