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SAFE-T Center opens simulation lab with virtual reality, technology demos
Jul 30, 2017Visitors to the Penn State College of Nursing on Tuesday, July 25, experimented with virtual reality and got a glimpse into the work of forensic nurses when the Pennsylvania Sexual Assault Forensic Examination and Telehealth (SAFE-T) Center celebrated the opening of its forensic simulation lab. Supported by a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime, the SAFE-T Center is a new project spearheaded by the College of Nursing to enhance statewide access to high-quality forensic care for sexual assault victims. Tuesday’s event featured technology-rich interactive displays that showcased the center’s innovative approaches to telehealth technology. “The lab is an integral piece of the SAFE-T Center, which aims to create sustainable solutions for forensic sexual assault care in underserved areas,” said Sheridan Miyamoto, assistant professor of nursing and principal investigator on the project. The center’s telemedicine network enables forensic nurses to remotely connect in real time to experienced sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs), who provide mentoring and support during sexual assault exams. Monthly peer reviews facilitate discussion, reinforce evidence-based practice, and allow nurses to share strategies for working in an emotionally difficult field. What sets the SAFE-T Center apart is the innovative and affordable technology solutions being created to overcome cost and functionality challenges, said Bill Hartsock, a multimedia specialist in the College of Nursing and a member of the center’s telehealth support team. “We needed technology with the ability to capture high-quality forensic images while sharing with our remote nurse consultants in real time,” Hartsock explained. “Many existing tools provide excellent images and are highly recommended by SANEs, but lack the teleconferencing capability needed to make this project successful. And a price tag exceeding $30,000 makes this type of technology inaccessible to rural and underserved hospitals.” Using knowledge gained from Miyamoto’s previous work as a forensic nurse practitioner and researcher at the University of California, Davis, the team, which also includes Tom Rodgers, IT manager in the College of Nursing, and John Ilie, facilities coordinator for the Office of the Vice Provost for Information Technology, set out to develop a custom-built telehealth solution that not only provides high-quality images and ease of use, but also will be affordable enough to ultimately be adopted for use in other communities. “We are working toward developing a mobile solution that will combine the quality, usability and teleconferencing capability of existing devices at a fraction of the cost,” Hartsock added. “By utilizing tools and services offered at Penn State that are compliant with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996), we are building a device that will serve as an all-in-one forensic telehealth solution.” Another technology component — virtual and augmented reality — will support the center’s goal of providing comprehensive training to rural nurses. “Using chroma key technology, we can record full in-depth simulations in our training center with video overlays of team members explaining key points as the simulation progresses,” Hartsock said. “Virtual reality technology will allow us to design elaborate simulations giving nurses a firsthand view of physical exams as well as courtroom testimony. Many nurses in these rural areas have limited or no experience testifying in court. The simulations will give them the experience and confidence to present their findings accurately and professionally.” That sense of confidence was emphasized by Kristina Rose, deputy director for the Office for Victims of Crime, in her remarks about the project’s potential for transforming care for sexual assault victims in remote and challenging environments. “We want to increase the confidence and skills of clinicians who conduct forensic exams,” Rose said. “With support from the SAFE-T Center, we will retain more SANEs in their jobs because they will know a more experienced SANE has their back. “Quite simply, my vision is for every hospital in this country to have access to expert SANE services so sexual assault victims can receive the compassion and care they deserve,” Rose concluded. Collaborating with the College of Nursing on the work of the SAFE-T Center are community partners PinnacleHealth, the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape and the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health.
