Development and validation of a goal attainment scale for families affected by maternal substance use.

The Team for Infants Exposed to Substance use (TIES) Program is a longstanding home-based family support program that provides a multidisciplinary, community-facing model to address the complex needs of families with young children affected by maternal substance use. The model required a comprehensive assessment tool to guide creation of individualized family goals with steps to achievement and measurement of progress on those goals. This article describes the development of a goal attainment scale and the analysis conducted to validate the scale for the service population. TIES model developers and community partners developed the goal attainment scale to assess outcomes in key domains: maternal substance use, parenting, child and maternal health, income, and housing. Data were collected from 2012 to 2019 from 220 participants and analyzed in 2020. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted. Twenty-five of the original 30 items were retained in a six-factor structure. The total percentage of variance explained was 64.44% with six factors, and Cronbach's alpha was .90. For the split-half method, the reliability of scale was .90 for unbiased conditions. Therefore, the scale reached acceptable reliability and validity. The scale provides a comprehensive approach to measure family outcomes across multiple domains addressing key risk and protective factors. This family-centered scale serves both therapeutic and evaluation purposes, acting as an intervention guide and a goal attainment measurement tool.

El Programa del Equipo para los Infantes Expuestos al Uso de Sustancias (TIES) es un programa de apoyo familiar con base en el hogar que ha existido mucho tiempo y que ofrece un multidisciplinario método de cara a la comunidad que se ocupa de las complejas necesidades de familias con niños pequeños afectados por el uso materno de sustancias. Quienes desarrollaron el modelo TIES crearon una herramienta comprensiva de evaluación para guiar la creación de metas familiares individualizadas, pasos para alcanzar y el progreso en cuanto a esas metas. Esta escala de alcance de logros evalúa los resultados en dominios claves: uso materno de sustancias, crianza, salud del niño y de la madre, entradas económicas y vivienda. Este artículo describe el desarrollo y la validez de la escala de alcance de metas. Los datos recogidos del 2012 al 2019 y de 220 participantes se analizaron en 2020. Se llevaron a cabo análisis exploratorios y confirmatorios de factores. Veinticinco de los 30 puntos originales se mantuvieron en una estructura de seis factores. El porcentaje total de variación explicado fue de 64.44% con seis factores y el factor Alpha de Cronbach fue de .90. En cuanto al método dividido en mitades, la confiabilidad de la escala fue de .90 en el caso de condiciones no prejuiciadas. Por tanto, la escala alcanzo una confiabilidad y validez aceptable. La escala ofrece un acercamiento comprensivo para medir los resultados familiares a lo largo de múltiples dominios, ocupándose de factores claves de riesgo y protección. Esta escala centrada en la familia sirve propósitos terapéuticos evaluación y actúa como una guía de intervención y medida de alcance de metas.

Le Programme de l'Equipe pour les Nourrissons Exposés à la Toxicomanie (abrégé TIES, suivant l'anglais The Team for Infants Exposed to Substance use) est un programme de soutien à la famille à domicile mis en place de longue date qui offre un modèle pluridisciplinaire et tourné vers la communauté afin de répondre aux besoins complexes des familles avec de jeunes enfants affectées par la toxicomanie maternelle. Les personnes ayant conçu et développé le modèle TIES ont créé un outil d'évaluation complet afin de guider le développement d'objectifs familiaux individualisés, d'étapes de réussite et de progrès quant à ces objectifs. L'échelle d'étape de réussite évalue les résultats dans des domaines clés: la toxicomanie maternelle, le parentage, la santé de l'enfant et la santé maternelle, les revenus, et le domicile. Cet article décrit le développement et la validation de l'échelle de réussite. Les données ont été recueillies de 2012 à 2019 de 220 participantes et elles ont été analysées en 2020. Des analyses factorielles exploratoires et des analyses factorielles confirmatoires ont été faites. Vingt-cinq des 30 éléments d'origine ont été retenus dans une structure à six facteurs. Le pourcentage total de variance expliquée était de 64,44% avec six facteurs, et l'alpha de Cronbach était de 0,90. Pour la méthode à demi-fraction la fiabilité de l'échelle était de,90 pour des conditions impartiales. L'échelle a donc atteint la fiabilité et la validité. L'échelle offre une approche complète afin de mesurer les résultats de la famille au travers de multiples domaines traitant le risque clé et les facteurs de protection. Cette échelle centrée sur la famille sert un but à la fois thérapeutique et d'évaluation, agissant comme un guide d'intervention et une mesure d'atteinte du but.

