Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods Approach Research Articles

EXAMINING THE REPERCUSSIONS OF EMOTIONAL LABOR AMONG MEDICAL DOCTORS - AN EXPLANATORY SEQUENTIAL MIXED-METHOD DESIGN

Emotional labor prevails in a variety of fields. However, degree of emotional labor practiced by medical professionals, during the COVID-19 pandemic, is considerably higher. This study adopts an explanatory sequential mixed-method approach, where a survey-based quantitative study was conducted on 406 doctors working across Pakistan; followed by an interview-based qualitative study, conducted on 15 doctors. Quantitative analysis reveals that surface and deep acting both lead to high emotional exhaustion and low well-being, whereas genuine emotions lead to low emotional exhaustion and high well-being. No significant impact of emotional job demands is found on well-being via emotional exhaustion. Results from qualitative study reaffirm that due to high emotional job demands, doctors tend to heavily engage in emotional labor, which leads to emotional exhaustion, and compromises their well-being. The research highlights the contextual nature of emotional labor construct and investigates lesser-explored facets of psychological and physical well-being. The study also adds to the scant mixed-method literature, specifically an explanatory sequential design entailing structural equation modeling and thematic analysis. Keywords: Emotional Job Demands, Emotional Labor, Emotional Exhaustion, Psychological/Eudaimonic Well-being, Physical Well-being, COVID-19.

Academic Writing of Saudi Graduate Students: Issues and Improvements

This study investigates research writing difficulties encountered by Saudi graduate students at a Saudi university and seeks to offer interventional guidelines accordingly. A fuller understanding of these difficulties will contribute to the development of instruction aimed at improving students’ research writing skills. The main question this study addresses is this: What are the major academic writing problems facing Saudi graduate students? The investigation used an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach involving 87 participants at the University of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The data were collected through a 20-item Likert scale questionnaire completed online by 85 Saudi graduate students (37 males, 48 females; 69 majoring in English, 16 majoring in other subjects) and semi-structured interviews conducted with two faculty members. The quantitative data were analyzed statistically using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), and the qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Results revealed that most students experienced difficulties related to language, argumentation, and research-article genre when composing research reports in English. Both the participating students and teachers thought the most serious academic writing challenges for Saudi graduate students were presenting complex information in clear sentences and building strong arguments. In contrast, the least problematic task was finding and documenting sources. Regarding evaluating sources, writing Literature reviews, and using technical vocabulary, most students were unsure of their abilities. Besides, English majors and other majors had similar perceptions of difficulties in three out of four significant aspects of research writing. As far as documenting sources is concerned, the perception varied significantly between the English-major and other-major students. The findings of the present study can assist stakeholders in identifying instructional needs in research writing in the Saudi Arabian context, and our guidelines will make research writing less difficult for Saudi students.

Sexual Health Outcomes of Adolescent and Young Adult Colorectal Cancer Survivors and Their Partners: Protocol of a Dyadic Mixed Methods Study

