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Biomedical subjects

R W Fuqua

Publications and source records attributed to R W Fuqua.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Peer training of safety-related skills to institutional staff: benefits for trainers and trainees.

A peer training program, in which experienced staff trained new staff, was evaluated as a method for teaching and maintaining safety-related caregiver skills in an institutional setting for the developmentally disabled. Three sets of safety-type skills were assessed in simulated emergency situations: responding to facility fires, managing aggressive attacks by residents, and assisting residents during convulsive seizures. Using a multiple-baseline research design, results indicated that the peer training program was an effective method of training the three types of emergency skills to new direct care staff. The program also appeared effective in improving the skills of the peer trainers. Perhaps most importantly, results indicated that if experienced staff functioned as peer trainers for particular emergency skills, then their proficiency in those skills maintained over time whereas their proficiency declined in emergency skills for which they did not act as peer trainers. Social validity information collected from available staff 23 months after the program was completed supported the utility of the training in terms of staff responses during actual emergencies. Also, acceptability measures indicated that staff liked participating in the program. However, some inconsistencies between staff verbal reports and performance-based measures of acceptability were noted. Results are discussed regarding the overall effectiveness of the peer training program, the importance of maintenance strategies for safety-related skills, and the need for multidimensional analyses of staff acceptability in staff training/management research.

Accident Prevention↗

Management of inappropriate behaviors of trainable mentally impaired students using antecedent exercise.

The effects of several levels of exercise on inappropriate behaviors of four trainable mentally impaired students were observed. Treatment conditions, which occurred as the first daily activity, included: Phase I, daily alternating conditions of warm-up exercises and jogging at a moderate rate for a short distance; Phase II, daily alternating conditions of no-exercise periods and jogging at a vigorous rate for a moderate distance; and Phase III, jogging at a vigorous rate for a moderate distance on consecutive days. For one student two additional conditions occurred, Phase IV, long-distance jogging on consecutive days at a vigorous rate and Phase V, consecutive days of no exercise. Observations of three inappropriate behaviors of each student occurred immediately after, 1 hour after, and 2 hours after each exercise period. Results indicate a decrease in all three inappropriate behaviors for three of four students and an inverse relationship between the level of exercise and the amount of inappropriate behavior for three of four students. Improvements over existing studies are discussed with suggestions for future research.

Adolescent↗

Effects of token reinforcement schedules on work rate: a case study.

The response rate of an educably mentally retarded male on a folder assembly task and for two types of self-stimulatory behavior was measured under fixed ratio, variable ratio, and fixed ratio pacing schedules of reinforcement. Higher work rates were maintained by the variable ratio and fixed ratio pacing schedule than by the simple fixed ratio schedule. The rate of self-stimulatory behavior associated with each reinforcement schedule and with a medication termination was also reported.

Adult↗

Parental control of nocturnal thumbsucking.

This study evaluates two procedures for the elimination of nocturnal thumbsucking in a 10-yr-old boy. The subject's mother recorded the occurrence of thumbsucking four times each night. Reliability checks were done twice a week by another family member. A plastic splint, usually employed to protect a damaged thumb, was placed on the subject's thumb at bedtime. The results showed that when the splint was used, the incidence of thumbsucking decreased from 100% of the checks made during baseline to 0% during intervention. Several naturally occurring and one planned reversal demonstrated the effectiveness of the splint in controlling thumbsucking.

Behavior Therapy↗

Predictors of condom use and human immunodeficiency virus test seeking among women living in inner-city public housing developments.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To examine prevalence and predictors of condom use and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test seeking among women living in inner-city housing developments. STUDY DESIGN: Between April and June 1994, 671 women living in low-income housing developments in five cities in the United States completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire eliciting information on acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) risk behavior and characteristics indicative of risk. RESULTS: Most participants were women of color who were economically disadvantaged. Fifteen percent reported multiple sex partners, and 30% of women with one sex partner believed he had sex with someone else in the past year. Predictors of condom use included increased rates of safe-sex negotiation, stronger risk reduction intentions, absence of condom barrier beliefs, and multiple sex partners. Women tested for HIV in the past year were younger, perceived themselves to be at risk for HIV infection, reported more conversations with other women about AIDS concerns, and had condoms readily available. CONCLUSIONS: HIV public health prevention interventions are urgently needed for women who live in low-income urban housing developments.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