There is a compelling need for standardized coding schemes to represent data collected for childr... more There is a compelling need for standardized coding schemes to represent data collected for children receiving services through Milwaukee County early intervention (Birth to 3) programs. We are standardizing Birth to 3 data in our ongoing development of the Early Childhood Integrated Database System. Our efforts balance the need for individualized service plans with the need for aggregate analysis.
An H. Hains, Ph.D., Paula M. Rhyner, Ph.D., Mary E. McLean, Ph.D., Kris Barnekow, Ph.D., ... Vick... more An H. Hains, Ph.D., Paula M. Rhyner, Ph.D., Mary E. McLean, Ph.D., Kris Barnekow, Ph.D., ... Vicky Johnson, BA, and Bonnie Kennedy, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee ... AA.1 't'et(.BB 0'1'&dquo; 1&dquo;'e l ... &dquo;,tg~ C1 (.B1.&dquo;&dquo; ð jJ1e ,1ifl'/, r
Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2008
How do you find health information for your own use? Have digitization and the growth of digital ... more How do you find health information for your own use? Have digitization and the growth of digital records impacted patients, healthcare practitioners, and information managers of medical records? This panel will present research and discuss with the audience how information technology impacts society and individuals. The panelists will share recent findings from their research on the transformation of personal and professional medical and health informatics. Presentations on the application of maps of perceived value, preconceptions about consumers, and the role of web-based communication will show how assumptions about healthcare information are changing the professionals, consumers, and systems. According to many experts in the field of medicine, there is potential for a crisis in the collection and distribution of patient records and community health. In the 1990s the introduction of HIPAA (Health Information Privacy and Accountability Act) regulations protected individual privacy. How have electronic records transformed society and/or information? How is the technology changing information practices? This panel builds on earlier research on these questions as reported at the 2007 ASIS&T Annual Meeting, and it is intended to provide an opportunity to share new findings about recent transformations.
Social computing in the domain of health care is a vital, growing activity on the web. Patients, ... more Social computing in the domain of health care is a vital, growing activity on the web. Patients, family, and healthcare professionals seek answers and share information. Knowledge management issues about accessing data and cultivating users have not been resolved. This panel has experiences to share based on research into the problems and issues that can separate each of us from personal medical and health records. Sometimes academic research in information science is separated by policies and practices from impacting the design of medical/healthcare world's information applications. Reliability and quality in health information and knowledge depend on bridging this gap.
Currently, data on children with developmental delays are collected on an as-needed basis and in ... more Currently, data on children with developmental delays are collected on an as-needed basis and in general are created and maintained locally. In this paper, a comprehensive, user-friendly integrated system design for children age birth to three years with disabilities in Milwaukee County is proposed. After the prototype system is developed and tested as a "proof-of-concept" the product system will be migrated into the Wisconsin Public Health Information Network (WI-PHIN) as a Program Area Module (PAM).
Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 2010
This descriptive study examined the readability levels of Individualized Family Service Plans (IF... more This descriptive study examined the readability levels of Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs). The readability of 85 de-identified IFSP documents developed by seven agencies that serve families and children enrolled in a county early intervention program was analyzed using Flesch Kincaid grade levels and Flesch reading ease scores. The average Flesch Kincaid grade level of the entire IFSP documents was 8.0, indicating that the text was written at the 8th grade reading level. The Flesch reading ease mean score for all of the IFSP documents was 58.6, indicating that the text was written at a moderate level of ease to read. The highest Flesch Kincaid grade level scores and lowest reading ease scores were found in sections that require descriptive documentation of IFSP activities and ideas, justification for services provided outside of the natural environment, the way in which outcomes would be met, and a description of the activities provided in the natural environment. The lowest Flesch Kincaid grade level and the highest reading ease level were found in the section involving gross motor development. There were no agencies that prepared IFSP documents at or below the recommended 5th grade reading level. The findings from this study indicated that on average the entire IFSP documents and most sections of the documents were written above a 5th grade reading level. Overall there were no agencies that wrote the IFSP documents at or below the recommended 5th grade reading level. Analysis of readability levels when preparing IFSP documents is recommended to optimize accessibility and usability.
