Department of Human Services

The growing popularity of mobile multimedia applications has significantly increased the demand for superior User Experience (UX) design, which plays a critical role in user satisfaction and application success. This study aims to evaluate the usability of five distinct types of mobile multimedia applications: video streaming, music streaming, Augmented Reality (AR), mobile gaming, and interactive learning. The research employs a mixed-method approach, utilizing Heuristic Evaluation (HE), Usability Testing (UT), and statistical analysis, with data collected from 60 participants in laboratory settings. The key metrics assessed include task completion time, error rates, number of taps, and System Usability Scale (SUS) scores. Results show significant differences in usability across the application types, with music and video streaming apps exhibiting the highest usability, while AR applications performed the poorest in all metrics (p < 0.001). Additionally, high negative correlations were found between objective usability measures and subjective satisfaction (r values ranging from -0.65 to -0.72), indicating a mismatch between users’ perceived satisfaction and actual usability performance. The findings underscore the need for simplified interactions and more intuitive design, particularly for AR applications. This study provides actionable insights for designers and developers, emphasizing the importance of optimizing user interfaces to enhance mobile multimedia experiences. Future research should explore the variability of real-world application usage and further refine design strategies to improve usability in diverse contexts.

Purpose This qualitative study explores how gender and race impacted superintendents as they sought a superintendent position as well as how gender and race impact superintendents while serving in the role of superintendent in North Carolina. Design/methodology/approach This phenomenological study is part of a larger study aimed to investigate the current state of the NC superintendency by giving voice to individual and collective experiences of our school superintendents. We used semi-structured interviews with a sample size of 18 current or recently departed superintendents. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings Five themes were identified: gender bias including White male advantage, racial bias including stereotyping and higher expectations for Black superintendents, biases based on the intersectionality of gender and race for Black women superintendents, the impact of school board positionality, and the value of being coached or mentored. Findings highlight how many White male superintendents in NC are keenly aware of how their identity advanced their pathways and gave them “seats at tables” when Black and/or women leaders did not report those same privileges. Findings also indicate women superintendents, regardless of race, benefitted from coaching and mentoring to advance their pathway to the superintendency. The glass ceiling persists for women leaders seeking the superintendency in NC and is even greater for women of color. Research limitations/implications To diversify our sample beyond White men, researchers used a combination of convenience and snowball sampling to recruit more women and Black superintendents. Despite attempts to garner more diverse perspectives, the sample in this study did not include a critical mass of non-White men participants. Practical implications Understanding how race and gender impacts the work of NC superintendents provides insight into the evolving challenge to lead safe and equitable schools. As student demographics continue to change, the need persists to continue to diversify the superintendency in North Carolina, as well as those who serve on school boards. Social implications By focusing on gender and racial biases experienced by superintendents in NC school districts, we can infer practical and social implications for students and staff that likely also experience gender and racial bias in our schools; thus perpetuating inequitable outcomes in K12 schools. Originality/value No study exists that examines how race and gender impact superintendents in NC. We illuminate persistent gender and racial bias for those who lead K12 school districts.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2020), over 1.5 million people identify as Pacific Islander, which establishes this group as one of the fastest growing cultural groups in the United States. However, this population remains underrepresented in discussions about mental health (Borrero et al., 2012) despite their overrepresentation in unaddressed mental health concerns (Seaton et al., 2019). Within this population, there is an absence of literature regarding the mental health perceptions of the Indigenous Pacific Islanders of the Northern Mariana Islands, the CHamoru people. Further, little is known about how CHamoru people use their community strengths to promote wellness. This qualitative study explores the perceptions of mental health and the unique community strengths that exist within the CHamoru community. Utilizing a grounded theory approach, a thematic analysis was conducted with data gathered from 10 semistructured interviews with eight women and two men (Mage = 34.6 years) who identified as adults of CHamoru descent. Participants identified six key themes that are central to their culture and promote overall well-being: (a) embracing historical knowledge, (b) connection to land and language, (c) cultural value of inafa'maolek, (d) cultural value of respetu, (e) spirituality, and (f) ethnic identity exploration. Our findings provide insight about the perceptions of mental health and cultural strengths among CHamoru people, providing a needed foundation for understanding how to deliver mental health services to this population. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic bacterial disease spread through the urine of infected animals; the typical incubation period is 5-14 days. In approximately 90% of human cases, illness is asymptomatic or mild, characterized by fever, chills, myalgia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, calf pain, and conjunctival suffusion, but severe illness can progress to multiorgan dysfunction and death. Although Wyoming is considered a low-risk area for leptospirosis because of its cold and semiarid climate, the Wyoming Department of Health was notified of a probable human case in August 2023, the first reported in the state since 1983. The patient had occupational exposure to dogs but did not report other risk factors. The same week that the human patient's illness began, public health authorities received notification of an increase in canine leptospirosis cases. Public health authorities investigated to determine potential sources of infection, identify additional cases, and recommend control measures. After public health outreach activities were implemented, canine vaccination practices changed substantially in the affected city: a survey conducted after the outbreak revealed that all responding veterinary clinics in the affected city were recommending the vaccine more frequently to dog owners and reporting higher levels of owner compliance with vaccination recommendations. Increased vaccination coverage offers protection from leptospirosis for both dogs and persons exposed to them. Leptospirosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of persons with occupational exposure to animals and clinically compatible signs and symptoms, including fever, chills, myalgia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, calf pain, and conjunctival suffusion, irrespective of geographic location.

