Assessing program needs and planning change

Abstract

Assessments of treatment staff training needs, preferences, and barriers can help guide and improve training activities and transfer evidence-based technologies into clinical practice. The Texas Christian University (TCU) Program Training Needs (PTN) assessment consists of 54 items organized into seven domains: Program Facilities and Climate, Program Computer Resources, Staff Training Needs, Preferences for Training Content, Preferences for Training Strategy, Training Barriers, and Satisfaction With Training. Data collected from 589 counselors representing 194 treatment programs showed that the PTN was psychometrically sound and predictably associated with results from a more comprehensive assessment of organizational functioning. Importantly, fewer barriers to training and greater staff satisfaction with training were reported for programs with higher levels of organizational functioning. In addition to representing an efficient source of staff's perceptions about organizational operations and needs, the PTN empowers staff with a "voice" through which they can contribute to strategic planning and priority setting for organizational actions.

Counselor assessments of training and adoption barriers

“…Some counselors, for instance, listed specific reasons related to their lack of time, such as bI have too much paperworkQ and bI need time to change my style and integrate new ideas.Q In addition, redundancy of materials with similar ideas already being used was mentioned as a concern by nearly a third of those trained. These factors raise procedural questions about program readiness, strategic planning or selecting innovations appropriate to address needs, and commitments to dedicate time and energy needed for change (Courtney, Joe, Rowan-Szal, & Simpson, 2007;Rowan-Szal et al, 2007). In a similar vein, Saldana, Chapman, Henggeler, and Rowland (2007) point out that caseload size was cited by program counselors as a particularly important resource-related barrier to finding time for training and implementing innovations.…”

Research on the diffusion of evidence-based treatments within substance abuse treatment: A systematic review

“…Within this program change model are several factors, such as organizational climate, staff attributes, and program resources, which are believed to influence the change process and ultimately determine the extent to which changes occur. Since the evaluation and refinement of a model depends on having appropriate assessments available, Simpson and colleagues developed several useful survey instruments, including the Organizational Readiness for Change (ORC; Lehman, Greener, & Simpson, 2002) and the Program Training Needs (PTN; Rowan-Szal, Greener, Joe, & Simpson, 2007). Recently, “heuristic refinements” have been made to Simpson’s (2002) program (see Simpson & Flynn, 2007) by broadening its scope to include strategic program planning and preparation and with the re-labeling of the first stage “training” rather than exposure.…”

Assessing Health Care Organizations’ Ability to Implement Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment

“…12,15,16 In particular, the fact that clinical staff showed lower readiness to change than administrative staff at all sites could have had an important impact, given the critical role they played in SBIRT implementation. Clinical staff reported more Need for External Guidance compared with administrative staff.…”