Basis For Program Design Research Articles

E-Delphi in the outdoors: Stakeholder contributions to the development of a wellbeing-focused outdoor adventure education intervention program.

Outdoor adventure education (OAE) (programs involving outdoor activities such as rock climbing or white-water canoeing) that participants perceive as risky, conducted in a social support setting, can be utilised by practitioners to elicit changes in educational and psychosocial outcomes to support participant adolescent wellbeing. This study garnered the opinions of an expert OAE panel on the content of future programs aiming to impact adolescent wellbeing. The panel consisted of local (Western Australia, n = 7), national (Australia, n = 4), and international (Canada, Germany, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, n = 7) experts. A two-round, mixed-methods Delphi approach was employed. Extensive formative work led to the development of a series of open-ended questions requiring qualitative responses for round one. Panellists were also asked to respond to 17 statements using Likert scales in the second round. After analysis, a consensus was reached for all statements, with five statements having high consensus and being considered important by panellists. The statement 'Equity for all participants requires flexible delivery and facilitation' had the highest level of agreement amongst panellists. Connections, authentic experiences, and equitable experiences developed as key themes. SO WHAT?: Future OAE interventions focused on wellbeing impact could use the findings of this research as a basis for program design.

The design and development of an online education program for families of trans young people

Education programs can help families of trans young people to accept and support a trans family member. However, little has been written about the design and development of such programs. This article seeks to fill this gap in the literature by detailing the design and development of an education program for families of trans young people. A seven-step learner-centered, outcomes-based approach was used as the basis for program design and development. The process also included participatory elements throughout, including input from professionals, families, and trans young people in a consultation and evaluation process. This culminated in the development of an eight-module online education program. The approach presented in this article may be of value to anyone interested in developing an education resource for families of trans young people, and it would be recommended to consider how such an approach could be applied in a specific context. The program also provided an opportunity for involvement from professionals, families, and trans young people in the community, and it would be important for anyone working in the area to consider how such participation could be both enhanced and enabled.

Design of study without drugs--a Surinamese school-based drug-prevention program for adolescents.

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to design the content and accompanying materials for a school-based program—Study without Drugs—for adolescents in junior secondary schools in Suriname based on the starting points and tasks of the fourth step of the Intervention Mapping protocol (which consists of six steps). A program based on this protocol should include a combination of theory, empirical evidence, and qualitative and quantitative research.MethodsTwo surveys were conducted when designing the program. In Survey I, teachers and students were asked to complete a questionnaire to determine which school year they thought would be most appropriate for implementing a drug-prevention program for adolescents (we completed a similar survey as part of previous research). An attempt was made to identify suitable culturally sensitive elements to include in the program. In Survey II, the same teachers were asked to complete a questionnaire to determine the programs’ scope, sequence, structure, and topics as well as the general didactic principles to serve as a basis for program design. After outlining the program plan, lessons, and materials, we conducted a formative pretest evaluation among teachers, students, and parents. That evaluation included measures related to the program’s attractiveness, comprehensibility, and usefulness. The resulting lessons were presented to the teachers for assessment.ResultsThe drug-prevention program we developed comprises 10 activities and lasts 2–2.5 months in an actual school setting. The activities take place during Dutch, biology, physical education, art, religion, and social studies lessons. We based the structure of the lessons in the program on McGuire’s Persuasion Communication Model, which takes into account important didactic principles. Evaluations of the program materials and lesson plans by students, teachers, and parents were mostly positive.ConclusionWe believe that using the fourth step of the Intervention Mapping protocol to develop a drug-prevention intervention for adolescents has a produced promising, feasible program.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-015-2374-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Managing epilepsy well: Self-management needs assessment

Epilepsy self-management interventions have been investigated with respect to health care needs, medical adherence, depression, anxiety, employment, and sleep problems. Studies have been limited in terms of representative samples and inconsistent or restricted findings. The direct needs assessment of patients with epilepsy as a basis for program design has not been well used as an approach to improving program participation and outcomes. This study investigated the perceived medical and psychosocial problems of adults with epilepsy, as well as their preferences for self-management program design and delivery format. Results indicated a more psychosocially challenged subgroup of individuals with significant depressive and cognitive complaints. A self-management program that involves face-to-face individual or group meetings led by an epilepsy professional and trained peer leader for 60minutes weekly was preferred. Six to eight sessions focused on diverse education sessions (e.g., managing disability and medical care, socializing on a budget, and leading a healthy lifestyle) and emotional coping strategies delivered on weeknights or Saturday afternoons were most highly endorsed. Emotional self-management and cognitive compensatory strategies require special emphasis given the challenges of a large subgroup.

Felt Needs and Anticipatory Needs: Reformulation of a Basic Community Development Principle

is a basic concept in community development. Felt needs are changes deemed necessary by people to correct the deficiencies they perceive in their community. The use of felt needs in community development practice involves the process of identifying ranking their importance, and building programs based on the ranking. A frequent application of the concept is the methodology of needs assessment as a technique to gather data used for program definition and design. This paper explains why the concept of felt needs is inadequate for contemporary community development practice and why the needs assessment methodology is not an appropriate basis for program design. Felt needs are products of a past-to-present orientation. Continuing to function on the basis of felt needs will contribute to community development becoming increasingly irrelevant and incapable of addressing today's major social and economic issues. Felt needs should be replaced by the concept anticipatory needs, which identifi...

Integrating cognitive strategies into the physical therapy setting.

Effectively integrating cognitive management concepts into the physical therapy setting is dependent upon an adequate understanding of the cognitive and behavioral consequences of head injury and the appropriate use of diagnostic and prognostic cognitive data as a basis for program design. The intent of this article is to provide a framework for simultaneously addressing the physical and cognitive consequences of head injury. Behavioral manifestations of cognitive dysfunction and a means of clinically observing and assessing patient performance are provided as a basis for program design. Specific examples of treatment strategies applicable to various phases of cognitive recovery are described.

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY: A Basis for Juvenile Correctional Reform?

AbstractCognitive developmental theory has been increasingly offered as on explanation for lawbreaking. The theory suggests that lawbreaking results from individuals not having sufficiently developed reasoning abilities to resolve moral dilemmas, specificially those involving illegal acts. This article reports on on original test of the association between reasoning and law‐breaking and addresses shortcomings of prior research. The article concludes that although the theory has been recommended and used as a basis for program design, there is little evidence to suggest that reasoning is, indeed, related to lawbreaking. Since ideological appeal of the theory may result in its adoption in program settings, continued empirical testing of hy‐potheses derived from the theory is of considerable importance.