The U. S. criminal justice system has used risk assessment tools in an effort to reduce recidivism and risk assessment tools are now commonplace. Correctional organizations, however, have struggled with officers' resistance to these tools in spite of the evidence for their utility. There is limited research that explores the impact of resistance to organizational change within the context of correctional agencies. To address that gap, this correlational study used organizational change theory to examine officers' resistance to the use of risk assessment tools based on officers' opinions of the risk assessment tool being used in North Carolina. Data were collected through an online survey of 109 North Carolina probation and parole officers. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to examine the statistical relationship between officer use of risk assessment tools and the dependent variables which included officers' opinions of the risk assessment tool, knowledge of risk assessments, training for use of risk assessments, risk assessments in the sentencing process, and officers' length of time employed. Findings indicated that opinions of the risk assessment tool and training to use the tool statistically impact officers' use of the tool in daily supervision of offenders. Organizational change theory predicted these findings as officers' resistance to policy change was manifested in their opinions of that policy. Implications for positive social change include recommendations for corrections agencies to refine training regarding risk assessments in efforts to minimize officer resistance of properly applying risk assessment tools in daily job duties with the intended outcome of reducing recidivism, and therefore preventing future harms to the community.

The strategic prevention framework (SPF) is a data-driven operating system to assist designing evidence-based substance abuse prevention programs. The study performed here was to assess the effectiveness of the SPF as a prevention planning system. One purpose of this study was to determine the implementation fidelity of the programs that used the SPF process; the other purpose was to assess effectiveness of the SPF process. This study utilized a set of data collected by the national cross site evaluation team on all jurisdictions that implemented the SPF. A subset of communities collected and reported at least 2 pre-implementation and at least 2 post implementation outcomes data. The minimum sample size for the study was determined by using Cohen's d criteria. The assessments were performed using both qualitative and quantitative methods by using data collected from multiple levels with a quasi-experimental design. The qualitative data were analyzed using qualitative software with key word searches to examine implementation processes, and the quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential methods such as Student t tests to examine and compare outcomes. Results show that the communities in the study implemented the SPF process with fidelity and that there were changes in desired directions. Factors related to improvements include sufficient internal resources and monitoring follow-through. This research has important implications for social change since substance abuse is a major social issue that has consequences across life span. Recent studies have shown that many behavioral problems have similar risk factors and that improvements for some behavioral problems will most likely have beneficial effects on other related problems.

Background: To date, little attention has focused on what the factors are and how Best Practice Guidelines (BPGs) are sustained in acute care over time. Problem: For ten years, a multi-site acute care center supported the use of a Pain Assessment and Management Policy and Protocol (Pain P/P), placing the decision to use it with point of care nurses. Despite early implementation success, the nursing department identified an evidence-based gap on Medicine care units. Purpose: To (i) identify factors influencing nurses’ use (or not) of the Pain P/P over time, and ten years post-implementation; (ii) examine related knowledge translation interventions (KTIs) used over time, and ten years post-implementation; (iii) validate unit nurses’ use of the Pain P/P ten years post-implementation; and (iv) identify relevant sustainability frameworks/models/theories (F/M/Ts), constructs and factors for sustained use of BPGs in acute care. Methodology: A case study of an organization-wide nursing BPG was conducted ten years following initial implementation using mixed methods guided by the Dynamic Sustainability Framework (Chambers, 2013). The case study setting was a 1122 bed acute care center in Canada. I examined BPG sustainability at the (corporate) department and unit levels (two embedded subcases). Data sources included 19 informant interviews (3-corporate, 16-unit level), 200 chart audits (100/subcase), and 29 documents. I concurrently conducted a systematic review to identify sustainability concepts and factors for use in acute care to compare case study results. Results: I identified 7 constructs, 49 factors, and 29 KTIs influencing sustained use of evidence-base practices (EBPs) in acute care. Three factors and eight KTIs had a continuous influence during implementation and sustained use phases. Findings confirm the concept of sustainability is a dynamic ‘process’ or ‘ongoing phase’. Conclusions: This thesis provides a novel resource to support future practice and research aimed at sustaining EBPs to improve nursing practice and related patient outcomes. Attention to the level of application and changing conditions over time impacting factors that influence EBP use is required for sustainment. Use of a participatory approach to engage users in designing remedial plans and link KTIs to target behaviors that incrementally address low adherence rates promotes sustainability.

