Provision Of Intervention Services Research Articles

Examining the Impact of COVID-19 on Early Intervention Service Provision for Military Families: A Brief Report

Understanding the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted birth-to-three early intervention (EI) service provision is critical as these services play an essential role in ensuring positive long-term developmental outcomes for children with disabilities, including those who are military dependents. The present study leveraged an interrupted time series approach to compare monthly service provision rates before and after the onset of the pandemic for a subset of children served by the Army Medical Department’s Educational and Developmental Intervention Services EI program. Analysis identified 77% and 93% immediate step decreases in EI referral and enrollment rates, respectively, following the onset of the pandemic in March 2020; however, rates returned to, or exceeded, prepandemic levels by late 2020. There were limited differences by race or ethnicity. Additional research is necessary to explore the mechanisms underlying these changes and to understand the long-term impact of missed referrals and enrollments on military children.

Exploring the Effectiveness and Challenges of Community Rehabilitation Service Programs for Children with Developmental Delays: A Qualitative Study from the Perspective of Early Intervention Service Providers in Taiwan.

This qualitative study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of community rehabilitation programs for children with developmental delays from the perspective of early intervention service providers in Taiwan. Adopting a single-case experimental design (ABM design), this study examined the immediate and sustained effects of interventions on individualized goals during baseline, intervention, and maintenance phases. Additionally, data from interviews with parents, special education teachers, and other participants were collected to understand the challenges and improvement strategies of community rehabilitation programs. Results revealed that community rehabilitation programs for children with developmental delays exhibited both immediate and sustained effectiveness. Challenges faced by parents and professionals differed, with parents having less contact and communication with administrative systems, while professionals experienced more pronounced implementation difficulties during interventions. Moreover, strategies for improving community rehabilitation programs for children with developmental delays should vary for parents and professionals to address inconsistencies in attitudes and strategies among parents and administrative obstacles encountered by professionals.

Health screening clinic to reduce absenteeism and presenteeism among NHS Staff: eTHOS a pilot RCT.

Staff sickness absenteeism and presenteeism (attending work while unwell) incur high costs to the NHS, are associated with adverse patient outcomes and have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The main causes are mental and musculoskeletal ill health with cardiovascular risk factors common. To undertake a feasibility study to inform the design of a definitive randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of a health screening clinic in reducing absenteeism and presenteeism amongst the National Health Service staff. Individually randomised controlled pilot trial of the staff health screening clinic compared with usual care, including qualitative process evaluation. Four United Kingdom National Health Service hospitals from two urban and one rural Trust. Hospital employees who had not previously attended a pilot health screening clinic at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. Nurse-led staff health screening clinic with assessment for musculoskeletal health (STarT musculoskeletal; STarT Back), mental health (patient health questionnaire-9; generalised anxiety disorder questionnaire-7) and cardiovascular health (NHS health check if aged ≥ 40, lifestyle check if < 40 years). Screen positives were given advice and/or referral to services according to UK guidelines. The three coprimary outcomes were recruitment, referrals and attendance at referred services. These formed stop/go criteria when considered together. If any of these values fell into the 'amber' zone, then the trial would require modifications to proceed to full trial. If all were 'red', then the trial would be considered unfeasible. Secondary outcomes collected to inform the design of the definitive randomised controlled trial included: generalisability, screening results, individual referrals required/attended, health behaviours, acceptability/feasibility of processes, indication of contamination and costs. Outcomes related to the definitive trial included self-reported and employee records of absenteeism with reasons. Process evaluation included interviews with participants, intervention delivery staff and service providers. Descriptive statistics were presented and framework analysis conducted for qualitative data. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, outcomes were captured up to 6 months only. Three hundred and fourteen participants were consented (236 randomised), the majority within 4 months. The recruitment rate of 314/3788 (8.3%) invited was lower than anticipated (meeting red for this criteria), but screening identified that 57/118 (48.3%) randomised were eligible for referral to either general practitioner (81%), mental health (18%) and/or physiotherapy services (30%) (green). Early trial closure precluded determination of attendance at referrals, but 31.6% of those eligible reported intending to attend (amber). Fifty-one of the 80 (63.75%) planned qualitative interviews were conducted. Quantitative and qualitative data from the process evaluation indicated that the electronic database-driven screening intervention and data collection were efficient, promoting good fidelity, although needing more personalisation at times. Recruitment and delivery of the full trial would benefit from a longer development period to better understand local context, develop effective strategies for engaging with underserved groups, provide longer training and better integration with referral services. Delivery of the pilot was limited by the impact of COVID-19 with staff redeployment, COVID-research prioritisation and reduced availability of community and in-house referral services. While recruitment was rapid, it did not fully represent ethnic minority groups and truncated follow-up due to funding limitations prevented full assessment of attendance at recommended services and secondary outcomes. There is both a clinical need (evidenced by 48% screened eligible for a referral) and perceived benefit (data from the qualitative interviews) for this National Health Service staff health screening clinic. The three stop/go criteria were red, green and amber; therefore, the Trial Oversight Committee recommended that a full-scale trial should proceed, but with modifications to adapt to local context and adopt processes to engage better with underserved communities. This trial is registered as ISRCTN10237475. This award was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme (NIHR award ref: 17/42/42) and is published in full in Health and Social Care Delivery Research; Vol. 12, No. 23. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.

