Partner Agency Research Articles

Work accommodations and sustainable working: The role of social partners and industrial relations in the employment of disabled and older people in Estonia, Hungary and Poland

The under-utilization of the labour of disabled and older people is a problem across the European Union (EU) but is most pronounced in Central and Eastern European (CEE) member states, where labour shortages are greatest. This presents a puzzle that is explored with reference to a project with social partners from Estonia, Hungary and Poland, the objective of which was to stimulate debate and actions around the role of industrial relations actors in facilitating work accommodations for disabled and older people. After establishing the extent of the demographic labour crisis in these countries, the policy tools being employed to address it are scrutinized and found wanting. A variety of factors are identified as having contributed to debate in this area: historical legacy, social policy path-dependency, social partner identity and agency, a ‘dead letter’ approach to EU policies, and the limited role of civil society organizations. We examine the potential of the concept of sustainable work, more commonly found in Northern Europe, to influence alternative approaches to the employment of disabled and older people in countries where state, labour and employment relations differ.

PROTOCOL: Multiagency programmes with police as a partner for reducing radicalisation to violence.

Violent radicalisation is a complex problem, complicated by the lack of a clear terrorist profile and variation in the risk factors that predict violent extremism across individuals and groups (Campelo, Oppetit, Neau, Cohen, & Bronsard, 2018; Carlsson et al., 2020; Desmarais, Simons‐Rudolph, Brugh, Schilling, & Hoggan, 2017; Wolfowicz, Litmanovitz, Weisburd, & Hasisi, 2019). While models of understanding radicalisation vary (Borum, 2015; Christmann, 2012; Desmarais et al., 2017; Horgan, 2008; Koehler, 2017; Kruglanski, Belanger, & Gunaratna, 2019; Sarma, 2017), it is broadly defined as the process by which a person adopts extremist views and moves towards committing a violent act (Irwin, 2015; Jensen, Atwell Seate, & James, 2018). Radicalisation has been linked with individual and group engagement in terrorist attacks against innocent civilians (Wilner & Dubouloz, 2010), as well as individuals entering conflict zones to join formal extremist groups to engage in violent combat (Lindekilde, Bertelsen, & Stohl, 2016). As a result, radicalisation has become a key focus for counterterrorism and violence prevention interventions. The complex and varied nature of individuals' progression from radicalisation to violence presents challenges for designing and evaluating appropriate interventions and policy responses (Hafez & Mullins, 2015; Helmus et al., 2017; Horgan & Braddock, 2010; Horgan, 2008; Jensen et al., 2018; Kruglanski et al., 2019). This level of complexity has driven national counterterrorism policy agendas to adopt intersectoral and multiagency responses that aim to address various radicalisation processes and risks (Beutel & Weinberger, 2016). These multiagency responses often involve partnerships and collaborations between various different agencies and entities (Hardy, 2018), such as governmental agencies, private businesses, community organisations and service providers.

The understanding of congruent and incongruent referential gaze in 17-month-old infants: an eye-tracking study comparing human and robot

Several studies have shown that the human gaze, but not the robot gaze, has significant effects on infant social cognition and facilitate social engagement. The present study investigates early understanding of the referential nature of gaze by comparing—through the eye-tracking technique—infants’ response to human and robot’s gaze. Data were acquired on thirty-two 17-month-old infants, watching four video clips, where either a human or a humanoid robot performed an action on a target. The agent’s gaze was either turned to the target (congruent) or opposite to it (incongruent). The results generally showed that, independent of the agent, the infants attended longer at the face area compared to the hand and target. Additionally, the effect of referential gaze on infants’ attention to the target was greater when infants watched the human compared to the robot’s action. These results suggest the presence, in infants, of two distinct levels of gaze-following mechanisms: one recognizing the other as a potential interactive partner, the second recognizing partner's agency. In this study, infants recognized the robot as a potential interactive partner, whereas ascribed agency more readily to the human, thus suggesting that the process of generalizability of gazing behaviour to non-humans is not immediate.