The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes and beliefs of art therapists towards Evidence-Based Practices (EBP). EBP is a rising trend in healthcare that refers to the process of using empirically validated research to make clinical decisions that best meet the needs of each client (Patterson, Miller, Carnes & Wilson, 2004).The investigators used a mixed methods approach to the research topic. Part A consists of a survey distributed to graduates of the Department of Marital and Family Therapy (MFT) at Loyola Marymount University (LMU). In addition to answering questions, survey participants were asked to create an art response depicting their perspective on the relationship between art therapy and EBP. In the second phase (Part B), the researchers used an arts-based methodology to further explore the findings from Part A. Part B involved the creation of key idea cards pulled from the literature review and the findings, individual art responses by each investigator, and verbal and written analyses of the content and process. The idea that art therapists are already integrating EBP and art therapy in their practices emerged as the major finding of the research. This realization that clinicians are already at the intersection of EBP and art therapy was a contrast to the cautious divided attitudes that were discovered in the literature review. Further research could not only strengthen the evidence base of art therapy, but also illuminate how exactly therapists have managed to bridge the gap between EBP and art therapy.

Due to a multitude of convergent circumstances, students labeled in the disability category of emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) experience high rates of academic and behavioral failure. Such failure frequently leads to the students’ dropping out of school, involvement in the judicial system, or a combination of those outcomes. Science is an academic content area that has the potential to enhance behavioral and academic success of students with EBD. Researchers, nonprofits, and business leaders have provided an impetus for nationwide reform in science education. Concurrently, a corpus of legislation has influenced the preparation of new teachers to use evidence-based teaching practices while addressing the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. Using technology is one way that teacher educators are providing in-vivo learning experiences to new teachers during their classroom instruction. A multiple-baseline across-participants research study was used to examine the effectiveness of providing immediate feedback (within three seconds) to novice general science educators to increase their use of an evidence-based teaching strategy, known as a three-term contingency (TTC) trial while they taught. Feedback was delivered via Bug-in-the-Ear (BIE) technology and during whole-class instruction in which students with EBD were included. The teacher participants wore a Bluetooth earpiece, which served as a vehicle for audio communication with the investigator. Teachers were observed via web camera over the Adobe®ConnectTM online conferencing platform. During the intervention, teachers increased iv their percentage of completed TTC trials, opportunities to respond, and praise or error correction. Student responses also increased, and maladaptive behaviors decreased.

The role of transition providers' knowledge of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in secondary transition can only be understood in the context of the dismal post-secondary outcomes of students with disabilities (SWD) and the need for bridging the research-to-practice gap among secondary transition practitioners. A sample of 1,163 Texas Employment Designees (TEDs) were surveyed about their knowledge of secondary transition EBPs. The study examined the psychometric properties and theoretical factor structure fit of a modified version of the Mazzotti and Plotner's Use of Secondary Transition EBPs survey and identified significant effects of TEDs' characteristics on their capacity for implementing secondary transition EBPs (F(9, 110) = 2.16, p = 0.03). Psychometric validation of the instrument indicated overall reliability and internal consistency of the modified instrument in measuring both knowledge and use of EBPs in support and direct provision of transition services (Cronbach's alpha of 0.99). Principal components analysis (PCA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) returned a simple one-factor structure. A composite score was developed for the single factor of "capacity", and a subsequent analysis was conducted to determine a relationship between the demographic factors and the overall capacity scores of respondents (n = 198). Study limitations and need for further research are discussed.