Exploring youth voices in a pre-college program: Implications for policy, practice & research.

BACKGROUND: Youth transitioning from foster care to college face multiple obstacles. Pre-college programs can promote college access for underrepresented students. The research on pre-college programs that prepare foster youth for college is limited. There is a paucity of research that illuminates youth voices in pre-college programs. OBJECTIVE: This article reviews key program components of a pre-college summer program designed specifically for youth transitioning from foster care, the National Social Work Enrichment Program (NSEP). Findings from a qualitative research study of NSEP are presented. Implications for policy, practice, and research for pre-college programs are discussed. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Fourteen youth, who successfully completed NSEP and had enrolled in college following the program, participated in the study. METHODS: Participants completed semi-structured interviews via a video conferencing tool. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using NVivo 12. RESULTS: Thematic analysis captured youth voices, highlighted in the themes: college aspirations, college preparation, and community building. Results suggest NSEP youth aspired to enroll in college. Results also suggests that the NSEP experience helped to prepare youth for college and facilitated the development of community among participants. CONCLUSIONS: Investment in pre-college programs could provide the right support and resources that youth need to transition from foster care to college. Pre-college programs provide an opportunity for youth to develop college readiness skills, build relationship skills, and grow personally. Further research on the efficacy of pre-college programs is needed.

Human-Technology Interaction Factors Associated With the Use of Electronic Personal Health Records Among Younger and Older Adults: Secondary Data Analysis.

BACKGROUND: An electronic personal health record (ePHR), also known as a personal health record (PHR), has been broadly defined as an electronic application through which individuals can access, manage, and share their health information in a secure and confidential environment. Although ePHRs can benefit individuals as well as caregivers and health care providers, the use of ePHRs among individuals continues to remain low. OBJECTIVE: The current study aims to examine the relationship between human-technology interaction factors and ePHR use among adults and then to compare the different effects of human-technology interaction factors on ePHR use between younger adults (18-54 years old) and older adults (55 years of age and over). METHODS: We analyzed data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 5 cycle 3) collected from US adults aged 18 years old and over in 2019. Descriptive analysis was conducted for all variables and each item of ePHR use. Bivariate tests (Pearson correlation coefficient for categorical variable and F test for continuous variables) were conducted over 2 age groups. Finally, after adjustments were made for sociodemographics and health care resources, a weighted multiple linear regression was conducted to examine the relationship between human-technology interaction factors and ePHR use. RESULTS: The final sample size of 1363 (average age 51.19) was divided into 2 age groups: 18 to 54 years old and 55 years old and older. The average level of ePHR use was low (mean 2.76, range 0-8). There was no significant difference in average ePHR use between the 2 age groups. Including clinical notes was positively related to ePHR use in both groups: 18 to 54 years old (ß=.28, P=.005), 55 years old and older (ß=.15, P=.006). Although accessing ePHRs using a smartphone app was only associated with ePHR use among younger adults (ß=.29; P<.001), ease of understanding health information in ePHRs was positively linked to ePHR use only among older adults (ß=.13; P=.003). CONCLUSIONS: This study found that including clinical notes was positively related to ePHR use in both age groups, which suggested that including clinical notes as a part of ePHRs might improve the effective use of ePHRs among patients. Moreover, accessing ePHRs using a smartphone app was associated with higher ePHR use among younger adults while ease of understanding health information in ePHRs was linked to higher ePHR use among older adults. The design of ePHRs should provide the option of being accessible through mobile devices to promote greater ePHR use among young people. For older adults, providers could add additional notes to explain the health information recorded in the ePHRs.