Programs and Communities
The collection collates collections by schools, centers, programs, and research groups.
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- Creators: Ohri-Vachaspati, Punam
- Creators: Mihaleva, Galina
- Creators: Guthery, Ann
Abstract
Objective: To assess the attitudes and knowledge of behavioral health technicians (BHTs)
towards opioid overdose management and to assess the effect of online training on opioid
overdose response on BHTs’ attitudes and knowledge, and the confidence to identify and
respond to opioid overdose situations.
Design/Methods: Pre-intervention Opioid Overdose Knowledge Scale (OOKS) and Opioid
Overdose Attitude Scale (OOAS) surveys were administered electronically to five BHTs in
2020. Data obtained were de-identified. Comparisons between responses to pre-and post-surveys questions were carried out using the standardized Wilcoxon signed-rank statistical test(z). This study was conducted in a residential treatment center (RTC) with the institutional review board's approval from Arizona State University. BHTs aged 18 years and above, working at this RTC were included in the study.
Interventions: An online training was provided on opioid overdose response (OOR) and
naloxone administration and on when to refer patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) for
medication-assisted treatment.
Results: Compared to the pre-intervention surveys, the BHTs showed significant improvements
in attitudes on the overall score on the OOAS (mean= 26.4 ± 13.1; 95% CI = 10.1 - 42.7; z =
2.02; p = 0.043) and significant improvement in knowledge on the OOKS (mean= 10.6 ± 6.5;
95% CI = 2.5 – 18.7; z =2.02, p = 0.043).
Conclusions and Relevance: Training BHTs working in an RTC on opioid overdose response is
effective in increasing attitudes and knowledge related to opioid overdose management. opioid
overdose reversal in RTCs.
Keywords: Naloxone, opioid overdose, overdose education, overdose response program
Childhood traumatic experiences are a prevalent public health issue. Children exposed to trauma often exhibit behaviors that make educating them challenging. Preschool teachers at a southwestern United States preschool receive no training related to childhood trauma and resilience. The purpose of this project was to educate preschool teachers on trauma and resilience to improve attitude related to educating children with trauma.
Following Arizona State University Internal Review Board approval, preschool teachers were recruited from a non-profit metropolitan preschool. Project included two pre-training questionnaires (Adult Resilience Measure-Revised [ARM-R] and Attitudes Related to Trauma Informed Care scale [ARTIC]), one two-hour training via Zoom on childhood trauma and resilience, and post-training ARTIC questionnaire at two and six weeks.
Seven teachers (n=7) participated in pre-training questionnaires, and three of these teachers (n=3) participated in both post-training questionnaires. All participating teachers were female and Caucasian. Average age of participants was 49.43 years (SD=8.40, range 36-60), and experience average was 17.17 years (SD=10.15, range 3-30). AMR-R average score was 72.29 (SD=8.28, range 61-83). Pre-training ARTIC score average was 3.87 (SD=0.16). Post-training ARTIC scores at two weeks and six weeks post-training were 3.65 (SD=0.22) and 3.86 (SD=0.25).
Clinical significance included improved teacher awareness of childhood trauma and improved ability to interact with children exposed to trauma. Teachers exhibited high resilience scores. Additional research needed related to further address educating preschool teachers related to trauma informed care, related to building resilience in children, and related to the impact of teacher resilience on trauma informed care.
Keywords: teacher training, adverse childhood experiences, ACEs, childhood trauma, resilience
As of May 2022, there have been more than 80 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the United States, and over two million cases in Arizona. The pandemic has had a devastating impact on local, national, and global economies. This brief features the findings from data collected from a survey administered to Arizona residents in April of 2021, as well as national statistics, to understand some of the economic consequences of COVID-19 and its impacts on Arizona households.
We surveyed a diverse group of Arizona residents, including over 2,300 parents of school-age children and nearly 1,300 members of the school community, consisting of teachers, lunchroom staff, school administrators, and other school employees. Respondents represented a wide range of racial, economic, educational, and political backgrounds. A more detailed report of methods and results will be shared on the Arizona Food Bank Network’s website in January 2023.
Under current United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines, Arizona schools participating in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program are reimbursed for the meals they serve students through federal dollars and co-pays from student families. For this analysis, our goal was to estimate the cost to the State of Arizona if the breakfast and lunch co-pays for students that qualify for reduced-price meals were covered by the state.
