Quality Improvement as a Tool for Translating Evidence Based Interventions Into Practice: What the Youth Violence Prevention Community can Learn from Healthcare

Health care has been working for the past 2 decades to improve the translation of evidence based practice (EBPs) into care. The strategies used to facilitate this, and lessons learned, can provide useful models for similar work taking place in youth violence prevention. This article discusses the history of evidence translation in health care, reviews key strategies used to support translation of evidence based practice into care, and suggests lessons learned that may be useful to similar efforts in youth violence prevention and intervention services.     

The experience of stuttering among Ultra-Orthodox and Secular/Traditional Jews

PurposeThis groundbreaking research compares the experience of stuttering among adult male People Who Stutter (PWS) from the ultra-Orthodox (UO) Jewish community in Israel to those from Secular/Traditional (ST) backgrounds.MethodsParticipants were 32 UO and 31 ST PWS, aged 18–67 years. Self-report questionnaires utilized: Perceived Stuttering Severity (PSS); Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering (OASES-A); Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS); Situation Avoidance Behavior Checklist (SABC). Demographic, religious, and stuttering information was collected. Groups were compared on scales, and correlations between scales and the PSS.ResultsSubjective stuttering severity ratings were significantly higher among the UO. A significant group effect was found for the OASES-A quality of life subscale, but not other subscales. Significant positive correlations were found between: 1) PSS and OASES-A Total Impact; 2) PSS and 3 OASES subscales; and 3) PSS and SABC (indicating increased avoidance with increased stuttering severity rating). A significant negative correlation was found between the PSS and SLSS, indicating lower life satisfaction with higher rates of stuttering severity among the ST. Interestingly, when tested by group, significant correlations between the PSS and all other study measures were observed only among the ST.ConclusionUO participants showed higher subjective stuttering severity ratings, yet less impact on quality of life, and no correlation between subjective stuttering and other measures of stuttering experience. These novel findings may result from the combined protective effect of religiosity and socio-cultural characteristics on UO PWS’ well-being, despite heightened concern about social consequences of stuttering within UO society.     

Perception des conditions de travail et perspectives professionnelles chez les enseignants des collèges en Tunisie

This study examines the impact of organizational work conditions on the mental health of secondary school teachers in Tunisia. It aims to understand teachers’ specific problems on the basis of their professional representations of the profession in order to identify the sources of their malaise at work. To conduct our research, Self-report questionnaires were completed by 34 teachers, aged 30 to 58 years, from different secondary schools. The thematic analysis highlights a bond between constraints perception related to working conditions and the negative evaluations of work situations and teaching profession as a whole. Professional experience reveals suffering and discomfort, they can lead to reconsidering future prospects.     

青少年学生焦虑敏感与睡眠质量的关系及其内在机制

采用中学生、大学生焦虑敏感问卷和匹兹堡睡眠质量指数量表(PSQI),分别对1011名中学生和607名大学生进行调查。结果显示高焦虑敏感学生的PSQI总分显著高于低焦虑敏感学生,焦虑敏感及其三个因子与PSQI的相关都是中效应,焦虑敏感对青少年学生睡眠质量指数具有显著的正向预测作用,焦虑敏感水平越高,其睡眠质量越差。焦虑敏感可能以应激事件和健康问题作为致敏源,以焦虑等负性情绪作为敏感内容,在消极自动认知觉察与思维的介入下,进一步放大对有关负性情绪的感受与体验,从而影响青少年学生的睡眠质量。     

Effects of Friendship Circles on the Social Interactions of Elementary Age Students with Mild Disabilities

This study assessed the effects of Friendship Circles on the social interactions between students with mild disabilities and their nondisabled peers. A multiple probe design was used to analyze the social interactions during lunch. Data also were collected in the form of sociograms and anecdotal records. In addition, generalization was assessed during recess observations. Results indicated that the Friendship Circle intervention produced increases in appropriate interactions at lunch for all three students and for two there were increases in friendly play at recess. Anecdotal data suggested improved social interactions for two of the students throughout the day and improved social behaviors in the general education classroom such as cooperation during group activities. Implications for future research are discussed.     

