scholarly journals A quasi-experimental, mixed-methods evaluation of the impact of transitioning to remote clinic visits in a smoking cessation trial during the SARS coronavirus-2 pandemic (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin C. Mahoney ◽  
Eunhee Park ◽  
Nicolas J Schlienz ◽  
CeCe Duerr ◽  
Larry W. Hawk
Keyword(s):  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
Completion Rate ◽  
Similar Time ◽  
Biospecimen Collection ◽  
Optimal Mix ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Rapid Transition ◽  
Conducting Research ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Clinic Visits

BACKGROUND The SARS-2-coronavirus (aka covid-19) pandemic caused disruptions in ongoing clinical trials and likely accelerated interest in conducting research studies remotely. OBJECTIVE A quasi-experimental, mixed method approach was utilized to examine the opinions and experiences of participants enrolled in an on-going clinical trial of smoking cessation who were required to change from in-person clinic visits to remote visits using video or phone conferencing due to the covid-19 pandemic. METHODS For quantitative comparisons we used a quasi-experimental design, comparing a cohort of participants followed during the pandemic (n=23, covid-19 cohort) to a comparable cohort of participants followed over a similar time period in calendar years 2018 & 2019 (n=51, pre-covid-19 cohort) to examine rates for completion of scheduled visits and biospecimen collection. For the qualitative component, interviews were conducted with participants who experienced the transition from “in-person” to “remote visits”. RESULTS Participants in the covid-19 cohort completed an average of 83.6% of remote clinic visits, which was not significantly different than the in-person completion rate of 89.8% in the pre-covid-19 cohort. Participants in the covid-19 cohort returned an average of 93.2% of salvia specimens for remote clinic visits completed, which was not significantly different than the in-person saliva specimen completion rate of 100%) in the pre-covid-19 cohort. Two broad themes emerged from the qualitative data: 1) the benefits of remote visits and 2) the challenges of remote counseling compared to in-person counseling. Despite limited experience with telehealth prior to this transition, most expressed a willingness to engage in remote visits in the future. CONCLUSIONS Even in the context of a rapid transition from in-person to remote visits necessitated by the covid-19 pandemic, rates of visit completion and return of biospecimens remained high. Participants were generally accepting of the transition. Further research is needed to identify the optimal mix of in-person and remote visits beyond the pandemic context and to better understand how these changes might impact study outcomes. CLINICALTRIAL This research was supported in part by the National Cancer Institute (R01 CA206193); additional research infrastructure support was provided by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences/NIH (UL1TR001412) to the University at Buffalo.

scholarly journals The impact of serious games in mathematics fluency: A study in Primary Education

Comunicar ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (69) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Fraga-Varela ◽  
Esther Vila-Couñago ◽  
Esther Martínez-Piñeiro
Keyword(s):  
Primary Education ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Educational Software ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
General Level ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Similar Time ◽  
Mathematics Fluency ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
The Impact

In recent years there has been a renewal of educational software encouraged by the incorporation of specific designs based on serious games. Previous studies on their use do not provide conclusive data on the advancement in learning, both at a general level and in specific contents. The main objective of this work is to study the impact of the use of serious games in primary education classrooms, specifically on mathematics fluency, taking into account gamification variables and teaching experience. A quasi-experimental study was carried out with a pretest-posttest design, without a control group and with several experimental groups, involving 284 students from the first to the fourth grade. The results show a significant improvement in mathematics fluency with the use of serious games in the different grades and classroom groups studied. The gamification strategy promotes even greater progress over the classes where it has not been implemented. There is a similar time of use of serious games by both novice and experienced teachers, with better results in mathematics fluency in the case of the second group. It also shows the relationship between the results obtained and the school grades of the students. The findings point to the potential of using serious games designed specifically for school environments and challenge previous work on generational barriers in teachers. En estos últimos años ha habido una renovación del software educativo propiciada por la incorporación de diseños específicos basados en juegos serios. Los estudios previos sobre su uso no ofrecen datos concluyentes sobre el avance en el aprendizaje, tanto a nivel general como de contenidos específicos. El objetivo principal del presente trabajo es conocer el impacto del uso de juegos serios en las aulas de educación primaria, concretamente en la fluidez matemática del alumnado, atendiendo a variables de gamificación y experiencia docente. Se lleva a cabo un estudio cuasi-experimental con pretest-postest, sin grupo control y con varios grupos experimentales, en el que participan 284 estudiantes de primero a cuarto curso. Los resultados muestran una mejora significativa de la fluidez matemática con el uso de juegos serios en los distintos cursos y grupos-aula estudiados. La estrategia de gamificación promueve un progreso aún mayor respecto a las aulas en las que no se ha implementado. Se observa un tiempo de uso similar de los juegos serios por parte de profesores noveles y experimentados, con mejores resultados en fluidez matemática en el caso de los segundos. También se muestra la relación existente entre los resultados obtenidos y las calificaciones del alumnado. Las conclusiones señalan el potencial del uso de juegos serios diseñados específicamente para entornos escolares y cuestionan trabajos previos sobre las barreras generacionales en el profesorado.

