Besa Bauta | New York University (original) (raw)
Papers by Besa Bauta
Journal of Social Service Research, Jun 18, 2018
ABSTRACT The New York State Talent Development Consortium at the Office for People with Developme... more ABSTRACT The New York State Talent Development Consortium at the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) mandated developmental disability programs to train and evaluate direct service providers (DSPs) on seven core competencies. Utilizing community-based participatory research (CPBR) – an approach where clients, providers, and researchers share their knowledge and experience to identify study areas, formulate research questions, and use results to improve practice – a needs assessment was conducted by a New York-based developmental disability program to inform a training curriculum. Six focus groups were conducted from a purposive sample of 14 DSPs, and 19 managers/supervisors. Staff identified skills that corresponded with six out of seven competencies. Staff recommended hands-on training on: appropriate communication to deal with individuals with severe disabilities; professionalism; person-centered care; and education on terminology in behavioral health plans, medication, and mental health illnesses. Empowering DSPs through CBPR allows for a training curriculum catered toward staff needs, which may be well-received and utilized. The CBPR process employed may be beneficial to other agencies within the intellectual and developmental disabilities field, particularly at a time when the demand for nonlicensure providers such as DSPs is increasing, and there is a need to train them to render quality and effective services.
Chronic non-communicable diseases in low and middle-income countries
Child Behavioral Health in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2021
People generally seek a better life, so most of them migrate to countries and places that help th... more People generally seek a better life, so most of them migrate to countries and places that help them improve their standard of living or escape from political turmoil and wars. Still, migration may constitute a set of effects on migrants and the countries to which they go. Migration affects some individuals by making it difficult for them to adapt to the nature of life in the new region, especially with the emergence of cultural and social differences, and also many immigrants do not find anything but difficult jobs that take long working hours and low wages complex migration affects countries with high population density, which leads to an increase in the unemployment rate poverty and the emergence of many political and economic consequence. This study seeks many factors and reasons that lead to immigration from the southern and capital of Iraq to Erbil city. The researchers built his information by ddistributing200 questioner and obtained 186 Usable with ignoring 14 nonusable. The result observed that there is no significant correlation between the independent variable (internal migration) and the dependent variable (economic geography), depending on the value of the statistical significance (0.05), whose value was more significant than the level of significance (0.05), and this indicates that internal migration has nothing to do with the changes taking place in economic geography.
Jacobs journal of psychiatry and behavioral science, 2016
Background children in low-income countries (LICs). Currently, there is little information availa... more Background children in low-income countries (LICs). Currently, there is little information available on the use of brief screening instruments Increased attention is being paid to identifying and responding to the social-emotional and behavioral needs of in LICs. The lack of psychometrically sound brief assessment tools creates a challenge in determining the population prevalence of child social-emotional and behavioral risk burden in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) country contexts. This study sought to determine the reliability and validity of three brief parent-rated screening tools-the Social Competence Scale (SCS), Pictorial Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PPSC), and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)-in Uganda. These tools consider both strength- and pathology-based dimensions of child outcomes. Methods Parents of 154 Ugandan 5-9 year-old children who were enrolled in Nursery to Primary 3 in Kampala (the capital city of Uganda) and part of a school-based mental health i...
Annals of Global Health, 2015
Background: Approximately 800 women die of pregnancy-related complications every day. Over half o... more Background: Approximately 800 women die of pregnancy-related complications every day. Over half of these deaths occur in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA). Most maternal deaths can be prevented with high quality maternal health services. That use of maternal health services varies by place of residence and socioeconomic status (SES) in SSA is well established, but few studies have examined the determinants of quality of maternal health services in SSA. The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of antenatal care (ANC) quality in Ghanaefocusing on place of residence and SES (education and wealth). The analysis examines the interactions of these variables, and the mediating role of ANC timing, frequency, facility type, and provider type. Methods: The data come from the 2007 Ghana Maternal Health Survey, a nationally representative sample of women of reproductive age who had a birth in the five years preceding the survey. This analysis is restricted to women who went for at least one antenatal visit during their last pregnancy (N¼4,868 ¼ 97% of the analytic sample). The primary outcome measure is ANC quality, operationalized as a summative index (ranging from 0 to 9) based on services received during ANC visits. Analytic techniques include multilevel linear regression with mediation and moderation analysis. This study was granted an exemption under the University of California, Los Angeles Institutional Review Board exemption category 4 for research involving the study of existing data. Findings: Urban residence and higher SES are positively associated with higher ANC quality (b¼ 0.36, 0.04, and 0.55 for urban residence compared to rural residence, years of education, and richest compared to poorest, respectively; all at p < 0.0001), but the urban effect is completely explained by sociodemographic factors. Specifically, about half of the urban effect is explained by education and wealth alone (p¼0.0002), with other variables accounting for the remainder. The effects of education are conditional on wealth and are strongest for poorest women. Starting ANC visits early and attending the recommended four visits, as well as receiving ANC from a higher level facility such as a government hospital and from a skilled provider (doctor, nurse or midwife), are associated with higher quality ANC. These factors partially explain the SES differentials. The results are all significant at p < 0.05. Interpretation: Pregnant Ghanaian women experience significant disparities in the quality of ANC, with poor illiterate women receiving the worst care. Targeted efforts to increase quality of ANC may significantly reduce maternal health disparities in Ghana and SSA. A particularly crucial step is to improve ANC quality in the lower level health facilities like health centers and health posts, where the most vulnerable women seek ANC.