吸毒者心理社会生活质量分析

本研究旨在考察吸毒者的心理社会生活质量。云南地区194名吸毒者和198名正常被试参与了此项研究。结果表明：1)吸毒者和正常人在幸福感、自尊感、社会交往焦虑感、无力感、无意义感等方面都有显著差异,吸毒者的心理社会生活健康质量较差;2)不同性别、从事不同工作、兄弟姐妹数目和父母教育水平不同的吸毒者的心理社会生活质量不同;3)首次吸毒和复吸的大多数原因是心理因素。本研究对有关结果对吸毒者戒毒及教育的指导意义进行了讨论。     

Parents Living with HIV in China: Family Functioning and Quality of Life

In China, HIV shifts the lifestyle of not only parents living with HIV/AIDS, but also their children, partners, and extended families. We examined factors related to the quality of life of parents living with HIV and the relation between family functioning and individual quality of life. Interviews were conducted with a total of 116 parents living with HIV/AIDS. Analyses of variance, Pearson correlations, and multiple regression analyses were performed to examine the relation between family functioning and quality of life. We found a significant association between family functioning and individual quality of life for parents living with HIV. In particular, family sociability had a strong relationship with the quality of life of parents living with HIV. Parents living with HIV from families where both parents are HIV-positive reported a lower level of family sociability than those from families with only one HIV-positive parent. HIV disclosure, family sociability, and number of children per family were found to be significant predictors of overall quality of life for the population. Study findings underscore the importance of developing interventions that improve family functioning for people living with HIV/AIDS in China.     

A speech and psychological profile of treatment-seeking adolescents who stutter

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between stuttering severity, psychological functioning, and overall impact of stuttering, in a large sample of adolescents who stutter.MethodParticipants were 102 adolescents (11–17 years) seeking speech treatment for stuttering, including 86 boys and 16 girls, classified into younger (11–14 years, n = 57) and older (15–17 years, n = 45) adolescents. Linear regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between speech and psychological variables and overall impact of stuttering.ResultsThe impact of stuttering during adolescence is influenced by a complex interplay of speech and psychological variables. Anxiety and depression scores fell within normal limits. However, higher self-reported stuttering severity predicted higher anxiety and internalizing problems. Boys reported externalizing problems—aggression, rule-breaking—in the clinical range, and girls reported total problems in the borderline-clinical range. Overall, higher scores on measures of anxiety, stuttering severity, and speech dissatisfaction predicted a more negative overall impact of stuttering.ConclusionTo our knowledge, this is the largest cohort study of adolescents who stutter. Higher stuttering severity, speech dissatisfaction, and anxiety predicted a more negative overall impact of stuttering, indicating the importance of carefully managing the speech and psychological needs of adolescents who stutter. Further research is needed to understand the relationship between stuttering and externalizing problems for adolescent boys who stutter.     

What influences the quality of care in English playgroups?

In a study of the quality of care, interviews and observations of 45 playgroups in three areas of England were conducted. The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale was used as a measure of quality. The influence of area, resources, management, size, space, staffing, training, support, parental involvement and staff dissatisfaction upon quality were considered. The major influence was playgroup leader training, and parental involvement was also associated with quality of care. Parental involvement and staff training were strongly linked, indicating the confounding of family and child care characteristics and the importance of understanding family and child care interrelationships. The applicability of the measures to English playgroups was discussed.     

Associations between physical activity and sedentary time profiles transitions and changes in well-being in youth: The UP&DOWN longitudinal study

ObjectivesThe current study aimed at analyzing the associations between latent transitions based on sedentary time and physical activity levels and changes in Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL), positive affect, and negative affect over two years in children and adolescents.DesignLongitudinal design.MethodsParticipants were 1099 children and adolescents (544 girls) aged 8–18 years old (11.72 ± 2.39 years). Sedentary and physical activity levels were assessed by accelerometry. Well-being was approached through self-reported HRQoL, positive affect, and negative affect. Latent profile and latent transition analysis were developed at baseline and 2-year follow-up. Furthermore, we analyzed the cross-sectional relationship between lifestyle profiles and well-being, as well as the associations between profiles transitions and changes in well-being indicators.ResultsFour profiles were identified at both time-points, respectively: highly sedentary (7.7% and 8.3%), sedentary (34.4% and 35.9%), active (46.3% and 44.3%), and highly active (11.6% and 11.5%). Participants belonging to the highly active profiles showed better HRQL (p < 0.05 at both timepoints) than sedentary participants, and better positive affect (p < 0.05 at follow-up) than those in sedentary and active profiles. Lifestyle profiles were unstable to moderate stable, where sedentary and active profiles were the most stable patter (63.7% and 61.9%, respectively), and highly sedentary and highly active were the least (34.1% and 38.3%, respectively). Changing from an active to a sedentary profile was associated with a significantly greater decrease on the positive affect than keeping on active or changed from a sedentary to an active profile, whereas changing to an active profile attenuated the decrease in HRQoL.ConclusionsThis study identified lifestyle profiles transitions among young population, and demonstrates the importance of these behaviors patterns on well-being indicators. These findings suggest the development of practical interventions aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles (i.e., increasing PA and reducing ST) in those youth with sedentary profiles, which will cause an increase on feelings of well-being.