“It’s Hard to Show Empathy in a Text”: Developing a Web-based Sexual Assault Hotline in a College Setting

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110250
Author(s):  
Carrie A. Moylan ◽  
Melanie L. Carlson ◽  
Rebecca Campbell ◽  
Tana Fedewa

To increase access to counseling and advocacy services and respond to changes in communication preferences, many victim service programs are expanding their traditional telephone hotlines and adding web chat or text hotlines. However, there is little research available about these web and text-based hotlines. We examined program data collected in the first year of operation of a web-based crisis hotline for sexual assault survivors at a large Midwestern university in the United States as part of a larger evaluation project. We examined how often the web-based chat hotline was used and explored patterns of use by time of day and month, comparing to records from the phone hotline operated by the same campus-based victim service program. We also conducted interviews and two group discussions with volunteers and staff about their experiences with providing crisis intervention in a web-chat medium. Findings suggest that the web-based crisis hotline is being used frequently, nearly as often as the telephone hotline and doubling the total number of crisis contacts the organization had in the year prior to adding the web-based chat hotline. Staff and volunteers identified a number of advantages of a web-based hotline, including increased privacy and accessibility for survivors. Difficulty identifying and conveying emotions in the web-chat context was one of the primary challenges described by staff and volunteers. Operating the web-hotline, therefore, requires additional training for volunteers and staff on how to translate crisis intervention skills into a text-based medium. Suggestions for how to communicate effectively in text-based crisis intervention are discussed, along with other considerations for designing a web or text hotline.

2010 ◽  
pp. 1771-1779
Author(s):  
Karen S. Nantz ◽  
Norman A. Garrett

Education over the Internet is going to be so big it is going to make e-mail usage look like a rounding error. John Chambers, Cisco Systems, New York Times, November 17, 1990 Web-based courses (Mesher, 1999) are defined as those where the entire course is taken on the Internet. In some courses, there may be an initial meeting for orientation. Proctored exams may also be given, either from the source of the Web-based course or off-site at a testing facility. The Internet-based course becomes a virtual classroom with a syllabus, course materials, chat space, discussion list, and e-mail services (Resmer, 1999). Navarro (2000) provides a further definition: a fully interactive, multimedia approach. Current figures indicate that 12% of Internet users in the United States use the Internet to take an online course for credit toward a degree of some kind (Horrigan, 2006). That number is indicative of the rapid proliferation of online courses over the past several years. The Web-enhanced course is a blend with the components of the traditional class while making some course materials available on a Web site, such as course syllabi, assignments, data files, and test reviews. Additional elements of a Web-enhanced course can include online testing, a course listserver, instructor-student e-mail, collaborative activities using RSS feeds and related technologies, and other activities on the Internet. One of the biggest concerns about Web-based courses is that users will become socially isolated. The Pew Internet and America Life Project found that online communities provide a vibrant social community (Horrigan, Rainie, & Fox, 2001). Clearly, students are not concerned or feel that other benefits outweigh the potential drawbacks. According to government research (Waits and Lewis, 2003), during the 2000-2001 academic year alone, an estimated 118,100 different credit courses were offered via distance education (with the bulk of that using Internet-based methods) by 2- and 4-year institutions in the United States. Over 3 million students were registered in these courses. Navarro (2000) suggests that faculty members are far more likely to start by incorporating Internet components into a traditional course rather than directly offering Web-based courses. These Web-enhanced courses might be considered the transition phase to the new paradigm of Internet-based courses. Rich learning environments are being created, with a shift from single tools to the use of multiple online tools, both to enhance traditional courses and to better facilitate online courses (Teles, 2002).