Journal of Social Service Research
Jacobs journal of psychiatry and behavioral science, 2016
children in low-income countries (LICs). Currently, there is little information available on the ... more children in low-income countries (LICs). Currently, there is little information available on the use of brief screening instruments Increased attention is being paid to identifying and responding to the social-emotional and behavioral needs of in LICs. The lack of psychometrically sound brief assessment tools creates a challenge in determining the population prevalence of child social-emotional and behavioral risk burden in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) country contexts. This study sought to determine the reliability and validity of three brief parent-rated screening tools-the Social Competence Scale (SCS), Pictorial Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PPSC), and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)-in Uganda. These tools consider both strength- and pathology-based dimensions of child outcomes. Parents of 154 Ugandan 5-9 year-old children who were enrolled in Nursery to Primary 3 in Kampala (the capital city of Uganda) and part of a school-based mental health intervention trial w...
Handbook of Social Work Practice with Vulnerable and Resilient Populations, 2014
Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2008
Bulletin of The World Health Organization, 2008
Mental health is a low priority in most countries around the world. Minimal research and resource... more Mental health is a low priority in most countries around the world. Minimal research and resources have been invested in mental health at the national level. As a result, WHO has developed the Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO- AIMS) to encourage countries to gather data and to re-evaluate their national mental health policy. This paper demonstrates the utility
This study assessed the needs of the elderly Colombian population in Jackson Heights, Queens. The... more This study assessed the needs of the elderly Colombian population in Jackson Heights, Queens. The focus was on the perceptions of community and availability of services in Jackson Heights, a neighborhood which contains the largest Colombian population in New York City. The majority of the population that was assessed settled in the United States during migration waves since the 1960's. Despite a significant increase in the size of the Colombian elderly population in the United States, little is known about their health. The information for the study was obtained from elderly participants attending Elmhurst-Jackson Heights Senior center, and from six community leaders and healthcare personnel who participated in qualitative interviews. Elderly individuals that participated in the study completed twenty-four self-administered questionnaires as well as two focus groups. The major factors that contribute to the limited healthcare access are age of the population, language barrier an...
Multiple studies suggest that family violence has negative effect on children's biological, c... more Multiple studies suggest that family violence has negative effect on children's biological, cognitive, and social emotional development. However, little is known about family violence at country level. The predictors for family violence and consequences on population's child health are unclear. This study investigates these issues using county-level data. Data is drawn from Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) project, which is a national-level household survey project that collects socioeconomic and health indicators related to children. There are 67 countries participating in MICS project (UNICEF, 2006). Thirty-seven countries with family violence data (collected between 2000 and 2007) were included in final analyses. Family violence was measured by harsh/violent discipline and domestic violence. Two predictors of family violence (adult literacy and country income), and three health outcome indicators (child mortality rate, disability and child labor) were investigated...
Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2008
Mental health is a low priority in most countries around the world. Minimal research and resource... more Mental health is a low priority in most countries around the world. Minimal research and resources have been invested in mental health at the national level. As a result, WHO has developed the Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS) to encourage countries to gather data and to re-evaluate their national mental health policy. This paper demonstrates the utility and limitations of WHO-AIMS by applying the model to four countries with different cultures, political histories and public health policies: Iraq, Japan, the Philippines and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. WHO-AIMS provides a useful model for analysing six domains: policy and legislative framework; mental health services; mental health in primary care; human resources; education of the public at large; and monitoring and research. This is especially important since most countries do not have experts in mental health policy or resources to design their own evaluation tools for mental health systems...
Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2008
Journal of Social Service Research, Jun 18, 2018
ABSTRACT The New York State Talent Development Consortium at the Office for People with Developme... more ABSTRACT The New York State Talent Development Consortium at the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) mandated developmental disability programs to train and evaluate direct service providers (DSPs) on seven core competencies. Utilizing community-based participatory research (CPBR) – an approach where clients, providers, and researchers share their knowledge and experience to identify study areas, formulate research questions, and use results to improve practice – a needs assessment was conducted by a New York-based developmental disability program to inform a training curriculum. Six focus groups were conducted from a purposive sample of 14 DSPs, and 19 managers/supervisors. Staff identified skills that corresponded with six out of seven competencies. Staff recommended hands-on training on: appropriate communication to deal with individuals with severe disabilities; professionalism; person-centered care; and education on terminology in behavioral health plans, medication, and mental health illnesses. Empowering DSPs through CBPR allows for a training curriculum catered toward staff needs, which may be well-received and utilized. The CBPR process employed may be beneficial to other agencies within the intellectual and developmental disabilities field, particularly at a time when the demand for nonlicensure providers such as DSPs is increasing, and there is a need to train them to render quality and effective services.
Chronic non-communicable diseases in low and middle-income countries
Child Behavioral Health in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2021
People generally seek a better life, so most of them migrate to countries and places that help th... more People generally seek a better life, so most of them migrate to countries and places that help them improve their standard of living or escape from political turmoil and wars. Still, migration may constitute a set of effects on migrants and the countries to which they go. Migration affects some individuals by making it difficult for them to adapt to the nature of life in the new region, especially with the emergence of cultural and social differences, and also many immigrants do not find anything but difficult jobs that take long working hours and low wages complex migration affects countries with high population density, which leads to an increase in the unemployment rate poverty and the emergence of many political and economic consequence. This study seeks many factors and reasons that lead to immigration from the southern and capital of Iraq to Erbil city. The researchers built his information by ddistributing200 questioner and obtained 186 Usable with ignoring 14 nonusable. The result observed that there is no significant correlation between the independent variable (internal migration) and the dependent variable (economic geography), depending on the value of the statistical significance (0.05), whose value was more significant than the level of significance (0.05), and this indicates that internal migration has nothing to do with the changes taking place in economic geography.
Jacobs journal of psychiatry and behavioral science, 2016
Background children in low-income countries (LICs). Currently, there is little information availa... more Background children in low-income countries (LICs). Currently, there is little information available on the use of brief screening instruments Increased attention is being paid to identifying and responding to the social-emotional and behavioral needs of in LICs. The lack of psychometrically sound brief assessment tools creates a challenge in determining the population prevalence of child social-emotional and behavioral risk burden in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) country contexts. This study sought to determine the reliability and validity of three brief parent-rated screening tools-the Social Competence Scale (SCS), Pictorial Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PPSC), and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)-in Uganda. These tools consider both strength- and pathology-based dimensions of child outcomes. Methods Parents of 154 Ugandan 5-9 year-old children who were enrolled in Nursery to Primary 3 in Kampala (the capital city of Uganda) and part of a school-based mental health i...
Annals of Global Health, 2015
Background: Approximately 800 women die of pregnancy-related complications every day. Over half o... more Background: Approximately 800 women die of pregnancy-related complications every day. Over half of these deaths occur in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA). Most maternal deaths can be prevented with high quality maternal health services. That use of maternal health services varies by place of residence and socioeconomic status (SES) in SSA is well established, but few studies have examined the determinants of quality of maternal health services in SSA. The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of antenatal care (ANC) quality in Ghanaefocusing on place of residence and SES (education and wealth). The analysis examines the interactions of these variables, and the mediating role of ANC timing, frequency, facility type, and provider type. Methods: The data come from the 2007 Ghana Maternal Health Survey, a nationally representative sample of women of reproductive age who had a birth in the five years preceding the survey. This analysis is restricted to women who went for at least one antenatal visit during their last pregnancy (N¼4,868 ¼ 97% of the analytic sample). The primary outcome measure is ANC quality, operationalized as a summative index (ranging from 0 to 9) based on services received during ANC visits. Analytic techniques include multilevel linear regression with mediation and moderation analysis. This study was granted an exemption under the University of California, Los Angeles Institutional Review Board exemption category 4 for research involving the study of existing data. Findings: Urban residence and higher SES are positively associated with higher ANC quality (b¼ 0.36, 0.04, and 0.55 for urban residence compared to rural residence, years of education, and richest compared to poorest, respectively; all at p < 0.0001), but the urban effect is completely explained by sociodemographic factors. Specifically, about half of the urban effect is explained by education and wealth alone (p¼0.0002), with other variables accounting for the remainder. The effects of education are conditional on wealth and are strongest for poorest women. Starting ANC visits early and attending the recommended four visits, as well as receiving ANC from a higher level facility such as a government hospital and from a skilled provider (doctor, nurse or midwife), are associated with higher quality ANC. These factors partially explain the SES differentials. The results are all significant at p < 0.05. Interpretation: Pregnant Ghanaian women experience significant disparities in the quality of ANC, with poor illiterate women receiving the worst care. Targeted efforts to increase quality of ANC may significantly reduce maternal health disparities in Ghana and SSA. A particularly crucial step is to improve ANC quality in the lower level health facilities like health centers and health posts, where the most vulnerable women seek ANC.
