Effects of a Court-Ordered Service Dog Training Program with U.S. Veterans: A Qualitative Study

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Terry Crowe ◽  
Victoria Sanchez ◽  
Chardae Durden ◽  
Margarita Ortega y Gomez ◽  
Melissa Winkle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Service Dogs ◽  
Civilian Life ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Dog Training ◽  
Service Dog ◽  
Emotional Isolation

Abstract This qualitative study investigated the impacts of a court-ordered service dog training program on justice-involved U.S. veterans. An experienced qualitative research team conducted three focus groups with nine veterans to explore how training service dogs influenced their daily lives. Focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed, and manually coded. Two graduate research assistants developed preliminary themes; the full team generated final themes. Themes illustrated how participation in the program: 1) decreased physical and emotional isolation; 2) assisted veterans with reintegrating into civilian life; 3) improved emotional self-regulation; and 4) helped veterans discover potential; 5) find camaraderie; 6) reconnect with community; and 7) create a sanctuary. In a follow-up session, several participants confirmed that the results accurately captured their experiences. The overall finding suggests the service dog training program served as a rehabilitative process for justice-involved veterans to rediscover their abilities and talents that existed before their experiences in the justice system.

A Medical Interpreter Training Program and Signed Language Interpreters' Decision Latitude

2020 ◽  
pp. 421-455
Author(s):  
Jasmine Marin
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Decision Latitude ◽  
Signed Language ◽  
Medical Interpreter ◽  
Interpreter Training ◽  
Role Responsibilities ◽  
The U.S

The certificate in healthcare interpreting (CHI) is a medical signed language interpreter training program in the U.S. This qualitative study consisted of focus groups to examine the effect of CHI on graduates' views of their role, responsibilities, and decision latitude. Analysis suggests that CHI may be shifting practitioners from a restrictive conduit model (taking no action when faced with a decision) to a values-based approach. Also outlined are features of the program that contribute to this shift.

Outcomes of Participation in a Service Dog Training Program for Veterans with PTSD

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Scotland-Coogan ◽  
James D. Whitworth ◽  
Tracy Wharton
Keyword(s):  
Training Program ◽  
Small Group ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Personal Service ◽  
Dog Training ◽  
Service Dog ◽  
Interpersonal Difficulties ◽  
Traditional Approaches ◽  
Trauma Responses

AbstractCanine-assisted interventions have emerged as an increasingly popular means to engage and assist veterans coping with military-associated trauma responses. The present study evaluates the use of a 14-week service dog training program for these trauma-impacted veterans. The service dog program guides veterans in small group cohorts on how to train their own dog to be their personal service animal. All 71 veterans participating in this investigation had been diagnosed with PTSD. Fifty-five veterans (77%) finished the entire 14-week program and took all pretests and posttests. Compared to pretest scores, participants reported significant decreases in self-disturbance, posttraumatic stress, externalization, and somatization after completing the program. Participants experienced significant reductions in a broad scope of psychological impacts associated with their PTSD including interpersonal difficulties and suicidality. Findings provide evidence that service dog training programs may be an effective therapeutic alternative to traditional approaches that PTSD-impacted veterans are willing to utilize.

scholarly journals Do Service Dogs for Veterans with PTSD Mount a Cortisol Response in Response to Training?

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 650
Author(s):  
Emmy A. E. van Houtert ◽  
Nienke Endenburg ◽  
T. Bas Rodenburg ◽  
Eric Vermetten
Keyword(s):  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Training Session ◽  
Free Play ◽  
Cortisol Response ◽  
Service Dogs ◽  
Dog Training ◽  
Service Dog ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Cortisol Levels ◽  
Therapeutic Settings

Only a few studies have investigated the welfare of animals participating in animal-assisted interventions (AAIs). Most of these studies focus on dogs in therapeutic settings. There are, however, also dogs—service dogs—that are employed to continuously support a single human. Because the welfare of these service dogs is important for the sustainability of their role, the aim of this study was to investigate their stress response to service dog training sessions. To do this, we took repeated salivary cortisol samples from dogs who participated in a training session (n = 19). Samples were taken just after arrival at the training ground, before training, after training, and after a period of free play. Our results showed that mean cortisol levels in all samples were relatively low (between 1.55 ± 1.10 and 2.73 ± 1.47 nmol/L) compared to similar studies. Analysis further showed that samples taken before and after participation in the training’s session did not differ from one another. Mean cortisol levels in both situations were additionally lower than those upon arrival at the training site and after a period of free play. This led to the conclusion that the dogs in our study did not seem to experience training as stressful.

