USING SINGLE-CASE DESIGNS TO EVALUATE COMPONENTS OF TRIBAL HOME-VISITATION PROGRAMS

Area of Science:

• Behavioral science
• Community-based research
• Research methodology

Background:

• Single-case designs are standard for evaluating interventions with individual children in clinical and classroom settings.
• Adapting these designs for home-visitation programs in tribal communities presents unique opportunities and challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the extension of single-case designs to home-visitation programs serving tribal communities.
• To examine the lessons learned from adapting this research methodology.
• To highlight the benefits and challenges of this adaptation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized two illustrative case studies to demonstrate the application of single-case designs.
• Adapted the single-case design model for home-visitation contexts within tribal communities.
• Documented practical challenges and developed guidelines for implementation.

Main Results:

• The benefits of using single-case designs in this adapted model outweigh the challenges.
• This approach allows for evaluative rigor in small-sample contexts, immediate participation for all qualifiers, and culturally sensitive data collection.
• Visual outcome representations enhance the accessibility of results for a broader audience.

Conclusions:

• Single-case designs can be successfully extended to home-visitation programs in tribal settings.
• The adaptation offers significant advantages, including enhanced cultural sensitivity and improved data accessibility.
• Researchers can expand the application of single-case designs to novel, non-school settings with careful consideration of practical challenges.