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuqiang Zhao ◽  
Ying Sun ◽  
Jie Ge ◽  
Chunlei Zheng ◽  
Kepeng Ning ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective: This study analyzes the clinical features and prognosis of stages Ⅰ-Ⅲ colon cancer, and constructs a nomogram to predict the prognosis of patients. Methods: We included data from patients with stages Ⅰ-Ⅲ colon cancer confirmed by pathology after surgical treatment in the United States SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) database from 2010-2015. The included patients are randomly divided into training cohorts and validation cohorts (ratio 1:1).The independent related factors of the prognosis of colon cancer patients were used to construct the nomogram and the web-based probability calculator.Concordance index (C-index) and calibration curve are used to evaluate the accuracy of the model. Results: After univariate and multivariate analysis, it was indicated that age, marital status, tumor grade, t-stage and n-stage were independent factors affecting prognosis of patients with stages Ⅰ-Ⅲ colon cancer. We built a nomogram and the web-based probability calculator based on this, and its C-index was 0.781 (95% CI: 0.77414–0.78786), and were superior to that of AJCC TNM Stage (C-index: 0.734, 95%CI: 0.72616–0.74184). The consistency test showed that the nomogram can effectively predict the prognosis of patients. The validation cohort confirms the reliability of the model. Conclusion: Age, marital status, tumor grade, t-stage and n-stage are independent factors affecting the prognosis of patients with stages Ⅰ-Ⅲ colon cancer. The nomogram we constructed in this way can better predict the prognosis of patients with stages Ⅰ-Ⅲ colon cancer.


2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110286
Author(s):  
Daniel W. Oesterle ◽  
Amber M. Jarnecke ◽  
Amanda K. Gilmore

Sexual assault and sexual re-assault are common problems on college campuses for women, and experiencing an initial assault dramatically increases risk for experiencing sexual re-assault. Low use of sexual refusal assertiveness and assertive resistance strategy intentions has been found to predict initial victimization, yet few studies to date look collectively at the associations of sexual refusal assertiveness and assertive resistance strategy intentions to sexual re-assault. The current study examined both sexual refusal assertiveness and assertive resistance strategy intentions as potential moderators of sexual re-assault among college women. It was hypothesized that the association between sexual assault severity before college and sexual assault severity since college would be stronger among those with low sexual refusal assertiveness compared to those with high sexual refusal assertiveness (Hypothesis 1). it was also hypothesized that the association between sexual assault severity before college and sexual assault severity since college would be stronger among those who endorsed assertive resistance strategy intentions (Hypothesis 2). Participants (N = 623) included college women at a large, public university within the northwestern region of the United States, who completed a web-based survey. Results revealed that the association between sexual assault severity before college and sexual assault severity since college was significant among those with lower levels of sexual refusal assertiveness (t = 91.42, p < 0 .001). Results also revealed that the association between sexual assault severity before college and sexual assault severity since college was stronger among those who endorsed non-assertive resistance strategy intentions to a potential sexual assault scenario (t = 25.09, p < 0.001). These findings provide insight into risk for sexual re-assault, wherein risk reduction programmatic efforts may be targeted towards women entering college with a sexual assault history to increase their use of sexual refusal assertiveness and assertive resistance strategy intentions.


