Limited Technology Access Among Residents of Affordable Senior Housing During the COVID-19 Pandemic

While U.S. adults living in affordable senior housing represent a vulnerable population during the COVID-19 pandemic, affordable housing may provide a foundation for interventions designed to improve technology access to support health. To better understand technology access among residents of affordable senior housing, we surveyed members of a national association of resident service coordinators to assess their experiences working with residents during the pandemic ( n = 1,440). While nearly all service coordinators report that most or all residents have reliable phone access, under a quarter report that most or all have reliable internet access; they also report limited access to technology for video calls. Lack of internet access and technology literacy are perceived as barriers to medical visits and food procurement for low-income older adult residents of affordable housing. Policies to expand internet access as well as training and support to enable use of online services are required to overcome these barriers.

RECRUITING COMMUNITY-DWELLING LIVE-ALONE PERSONS WITH DEMENTIA: AN EXPLORATION OF FIVE GATEKEEPER DOMAINS

Although recruiting persons with dementia into research is challenging enough, finding those who live-alone in the community is even more difficult. Consequently, live-alone persons with dementia are often overlooked and/or deliberately excluded from inquiry despite calls for more inclusive approaches to dementia research. Based on enrollment strategies from an interview-based protocol recruiting 120 live-alone persons with dementia, our National Institute on Aging- funded study identified five domains of gatekeepers imperative to gaining access to community-dwelling, live-alone persons with dementia: 1) housing (e.g., service coordinators), 2) data proprietors (e.g., regulatory specialists), 3) institutional (e.g., review boards), 4) kin (including fictive kin), 5) clinical (e.g., medical providers, clinician practices). In addition, gatekeeper domains are multilayered and serve distinct roles in both facilitating and hindering access to and enrollment of this under-researched vulnerable population. Analysis of our recruitment efforts contribute significant insights into how the dementia research community may engage the various domains of community gatekeepers, providing direction for current and future social science research.

Report on the Use of Telehealth in Early Intervention in Colorado: Strengths and Challenges with Telehealth as a Service Delivery Method

The use of telehealth as a service delivery method for early intervention (EI) is in its infancy and few studies have examined its use within the context of a statewide program. The focus of this report was to determine the factors that influence providers’ utilization of telehealth in Colorado’s Part C Early Intervention program (EI Colorado). This report presents information that was gathered through surveys sent to Part C program administrators, service coordinators, providers, and caregivers. Surveys were used to understand perceptions of telehealth, actual experiences with telehealth, and perceived benefits and challenges using this service delivery method. Follow-up focus groups were conducted with program administrators and family members to gather more nuanced information. Participants identified several benefits associated with telehealth including its flexibility, access to providers, and more family engagement. The primary barriers included access to high speed internet and the opinion that telehealth was not as effective as in-person treatment. The results in the report served to identify next steps in the implementation of telehealth in Colorado’s Part C EI program.

Complex service offerings : a theoretical exposition and empirical investigation

It is generally acknowledged that not all services are alike, still little has been done to distinguish between service offerings of different varieties. While some service offerings are simple and others complex, how they differ is not yet understood. This dissertation addresses what distinguishes complex services from simpler services, why an inquiry into complex services is needed, and how a knowledge of complex services can inform research. In order to address these questions a new organizing framework for categorizing services is developed. This framework helps to make sense of service offering heterogeneity. A description of the service offering types belonging to the framework is presented to illustrate why inquiry into complex services is needed. In order to demonstrate how complex services may be used in empirical research, a model and hypotheses is built to test complex service contexts' potential as a new domain of fruitful research. This study found that customers' perceptions of role ambiguity are potentially negatively impacted by service complexity. This research also demonstrates that customers' perceptions of role ambiguity is affected both by the breadth and depth of participation by service coordinators, a role unique to complex service contexts.

Individualized Family Service Plan Quality and Alignment of Child-Focused Outcomes to Federal Outcomes and State Early Learning Guidelines

We used two judgment-based scales to evaluate quality features of 623 individualized family service plans (IFSP) contributed by 73 service coordinators in one state. We also explored the alignment between the skills specified in child-focused IFSP outcomes, the three Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) early childhood outcome categories, and the knowledge and skill statements included in state early learning guidelines. Findings showed IFSP content generally was family-centered and of good quality. Outcomes were more frequently aligned with the IDEA outcome categories addressing the use of appropriate behaviors to meet needs and the acquisition and use of knowledge and skills. Outcomes were aligned more frequently with early learning guidelines in the areas of physical development, speech/language development, and approaches to learning. We discuss how instruments and procedures could be used to evaluate IFSP quality and determine connections to expected knowledge and skills for all children identified by state and federal programs.

Trauma through the lens of service coordinators: exploring their awareness of adverse life events among adults with intellectual disabilities

Purpose – With an expansion of trauma knowledge in the field of intellectual disabilities (ID) there is a responsibility among service providers to be trauma-informed. Among those providers are service coordinators (SCs) who are involved in the lives of individuals through the assessment of needs and linkage with necessary supports. The purpose of this paper is to explore SCs’ understanding of individuals’ experiences of adverse life events, trauma, and related services. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 15 SCs, encompassing the experiences of 29 individuals with mild ID. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Findings – From SCs’ perspective, individuals’ experiences were comprised of three major categories – experiencing adversity, responding to adversity and adapting to adversity – influenced by precipitating and perpetuating conditions. Despite a lack of familiarity with the term “trauma,” in general, SCs possessed a rich understanding of individuals’ comprehensive experiences including types of events, responses to events, environmental factors, and implications of respective services. Originality/value – This is an original approach to understanding the awareness of trauma among an integral group of providers for individuals with ID. This paper shows that, although there is a need to reframe current knowledge, SCs can be an asset to facilitate organizational endeavors to become trauma-informed thus having a potential impact on individuals’ quality of life.

Nature of Teaching: What Teachers Need to Know and Do

Improving the quality of what happens in schools and preparing pupils/students for life in the 21st Century requires the highest quality of teaching. This article therefore focuses on professional classroom competences that every professional teacher should possess. It explores various scholarly definitions of teaching and time-tested principles of teaching and the classroom strategies available to teachers which when used judiciously will best assist pupil/student learning. The article will be useful for practicing teachers, student teachers, college and university lecturers, school-based in-service coordinators, advisory teachers and school mentors and head teachers. Though the prime aim of this article is to provoke discussion on the nature of teaching, its additional aim is to help the afore-mentioned stakeholders in the teaching enterprise reflect on their current practice and encourage them to ask questions about everyday classroom events.