Community-based program to increase use of hearing conservation practices among farm and rural youth: a cluster randomized trial of effectiveness

BackgroundNoise exposure and associated hearing loss affects an estimated 2 million farm youth who are exposed as farm residents, farm family workers, hired workers, children of migrant or seasonal workers, and farm visitors. Risk factors for farm youth include frequent exposure to high farm noise; farm work from an early age, and exposure to high recreational noise (e.g., firearms, ATVs, and personal listening devices).MethodsThis study compared the effectiveness of two interventions and control. The programs included a community-based interactive youth educational program alone (Group A), a community-based interactive youth educational program followed by an Internet-based booster (Group B), and a no-interaction control (Group C). The study used a cluster randomized control design, with equal allocation ratio to each cluster, without blinding. Inclusion criteria included enrollment in grade 4, parental consent, English speaking, and attending a community-based educational event included in the cluster sampling. A total of 1979 youth were enrolled at 36 sites distributed across the 3 study arms in the following distribution: N = 662 in 13 sites (Group A), N = 680 in 12 sites (Group B), and N = 637 in 11 sites (Group C).ResultsComparison with pre-intervention data showed no difference in intent to use hearing conservation strategies in experimental groups. However, knowledge and attitudes toward hearing conservation were improved in the groups receiving the Internet-based booster. Participants reported frequent exposure to sources of hazardous noise (e.g., loud sporting events, firecrackers, personal listening devices).ConclusionsIt is feasible and acceptable to incorporate hearing health education into an already existing system designed to deliver health and safety educational programming to farm and rural youth. The program was adopted by the partner agency for dissemination to up to 100,000 youth annually. Results of this study inform future intervention studies, interventions aimed at farm youth, and interventions to increase use of hearing conservation strategies, as well as offer a base for developing programs for non-English speaking children.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov registration CT02472821.Date of trial registration: 06/09/2015 (retrospectively registered).

Looking Through the Kaleidoscope: Stakeholder Perspectives on an International Speech-Language Pathology Placement

Purpose In this article, we consider the literature on international student placements to contextualize and describe a 10-year relationship that enables speech-language pathology (SLP) students in their final year of studies at a Canadian university to complete a 10-week clinical placement with a nongovernmental organization in Kenya. Method This work can be best described as a qualitative case study that includes the varied perspectives of students and colleagues (from both minority and majority worlds) involved in this partnership, which annually places Canadian SLP students in Western Kenya. Perspectives include the director of the nongovernmental organization, 1 East African speech-language pathologist responsible for hosting and supervising students, the clinical placement director in Canada, and the students themselves. The perspectives of minority world universities and their students tend to be privileged and more widely represented. This work contributes to the literature by including the views of the hosting majority world SLP partner agency. Results The varied perspectives reveal that the perceived advantages and difficulties of international SLP clinical placements differ for various stakeholders. Conclusions As the SLP profession moves forward in an increasingly globalized world, it may be necessary for SLP peak professional bodies to develop best practice frameworks for overseas engagement.

Nurse home visitation with vulnerable families in rural areas: A qualitative case file review.

Nurse home visiting may address challenges and resource disparities that threaten maternal and infant well-being in rural areas, but little is known about United States' program implementation. This qualitative study explored how family and community characteristics affected rural nurse home visiting. The sample for content analysis included families beginning services in 2010-2011 living in the rural counties with the highest caseloads (433 families). Electronic nurse home visiting case files from three rural counties were analyzed using a content analysis approach. The partner agency provided input on key constructs of interest but independent coding was also done to capture additional themes. Quantitative county level data and comments from member checking informed interpretation. Member checking included individual nurses serving the selected counties (n=3) and input from an agency level supervisory meeting for validation. Concerns of families served (e.g., mental health) may not be unique to rural areas, but challenges to accessing resources and constellation of needs were. Nurses adapted engagement and service strategies to meet these needs. Agencies serving rural areas should allocate resources and adapt training to support nurses based on unique community profiles. More research on rural nurse home visiting practice and outcomes is needed.

Negotiating Participatory Research Processes With Domestic Violence Program Staff to Obtain Ecologically Valid Data.

