Monitoring Intervention, Essay Example

Section 1: Monitoring interventions

Constructing Studies

A Trend Study is a data collection process designed to capture behavior patterns in an intervention

Objective: – To develop skills in teen moms making them more capable of handling challenges of young parenthood.

Intervention: – Community Outreach Individuals Pregnant Teens with low self-esteem (psychological education) -Holistic Peer Assistance Program for Teen Moms

Methodology (Qualitative approach)

• Randomly recruit a sample of 40 teenage mothers between the ages of 12 – 19 years of age.
• Design a questionnaire for retrieving data pertaining to challenges encountered by teenage mothers between 12 -19 years of age.
• Analyze data based on challenges experienced during the past five years
• Develop a trend analysis profile
• Use this trend analysis for designing education interventions pertaining to the suggested education program for developing teen moms who are capable of handling challenges of young Parenthood.
• Evaluate program at three month intervals to determine changes in the discovered trend.
• Record new trends if any and modify present intervention to coincided with desired objectives

A Cohort study is a longitudinal evaluation to gather evidence for validating interventions

Objective: – To develop skills in teen moms making them more capable of handling challenges of young parenthood.

Intervention: – Community Outreach Individuals Pregnant Teens with low self-esteem (psychological education program)- Holistic Peer Assistance Program for Teen Moms

Methodology (Qualitative approach) –prospective study

• Select the cohort group consisting of teenage mothers between ages 12-19 years old
• Enroll mothers in the intervention education program as participants.

Select a comparative group of teenage mothers between ages 12 -19 who are not exposed to the education program

• Develop desired outcomes for each stage of the education program for cohort group
• Gather data regarding response towards education and behavior adjustments to managing challenges as teenage mothers for both groups
• Use scientific measurements in evaluating behavior changes
• Allow study to run for a two year monitoring period
• Apply data retrieved to future education intervention programs for the cohort group under review

A Panel Study is also referred to as a type of cohort study since it utilizes the observational approach to collecting data.

Objective: – To develop skills teen moms making them more capable of handling challenges of young parenthood

Intervention: – Community Outreach Individuals Pregnant Teens with low self-esteem (psychological education program ) – Holistic Peer Assistance Program for Teen Moms

Methodology (Qualitative approach) – survey study

• Conduct a survey of teenage mothers, who have been exposed to the psychological education program intervention
• Gather data pertaining to their understanding of parenting before and after the intervention.
• Compare behavior patterns/ differences
• Devise an evaluation profile to determine effectiveness of intervention
• Compare results with profile
• Make adjustments for future intervention strategies

Section 1: Monitoring interventions (cont’d)

Constructing a single-subject design

A single subject design is applied mainly in psychology and education whereby the subject is used as its own control during the intervention. In this example is a teenage mother between 12-19 years of age. A great advantage of this design pertains in it facilitating evaluation of a number of interventions at the same time.

Hypothetical practice objective: – To offer better problem solving strategies among pregnant teens

Client system intervention relationship: – Community Outreach Individuals (Pregnant Teens with low self-esteem) psychological education program

Requirements

Continuous assessment: – The behavior of teen mothers (12 -19) enrolled in the program will be is observed at regular intervals (monthly) during the two year intervention process. This gives enough time for psychological problem solving educational therapy to be observed. The effects will be recorded and co-related in evaluating the effects of interactions the client has with the intervention (Moran & Tai, 2001).

Baseline assessment: – This baseline assessment would entail the researcher identifying trends in the client’s behavior before the psychological education intervention program is implemented. Importantly, if it is observed that during the intervention a baseline trend is reversed, this produces evidence that the intervention was successful. For example, in this particular intervention if a baseline trend was inability to cope with two years old during temper tantrums and after psychological education program intervention teen mothers were capable of resolving this issue then the program intervention was successful (Moran & Tai, 2001).

Data Variability: – Very often the client’s behavior will be assessed repeatedly. Consequently, the researcher can observe how frequently behavior is changed with the intervention with this single subject design. For example, if after two months teen mother build their self-esteem to the extent of their children respecting them more and at the second assessment period they are more obedient the interventions provide data variability worthy of documentation and transfer to alternative interven tion programs (Cooper, Heron & Heward, 2007).

Phases

1. Baseline: – collecting data without identifying an independent variable before the intervention begins. Data is collected on the dependent variable only; similar to the baseline assessment process before the intervention begins and trends are identified.
2. Intervention: – A dependant variable is produced and data collected based on the variable selected while independent variable is introduced during the intervention. The intervention then becomes the independent variable.
3. Reversal: – Removing the intervention (independent variable) and collecting data on the dependant variable only again.

Three levels of knowledge are expected to emerge from single subject designs. They are appropriate descriptions of intervention; co-relation of dependent and independent variables and casual effects. In this design the independent variable is the psychological education program while dependent variable becomes pregnant teen mothers (12-19 years old) with low self-esteem (Grinnell, Gabor, Unrau, 2012).

Draft Part I, Sections 15-17

The benchmarks established in this intervention process relate to short term, medium term and long term achievements/ outcomes. In the short term intervention phase a search for pregnant teens that are willing to undergo the psychological education program (Holistic Peer Assistance Program for Teen Moms) will be undertaken. The medium term encompasses offering better problem solving strategies to pregnant teens and the long-term creating teen moms who are capable of coping with the challenges of young parenthood ( Key, Gebregziabher, Marsh  & O’Rourke, 2008).

Bench mark tables

Table 1 short term

Table 11: Medium term

Table 111 long term

 Decision making after program evaluations

Objective and subjective data

This entails devising a multiple objective method. There is no predetermined formula to address this issue. However, the subjective data emerging from these intervention monitoring strategies come from the participants’ responses objective will emerge from research techniques employed when the program is surveyed for efficacy. Subjective data is align to objective for similarities and differences. Differences are further researched and similarities applied to strengthen the program delivery methods.

Case level decision

This will be made applying strategies employed in  a single-subject design where one client is evaluated at an individual basis instead of the whole group together. Each will be assessed as a single case study of the intervention.

Program-level decisions

These will emerge from various case level decisions combining objective and subjective data pertaining to teens’ perception of themselves after the intervention( Duncan & Brooks-Gunn,  2007).

References

Cooper, J. Heron, T., & Heward, W. (2007). Applied Behavior Analysis (2nd ed. ed.). Prentice Hall

Duncan, G., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2007).  Consequences of growing up poor.  New York:  Russell Sage Foundation

Grinnell . R. Gabor, P. Unrau, Y. (2012). Program Evaluation for Social Workers: Foundations of Evidence-Based Programs. Oxford University Press.

Moran, J., & Tai, W. (2001). Reducing Biases in Clinical Judgment with Single-Subject Treatment Design. The Behavior Analyst Today, 2(3), 196–206

Key, J. Gebregziabher, M. Marsh, L. O’Rourke, K. (2008). Effectiveness of an Intensive, School-Based Intervention for Teen Mothers. Journal of Adolescent Health 42( 4); 394-400