Browsed by
Month: November 2025

Feasibility of the STAC-T Bullying Bystander App

Feasibility of the STAC-T Bullying Bystander App

Bullying is a significant public health issue, with approximately 25% of middle school students reporting being a target of bullying in the past year. STAC is an evidence-based bullying bystander intervention for middle school students. A multi-institutional research team developed a technology-based version of STAC (STAC-T) and evaluated the acceptability and relevance of the program, as well as how acceptability and relevance are related to the use of specific skills (STAC strategies) students learn in the program. Significance, methods, data, and results have been published in the scientific journal, JMIR Formative Research.

STAC-T, which included a 40-minute training and a 15-minute booster session, was completed by 249 middle school students recruited from six middle schools in rural, low-income communities in the United States. Students completed a post-training survey assessing program acceptability and relevance, whether they witnessed bullying post-training, and the use of the STAC strategies to intervene in bullying situations. Descriptive statistics were used to assess acceptability, relevance, and the use of STAC strategies. Linear regression analysis was used to assess the relationship of program acceptability and relevance to STAC strategy use.

Most students reported the program was acceptable (82.1 to 90.0%) and relevant (78.6 to 83.0%) for students at their school; 88.8% (111) of the 50.2% (125) of students who witnessed bullying post-training also reported the use of at least one STAC strategy to intervene when witnessing bullying. Program relevance was a significant predictor of post-training use of STAC strategies. In contrast, program acceptability was not a significant predictor of post-training STAC strategy use.

This study provides support for the acceptability and relevance of STAC-T, as well as the effectiveness in promoting the use of the STAC strategies to intervene in bullying situations. Further, program relevance was related to STAC strategy use, highlighting the importance of assessing program relevance for specific student populations.  

The multi-institutional team was led by Dr. Aida Midgett from Boise State University. Collaborators included Dr. Diana Doumas, Taylor Perron, and Jennalyn Shelton from Boise State University; Dr. Robin Hausheer from the University of Vermont; Dr. Amanda Winburn from the University of Mississippi; and Brandon Herbeck and Mary Buller from Klein Buendel. The research was supported by a grant to Klein Buendel from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (R42MD014943; Dr. Aida Midgett, Principal Investigator).

Just Care Simulated Usability Testing

Just Care Simulated Usability Testing

Growing numbers of people will grow old and die while incarcerated. A team from The Penn State University Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing and Klein Buendel participated in a panel presentation at the Gerontology Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting on November 12-15 in Boston, MA, to discuss their research on caring for the aged and dying in prison.

The panelist, Dr. Erin Kitt-Lewis from Penn State, presented a pragmatic approach to the usability testing of Just Care. Just Care is a 7-module digital program to train people living in prison to assist staff by providing care to their peers who are older or dying. The web-based program educates prison staff on the needs of chronically ill, aging, and dying people who are incarcerated and provides implementation tools for providing care. Research evidence supports using peer caregivers to assist staff with geriatric and end-of-life care.

The Just Care team learned that gaining access to conduct research with external technology is limited at some correctional facilities as many are reassessing their technology capacity and policies, especially with limited staff. As a result, a pragmatic approach to conducting the research was necessary. In collaboration with the prison administration at one state prison system that had instituted restricted access to technology, an innovative approach — simulated usability testing — to test the program using focus groups was developed.

A total of six focus groups, two with staff and four with people living in prison, were held at one men’s and one women’s prison in a mid-Atlantic State; nine staff and 28 peer caregivers participated. The modified approach involved two on-site researchers conducting the focus groups while projecting the Just Care e-learning on a large screen and interacting with participants. Simultaneously, two off-site researchers connected via videoconference to screen share Just Care and take handwritten field notes. Participants were asked to comment on the content, feasibility, clarity, and ease of use of the program. 

Analysis of the qualitative data collected from the simulated usability testing resulted in three themes: barriers, facilitators, and future directions for the program. Each of these were described by the panelist in some detail.

This research was funded by an STTR grant to Klein Buendel from the National Institute on Aging (AG057239; Dr. Susan Loeb from Penn State and Dr. Barbara Walkosz from Klein Buendel, Multiple Principal Investigators). Additional collaborators include Dr. Erin Kitt-Lewis, Dr. Kalei Crimi, and Nawal Alsearhi from the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing at Penn State University; and Amanda Brice and Steve Fullmer from Klein Buendel.