The choice of research design affects not only internal and external validity but ecological validity as well. Ecological validity refers to the extent to which data are based in and relevant to real-world settings. One way for researchers to maximize the likelihood of achieving ecological validity is to design studies with community partners that use participatory approaches. Engaging deeply with community partners in determining what to study, how to measure constructs of interest, interpreting results, and using findings to create change is one means of conducting research that is likely to produce findings that are meaningful to communities. Conducting in-depth, participatory research within agencies providing crisis supports to individuals who have experienced trauma creates an additional level of complexity in the research process. This article presents a case example of how academic researchers and staff members of a nonprofit organization working with survivors of intimate partner violence collaborated on an evaluation of the community partner agency. As part of this process, the team members had to be continually aware of and responsive to the nature of crisis-focused work. We provide a reflexive account of the lessons learned and recommendations for future research.

Transforming college students through international service-learning: A case study of three programmes from the City-Youth Empowerment Project (CYEP)

International service-learning (ISL) programmes, grounded under the transformative learning theory, have long shown promising results in enhancing the development of college students. However, in recent years, scholars have begun to take notice of the number of conceptual and methodological deficiencies that the ISL body of research suffers from. Our study addresses this void by adopting a quasi-experimental design to understand the developmental benefits accrued by college students who joined one of three ISL programmes. More specifically, this study seeks to understand the role of service settings and social context in the transformative process. A pretest-posttest approach was used to examine students’ growth in three ISL programmes (one from Cambodia and two from Myanmar). A total of 31 college students completed the questionnaire before and after the ISL programmes. Analysing the data through repeated-measure ANCOVAs, all three ISL programmes were found to help students increase their personal insight (general and social self-efficacy), understanding of social issues (interpersonal and problem-solving skills and political awareness) and cognitive development (communication skills). Establishing a non-hierarchical relationship with the partner agency in the service setting, providing emotional counseling to the college students and organizing multiple community outreach opportunities were found to be particularly beneficial for facilitating these transformations. Building on the results, suggestions for ISL practice and research are provided.

P165 Examining the Role of Champion Volunteers: Former Participants and Agency Partners in Maryland EFNEP

Objective To examine the role of “Champion Volunteers” in Maryland EFNEP. Use of Theory or Research Theory of Planned Behavior was utilized to better understand behavioral attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and intention related to volunteering. Target Audience Select EFNEP “Champion Volunteers”: former EFNEP participants and partner agency staff from multiple Maryland Counties. Program Description Volunteers play a critical role in EFNEP. Former participants and partner agency staff reach out to potential program participants, provide opportunities and space for classes, assist with class management, and facilitate program participation by offering transportation, material resources etc. to support EFNEP. Volunteers who serve EFNEP above and beyond are recognized as “EFNEP Champions” based on the criterion developed by Maryland EFNEP. Evaluation Methods In-depth interviews were conducted on a convenience sample of “Champion” agency partners and former EFNEP participants (n = 20) to examine: their motivation for volunteering, perceived benefits from volunteering and their impact on EFNEP. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and transcripts were imported into NVivo (version 12), for coding. Data were analyzed and themes were generated. Results Interviewees expressed unanimous appreciation for EFNEP workshops. Key motivations for volunteering included engagement, attainment of knowledge, the learning experience, access to social support through interaction and relationships building with participants in the program: and a desire to serve the community. The impacts of the program on respondents and their families included maintenance of positive behaviors related to physical activity, healthier eating, budget planning and better management of food resources. Key findings on how former participants and agency staff supported EFNEP include recruitment of families, knowledge sharing with friends and family, advocacy, and assisting EFNEP educators in classes and promotional events. Conclusions This study provides an understanding of which motivators encourage volunteers to contribute to the community. It can inform which factors are most important when setting up new partnerships, recruiting, and engaging volunteers in the program and thereby help EFNEP and other nutrition education programs in developing a robust volunteer effort. Funding None.