Sexual dysfunction represents a critical aspect of quality of life for adolescent and young adult cancer survivors. Studies have consistently documented that adolescents and young adults report greater psychological and physical morbidity than older survivors and healthy peers, including elevated rates of sexual dysfunction, often accompanied by lower satisfaction with sex life and delays in meeting sexual milestones. Moreover, sexual dysfunction, body image concerns, and fertility status affect their confidence in being both physically and emotionally intimate. Despite this evidence, limited research has investigated the influence of psychosocial and interpersonal factors on sexual health outcomes reported by this group. This constitutes a significant gap in the provision of comprehensive sexual health care for adolescent- and young adult-onset cancer survivors, especially since greater emphasis has been recently placed on the biopsychosocial model of sexuality and dyadic approaches to intervention and treatment. In comparison to other cancer types, the incidence of colorectal cancer (CRC) has been increasing at an alarming rate for the adolescent and young adult group. Patients with early-onset CRC experience elevated rates of sexual dysfunction, psychological distress, and social and physical burden, often resulting from issues with bowel control, incontinence, and body image. This study uses an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach to (1) characterize sexual function, sexual distress, dyadic coping, infertility-related distress, relationship and mental health outcomes of adolescent and young adult CRC survivors within the first 5 years post diagnosis and their partners; (2) examine the reciprocal influence of sexual function and dyadic coping behaviors on sexual distress; and (3) identify interpersonal or couple characteristics associated with coping with sexual dysfunction and its associated distress. Participating couples (n=60) will complete a quantitative web-based survey investigating sexual function, sexual distress, dyadic coping, infertility-related distress, emotional functioning, relationship satisfaction, and body image (cancer survivors only). A subset of 20 couples will participate in an in-depth dyadic interview with 2 members of the research team to further explore couple-based strategies implemented to cope with cancer-related sexual dysfunction and distress. The study received institutional review board approval. Recruitment and enrollment of couples began in July 2022. Results will provide a deeper understanding of the challenges couples experience as they navigate sexual intimacy after CRC treatment by highlighting the role of interpersonal processes. These findings will inform a dyadic intervention for young couples at risk of greater sexual distress in the aftermath of CRC. DERR1-10.2196/41831.

Assessing Student Performance Using a Novel Rubric Based on the Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition

ObjectivePharmacy student performance on practicum was previously assessed using a Likert scale from 0 to 9, resulting in challenges with clarity and assessor subjectivity. To address these issues, an assessment rubric based on the Dreyfus model of skill acquisition was developed and implemented. This study sought to evaluate student, practice educator (PE), and faculty perceptions related to the rubric’s effectiveness in assessing student performance within the direct patient care practicum setting. MethodsAn exploratory sequential mixed methods approach was used. A qualitative component using focus groups and semistructured interviews was followed by a quantitative component using a survey questionnaire. Data gathered from the qualitative component were collectively analyzed and used to inform questionnaire development intended to confirm identified themes and collect further data on stakeholder perceptions. ResultsA total of 7 students, 7 PEs, and 4 faculty participated in the focus groups/interviews and 70 of 645 (10.9%) students and 103 of 756 (13.6%) PEs participated in the survey questionnaire. The majority of the participants felt that the rubric clearly communicated the expectations for student performance, is relevant and consistent with pharmacy practice, and is useful in accurately assessing performance. For PEs with experience, the novel rubric was an improvement over the previous assessment processes and perceived as more thorough and clearer in describing performance expectations. The identified challenges included the rubric’s visual organization, length, and redundancy of some of the assessment elements. ConclusionOur findings suggest that a novel rubric based on the Dreyfus model is effective in assessing student performance on practicum and may address some of the challenges commonly observed with performance assessment.

Integrating ease of use and affordable gamification-based instruction into a remote learning environment

Increasing student engagement and improving learning outcomes are ongoing issues in higher education worldwide. These issues were particularly pertinent during the COVID-19 pandemic when remote learning was selected as the primary instructional learning setting. This study aims to assess the impact of gamification-based quiz instruction in driving college students’ learning in an online class during the COVID-19 pandemic at a remote institution of higher education in Indonesia (n = 68). The study employs an explanatory sequential mixed-method approach, including quasi-experimental research, quantitative surveys, and qualitative interviews. The findings indicate that the overall result of the four tests conducted during the intervention indicates a statistically significant difference among the three groups. The gamification-based quizzes increase student enthusiasm and improve learning outcomes. The study demonstrates the transformation induced by the ease of use and low cost of digital gaming platforms from mundane activities, such as listening to lectures on Zoom, to enjoyable educational gaming activities. The weekly gamification-based formative assessments using easy-to-use media significantly increase student engagement, critical and creative thinking, and information literacy during the learning process.