The Preparing Academically Successful Students in Maternal and Child Health (MCH PASS) training p... more The Preparing Academically Successful Students in Maternal and Child Health (MCH PASS) training program provided financial support and specialized training to occupational therapy (OT) and speech-language pathology (SLP) undergraduate students from underrepresented groups in maternal and child health. The project assisted undergraduate trainees to matriculate into graduate programs in their respective fields and facilitated application into long-term maternal and child health training programs. Sixteen trainees (8 OT and 8 SLP) participated in an undergraduate training program with an emphasis on interdisciplinary teaming, family mentoring, leadership development, public health and population-based research. Instruction occurred in community and classroom settings through didactic instruction and small group discussions. Fifteen of the trainees applied to and were accepted in graduate programs in their respective fields. Two trainees applied to a long-term MCH training program. Students reported increased knowledge about programs that serve women and children, the effects of poverty on health, interdisciplinary teaming and the daily routines of families who have a child with a special health care need. The MCH PASS program provided a unique opportunity for undergraduate students in OT and SLP to learn about public health with an emphasis on maternal and child health. The specialized preparation enabled students to understand better the health concerns of underserved families whose children have special health care needs.
Approximately 2% of children from birth through 2 years of age were identified as having disabili... more Approximately 2% of children from birth through 2 years of age were identified as having disabilities in 2000. To provide effective intervention services to each child is important. Children with disabilities from birth to 3 years of age who receive early intervention services have an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). In some community early intervention programs, IFSP data are collected and stored in paper-based format, making it difficult to retrieve information in an efficient manner. Information technology strategies could address these problems, thus enhancing the efficiency of the information management. This paper discusses a user requirement analysis, design and development of a Tablet-PC computer application for collecting IFSP data for young children in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. An early prototype for the Tablet-PC computer application for the IFSP was successfully developed and a preliminarily evaluation was conducted at two early intervention programs.
The present study compared results obtained for 62 normally developing preschool children on the ... more The present study compared results obtained for 62 normally developing preschool children on the Bracken Basic Concept Scale, the Preschool Language Scale, and the Slossen Intelligence Test to determine whether scores on the tests correlated and were equivalent. Results of correlation analyses using standard scores from the Bracken Basic Concept Scale, the auditory comprehension and verbal ability subscales of the Preschool Language Scale, and the Slossen Intelligence Test revealed low to moderate correlations between the three tests. These results suggest that the tests do not measure the same abilities and thus cannot be used interchangeably to evaluate basic concept development, language, or intellectual functioning in preschool children. The moderate to high correlations found between the children's CAs and age-equivalents for the three tests indicate that the tests measure skills that are developmental in nature. Implications for assessment of concept development and language functioning in preschool children are discussed.
ABSTRACT Increasingly, children spend much of their day in the care of adults other than their pa... more ABSTRACT Increasingly, children spend much of their day in the care of adults other than their parents, such as child care providers. Consequently, it is important to analyze nonparental adults’ use of strategies suggested to foster language development, such as contingent responsiveness, during interactions with young children. This study examined child caregivers’ contingent responsiveness behaviors that followed toddlers’ communicative attempts within unstructured, semistructured, and structured daycare contexts. Child caregiver behaviors were coded as (a) no response (appropriate), (b) no response (inappropriate), (c) noncontingent response (appropriate), (d) noncontingent response (inappropriate), (e) contingent response and termination of the interaction (appropriate), (f) contingent response and termination of the interaction (inappropriate), and (g) contingent response leading to maintenance of the communicative interaction. Important similarities and differences in child caregivers’ contingent responsiveness behaviors for the three contexts suggest a need to prepare child caregivers to use strategies such as contingent responsiveness across contexts to facilitate language development.
ABSTRACT Functional health literacy, a component of health literacy, refers to the ability to rea... more ABSTRACT Functional health literacy, a component of health literacy, refers to the ability to read and interpret medical information. The Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA) measures the ability to read and interpret medical information. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess and compare levels of maternal functional health literacy using the S-TOFHLA and to determine whether a relationship exists between functional health literacy and symptoms of maternal mental health in a sample of mothers whose children were enrolled in early intervention programs in urban (n = 25) and suburban/rural (n = 25) Midwestern counties. Results showed that all mothers had adequate functional health literacy as determined by the S-TOFHLA. There were significant correlations between functional health literacy, annual income, and level of education, but not between functional health literacy, maternal depression, and posttraumatic stress symptom levels. Although mothers had adequate functional health literacy and their scores were not related to maternal mental health symptoms, previous research indicates that families have difficulty understanding and using early intervention program literature. The findings from the current study suggest that the difficulty parents have using early intervention program literature may not be isolated to the ability to read health-related information. Rather, the difficulty parents experience in using early intervention program literature may be due to a complex interaction between functional, interactive, and critical health literacy.