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T13:17:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Efezio de Siqueira Gimenes Junior.pdf: 763293 bytes, checksum: 48eeaa8253a3627835c383c1bc471549 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-04 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / While there are a lot of applied researches focused in teaching different behaviors to people with autism, few of these studies have as focus safety behaviors. After identify studies that taught safety behaviors, this review had as objective, to identify variables responsible for the effectiveness in procedures to teach safety behavior for such people. Studies focused on safety behavior instruction were selected of databases Portal periódicos CAPES, ERIC, PubMed, PsycNET, Wiley Online Library and Science Direct, the main keywords used were autism and safety, were found 36 articles, and after a extensive lecture of references, were found three thesis and dissertations, which added are equal to 39 studies. The results indicated that more than a half of the studies were published between the years of 2008 and 2015 in North American institutions, indicating a tendency of interest in the topic on recent years, especially, about elopement. Of 39 studies, 34 were applied researches and in 32 of these was used single subject design, although there were limitations on the stability criteria in the baseline, even when studies were published in JABA. The main target behaviors studied were elopement, which were specially studied in the recent years, pedestrian behaviors and prevention of lures for strangers. The major participants with autism were children and adolescents from 2 to 15 years. In 36 studies were used 22 evidence-based practices, combined in various ways; the most common practices was reinforcement, prompting, discrete trail and functional analysis. In conclusion, in 36 studies where evidence-based practices were used, were changes in the behavior of the participants after the intervention, however there are limitations on the target behavior generalization planning and the extent of follow-up after completion of the intervention / Embora haja grande quantidade de pesquisas aplicadas dirigidas a ensinar diferentes comportamentos a pessoas com autismo, poucas destas pesquisas tiveram como foco o ensino de comportamentos de segurança. Na presente revisão, após a identificação de estudos que ensinavam comportamentos de segurança, teve-se como objetivo identificar variáveis responsáveis pela eficácia de procedimentos de ensino de tais comportamentos para esse público-alvo. Foram selecionados trabalhos que pretenderam ensinar comportamentos de segurança nas bases de dados Portal periódicos CAPES, ERIC, PubMed, PsycNET, Willey Online Library e Science Direct e os principais descritores utilizados foram autism e safety. Foram encontrados 36 relatos de pesquisa, e o esgotamento bibliográfico permitiu identificar três teses e dissertações, que somados, totalizaram 39 estudos. Os resultados indicaram que mais da metade dos estudos publicados o foram entre os anos de 2008 e 2015 e seus autores estavam filiados a instituições norte americanas, indicando uma tendência de interesse no tema nos últimos anos. Dos 39 trabalhos, 34 eram pesquisas aplicadas e em 32 delas foi utilizado um delineamento de sujeito único, embora houvesse limitações nos critérios de estabilidade da linha de base, mesmo quando os estudos foram publicações do periódico JABA. Os principais comportamentos-alvo estudados foram afastar-se de uma área sem supervisão de um cuidador, que foi especialmente investigado nos últimos anos, o comportamento de pedestre e de prevenção da aproximação de estranhos potencialmente perigosos, majoritariamente com participantes crianças e adolescentes dos 2 aos 15 anos. Os procedimentos de ensino utilizados combinaram diferentes práticas baseadas em evidências, derivadas da análise do comportamento e as principais foram reforçamento, hierarquia de dicas, tentativa discreta e análise funcional. Concluiu-se que em todos os 36 estudos em que foram utilizadas práticas baseadas em evidências houve mudanças substanciais no comportamento dos participantes após a intervenção, embora houvesse limitações quanto ao planejamento da generalização do comportamento-alvo e da medida de sua manutenção após o término da intervenção

Poor post-school outcomes for young adults with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have underscored the need to gain insight into the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in the planning and implementation of transition services. EBPs for effective transition planning and implementation have been documented in the literature but do not appear to be fully utilized in practice to achieve desired student outcomes, reflecting a research-to-practice gap. EBPs have the potential to produce positive outcomes at the high school level, if implemented with fidelity. Special education personnel, especially administrators, play a vital and unique role in transition planning. They can either facilitate or hinder the process. This phenomenological study investigated the perceptions of public school administrators regarding the extent of their awareness of EBPs to ensure the successful transition of students with ASD and associated barriers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 secondary-level public school administrators. Major themes identified through analyzing the qualitative data included (a) a positive vision for students with ASD, (b) characteristics of a good transition program, (c) administrators' roles in the transition process, (d) barriers to EBP implementation, (e) strategies to reduce barriers, and (f) ownership of what administrators can do to remedy the problem. Lastly, the study generated recommendations to assist school districts with improving transition services for students with ASD.

