Academic literature on the topic 'Extension staff evaluation projects'

The ‘Research to Reality Project’ assisted beef producers in the Burdekin catchment of north Queensland to develop practical responses to a range of production and grazing land management challenges. The project involved three groups of beef producers encompassing 19 enterprises, 680 000 ha of land and the management of 162 000 cattle. The project was founded on a continuous improvement and innovation approach, and included an employed industry champion and multi-disciplinary project team who used a range of extension methods to identify, develop and implement on-property projects. Extension methods included one-on-one property planning activities, economic benchmarking, land condition assessments, on-property demonstrations, structured learning workshops and information products. The value of project evaluation to producers and the project staff is discussed. Further, the link between increased profitability and better land management was established for many producers. This learning is reflected in the uptake of recommended grazing practices and the decisions producer participants are now making about their grazing business.

This paper describes a pilot series of extension programs delivered to inmates within the Mississippi Department of Corrections system. The project was a collaboration between the Chickasaw County Regional Correctional Facility, state Extension forestry specialists, and county Extension staff. A large body of research describes benefits of inmate education, including lower recidivism and reducing tension that could otherwise lead to behavioral problems. Over four months, Mississippi State University Extension personnel worked with prison officials to educate inmates about forestry, logging, and arboriculture. This paper describes the collaborative process driving the project as well as program design, curriculum, materials, and delivery. Besides technical information, instructors discussed opportunities and challenges inmates may encounter if they were to pursue employment in forestry or tree care following their sentences. Instructors worked closely with prison staff to appropriately address teaching in a unique environment and the educational needs of the students. We present the student evaluation process, which was limited by prison rules. Finally, we present results from an evaluation of partners and instructors that elaborate on pitfalls, challenges, and opportunities. The Department of Corrections was highly satisfied with the program and has requested expansion to facilities across the state.

Eighty percent of the Malawian population depends on agriculture for employment. This commentary is a reflection of a number of training workshops conducted to orient frontline extension staff on improved agricultural technologies. These trainings were conducted by the Technology Transfer Unit (TTU) is under the Department of Agricultural Research Services (DARS) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Malawi. The manuscript contains an analysis across various activities were done before, during, and after a number of technical training sessions. The manuscript presents a detailed picture of processes associated with implementation of the trainings where technical information was shared. The results conceptualize insights of things what was effective, and suggests ways of improving trainings in the future. Therefore, this commentary stresses on the importance of conducting training needs assessments for specific technical groups. The lessons drawn from the analysis are sketched in a general schematic model that can be used for designing, implementing and evaluating future agricultural extension staff trainings to improve food security of Malawians.

The evaluation of the quality of teaching and the evaluation of education at universities, methods of evaluating teaching and assessment are one of the key criteria for university evaluation. At present, a project of the ESF project of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen was realized and one of its activities is focused on "Improving Educational Activities and Modern Educational Trends" and on the subsequent implementation and reflection of student education with new teaching methods. The questionary survey was conducted in 2019 with 616 respondents from the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, who is the only one public higher education institution in the Pilsen Region. The results analyze in detail the views of the students - taking into account the extension of pedagogical competencies within the framework of the career order. The aim of the project is a comprehensive system of interconnection of the education of academic staff in the area of increasing pedagogical competencies with introduction of new teaching methods into practice and taking into account the extension of pedagogical competencies within the framework of the career order. The results of a survey focused on evaluating the quality of teaching methods confirmed a number of mostly known means of activating teaching, interactive teaching, communication, discussion, the role of the personality of the lecturer and the instructor. These activation approaches need to be continued.

A participatory action research (PAR) project was implemented in the New South Wales dairy industry. Six regional dairy groups were given funding to investigate issues relating to management of the feedbase. Facilitated meetings in the regions identified limitations to local systems and how these limitations could be addressed. Local groups then implemented research of relevance to their systems. Activities varied but groups were guided by the principles of PAR. Regional groups consisted of farmers, government extension and/or research staff, processors and other stakeholders. A leadership team, consisting of representatives from each of the regional groups and other stakeholders, was formed to administer the project and assist groups in using the PAR approach. Evaluation of the project indicated high levels of participation in all regions and a strong sense of ownership of the project and/or project work. The most commonly mentioned outcome in the groups was what they learned as a result of involvement. The project and its evaluation are discussed in relation to PAR principles, the outcomes from the approach, and lessons learnt for improving the success of PAR.

IntroductionAppraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE II) is an instrument that informs development, reporting and assessment of clinical practice guidelines. Previous research has demonstrated the need for improvement in methodological and reporting quality of clinical practice guidelines specifically in surgery. We aimed to develop an AGREE II extension document for application in surgical guidelines.Methods and analysisWe have performed a structured literature review and assessment of guidelines in surgery using the AGREE II instrument. In exploratory analyses, we have identified factors associated with guideline quality. We have performed reliability and factor analyses to inform the development of an extension document. We will summarise this information and present it to a Delphi panel of stakeholders. We will perform iterative Delphi rounds and we will summarise the final results to develop the extension instrument in a dedicated consensus conference.Ethics and disseminationFunding bodies will not be involved in the development of the instrument. Research ethics committee and Health Research Authority approval was waived, since this is a professional staff study only and no duty of care lies with the National Health Service to any of the participants. Conflicts of interest, if any, will be addressed by reassigning functions or replacing participants with relevant conflicts. The results will be disseminated through publication in peer reviewed journals, the funders’ websites, social media and direct contact with guideline development organisations and peer-reviewed journals that publish guidelines.

BackgroundDespite the movement towards care in the community, 40% of the NHS budget on mental health care is still attributed to inpatient services. However, long before the Francis Report highlighted grave shortcomings in inpatient care, there were reports by service user groups on the poor quality of these services in mental health. The programme provides a particular focus on the inclusion of the patient’s perspective in the development and evaluation of evidence.ObjectivesTo understand how changes to inpatient care affect the perceptions of the ward by service users and staff by using stakeholder participatory methods.DesignThe programme consisted of four work packages (WPs). (1) Lasting Improvements for Acute Inpatient SEttings (LIAISE): using participatory methods we developed two new scales [Views On Therapeutic Environment (VOTE) for staff and Views On Inpatient CarE (VOICE) for service users]. (2) Client Services Receipt Inventory – Inpatient (CITRINE): working with nurses and service users we developed a health economic measure of the amount of contact service users have with staff. The self-report measure records interactions with staff as well as the number of therapeutic activities attended. (3) Delivering Opportunities for Recovery (DOORWAYS): a stepped-wedge randomised controlled trial to test if training ward nurses to deliver therapeutic group activities would improve the perception of the ward by service users and staff. A total of 16 wards were progressively randomised and we compared the VOICE, VOTE and CITRINE measures before and after the intervention. A total of 1108 service users and 539 staff participated in this trial. (4) Bringing Emergency TreatmenT to Early Resolution (BETTER PATHWAYS) was an observational study comparing two service systems. The first was a ‘triage’ system in which service users were admitted to the triage ward and then either transferred to their locality wards or discharged back into the community within 7 days. The second system was routine care. We collected data from 454 service users and 284 nurses on their perceptions of the wards.Main outcome measuresThe main outcomes for the DOORWAYS and BETTER project were service user and staff perceptions of the ward (VOICE and VOTE, respectively) and the health economic measure was CITRINE. All were developed in WPs 1 and 2.ResultsWe developed reliable and valid measures of (1) the perceptions of inpatient care from the perspectives of service users and nurses (VOICE and VOTE) and (2) costs of interactions that were valued by service users (CITRINE). In the DOORWAYS project, after adjusting for legal status, we found weak evidence for benefit (standardised effect of –0.18, 95% CI 0.38 improvement to 0.01 deterioration;p = 0.062). There was only a significant benefit for involuntary patients following the staff training (N582, standardised effect of –0.35, 95% CI –0.57 to –0.12;p = 0.002; interactionp-value 0.006). VOTE scores did not change over time (standardised effect size of 0.04, 95% CI –0.09 to 0.18;p = 0.54). We found no evidence of an improvement in cost-effectiveness (estimated effect of £33, 95% CI –£91 to £146;p = 0.602), but resource allocation did change towards patient-perceived meaningful contacts by an average of £12 (95% CI –£76 to £98;p = 0·774). There were no significant differences between the triage and routine models of admission in terms of better perceptions by service users (estimated effect 0.77-point improvement in VOICE score on the triage ward;p = 0.68) or nurses (estimated effect of 1.68-point deterioration in VOTE on the triage ward;p = 0.38) or in terms of the cost of the length of care provided (£391 higher on triage;p = 0.77).Strengths and limitationsWe have developed measures using methods involving both service users and staff from mental health services. The measures were developed specifically for acute inpatient services and, therefore, cannot be assumed to be useful for other services. For instance, extensions of the measures are under construction for use in mother and baby units. The strength of the BETTER PATHWAYS and DOORWAYS projects is the large-scale data collection. However, we were testing specific services based in inner city areas and stretching to inner urban areas. It may be that different effects would be found in more rural communities or in different types of inpatient care.Future workOur database will be used to develop an understanding of the mediating and moderating factors for improving care quality.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN06545047.FundingThis project was funded by the NIHR Programme Grants for Applied Research programme and will be published in full inProgramme Grants for Applied Research; Vol. 6, No. 7. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

