ABSTRACT
Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected all spheres of life and work. Children have been deeply affected, with >3.34 billion affected learners in India. The present study aimed to assess the awareness regarding social distancing strategies in schools among teachers of Delhi. Further, it explores the attitudes and perceived challenges toward various practical strategies in schools. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study (formative research design) was conducted through an online survey. Teachers during the first nationwide lockdown period were contacted through the snowball method. Quantitative analysis was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21. For the qualitative responses, summative content analysis was conducted by a data coder who was blinded to the identity of the respondent. Results: A total of 199 school teachers from various government schools of Delhi participated in the study. Around 49.7% of teachers suggested that online classes would be the best way for appraising children and parents about social distancing, while 24.1% (n = 48) of them insisted on the use of social media. A total of 11.05% of the respondents were of the view that preventive strategies are incredibly difficult to implement and execute. Conclusion: Teacher training and sensitization of parents and children can help overcome the perceived challenges. Clinical and public health significance: Appropriate COVID-19 preventive strategies implementation remains the mainstay for preventing the transmission of the pandemic among the most vulnerable group-school children. Attempts should be made to tailor-made changes required at the policy as well as school level, understanding the probable school environment and psychological impact, keeping abreast with the local challenges. How to cite this article: Jain S, Bajaj A, Mohanty V, et al. Assessing Social Distancing Strategies in Government Schools of Delhi, India: A Formative Research Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2023;16(1):101-106.
ABSTRACT
The teacher professionalization processes are crossed by historical, socioeconomic, political, cultural, identity, and professional contexts which enter the universe of teacher training and professional practice. This text aims to reflect over teacher training demands through research interests explicit in the teacher training course's monographies (Parfor-UERN), establishing relations between teaching knowledge and the dialectic relation between practice-theory-practice. in the qualitative research approach in Education we adopted the methodology proposal of formative-research for understanding that the protagonists from these processes investigate themes which concern their school routine and form themselves alongside their peers and training institutions, having as a reference the school and university. Results show a few recurrent themes, revealing its permanence, pertinence and constancy for some of the concerns, however, in a few proposals, an unusual element must be observed: the Covid-19 pandemic and its impacts and unfolding in Education.
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This paper reports on the first phase of a formative research process that sought to establish an optimal blended instructional design at a university in Tokyo. The study was conducted during the 2021 academic year (AY), in the middle of the COVID-19 emergency. In response to the pandemic, our university established a Hybrid–Flexible (HyFlex) instructional design, a simultaneous blended learning of F2F and online, as a core policy. In this setup, students choose their preferred attendance mode. However, the university was not fully ready for online learning, which required the teacher to increase ICT readiness prior to the HyFlex implementation. The current study reports the transition process from on-site to online learning, as experienced by both teachers and students, through a data-driven assessment. An end-of-semester survey showed that students’ readiness for online learning was much higher than the school’s notions at that time and that students were generally highly satisfied with the instructional designs. This paper proposes a specific instructional design principle coring synchronous and asynchronous ratio with actual practice for future application and improvement. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
Background: Important tools in preventing the spread of COVID-19 include contract tracing and adherence to isolation guidelines after a positive diagnosis of COVID-19. This is especially relevant among college students who are often away from support systems at home, living in high-density housing, and may not experience serious symptoms from COVID-19 while still contagious. Objective: As text message-based interventions have been found effective in addressing health behaviors among young adults, we conducted formative research to explore how text messaging could support students in adhering to isolation guidelines. Participants: A convenience sample of college students (n = 104) at one university. Methods: An online survey gathered students' perceptions of helpful components to include in a text message-based intervention. Results: Students expressed interest in receiving text messages with support, encouragement, and resources during their time in isolation following a COVID-19 diagnosis. Conclusions: Based on the results, we developed a text message-based intervention designed to provide motivation, support, distraction, and information on resources.
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BACKGROUND: Hazardous alcohol consumption, and binge drinking in particular, continues to be common among college students, posing the greatest risk for their health and safety. Despite widespread exposure to evidence-based preventive interventions among US undergraduates, only modest and temporary effects on risky drinking occur. Formative studies have demonstrated that students want a more engaging intervention tool for risky drinking that can be used just in time. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to test the appeal, relevance, and perceived utility of a draft mobile app for safer student drinking at a public university in Virginia. METHODS: Undergraduate student participants tested the draft mobile app via a web-based prototype that tailors to individual feedback with hot spots that responded to their taps to mimic app functionality. They narrated their impressions, navigation, and comments in a standardized think-aloud procedure. After each round of think-aloud interviews, researchers debriefed the investigators and developers to discuss findings and brainstorm app modifications. RESULTS: Minor changes to the functionality and aesthetics would improve usability of the app (eg, option for light mode in app settings). Student testers recommended tailoring the app to the needs of college students and to aspects of the local university's drinking culture. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study will be synthesized with information gained from other formative work to determine the final app features. We will test the app in a pilot randomized trial to assess app use and the impact of the app on college student drinking behavior over several months.
