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Month: September 2023

Custody & Caring Conference

Custody & Caring Conference

A research team from Penn State University and Klein Buendel gave three presentations on their recent work related to the care of persons aging and dying in prison at the 18th Biennial International Conference on the Nurse’s Role in the Criminal Justice System. The Custody & Caring Conference was held in Saskatoon, SK, Canada on September 20-23, 2023.

Podium Presentation and Poster 1

“Small-Scale Usability Testing: E-learning Modules for Peer Caregivers”

Growing numbers of people globally will grow old and die while incarcerated. Research evidence supports using peer caregivers to assist staff with geriatric and end-of-life care. Currently, peer caregiver training varies widely in content and duration. Evidenced-based, accessible, and contextually relevant materials are needed to effectively prepare the caregivers. This study’s purpose was to conduct research and development of Just Care, a six-module e-learning program for peer caregivers and a single module to guide corrections staff in implementing the program. University IRB, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and Department of Corrections permissions were obtained, and participants signed informed consent. Deputy Wardens assisted in identifying people meeting our inclusion criteria. Nineteen people living in prison and 11 staff took part in the usability testing of the progam. Researchers directed participants to share their thoughts aloud. Field notes were taken. Participants completed six open-ended questions and the System Usability Scale (SUS).

Findings focused on functionality, design, and content of Just Care. All users easily navigated through the program with minimal guidance. Many noted Just Care’s utility for future peer caregivers. Challenges faced were clustered by level of severity from 1-3 (1=most; 3=least severe). There were no severity-level 1 issues in either round. In Round 1, Just Care received a SUS score of 87.5 by incarcerated users and 74.5 by staff. A SUS score of 68 is an above average score. Following rapid refinement, Round 2 incarcerated participants scored Just Care at 85.28 while staff scored it at 83.75. Some incarcerated users had difficulty navigating the post-test assessments in Round 2. A few staff users noted liking the additional resources available via links to PDFs. One staff user voiced concern about the safety of having incarcerated people help with care. Overall, participants found Just Care easy to navigate with interactive content that is very useful, engaging, and relevant to providing geriatric and end-of-life care in prisons. Staff also noted that Just Care raised awareness about the growing need for programming on geriatric care in prisons and that a peer caregiver program like Just Care is a viable solution that is implementable by prison staff.  

Poster 2

“Determining Priority Dementia Care Training Needs for Correctional Staff and Peer Caregivers”

People aged 50 and older in prisons are at particular risk for developing Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) due to several social determinants of health. The number of patients in prison with ADRD is not known. This situation can likely be attributed to many corrections health, social, and security staff lacking the requisite skills for identifying ADRD. Dementia care inequities between prisons and community settings need to be addressed. A standardized, feasible, and acceptable ADRD education program developed for those caring for and/or managing people who are incarcerated and living with ADRD is a pressing need.

The key purpose of the research was to identify three priority learning needs of multidisciplinary prison staff to provide enhanced management and care for people living with ADRD in prisons which also represented the critical learning needs of peer caregivers so that they may assist staff with ADRD care. The study also sought to identify a logo to brand the new Just Care for Dementia training. The third outcome was to translate best practices from community-based ADRD care into accessible and relevant content for training staff and peer caregivers that is evidence-based and can be programmed into highly interactive prototype e-learning modules that fit within the restrictive context of corrections. Focus group methodology facilitated potential future users input to aid us in ensuring the content, design, and technology plans match the needs and constraints of prison. Approvals were secured from the: Institutional Review Board; federal government; and Department of Corrections. Participants provided signed informed consent. The settings were one men’s and one women’s state prison in the United States. Twelve interdisciplinary staff and 11 peer caregivers participated.

Thematic analyses revealed three priority content areas: fostering a safe and calm environment; addressing behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia; and enhancing awareness of need. Insights on nine showcased logos revealed two clear preferences. Consultation with the study’s advisory board informed final logo selection for branding the Just Care for Dementia e-learning product. In conclusion, participants confirmed the need for a such a training program and indicated this is a viable approach to addressing a pressing training and related care need in prisons.

This research was funded by an STTR grant to Klein Buendel from the National Institute on Aging [AG057239; Dr. Susan Loeb (Penn State) and Dr. Barbara Walkosz (Klein Buendel), Multiple Principal Investigators]. Collaborators on the presentation and posters also included Dr. Erin Kitt-Lewis, Mr. Sherif Olanrewaju, and Ms. Katherine Aiken from The Penn State University; and Mr. Brandon Herbeck, Ms. Amanda Brice, and Mr. Steve Fullmer from Klein Buendel.  

