1. Using mixed methods to develop and evaluate public health education interventions
Presented by:
Louise C. Palmer

2. Purpose of this presentation
Describe the background need for Project PENCIL
Describe the Teacher’s Guide intervention
Discuss the contribution of formative research studies to project development
Share findings from the Project PENCIL Teachers’ Guide evaluation

3. Background
Over four million children with chronic illnesses in the US experience disruption to schooling
Chronic illnesses vary from asthma to cancer
School absences relate to poor academic, social, and psychological outcomes
Teachers are key supports, but may receive little specific training

4. Project PENCIL The Teachers’ Guide
The Teachers’ Guide is one component of Project PENCIL
The Teachers’ Guide aims to increase K-5 teachers’:
Knowledge
Positive attitudes
Self-efficacy
Long-term aim: to increase the likelihood that teachers will implement educational supports

5. Study 2: online survey with 17 teachers
Formative research
Purpose: to determine the optimal content and format of The Teacher’s Guide
Study 1: structured written review of detailed outline of The Teacher’s Guide
Study 2: online survey with 17 teachers

6. Formative research
Study 1 key research question: to what extent does The Teacher’s Guide outline contain the information a teacher needs to teach CIL?
Study 2 key research questions: what information and skills do teachers need to teach a CIL? How can we create materials that address teachers’ needs in an engaging and useful format?

7. Formative research findings
Study 1 (expert review):
Legal protections and school’s responsibilities
Academic and social impacts of chronic illness
The roles of multi-disciplinary teams
Educational accommodations
Case studies

8. Formative research findings
Study 2 (teacher survey):
General teaching strategies
Strategies to work with parents
Strategies to help CIL keep up with schoolwork
Strategies to encourage peer acceptance

9. Project development

10. Pilot evaluation study
Key research question:
To what extent does the Teachers’ Guide change teachers’ knowledge about, positive attitudes towards, and self-efficacy to implement educational supports for children with chronic illness?

11. Evaluation methodology
Two-group, pretest/post-test quasi-experimental design (N=55)
Control group received no intervention
Experimental group read The Teachers’ Guide
Teachers in both groups answered identical online pretests and post-tests

12. Multivariate logistic regressions using STATA
Analysis
Bivariate analysis on all knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy measures using STATA
Compared improvement, pre to post-test, for experimental and control groups
Multivariate logistic regressions using STATA
On all statistically significant bivariate results

13. Findings
Knowledge and positive attitudes were high at baseline and we saw little improvement from pretest to post-test
Teachers exposed to the Teachers’ Guide showed significantly greater self-efficacy scores at post-test compared to teachers in the control group

14. Implications
The findings suggest that reading the Project PENCIL Teachers’ Guide relates to an increase in teachers’ self-efficacy to implement educational supports
High teacher self-efficacy relates to increased likelihood to implement evidence-based educational practices
Formative research helped determine content that met the needs of teachers

15. Acknowledgements
Project PENCIL was funded by a Small Business Innovation Research Grant #1R44HD A1 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health. Project PENCIL’s contents are solely the responsibility of KDH Research & Communication and do not necessarily reflect the official view of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.