The risk-related tone from the top: evidence from German regional banks

The financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 was a wake-up call for the banking sector. Since then, many activities have been taken to improve the stability of the financial industry. Our paper aims to derive a risk-related tone from the top that enables top management to equalise their employees’ risk behaviour and align the desired risk behaviour with the bank’s risk appetite. Even though individual fragments of measures and requirements to implement a risk-related tone from the top have emerged over the years, a holistic picture is still waiting to be established. Especially the normative management is crucial for implementing a risk-related tone from the top as this channel supports top management in communicating the core values. To gain news insights into the tone from the top and the top managements’ communication behaviour, we use a sequential explanatory mixed method approach. Our aim is to unite the positions of research and supervision. Therefore, we start with a comprehensive literature review to identify the relevant research streams. Building on this theoretical fundament, we evaluate practitioners’ communication behaviour quantitatively via a questionnaire with a sample size of 197 German regional banks. Qualitatively, we analyse the communication behaviour via eight interviews with CEOs of German regional banks. For the supervisory perspective, we build on the FSB ‘Guidance on Supervisory Interaction with Financial Institutions on Risk Culture’. This guidance not only emphasises the importance of the tone from the top, but also provides a first holistic picture of supervisory efforts on the topic. In summary, we consolidate the results from research, supervision and practice to derive a holistic picture for the implementation of a risk-related tone from the top. Finally, our holistic integration reveals future directions for research, supervision and practice.

Critical audit indicators for assessing construction projects performance (CPP) at pre-contract stage in Tanzania

This study evaluates the current practices of auditing for CPP in Tanzania and identifies critical performance audit indicators at the PCS. A sequential exploratory mixed methods approach comprising of documentary review from four (4) main audit institutions in Tanzania, 9-semi-structured interviews, and 43 questionnaires from audit experts were employed. Qualitative content analysis, and descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse qualitative and quantitative data respectively. From the findings, practitioners variably audit the performance of projects, either by omitting some measures at specific stages, measuring certain items in isolation, or overlapping some measures across stages of a project, which influences the different interpretations of the audit results. Study findings further indicate that procurement plans, budget, and feasibility study are the top most significant indicators at a planning stage, while client requirements, contract documents, and specifications are the top significant indicators at the design stage. Appropriateness of the method of procurement, evaluation process, award of contract, and capacity and competence of the selected contractor regarding project size, and complexity, are considered the most significant at the procurement stage. This study provides useful insights into performance audit indicators for construction project auditors and a baseline for audit practice policy directions in developing countries.

How do people with chronic pain choose their music for pain management? Examining the external validity of the cognitive vitality model.

Music interventions for pain are more successful when patients choose the music themselves. But little is known about the attentional strategies used by chronic pain patients when choosing or using music for pain management, and the degree to which these attentional strategies align with the cognitive mechanisms outlines in the cognitive vitality model (CVM, a recently developed theoretical framework that outlines five cognitive mechanisms that mediate the analgesic effects of music for pain management). To investigate this question, we used a sequential explanatory mixed method approach, which included a survey, online music listening experiment, and qualitative data collection, with chronic pain patients (n=70). First, we asked chronic pain patients to name a piece of music that they would use to manage their chronic pain, and answer 19 questions about why they chose that particular piece of music using a questionnaire based on the CVM. Next, we asked chronic pain patients to listen to high energy and low energy pieces of music, to understand aesthetic music preferences and emotional responses at the group level. Finally, participants were asked to qualitatively tell us how they used music to manage their pain. Factor Analysis was completed on the survey data, and identified a five-factor structure in participant responses that was consistent with five mechanisms identified in the CVM. Regression analysis indicated that chronic pain patients choose music for pain management if they think it will facilitate Musical Integration and Cognitive Agency. Musical Integration refers to the degree to which the music can provide an immersive and absorbing experience. Cognitive Agency refers to having an increased feeling of control. At the group level, participants reported a preference for low energy music, and reported that they found high energy music more irritating. However, is it important to note that individual people had different music preferences. Thematic synthesis of patient responses highlighted how these processes mediate the analgesic benefits of music listening from the perspective of chronic pain patients, and highlighted the wide range of music used by participants for chronic pain management including electronic dance music, heavy metal and Beethoven. These findings demonstrate that chronic pain patients use specific attentional strategies when using music for pain management, and these strategies align with the cognitive vitality model.