Intervention strategies and counseling approaches for school-based academic stress management

The response of an individual when facing something can be classified as a form of stress; if it occurs in students who experience symptoms caused by academic activities that can cause stress, this can be classified as a form of academic stress. Counselors must provide intervention services to help kids manage their academic stress because this issue cannot be left untreated. This research aims to determine and analyze the approaches and techniques used in handling academic stress experienced by students. The method for carrying out this research is a literature review which is an activity of collecting, reading, studying, and researching the research topic. Data collection was assisted by the Publish or Perish 7 application with library sources via Google School, Science Direct, and the open-access journal directory. The results of the study show that the implementation of the intervention is carried out through individual counseling and group counseling services. Keywords: Academic stress; counseling approaches; counseling techniques; students.

Study Identifies Opportunities for Intervention Improvement With Collaborative Workflows

_ This article, written by JPT Technology Editor Chris Carpenter, contains highlights of paper SPE 212922, “The Intervention Opportunity: Why the Industry Does Not Do More and How New Collaborative Workflows With Aligned Outcomes Can Change This,” by Matthew E. Billingham, SPE, SLB; Fraser J. Proud, North Sea Transition Authority; and Pierre Ramondenc, SPE, SLB. The paper has not been peer reviewed. _ The authors write that their analysis presented in the complete paper challenges the typical way interventions have been planned and executed, both from an operational and commercial basis, and examines where room exists for significant improvement. The paper examines the case for performing interventions and aims to identify opportunities for both financial and net-zero-goal achievement. By appreciating the issues operators face when justifying and designing intervention activity, challenges can thus be addressed by proper alignment for the best outcome. The Complexity of Interventions Downhole issues can be broken into two main categories: reservoir-based bottlenecks, and well-integrity and completion hardware issues. Problems categorized as reservoir-based can manifest either in the formation or in the wellbore. For instance, scaling and sand production are processes that originate from the reservoir but must be dealt with at least partially in the wellbore. The same is true for downhole flow-assurance challenges, which often find their root cause in the reservoir. The Value of Intervention In the UK, operators complete an annual stewardship survey (also known as the UKSS) for which a large amount of data is collected, especially around wells. The average production added from many subsea intervention jobs is significant, with reperforations, for example, adding approximately 120,000 BOE/yr per intervention, a more than 300-BOEPD uplift. Clearly, opportunities exist to increase production in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). The question becomes whether the investment in intervention is economical. Not all operators use well interventions to their maximum potential. A large variance exists in the number of jobs an operator completes; the operators seeing the most production added generally are the ones performing the most interventions. Many operators may be capital-constrained and, thus, cannot invest in more well intervention. However, it is clear that operators that do invest consistently see good value returns. Intervention Challenges Platform/Wellsite Access. A major obstacle to performing interventions is the logistical bottleneck created by additional persons on board (POB) and deck-space limitations. This applies to operations on land as well, where lack of facilities, especially in remote locations, may cause similar bottlenecks. Asset Mindset. Another difficulty is sometimes referred to as the “asset mindset,” whereby the asset-management team might regard interventions as a high-risk operation, which jeopardizes the existing production base as opposed to gaining a potential uplift. The asset mindset looks at the intervention not so much as a chance to increase production, but as a potential risk to lose base-case existing production. However, technology leaps have been made in the provision of intervention services to ensure safe entry and exit of wells, with zero damage to the completion or formation, and provide excellent chances of a production increase.