Nutrition-Focused Food Banking in the United States: A Qualitative Study of Healthy Food Distribution Initiatives

BackgroundNutrition-focused food banking is broadly defined as organizational and programmatic efforts to address nutrition-related health disparities among charitable food clients. Additional information is needed to systematically describe how US food banks, as key influencers of the charitable food system, are working to advance nutrition-focused food banking initiatives in their communities. ObjectiveOur aim was to describe food bank leadership–identified organizational strategies, “best practices,” and innovative programs for advancing nutrition-focused food banking in the United States. DesignWe conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews to elicit information about the nutrition-focused food banking practices and processes being employed by US food banks. Participants/settingParticipants comprised a purposive sample of food bank executives (n=30) representing a diverse selection of food banks across the United States. Interviews were conducted between April 2015 and January 2017 at national food bank conferences. AnalysisTwo researchers independently reviewed transcripts to identify themes using code-based qualitative content analysis. ResultsExecutive leader descriptions of specific strategies to support nutrition-focused food banking centered primarily around the following four major themes: building a healthier food inventory at the food bank; enhancing partner agency healthy food access, storage, and distribution capacity; nutrition education outreach; and expanding community partnerships and intervention settings for healthy food distribution, including health care and schools. ConclusionsStudy findings indicate that food banks are implementing a variety of multilevel approaches to improve healthy food access among users of the charitable food system. Further evaluation is needed to assess the reach, scalability, and sustainability of these various approaches, and their effectiveness in reducing determinants of nutrition-related health disparities.

Audit Partner Agency and Decision-usefulness of Audited Financial Statement Information

Audit Partner Agency and Decision-usefulness of Audited Financial Statement Information

Calculating indirect costs from international PEPFAR implementing partners.

BackgroundUNAIDS estimates global HIV investment needs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) at $26 billion per year in 2020. Yet international financing for HIV programs has stagnated amidst despite the increasing number of people requiring and accessing treatment. Despite increased efficiencies in HIV service delivery, evaluating programs for greater efficiencies remains necessary. While HIV budgets have been under scrutiny in recent years, indirect costs have not been quantified for any major global HIV program, but may constitute an additional avenue to identify program efficiencies. This analysis presents a method for estimating indirect costs in the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).MethodsUtilizing PEPFAR country operational plan (COP) funding data from 2007 to 2016 for international organizations (IOs) and universities and standard regulatory cost bases, we calculated modified total direct costs on which indirect cost rates may be applied by partner and funding agency. We then apply a series of plausible indirect cost rates (10%–36.28%) to develop a range for total indirect costs that have accrued over the period.FindingsOf $37.01 billion in total COP funding between 2007 and 2016, $22.24 billion (60.08%) was identifiably allocated to IOs ($17.95B) and universities ($4.29B). After excluding funding for sub-awards ($1.92B) and other expenses ($3.89B) to which indirect rates cannot be applied, $16.44B remained in combined direct and indirect costs. From this, we estimate that between $1.85B (8.30% of total international partner funding) and $4.34B (19.51%) has been spent on indirect costs from 2007–2016, including $157-$369 million in 2016.InterpretationTo our knowledge, this is the first analysis to quantify the indirect costs of major implementing partners of a global HIV funder. However, lack of transparency in the indirect cost rates of non-University international partners creates an opaque layer of programmatic costs. Given the current funding environment and evolution of HIV programming in PEPFAR countries, the findings motivate a re-examination of the current policies and the return on investment in indirect cost recovery across the PEPFAR program.

A Community-Partnered Approach to Developing Church-Based Interventions to Reduce Health Disparities Among African-Americans and Latinos.

Faith and public health partnerships offer promise to addressing health disparities, but examples that incorporate African-Americans and Latino congregations are lacking. Here we present results from developing a multi-ethnic, multi-denominational faith and public health partnership to address health disparities through community-based participatory research (CBPR), focusing on several key issues: (1) the multi-layered governance structure and activities to establish the partnership and identify initial health priority (obesity), (2) characteristics of the congregations recruited to partnership (n = 66), and (3) the lessons learned from participating congregations' past work on obesity that informed the development of a multi-level, multi-component, church-based intervention. Having diverse staff with deep ties in the faith community, both among researchers and the primary community partner agency, was key to recruiting African-American and Latino churches. Involvement by local health department and community health clinic personnel provided technical expertise and support regarding health data and clinical resources. Selecting a health issue-obesity-that affected all subgroups (e.g., African-Americans and Latinos, women and men, children and adults) garnered high enthusiasm among partners, as did including some innovative aspects such as a text/e-mail messaging component and a community mapping exercise to identify issues for advocacy. Funding that allowed for an extensive community engagement and planning process was key to successfully implementing a CBPR approach. Building partnerships through which multiple CBPR initiatives can be done offers efficiencies and sustainability in terms of programmatic activities, though long-term infrastructure grants, institutional support, and non-research funding from local foundations and health systems are likely needed.