Author(s):  
Karen S. Nantz ◽  
Norman A. Garrett

Education over the Internet is going to be so big it is going to make e-mail usage look like a rounding error. John Chambers, Cisco Systems, New York Times, November 17, 1990 Web-based courses (Mesher, 1999) are defined as those where the entire course is taken on the Internet. In some courses, there may be an initial meeting for orientation. Proctored exams may also be given, either from the source of the Web-based course or off-site at a testing facility. The Internet-based course becomes a virtual classroom with a syllabus, course materials, chat space, discussion list, and e-mail services (Resmer, 1999). Navarro (2000) provides a further definition: a fully interactive, multimedia approach. Current figures indicate that 12% of Internet users in the United States use the Internet to take an online course for credit toward a degree of some kind (Horrigan, 2006). That number is indicative of the rapid proliferation of online courses over the past several years. The Web-enhanced course is a blend with the components of the traditional class while making some course materials available on a Web site, such as course syllabi, assignments, data files, and test reviews. Additional elements of a Web-enhanced course can include online testing, a course listserver, instructor-student e-mail, collaborative activities using RSS feeds and related technologies, and other activities on the Internet. One of the biggest concerns about Web-based courses is that users will become socially isolated. The Pew Internet and America Life Project found that online communities provide a vibrant social community (Horrigan, Rainie, & Fox, 2001). Clearly, students are not concerned or feel that other benefits outweigh the potential drawbacks. According to government research (Waits and Lewis, 2003), during the 2000-2001 academic year alone, an estimated 118,100 different credit courses were offered via distance education (with the bulk of that using Internet-based methods) by 2- and 4-year institutions in the United States. Over 3 million students were registered in these courses. Navarro (2000) suggests that faculty members are far more likely to start by incorporating Internet components into a traditional course rather than directly offering Web-based courses. These Web-enhanced courses might be considered the transition phase to the new paradigm of Internet-based courses. Rich learning environments are being created, with a shift from single tools to the use of multiple online tools, both to enhance traditional courses and to better facilitate online courses (Teles, 2002).


Author(s):  
Haipeng (Mark) Zhang ◽  
Dimitar Dimitrov ◽  
Lynn Simpson ◽  
Balaji Singh ◽  
Nina Plaks ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has impacted over 1 million people across the globe, with over 330,000 cases in the United States. To help limit the spread in Massachusetts, the Department of Public Health required that all healthcare workers must be screened for symptoms daily – individuals with symptoms may not work. We rapidly created a digital COVID-19 symptom screening tool for a large, academic, integrated healthcare delivery system, Partners HealthCare, in Boston, Massachusetts.ObjectiveWe describe the design and development of the COVID-19 symptom screening application and report on aggregate usage data from the first week of use across the organization.MethodsUsing agile principles, we designed, tested and implemented a solution over the span of a week using progressively custom development approaches as the requirements and use case become more solidified. We developed the minimum viable product (MVP) of a mobile responsive, web-based self-service application using REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture). For employees without access to a computer or mobile device to use the self-service application, we established a manual process where in-person, socially distanced screeners asked employees entering the site if they have symptoms and then manually recorded the responses in an Office 365 Form. A custom .NET Framework application was developed solution as COVID Pass was scaled. We collected log data from the .NET application, REDCap and Office 365 from the first week of full enterprise deployment (March 30, 2020 – April 5, 2020). Aggregate descriptive statistics including overall employee attestations by day and site, employee attestations by application method (COVID Pass automatic screening vs. manual screening), employee attestations by time of day, and percentage of employees reporting COVID-19 symptomsResultsWe rapidly created the MVP and gradually deployed it across the hospitals in our organization. By the end of the first week of enterprise deployment, the screening application was being used by over 25,000 employees each weekday. Over the first full week of deployment, 154,730 employee attestation logs were processed across the system. Over this 7-day period, 558 (0.36%) employees reported positive symptoms. In most clinical locations, the majority of employees (∼80-90%) used the self-service application, with a smaller percentage (∼10-20%) using manual attestation. Hospital staff continued to work around the clock, but as expected, staff attestations peaked during shift changes between 7-8am, 2-3pm, 4-6pm, and 11pm-midnight.ConclusionsUsing rapid, agile development, we quickly created and deployed a dedicated employee attestation application that gained widespread adoption and use within our health system. Further, we have identified over 500 symptomatic employees that otherwise would have possibly come to work, potentially putting others at risk. We share the story of our implementation, lessons learned, and source code (via GitHub) for other institutions who may want to implement similar solutions.


10.2196/19533 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (10) ◽  
pp. e19533
Author(s):  
Haipeng Zhang ◽  
Dimitar Dimitrov ◽  
Lynn Simpson ◽  
Nina Plaks ◽  
Balaji Singh ◽  
...  