[pt] O presente estudo buscou identificar o conhecimento dos professores da Educação Infantil sobre Transtorno do Espectro Autista (TEA) e sobre Práticas Baseadas em Evidências (PBE) e a sua relação com as crenças de autoeficácia docente quanto ao trabalho com crianças com TEA. Os participantes da pesquisa foram 76 professoras regentes e adjuntas que atuam em Espaços de Desenvolvimento Infantil e/ou creches municipais do Rio de Janeiro. Trata-se de um estudo com delineamento quantitativo-qualitativo, no qual, além do questionário de caracterização dos participantes, foram utilizados a Escala de Autoeficácia para Professores de Alunos com Autismo (ASSET) e o questionário sobre Transtorno do Espectro Autista e de Práticas Baseadas em Evidências, com questões abertas e fechadas. Os instrumentos foram disponibilizados via formulário on-line, pela plataforma Google Formos, para que as professoras respondessem em um único momento. Os achados foram analisados em duas etapas: codificação das respostas abertas do questionário de TEA e PBE, de modo a gerar escores brutos da pontuação dos professores; e análises estatísticas dos escores brutos da escala ASSET e do conhecimento sobre TEA e PBE. Os resultados foram discutidos à luz do referencial teórico apresentando sobre conhecimento dos professores sobre autismo, PBE e autoeficácia docente. De uma maneira geral, os resultados referentes ao conhecimento sobre TEA apontaram que as professoras conhecem parcialmente e de forma limitada os aspectos que envolvem a definição e as características do transtorno. Em relação ao conhecimento sobre PBE, os resultados apontaram para o uso frequente de práticas comuns à rotina da sala de aula da Educação Infantil e, apesar de algumas participantes terem citado práticas que se encaixam em PBE e relatarem conhecer as práticas citadas nas perguntas fechadas, demonstraram não conhecer o que são PBE. No que se refere à crença de autoeficácia e ao conhecimento sobre TEA, os resultados apontaram que não existe correlação entre eles; ou seja, o nível do conhecimento teórico sobre o TEA não está relacionado a quanto o professor se sente capaz para lidar com esses alunos. Em contrapartida, existe uma correlação positiva e fraca entre a autoeficácia e o conhecimento sobre PBE, na qual observou-se que os professores que demonstraram se sentir mais confiantes, com maior crença de autoeficácia, tendem a conhecer práticas com evidências científicas. Estudos futuros que busquem verificar a existência de uma correlação entre o que os professores declararam ser capazes de realizar com alunos com TEA e o que de fato está presente nas suas práticas, podem ampliar os achados da presente pesquisa. Soma-se a isso a utilização de instrumentos mais robustos para verificar as fontes que estão envolvidas nas crenças de autoeficácia, de modo a identificar o quanto de esforço e empenho os docentes demandam para que suas práticas inclusivas com esses alunos aconteçam. Por fim, entendemos que uma das contribuições do nosso trabalho é enfatizar a escassez de instrumentos robustos para a identificação do conhecimento dos professores sobre TEA e PBE, além de apontar a importância de se pensar em programas de capacitação em serviço para os docentes que atuam em escolas de Educação Infantil, com o foco no conhecimento teórico e prático sobre o TEA que envolvam fontes de autoeficácia, como também evidenciar a urgência de políticas públicas que respaldem e orientem os professores quanto ao uso de PBE. / [en] This study sought to identify the knowledge of early childhood education teachers about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Evidence-Based Practices (EBP) and their relationship to teachers self-efficacy beliefs about working with children with ASD. The research participants were 76 regular and adjunct teachers who work in child development spaces and municipal daycare centers in Rio de Janeiro. It is a quantitative-qualitative study in which, in addition to the participant characterization questionnaire, we used the Likert-type Self-Efficacy Scale for Teachers of Students with Autism (ASSET) and the questionnaire on ASD and EBP, with open and closed questions. The instruments were made available via online form, through the Google Forms platform, for the teachers to answer in a single moment. The findings were analyzed in two stages: coding of the open-ended responses of the ASSET and EBP questionnaire to generate raw scores of the teachers scores; and statistical analyses of the raw scores of the ASSET scale and knowledge about ASSET and EBP. They were discussed in light of the theoretical framework presenting teachers knowledge about autism, PBE, and teachers sense