Strengthening routine immunization through measles-rubella elimination

The 2016 mid-term review of the Global Measles-Rubella Strategic Plan 2012–20 for achieving measles-rubella elimination concluded that the full potential of strategies and activities to strengthen routine immunization (RI) service delivery had not been met. In December 2017, we contacted WHO and partner agency immunization staff in all six WHO Regions who identified 23 countries working on measles or rubella elimination that have implemented examples of recommended activities to improve RI, adapted to their needs. Among those examples, opportunities to strengthen RI through implementing supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) were reported most frequently, including advocacy for immunization and educational activities targeted at the public and skills training targeted at health professionals. The expansion of cold chain capacity to accommodate supplies required for SIAs facilitated widening RI service delivery to reach more communities, introduce new vaccines, and reduce the risk of vaccine stock-outs. Substantial numbers of under-vaccinated children, according to the national immunization schedule, have been identified during SIAs, but it is not possible to confirm whether these children actually received missing RI doses. Micro-planning exercises for SIAs have generated data that permitted the revision of catchment populations for fixed site and outreach RI services. Some countries reported using the opportunity afforded by measles/rubella elimination to strengthen overall vaccine-preventable disease surveillance and outbreak preparedness and to introduce mandatory school-entry vaccination requirements covering other vaccines in addition to measles and rubella. Unfortunately, we were unable to obtain information regarding the cost, impact or sustainability of these activities. The evaluation of the many other strategies that have been deployed in recent years to strengthen RI systems and raise vaccination coverage was beyond the scope of this survey. We conclude by providing recommendations to encourage more countries to adapt and implement a comprehensive set of RI-strengthening activities in association with the MR elimination goal.

Rejection sensitivity and interpersonal behavior in daily life

Rejection sensitivity (RS) was evaluated as a moderator of the relationship between perceptions of others and interpersonal behavior over the course of a week. Participants (n = 240) were non-clinical young adults who completed a 7-day event-contingent experience sampling study of interpersonal perception and affect. Multilevel linear models indicated that those with high RS were less agentically responsive to their interaction partner's agency and positive affect. Further, those with high RS exhibited cold, unfriendly behavior in response to their interaction partner's negative and subdued affect. Findings suggest an avoidant stance in those with high RS, which may aim to avoid but likely invites the very rejection they fear. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.

Experiences with and expectations of maternity waiting homes in Luapula Province, Zambia: a mixed\u2013methods, cross-sectional study with women, community groups and stakeholders

BackgroundLuapula Province has the highest maternal mortality and one of the lowest facility-based births in Zambia. The distance to facilities limits facility-based births for women in rural areas. In 2013, the government incorporated maternity homes into the health system at the community level to increase facility-based births and reduce maternal mortality. To examine the experiences with maternity homes, formative research was undertaken in four districts of Luapula Province to assess women’s and community’s needs, use patterns, collaboration between maternity homes, facilities and communities, and promising practices and models in Central and Lusaka Provinces.MethodsA cross-sectional, mixed-methods design was used. In Luapula Province, qualitative data were collected through 21 focus group discussions with 210 pregnant women, mothers, elderly women, and Safe Motherhood Action Groups (SMAGs) and 79 interviews with health workers, traditional leaders, couples and partner agency staff. Health facility assessment tools, service abstraction forms and registers from 17 facilities supplied quantitative data. Additional qualitative data were collected from 26 SMAGs and 10 health workers in Central and Lusaka Provinces to contextualise findings. Qualitative transcripts were analysed thematically using Atlas-ti. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively using Stata.ResultsWomen who used maternity homes recognized the advantages of facility-based births. However, women and community groups requested better infrastructure, services, food, security, privacy, and transportation. SMAGs led the construction of maternity homes and advocated the benefits to women and communities in collaboration with health workers, but management responsibilities of the homes remained unassigned to SMAGs or staff. Community norms often influenced women’s decisions to use maternity homes. Successful maternity homes in Central Province also relied on SMAGs for financial support, but the sustainability of these models was not certain.ConclusionsWomen and communities in the selected facilities accept and value maternity homes. However, interventions are needed to address women’s needs for better infrastructure, services, food, security, privacy and transportation. Strengthening relationships between the managers of the homes and their communities can serve as the foundation to meet the needs and expectations of pregnant women. Particular attention should be paid to ensuring that maternity homes meet quality standards and remain sustainable.

