Browsing by Author "Hall, James"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Effective workload management in child welfare: Understanding the relationship between caseload and workload
    (Wiley, 2019-12) Kim, Jangmin; Yi, Eun-Hye; Pierce, Barbara; Hall, James; School of Social Work
    A common assumption in public social service organizations is that workload may be positively associated with caseload. However, few empirical studies have examined what specific characteristics of caseload affect caseworkers' workloads in the child welfare system. This study attempts to address this gap by identifying specific individual and regional factors that influence both subjective and objective dimensions of workloads. Survey data were collected from 1,244 caseworkers at one public child welfare agency in a Midwestern state in the United States. The data indicated that both perceptions of unmanageable workloads and self‐reported overtime work were significantly higher when caseworkers had a greater number of cases than the state caseload standard for the investigations units and worked with at least two different types of cases simultaneously (e.g., working with both investigation and ongoing service cases). Additionally, sufficient staffing numbers to meet caseload demands at the regional level significantly decreased the odds ratio of having to do overtime work. The major findings suggest that the objective and subjective dimensions of workload vary by individual‐ and regional‐level variables. Practice implications are discussed for effective and efficient workload management in the public child welfare system.
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    Evaluation of Interprofessional Practice Education for Master of Social Work Students
    (IU School of Social Work, 2022-06-14) Walsh, Matthew A.; Jaggers, Jeremiah W.; Satre, Carol; Hall, James; School of Social Work
    As interprofessional education (IPE) continues to grow as part of social work programs, it is important to evaluate how best to engage students in understanding this material and explore possible barriers. With this in mind, researchers conducted qualitative interviews and focus groups to explore perceptions of three cohorts of social work students (n=29) participating in short-term interprofessional practicum experiences. Perceived benefits included improvements in communication and client care. The study also uncovered various barriers with implementing IPE-focused practicums such as time, scheduling and role uncertainty. Students shared the impact their experience had on knowledge and perceptions of the social work role in interprofessional collaboration. Even so, students were able to observe important elements of interprofessional practice from these relatively short practicums, indicating they may be a viable option for programs looking to expose students to real world interprofessional experience.
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    Plasma Total-Tau and Neurofilament Light Chain as Diagnostic Biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Adults with Down Syndrome
    (IOS Press, 2021) Petersen, Melissa E.; Rafii, Michael S.; Zhang, Fan; Hall, James; Julovich, David; Ances, Beau M.; Schupf, Nicole; Krinsky-McHale, Sharon J.; Mapstone, Mark; Silverman, Wayne; Lott, Ira; Klunk, William; Head, Elizabeth; Christian, Brad; Foroud, Tatiana; Lai, Florence; Rosas, H. Diana; Zaman, Shahid; Wang, Mei-Cheng; Tycko, Benjamin; Lee, Joseph H.; Handen, Benjamin; Hartley, Sigan; Fortea, Juan; O’Bryant, Sid; Alzheimer’s Biomarker Consortium – Down Syndrome (ABC-DS); Medical and Molecular Genetics, School of Medicine
    Background: The need for diagnostic biomarkers of cognitive decline is particularly important among aging adults with Down syndrome (DS). Growing empirical support has identified the utility of plasma derived biomarkers among neurotypical adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD); however, the application of such biomarkers has been limited among the DS population. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the cross-sectional diagnostic performance of plasma neurofilament light chain (Nf-L) and total-tau, individually and in combination among a cohort of DS adults. Methods: Plasma samples were analyzed from n = 305 (n = 225 cognitively stable (CS); n = 44 MCI-DS; n = 36 DS-AD) participants enrolled in the Alzheimer's Biomarker Consortium -Down Syndrome. Results: In distinguishing DS-AD participants from CS, Nf-L alone produced an AUC of 90%, total-tau alone reached 74%, and combined reached an AUC of 86%. When age and gender were included, AUC increased to 93%. Higher values of Nf-L, total-tau, and age were all shown to be associated with increased risk for DS-AD. When distinguishing MCI-DS participants from CS, Nf-L alone produced an AUC of 65%, while total-tau alone reached 56%. A combined model with Nf-L, total-tau, age, and gender produced an AUC of 87%. Both higher values in age and total-tau were found to increase risk for MCI-DS; Nf-L levels were not associated with increased risk for MCI-DS. Conclusion: Advanced assay techniques make total-tau and particularly Nf-L useful biomarkers of both AD pathology and clinical status in DS and have the potential to serve as outcome measures in clinical trials for future disease-modifying drugs.