Challenging Violence in the Media

Challenging Violence in the Media

Klein Buendel and the Center for Media Literacy in California are launching a new research project to update and translate Beyond Blame: Challenging Violence in the Media, an evidence-based media-literacy violence prevention curriculum for middle school students, formerly delivered in person, into an interactive technology-based platform. Beyond Blame, developed by the Center for Media Literacy, is a theory-based curriculum that underwent a rigorous long-term evaluation, in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Violence prevention programs, including school-based education programs, are recommended to address youth violence.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “youth violence is a serious public health problem and that an adverse childhood experience can have a long-term impact on health and well-being, disproportionately impacting communities of color.” Violence affects thousands of youths each day as well as their families, schools, and communities. CDC reports that youth can be involved in violence as a victim, offender, or witness. Homicide is the third leading cause of death for young people ages 10-24 and the leading cause of death for non-Hispanic Black or African American youth.1,2 However, youth violence is preventable and the development of evidence-based approaches that address the factors to decrease the risk of violence, buffer against that risk, and promote positive youth development and well-being3 are imperative.  

A number of factors exist that may increase or decrease the possibility of youth experiencing or enacting violence. Media violence has long been identified by public health as a risk factor and violent content in television, social media, and video games has been associated with aggression and youth violence. Yet, media literacy programs are often not included in violence prevention efforts. Media literacy is recognized as a life skill to strengthen and provide resiliency for an individual’s ability to resist negative and harmful messages that are powerfully packaged and promoted in the media.

Today, youth live in an unprecedented mediated environment. With technology allowing 24-hour media access, the amount of time youth spend with media has risen dramatically, especially among minority youth. This is evidenced by widespread media usage by middle school children: 98% watch television, 78% use tablets, 67% interact with smart phones, 73% use computers, and 68% use gaming devices. Children ages 8-12 in the U.S. average 4-6 hours a day watching or using screens. To help children navigate this mediated environment, media literacy education provides a framework to access, analyze, evaluate, create and participate using media in a variety of forms, including videos, social media (such as TikTok and You Tube), video games, film, and television.  

Upon completing Beyond Blame in person, students significantly increased their knowledge of the Five Core Concepts/Key Questions of media literacy, increased recognition of their exposure to media violence, and had stronger beliefs that media violence affects users. The original Beyond Blame aligns with the Common Core standards identified for Language Arts, and the technology-based curriculum will adhere to the same standards along with the International Society for Technology in Education Standards that ensure that using technology for learning can create high-impact, sustainable, scalable, and equitable learning experiences for all learners. 

This research is supported by a grant from the CDC (CE003635). The project team will be led by Multiple Principal Investigators, Dr. Barbara Walkosz, a Senior Scientist at Klein Buendel, and Ms. Tessa Jolls, President of the Center for Media Literacy and will be joined by a Co-Investigator, Dr. Christine Rizzo from Northeastern University in Massachusetts. The Klein Buendel Creative Team will design and program the Beyond Blame prototype. 

References

  1. David-Ferdon C, Clayton HB, Dahlberg LL, et al. Vital signs: Prevalence of multiple forms of violence and increased health risk behaviors and conditions among youths – United States, 2019. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021;70(5):167-173. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7005a4.PMC7861486  
  2. Sheats KJ, Irving SM, Mercy JA, et al. Violence-related disparities experienced by black youth and young adults: opportunities for prevention. Am J Prev Med. 2018;55(4):462-469. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2018.05.017.PMC6691967 
  3. youth.gov. Youth topics: violence prevention. Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs. Available at: https://youth.gov/youth-topics/violence-prevention. Accessed March 28, 2022. 
Introducing Way To Serve Español!

Introducing Way To Serve Español!

WayToServe®, an evidence-based online responsible alcohol server training program, has been launched in Spanish in California – as Way To Serve Español – to meet the needs of Spanish-speakers in the food and beverage industry.

Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) training has shown promise to reduce alcohol-related injury and mortality. WayToServe was created by scientists and developers from the University of New Mexico, the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, and Klein Buendel. The engaging, media-rich program was initially evaluated in a randomized controlled trial that resulted in high trainee satisfaction and increased refusal of sales to intoxicated patrons. WayToServe was licensed to Wedge Communications LLC and launched into the online marketplace in 2012. To date, WayToServe has been expanded and approved for sale and certification of trainers in New Mexico, California, Texas, and Washington. Wedge Communications will distribute Way To Serve Español, as well.

The original WayToServe project was sponsored by two grants from National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to the University of New Mexico (AA014982 and AA016606; Dr. W. Gill Woodall, Principal Investigator). The subsequent WayToServe Español project was sponsored by a grant from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (MD010405; Dr. W. Gill Woodall, Klein Buendel Senior Scientist, Principal Investigator). Collaborators included Dr. Robert Saltz from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation; Dr. Frank Perez and Dr. Areli Chacon Silva from the University of Texas at El Paso; Dr. Victoria Sanchez and Dr. Randall Starling from the University of New Mexico; Dr. David Buller, Ms. Jeanny Camacho Reither, Ms. Lila Martinez, and Ms. Marita Brooks from Klein Buendel.