발달지체 및 장애 영아 조기개입 서비스 제공에 대한 현장 전문가의 인식

This mixed methods analysis employed online surveys and semi-structured interviews to explore the perspectives of 60 early intervention service providers in South Korea regarding service delivery. This study aimed to comprehensively understand their perceptions of the barriers and facilitators in early intervention services. The online survey- consisting of 30 items related to participant characteristics, service information, and perspectives on barriers and facilitators- was conducted. Participants were intentionally categorized based on survey data, and six individuals were randomly selected for follow-up interviews to ensure a wide spectrum of perspectives. The results of the mixed-methods study indicated diverse experiences and perspectives among early intervention providers, with responses varying across each item. While there was relative consistency among respondents regarding facilitators, perspectives on barriers differed both among participants and across various variables. The significance of preservice educator preparation programs and in-service educators’ professional development opportunities in enhancing early intervention services was commonly emphasized. The study concludes with recommendations and implications aimed at enhancing the early intervention system in South Korea.

Multivariate Patterns of Substance Use, Minority Stress and Environmental Violence Associated with Sexual Revictimization of Lesbian and Bisexual Emerging Adult Women

This study documented between-group differences in factors associated with sexual revictimization histories in a sample of young sexual minority women. Diverse samples of lesbian (N = 204, ageM = 23.55 years) and bisexual (N = 249, ageM = 23.35 years) women from the United States were recruited using the CloudResearch platform to assess factors associated with recent experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV). Participants were categorized into four groups based on self-reports of sexual victimization (a) during childhood and (b) during adulthood in intimate relationships. Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) was used to model between-group differences in three variable domains: Past-year substance use involvement, minority stress, and violence in relationship and community settings. Lesbian women reporting sexual revictimization in adulthood reported significantly higher scores for measures of past-year substance use involvement and negative consequences, daily discrimination experiences, relational victimization, and criminal victimization, compared to their counterparts with no history of sexual victimization. Among bisexual women, sexual revictimization was associated with a similar pattern of between-group differences. The sexual revictimization experiences of sexual minority women appear to occur in the context of multivariate patterns of harmful substance use, minority stress, and violence in both relationship and community settings. Our findings have implications for how intervention services are provided to emerging adult sexual minority women who experience multiple episodes of sexual abuse during their lifespans. Recommendations include specialized training for counseling or intervention service providers, integrated trauma-informed services that address both substance use and sexual assault issues, and affirmative services for sexual minority women.

Students Helping Students: Implementation of Elementary Math Facts Fluency Interventions by High Schoolers

Many schools face barriers that hinder access to services, including limited funding and staff trained in evidence-based interventions. In particular, rural schools must provide targeted intervention to promote academic growth and narrow achievement gaps despite these barriers. One seldom-considered solution to ease the resource costs in the provision of intervention services is to provide high school students with the training and supervision necessary to carry them out. Thirty elementary students participated in an explicit timing intervention administered by either a high school student or graduate student in school psychology. A 2 × 2 mixed factorial ANOVA found significant growth from pre- to post-test with no effects of interventionist education level. These findings imply that school-based interventionists may be able to expand the reach of their practice by recruiting and training older students to carry out interventions.

Examining utility and impact of social, emotional, and behavioral screening to identify and address needs.

Along with increased attention to universal screening for identifying social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) concerns is the need to ensure the psychometric adequacy of tools available. Nearly all extant tests of universal SEB screening validity focus on traditional inferential forms with little to no study of the consequences of actions following those inferences, or consequential validity proposed under Messick's unified validity theory. This study examines one facet of consequential validity (i.e., utility) of results from one popular screening tool in six elementary schools in one large U.S. district. The schools identified students who were receiving SEB supports on a monthly form throughout one school year. Screening identified 991 students with SEB risk, of which 91 (9%) were receiving intervention prior to screening. After screening, schools provided intervention to an additional 66 students (7%). Unaddressed SEB risk remained after screening for 84% of screener-identified students. Latent profile analyses detected five patterns of risk with those students demonstrating the most risk and predominately externalizing concerns being most likely to receive intervention after screening. Study schools also provided intervention to students with elevated low risk after screening, but this profile was the largest group leaving 708 students with unaddressed SEB risk after screening. Results provide evidence of universal SEB screening interpretation to identify unaddressed SEB risk but insufficient use to provide intervention services at a rate that substantially reduced unaddressed SEB risk. Future research and practice directions for advancing the consequential validity of universal SEB screening are recommended and measurement limitations discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Professional Development and Use of Evidence-Based Practice in Autism Early Intervention

