Library Outreach: Introducing Campus Childcare Providers to the Academic Library

This case study describes a library outreach effort to university staff members employed by the campus child care center. Authors planned an instructional session to introduce child care staff members to library resources, focusing on the curriculum collection as a source of supplemental materials for classrooms. Surveys were administered before and after the workshop to gauge changes in participants' awareness of library resources and comfort level using the library. Results based on descriptive statistics and qualitative data indicated a significant increase in participants’ awareness of and comfort using campus library resources and services. The authors encourage similar efforts within other academic communities and provide examples of potential partnerships.

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The Child-care Food and Activity Practices Questionnaire (CFAPQ): development and first validation steps

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980015003444 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 19 (11) ◽

pp. 1964-1975 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Jessica S Gubbels ◽

Ester FC Sleddens ◽

Lieke CH Raaijmakers ◽

Judith M Gies ◽

Stef PJ Kremers

Keyword(s):

Child Care ◽

Parenting Practices ◽

Care Setting ◽

Care Staff ◽

Background Characteristics ◽

Staff Members ◽

Child Care Setting ◽

Larger Sample ◽

Scale Psychometrics ◽

Selection Of

AbstractObjectiveTo develop and validate a questionnaire to measure food-related and activity-related practices of child-care staff, based on existing, validated parenting practices questionnaires.DesignA selection of items from the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ) and the Preschooler Physical Activity Parenting Practices (PPAPP) questionnaire was made to include items most suitable for the child-care setting. The converted questionnaire was pre-tested among child-care staff during cognitive interviews and pilot-tested among a larger sample of child-care staff. Factor analyses with Varimax rotation and internal consistencies were used to examine the scales. Spearman correlations, t tests and ANOVA were used to examine associations between the scales and staff’s background characteristics (e.g. years of experience, gender).SettingChild-care centres in the Netherlands.SubjectsThe qualitative pre-test included ten child-care staff members. The quantitative pilot test included 178 child-care staff members.ResultsThe new questionnaire, the Child-care Food and Activity Practices Questionnaire (CFAPQ), consists of sixty-three items (forty food-related and twenty-three activity-related items), divided over twelve scales (seven food-related and five activity-related scales). The CFAPQ scales are to a large extent similar to the original CFPQ and PPAPP scales. The CFAPQ scales show sufficient internal consistency with Cronbach’s α ranging between 0·53 and 0·96, and average corrected item–total correlations within acceptable ranges (0·30–0·89). Several of the scales were significantly associated with child-care staff’s background characteristics.ConclusionsScale psychometrics of the CFAPQ indicate it is a valid questionnaire that assesses child-care staff’s practices related to both food and activities.

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The Impact of COVID-19 on the Use of Academic Library Resources

Information Technology and Libraries ◽

10.6017/ital.v40i2.12629 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 40 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Ruth Sara Connell ◽

Lisa Wallis ◽

David Comeaux

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Academic Libraries ◽

Academic Library ◽

University Libraries ◽

Interlibrary Loan ◽

Patterns Of Use ◽

Before And After ◽

Library Resources ◽

Time Frames ◽

The Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted higher education, including academic libraries. This paper compares the use of library resources (including interlibrary loan, website and discovery tool pageviews, database use, patron interactions, etc.) at three university libraries before and after the pandemic. The latter part of the 2019 and 2020 spring semesters are the time frames of focus, although two control time frames from earlier in those semesters are used to determine how the semesters differed when the coronavirus was not a factor. The institutions experienced similar patterns of use across many metrics.

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Supporting Healthy Eating Among Preschoolers: Challenges for Child Care Staff

Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research ◽

10.3148/68.2.2007.107 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 68 (2) ◽

pp. 107-110 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Lisa Needham ◽

John J.M. Dwyer ◽

Janis Randall-Simpson ◽

Elizabeth Shaver Heeney

Keyword(s):

Child Care ◽

Healthy Eating ◽

Eating Habits ◽

Care Staff ◽

Focus Group Interviews ◽

Individual Factor ◽

Staff Members ◽

Child Care Setting ◽

Healthy Eating Habits ◽

Group Interviews

Purpose: The child care setting can help preschoolers develop healthy eating habits. Establishing such habits may increase preschoolers’ likelihood of carrying them into adulthood, which can decrease the risk of nutrition-related chronic diseases. Challenges in supporting preschoolers’ healthy eating were investigated among child care staff. Methods: Three focus group interviews were conducted with 29 child care staff members. Audiotapes of the sessions were transcribed. Results: Several themes were identified from the analysis of the transcripts. An intrapersonal (individual) factor was children's picky eating. Interpersonal factors (interactions) included perceptions that parents do not encourage their children to eat in a healthy way, and that child care staff's use of practices were inconsistent with health professional recommendations. Physical environment factors included perceptions that healthy food was not accessible at child care centres and that children have unhealthy food at home. Conclusions: Program planners and health professionals can develop and implement strategies to overcome some of the identified challenges to supporting preschoolers’ healthy eating.

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Communication Disordered: Program Implementation in Long-Term Care

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups ◽

10.1044/persp1.sig15.64 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 1 (15) ◽

pp. 64-67

Author(s):

George Barnes ◽

Joseph Salemi

Keyword(s):

Program Implementation ◽

Long Term Care ◽

Family Satisfaction ◽

Regulatory Compliance ◽

Care Staff ◽

Term Care ◽

Staff Members ◽

Change Policy

The organizational structure of long-term care (LTC) facilities often removes the rehab department from the interdisciplinary work culture, inhibiting the speech-language pathologist's (SLP's) communication with the facility administration and limiting the SLP's influence when implementing clinical programs. The SLP then is unable to change policy or monitor the actions of the care staff. When the SLP asks staff members to follow protocols not yet accepted by facility policy, staff may be unable to respond due to confusing or conflicting protocol. The SLP needs to involve members of the facility administration in the policy-making process in order to create successful clinical programs. The SLP must overcome communication barriers by understanding the needs of the administration to explain how staff compliance with clinical goals improves quality of care, regulatory compliance, and patient-family satisfaction, and has the potential to enhance revenue for the facility. By taking this approach, the SLP has a greater opportunity to increase safety, independence, and quality of life for patients who otherwise may not receive access to the appropriate services.

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