Length Of Involvement Research Articles

Effect of Leaders’ Length of Involvement on Perceived Effectiveness of Community Development Agent Training Programme

This study was designed to investigate the effect of community leaders' length of involvement in community development agent training programme. Two hundred and eighty eight community leaders were randomly selected to participate in the study, data was collected using a structured questionnaire comprising of the community leaders involvement scale and perceived effectiveness scale. One way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the data. The result indicated that there was no significant effect of community leaders' involvement on the perceived effectiveness of community development agent training programme. It was suggested that subsequent studies should identify and investigate specific community development challenges and particular leadership style to drive the process.

Dose-escalated image-guided radiation and weekly cisplatin for inoperable squamous cell carcinoma of thoracic esophagus.

e15120 Background: This study evaluates feasibility, toxicity and early outcomes of image guided volumetric modulated arc therapy (IG-RA) and weekly cisplatin for locally advanced inoperable squamous cell carcinoma (LAI-SCC) of thoracic esophagus. Methods: 41 patients diagnosed with LAI-SCC were included. Patients with performance status (ECOG) more than 1, involvement of cervical esophagus or gastroesophageal junction, distant metastasis were excluded from study. Radiotherapy was planned in two phases to a dose of 5940cGy. Phase I CTV was generated by expanding the GTV-primary craniocaudally(CC) by 4cm and laterally to include electively, the corresponding level mediastinal nodes. In the Phase II, GTV was expanded by 2cm CC and 1cm radially. ITV was generated by expanding the CTV by 0.5cm which was then expanded by 0.5cm to yield PTV. Chemotherapy consisted of 4-6 cycles of weekly cisplatin 40mg/m2. Results: The median age of patients was 53 yrs (43-72). The median length of involvement was 6cm with 80% of lesions in upper and middle third. 37/41(90%) patients completed planned chemotherapy with atleast 4 cycles of cisplatin and 40/41 patients completed full dose of radiotherapy. 10% of patients required tube feeding and 5% required hospital admission for supportive care. Endoscopy at 8 weeks post treatment was performed in 38/41 patients of whom 53% had CR, 42% had PR and 5% had stable disease locally. With a median follow up of 19 (6-32) months, 41% of total patients (17/41) are alive at last follow-up of which 32% (13/41) are disease free with no dysphagia, the 1 and 2 year overall survival are 70% and 40% respectively and median survival of 14 months. 16% alive patients have post radiotherapy stricture. The analysis of CBCT and KV image data sets showed a significant intra-fraction and inter-fraction motion of the target. The ITV and PTV margins of 0.5cm each were found to be adequate with current imaging protocol. Conclusions: IG-RA to a dose of 60Gy with concurrent weekly cisplatin is a feasible treatment option for LAI-SCC of thoracic esophagus with low acute and late toxicity and with promising early clinical outcomes. The ITV and PTV margins of 0.5cm were found to be adequate only with image guidance.

Qualitative analysis of cocaine and heroin users’ main partner sex-risk behavior: is safety in love safety in health?

BackgroundIn 2009, 27% of the 48,100 estimated new cases of HIV were attributed to heterosexual contact with an infected or at-risk person. Sexually active adults are less likely to use condoms in relationships with main partners than with non-regular partners, despite general knowledge that condom use reduces HIV transmission.MethodsThe purpose of this secondary qualitative analysis was to explore and contextualize perceptions of main partnerships, HIV risk, and attitudes toward condom use within main partner relationships among a subsample of intervention-arm cocaine- and/or heroin-using patients enrolled in a negative trial of brief motivational intervention to reduce the incidence of sexually transmitted disease and unsafe sexual behaviors. The open-ended portion of these interview audiotapes consisted of questions about perceptions of risk and attitudes about condom use with main partners. Enrollees were aged 18-54, English or Spanish speaking, and included in this analysis only if they reported having a main partner. We identified codes and elaborated important themes through a standard inductive three step coding process, using HyperRESEARCH™ software.ResultsAmong 48 interviewees, 65% were male, half were non-Hispanic white, over 60% were 20-39 years of age, 58% had intravenous drug use (IDU), and 8% were HIV-positive. Participants defined respect, support, trust, and shared child-rearing responsibility as the most valued components of main partner relationships. Condom use was viewed occasionally as a positive means of showing respect with main partners but more often as a sign of disrespect and a barrier to intimacy and affection. Enrollees appraised their partners’ HIV risk in terms of perceptions of physical health, cleanliness, and sexual and HIV testing history. They based decisions regarding condom use mainly on perceived faithfulness, length of involvement, availability of condoms, and pregnancy desirability.ConclusionsRisk appraisal was commonly based on appearance and subjective factors, and condom use with main sexual partners was described most often as a demonstration of lack of trust and intimacy.Trial registrationNCT01379599

MRI findings at baseline and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in orbital retinoblastoma (IRSS stage III)

BackgroundPublished findings on MRI results in retinoblastoma patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) are lacking. The present study evaluates the role of MRI in International Retinoblastoma Staging System (IRSS) stage...