Development and validation of care stress management scale in family caregivers for people with Alzheimer: a sequential-exploratory mixed-method study

BackgroundCaring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease is stressful for caregivers. So that, considering all the emotional and financial costs imposed on the families of Alzheimer’s patients, stress from caring is an issue that cannot be ignored and plans need to be developed to help these caregivers to manage the care properly. The current study was designed to develop a valid and reliable care stress management scale for family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s.MethodsThis study is a methodological study with a sequential-exploratory mixed-method approach that was performed in two-phase: develop the caring stress management scale and evaluate the psychometric properties of the scale. In the first phase, 14 semi-structured face-to-face interviews were performed with family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s. The interviews were transcribed immediately and an item pool with 275 items was prepared. After removing the duplicate or overlapping code, the initial format of the caring stress management scale (CSMS) was designed. In the second step, the items of the CSMS were evaluated using face and content validity. After that, the construct validity was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and convergent and divergent validity respectively. Finally, the reliability was assessed by stability and internal consistency. The sample size was 435 and data was gathered via an online form questionnaire.ResultsThis study designed the CSMS with two factors including emotional-focused coping (4 items) and problem-focused coping (4 items) that explained 51.00% of the total variance. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed a good model fit. Furthermore, the internal consistency and stability of this scale were acceptable.ConclusionThe results showed that the care stress management scale has two factors in Iranian family caregivers and it is valid and reliable and can be used by therapists and researchers.

Micro-economic drivers of the South African foundry industry

Background: The foundry industry plays an important economic role in South Africa and all efforts should be made to sustain the industry. However, the problem is that many foundries are closing down due to economic factors.Aim: The primary research objective was to identify from literature the micro-economic drivers applicable to the sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) of foundries in South Africa. The secondary objectives were to benchmark the perceptions of stakeholders in the most prominent micro-economic drivers identified from literature.Setting: With micro-economic drivers identified, management can then compile a SCA strategy to retain the industry. Foundry representatives from foundries located in all nine provinces of South Africa were invited to participate in the study.Method: An explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach was followed by first employing a quantitative approach, followed by a qualitative approach to identify the most prominent micro-economic drivers. Descriptive data analysis was utilised for the quantitative data and thematic analysis was utilised for the qualitative phase.Results: It was found that the most prominent micro-economic drivers are product quality, the ability to innovate, employees’ skills development, and investment in plant infrastructure.Conclusion and contribution: The article contributes towards the deficiency in literature by presenting the most prominent micro-economic drivers for the South African foundry industry. The article also makes recommendations on SCA strategies for foundries in South Africa based on the four micro-economic drivers.

Evaluation of the "Manggatang Utus" Village Movement Innovation Program in the Education Sector in Murung Raya Regency

Gerbang Desamu which is stand for “Gerakan Membangun Desa Manggatang Utus” is a policy innovation for the strategy program for accelerating village (kelurahan) development in Murung Raya District. The regional policy innovation at Gerbang Desamu is a grassroots innovation that holds the local wisdom values of the Huma Betang of the Dayak Tribes. The Gerbang Desamu Movement aims to accelerate the development of villages/kelurahans in Murung Raya Regency, especially in alleviating stupidity. This study aims to determine policy performance, policy efficiency, and local wisdom values in the policy innovations of the Gerbang Desamu program. This research focuses on exploring the production of knowledge and information on the innovative practices of Gerakan Desamu at the empirical and practical levels. This study is a mixed method research with a sequential explanatory mixed-method approach. The study results show that the performance of the Gerbang Desamu program has not been optimal. In terms of accessibility and reach to the broader community. This can be seen from the level of public understanding regarding the Gerbang Desamu policy innovation which is not evenly achieved. However, as a program, Gerbang Desamu is quite effective in achieving the program's objectives. Achievement of program objectives in the form of increasing the accessibility of community education, especially for children from underprivileged families. In addition, the internalization of local wisdom values in the Gerbang Desamu policy innovation is a unique success to be achieved in grassroots policy innovation. The values of togetherness, honesty, equality, and tolerance are local wisdom values that underlie grassroots policy innovations in the Gerbang Desamu program.