Researchers study factors predicting school corporal punishment
Jul 10, 2017The number of Southern natives and the average education level in a county are the most influential factors on the odds of a U.S. public school using corporal punishment, according to new Penn State research. Sarah Font, co-funded faculty member of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network and assistant professor of sociology, found that the same factors that predict the use of parental corporal, or physical, punishment also predict the use of School Corporal Punishment (SCP). These findings were recently published in the Children and Youth Services Review. “Since research on School Corporal Punishment is so limited, our results are vital to increasing knowledge on this form of school punishment and understanding how we can modify it,” said Font. As of 2016, 19 states legally permitted the use of SCP in public schools and three states did not formally ban or allow it. Though many schools in these states decide to not use SCP, there are still quite a few public schools that use it to some extent. Few studies have been conducted that examine SCP and its consequences, but it can be drawn from research on parental corporal punishment that SCP likely has negative impacts on children’s social, behavioral and mental well-being, say the researchers. “We know that parental corporal punishment has such a significant negative impact on children and we don’t understand why schools would continue to use it despite the known consequences. Our intention with this research was to understand why some public U.S. schools continue to use SCP and to find any factors that influence its use,” said Font. “This study is the first to use universal data gathered from U.S. public schools to understand SCP.” For the 2011-2012 school year, the U.S. Department of Education Civil Rights Data Collection conducted a mandatory survey for all U.S. public schools that included questions on the use and prevalence of SPC. This data was then correlated with its corresponding county-level data. The county-level data was acquired from the U.S. Census, the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and consisted of three sets of factors. These cultural characteristics included religious and political affiliation, socioeconomic characteristics (median income and education levels), and racial composition. Within these factors, Font’s team examined characteristics that are attributed to Southernness and rurality. “Southernness and rurality here reflect the cultural aspects rather than the geographical definition of a county and may indicate the probability that a school in that area will use SCP,” Font explained. “Southern and rural cultures have been described as emphasizing tradition and order, and are more conservative in their religious and political affiliations.” Font’s team found that the most influential cultural factor in predicting the use and prevalence of SCP in a school was the county’s Southernness. As the percentage of Southern-born residents increased, the likelihood of a school utilizing SCP also significantly increased. A county’s average education level also was a reliable predictor of SCP. As average education level increased, the chances of SCP use decreased dramatically. Font states, “We found that the factors associated with parental use of corporal punishment also predicted the schools’ use of SCP as part of its disciplinary system. The children who are most likely to be exposed to SCP are possibly the same children who are likely to receive corporal punishment at home, and consequently, are further disadvantaged.” Additionally, to the researchers’ surprise, they discovered that schools receiving Title I funding were almost twice as likely to use SCP than schools who do not receive this aid. Title I funding provides financial assistance to schools with high percentages of children from low-income families to ensure that all children meet state academic standards. According to Font, this research adds vital information to the limited collection of data on SCP. “It offers insight into why some schools continue to use SCP despite its declined use nationally and its potentially negative consequences for children, as well as aid in identifying these schools and counties that need the most help in abolishing SCP and replacing it with alternative discipline methods,” she said. The findings also could inform policymakers to revise Title I qualifications to ensure schools discontinue the use of SCP to receive aid. This study was funded by grants awarded to the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and support from Penn State’s Population Research Institute, part of the Social Science Research Institute.
Penn State is helping sexual assault victims in rural areas — here's how
Jul 7, 2017Written by Jessica Kim Cohen One-third of women and one-sixth of men in the U.S. experience at least one incident of sexual violence during their lifetime, according to an April 2017 report out of the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. These victims often need specialized medical attention, especially if they plan to move forward with a criminal investigation. However, accessing this care often proves challenging — particularly for those in underserved, rural areas. A research team at Pennsylvania State University hopes to improve this disparity through a telehealth project called the Sexual Assault Forensic Examination and Training — or SAFE-T — Center. Penn State launched the project — which accepts adult and adolescent patients — in December 2016 under a $1.1 million, 15-month planning grant from the Department of Justice's Office for Victims of Crime. The SAFE-T Center will use video technology to connect trained Penn State nurses with less experienced nurses at critical access hospitals for live forensic exam guidance and peer review. Read the full article in Becker's Hospital Review.