There is a compelling need for standardized coding schemes to represent data collected for childr... more There is a compelling need for standardized coding schemes to represent data collected for children receiving services through Milwaukee County early intervention (Birth to 3) programs. We are standardizing Birth to 3 data in our ongoing development of the Early Childhood Integrated Database System. Our efforts balance the need for individualized service plans with the need for aggregate analysis.
An H. Hains, Ph.D., Paula M. Rhyner, Ph.D., Mary E. McLean, Ph.D., Kris Barnekow, Ph.D., ... Vick... more An H. Hains, Ph.D., Paula M. Rhyner, Ph.D., Mary E. McLean, Ph.D., Kris Barnekow, Ph.D., ... Vicky Johnson, BA, and Bonnie Kennedy, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee ... AA.1 't'et(.BB 0'1'&dquo; 1&dquo;'e l ... &dquo;,tg~ C1 (.B1.&dquo;&dquo; ð jJ1e ,1ifl'/, r
Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2008
How do you find health information for your own use? Have digitization and the growth of digital ... more How do you find health information for your own use? Have digitization and the growth of digital records impacted patients, healthcare practitioners, and information managers of medical records? This panel will present research and discuss with the audience how information technology impacts society and individuals. The panelists will share recent findings from their research on the transformation of personal and professional medical and health informatics. Presentations on the application of maps of perceived value, preconceptions about consumers, and the role of web-based communication will show how assumptions about healthcare information are changing the professionals, consumers, and systems. According to many experts in the field of medicine, there is potential for a crisis in the collection and distribution of patient records and community health. In the 1990s the introduction of HIPAA (Health Information Privacy and Accountability Act) regulations protected individual privacy. How have electronic records transformed society and/or information? How is the technology changing information practices? This panel builds on earlier research on these questions as reported at the 2007 ASIS&T Annual Meeting, and it is intended to provide an opportunity to share new findings about recent transformations.
Social computing in the domain of health care is a vital, growing activity on the web. Patients, ... more Social computing in the domain of health care is a vital, growing activity on the web. Patients, family, and healthcare professionals seek answers and share information. Knowledge management issues about accessing data and cultivating users have not been resolved. This panel has experiences to share based on research into the problems and issues that can separate each of us from personal medical and health records. Sometimes academic research in information science is separated by policies and practices from impacting the design of medical/healthcare world's information applications. Reliability and quality in health information and knowledge depend on bridging this gap.
Currently, data on children with developmental delays are collected on an as-needed basis and in ... more Currently, data on children with developmental delays are collected on an as-needed basis and in general are created and maintained locally. In this paper, a comprehensive, user-friendly integrated system design for children age birth to three years with disabilities in Milwaukee County is proposed. After the prototype system is developed and tested as a "proof-of-concept" the product system will be migrated into the Wisconsin Public Health Information Network (WI-PHIN) as a Program Area Module (PAM).
Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 2010
This descriptive study examined the readability levels of Individualized Family Service Plans (IF... more This descriptive study examined the readability levels of Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs). The readability of 85 de-identified IFSP documents developed by seven agencies that serve families and children enrolled in a county early intervention program was analyzed using Flesch Kincaid grade levels and Flesch reading ease scores. The average Flesch Kincaid grade level of the entire IFSP documents was 8.0, indicating that the text was written at the 8th grade reading level. The Flesch reading ease mean score for all of the IFSP documents was 58.6, indicating that the text was written at a moderate level of ease to read. The highest Flesch Kincaid grade level scores and lowest reading ease scores were found in sections that require descriptive documentation of IFSP activities and ideas, justification for services provided outside of the natural environment, the way in which outcomes would be met, and a description of the activities provided in the natural environment. The lowest Flesch Kincaid grade level and the highest reading ease level were found in the section involving gross motor development. There were no agencies that prepared IFSP documents at or below the recommended 5th grade reading level. The findings from this study indicated that on average the entire IFSP documents and most sections of the documents were written above a 5th grade reading level. Overall there were no agencies that wrote the IFSP documents at or below the recommended 5th grade reading level. Analysis of readability levels when preparing IFSP documents is recommended to optimize accessibility and usability.
