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| Challenges and Opportunities in Community-Based Research: When Unforeseen Practical Issues Threaten Research Progress |
| Tuesday, June 1, 2004 |
| 9:00 AM–10:20 AM |
| Beacon H |
| Area: CSE; Domain: Applied Research |
| Chair: Chris S. Dula (University of Memphis) |
| Abstract: . |
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| When the Going Gets “Ruff” Pitfalls of Applied Research on the Human-Animal Bond |
| ANGELA K. FOURNIER (Virginia Tech), Elizabeth E. Van Voorhees (Virginia Tech), Rachael E. Budowle (Virginia Tech) |
| Abstract: This paper will present practical issues confronted when implementing pet-facilitated interventions and studying the human-animal bond in applied settings. The paper will review challenges from three specific empirical studies evaluating the impact of dog-training programs on residents in institutional settings. The studies all aimed to investigate whether interacting with animals beneficially impacted the behavior of institutional residents. Settings included two prisons and an adolescent treatment facility. In addition to the challenges of research design and methodology, which are typical of applied research, the studies summarized here were faced with additional, unforeseen practical issues that threatened the studies’ successful completion. These practical issues included setting mutually agreed-upon goals for intervention and maintaining access to the applied research setting. |
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| If You Manage to Build It, They Won’t Come: Lessons Learned in Child Passenger Safety Research |
| KELLI ENGLAND WILL (Center for Pediatric Research), E. Scott Geller (Virginia Tech) |
| Abstract: Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death for ages 1 to 44, and motor vehicle crashes are the leading killer of children ages 0 to 14. Although child safety seats are quite effective in preventing childhood death and disability in crashes, at least four out of five child safety seats are unintentionally misused. Certainly, then, large-scale child passenger safety interventions are needed and justified, yet, researchers and safety advocates encounter great barriers to effective program implementation when working in the community. This presentation will chronicle the difficulties encountered when conducting community-based child passenger safety programs, and will offer lessons learned and anticipatory solutions for future research. Lessons learned in child safety research will be drawn from a multi-component point-of-purchase intervention at a retail store, safety-seat checkups conducted at community day-care centers, and focus groups of parents. Barriers to be discussed will include (a) poor participation among parents; (b) low perception of risk; (c) difficulties working with large corporations as partners; (d) low or fluctuating program commitment at partnering agencies; and (e) high worker turnover within a collaborating agency. Advice for avoiding or minimizing such problems will be offered and suggestions for future research will be discussed. |
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| Unanticipated Difficulties Encountered in Implementing a Community-Wide Intervention to Increase Positive Driving Behaviors |
| SARA R. RAYNE (University of Memphis), Shane'a Thomas (Virginia Tech), Eric Raymond (Virginia Tech), Takashi Hirota (Virginia Tech), E. Scott Geller (Virginia Tech) |
| Abstract: Some of the most neglected aspects of community intervention are difficulties encountered by researchers beyond conceptualizing methodology. In other words, once a project is designed and implemented, what unforeseen barriers challenge the design and what changes are made as a result? This paper focuses on these issues with regard to a community-wide intervention designed to increase positive driving behaviors. A Courtesy Code was developed to enable communication between drivers in a manner that was positive by definition. The effectiveness of the code was tested using three groups of drivers and comparing their experiences across a 10-week period. Barriers that arose included problems with participant recruitment and retention, official community support issues, weather-related delays, and media saturation issues. Systematic elucidation of these matters will inform researchers of potential problems and make them better able to anticipate and thus ameliorate them in the design stage. This type of analysis also has implications for suggesting how to address additional unanticipated problems. |
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| Promoting Responsible Actions Through Intervention and School-Wide Education (Project PRAISE): Challenges and Lesson Learned |
| KORRIE ALLEN (Center for Pediatric Research), Gretchen Bremer LeFever (Center for Pediatric Research) |
| Abstract: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed mental health condition among children in the United States. ADHD accounts for a large portion of referrals to primary care physicians, mental health centers, and special education than any other disorder. School-wide interventions aimed at reducing the adverse impact of ADHD on the educational and social functioning of students and to prevent the emergence of disruptive behavior disorders among children are greatly needed. However, during the pilot year of an innovative behavioral treatment and preventive study of ADHD conducted in a region with a high prevalence of ADHD researchers experienced numerous challenges. This presentation will include projected challenges and lessons learned while conducting school-wide demonstration projects and formative research. Specifically, challenges encountered when implementing school-based behavioral management systems included difficulty with school selection, teacher resistance, and establishing lead teachers. Lesson learned include the (1) necessity for a strong partnership between school leaders and researchers; (2) establishment of a long-term laboratory school; and (3) development of transportable and sustainable intervention strategies. |
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