BackgroundThe effectiveness of paraprofessional home-visitations on improving the circumstances of disadvantaged families is unclear. The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the effectiveness of paraprofessional home-visiting programs on developmental and health outcomes of young children from disadvantaged families.MethodsA comprehensive search of electronic databases (e.g., CINAHL PLUS, Cochrane, EMBASE, MEDLINE) from 1990 through May 2012 was supplemented by reference lists to search for relevant studies. Through the use of reliable tools, studies were assessed in duplicate. English language studies of paraprofessional home-visiting programs assessing specific outcomes for children (0-6 years) from disadvantaged families were eligible for inclusion in the review. Data extraction included the characteristics of the participants, intervention, outcomes and quality of the studies.ResultsStudies that scored 13 or greater out of a total of 15 on the validity tool (n = 21) are the focus of this review. All studies are randomized controlled trials and most were conducted in the United States. Significant improvements to the development and health of young children as a result of a home-visiting program are noted for particular groups. These include: (a) prevention of child abuse in some cases, particularly when the intervention is initiated prenatally; (b) developmental benefits in relation to cognition and problem behaviours, and less consistently with language skills; and (c) reduced incidence of low birth weights and health problems in older children, and increased incidence of appropriate weight gain in early childhood. However, overall home-visiting programs are limited in improving the lives of socially high-risk children who live in disadvantaged families.ConclusionsHome visitation by paraprofessionals is an intervention that holds promise for socially high-risk families with young children. Initiating the intervention prenatally and increasing the number of visits improves development and health outcomes for particular groups of children. Future studies should consider what dose of the intervention is most beneficial and address retention issues.
Of numerous studies conducted over the years examining cohesion in the sport setting, very few have acknowledged that participants are nested within teams, which has resulted in analysis of data at the individual level. Given that members of sport teams are interdependent, valuable information might be lost if constructs such as cohesion are examined only at an individual level. The purpose of this study was to illustrate how multilevel modeling could be used to handle this interdependence among observations within teams when examining the relationship between task cohesion and team satisfaction. Male ice hockey players (N = 194) on 10 teams completed the cohesion and satisfaction measures near the end of the regular season. Using multilevel analysis, task cohesion predicted variance in team task satisfaction at the individual (33%) and group (55%) levels. Results highlight the value of multilevel models as well as extend research finding a relationship between cohesion and individual satisfaction to team satisfaction.
Background: While the benefits of physical activity are generally recognized, over half of adult Canadians are not active enough to receive those benefits. Physicians may influence patient activity through counselling; however, research is inconsistent regarding their effectiveness in doing so. Increasing patients' use of self-regulatory skills in managing their activity and additional telephone support are suggested as two means of improving physician counselling. When assessing the effectiveness of physician counselling, it may be important to measure both outcome and treatment adherence. We compared physician-directed activity counselling (modified PACE protocol) with a modified PACE protocol augmented with telephone-based counselling for patient support for both outcome and treatment adherence. Methods: Physicians counselled 90 patients using a modified PACE protocol that included self-regulatory skills. Physical activity was assessed by questionnaire at baseline (prior to counselling) and one month later. Participants were divided into two groups: counselling (modified PACE counselling) and enhanced counselling (modified PACE counselling plus telephone support). Results: The main outcome (mean energy expenditure) and secondary outcomes of treatment adherence (frequency, frequency of moderate activity, and duration) significantly increased over time (p<0.05). No significant interactions between group and time were found. Interpretation: Our results support the effectiveness of physician counselling for activity that included the use of self-regulation skills. The effectiveness of telephone support over and above that of physician counselling was not supported. Our results demonstrate that assessing treatment adherence provides a means of discerning whether the counselling intervention was delivered as intended.
Background: Options to support adherence with physical activity in moderate-to-severe MS are needed. The primary aim was to evaluate adherence to a web-based, individualized exercise program in moderate-to-severe MS. Secondary aims were to explore changes in MSIS-29, HADS, grip strength, T25FWT, and TUG. Methods: Inclusion criteria were diagnosis of MS, internet access, residing within 300 km of Saskatoon, and exercising less than twice weekly. Participants were randomized (2:1) to a physiotherapist-guided web-based home exercise program or physiotherapist-prescribed written home exercise program. The primary outcome was adherence (number of exercise sessions over 26 weeks). Secondary outcomes were described in terms of means and effect sizes. Results: There were 48 participants: mean age 54.3y (SD 11.9), disease duration 19.5y (SD 11.0) and mean Patient-Determined Disease Steps 4.4 (SD 1.6). There was no significant difference in adherence between groups: web group (mean 38.9, SD 28.1); comparator group (mean 34.6, SD 40.8; U = 198.5, P = .208, Hedges' g 0.13). Nearly 50% of participants (23/48) exercised ≥ twice per week for at least 13 of the 26 weeks. Adherence was highest in the web-based subgroup of wheelchair users. Medium effect sizes were found for HADS - anxiety subscale and in ambulatory participants for TUG. There were no adverse events. Conclusions: There was no difference in exercise adherence between the web-based and active comparator groups. There was no worsening on secondary outcomes or adverse events, supporting the safety of web-based physiotherapy. More research is needed to determine if wheelchair users might be most likely to benefit from web-based physiotherapy.
Empowerment is believed to be an essential element in self-management of disease and the promotion of self-efficacy, and can be defined as the ability of individuals to increase control over aspects of their lives. In contrast, powerlessness in individuals with chronic illness can occur when they perceive that they lack the capacity, authority or resources to affect an outcome. Individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCIs) are at risk for powerlessness and have the potential to become empowered, but these concepts have not been explored within their context. The purpose of this study was to explore how individuals with SCI enact the empowerment process using Lord's (1991) process of empowerment framework. This study used a secondary analysis of a data set obtained from a mixed methods study exploring access to health and social care for 23 persons with SCI in Saskatchewan, Canada. The primary study data were collected from September 2012 to January 2013. The secondary analysis of data utilised a deductive thematic analysis approach and findings were conceptualised and applied to a model that represents the shift in balance between powerlessness and empowerment in individuals with SCI.
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