Unsustainable Livelihoods, Health Shocks and Urban Chronic Poverty: Rickshaw Pullers as a Case Study

Five ideas constitute the central message of this study. First, urban rickshaw pullers come from a very poor economic background consistent with the characteristics of chronic poverty. Second, rickshaw pulling provides a route of modest upward mobility for those among the rural chronically poor who come to the city for work. Third, the rickshaw pullers are susceptible to systematic health risks. Deteriorating health combined with health shocks can impose a significant burden on the urban poor, dragging down the pace of upward mobility during their lifetime. Fourth, the activity of rickshaw pulling represents an unsustainable livelihood, as the initial welfare gain tapers off with length of involvement in the sector. As longitudinal data is lacking, this story has emerged through an inductive comparison of younger, recent joiners and long duration, older rickshaw pullers, as well as current and former pullers. Fifth, intergenerational mobility of rickshaw puller households is constrained by very limited schooling and the poor range of occupational choices for children. Public policy has an important role to play in mitigating health shocks, as well as supporting targeted education for the urban poor in the informal sector, for sustainable urban poverty reduction.

Influences on parental evaluation of the content of early intervention following early identification of deafness: a study about parents' preferences and satisfaction

Following early identification of deafness attention has now turned to early intervention of deaf children and their families. Improved outcomes associated with early identification and quality early intervention have been long predicated. However, the effectiveness of early intervention is mediated by parents' values, beliefs and preferences. How these mediate the nature of intervention is key to understand how early intervention impacts on outcomes. Eighty-two parents of early identified deaf children participated in a longitudinal study (UK). Data from parents were collected through postal questionnaires. Parents provided repeated data on My Views on Services questionnaire (at 6-month interval). They also filled in once the Trait Emotional Intelligence questionnaire and a socio-demographic questionnaire. Statistical analyses were carried out to investigate parents' preferences and satisfaction with content of early intervention. Families had contact with a median of five professionals and 45 h of early intervention (on a 6-month basis). Parents view all content of early intervention as important. Content that supported parents to support their child was a priority for them. Length of involvement in early intervention and mothers' personal disposition did not have an effect on ratings of importance. However, mothers' educational background did influence ratings on the Supporting Parents subscale (F= 3.41; d.f. = 3 and 66; P= 0.023). Parents' satisfaction scores with content of early intervention were neutral (mean: 0.2; SD 0.8). Parents were more satisfied with contents that supported them to support their deaf child, than with those aimed to support themselves. Parents' satisfaction with content that supported themselves did increase with length of involvement in early intervention (t=-3.435; P= 0.004). Significant correlations (r= 0.221; r= 0.230; r= 0.252) between mothers' well-being and satisfaction scores were identified. These findings underscore the importance of understanding how parents' beliefs, values and perceived need impact on their experience of early intervention.

Emotion Dysregulation and Academic Resilience in Maltreated Children

Maltreated children frequently experience academic difficulties. In the past, this has been attributed to placement instability, length of involvement with the child welfare system, and numerous other factors that disproportionately affect maltreated children. Maltreated children are also prone to emotion regulation (ER) difficulties and patterns of emotion dysregulation. Resilience (i.e., normative functioning despite having experienced maltreatment) among maltreated children is rare, particularly across multiple domains. ER has been found to predict academic performance in non-maltreated samples. In this study, the relationship between emotion dysregulation and academic performance was analyzed in a sample already at risk for academic difficulties (maltreated children). Measures of emotion dysregulation and academic performance were analyzed in a sample of maltreated children (n = 158). Linear regression analysis indicated that the absence of emotion dysregulation was significantly related to academic resilience. Late adolescence, race, and placement stability were also significantly related to academic resilience. Implications for child welfare professionals and educators of maltreated children are discussed.