IntroductionProject ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) uses teleconferencing technology to support and train healthcare providers (HCPs) remotely, and has improved care across the USA. A 6-month pilot was trialled in a community palliative care nursing setting to determine if ECHO would be effective in the UK in providing education and support to community hospice nurses (CHN).MethodsThe pilot involved weekly 2 hour sessions of teaching and case-based discussions facilitated by hospice staff linking with nine teams of CHN using video conferencing technology. A mixed-methods prospective longitudinal cohort study was used to evaluate the pilot. Each CHN provided demographic data, and completed a written knowledge assessment and a self-efficacy tool before and after the pilot. Two focus groups were also performed after the pilot.Results28 CHNs completed the evaluation. Mean knowledge score improved significantly from 71.3% to 82.7% (p=0.0005) as did overall self-efficacy scores following the ECHO pilot. Pre-ECHO (p=0.036) and Retro-Pretest ECHO (p=0.0005) self-efficacy were significantly lower than post-ECHO. There was no significant difference between Pretest and Retro-Pretest ECHO self-efficacy (p=0.063). 96% recorded gains in learning, and 90% felt that ECHO had improved the care they provided for patients. 83% would recommend ECHO to other HCPs. 70% stated the technology used in ECHO had given them access to education that would have been hard to access due to geography.ConclusionsThis study supports the use of Project ECHO for CHNs in the UK by demonstrating how a 6-month pilot improved knowledge and self-efficacy. As a low-cost high-impact model, ECHO provides an affordable solution to addressing growing need.

The workload distribution of the academic staff was determined and the factors that influence its variability were identified. The ideal perceived workload of academic staff in the academic department was 56% in instruction, 24% in research and 17% in extension, while in the research centers, 32%, 43% and 24% for instruction, research and extension functions, respectively. The assignement given by the department heads and the number of approved research projects/extension activities handled/implemented by the staff had the most influence on the variability in workload distribution.

Background:Elbow fracture is treated either conservatively or surgically followed by a period of immobilization with casting or splinting. A splint used to immobilize upper limbs for many weeks results in changes in both the peripheral musculature and the central nervous system. It is well known that common complaints after upper limb fractures include weakness, pain, and stiffness; therefore, pain management is important in the early stages of the rehabilitation of upper limb fractures.Objectives:This pilot study aimed to investigate the efficacy of graded motor imaginary (GMI) on pain, range of motion (ROM), and function in patients with posttraumatic stiff elbow.Methods:Fourteen patients with posttraumatic stiff elbow (6 women, mean age: 45.42 ± 11.26 years, mean body mass index: 24.29 ± 3.38 kg\m2and mean duration of immobilization: 4.75 ± 1.03 weeks) were randomly allocated to either GMI or control groups. The GMI group received GMI treatment in addition to a structured exercise program, and the control group received a structured exercise program (two days per week for six weeks) (Figure 1). The assessments included pain at rest and during activity using the visual analog scale (VAS), elbow active ROM with a digital goniometer (Baseline Evaluation Instrument, Fabrication Enterprises, Inc., White Plains, NY), and upper extremity functional status using the Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire (DASH). The assessments were performed at baseline and after the 6-week intervention.Figure 1.Graded motor imagery performed with mirror boxResults:After the 6-week intervention, there was a significant increase in elbow flexion-extension ROM and supination-pronation ROM, and improvement in DASH score in both groups (p<0.05). However, improvement in VAS-rest and VAS-activity was significantly higher in the GMI group than the control group (p=0.03 and p=0.01, respectively).Conclusion:A conservative treatment program consisting of GMI treatment in addition to a structured exercise program applied twice a week for 6 weeks, has been found more effective in decreasing pain in the posttraumatic stiff elbow. It could be concluded that GMI is an effective treatment method for elbow fracture in patients with predominant elbow pain.References:[1] Harris JE, Hebert A. Utilization of motor imagery in upper limb rehabilitation: a systematic scoping review. Clin Rehab. 2015:29(11):1092-1107.[2] Opie GM, Evans A, Ridding MC, Semmler JG. Short-term immobilization influences use-dependent cortical plasticity and fine motor performance. Neuroscience. 2016:330:247-256.[3] Birinci T, Razak Ozdincler A, Altun S, Kural C. A structured exercise programme combined with proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretching or static stretching in posttraumatic stiffness of the elbow: a randomized controlled trial. Clin Rehab. 2019:33(2):241-252.Acknowledgments:The present work was supported by the Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit of Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa (Project No: TDK-2019-33997).Disclosure of Interests:None declared