Penn State child abuse research center to open in September
Jun 28, 2017By The Associated Press STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Officials say a research center at Penn State University aiming to prevent child abuse and improve treatment should open in a few months. A university spokeswoman told The Daily Item the school is targeting September for the opening of the Center for Healthy Children. The center, which was announced in April, will be supported by nearly $8 million from the National Institutes for Health and more than $3 million from the school. The program will supplement the university's Child Maltreatment Solutions Network, established in response to the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal. The network will continue its work in education and outreach, while the new money will be purely for research. Penn State made battling child abuse an institutional priority after the former assistant football coach's arrest and conviction on charges he abused 10 boys, some on campus.
Registration now open for sixth annual child maltreatment conference
Jun 2, 2017A remarkable, but lesser-known aspect of the United States Military is its efforts, programs, and research into the detection and prevention of child abuse in military families. Penn State’s sixth annual Child Maltreatment Solutions Network conference, “Scientific Synergy & Innovation from Military Family & Child Welfare Contexts,” will be held in partnership with the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness, Sept. 27 to 28, in the Nittany Lion Inn on the University Park campus. This event promotes the collaboration of researchers, policy analysts and practice professionals to discuss and determine how to take military family research and programs and use them broadly. Jennie Noll, Solutions Network director and professor of human development and family studies at Penn State, notes that the military and civilian sectors often work independently, but there is much to gain in working together and gleaning knowledge from each other. “Research has made vast improvements in child abuse detection and prevention, family advocacy, trauma treatment, and long-term psychological and physiological consequences for the victims. Working together rather than in silos will help us expand our collective knowledge around child abuse and neglect to identify similarities and differences within the child welfare and military sectors.” The purpose of the conference is to present this research to determine if there are disparities in current knowledge; support shared aspects; and allow time for cooperative discussion between its attendees, to take the information that both the military and child maltreatment and welfare research has gathered and integrate them to apply to general practice. Session topics include: Systematic determination of child abuse and neglect Intervention: combined parent-child cognitive behavioral therapy for families that physically abuse Prevention: innovative program to reduce family stress Solutions and next steps The sessions incorporate ‘translation’ and ‘future-directions’ aspects that emphasize how the research can be used in situations such as treating stress-exposed individuals, and strategies for prevention, alleviating injuries, and reversibility in child abuse. Small group discussions will be incorporated after each session to allow communication between researchers, trainees and practitioners on how to utilize the findings and material presented throughout the event. For more information about the conference and to register, go to http://protectchildren.psu.edu/conf17. The Child Maltreatment Solutions Network was created to advance Penn State’s academic mission of teaching, research and engagement in the area of child maltreatment. Since the Solutions Network was launched in Fall 2012, its conferences have established a concrete frontier of understanding child maltreatment through advanced research. It is part of the Social Science Research Institute at Penn State.
