Program Design Factors Research Articles

What matters for sustainable psychosocial interventions and who decides? Critical ethnography of a lay counselling program in Nepal

Lay counselling, or the delivery of talk-based therapeutic support by people without a clinical degree, is gaining popularity as a way of addressing global shortages of mental health professionals. In Nepal, lay counselors have made significant contributions to mental health and psychosocial care over the last two decades, particularly in the aftermath of major emergencies. However, research on the longer-term integration and sustainability of lay counselling interventions remains limited. This ethnographic study explored the meaning and importance of sustainability to different stakeholders in a lay counselling program implemented following Nepal’s 2015 earthquake. We conducted participant observation in the everyday lives of five counsellors as well as four focus group discussions and 51 semi-structured interviews with counsellors and other key stakeholders. Our analysis revealed significant discrepancies in perceptions of sustainability; while organizations involved in implementing the program described it as a sustainability success due to continued government financing, counsellors emphasized their own and the government’s failure to sustain high-quality service delivery in practice. Program-level barriers included inadequate budget and remuneration, lack of clinical supervision, and poor integration within existing systems. We also identified wider sociopolitical influences on sustainability, including the social positioning of counsellors, low understanding and acceptability of counselling, and a rapidly changing political landscape. These findings reveal the need for a critical approach to sustainability in global mental health, warning against superficial engagement that prioritizes continuity of government financing over quality of care and workers’ rights. Advocating for an ecological orientation within sustainability research, we also discuss the importance of looking beyond program design factors to consider how local and national sociopolitical dynamics influence frontline service provision.

Exploring the association between household compositional change and mobility of subsidized householders in the United States: A life course perspective

ABSTRACT This study examines the relationship between household compositional change and residential mobility of subsidized householders. Data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Annual Longitudinal Files 2005–2018 is used to measure household compositional change and mobility for subsidized householders in the Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs. Householders are 67% more likely to move when a change in household composition occurs. Members entering the household induce larger estimated mobility effects than members exiting the household. Although the odds that a householder move are associated with a household compositional change is greatest in the Housing Choice Voucher program for tenant-based vouchers, there is still a strong association with household compositional changes and mobility in Public Housing and for project-based voucher units where options for mobility are limited. The results have implications for future research on program design factors such as occupancy standards in subsidized housing in the United States.

Promoting a sense of belonging, engagement, and collegiality to reduce burnout: a mixed methods study among undergraduate medical students in a non-Western, Asian context

BackgroundBurnout is a psychological condition induced by work-related chronic interpersonal stressors. Interventions creating a sense of belonging and collegiality have been proposed as approaches for alleviating burnout. The current study aimed to: (1) explore the relationships between burnout, sense of belonging (relatedness with others), and work engagement; and (2) identify the key elements perceived by undergraduate medical students as positively contributing to collegiality, engagement, and a sense of belonging, in an undergraduate medical training setting.MethodsAn exploratory sequential mixed-methods design using questionnaires and semi-structured individual interviews collected quantitative and qualitative data among undergraduate medical students at Mahidol University, Thailand. The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey questionnaire was used to measure burnout. The Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction at Work Scale (BPNSS-21) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student Version (UWESS-9) measured students’ basic psychological needs satisfaction at work and work engagement, respectively. Descriptive statistical analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed on BPNSS-21 and UWESS-9 data. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used to identify the correlation between burnout and other factors. Twenty undergraduate medical students participated in the qualitative study. Qualitative analysis was conducted iteratively using constant comparison and the standard principles of primary, secondary, and tertiary coding for thematic analysis.ResultsThai versions of the BPNSS-21 and UWESS-9 showed an acceptable fit for the Thai cultural context. Burnout had significant weak inverse associations with engagement (r = − 0.39, p < 0.005) and basic psychological needs satisfaction (r = − 0.37, p < 0.005). Sense of belonging had a significant weak inverse relationship with burnout (r = − 0.25, p < 0.005). The main themes emerging from qualitative analysis were relevant tasks and learning activities, safety in the learning environment, peer interaction, program design factors, dynamics of collegiality while progressing through medical school, and personal stance and social skills.ConclusionsSense of belonging, engagement, and collegiality were related to burnout. The key features for promoting collegiality, the sense of belonging, and engagement were relevant tasks and learning activities, safety in the learning environment, peer interaction, program design factors, dynamics of collegiality while progressing through medical school, and personal stance and social skills.

A Tool for Designing and Studying Student-Centered Undergraduate Field Experiences: The UFERN Model

Abstract Undergraduate field experiences (UFEs), where students learn and sometimes live together in nature, are critical for the field-based science disciplines. The Undergraduate Field Experiences Research Network (UFERN) brings together UFE educators and researchers to improve and broaden participation in field education. Integrating research on UFEs and general STEM education and the expertise of the UFERN community, we present a model and evidence that describes the impact of intended student outcomes, student context factors, and program design factors on UFE student outcomes. The UFERN model is relevant for a diversity of UFE formats and the diverse students potentially engaged in them, and it supports the field science community to consider a range of ways students can engage with the field. The UFERN model can be applied to guide the design, implementation, and evaluation of student-centered UFEs and to guide research on the mechanisms underlying outcomes across UFE formats and disciplines.