The Preparing Academically Successful Students in Maternal and Child Health (MCH PASS) training p... more The Preparing Academically Successful Students in Maternal and Child Health (MCH PASS) training program provided financial support and specialized training to occupational therapy (OT) and speech-language pathology (SLP) undergraduate students from underrepresented groups in maternal and child health. The project assisted undergraduate trainees to matriculate into graduate programs in their respective fields and facilitated application into long-term maternal and child health training programs. Sixteen trainees (8 OT and 8 SLP) participated in an undergraduate training program with an emphasis on interdisciplinary teaming, family mentoring, leadership development, public health and population-based research. Instruction occurred in community and classroom settings through didactic instruction and small group discussions. Fifteen of the trainees applied to and were accepted in graduate programs in their respective fields. Two trainees applied to a long-term MCH training program. Students reported increased knowledge about programs that serve women and children, the effects of poverty on health, interdisciplinary teaming and the daily routines of families who have a child with a special health care need. The MCH PASS program provided a unique opportunity for undergraduate students in OT and SLP to learn about public health with an emphasis on maternal and child health. The specialized preparation enabled students to understand better the health concerns of underserved families whose children have special health care needs.
Approximately 2% of children from birth through 2 years of age were identified as having disabili... more Approximately 2% of children from birth through 2 years of age were identified as having disabilities in 2000. To provide effective intervention services to each child is important. Children with disabilities from birth to 3 years of age who receive early intervention services have an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP). In some community early intervention programs, IFSP data are collected and stored in paper-based format, making it difficult to retrieve information in an efficient manner. Information technology strategies could address these problems, thus enhancing the efficiency of the information management. This paper discusses a user requirement analysis, design and development of a Tablet-PC computer application for collecting IFSP data for young children in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. An early prototype for the Tablet-PC computer application for the IFSP was successfully developed and a preliminarily evaluation was conducted at two early intervention programs.
The present study compared results obtained for 62 normally developing preschool children on the ... more The present study compared results obtained for 62 normally developing preschool children on the Bracken Basic Concept Scale, the Preschool Language Scale, and the Slossen Intelligence Test to determine whether scores on the tests correlated and were equivalent. Results of correlation analyses using standard scores from the Bracken Basic Concept Scale, the auditory comprehension and verbal ability subscales of the Preschool Language Scale, and the Slossen Intelligence Test revealed low to moderate correlations between the three tests. These results suggest that the tests do not measure the same abilities and thus cannot be used interchangeably to evaluate basic concept development, language, or intellectual functioning in preschool children. The moderate to high correlations found between the children's CAs and age-equivalents for the three tests indicate that the tests measure skills that are developmental in nature. Implications for assessment of concept development and language functioning in preschool children are discussed.
ABSTRACT Increasingly, children spend much of their day in the care of adults other than their pa... more ABSTRACT Increasingly, children spend much of their day in the care of adults other than their parents, such as child care providers. Consequently, it is important to analyze nonparental adults’ use of strategies suggested to foster language development, such as contingent responsiveness, during interactions with young children. This study examined child caregivers’ contingent responsiveness behaviors that followed toddlers’ communicative attempts within unstructured, semistructured, and structured daycare contexts. Child caregiver behaviors were coded as (a) no response (appropriate), (b) no response (inappropriate), (c) noncontingent response (appropriate), (d) noncontingent response (inappropriate), (e) contingent response and termination of the interaction (appropriate), (f) contingent response and termination of the interaction (inappropriate), and (g) contingent response leading to maintenance of the communicative interaction. Important similarities and differences in child caregivers’ contingent responsiveness behaviors for the three contexts suggest a need to prepare child caregivers to use strategies such as contingent responsiveness across contexts to facilitate language development.
ABSTRACT Functional health literacy, a component of health literacy, refers to the ability to rea... more ABSTRACT Functional health literacy, a component of health literacy, refers to the ability to read and interpret medical information. The Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA) measures the ability to read and interpret medical information. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess and compare levels of maternal functional health literacy using the S-TOFHLA and to determine whether a relationship exists between functional health literacy and symptoms of maternal mental health in a sample of mothers whose children were enrolled in early intervention programs in urban (n = 25) and suburban/rural (n = 25) Midwestern counties. Results showed that all mothers had adequate functional health literacy as determined by the S-TOFHLA. There were significant correlations between functional health literacy, annual income, and level of education, but not between functional health literacy, maternal depression, and posttraumatic stress symptom levels. Although mothers had adequate functional health literacy and their scores were not related to maternal mental health symptoms, previous research indicates that families have difficulty understanding and using early intervention program literature. The findings from the current study suggest that the difficulty parents have using early intervention program literature may not be isolated to the ability to read health-related information. Rather, the difficulty parents experience in using early intervention program literature may be due to a complex interaction between functional, interactive, and critical health literacy.
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Papers by Paula Rhyner