scholarly journals Goals with limited vision: a qualitative study of coping with vision-related goal interference in midlife

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin Boerner ◽  
Shu-wen Wang
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Visual Disability ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Middle Aged Adults

Objective: To investigate how middle-aged adults manage their goal pursuits in the face of visual disability. Design: Cross-sectional qualitative study. Setting: Vision rehabilitation agency. Subjects: 216 middle-aged adults with visual impairment. Methods: Telephone interviews composed of structured and open-ended assessments of life goals and the strategies used to cope with vision-related goal interference. Results: Individuals reported strategies that reflected the broader domains found in prior research with older adults: internal resource use, new approach use, technology use, help use, and psychological self-regulation. The most frequently reported strategy was help use ( n = 192), followed by new approach use ( n = 166), internal resource use ( n = 162), technology use ( n = 159) and psychological self-regulation ( n = 130). Across domains, the most frequently reported strategies were instrumental informal help, instrumental formal help, optical aids, and invest effort. Specific strategy domains emerged as more typical in response to interference with particular types of goals; for example, help use was reported by a majority for interference with functional and psychological goals, but only by half for interference with social goals. Conclusions: Study findings revealed a rich array of strategies used by middle-aged adults with vision impairment in their daily lives to deal with vision-related goal interference. Results suggest that rehabilitation services should consider multiple methods of coping and their goal-related function when working with middle-aged adults with disabilities.

Understanding partner perceptions of a service dog training program for veterans with PTSD: building a bridge to trauma resiliency

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 604-622
Author(s):  
James Whitworth ◽  
Casey O’Brien ◽  
Tracy Wharton ◽  
Diane Scotland-Coogan
Keyword(s):  
Training Program ◽  
Dog Training ◽  
Service Dog ◽  
Partner Perceptions

59. General medicine residents' perception of the mini-CEXs

2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
S. Malhotra ◽  
R. Hatala ◽  
C.-A. Courneya
Keyword(s):  
Internal Medicine ◽  
Medical Education ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
General Medicine ◽  
Clinical History ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Medical Teacher ◽  
The Impact

The mini-CEX is a 30 minute observed clinical encounter. It can be done in the outpatient, inpatient or emergency room setting. It strives to look at several parameters including a clinical history, physical, professionalism and overall clinical competence. Trainees are rated using a 9-point scoring system: 1-3 unsatisfactory, 4-6 satisfactory and 7-9 superior. Eight months after the introduction of the mini-CEX to the core University of British Columbia Internal Medicine Residents, a one hour semi-structured focus group for residents in each of the three years took place. The focus groups were conducted by an independent moderator, audio-recorded and transcribed. Using a phenomenological approach the comments made by the focus groups participants were read independently by three authors, organized into major themes. In doing so, several intriguing common patterns were revealed on how General Medicine Residents perceive their experience in completing a mini-CEX. The themes include Education, Assessment and Preparation for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Internal Medicine exam. Resident learners perceived that the mini-CEX process provided insight into their clinical strengths and weaknesses. Focus group participants favored that the mini-CEX experience will benefit them in preparation, and successful completion of their licensing exam. Daelmans HE, Overmeer RM, van der Hem-Stockroos HH, Scherpbier AJ, Stehouwer CD, van der Vleuten CP. In-training assessment: qualitative study of effects on supervision and feedback in an undergraduate clinical rotation. Medical Education 2006; 40(1):51-8. De Lima AA, Henquin R, Thierer J, Paulin J, Lamari S, Belcastro F, Van der Vleuten CPM. A qualitative study of the impact on learning of the mini clinical evaluation exercise in postgraduate training. Medical Teacher January 2005; 27(1):46-52. DiCicco-Bloom B, Crabtree BF. The Qualitative Research Interview. Medical Education 2006; 40:314-32.

