Session presented on Monday, November 9, 2015: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a pilot project designed to assist student learning by incorporating weekly post-lecture quizzes intended to increase the spacing time of studying. Numerous studies have reported the positive effect that test-enhanced learning (TEL) has on the long-term retention of information, or what is known as the testing effect, and that it is an effective teaching/learning strategy. We hypothesized that weekly quizzes would increase the frequency and time that a student spent studying lecture material and that the result would be better long-term retention of information and increased grades. Using a pretest-posttest study design, we used three retrospective sets of data from second semester baccalaureate nursing students for fall 2013 (n = 75) and spring 2014 (n = 105). Data gathered included: the Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI) Registered Nurse Content Mastery Exam for Fundamentals; the number of students with a grade of <75 prior to the final exam; and the number of students that failed the course. Standard teaching/learning strategies were used fall 2013 (pretest group), while TEL was implemented in spring 2014 (posttest group). For the pretest group's ATI scores, there were 6 (6%) Level 3, 61 (58%) Level 2, 13 (17%) Level 1, and 1 (<1%) below Level 1. For the posttest group's ATI scores, there were 18 (23%) Level 3, 46 (59%) Level 2, 13 (17%) Level 1, and no students below Level 1. There were 52 (50%) students with a grade <75 before the final exam in the pretest group, and 6 (8%) students in the posttest group. A total of 6 (6%) students failed the course in the pretest group, compared to 5 (6%) in the posttest group. The findings indicate that TEL is an effective teaching/learning strategy that had a positive impact on the retention of course material. Limitations include that the study was not randomized, used a small sample size, was conducted at a single institution, and in a single course. Additional research is needed to determine the effectiveness of TEL in other settings and courses.

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Recent developments in public debate, health policy, and research on nontraditional families have brought gay-parent families, especially gay fathers, into the cultural and political spotlight. Existing research and literature on LGBT families and gay fatherhood have emphasized relationship dynamics within the families but there are gaps in the literature regarding the health and well-being of these families, specifically as it relates to health insurance. Using symbolic interactionism, life course theory, and grounded theory methodology, I conducted a qualitative pilot study to investigate gay fathers\' health insurance experiences. I collected responses from 10 White, gay fathers across the United States and asked questions about access to health insurance, the process of providing insurance for their families, access and use of community resources, and unique factors of their health insurance story. This research adds to the same-sex parent knowledge based by (a) gaining an understanding of the family decisions gay fathers make around health insurance, (b) identifying obstacles and subsequent solutions to health insurance problems, (c) discussing issues of disclosure and outness in gay father families, and (d) uncovering continued gender associations with the division of labor. This study has more broad implications for theoretical concepts like intersectionality and agency, but also provides insights into policy inequalities that continue in the United States. / Master of Science

BACKGROUND: Professional interpreters improve care for limited English proficient patients but are underused. Study Design: Mixed methods study evaluating effectiveness and implementation of a rooming protocol to screen patients for language needs and call interpreters OBJECTIVE: Examine barriers and facilitators to protocol implementation and effectiveness to increase interpreter use METHODS: Provider surveys explored baseline and post-implementation attitudes. Simple and multiple logistic regression analyses examined the impact of practicing in the pilot clinics versus comparison clinics on post-implementation responses. Medical Assistants and providers were interviewed regarding barriers and facilitators to implementation. Interview analysis used modified grounded theory. Trends in the number of telephone interpreter calls were examined to determine protocol effectiveness. RESULTS: Context themes included having established teams and workflows; transitioning to a new interpreter vendor; and challenges incorporating the workflow, including providers’ tardiness and clinic understaffing. Evidence themes included beliefs that the protocol improved the patient experience but otherwise mixed responses; preferring live interpreters; and limited buy-in to language screening. Facilitation themes included Medical Assistants needing more support. Providers in the pilot clinics versus comparison clinics had significantly higher odds of positive responses on post-implementation survey questions regarding satisfaction with care (OR 5.3) and communication (OR 6.7). Implementation did not increase the number of telephone interpreter calls in the pilot clinics. CONCLUSION: Ineffectiveness of the protocol was likely due to inconsistent implementation. The protocol may improve patient care but context limited implementation success. The limited buy-in to language screening raises questions about how to better identify patient language needs. / 2019-11-08T00:00:00Z

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Pilot studies, a subset of feasibility studies, are essential in determining the feasibility of a larger study. This is especially true when targeting populations that are difficult to recruit, such as people with HIV. Designing high quality pilot studies can help limit waste by informing researchers how to proceed. We conducted a meta-epidemiological review of pilot studies in the HIV literature published until November 25, 2020 using Medline, Embase and Cochrane Controlled Register of Trials (CENTRAL). We extracted bibliometric information, including the region and income of the country where the study was conducted, study design, using the pilot label, source of funding, nature of intervention, whether feasibility was the primary objective, progression criteria, protocol registration and sample size estimation. We used descriptive analysis to evaluate how pilot studies are designed and conducted, the outcomes assessed and how are they defined. Our search retrieved 10,597 studies, of which 248 were included in our final review. The number of pilot studies has increased with time, with 25, 55, and 44 HIV studies published in 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively. We found that 128 studies (70.39%) used the pilot or feasibility labels in their title, however 20.31% used these titles interchangeably. 5 studies in this review included progression criteria, all of which were published in 2020. Sample size estimation was only found in 59 studies (23.9%). Pilot studies in the HIV literature are mislabeled. Sample size estimations are seldom included, and progression criteria are used. Formal guidance on the design and reporting of pilot studies in the HIV literature is necessary. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Pilot studies are important in evaluating whether planned larger studies can be conducted. They are particularly useful in the field of HIV where participants may be hard to identify and recruit. However, there are few instructions on how pilot studies in HIV should be designed. We searched the literature to see the current state of HIV pilot studies, including how they are designed, and their findings reported. We found that pilot studies are becoming more popular in the HIV field. However, there were gaps in how these studies are designed and reported. Studies were often mislabeled as pilots when they were not, the pilot study criteria were applied inconsistently and the outcomes that were evaluated were often poorly defined and their information poorly presented. Pilot studies in HIV can be reported better.

In this mockumentary sitcom, we follow the workers of a coffee shop as they juggle their mundane life with their goals for life in Los Angeles.