Journal of Social Service Research
Jacobs journal of psychiatry and behavioral science, 2016
children in low-income countries (LICs). Currently, there is little information available on the ... more children in low-income countries (LICs). Currently, there is little information available on the use of brief screening instruments Increased attention is being paid to identifying and responding to the social-emotional and behavioral needs of in LICs. The lack of psychometrically sound brief assessment tools creates a challenge in determining the population prevalence of child social-emotional and behavioral risk burden in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) country contexts. This study sought to determine the reliability and validity of three brief parent-rated screening tools-the Social Competence Scale (SCS), Pictorial Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PPSC), and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)-in Uganda. These tools consider both strength- and pathology-based dimensions of child outcomes. Parents of 154 Ugandan 5-9 year-old children who were enrolled in Nursery to Primary 3 in Kampala (the capital city of Uganda) and part of a school-based mental health intervention trial w...
Handbook of Social Work Practice with Vulnerable and Resilient Populations, 2014
Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2008
Bulletin of The World Health Organization, 2008
Mental health is a low priority in most countries around the world. Minimal research and resource... more Mental health is a low priority in most countries around the world. Minimal research and resources have been invested in mental health at the national level. As a result, WHO has developed the Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO- AIMS) to encourage countries to gather data and to re-evaluate their national mental health policy. This paper demonstrates the utility
This study assessed the needs of the elderly Colombian population in Jackson Heights, Queens. The... more This study assessed the needs of the elderly Colombian population in Jackson Heights, Queens. The focus was on the perceptions of community and availability of services in Jackson Heights, a neighborhood which contains the largest Colombian population in New York City. The majority of the population that was assessed settled in the United States during migration waves since the 1960's. Despite a significant increase in the size of the Colombian elderly population in the United States, little is known about their health. The information for the study was obtained from elderly participants attending Elmhurst-Jackson Heights Senior center, and from six community leaders and healthcare personnel who participated in qualitative interviews. Elderly individuals that participated in the study completed twenty-four self-administered questionnaires as well as two focus groups. The major factors that contribute to the limited healthcare access are age of the population, language barrier an...
Multiple studies suggest that family violence has negative effect on children's biological, c... more Multiple studies suggest that family violence has negative effect on children's biological, cognitive, and social emotional development. However, little is known about family violence at country level. The predictors for family violence and consequences on population's child health are unclear. This study investigates these issues using county-level data. Data is drawn from Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) project, which is a national-level household survey project that collects socioeconomic and health indicators related to children. There are 67 countries participating in MICS project (UNICEF, 2006). Thirty-seven countries with family violence data (collected between 2000 and 2007) were included in final analyses. Family violence was measured by harsh/violent discipline and domestic violence. Two predictors of family violence (adult literacy and country income), and three health outcome indicators (child mortality rate, disability and child labor) were investigated...
Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2008
Mental health is a low priority in most countries around the world. Minimal research and resource... more Mental health is a low priority in most countries around the world. Minimal research and resources have been invested in mental health at the national level. As a result, WHO has developed the Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS) to encourage countries to gather data and to re-evaluate their national mental health policy. This paper demonstrates the utility and limitations of WHO-AIMS by applying the model to four countries with different cultures, political histories and public health policies: Iraq, Japan, the Philippines and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. WHO-AIMS provides a useful model for analysing six domains: policy and legislative framework; mental health services; mental health in primary care; human resources; education of the public at large; and monitoring and research. This is especially important since most countries do not have experts in mental health policy or resources to design their own evaluation tools for mental health systems...
Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2008