The Society for Prevention Research 20 Years Later: a Summary of Training Needs
- PDF / 435,442 Bytes
- 16 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 53 Downloads / 174 Views
The Society for Prevention Research 20 Years Later: a Summary of Training Needs Sarah M. Chilenski 1 & Keryn E. Pasch 2 & Ashley Knapp 3 & Elizabeth Baker 4 & Rhonda C. Boyd 5 & Camille Cioffi 6 & Brittany Cooper 7 & Abigail Fagan 8 & Laura Hill 7 & Leslie D. Leve 6 & Kelly Rulison 9
# The Author(s) 2020
Abstract The Society for Prevention Research (SPR) aims to continually provide relevant professional development training opportunities to advance scientific investigation of ways to improve the health, well-being, and social and educational outcomes of individuals and communities. Our study, led by the Training Needs Assessment Task Force, designed a quantitative questionnaire informed by semistructured, qualitative interviews of 13 key prevention science informants. The questionnaire was deployed to all SPR members, of which 347 completed it. Questions about training topics were asked along 8 categories: (1) theory; (2) preventive interventions; (3) research methods, design, and evaluation; (4) teaching and mentoring; (5) practical and interpersonal skills; (6) communication; (7) project management; and (8) data analysis. Across all categories, respondents reported a high level of interest in receiving training: more than 80% were interested in training in data analytic methods; about 70% indicated interest in theory, preventive interventions, and research methods, design, and evaluation; about 65% were interested in at least 1 communication and project management topic; and 60% showed interest in at least 1 practical and interpersonal skills topic. Training-related interests varied across career level and race/ethnicity, with early-career individuals and people of color typically indicating the most interest. Participants were most likely to endorse self-initiated learning and webinars. SPR preconference training workshops were strongly endorsed for data analysis and preventive intervention topics. Recommendations from our study include a need for SPR to more strongly support self-initiated learning opportunities and continue preconference training programs, with special focuses in statistical methods and preventive interventions and regular assessment of members’ training preferences. Keywords Prevention . Training . Methodology . Workshops . Professional development
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-020-01151-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Sarah M. Chilenski [email protected]; [email protected] 1
Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
2
Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
3
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
4
Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
5
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA
6
University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
7
Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
8
University of Florid
Data Loading...