A Better Life: Factors that Help and Hinder Entry and Retention in MAT from the Perspective of People in Recovery.

Opioid addiction and opioid-related overdoses and deaths are serious public health problems nationally and in West Virginia, in particular. Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is an effective yet underutilized treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). Research examining factors that help individuals succeed in MAT has been conducted from provider and program perspectives, but little research has been conducted from the perspective of those in recovery. This study, co-developed with individuals in recovery, took place in West Virginia-based MAT programs using an exploratory sequential mixed methods approach. The survey was open February through August 2021. Data were analyzed late 2021 through mid 2022. Respondents experienced many barriers to MAT entry and retention, including community bias / stigma, lack of affordable programming, and lack of transportation. Respondents sought MAT primarily for personal reasons, such as being tired of being sick, and tired of having to look for drugs every day. As one respondent shared, " I wanted to better my life, to get it under control." Programs and policies should make it easy for individuals to enter treatment when ready, through affordable and accessible treatment options, reduced barriers to medications, focused outreach and education, individualized care, and reduced stigmatization.

Africa’s Fledgling Democratization Process Once More at the Crossroads: Continental Security and International Relations Implications

Africa has had a chequered constitutional history, and current happenings have further dented the continent’s democratic credentials as the military are forcefully terminating fledgling democracies. The consequences have been anything but damming, regarding the socio-politico-economic development of such countries and adjoining neighboring countries. Moreover, under the circumstances, continental security is once more under threat with dire international relations implications for countries that involve in constitutional interruptions. This work investigates the factors that account for the current upsurge of Coup D’états in some African countries and their impact on continental security. The study adopts a sequential exploratory mixed method approach involving 30 participants (qualitative) in Ghana and 433 respondents (quantitative) across the continent of Africa administered through goggle. The findings on the main showed that, bad governance among a mirage of factors such as economic challenges, have often precipitated violent coups in Africa. The paper argues that coups can be averted when constitutional leaders practice good governance and adhere to human rights, inter alia . Keywords: Africa, Continental Security, Crossroads, Fledgling Democracy, and international relations implication DOI: 10.7176/IAGS/98-03 Publication date: January 31 st 2023

Analysis of Casual Relationships between Social Determinants of Health in Iran: Using Fuzzy Cognitive Map.

Health is a fundamental issue in recent years, highlighting the importance of harmonizing the policies of any sector with health strategies. The present study aims to identify the socio-economic factors affecting health and to provide a cognitive map of the social determinants of health in Iran. A retrospective cohort study. This study follows a developmental process with an exploratory sequential mixed methods approach. First, a meta-synthesis qualitative method determines the most critical health determinants by reviewing 54 studies from 2000 to 2019. Then, the fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) is drawn based on interviews with six experts to derive the causal relationships among the social determinants of population health in Iran. Stage 1 introduces 170 factors as the health determinants, classified into four levels: individual, local, national, and global levels, with 7, 4, 13, and 3 branches, respectively. According to the causal relationships and the out-degree (od) index, the most effective factors are the economic system (18.24), governance and policy-making (17.13), and national policies (16.93). According to the degree of centrality, these factors are the economic system (33.27), health system (30.37), and governance and policy-making (30.15). Considering health as a complex and comprehensive system, the resulting FCM displays that the policies developed in other sectors than health are profoundly affecting population's health in Iran. Specifically, the comparative analysis of this research shows that policies regarding the economic system and people's livelihood are more effective than the policies regarding the health system itself on the population's health in Iran.

