The impact of touch-tone data entry on reports of HIV and STD risk behaviors in telephone interviews

Respondents concerns about privacy can decrease reporting of HIV and STD risk behaviors in general population telephone surveys. The purpose of this paper is to describe the results of an experimental study evaluating whether one method for increasing privacy, touch-tone data entry (TTDE), is effective in increasing estimates of sexual behaviors from a population-based survey. We conducted a random-digit-dial telephone survey of adults in New Jersey (n = 405), with half the respondents using TTDE for answering sexual behavior questions. TTDE led to increased reports of same-sex sexual behavior, certain HIV and STD risk factors, and concern about one s risk for HIV and STD transmission. TTDE also narrowed the difference between men s and women s reports of the number of different sexual partners over the past 10 years. The feasibility and limitations of TTDE are discussed, as well as possible alternative interpretations that consider the impact of TTDE on the dynamics of the interaction between the respondent and the interviewer.     

How parental drug use and drug treatment compliance relate to family reunification

This study uses Cox regression to assess the relationships among parental drug use, drug treatment compliance, and reunification from substitute care. The study finds that drug treatment compliance is associated with faster reunification, even when accounting for ongoing drug use and three parenting measures. The findings are consistent with a conceptual framework suggesting that certain client actions, such as drug treatment compliance, may serve as markers that substantially affect client outcomes.     

Think they're drunk? Alcohol servers and the identification of intoxication

Despite alcohol server training programs and legal liability aimed at controlling intoxication, server intervention appears to be rare. Given the difficulty in assessing intoxication, it can be assumed that improvement in assessment skills would increase the likelihood of intervention. Unfortunately, little is known regarding practices servers use to identify intoxication. In order to build a more informed base for policy formation and server training, the focus of this inquiry was to examine practices used by servers to assess intoxication. The analysis was based upon questionnaires mailed to a random probability sample of licensed servers from one state (N = 822). Indicators found to be most important were examined in relation to a variety of occupational characteristics. Implications for training curricula, policy formation, and future research are discussed.     

Multi-family psychoeducation groups in the treatment of children with mood disorders

This study examined the impact of adjunctive multi-family psychoeducation groups (MFPG) on mood-disordered children aged 8 to 11 and their families. Participants were 35 children and 47 parents from families randomly assigned to either immediate MFPG plus treatment as usual (n = 18) or a 6-month wait-list condition plus treatment as usual (n = 17). At the 6 month follow up, immediate treatment families reported: Increased parental knowledge about childhood mood symptoms; increased positive family interactions as reported by the parent; increased perceptions of parental support as reported by children; and increased utilization of appropriate services by families. Expected impact on decreasing negative family interactions was not found. Results are largely consistent with hypothesized findings and support the need to further investigate the adjunctive role of psychoeducation in the treatment of childhood mood disorders.     

Providers' perceptions of how rural consumers access and use mental health services

This article describes the third phase of a research study undertaken within a Canadian provincial regional health authority to explore and analyze mental health services and other resources used by rural consumers after discharge from inpatient mental health programs. The focus of this article is the qualitative research findings obtained from mental health service providers and members of allied agencies. This article will discuss the literature on rural consumers' access and use of mental health programs and services; describe the context and method used to conduct the focus groups with rural service providers; characterize access and use problems from the service providers' perspectives; and suggest strategies to address these problems.     

Role of workplace safety: a revisit of the relationship between job satisfaction and employment status

This study evaluated the relationship between employment status (i.e., part- and full-time) and job satisfaction, with the focus on the moderating roles of perceived injury risk and injury incidence. The results found that the level of job satisfaction for full-time workers was about the same regardless of the level of injury risk they perceived. In contrast, job satisfaction of part-time workers was significantly higher when they perceived low injury risk rather than high injury risk. The findings also supported the potential adverse impact of injury incidence and injury risk on job satisfaction for both part- and full-time workers. This study highlighted the importance of understanding both workplace safety and job satisfaction when attempting to understand the differences between part-time and full-time workers.     

Political and organizational barriers to satisfying low-income U. S. seniors' need for affordable rental housing with supportive services

A substantial share of the low-income older tenants who occupy U. S. government-subsidized rental housing has physical and cognitive limitations. These older tenants are often women living alone in their 70s and 80s, who need help obtaining community-based services, demand-responsive transportation, help with apartment housekeeping and maintenance, self-care assistance, and design modifications made to their dwellings. Other low-income and frail older persons who have large housing expense burdens or occupy physically deficient dwellings also need affordable rental housing with these supportive services. The unmet supportive service needs of these groups persist even as this country's major political and professional stakeholders are aware of their problems and have solutions. This paper examines five major political and organizational barriers that have restricted the availability of supportive services in affordable rental developments. It offers 12 policy recommendations.