ABSTRACT
The Law career at the Universidad Regional Autonoma de los Andes, within its curriculum, placed the subject Action Research in the second academic period. For its development, it incorporated practical actions in the teaching-learning process, strategies of formative research, which from the total virtuality in times of pandemic by COVID-19, is a bit paradoxical. The purpose of the research is focused on making a qualitative assessment of the formation of research competences in students who took the subjects from May 2020 to March 2021 in full virtuality. The methodology applied is based on participatory action research with a tendency to the qualitative modality, from the interactions of the researcher with the students in two academic periods, applying in-depth interviews, participant observation and analysis of the products of synchronous and asynchronous activities. The research showed that the formation of research competences had significant impacts on the technical, methodological and social dimensions, in addition to maintaining stability in the propaedeutic and epistemological dimensions. The actions were increased from the virtuality that allowed a deepening of the bibliographic and documentary studies, as well as to identify the need for corroboration in the practice of activities that were prevented by the complex situation of pandemic by COVID-19, and that were empirically supported from the interview and virtual surveys, as well as from the results of audiovisual materials consulted.
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Background: The academic activity of students and professors constitutes the basis of professional training in engineering. Training in electrical engineering has always been of less interest to university students compared to other professional training programs. However, in recent years, this interest has decreased beyond previous trends, an effect detected in all engineering programs, which has been accelerated by the distance learning mechanisms adopted in the face of the spread of COVID-19. Therefore, among the incentive mechanisms for young people, the promotion of research activity has been included. This study describes the model proposed within the Electrical Technology and Engineering programs of the Universidad Distrital Francisco Jose de Caldas as a distinctive element of its research training strategy. Aims: To offer alternatives tending to promote the current research activities of the research groups of the electrical engineering area of the Universidad Distrital (Colombia) to increase the performance of the formative research processes, in particular with motivational aspects, development of critical awareness, and strengthening of resilience. Methods: A strategic plan was developed to increase the activity related to research processes within the academic program. It was based on the dynamics shown in the last seven years, and a set of strategies aimed at strengthening and encouraging this trend was projected for the next seven years. Results and Discussion: This strategic plan is expected to increase academic activity, particularly related to scientific production indicators. Projections for the next seven years indicate an increase in student participation related to scientific publications, the population in research groups, and project development. Conclusions: The proposed scheme corresponds to a model adjusted to higher education institutions with student populations of low academic strata and under national standards that prioritize quality in education from the point of view of both physical and human resources, particularly those that promote critical awareness of local and national reality. In this sense, the proposed plan is highly relevant and promotes one of the strengths identified in the academic program.
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BACKGROUND: Clinical trials that assess the benefits and harms of an intervention do so by measuring and reporting outcomes. Inconsistent selection and diversity in the choice of outcomes make it challenging to directly compare interventions. To achieve an agreed core set of outcomes, a consensus methodology is recommended, comprising a web-based Delphi survey and a face-to-face consensus meeting. However, UK government regulations to control the pandemic prohibited plans for a face-to-face consensus meeting as part of the Core Rehabilitation Outcome Set for Single-Sided Deafness (CROSSSD) study. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the modifications made by the CROSSSD study team to achieve consensus using web-based methods, but with minimal deviation from the original study protocol. METHODS: The study team worked with health care users and professionals to translate the planned face-to-face consensus meeting in a web-based format, preserving the key elements of the nominal group technique. A follow-up survey gathered evaluation feedback on the experiences of the 22 participating members. Feedback covered premeeting preparation, the process of facilitated discussions and voting, ability to contribute, and perceived fairness of the outcome. RESULTS: Overall, 98% (53/54) of feedback responses agreed or strongly agreed with the statements given, indicating that the web-based meeting achieved its original goals of open discussion, debate, and voting to agree with a core outcome set for single-sided deafness. Hearing-impaired participants were fully engaged, but there were some methodological challenges. For the participants, challenges included building rapport, understanding, and delivering the tasks in hand. For the study team, challenges included the need for thorough preparation and management of the unpredictability of tasks on the day. CONCLUSIONS: Sharing our experiences and lessons learned can benefit future core outcome set developers. Overcoming the challenges of delivering a web-based consensus exercise in the face of the pandemic can be applied more generally to maximize inclusiveness, enhance geographical access, and reduce research costs.
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This study describes the development of a colorectal cancer (CRC) screening multilevel intervention with four primary care clinics in rural Appalachian Kentucky. We also discuss barriers experienced by the clinics during COVID-19 and how clinic limitations and needs informed project modifications. Four primary care clinics were recruited, key informant interviews with clinic providers were conducted, electronic health record (EHR) capacity to collect data related to CRC screening and follow-up was assessed, and a series of meetings were held with clinic champions to discuss implementation of strategies to impact clinic CRC screening rates. Analysis of interviews revealed multilevel barriers to CRC screening. Patient-level barriers included fatalism, competing priorities, and financial and literacy concerns. The main provider- and clinic-level barriers were provider preference for colonoscopy over stool-based testing and EHR tracking concerns. Clinics selected strategies to address barriers, but the onset of COVID-19 necessitated modifications to these strategies. Due to COVID-19, changes in clinic staffing and workflow occurred, including provider furloughs, a state-mandated pause in elective procedures, and an increase in telehealth. Clinics adapted screening strategies to match changing needs, including shifting from paper to digital educational tools and using telehealth to increase annual wellness visits for screening promotion. While significant delays persist for scheduling colonoscopies, clinics were encouraged to promote stool-based tests as a primary screening modality for average-risk patients.