Perceived Facilitators and Barriers to Implementation of a Decision Support Tool for Adolescent Depression and Suicidality Screening: A Qualitative Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Radovic ◽  
Nathan Anderson ◽  
Megan Hamm ◽  
Brandie George-Milford ◽  
Carrie Fascetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Decision Support Tool ◽  
Depression Screening ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Adolescent Parent ◽  
Barriers To Implementation

BACKGROUND Screening Wizard (SW) is a technology-based decision support tool aimed at guiding primary care providers (PCPs) to respond to depression and suicidality screens in adolescents. Separate screens assess adolescents’ and parents’ reports on mental health symptoms, treatment preferences, and potential treatment barriers. A detailed summary is provided to PCPs, also identifying adolescent-parent discrepancies. The goal of SW is to enhance decision making to increase utilization of evidence-based treatments. OBJECTIVE We describe a multi-stakeholder qualitative study with adolescents, parents, and providers to understand potential barriers to implementation of SW. METHODS We interviewed 11 parents and 11 adolescents, and conducted 2 focus groups with 17 healthcare providers (PCPs, nurses, therapists, staff) across 2 pediatric practices. Participants described previous experiences with screening for depression and were shown a mock-up of SW and asked for feedback. Interviews and focus groups were transcribed verbatim, and codebooks inductively developed based on content. Transcripts were double-coded, and disagreements adjudicated to full agreement. Completed coding was used to produce thematic analyses of interviews and focus groups. RESULTS We identified five main themes across the interviews and focus groups: (1) parents, adolescents, and pediatric PCPs agree that depression screening should occur in pediatric primary care; (2) there is concern that accurate self-disclosure does not always occur during depression screening; (3) Screening Wizard is viewed as a tool that could facilitate depression screening, and which might encourage more honesty in screening responses; (4) parents, adolescents and providers do not want Screening Wizard to replace mental health discussions with providers; and (5) providers want to maintain autonomy in treatment decisions. CONCLUSIONS We identified that providers, parents, and adolescents all have concerns with current screening practices, mainly regarding inaccurate self-disclosure. They recognized value in SW as a computerized tool that may elicit more honest responses and identify adolescent-parent discrepancies. Surprisingly, providers did not want the SW report to include treatment recommendations, and all groups did not want the SW report to replace conversations with the PCP about depression. While SW was originally developed as a treatment decision algorithm, this qualitative study has led us to remove this component, and instead focus on aspects identified as most useful by all groups. We hope that this initial qualitative work will improve future implementation of SW.

scholarly journals A Qualitative Study of Motivators, Strategies, Barriers, and Learning Needs Related to Healthy Cooking during Pregnancy

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 2395
Author(s):  
Travertine Garcia ◽  
Kerith Duncanson ◽  
Vanessa A. Shrewsbury ◽  
Julia A. Wolfson
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Organizational Strategies ◽  
Cooking Skills ◽  
Mother And Child ◽  
Multiple Challenges ◽  
Meal Planning ◽  
Skills Education

Nutrition during pregnancy has lifelong impacts on the health of mother and child. However, this life stage presents unique challenges to healthy cooking and eating. Cooking interventions show promising results, but often lack theoretical basis and rigorous evaluation. The objective of this formative, qualitative study was to explore motivators, strategies, and barriers related to healthy cooking during pregnancy. Pregnant individuals’ preferences for a cooking education program were also explored. We conducted five focus groups with pregnant individuals (n = 20) in Southeast Michigan in 2019. Focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, then double coded by two members of the research team. Mean gestational age was 18.3 ± 9.6 weeks. Common motivators included feeding other children, avoiding pregnancy complications, promoting fetal growth, and avoiding foodborne illness. Challenges included pregnancy symptoms, navigating nutrition recommendations, mental energy of meal planning, family preferences, and time constraints. Strategies employed were meal planning and including a variety of foods. Participants identified organizational strategies, recipes, nutrition information, and peer support as important components of a cooking intervention during pregnancy. This study characterized multiple challenges to healthy home cooking during pregnancy, providing novel insight to inform the development of cooking skills education programs during this important life stage.

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