호텔기업의 온라인 교육설계에 따른 학습만족도 및 전이성과에 관한 연구

The purpose of the study was to present a comprehensive view on relationships among online learning program design factors, learning satisfaction, and transition effect in a hotel industry. In total, 200 cases were analyzed by deluxe hotels which are located in Seoul. These results are based on research, and the outcomes are as follows:BR In online learning program factors, both contents usefulness and interaction were positively related to learning satisfaction and transition effect. However, ease of use did not have an effect on learning satisfaction and transition effect. Learning satisfaction influenced positively on transition effect and this research also verified the mediation effect of learning satisfaction was mediated between online learning program design factors and transition effect. Learners working in the hotels put highly importance on the content usefulness and interaction when they studied by online training program. When contents are connected on their jobs and they feel contents are useful, they are more satisfied about learning and they come to apply learning to their works effectively.

The California schedule of key ingredients for contact-based antistigma programs.

A major public health priority has been to eliminate stigma's egregious effects on life opportunities for people with mental illnesses. Research shows contact-based antistigma programs are among the most effective. Such findings call for clarity to define the components of consumer-directed antistigma programs. This article represents community-based participatory research (CBPR) and the first step of a mixed methods design to describe the active ingredients comprising these kinds of programs. CBPR investigators developed an interview guide and subsequently facilitated four focus groups to identify key components. Participants included antistigma experts with lived experience. Using grounded theory, two independent raters identified 641 discrete themes. Two additional coders then sorted themes into constructs representing key ingredients of contact-based programs. Coders agreed upon 198 constructs and then grouped them into a hierarchical model of key ingredients in consumer-directed stigma change. Five criteria represent indicators of successful consumer-directed programs: (a) program design-factors necessary for trained presenters to facilitate programs; (b) targeting-tailored presentation congruent with target's goal; (c) staffing-facilitators and leadership are diverse people with lived experience; (d) messaging-presentation discusses struggles and recovery from mental health challenges; and (e) follow-up and evaluation-assessment of sustained audience change. This study identified key ingredients of consumer-directed antistigma programs. Part two of the mixed methods design, a quantitative cross-validation study, will yield a sound fidelity measure.

Breaking bread and breaking boundaries: A case study on increasing organizational learning opportunities and fostering communities of practice through sharing meals in an academic program

Organizations are increasingly interested in creating learning opportunities for their employees. This article explores and describes how a university planned to increase employee interactions and organizational learning opportunities by fostering emergence of communities of practice. In this case study, Saint Xavier University offered an academic program for Chicago police officers at a Chicago Police Department training facility. More than a hundred officers enrolled in a master's of business administration (MBA) program participated in this study. The study gathered data through a combination of surveys, interviews, and direct observations to investigate the program participants' interactions and the potential impact of their interactions on the host organization. The primary academic program design factors included leveraging class break times by providing meals for program participants to share. Comparisons are drawn from research on the benefits of family meal sharing; the potential of similar benefits to organizations are explored. Results indicate that academic program design factors may increase interaction and organizational learning opportunities, and that shared meal times play an essential role.

Effect of technological intensity on the relationships among Six Sigma design, electronic-business, and competitive advantage: A dynamic capabilities model study

The implementation of Six Sigma programs must take into consideration the level of technological intensity of the organization to determine the relative impact of program design factors and the applications for electronic business on sustainable competitive advantage (SCA). From a Dynamic Capabilities Model perspective, this research studies the moderating effect of technological intensity on the relationships among Six Sigma program design factors, e-business applications, and SCA for sixty-six manufacturing and service organizations. Technological intensity of a firm is defined as the level of research and development (R&D) expenditures as a percentage of corporate sales revenues. Corporations with greater technological intensity invest more heavily in Research and Development to become more competitive. Factor analysis for ten Six Sigma program design items resulted in five program design factors. High technological intensive firms are perceived as attaching a greater importance to certain design factors that are related to electronic-business practices, as compared to other design factors for low technological intensive companies. Similarly, different program design factors are associated with SCA for high-tech than for low-tech companies. Finally only high-tech companies have applications of Six Sigma to electronic-business practices that are correlated with SCA. The recent evolution of Six Sigma programs from manufacturing companies to service organizations suggests competitive opportunities exist for firms to enhance their success, especially in terms of process improvement design factors and applications to electronic-business.

Wordchip: The application of external versatility to an english lexical call program

External versatility is a key concept behind the design and development layout of CALL courseware. External versatility refers to a richness in both contents and strategies, which makes the courseware program better adapted to the individual and specific needs of a wide range of potential end users. Three program design factors realize the concept of external versatility in Wordchip, a program for training and teaching a basic EFL vocabulary in context. These factors are: (1) an extensive content base, (2) a selection system, and (3) a multi-environment model. Content materials for the Wordchip database were selected and processed on the basis of their frequency, utility and coverage qualities. As for strategies, the focus is on the principle of systematic vocabulary acquisition and the related semantically transparent reply form contexts. The content base includes various fields with information that allows the contents to be implemented in a selection system where the user can select at will the vocabulary which fits his own linguistic needs. Wordchip can be used in four different user environments: (1) à la carte for the more advanced user working autonomously, (2) plat du jour for the learner who is guided by a teacher, trainer or parent, (3) digestif for error-analysis, and (4) buffet for reference purposes.