We investigated the experiences of Australian autism early intervention service providers, including the professional development they receive on the job and how they translate research evidence into their practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 providers drawn from three locations. Participants described the crucial role of paraprofessionals in early intervention services, and indicated that, within multidisciplinary teams, allied health professionals, and teachers are the ones who select intervention practices and upskill paraprofessionals. Furthermore, participants reported using practices supported by research evidence, but also some emerging and unsupported practices. The use of unsupported practices is examined in light of the daily challenges faced by centers. Results may inform further professional development in early intervention services for children on the autism spectrum, to support the best possible outcomes for this population. The findings highlight the potential need for job-embedded hands-on professional development conducted in real time.

Family-Centered Practices and Caregiver Mental Health in a Developmental Intervention for Young Children With Congenital Zika Syndrome

The goal of this study was to describe the provision of intervention services to children with congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) in a large health care institution located in Recife, Brazil, and family factors related to intervention involvement, through the lens of family-centered developmental–behavioral pediatric care principles. Caregivers (N = 50) of children with CZS who were receiving services at a public rehabilitation hospital participated a cross-sectional survey study. Among caregivers, 22% reported a low number of both child and caregiver intervention contacts, 26% reported a high number of child contacts but low caregiver contacts, and 52% reported both high child and caregiver contacts with intervention staff in the past 3 months. Caregiver stress scores were higher and coping strategies were lower in the low child and caregiver intervention contact group. Most caregivers reported high levels of family-centered practices. In regression models, low family resources was associated with higher depression and stress and low coping strategy use, whereas higher support was associated with higher coping. This study adds to the small literature exploring intervention services provided to children with CZS with a particular emphasis on family-centered care principles. It is recommended that intervention programs in Brazil evaluate the availability and accessibility of family resources and develop strategies to help connect families to resources that promote caregiver mental health and child outcomes.

Military families with young children with disabilities: Families’ and providers’ perceptions

Active duty military families have unique life experiences that can affect individual members and also the family as a whole. While many benefits to the military lifestyle exist, previous research has described how children of active duty military families may also be more at-risk for emotional and academic difficulties as a result of parent absence, family stress or strain. For active duty military families who have children with disabilities, mobility and change can be especially stressful. However, limited research has been conducted to understand the experiences and perceptions of military families who have young children with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to explore (a) the experiences and needs of military families with young children with disabilities, and (b) the experiences and recommendations of early intervention professionals who work with young children with disabilities and their military families. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with six active duty military family members who have a children with disabilities, and focus groups were conducted with 12 early intervention service providers. Findings of the study include unique experiences and needs of military family members with young children with disabilities that have been highlighted in previous literature, as well as some unique findings specific to those receiving services under part of Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Enhancing the health of NHS staff: eTHOS — protocol for a randomised controlled pilot trial of an employee health screening clinic for NHS staff to reduce absenteeism and presenteeism, compared with usual care

BackgroundStaff absenteeism and presenteeism incur high costs to the NHS and are associated with adverse health outcomes. The main causes are musculoskeletal complaints and mental ill-health, which are potentially modifiable, and cardiovascular risk factors are also common. We will test the feasibility of an RCT to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of an employee health screening clinic on reducing sickness absenteeism and presenteeism.MethodsThis is an individually randomised controlled pilot trial aiming to recruit 480 participants. All previously unscreened employees from four hospitals within three UK NHS hospital Trusts will be eligible. Those randomised to the intervention arm will be invited to attend an employee health screening clinic consisting of a screening assessment for musculoskeletal (STarT MSK and STarT Back), mental (PHQ-9 and GAD-7) and cardiovascular (NHS Health Check if aged ≥ 40, lifestyle check if < 40 years) health. Screen positives will be given advice and/or referral to recommended services. Those randomised to the control arm will receive usual care. Participants will complete a questionnaire at baseline and 26 weeks; anonymised absenteeism and staff demographics will also be collected from personnel records. The co-primary outcomes are as follows: recruitment, referrals and uptake of recommended services in the intervention arm. Secondary outcomes include the following: results of screening assessments, uptake of individual referrals, reported changes in health behaviours, acceptability and feasibility of intervention, indication of contamination and costs. Outcomes related to the definitive trial include self-reported and employee records of absenteeism with reasons. Process evaluation to inform a future trial includes interviews with participants, intervention delivery staff and service providers receiving referrals. Analyses will include presentation of descriptive statistics, framework analysis for qualitative data and costs and consequences presented for health economics.DiscussionThe study will provide data to inform the design of a definitive RCT which aims to find an effective and cost-effective method of reducing absenteeism and presenteeism amongst NHS staff. The feasibility study will test trial procedures, and process outcomes, including the success of strategies for including underserved groups, and provide information and data to help inform the design and sample size for a definitive trial.Trial registrationISRCTN reference number 10237475.

