Browsing by Subject "program evaluation"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Does Reentry Court Completion Affect Recidivism Three Years after Exit? Results from a Retrospective Cohort Study
    (Taylor & Francis, 2021-08) Lawson, Spencer G.; Grommon, Eric; Ray, Bradley; School of Public and Environmental Affairs
    Reentry courts are a strategy to assist individuals subjected to post-release supervision in the reintegration process, but there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of these practices. The current study presents the results of a retrospective cohort study for a sample of 340 participants who exited a reentry court. Specifically, survival analyses were employed to evaluate whether participants’ reentry court completion status affects their likelihood of and timing to recidivism events three years after exiting the program. The results revealed that successful program completion continues to shape recidivism outcomes up to three years after reentry court exit.
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    Evidence for Long-Term Impact of Pasos Adelante: Using a Community-Wide Survey to Evaluate Chronic Disease Risk Modification in Prior Program Participants
    (MDPI, 2013-10) Carvajal, Scott C.; Miesfeld, Noelle; Chang, Jean; Reinschmidt, Kerstin M.; de Zapien, Jill Guernsey; Fernandez, Maria L.; Rosales, Cecilia; Staten, Lisa K.; Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health
    Effective community-level chronic disease prevention is critical to population health within developed and developing nations. Pasos Adelante is a preventive intervention that aims to reduce chronic disease risk with evidence of effectiveness in US-Mexico residing, Mexican origin, participants. This intervention and related ones also implemented with community health workers have been shown to improve clinical, behavioral and quality of life indicators; though most evidence is from shorter-term evaluations and/or lack comparison groups. The current study examines the impact of this program using secondary data collected in the community 3–6 years after all participants completed the program. A proportional household survey (N = 708) was used that included 48 respondents who indicated they had participated in Pasos. Using propensity score matching to account for differences in program participants versus other community residents (the program targeted those with diabetes and associated risk factors), 148 natural controls were identified for 37 matched Pasos participants. Testing a range of behavioral and clinical indicators of chronic disease risk, logistic regression models accounting for selection bias showed two significant findings; Pasos participants were more physically active and drank less whole milk. These findings add to the evidence of the effectiveness of Pasos Adalente and related interventions in reducing chronic disease risk in Mexican-origin populations, and illustrate the use of innovative techniques for using secondary, community-level data to complement prior evaluation research.
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    Perceptions of Community partners regarding the Sam H. Jones Community Service Scholarship Program
    (2015-09-01) Hahn, Thomas W.; Brown, Lorrie A.; Peters, Adam J.
    The purpose of this evaluation was to understand perceptions of community partners who have partnered with the Center for Service and Learning (CSL) to host Sam H. Jones (SHJ) Community Service Scholarship recipients. Community partners were asked to voluntarily participate in an interview at the end of the Spring 2015 semester to learn more about their experiences with the Scholars and suggestions for program improvement. Their responses were de-identified and analyzed. This report shares overall findings from these interviews and provides general recommendations to improve the experience for both the student and the community partners.
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    Skills on Wheels: Program evaluation and modifications to increase the reliability and validity of the Wheelchair Skills Test
    (2024) Hadley, Raegan; Chase, Tony; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Chase, Tony
    The Skills on Wheels pediatric wheelchair training program lacks program protocols that support the reliability and validity of assessment administration while also showing a lack of skill retention at one-year follow-up which demonstrates the need for program evaluation and modification to support accurate data collection and scoring to draw conclusions from. This is important as this population faces many barriers including insufficient wheelchair skills training when receiving a wheelchair therefore making it difficult to navigate in the community and with others. This can have a great impact on them and the Skills on Wheels program aims to address these gaps to ensure equal and fair participation in daily activities. Therefore it is important that the skills taught during programming are retained and have a long term impact. The purpose of this capstone will be to evaluate and improve the overall functioning and protocols for current programming to increase the accuracy of assessment administration and scoring thus aiming to address potential discrepancies in data from which conclusions are drawn about skill retention issues. The capstone student developed and implemented an in-depth training regarding the Wheelchair Skills Test and evidence based skill training interventions. The capstone student also developed and implemented a protocol for the Wheelchair Skills Test administration to decrease biases and increase inter-rater reliability through a consistent group of trained individuals who are blinded to the subjects skill ability. Results found that volunteers felt both more prepared and accurate in their scoring than in years past and their confidence increased. Additionally, the scoring results from 2024 showed a more realistic skill range and increase among participants than years past supporting higher accuracy. Skills on Wheels would benefit from continuing to utilize protocols and training developed during this capstone experience to continue to enhance the reliability and validity of the program and support accuracy in data findings. This capstone began a process of program evaluation to continue to identify areas that impact the skills training the participants receive and the scoring of the assessment that determines outcomes of the program and participants.