The Impact of Incentives and Competitions on Participation and Quit Rates in Worksite Smoking Cessation Programs

1993 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 270-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dyann M. Matson ◽  
Jerry W. Lee ◽  
Joyce W. Hopp
Keyword(s):  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Smoking Reduction ◽  
Quitting Smoking ◽  
Comparison Groups ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Workplace Smoking ◽  
Smoking And Health ◽  
The Impact

Purpose. The purpose of this review is to determine whether incentive-based programs conducted at worksites increase participation and long-term smoking cessation rates. Methods. Published studies of workplace smoking cessation programs involving incentives and competition were identified through all available years up to winter of 1992 in MEDLINE (1966–1992), Psychlit (1967–1992), Smoking and Health (1960–1992), and Combined Health Information (1973–1992) computer databases and article reference lists. Programs were considered incentive programs when they involved either cash or other prizes paid to the participant for quitting smoking. Incentive competition programs typically involve groups contesting for prizes by having the greatest smoking cessation rates. Thirty studies were found, out of which 15 quasi-experimental and experimental studies are reviewed. The 15 studies that did not have comparison groups were excluded from this report. Results. Only eight studies had a comparison group in which the effects of incentives and competition were separated from the effects of other interventions. Only one study separated the effects of competition from incentives. Five of these studies evaluated smoking rates after six months, and three after 12 months from the program start. Three of these studies showed that incentives increased participation rates, and five enhanced smoking reduction. No study showed, however, that incentives and/or competition enhanced smoking cessation past six months. Conclusions. It appears that incentives/competition may be useful for increasing participation and smoking reduction. Further research needs to be conducted to determine whether incentives and/or competition enhance long-term quit rates, and what are the most effective types of incentive procedures.

The impact of expectations and satisfaction on the initiation and maintenance of smoking cessation: An experimental test.

2008 ◽  
Vol 27 (3, Suppl) ◽  
pp. S197-S206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew W. Hertel ◽  
Emily A. Finch ◽  
Kristina M. Kelly ◽  
Christie King ◽  
Harry Lando ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
Experimental Test ◽  
The Impact

The Impact of Visual Thinking Approach to Promote Elementary Students’ Problem Solving Skill in Mathemathics

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 98
Author(s):  
Muhammad Fendrik ◽  
Elvina Elvina
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Schools ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Elementary Students ◽  
Visual Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Visual Thinking ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Student Skill ◽  
Mathematical Skill ◽  
The Impact

This study aims to examine the influence of visual thinking learning to problemsolving skill. Quasi experiments with the design of this non-equivalent controlgroup involved Grade V students in one of the Elementary Schools. The design ofthis study was quasi experimental nonequivalent control group, the researchbullet used the existing class. The results of research are: 1) improvement ofproblem soving skill. The learning did not differ significantly between studentswho received conventional learning. 2) there is no interaction between learning(visual thinking and traditional) with students' mathematical skill (upper, middleand lower) on the improvement of skill. 3) there is a difference in the skill oflanguage learning that is being constructed with visual learning of thought interms of student skill (top, middle and bottom).