The epidemic of overweight and obesity and its multiple causes have captured the attention of researchers, program administrators, politicians, and the public alike. Recently, many stakeholder groups have started investigating the role that food and nutrition assistance programs play in the etiology of the problem and in identifying possible solutions. As a result, policy changes have been recommended and implemented for programs such as the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to improve the nutritional quality of foods they offer to their participants. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is also attracting attention as a potential vehicle to reduce the burden of obesity among its users. Because of the tough economic and political climate in which all federal programs currently operate, the need for making nutrition assistance programs more efficient and effective in addressing health and nutrition related problems affecting the country has never been greater.
This document proposes a set of strategies to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of SNAP. These strategies are based on a review of research literature, recommendations from expert groups, and the experiences of other communities and states. We include information that pertains to potential stakeholder arguments for and against each strategy, as well as the political feasibility, financial impact, and logistical requirements for implementation. We drew candidate strategies from the range of options that have been tested through research and from policies that have been implemented around the country. The order of strategies in this document is based on overall strength of supportive research, as well as political and implementation feasibility. The four proposed strategies are improving access to healthy foods to provide better choices, incentivizing the purchase of healthy foods, restricting access to unhealthy foods, and maximizing education to more effectively reach a larger population of SNAP participants.
The New Jersey Childhood Obesity Study was designed to provide vital information for planning, implementing, and evaluating interventions aimed at preventing childhood obesity in five New Jersey municipalities: Camden, Newark, New Brunswick, Trenton, and Vineland. These five communities are being supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids program to plan and implement policy and environmental change strategies to prevent childhood obesity. Effective interventions for addressing childhood obesity require community-specific information on
who is most at risk and on contributing factors that can be addressed through tailored interventions that meet the needs of the community. Based on comprehensive research, a series of reports are being prepared for each community to assist in planning effective interventions.
The main components of the study were:
• A household telephone survey of 1700 families with 3–18 year old children,
• De-identified heights and weights measured at public schools,
• Assessment of the food and physical activity environments using objective data.
This report presents the results from the household survey. Reports based on school body mass index (BMI) data and food and physical activity environment data are available at www.cshp.rutgers.edu/childhoodobesity.htm.
The New Jersey Childhood Obesity Study was designed to provide vital information for planning, implementing, and evaluating interventions aimed at preventing childhood obesity in five New Jersey municipalities: Camden, Newark, New Brunswick, Trenton, and Vineland. These five communities are being supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s New Jersey Partnership for Healthy Kids program to plan and implement policy and environmental change strategies to prevent childhood obesity. Effective interventions for addressing childhood obesity require community-specific information on
who is most at risk and on contributing factors that can be addressed through tailored interventions that meet the needs of the community. Based on comprehensive research, a series of reports are being prepared for each community to assist in planning effective interventions.
The main components of the study were:
• A household telephone survey of 1700 families with 3–18 year old children,
• De-identified heights and weights measured at public schools,
• Assessment of the food and physical activity environments using objective data.
This report presents the results from the household survey. Reports based on school body mass index (BMI) data and food and physical activity environment data are available at www.cshp.rutgers.edu/childhoodobesity.htm.
The maps in this chartbook describe the physical activity environment in Camden in terms of geographic distribution of parks and physical activity facilities. Research shows that people who have access to these facilities are more likely to be physically active.
• The maps in this chartbook were created using physical activity facilities data from a commercial database (lnfoUSA, 2008), data from city departments, as well as information obtained from systematic web searches. The maps present data for the city of Camden and for a 1 mile buffer area around Camden.
• Physical activity centers include private and public facilities which offer physical activity opportunities for children 3-18 years of age.
• Physical activity environment maps are compared with Census 2000 data to visualize accessibility of physical activity opportunities in neighborhoods with different characteristics.
• Poverty level presented in this chartbook are based on the 2000 Federal Poverty Guidelines.
• Crime rates in Camden are presented at the census block group level as relative crime risk (CrimeRisk) obtained from a commercial data source (Applied Geographic Solutions, 2008). CrimeRisk - an index value derived from modeling the relationship between crime rates and demographics data - is expressed as the risk of crime occurring in a specific block group relative to the national average. For this chartbook, data on total CrimeRisk, which includes personal and property crimes, are reported.