of self-efficacy. In general, the results regarding knowledge about ASD indicated that our sample had partial and limited knowledge about the aspects involving the definition and characteristics of the disorder. Concerning the awareness about EBP, the results pointed to the frequent use of standard practices in the routine of the early childhood education classroom, and although some participants cited practices that fit into EBP and reported knowing the practices mentioned in the closed questions, the knowledge about EBP was low in our sample. Concerning the sense of self-efficacy and knowledge about ASD, the results indicated no correlation between them; that is, the level of theoretical knowledge about ASD is not related to how much the teacher feels able to deal with these students. In return, there is a positive and weak correlation between self-efficacy and knowledge about EBP, in which it was observed that teachers who felt more confident, with more self-efficacy beliefs, tended to know practices with scientific evidence. Future studies that seek to verify the existence of a correlation between what teachers claimed to be able to do with students with ASD and what is present in their practices may expand the findings of this research. In addition, more robust instruments should be used to verify the sources involved in self-efficacy beliefs and to identify how much effort and commitment teachers demand to make their inclusive practices with these students happen. Finally, we believe that one of the contributions of our work is to emphasize the scarcity of robust instruments to identify teachers knowledge about ASD and EBP and to point out the importance of thinking about in-service training programs for teachers who work in early childhood education schools, focusing on theoretical and practical knowledge about ASD, involving sources of self-efficacy. In addition, it highlights the urgency of public policies that support and guide teachers regarding EBP.

Les guides de pratique sont généralement définis comme des guides élaborés par une méthode systématique pour aider les praticiens et les patients à prendre des décisions concernant les soins de santé appropriés. Utilisés pour améliorer les pratiques, orienter les soins et diminuer les coûts, ils jouent un rôle de plus en plus central dans le système de santé et des services sociaux. Toutefois, ceux-ci présentent de nombreux défis, que ce soit au niveau de la qualité de leur contenu ou de leur utilisation par les intervenants. Afin de brosser un portrait de la situation des guides de pratique dans le domaine de la psychoéducation, deux études ont été réalisées. La première a pour objectif d’approfondir notre compréhension de la qualité des guides de pratique de l’Ordre des psychoéducateurs et psychoéducatrices du Québec (OPPQ). Celle- ci est constituée de deux volets : une évaluation quantitative de la qualité de ces guides avec la grille AGREE II et une évaluation qualitative de leur qualité à partir de la perception des psychoéducateurs concernant de tels guides, leur définition, leurs objectifs et leurs caractéristiques. Les résultats indiquent que les guides en psychoéducation offrent des informations claires et simples d’utilisation. Toutefois, ils présentent également des lacunes importantes dans plusieurs aspects : la rigueur d’élaboration, la participation des groupes concernés, l’applicabilité et l’indépendance éditoriale. De plus, d’autres critères spécifiques à la psychoéducation dont l’intégration des modèles théoriques, la sensibilisation des clients et des collègues, la précision des cadres légaux, sont nécessaires. Ces résultats permettent d’ores et déjà d’émettre des recommandations pour l’évaluation des guides de pratique en psychoéducation, l’amélioration de la qualité des guides actuels de l’OPPQ et assurer la qualité des guides futurs de l’OPPQ. La deuxième étude vise à mieux comprendre les facteurs personnels et environnementaux favorisant l’utilisation des guides par les psychoéducateurs. Nous avons effectué une recherche à devis mixte constituée de deux volets : 1- évaluation quantitative des facteurs influençant l’utilisation des guides de pratique à partir des réponses de 386 psychoéducateurs au questionnaire d’utilisation des connaissances (QUC ; en ligne) et 2- évaluation qualitative des mêmes facteurs à partir de la perception de 18 psychoéducateurs rencontrés individuellement, en ligne, après leur participation au premier volet. Il ressort des deux analyses qu’il est difficile d’isoler un facteur unique déterminant l’utilisation des guides de pratique. Celle-ci est plutôtexpliquée par un ensemble de facteurs en relation dynamique et