Segmenting Volunteer Fundraisers at a Charity Sport Event

Charitable organizations are increasingly using sport events as an approach to generate funds and raise awareness. Researchers have suggested that sport events are particularly attractive to volunteer fundraisers because they provide an opportunity to engage in two meaningful activities simultaneously. The purpose of this study was to address this largely untested proposition by assessing the presence of various segments of participants based on an identity defined in part by fundraising for the cause and/or cycling. Additionally, how these profiles differed based on the amount of funds raised, length of participation with the event, and basic demographic variables were also examined. The results suggest that four different segments existed, labeled event enthusiasts, cause fundraisers, road warriors, and non-identifiers. These segments differed in the amount of funds raised and their length of involvement with the event. As such, this study demonstrates the value of segmenting volunteer fundraisers based on event-related identities.

Prediction Chart for the Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG) Development Rates Using Risk Factor Categories

Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation of lifestyle and IFG, and to create a chart to facilitate the evaluation of IFG development rates based on an open-cohort analysis. The significance of the factors which could affect IFG were discussed using the chart.Research Design and Methods This work was a prospective open-cohort study conducted from 1999 through 2004 involving 15, 986 corporate employees receiving annual physical examinations, 9, 175 men and 6, 811 women, in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture. The Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was performed separately on each gender. The prediction chart of IFG development rates was created for the factors which showed a significant difference using the Framingham 10-year CHD risk prediction method.Results The length of involvement per subject was 3.12 years. Of the group, 829 of them, 543 men and 286 women, were diagnosed as having IFG. Through the Cox proportional hazard regression analysis, the following factors were found to be significant; BMI, blood pressure, ALT (GPT), total cholesterol, alcohol consumption, breakfast consumption, and physical exercise.Conclusions With 0 points in all categories, the IFG development rate over 5 years was 11.30% in men and 10.27% in women. With the highest points in all categories, the IFG development rate over 5 years was 80.09% in men and 98.10% in women. In this way, each risk factor related to IFG development could be represented clearly. The chart enables the facilitation of the calculation of the IFG development rate, which helps to instruct those who need to improve their lifestyles.Abbreviations IFG, impaired fasting glucose; CHD, coronary heart disease; BMI, body mass index; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; GPT, glutamic pyruvic transaminase; OGTT, oral glucose tolerance test

The impact of the palliative care mobile team on symptom assessment and medication profiles in patients admitted to a comprehensive cancer center

In recent years, tertiary care hospitals and cancer centers have shown great interest in forming palliative care consultation teams. Thus, these centers may be interested in the types of care that such teams give, which could help the other centers put together their own teams. However, the availability of such information is limited. The purpose of our study was therefore to describe the experience of a palliative care team at our comprehensive cancer center. We reviewed the medical records of 100 consecutive patients who were referred to our palliative care mobile team between November 2004 and January 2005; we then analyzed the primary interventions of this team. The median patient age was 61 years; 57 patients were female. The most frequent symptoms were fatigue in 78% and pain in 62% of patients. The main interventions by the palliative team were changes in medication types (opioids, antiemetics, neuroleptics, and laxatives) and in medication doses. Palliative care mobile teams make multiple changes in previous medications and provide almost universal counseling services to patients and families. The length of involvement with the patient and family is short; therefore, rapid stabilization and counseling are required. Our findings regarding medication changes could be helpful to tertiary care hospitals and cancer centers considering palliative care consultation teams.

Pulling rickshaws in the city of Dhaka: a way out of poverty?

This paper is based on a study drawing on information from current and former rickshaw pullers in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Most of these rickshaw pullers are very poor, and have little education and few skills. Rickshaw pulling provides them with relatively easy access to the urban labour market, and an escape from extreme rural poverty. But the initial trend of modest upward mobility from rickshaw pulling is not sustained in the long run. For the sample in this study, almost all economic and social indicators - including income poverty - deteriorated with the length of involvement in rickshaw pulling. The unsustainability of the livelihood is related to the extreme physical demands of the activity, which are unrealistic in the context of poverty and malnutrition, and which result in high vulnerability to health shocks. The paper concludes that rickshaw pulling provides no permanent route to escaping poverty.

Intestinal ischemia versus intramural hemorrhage: CT evaluation.