Background As of July 17, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected over 14 million people worldwide, with over 3.68 million cases in the United States. As the number of COVID-19 cases increased in Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health mandated that all health care workers be screened for symptoms daily prior to entering any hospital or health care facility. We rapidly created a digital COVID-19 symptom screening tool to enable this screening for a large, academic, integrated health care delivery system, Partners HealthCare, in Boston, Massachusetts. Objective The aim of this study is to describe the design and development of the COVID Pass COVID-19 symptom screening application and report aggregate usage data from the first three months of its use across the organization. Methods Using agile principles, we designed, tested, and implemented a solution over the span of one week using progressively customized development approaches as the requirements and use case become more solidified. We developed the minimum viable product (MVP) of a mobile-responsive, web-based, self-service application using research electronic data capture (REDCap). For employees without access to a computer or mobile device to use the self-service application, we established a manual process where in-person, socially distanced screeners asked employees entering the site if they have symptoms and then manually recorded the responses in an Office 365 Form. A custom .NET Framework application solution was developed as COVID Pass was scaled. We collected log data from the .NET application, REDCap, and Microsoft Office 365 from the first three months of enterprise deployment (March 30 to June 30, 2020). Aggregate descriptive statistics, including overall employee attestations by day and site, employee attestations by application method (COVID Pass automatic screening vs manual screening), employee attestations by time of day, and percentage of employees reporting COVID-19 symptoms, were obtained. Results We rapidly created the MVP and gradually deployed it across the hospitals in our organization. By the end of the first week, the screening application was being used by over 25,000 employees each weekday. After three months, 2,169,406 attestations were recorded with COVID Pass. Over this period, 1865/160,159 employees (1.2%) reported positive symptoms. 1,976,379 of the 2,169,406 attestations (91.1%) were generated from the self-service screening application. The remainder were generated either from manual attestation processes (174,865/2,169,406, 8.1%) or COVID Pass kiosks (25,133/2,169,406, 1.2%). Hospital staff continued to work 24 hours per day, with staff attestations peaking around shift changes between 7 and 8 AM, 2 and 3 PM, 4 and 6 PM, and 11 PM and midnight. Conclusions Using rapid, agile development, we quickly created and deployed a dedicated employee attestation application that gained widespread adoption and use within our health system. Further, we identified 1865 symptomatic employees who otherwise may have come to work, potentially putting others at risk. We share the story of our implementation, lessons learned, and source code (via GitHub) for other institutions who may want to implement similar solutions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 485-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel C Forbes ◽  
Kristy Kummerow Broman ◽  
Tommy B Johnson ◽  
Diane B Rybacki ◽  
Angela E Hannah Gillis ◽  
...  

Introduction The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Transplant Program has made efforts to improve access by introducing Web-based referrals and telehealth. The aims of this study were to describe the programmatic implementation and evaluate the effectiveness of new technology on the timeliness to kidney transplant evaluation at a VA medical centre. Methods Between 1 January 2009 and 31 May 2016, 835 patients were approved for evaluation. Monthly data were summarized as: number of applications, median days to evaluation, and median percentage of evaluations that occurred within 30 days. Temporal trends were analysed using non-parametric comparisons of medians between three eras: Pre Web-based submission, Web-based submission, and Web-based submission with videoconference (VC) telehealth. Results The number of applications did not vary between eras ( p = 0.353). The median time to evaluation and the median percentage of patients with appointments within 30 days improved significantly in the Web-based submission with VC era when compared with the Web-based and Pre Web-based eras (37 vs. 260 and 116 days, respectively, p < 0.001; 100% vs. 8% and 0%, respectively, p < 0.001). Discussion We have been able to markedly improve the timeliness to kidney transplant waitlist evaluation with the addition of telehealth.