Stroke was the fifth leading cause of death in the United States in 2021, and cost U.S. residents approximately $56.2 billion during 2019-2020. During 2006-2010, self-reported stroke prevalence among noninstitutionalized adults had a relative decrease of 3.7%. Data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were used to analyze age-standardized stroke prevalence during 2011-2022 among adults aged ≥18 years. From 2011-2013 to 2020-2022, overall self-reported stroke prevalence increased by 7.8% nationwide. Increases occurred among adults aged 18-64 years; females and males; non-Hispanic Black or African American (Black), non-Hispanic White (White), and Hispanic or Latino (Hispanic) persons; and adults with less than a college degree. Stroke prevalence was higher among adults aged ≥65 years than among younger adults; among non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native, non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and Black adults than among White adults; and among adults with less than a high school education than among those with higher levels of education. Stroke prevalence decreased in the District of Columbia and increased in 10 states. Initiatives to promote knowledge of the signs and symptoms of stroke, and the identification of disparities in stroke prevalence, might help to focus clinical and programmatic interventions, such as the Million Hearts 2027 initiative or the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Program, to improve prevention and treatment of stroke.

Abstract Adverse childhood experiences predict recidivism. In incarcerated individuals, post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rates are higher. A study with 122 inmates with PTSD and substance use disorder explored eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)’s effectiveness. EMDR worked across gender and race, reducing PCL‐C scores posttreatment and at 2 and 4 weeks. IER‐R scores lowered from weeks 1 to 9. EMDR boosted affect, reasoning, and attitudes posttreatment.

Abstract BackgroundSocial isolation, loneliness and stigma are some of the most detrimental psychosocial effects of living with dementia, including Lewy Body Disease (LBD). Peer‐to‐peer support between newly diagnosed people living with LBD and more experienced people living with LBD has the potential to reap extremely positive effects for both parties, and their care partners (CP). This presentation will discuss a protocol and the developments of a project to co‐develop a peer mentorship program (PMP) with people living with LBD and their CP.MethodsCo‐design workshops with people living with LBD and their CPs will take place to co‐develop the curriculum for the PMP. The PMP will be delivered via video conference technology. Alongside this, collaborations with volunteer, community and social enterprises will be incorporated into the project design, to maximize shared learnings from other community led peer mentorship programs. Thus far these programs include peer mentorship programs for incarcerated individuals and those living with HIV.ResultsThe PMP is in the design stage and further components of this project are underway to incorporate the lived expertise of those with LBD and their CPs, as well as clinicians to the design. Recruitment of piloting participants for the PMP is expected in the second half of 2022.ConclusionThe PMP will offer guidance for shared experiential learning so that the person living with LBD and their CP will be better educated and equipped to support themselves and each other through the care pathway. The solution offered via the PMP contributes to improving access to information in an affordable way and to becoming integrated into the post‐diagnoses care pathway as an option for social prescribing.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to an acceleration in the adoption of videoconferencing (VC) for conducting forensic mental health evaluations (forensic mental health assessments [FMHA]). Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, we administered a survey to 71 Minnesota-licensed forensic evaluators. Approximately two-thirds (65.7%) had started using VC for FMHA only after the pandemic, though a combined 84.5% reported performing FMHA via VC frequently at present. A striking 43.7% of respondents preferred VC for FMHA over in-person evaluation, and another 22.5% expressed no preference between modalities. Further, nearly 70% of respondents denied there were any populations for which they would never use VC to complete an FMHA. We conclude that the widespread adoption of VC for FMHA with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has induced a lasting change in the practice of FMHA. We postulate that with further advancements in technology and the development of testing instruments that can be administered online, the use of VC for FMHA will become standard practice.