We evaluated the capability of CT to depict findings that allowed differentiation of small-bowel ischemia from intramural hemorrhage. Findings of 35 CT examinations (19 patients with small-bowel ischemia and 16 patients with intramural hemorrhage) were analyzed by two abdominal radiologists for the degree of wall thickening, location and length of involvement (short, <or = 15 cm; medium, 16-30 cm; or long, >30 cm), presence of hemoperitoneum, and pattern of attenuation. Patency and caliber of the superior mesenteric artery and vein were noted. Diagnosis was confirmed by laboratory findings, clinical parameters, and follow-up examinations, or at surgery. A Mann-Whitney U or Fisher's exact test was used to compare the two conditions for the following features: wall thickening, location and length of involvement, presence of hemoperitoneum, and appearance of the target sign. Among the 35 examinations, 18 abnormal segments with intramural hemorrhage and 19 abnormal segments with ischemia were identified. (Two patients with intramural hemorrhage each had two segments involved.) Mean bowel wall thickness was 11.7 mm (range, 4-25 mm) in patients with intramural hemorrhage and 4.0 mm (range, 1-9 mm) in patients with ischemia. Length of involvement was short in 14 segments with intramural hemorrhage and medium in four segments with intramural hemorrhage; none of the segments with intramural hemorrhage had long involvement. Among the segments with ischemia, length of involvement was medium in three and long in 16; none of the ischemic segments had short involvement. Fifteen (94%) of 16 segments with intramural hemorrhage and six (32%) of 19 segments with ischemia had hemoperitoneum. Seven of the 18 segments with intramural hemorrhage and nine of the 19 with ischemia had a target sign. Segments with intramural hemorrhage exhibited a higher statistically significant degree of wall thickening (p < 0.001), a shorter length of involvement (p < 0.0001), and a higher incidence of hemoperitoneum (p < 0.001) than did segments with ischemia. The two groups were not statistically different in location of involvement (p = 0.12) or in the incidence of the target sign (p = 0.18). Although some of the CT features overlap, a short segment involvement with wall thickening of 1 cm or greater is typical of intramural hemorrhage; a long segment involvement with wall thickening of less than 1 cm is typical of ischemia.

The Gap: Parental knowledge about daycare

Daycare parents ( N =37; mean age=30) were interviewed by phone about important aspects of their child's daycare center. Information about the daycare centers' structural and procedural characteristics was obtained through interviews with center directors. Comparisons between parental answers and the data provided by the directors revealed significant gaps in parental knowledge of daycare. On average, parents answered only 45% of questions correctly, and reported a lack of knowledge regarding both general center characteristics ( i.e. ,'turnover rates, caregiver training, and hiring practices) and specific group characteristics ( i.e. , group size, adult-child ratio, and child's daily schedule). Parental knowledge increased with length of involvement with the center, but other variables such as parent education and the number of hours the child spent in care per week did not contribute to prediction of parental knowledge.

Student Outcomes in a Local Systemic Change Project

The Local Systemic Change initiative of the National Science Foundation supports projects focusing primarily on teacher enhancement through extensive professional development and the use of standards‐based curriculum materials. The underlying rationale is that the effective use of such materials will ultimately result in enhanced student learning. However, the research base regarding the impact of these efforts on student learning is rather lean. This paper describes the results of a curriculum‐aligned assessment comprising selected items from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. The assessment was administered to fifth graders involved in a Local Systemic Change project to address the following questions: How does the performance of students involved in the project compare nationally and internationally? and Does length of involvement in the project make a difference in student performance? Additional evidence to relate student outcomes to the project's systemic change efforts are provided.

Children’s contact services: On servicing and respecting children’s identity

This article offers a brief notation on the First International Conference on Child Access Services, held in Paris on 4–7 November 1998. The author raises some questions which took shape at the Conference and notes the contrasting representations in different countries of the disciplines involved in establishing and running Child Contact Centres and how these may contribute to the contrast in ideology and philosophy in the setting up and running of these centres and the services they offer. The author’s knowledge of the French contact centre models provides a basis for looking at the establishment of Australian centres, both government and non-government funded. The French centres’ paramount goal to develop respect for the child as a person and uphold his legal position by equipping him with a sense of his history and roots, and by fostering respect between the parents, is seen as a more comprehensible concept than the ambiguous ‘best interest of the child’ goal upheld in Anglo-Saxon countries. Moreover, the length of involvement with families in the French centres is contrasted with the shorter period needed to secure the child’s physical safety. The article concludes with the hope that Australian centres are at the threshold of developing an adjunct facilitative structure that would allow progress within the families referred to them and offers as a parting note some recent American research findings on the profile of families using visitation services and of the providers of such services.