Integrated Nonpharmacological Intervention for Patients with MCI-A Preliminary Study in Shanghai, China.

Objective:Mild cognitive impairment is a transitional state between normal aging and Alzheimer’s and is an internationally recognized pre-stage state of Alzheimer’s. It is the starting point for early detection and intervention in dementia. An empirical study was conducted to determine how medical social workers provide intervention services to older adults with mild cognitive impairment, specific strategies for change, and the effectiveness of the intervention.Methods:This was a quasi-experimental intervention study.Conclusion:Through integrated intervention, the development of cognitive impairment can be significantly delayed, cognitive abilities can be improved (p < .05), and decline in daily living abilities can be significantly delayed (p < .05). At the same time, the mental health of participants can be improved to a certain extent.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Illinois Early Intervention Services.

We sought to understand the extent of the nationwide disruption to Part C Early Intervention services due to COVID-19 and the subsequent shift to telehealth, primarily through a focused examination of providers' perspectives on this disruption in a single state, which is Illinois. To examine the impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Early Intervention service provision and implementation, 385 Early Intervention Illinois providers completed a web-based survey. Archival data were used to determine changes in number of Illinois Early Intervention referrals following the pandemic onset and to compare Illinois' telehealth and stay-at-home policies to those of other states. The majority (85%) of Illinois Early Intervention providers reported a disruption in service provision during COVID-19. The number of sessions delivered and the number of children per caseload decreased significantly. Provider confidence also decreased significantly. Only 28% of providers reported high confidence with telehealth. Identified benefits of telehealth included increased accessibility and caregiver involvement, whereas limitations included perceived lack of caregiver buy-in. New Illinois Early Intervention referrals and cases were lower during COVID-19 than in the previous year. Prior to 2020, 33 states did not have a permanent reimbursement policy for providing telehealth Early Intervention services. For states with a suspension of in-person Early Intervention services due to COVID-19, time to approval for telehealth reimbursement varied (0-22 days). The shift to telehealth in Illinois resulted in decreases in service provision and provider confidence across disciplines. However, providers identified some benefits to telehealth. Telehealth may represent a means to increase Early Intervention accessibility following the pandemic. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.19119539.

The COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on Households of Young Children With Special Healthcare Needs.

ObjectiveThis study examined how the COVID-19 pandemic differently affected households of children with versus without special healthcare needs. We compared caregivers’ and children’s emotional well-being (Aim 1), the utilization of preventive healthcare services for young children (Aim 2), and the promotive effects of social support on well-being outcomes (Aim 3) during the pandemic between the two groups.MethodsData were drawn from an ongoing, large, longitudinal, and national survey that assessed the pandemic impact on households of young children (0–5). Analyses for Aims 1 and 2 were based on 10,572 households, among which 10.96% had children with special healthcare needs. Analyses for Aim 3 were based on a subsample of 821 families, among which 12.54% had children with special healthcare needs.ResultsCaregivers of children with special healthcare needs exhibited more emotional distress and reported higher levels of household children’s behavioral problems during the pandemic. The percentages of missed preventive healthcare visits and vaccinations were also higher in families of children with special healthcare needs due to structural barriers. Lastly, emotional social support was indirectly related to children’s decreased behavioral problems through caregivers’ reduced emotional distress, only among households of children without special healthcare needs. In other words, social support alone was not sufficient in promoting caregivers’ and children’s better well-being outcomes among households of children with special healthcare needs.ConclusionsThe pandemic has caused extensive burdens on families of children with special healthcare needs. Actions from policymakers and early intervention service providers are urgently needed to mitigate these impacts.

Responding to Discriminatory Patient Requests.