Li awarded predoctoral research service grant
May 18, 2017Women make the majority of the health decisions for their families, use more health services, and spend more on medications than men, yet the rate of obesity in women has more than doubled in recent decades. For women who are sexual abuse survivors, the rate is even higher, and one Penn State graduate student is aiming to find out why. Jacinda Li, Ph.D. candidate in human development and family studies, was recently awarded the Predoctoral Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) to investigate the mechanisms of obesity risk in female childhood sexual abuse survivors and ways to target interventions. According to Li, who is also National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Predoctoral and USDA Childhood Obesity Prevention Training Fellow, treating and preventing obesity in females is critical to halting the obesity epidemic. “For women, obesity is associated with increased risks for debilitating diseases, such as diabetes and metabolic syndrome, and perpetuates obesity and its associated health risks in their children.” Li will utilize data from the Female Growth and Development Study (FGDS) to identify mechanisms that contribute to obesity across the lifespan, examine modifiable health behaviors that can alleviate early life stress, and compare the roles these mechanisms and modifiers have on stress exposed females, such as those who are childhood sexual abuse survivors, to demographically-similar peers who were not exposed to sexual abuse. Previous research by the FGDS principal investigator Jennie Noll, director of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network and professor of human development and family studies at Penn State, and her colleagues has shown that although sexually abused and non-abused comparison females did not initially differ in obesity rates during childhood and adolescence, abused females were significantly more likely to have obesity by early adulthood than were non-abused females. “It’s an opportunity to investigate early stressors on obesity, which is often thought of the greatest cause of obesity in general, although the theory and has never been proven in humans,” said Li. The FGDS recruited 173 female participants ages six to 16 from the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and followed this sample across their lifespan. Over 80 of the participants were sexual abuse survivors. Noll, who is also one of Li’s faculty sponsors, is the current director of the FGDS project. Li’s project will examine the cortisol levels of the female participants in the study from to see if patterns of cortisol levels are related to obesity and its complications later in life. Cortisol is a stress hormone, and elevated cortisol levels are associated with weight gain, high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and the development of heart disease. Along with cortisol levels, Li will also look at the effects of depression and disordered eating on obesity, as well as diabetes and metabolic syndrome rates in adulthood, making it the first study to look at all three obesity factors simultaneously. Li plans to examine modifiable health behaviors such as diet, physical activity and sleep to determine how and when they should be implemented to reduce stress. “I will examine the mechanisms of obesity and their modifiers in hopes of contributing to the development of targeted interventions that can help all women to prevent and reverse the development of obesity,” Li said. Other co-sponsors and mentors of the project include Lori Frances, associate professor of biobehavioral health and director of the Center for Family Research in Diverse Contexts; Elizabeth Susman, emeritus professor of biobehavioral health; Orfeu Buxton, associate professor of biobehavioral health; Nilam Ram, associate professor of human development and family studies and psychology; and Janet Welsh, research assistant professor of health and human development.
Penn State alumna, child abuse expert returns to discuss child abuse prevention
May 3, 2017By Sarah Mearhoff For the Centre Daily Times Blue and white pinwheels — Prevent Child Abuse America’s symbol for child abuse prevention — spun daintily in the HUB-Robeson Center’s Heritage Hall on Thursday afternoon while Penn State alumnus Janet Rosenzweig spoke of her decadeslong efforts to prevent child maltreatment. Rosenzweig’s speech came on the heels of Penn State’s announcement that it will establish the Center for Healthy Children. It’s made possible by a $7.7 million grant from the National Institute of Health and a $3.4 million matching contribution from the university. The center will continue and build upon research on child well-being that Penn State begaun in 2012. Having earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in individual and family studies and health education, respectively, Rosenzweig said she first realized the importance of sex education after her undergraduate IFS adviser insisted she take a human sexuality course because “sex is a part of family life.” “Against my will, I took BIO 341 or 441, and that set my career,” Rosenzweig said. “Because, at the same time that Penn State was starting to provide an academic focus on human sexuality, the pharmaceutical industry just started mass-producing the oral contraceptives.” It was from this class that Rosenzweig was recruited to help jump-start a peer contraceptive education program at University Health Services. She soon decided to add “certified sex educator” to her resume. Today, Rosenzweig spearheads research to prevent child maltreatment as the executive director of The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. During her decades studying child maltreatment, Rosenzweig has identified some key steps to take in order to prevent child abuse. First, Rosenzweig said child abuse prevention stems from building strong relationships and communities in a child’s life. “There’s too many people who think that counting black and blue marks and giving out an 800 number is child abuse prevention,” Rosenzweig said. “That’s not.” Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/education/penn-state/article147442...