Assessing stakeholder perceptions of the acceptability and feasibility of national scale-up for a dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic test in Malawi

ObjectivesThe WHO recommends pregnant women receive both HIV and syphilis testing at their first antenatal care visit, as untreated maternal infections can lead to severe, adverse pregnancy outcomes. One strategy...

Collaborative Outcomes Learning Tool (COLT) – A Multi-agency Educational Resource to Support Complex Public Protection Understanding and Practice

Multi-agency public protection practice has received significant media and government scrutiny in recent years, in response to failings to protect those most vulnerable people in society. Despite an appreciation by agencies that there are resource and outcome benefits to collaborative practice, how safeguarding public protection policy may be integrated into practice and education is often challenging. Public protection legislation directs core agencies to co-operate and work together with governmental direction setting out key shared safeguarding responsibilities and arrangements for individuals, professional groups and teams. Despite this there still remain difficulties between organisations to understand each other’s priorities and responsibilities. This can then transpose to an individual level where entrenched professional divisions can compromise joint working. Many health and social care curricula invest in inter-professional education to encourage exploration of information sharing, reporting and case management. However, when public protection issues are considered, uni-professional and inter-professional education tends to focus on single silos of harm, for example child and adult protection, radicalisation or domestic abuse. This paper discusses the development, application and future possibilities for innovation of a unique educational tool to address this gap in public protection multi-agency education. The tool aims to support understanding of key public protection issues in Scotland by encouraging learners within undergraduate and practice environments to recognise risk, explore overlapping and ‘grey areas’ of harm and understand partner agency best practice and response whilst encouraging cross-sector working, appreciation and support. Through gaining insight into other agencies safeguarding roles the learner has the opportunity to gain a deeper insight and broader perspective of the complexities of interventions beyond their own discipline whilst recognising opportunities for joint resource management.

Innovative Graduate Research Education for Advancement of Implementation Science in Adolescent Behavioral Health.

An innovative approach to research education that integrates the theory and principles of implementation science, participatory research, and service learning in the area of adolescent behavioral health is presented. Qualitative interviews and surveys of program participants have been conducted to assess the program's curricula, service-learning partnerships, student (scholar) satisfaction, and views of community partnerships and academic mentors. The Institute has experienced the successful completion of its first and second cohorts and enrollment of a third cohort of scholars. Community partners are utilizing results of service-learning projects to influence agency operations. Institute scholars have identified research and service learning experiences as key factors in the decision to apply to the Institute graduate certificate program. The availability of tuition support is identified as valuable but not ranked as the most important reason for scholar interest in the program. Academic mentors report positive relationships with community agencies. Future iterations of the program will expand options for distance learning and alternatives to traditional graduate education for community-based scholars. Community partner agency capacity for participation is expected to change over time. Methods are being identified to both sustain existing partnerships and develop new community partnership relationships.

Exploring Links between Women's Business Ownership and Empowerment among Maasai Women in Tanzania

Despite increasing interest and effort to support women's empowerment globally, women remain a severely disadvantaged group in nearly every country throughout the globe. In the current study, we examine the relationship between women's participation in financial markets and different indices of empowerment. Questionnaires were administered to three groups of Maasai women (N = 224) living in rural, northern Tanzania: women who were members of cooperatively owned business groups, women who owned businesses independently via microcredit loans, and women who did not own businesses. Group difference tests revealed that cooperative business owners reported higher levels of agency than independent owners, and lower levels of partner control and greater involvement in financial decision making than nonbusiness owners. Independent owners reported greater involvement in financial decision making, and lower levels of agency than nonowners. Additionally, results from structural equation models demonstrated that participation in cooperatives, versus independent or nonbusiness ownership, was associated with fewer experiences of domestic violence and enhanced psychological well‐being via the effects of partner control, agency, and financial decision making. Policy implications regarding the importance of considering cultural norms and what may be required to facilitate a transformative context for women are discussed.