Author(s):  
Martha E. Kershaw ◽  
Shannon P. Lupien ◽  
Jennifer L. Scheid

During the ongoing global pandemic, faculty, staff and administrators at colleges and universities experienced an increase in meetings using web-based platforms. Challenges were identified related to the changes from face-to-face to web-based meetings, including internet connectivity, inadequate technology and distractions in the online environment, which led to questions about how meetings that use web-based platforms may contribute to overall stress and well-being during the pandemic. The research related to the use of web-based meeting platforms is limited. However, some anecdotal evidence suggests that impacts from web-based meeting platforms could include frustration, sleep issues and fatigue, which contribute to overall well-being. The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between a number of potentially related web-based meeting factors including the frequency and length of the meetings and comfort level with the platform and overall well-being. This study involved (N = 164) male, female and nonbinary participants over 18 years of age who worked as tenured, tenure-track, or nontenure track faculty, staff and administrators at colleges/universities in the United States during the global pandemic. The participants were recruited via both social media and email and were provided with a link to the survey tool, which included demographic and web-based meeting questions (e.g., frequency, length, and comfort) along with scales to measure perceived stress, subjective well-being, mental fatigue and sleep quality. The current study did not find a relationship between the frequency of meetings and overall well-being (p = 0.294). However, statistically significant relationships were found between meeting length and overall well-being (p = 0.003) and between comfort with the web-based meeting platform and overall well-being (p = 0.030). Based on the findings of this study, meeting organizers may consider scheduling meetings for less than two hours and providing training to ensure participants are proficient in the web-based meeting platform in order to support overall well-being.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haipeng Zhang ◽  
Dimitar Dimitrov ◽  
Lynn Simpson ◽  
Nina Plaks ◽  
Balaji Singh ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND As of July 17, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected over 14 million people worldwide, with over 3.68 million cases in the United States. As the number of COVID-19 cases increased in Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health mandated that all health care workers be screened for symptoms daily prior to entering any hospital or health care facility. We rapidly created a digital COVID-19 symptom screening tool to enable this screening for a large, academic, integrated health care delivery system, Partners HealthCare, in Boston, Massachusetts. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to describe the design and development of the COVID Pass COVID-19 symptom screening application and report aggregate usage data from the first three months of its use across the organization. METHODS Using agile principles, we designed, tested, and implemented a solution over the span of one week using progressively customized development approaches as the requirements and use case become more solidified. We developed the minimum viable product (MVP) of a mobile-responsive, web-based, self-service application using research electronic data capture (REDCap). For employees without access to a computer or mobile device to use the self-service application, we established a manual process where in-person, socially distanced screeners asked employees entering the site if they have symptoms and then manually recorded the responses in an Office 365 Form. A custom .NET Framework application solution was developed as COVID Pass was scaled. We collected log data from the .NET application, REDCap, and Microsoft Office 365 from the first three months of enterprise deployment (March 30 to June 30, 2020). Aggregate descriptive statistics, including overall employee attestations by day and site, employee attestations by application method (COVID Pass automatic screening vs manual screening), employee attestations by time of day, and percentage of employees reporting COVID-19 symptoms, were obtained. RESULTS We rapidly created the MVP and gradually deployed it across the hospitals in our organization. By the end of the first week, the screening application was being used by over 25,000 employees each weekday. After three months, 2,169,406 attestations were recorded with COVID Pass. Over this period, 1865/160,159 employees (1.2%) reported positive symptoms. 1,976,379 of the 2,169,406 attestations (91.1%) were generated from the self-service screening application. The remainder were generated either from manual attestation processes (174,865/2,169,406, 8.1%) or COVID Pass kiosks (25,133/2,169,406, 1.2%). Hospital staff continued to work 24 hours per day, with staff attestations peaking around shift changes between 7 and 8 AM, 2 and 3 PM, 4 and 6 PM, and 11 PM and midnight. CONCLUSIONS Using rapid, agile development, we quickly created and deployed a dedicated employee attestation application that gained widespread adoption and use within our health system. Further, we identified 1865 symptomatic employees who otherwise may have come to work, potentially putting others at risk. We share the story of our implementation, lessons learned, and source code (via GitHub) for other institutions who may want to implement similar solutions.


2012 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 769-788 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian D. Lyons ◽  
Lorin M. Mueller ◽  
Melissa L. Gruys ◽  
Aaron J. Meyers

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