This article describes a controlled study of92 special educators and related service providers that evaluated the effects of two interventions (a series ofstress-management workshops and a peer-collaboration program) on factors known to be correlated with actual turnover (burnout, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment). Results indicated that improvements on dependent variables occurred as a function of intervention, thus suggesting that the programs show promise as means ofproviding on-the-job support for such professionals at risk ofburnout or exiting the field. In addition, participants perceived the targeted skills and strategies to be practical, valuable ways to prevent or alleviate job burnout.
This article presents an evaluation of a multi-element parent and family support intervention for parents of school-aged persons with severe disabilities. Using an experimental design, we compared two randomly assigned groups of parents: one group received a modest level of support consisting of respite care and case management, and the second group received an intensive intervention that consisted of stress management and parenting skills training, support groups, and additional community-based respite care. Separate MANCOVA analyses were conducted for mothers and fathers. Mothers showed significant improvement on measures of depression and anxiety. Further analysis of the data revealed that a significantly greater number of intensive support group members also achieved clinically significant improvement on measures of anxiety and depression. Fathers participated in smaller numbers than mothers. A power analysis revealed large treatment effects for fathers as well as mothers although, due to the small sample size, the results for fathers were significant at p = 0.07. Analyses of 1-year follow-up data revealed that treatment gains maintained for mothers. We discuss the results and limitations of this study in light of current efforts to create family support services nationwide.
The use of interdisciplinary teams to address human service delivery issues is becoming increasingly common. Complicated problems require the expertise of a variety of specialists from different disciplines, and increased specialization brings with it a heightened needfor interdisciplinary collaboration. While team meetings are expected to serve as the vehicle for successful collaboration among professionals, three barriers often stand in the way of effective team interactions: disorganization, misunderstandings, and problem-solving difficulties. These problems suggest a need for interventions aimed at improving team communication and decision-making processes, as well as a need for methods to observe and evaluate the effects of such interventions on a team's functioning. The purpose of this research was twofold: First, we sought to investigate the effects of an intervention that differentially targeted and trained three sets of group communication and decision-making skills aimed at addressing the three barriers mentioned above. A second goal was to develop new methods of observation that would overcome several serious limitations which have characterized the bulk of existing team intervention research. An interdisciplinary rehabilitation clinic's staff served as the subject of the study. Using a multiple baseline design across categories of behaviors, the effects of a three-part intervention on the team's day-to-day meeting behavior was assessed. While there was substantial variability and overlap in much of the data, videotaped observations revealed that following each training session, there were modest increases in the average frequency of use of most targeted behaviors. Social validation data indicated that team members found the training to be both useful and enjoyable. Implications forfuture research are discussed.
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