The Effectiveness of Community Employment Programs for Social Assistance Recipients: An Evaluation of the City of Winnipeg’s Community Services Programs

Abstract: The City of Winnipeg’s community services programs (CSPs) are examples of the “work experience” approach to helping social assistance recipients find employment. Like other evaluations of work experience programs, this assessment finds the CSPs effective and cost-beneficial, in the short run, in reducing dependency on social assistance. Unlike most program assessments, however, this evaluation measures participants’ length of involvement in the program and finds there is an optimal duration of involvement. A quasi-experimental design is used to assess the program’s net impact on participants’ subsequent length of stay on assistance. Self-selection bias is assessed, and multiple-regression analysis is used to control for differences between program and comparison group members and to determine the unique impact of program participation and length of participation.

Drug abuse treatment experience and HIV risk behaviors among active drug injectors in Ohio.

This study compares the sociodemographic characteristics and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk behaviors of injection drug users who had received drug abuse treatment in the previous 5 years and those who had not received treatment. The National AIDS Demonstration Research Program database provided 2001 structured interviews, representing Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, and Dayton, Ohio. About 43% of the subjects reported having received treatment in the previous 5 years. Length of involvement with drugs, more frequent injection, more legal problems, and higher levels of HIV risk behaviors were associated with a history of treatment. Incorporating HIV risk reduction education in drug abuse treatment is an urgent priority.

A developmental model of decisions to withhold relational irritations in romantic relationships

AbstractIntimacy in romantic relationships is argued to influence both the outcomes of decisions about whether to withhold relational irritations from partners and the role of various conflict avoidance motives in these decisions. A study of college students involved in dating relationships revealed a curvilinear association between perceptions of intimacy and the frequency of decisions to withhold irritations. Specifically, intimacy was negatively correlated with the proportion of Unexpressed irritations across low and average levels of intimacy; however, intimacy was unrelated to decisions to withhold irritations across higher levels of intimacy. Length of involvement in a relationship was negatively correlated with the proportion of unexpressed irritations within relatively non intimate relationships only. Finally, the effect of three conflict avoidance motives on decisions to withhold irritations varied with the perceived intimacy of relationships. In particular, reporting a lack of intimacy in the relationship as a reason for withholding irritations was positively correlated with the proportion of unexpressed irritations when intimacy was low, but negatively correlated with the proportion of unexpressed irritations when level of emotional commitment was high. In contrast, reporting either fear of consequences or the lack of importance of the problem as motives for withholding irritations was unrelated to the proportion of unexpressed irritations when intimacy was low, but was positively Correlated with withholding when intimacy was high. These results suggest that the phenomenological experience of conflict management decisions changes in substance throughout the life of the romantic relationship.

Modeling Person‐Situation Correspondence over Time: A Study of 103 Evangelical Disciple‐Makers

ABSTRACT Recent Studies of person‐situation correspondence demonstrate that people actively select environments that are congruent with their personality, attitudes, motives, and goals (cf. Emmons, Diener, &amp; Larsen, 1986). But do these individual difference variables also influence a person's propensity to remain in an environment over time? To answer this question, we administered the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ; Tellegen, 1982; Tellegen &amp; Waller, 1990) and the Age Universal I‐E scale (Gorsuch &amp; Venable, 1983) to a sample of 103 lay‐ministers from a large, evangelical church in the upper Midwest. Subjects were participants in a church‐sponsored disciple‐making program, and our dependent variable was length of involvement as a disciple‐maker. Results indicated that the lay‐ministers endorsed an intrinsic religious orientation and had high scores on the MPQ dimensions of Control, Harmavoidance, and Traditionalism. Using survival analysis, a statistical technique for modeling event durations, we found that disciple‐makers who were both low on Aggression and Harmavoidance remained in the program for the longest period. Our findings are discussed in terms of a temporally oriented model of person‐situation correspondence.

Adenocarcinomas arising in tongues or short segments of Barrett's esophagus

The diagnosis of Barrett's esophagus is established when the esophageal mucosa is lined by 2-3 cm of columnar epithelium or when specialized (intestinal type) columnar epithelium of any length is present. Emphasis is frequently placed on long segments of Barrett's because these patients reportedly are at higher risk of developing adenocarcinoma than patients with shorter segments. We present four cases of adenocarcinoma that arose in tongues or short segments (less than 2 cm) of specialized columnar epithelium near the gastroesophageal junction. We emphasize the need for biopsy of minimal appearing abnormalities in this area, and we suggest that histologic subtype, rather than length of involvement, be the major criterion for establishment of Barrett's esophagus.