Life-Cycle Costs of Selected Uniformed Health Professions (Phase II: The Impact of Constraints and Policies on the Optimal-Mix-of-Accession Model)

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shayne Brannman ◽  
Eric W. Christensen ◽  
Ronald H. Nickel ◽  
Cori Rattelman ◽  
Richard D. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Phase Ii ◽  
Health Professions ◽  
Life Cycle Costs ◽  
Optimal Mix ◽  
The Impact

River-Basin Planning for Control of Nitrate Pollution

1982 ◽  
Vol 14 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 245-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
C S Sinnott ◽  
D G Jamieson
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Time Series Analysis ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Potable Water ◽  
Potential Problem ◽  
Nitrate Pollution ◽  
Optimal Mix ◽  
Regional Basis ◽  
The Impact

The combination of increasing nitrate concentrations in the River Thames and the recent EEC Directive on the acceptable level in potable water is posing a potential problem. In assessing the impact of nitrates on water-resource systems, extensive use has been made of time-series analysis and simulation. These techniques are being used to define the optimal mix of alternatives for overcoming the problem on a regional basis.

scholarly journals Assessing the impact of the European resilience curriculum in preschool, early and late primary school children

2021 ◽  
pp. 014303432110250
Author(s):  
Celeste Simões ◽  
Anabela C. Santos ◽  
Paula Lebre ◽  
João R. Daniel ◽  
Cátia Branquinho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Mental Health Difficulties ◽  
Prosocial Behaviours ◽  
The Impact

Resilience is an individual’s ability to adapt successfully to and persevere during and after significant challenges. Resilience programmes based on a socioemotional learning approach have been associated with an increase in protextive factors (e.g., prosocial competencies), improvements in physical and mental health, and a decrease in internalised and externalised symptoms. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of the RESCUR curriculum implemented in Portuguese schools on students’ academic, behavioural, and socioemotional outcomes, based on child and teacher reports. Participants included 1,084 children (53.2% male) aged 3-15 ( M = 7.24, SD = 2.31). A quasi-experimental study compared outcomes for an experimental intervention group (AIG) with a waiting list control group (WG). The results showed the RESCUR programme decreased mental health difficulties while increasing both prosocial behaviours and well-being. In addition, academic performance increased for those in preschool after implementation. Both teachers and children consistently reported positive behavioural changes in resilience-related competencies after implementing RESCUR. Our findings contribute to the recent research on the potential of RESCUR to address key socioemotional competencies and improve relevant protextive factors. Study limitations and future recommendations are addressed.

scholarly journals Does Multidisciplinary Team Simulation-Based Training Improve Obstetric Emergencies Skills?

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 170
Author(s):  
Encarna Hernández ◽  
Marcos Camacho ◽  
César Leal-Costa ◽  
María Ruzafa-Martínez ◽  
Antonio Jesús Ramos-Morcillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
Multidisciplinary Team ◽  
Simulation Training ◽  
Observer Agreement ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
High Fidelity ◽  
Breech Delivery ◽  
Obstetric Emergencies ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
The Impact

Clinical simulation in obstetrics has turned out to be a tool that can reduce the rate of perinatal morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to analyze the impact and evaluate the effects of training with high-fidelity simulation of obstetric emergencies on a multidisciplinary group. The quasi-experimental research study was structured in three phases: a first phase where the most important obstetric emergencies were determined, a second phase of design and development of the selected cases for simulation training, and a third and final phase where the abilities and satisfaction of the multidisciplinary team were analyzed. Three scenarios and their respective evaluation tools of obstetric emergencies were selected for simulation training: postpartum hemorrhage, shoulder dystocia, and breech delivery. The health professionals significantly improved their skills after training, and were highly satisfied with the simulation experience (p < 0.05). An inter-observer agreement between good and excellent reliability was obtained. Regarding conclusions, we can state that high-fidelity obstetric emergency simulation training improved the competencies of the health professionals.

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