Penn State researchers to study animal-assisted therapy for abused children
Apr 27, 2017Animals have been used in therapy for decades to assist with a person’s physical, emotional and social well-being to reduce anxiety and facilitate healing. Until recently, however, there has been little scientific evidence to show the effectiveness of animals in these treatments. Penn State researchers were recently awarded a Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development grant to learn more about animal-assisted therapy in child-abuse situations. Principal investigator Brian Allen, a co-funded faculty member at Penn State’s Child Maltreatment Solutions Network and assistant professor of pediatrics and psychiatry, and his team will be analyzing the effectiveness of integrating animals into Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). “TF-CBT is a structured, 12-session treatment for children who have experienced maltreatment such as physical or sexual abuse or exposure to inter-partner violence,” Allen explained. “During the treatment, the child is gradually exposed to their memories and thoughts related to their maltreatment. We are examining whether animal-assisted therapy may improve treatment outcomes reduce patient dropout, and/or improve the process for children during sessions.” Some believe the presence of animals allows children to better cope with distress and thereby allow for greater discussion of traumatic memories, as well as improve the rapport between the child and clinician. “For these reasons, nearly one-third of mental health clinicians serving maltreated children reported being somewhat likely to integrate animals during their sessions,” said Allen. “Despite this, there is relatively little data to support its effectiveness, and there are no guidelines on their use.” To gauge the effectiveness of animal-assisted therapy, Allen and his team will look at approximately 60 maltreated children ages six to 17. Half of the group will receive animal-assisted therapy during their TF-CBT sessions, while the other half will undergo therapy without the animals. “We will compare the groups and measure outcomes such as the improvement of post-traumatic stress, along with reductions in depression, anxiety, and behavioral problems,” Allen said. “Our ultimate goal is to determine if animals enhance or weaken the effects of TF-CBT.” Researchers will also look into other factors, including therapy retention rates, child and care-giver satisfaction ratings, and how often treatments were missed or shortened due to the animal being unavailable or disruptive. Additionally, the therapy animals will be assessed for stress as a result of them being present during treatment. The research team will be working with Nancy Dreschel, instructor of small-animal science at Penn State, who is an expert on the assessment of stress response in dogs. Researchers will measure animal stress by assessing saliva cortisol levels in the therapy animals along with behavioral responses. Cortisol is a hormone that becomes elevated in the saliva during times of conflict or stress. “This study will be the first to address animal-assisted therapy for the treatment of maltreated children along with determining the impact of participation on the animals,” said Allen. In the future, Allen would like to expand the study to include a larger group of children to further investigate animal-assisted therapy on TF-CBT and the impacts on the children and animals in the sessions. Other researchers on the project include Chad Shenk, assistant professor human development and family studies at Penn State, and Ming Wang, assistant professor of public health sciences at Penn State College of Medicine. The Child Maltreatment Solutions Network is a part of the Social Science Research Institute at Penn State.
Promoting child well-being to be topic of upcoming lecture
Apr 26, 2017An expert in analyzing and defining child well-being, Janet Rosenzweig, executive director of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, will present "Is It Well With The Children?" in which she will outline her findings on preventing maltreatment and promoting well-being. Rosenzweig is the 2017 College of Health and Human Development Distinguished Alumni Speaker, presenter for the sixth annual de Lissovoy Lecture, and speaker for the fifth annual Child Maltreatment Solutions Network Awareness event. Her talk will take place at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 27 in the HUB-Robeson Center Freeman Auditorium on the University Park campus. The event is free and open to the public. A reception will be held before the lecture in the HUB Gallery. During the talk, Rosenzweig will discuss her work as vice president for research and programs at Prevent Child Abuse America, where she led the strategic initiative to develop a methodology to assess child well-being across the social ecology. “I’m going to address how we assess child well-being,” Rosenzweig said. “Too many people rely on systems such as the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. Reports of maltreatment don’t tell us everything. They are not accurate measures of actual incidence and prevalence of maltreatment." To assess child well-being, Rosenzweig recommends looking at these reports, but also evaluating other factors. “In addition to these reports, we should take into account other national studies, including the National Incidence Studies mandated by