Perceptions of ESL Teachers from Tamil Vernacular Type Schools (SJKT) About Online Teaching and Learning During Covid-19 Pandemic

The purpose of the study was to explore the perceptions of ESL teachers in Tamil vernacular schools about online teaching and learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. While there are studies on teachers’ perceptions during Covid-19, less is known about ESL Tamil vernacular type schoolteachers’ perceptions on teaching and learning during the Covid pandemic, where Tamil is the medium of instruction, with the Malay Language as the second language and English as the third language. Purposive sampling was used to select 30 ESL teachers from different Tamil vernacular schools in the Johor Bahru region. Using an explanatory sequential mixed method approach to collect the data, in the first phase, a close-ended questionnaire was used as a quantitative instrument. As for the second phase, an open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to collect qualitative data. GNU PSPP software was used to analyse the quantitative data, while the qualitative data was analysed through descriptive content analysis. The findings of the study showed the perceptions of ESL teachers about online teaching and learning, such as online teaching and learning tools, skills needed to conduct online teaching, challenges in online teaching and learning as well as positive aspects of online teaching and learning. The findings show that the challenges the teachers faced during online teaching outweighs the positive aspects stated. This calls for more research about vernacular-type schools. The findings can be a reminder for the school management to provide more training for teachers on how to help students be more interactive, motivated and be less inhibited during online teaching and learning.

ANALISIS KENDALA GURU DALAM PERENCANAAN PEMBELAJARAN DARING DI SDN 48 CAKRANEGARA

This study aims to identify teacher constraints in online learning planningt, the subjects in this study were all 16 teachers or educators at SDN 48 Cakranegara. This research uses a sequential exploratory mixed methods approach. Sources of data to be used include primary data and secondary data. Primary data obtained by researchers directly through a questionnaire (questionnaire) and interviews. Sources of secondary data obtained through the results of a literature study. The results showed that there were two obstacles faced by teachers at SDN 48 Cakranegara Mataram City in planning bold lessons with the percentage of results 76. 25% and 77.50% being the lowest scores. The obstacles faced by teachers at SDN 48 Cakranegara Mataram City in planning bold learning are the lack of knowledge and understanding of teachers regarding bold RPP and lack of initiative and creativity as well as teacher activity in developing interesting learning methods independently. As a teaching and learning method that has just been applied online learning or distance learning , of course as a teacher or educator it is expected to increase understanding and abilities related to online learning and add insight into technology and the internet, in order to optimize teacing and learning activities, especially online learning
 Keywords: Teacher Constraints, Lesson Planning, Online learning

UNDERSTANDING THE ADOPTION OF A MOBILE APPLICATION TO SUPPORT WORKFLOW OF HEALTHCARE AIDES

Abstract Healthcare aides are unlicensed support personnel who provide direct care, personal assistance and support to persons living with health conditions. Workflow issues have a negative impact on health care aides’ job satisfaction and quality of care. The implementation of information communication technologies could improve workflow. In collaboration with an industry partner, we developed a mobile application intended to support the workflow of health care aides who provide services to long-term care residents living with dementia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the technology acceptance and usability of a mobile application in a real-world environment when used by health care aides of a care facility. We used a sequential explanatory mixed methods approach. Our study included pre and post paper-based questionnaires with no control group (n=60). This was followed by two focus groups with a subsample of health care aides informed by qualitative description (n=12). We found: (a) acceptance of the mobile application was high; (b) usefulness was the strongest predictor of intention to use the mobile application, and (c) intention to use the mobile application predicted usage behaviour. Focus group findings supported the quantitative findings and highlighted participants’ strong belief that the mobile application was useful, portable, and reliable. An area for improvement was user interface adjustments. Overall, these results support the assertion that our mobile application assisted health care aides in addressing their workflow issues and thus, has potential to improve the quality of care provided.