Julia is a 13-year-old White adolescent girl who was referred for psychological counseling given concerns related to mood, nonadherence, and adjustment secondary to her new diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. The family lives in a rural town located several hours from the academic medical center where she was diagnosed. After several months on a waitlist, the family was contacted to schedule a telehealth appointment with a predoctoral psychology trainee. When the scheduler informed the mother that her daughter would be scheduled with Ms. Huang, the mother abruptly stopped the conversation stating, "I do not want to waste everyone's time" and initially declined the appointment offered. When the scheduler asked about her hesitance, the mother disclosed previous interactions with doctors at the hospital who were "not born in the United States" that she felt were "textbook" (e.g., smiling even when discussing a new chronic medical condition) and "hard to understand" (i.e., because of different dialect/accent). The mother shared that she found these experiences to be stressful and felt the interactions had negatively affected Julia's care. When informed about the length of the waitlist for another clinician, the mother agreed to initiate services with the trainee.The supervising psychologist shared the mother's concerns and comments with Ms. Huang. After discussion, Ms. Huang agreed to provide intervention services, "as long as the family was willing." During the initial telehealth sessions, Ms. Huang primarily focused on building rapport and strengthening the therapeutic alliance with the family. During this time, Julia's mother was reluctant to incorporate suggested parent management strategies at home. Julia also made minimal improvement in her medical management (i.e., A1c levels remained high), had difficulty using behavioral coping strategies, and experienced ongoing mood symptoms (i.e., significant irritability, sleep difficulties, and depressive symptoms). Ms. Huang began to wonder whether the family's resistance and inability to implement recommendations were in some part because of the family's initial concerns and reluctance to engage in therapy with her as a clinician.Should Ms. Huang address the previously identified concerns with the patient and her family? What should be considered when determining how to approach this situation to ensure provision of both the best care for this patient and support for this trainee?

Technology-mediated professional development for early intervention service providers: connecting adult learning with caregiver support

ABSTRACT High quality, easily accessible professional development is needed to ensure that service providers are well-qualified to facilitate early intervention (EI) that targets caregiver learning during visits with children and families. This research evaluated a multi-component, technology-mediated inservice training course entitled, Using Adult Learning Strategies to Support Caregivers during Early Intervention Visits. This 6-week course included ongoing, embedded support and was provided for nine EI service providers. A mixed methods intervention evaluation was conducted using a within-subjects pre-post-test design to determine the effects of participation on: 1) service providers’ use of four EI adult learning strategies (e.g., reflective conversation, caregiver practice with feedback, collaborative problem-solving, and joint planning); 2) providers’ changes in knowledge about adult learning and how to apply learned strategies; and 3) providers’ perceptions of course effectiveness. Analysis of pre-post videos revealed increases in the use of caregiver practice with feedback and collaborative problem-solving strategies with participation in the course. Participants showed a statistically significant gain in knowledge, with very large effects, especially related to applying adult learning to EI service delivery. All participants rated the overall training as ‘excellent’ and strongly agreed the format was more effective than a single workshop.

Effectiveness–implementation hybrid type 2 study evaluating an intervention to support ‘information work’ in dementia care: an implementation study protocol

IntroductionPatients with long-term conditions consistently report a lack of information around services and support available to them. This unmet need for information is significant among people with dementia and family...

Collaborating across sectors to provide early intervention for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children with disability and their families: a qualitative study of provider perspectives

ABSTRACTAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children experience a higher prevalence of disability than other Australian children. Early intervention from across the health, education, and social service sectors is vital for improving outcomes, but families face lack of coordination between services. This study aimed to inform improvements in service access for families of urban-dwelling Aboriginal children with disability through exploring providers’ perceptions of factors that influenced working together across sectors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. Data analysis was informed by the general inductive approach and the Collaborative Practice to Enhance Patient Care Outcomes framework. Twenty-four providers participated. Interprofessional collaborative practice was influenced by interdependent interactional and organizational factors. Interactional factors fit within one of two dimensions: the ability of providers to share common goals and vision within a complex cross-sector service landscape, and influence of interpersonal relationships on their sense of belonging working in a cross-cultural space. Organizational factors also fit within one of two dimensions: the influence of governance in relation to its role in coordination and unlocking the strength of schools as service settings, and the need to formalize processes for effective interprofessional communication. Interprofessional collaborative practice was managed within the context of systemic factors relating to policy and funding. These findings demonstrate the complex interplay of factors related to the cross-sector involvement of providers in early intervention service provision. Consideration of these factors is required to facilitate collaborative cross-sector responses to improve service access for Aboriginal families.Abbreviations: WHO: world health organization; ACCHS: aboriginal community controlled health service; GP: general practitioner; NDIS: national disability insurance scheme