the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act,” Rosenzweig said. “But we need to take a much broader perspective, assessing what we’re doing in the community to keep kids healthy and families strong, and evaluate threats and protective factors across the social ecology, including parent-child relationships, community support and public policy." The topic is an important one, Rosenzweig said, because new science is clearly demonstrating the long-term effects of being exposed to trauma early in life, including potentially compromising physical and emotional well-being later on. “It’s urgent to support families before a crisis occurs, before families need Child Protective Services and other public services,” she said. “We need to work upstream.” Rosenzweig said Penn State recognizes the need for communication, advocacy and clinical skills to make a change. “Supporting families and communities take more than one discipline. Penn State gets that,” she said. Rosenzweig, a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, holds a bachelor of science degree in individual and family studies and a master of science degree in health education from Penn State. She earned certification as a sex educator and in 1978 brought that perspective to one of the first child sexual abuse programs in the country located in East Tennessee. Rosenzweig managed child-welfare programs in Tennessee and Texas before moving to New Jersey in 1984. She earned a doctoral degree in social work from Rutgers University, was the first social-work doctoral candidate to take a minor at Rutgers’ Eagleton Institute of Politics, and focused on public policy research in child protection. She served in the policy research unit of the New Jersey Department of Human Services, founded one of the first County Commissions on Child Abuse in New Jersey, and served for nine years as the cabinet-level Mercer County Director of Human Services. Rosenzweig also served as executive director of Prevent Child Abuse - New Jersey from 2001 to 2007. She earned a Master of Public Administration from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government in 2008, and then joined the faculty of Montclair State University as a visiting associate professor of child advocacy. Author of The "Sex-Wise Parent: The Parent's Guide Protecting Your Child, Strengthening Your Family, and Talking to Kids about Sex, Abuse, and Bullying," Rosenzweig presents workshops to parent and professional groups promoting the ideal that parents must be the primary sex educators of their children, learning how to support their children's overall sexual health and safety in the home, school and community. Rosenzweig has held teaching appointments at Rider University, The College of New Jersey, Rutgers University, and Temple University. She has also held progressively responsible positions in the non-profit and public human services sector. She returned to Penn State multiple times in 2012 and 2013 to conduct workshops for faculty, staff, students and families and helped to write and is featured in the University's required online training program in sexual-abuse prevention. About the sponsors The de Lissovoy Lecture is presented by an alumnus of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies about his/her experiences working in the child-welfare system and promoting the protection of children from abuse and neglect. In 2009, the Vladimir de Lissovoy Program Support Endowment for the Protection of Children in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies was created by the de Lissovoy family to honor Val de Lissovoy (1918-2009), who served as a faculty member in the department for more than 20 years and worked tirelessly throughout his life to help abused and neglected children and their families. The Health and Human Development Distinguished Alumni Speaker Series was established by the Board of Directors of the HHD Alumni Society in order to feature prominent graduates of the college who are leaders in their fields. The board's mission is to facilitate and promote the participation of alumni in activities that support the college's pursuit of excellence. The Child Maltreatment Solutions Network is dedicated to the prevention, detection and treatment of child maltreatment and trauma. The Network provides opportunities and support for collaborative and translational science in order to address the complex problems of child maltreatment. Its work ranges from research on child maltreatment and clinical treatments that foster child health, creating interdisciplinary education and experiences for students, and to public policy that promotes child safety and well-being.
'Pinwheels for Prevention' on Old Main lawn, April 27
Apr 21, 2017With April being National Child Abuse Awareness month, all Penn State students, faculty and staff are invited to stop by the Old Main lawn at 12:15 p.m. on April 27 and help the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network plant a pinwheel garden. The Pinwheels for Prevention Campaign is the national platform of Prevent Child Abuse America that began in 2008 and has firmly established the pinwheel as the new symbol of child abuse prevention. The pinwheel stands for the carefree childhood we want for all children and is a call to neighbors, community members and leaders to play a role in protecting and nurturing our youngest citizens. Prevent Child Abuse America's ultimate goal is for abuse and neglect to never occur and to share the message that "Prevention is Possible."