Regulations governing student internship programme in Ghana: A sequential explanatory multi-stakeholder approach

This paper seeks to ascertain the regulations governing student internship programme in Ghana. The sequential explanatory mixed methods approach was utilised. Two separate structured questionnaires were administered to students and senior members (lecturers and administrators) of six selected technical universities (TUs); whereas members of industry, executives of business associations and government regulatory bodies in the tertiary sector of Ghana’s education system were interviewed, using an interview guide. This paper found that no clear legal and regulatory framework govern student internship in Ghana. Specifically, there was no Industrial Training Fund Act in Ghana that promoted and encouraged the acquisition of skills in industry and commerce. Industries were not obliged to accept students for internship. Travel to and from work by interns were not covered by insurance. Students on internship were not covered by the host company’s collective bargaining agreement. There was no well-defined enforceable law requiring TUs to secure internship placement for students, although, some regulatory bodies insisted that TUs showed evidence of their ability to secure placements for their students for industrial training before awarding programme accreditation. There were no penalties levelled TUs who failed to secure internship placements. Interns were largely not covered by any special health insurance package by employers during in cases of injury, theft or death. This paper synchronises the perspectives of multiple actors on the regulations governing student internship programme, presenting useful suggestions which provides information to government, business associations, employers, and TUs for policy planning, formulation and implementation of student internship in Ghana.

Traditional Beliefs, Practices, and Migration: A Risk to Malaria Transmission in Rural Nepal

The study aimed to explore sociocultural factors influencing the risk of malaria and practices and beliefs towards malaria prevention, transmission and treatment in a remote village in Khatyad Rural Municipality (KRM) of Nepal. A sequential exploratory mixed methods approach was used. Qualitative data were collected through 25 one-on-one, in-depth interviews followed by a face-to-face household survey (n = 218) among people from a village in KRM believed to have a high risk of malaria. Traditional practices such as Chhaupadi requiring the seclusion of women during menstruation and post-partum, transhumance, and reliance on traditional healers for the management of malaria were common practices in the village. The household survey found 98.1% of women faced menstrual exile either inside the house or in a separate hut, with 64.2% not having access to Long-lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs). Hardships and economic constraints compelled villagers to migrate seasonally for work to malaria-endemic areas in India, thereby exposing themselves to the risk of malaria. Persistent traditional beliefs and seasonal migration could threaten the elimination goals set by the national malaria program.

Developing evidence-based resources for evaluating postgraduate trainees in the biomedical sciences.

Postgraduate trainees elevate the academic strength of institutions by conducting research, promoting innovation, securing grant funding, training undergraduate students, and building alliances. Rigorous and systematic program evaluation can help ensure that postgraduate training programs are achieving the program's intended outcomes. The purpose of this project was to develop evidence-based evaluation tools that could be shared across federally funded biomedical training programs to enhance program evaluation capacity. This manuscript describes the evidence-based process used to determine program evaluation needs of these programs at a research-intensive university. Using a multi-phased sequential exploratory mixed methods approach, data were collected from trainees, employers, leaders, and program directors. Data analyses included document analysis of program plans, inductive coding of focus groups and interviews, and descriptive analysis of surveys. Two overarching categories-Trainee Skills and Program Characteristics-were identified including six themes each. Program directors prioritized communication, social and behavioral skills, and collaboration as the trainee skills that they needed the most help evaluating. Furthermore, program directors prioritized the following program characteristics as those that they needed the most help evaluating: training environment, trainee outcomes, and opportunities offered. Surveys, interview scripts, and related resources for the categories and themes were developed and curated on a publicly available website for program directors to use in their program evaluations.