A Promising Approach in Home Visiting to Support Families Affected by Maternal Substance Use.

INTRODUCTION: Many factors influence women's use of alcohol and other drugs while pregnant and postpartum. Substance use impacts the maternal-child relationship during the critical neonatal period. The first days and months of human development lay the foundation for health and well-being across the lifespan, making this period an important window of opportunity to interrupt the transmission of trauma and stress to the next generation. Pregnant and postpartum women with a history of substance use require specialized support services. METHODS: The Team for Infants Exposed to Substance abuse (TIES) Program provides a holistic, multi-disciplinary, community-based model to address the complex needs of families with young children affected by maternal substance use. RESULTS: A multi-year implementation study of the model yielded results that indicate the effectiveness of this home-based family support intervention. The model focuses on reducing maternal alcohol and other drug use, increasing positive parenting, promoting child and maternal health, and improving family income and family housing. A key component of the model is establishing a mutual, trusting relationship between the home visiting specialists and the family. Foundational to the TIES model is a family-centered, culturally competent, trauma-informed approach that includes formal interagency community partnerships DISCUSSION: This article describes elements of the model that lead to high retention and completion rates and family goal attainment for this unique population.

Building a Contextually-Relevant Understanding of Resilience among African American Youth Exposed to Community Violence.

Studies consistently demonstrate that African American youth experience disproportionate levels of community violence, which is associated with negative health and well-being outcomes among these youth. The frequency and severity of community violence exposure is a unique challenge for these youth and requires tailored approaches to promote resilience after community violence exposure. However, limited research exists that operationalizes resilience after community violence based on the unique context and lived experience of African American youth. Developing a more contextually relevant understanding of resilience is critical to reducing health inequities experienced by African American youth and promoting their well-being. Five focus groups were conducted with 39 African American adolescents (ages 13-18) exposed to community violence. Participants also completed a brief survey that included questions on demographics, adverse childhood experiences, social capital, and resilience. Focus-group transcripts were independently coded by two members of the research team and analyzed using an inductive approach. Youth highlighted key indicators of resilience including the ability to persevere, self-regulate, and change to adapt/improve. Youth also described family, peer, and cultural contexts that impact how resilience is produced and manifested, highlighting trust, perceived burdensomeness, self-determination, connectedness, and mental health stigma as key factors within these contexts. Results of this qualitative study support the development of health promotion programs for African American youth exposed to community violence that address unique risks and build on existing protective factors within family, peer, and cultural contexts.

Predictive ability of Charlson comorbidity index on outcomes from lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: The effect of age and/or comorbidities on management decisions in lung cancer patients has been debated. The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) was developed to help predict mortality from chronic medical conditions. This study was undertaken to evaluate whether CCI is correlated with survival in lung cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective chart review of 617 lung cancer patients diagnosed between 1994 and 2007 was conducted. CCI was calculated for each patient with and without the inclusion of age. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between CCI and survival while adjusting for other prognostic factors. RESULTS: Six patients were excluded from the final analysis due to missing outcome or comorbidity data. The median age at diagnosis was 64 years (range, 16-89 y). Five hundred fourteen patients (84%) had nonsmall cell lung cancer and 97 patients (16%) had small cell lung cancer. Using multivariate analysis, no correlation was found between CCI and risk of death whether or not age was included in the index score. CONCLUSIONS: CCI did not provide predictive validity for survival of lung cancer patients. Development of accurate and predictive prognostic models to help estimate a patient's prognosis is needed.