INTRODUCTIONThe Continuum of Care system1 began several years ago as a research project to study the differences among children placed in various types of out-of-home care, e.g:, foster family care, basic child care, group homes, and residential treatment centers. One of the project's initial goals was to examine the feasibility of developing a computer model of the residential child care senrice delivery system, based on the characteristics of a sample of children admitted to each of the different types of residential care facilities.The statistical technique of discriminant analysis and classification was found to do a better-than-expected job of differentiating children in the individual facilities providing different types of care. Moreover, the model's classifications of individual children into particular facilities were judged by practitioners expert in the field of child placement to be appropriate to the service needs of children.Based on these findings, two software packages were developed to provide child placement practitioners with direct access to this information. The first software package, MATCH, enables practitioners to interactively enter the characteristics of a child in need of residential care and, in seconds, to receive a list of alternative programs for the child, which is rank ordered according to the degree of similarity between the child for whom placement is being sought A. James Schwab and Susan S. Wilson are affiliated with the School of Social Work, The University of Texas at Austin. Downloaded by [University of Toronto Libraries] at 21:33 04 February 2015 124 A CASEBOOK OF COMPUTER APPLICATIONSand other children already admitted to each of the listed programs. The list of alternatives can then be used by the practitioner to selectively apply for admission to those residential programs that are likely to accept the child into placement. Frequently, the list of prospective programs includes alternatives that a practitioner had not already considered.The second software package, PROFILE, provides a comparative analysis of the children accepted into placement at each of the facilities included in the study. PROFILE can be used to identify which facilities accept children with specific characteristics such as low IQ, history of fire-setting, running away or drug abuse.PROFILE has provided valuable feedback to facility administrators who participate in the project, enabling them to-compare the population of youth they serve with youth served in other residential programs. In a number of cases, this information has been used in budget documentation to detail the unique features of a program's service population.MATCH is currently in its third revision and PROFILE is being revised for the second time. Suggestions for revisions and features have come both from practitioners directly and from project staff responsible for training practitioners to use the software. In our experience, many practitioners avoid using the programs directly because of limited skills in touch-typing and lack of fa...
Background: Perinatal women are highly vulnerable to developing mental health issues, and particularly susceptible to a recurrence of psychiatric illness. Poor mental health during the perinatal period can have long-term impacts on the physical and psychiatric health of both mother and child. A potentially useful strategy to improve women’s mental health is through a mobile application teaching mindfulness; an evidence-based technique helping individuals focus on the present moment. Methods: A mixed method, prospective randomised controlled trial. The study group comprise women aged 18 years and over, who are attending the public and private maternity clinics at Mater Mothers’ Hospital. A sample of 360 prenatal women will be randomised into the intervention group (with use of the mindfulness app) or usual care. Participants will remain in the study for 11 months and will be assessed at four timepoints for changes in postnatal depression, mother-infant bonding, and quality of life. A cost-effectiveness evaluation will also be conducted using Quality-Adjusted Life Year (QALY) calculations. A random selection of intervention participants will be invited to attend focus groups to give feedback on the mindfulness app. Discussion: Previous studies have found mindfulness interventions can reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances in a prenatal population. The risks of the intervention are low, but could be of significant benefit for women who are unable to attend face-to-face appointments due to geographical, financial, or time barriers; during endemic or pandemic scenarios; or due to health or mobility issues. Trial registration: This study was approved by the Mater Misericordiae Human Research Ethics Committee (83589). The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) (Trial ID: ACTRN12622001581752).
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.