Publication Date

Winter 3-6-2024

Item Type

Text

Executive Summary

A Video Based Training Review

This project addresses the issue of homeless youth in Seattle by supporting those working with this population. Our intervention intends to provide staff with training materials to better support the homeless youth in Seattle. The agency that we are partnering with provides temporary housing for homeless youth and seeks to find permanent housing solutions. The purpose of our project is to help agency employees review and assess their knowledge on selected topics relevant to their initial training. This project compiles a collection of evidence-based training videos with knowledge competency quizzes to help strengthen understanding on selected first-aid and mental health topics. Further development of these certain skills and assessing their competency will help provide a higher quality of work, which leads to more efficient and effective performance toward the agency’s mission.

Background

Homelessness is an issue that has existed in Seattle, and the US in general, for years. It was discovered from 2022 to 2023 that Washington’s homeless population had grown an increasing amount from 2,825 people to 28,036 people (Patrick, 2023). Just in King County, it is estimated that there are around 53,500 unhoused individuals (Patrick, 2023). The focus of the shelter we are working with is decreasing homelessness in the youth and young adult population of King County, with a focus in the Belltown neighborhood. Of the unhoused population in Seattle, 5.6% of unsheltered individuals were between the ages of 18-24 years old, which is the age range that the agency we are working with provides overnight shelter to (Patrick, 2023). The LGBTQ youth population are at a higher risk for homelessness than other youth, as more and more are coming out at an earlier age and their parents’ rejection of their sexual orientation or gender identity pushes them to leave their home in search of safety and acceptance. In 2014, the LGBTQ youth made up 19% of the homeless population in King County (Cunningham et al., 2014). This agency accommodates LGBTQ youth, furthering the reach of our project to serve this underserved population.

Activities With Rationale

A study conducted in 2024 by Willemsen et al. highlights that face-to-face and video platforms serve as effective formats for training staff. All participants in the study “agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied with the online training format” (Willemsen et al., 2024). Furthermore, through interviewing with the agency coordinator, a preference for video deliverables to supplement in-person training was expressed. As a result, we determined that compiling videos covering agency desired topics would be the most beneficial to act as a refresher on training received during orientation. These topics include recognizing opioid overdose, naloxone administration, mental health first aid, de-escalation, body fluid cleanup, trauma-informed care, and equity, diversity, and inclusion strategies. We then created competency quizzes based on the videos, compiled the videos and quizzes into one packet with the use of QR codes, and then printed it out for the agency to use for both convenience and sustainability. The agency can then show the videos with the option of either administering the quizzes to employees individually or using them as talking points during training to guide discussion.

Outcomes

The goal of this project is for staff to be able to view the compilation of resource videos and demonstrate understanding of the topic by attaining an 80% or higher on the provided quizzes. The effectiveness of our intervention will be measured through the average scores received on the quizzes that accompany each refresher training video. At this time, we will not be able to discern the extent in which these outcomes were met because intervention materials have not yet been distributed to staff. Further follow up with the agency will be needed to obtain average post quiz scores and their overall satisfaction in order to further evaluate the effectiveness of the project.

Conclusion

Overall, this project supports the agency staff by supplying a refresher course to supplement initial in-person training that staff receive from the agency. The allocation of project deliverables and resources is a sustainable and easily accessible tool that can be used by the agency repeatedly. The project is not meant to be used as a sole method of training staff, but to supplement previously learned concepts. Through the use of this training course, the agency staff will be able to review knowledge and skills related to bettering the health of their clientele. The long term impact that this project aims to achieve is that staff will implement techniques while working with youths at the shelter after viewing refresher videos provided by Seattle Pacific University nursing students.

References

Cunningham, M., Pergamit, M., Astone, N., & Luna, J. (2014, August). Homeless LGBTQ youth. urban.org. https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/22876/413209-Homeless-LGBTQ-Youth.PDF

Patrick, A. (2023, December 19). HUD reports record-high homeless count in 2023 for U.S., WA. The Seattle Times. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/hud-reports-record-high-homeless-count-in-2023-for-u-s-wa/

Patrick, A. (2023). WA’s homeless population is increasing, new HUD report shows. The Seattle Times. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/was-homeless-population-is-increasing-new-hud-report-shows/

Willemsen, A., Wolka, E., Assefa, Y., & Reid, S. (2024). A “training of trainers” programme for operational research: increasing capacity remotely. Global Health Action, 17(1), 2297881. https://doi-org.ezproxy.spu.edu/10.1080/16549716.2023.2297881

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