complexe. L’analyse de régression logistique semble faire ressortir le rôle central des variables mesurant les opinions des intervenants sur les connaissances issues de la recherche. De plus, les résultats qualitatifs obtenus mettent de l’avant un ensemble d’autres éléments personnels et environnementaux, notamment le rôle de la formation dans l’utilisation des guides. Une meilleure connaissance de ces variables peut offrir des pistes pour favoriser l’utilisation des guides, notamment des recommandations pour la formation des psychoéducateurs. Les résultats des deux études permettent de dégager des recommandations complémentaires autant pour l’amélioration de l’utilisation des guides en psychoéducation que pour le développement de futurs outils de transfert de connaissances. En particulier, ils permettent d’identifier les caractéristiques principales pour développer des outils informatiques d’aide à la décision qui répondent spécifiquement aux besoins des psychoéducateurs. Ce point est d’autant plus important, étant donné l’augmentation importante de ces outils dans le domaine psychosocial dans les dernières années. / Practice guidelines are typically defined as guides developed using a systematic method to assist practitioners and patients in making informed health care decisions. They are used to improve practices, direct patient care and reduce costs, and are playing an increasingly pivotal role in the health care and social services system. The guidelines have many shortcomings, however, both in terms of quality and use by practitioners. Two studies were conducted to provide a picture of the current situation regarding practice guidelines in psychoeducation. The purpose of the first study was to gain a deeper understanding of the quality of the practice guidelines developed by the Ordre des psychoéducateurs et psychoéducatrices du Québec (OPPQ) [Quebec order of psychoeducators]. The study consisted of two parts: a quantitative assessment of the quality of the guidelines using AGREE II; and a qualitative assessment of their quality based on psychoeducators' perceptions of them, as well as their definition, objectives and characteristics. The results indicate that the psychoeducation guidelines provide clear, easy-to-follow information. However, they also have significant shortcomings, in several respects: thoroughness of guideline development, stakeholder involvement, applicability and editorial independence. Additional criteria specific to psychoeducation are also needed, including the integration of theoretical models, client and colleague awareness, and the detailed definition of legal frameworks. Based on these results, recommendations can already be made for assessing psychoeducational practice guidelines, improving the quality of the current OPPQ guidelines and ensuring the quality of OPPQ guidelines in the future. The second study was designed to better understand the personal and environmental factors that promote guideline use by psychoeducators. We conducted a mixed-methods study that had two components: (1) a quantitative assessment of the factors influencing the use of practice guidelines, based on the responses of 386 psychoeducators to a level of knowledge use survey (KUS; online); and (2) a qualitative assessment of these same factors, based on the perceptions of 18 psychoeducators met individually, online, following their participation in the first component. The two analyses revealed that it is difficult to isolate one single factor that determines the use of practice guidelines. Whether guidelines are followed is instead explained by a set of factors in a dynamic and complex relationship. It does appear that personal and environmental variables influence this use. The logistic regression analysis, highlight the central role of variables measuring the opinions of professionals on the knowledge resultingfrom the research. In addition, the qualitative results obtained highlight a series of other personal and environmental elements, and especially the role of training in practice guideline use. Greater knowledge of these variables may suggest ways to increase guideline use in the future, and especially recommendations for psychoeducator training. Based on the results of the two studies, complementary recommendations can be formulated for improving psychoeducational guideline use and for developing future knowledge transfer tools. Most notably, the findings point to the main characteristics required to develop computer-based decision support tools that meet the specific needs of psychoeducators. This is especially important given the significant increase in the use of these tools in the psychosocial field in recent years.