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Selected AbstractsQuestionnaire development: face validity and item impact testing of the Child Oral Health Impact ProfileCOMMUNITY DENTISTRY AND ORAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, Issue 2007Hillary L. Broder Abstract Objective:, The Child Oral Health Impact Profile (COHIP) was designed to assess oral-facial well-being in school-age children as reported by the child and via proxy report from a caregiver. This article describes the development of the COHIP using a multi-staged impact approach recommended by Guyatt et al. (Quality of life and pharmacoeconomics in clinical trials. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott-Raven; 1996. p. 41). Methods:, There were multiple phases to the development of the questionnaire: (i) initial pool of items developed from the literature and expert review; (ii) face validity of items; (iii) impact evaluation of the initial item pool; (iv) development of positive items and face validity of new items; (v) impact evaluation of the revised questionnaire and (vi) factor analysis and final revision of the questionnaire. Factor analysis was completed on the final questionnaire using data from the impact evaluation in order to evaluate whether the COHIP measured independent conceptual domains. Results:, Factor analysis identified five domains: oral health, functional well-being, social/emotional well-being, school environment and self-image. Readability was calculated using the Flesch-Kinkaid readability score that was finalized at a 3.5 grade reading level. Finally, two response sets, and a revised format (e.g., including pictures, increasing font size, and shading every other item) were implemented to decrease respondent fatigue and increase accuracy of participant responses. Conclusions:, The final questionnaire consisted of 34 items and five conceptually distinct subscales: oral health, functional well-being, social/emotional well-being, school environment and self-image. Subsequent papers present the validity and reliability of the COHIP. [source] The construct validity of the client questionnaire of the Wisconsin Quality of Life Index , a cross-validation studyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF METHODS IN PSYCHIATRIC RESEARCH, Issue 3 2003Jean Caron Abstract The Wisconsin Quality of Life Index (W-QLI, Becker, Diamond and Sainfort, 1993) consists of eight scales: satisfaction with life domains, occupational activities, symptoms, physical health, social relations/support, finances, psychological wellbeing, and activities of daily living. The W-QLI has been modified to fit the characteristics of the Canadian population, the universal Canadian health system, and community and social services in Canada and the modified form was named CaW-QLI (Diaz, Mercier, Hachey, Caron, and Boyer, 1999). This study will verify the empirical basis of these theoretical dimensions by applying a cross-validation procedure on two samples, most of whose subjects have a serious mental illness. Confirmatory factor analyses and exploratory factor analyses using the principal component extraction technique with varimax rotation were applied. With the exception of the occupational activities domain, the remaining scales were correctly identified by the factor analyses on each sample. The occupational activities scale should be developed by additional items for representing this scale, which is too brief, and two other items should be revised in order to improve the quality of the instrument. Copyright © 2003 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source] Quality of Life While Dying: A Qualitative Study of Terminally Ill Older MenJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 11 2003Elizabeth K. Vig MD Objectives: To characterize the experience of quality of life while dying from the perspective of terminally ill men. Design: Descriptive study involving semistructured interviews. Setting: Patients attending clinics at two university-affiliated medical centers were interviewed in a private conference room or in their homes. Participants: Twenty-six men identified by their physicians as having terminal heart disease or cancer. Eligible participants acknowledged that they had serious illness. Measurements: The interview contained open-ended questions such as: "What are the most important things in your life right now?" The interview also contained closed-ended questions about symptom intensity, presence of depressed mood, and other items related to overall quality of life. The open-ended questions were tape-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using grounded theory methods. The closed-ended questions were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Participants believed that death was near. Participants saw engaging in hobbies and other enjoyable activities as an alternative to moving into the final stage of illness, in which they saw themselves as actively dying. They admitted to occasionally ignoring prescribed diets; these actions improved their overall quality of life but worsened symptoms. New symptoms brought concerns about progression to active dying. They anticipated what their dying would be like and how it would affect others. Participants believed that their actions in the present could improve the quality of their dying and lessen the burden of their deaths on others. Many participants therefore were preparing for death by engaging in such tasks as putting their finances in order and planning their funerals, to relieve anticipated burden on loved ones. Conclusion: To help terminally ill patients plan for the end of life, clinicians are encouraged to become familiar with their patients' experiences of living with terminal illness, to identify each patient's unique priorities, and to incorporate that information into care plans aimed at maximizing quality of life at the end of life. [source] Judges' Use of Examinee Performance Data in an Angoff Standard-Setting Exercise for a Medical Licensing Examination: An Experimental StudyJOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT, Issue 4 2009Brian E. Clauser Although the Angoff procedure is among the most widely used standard setting procedures for tests comprising multiple-choice items, research has shown that subject matter experts have considerable difficulty accurately making the required judgments in the absence of examinee performance data. Some authors have viewed the need to provide performance data as a fatal flaw for the procedure; others have considered it appropriate for experts to integrate performance data into their judgments but have been concerned that experts may rely too heavily on the data. There have, however, been relatively few studies examining how experts use the data. This article reports on two studies that examine how experts modify their judgments after reviewing data. In both studies, data for some items were accurate and data for other items had been manipulated. Judges in both studies substantially modified their judgments whether the data were accurate or not. [source] Effects of Response Format on Difficulty of SAT-Mathematics Items: It's Not the StrategyJOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT, Issue 1 2000Irvin R. Katz Problem-solving strategy is frequently cited as mediating the effects of response format (multiple-choice, constructed response) on item difficulty, yet there are few direct investigations of examinee solution procedures. Fifty-five high school students solved parallel constructed response and multiple-choice items that differed only in the presence of response options. Student performance was videotaped to assess solution strategies. Strategies were categorized as "traditional",those associated with constructed response problem solving (e.g., writing and solving algebraic equations),or "nontraditional",those associated with multiple-choice problem solving (e.g., estimating a potential solution). Surprisingly, participants sometimes adopted nontraditional strategies to solve constructed response items. Furthermore, differences in difficulty between response formats did not correspond to differences in strategy choice: some items showed a format effect on strategy but no effect on difficulty; other items showed the reverse. We interpret these results in light of the relative comprehension challenges posed by the two groups of items. [source] An exploration of mental health nursing students' experiences and attitudes towards using cigarettes to change client's behaviourJOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRIC & MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 8 2010M. J. NASH msc pclt bsc (hons) rnt rmn fhea Accessible summary ,,This study explores the experiences of mental health nursing students in using cigarettes as a means of token economy. ,,The majority of the sample experienced the use of this particular intervention in various settings but also reported that other items apart from cigarettes were also used as part of a reward system. ,,Respondents generally did not like this practice, feeling that it did not work well, led to client staff conflict, was implemented in an ad hoc way and rarely recorded in a care plan. ,,An open debate on tobacco control and the use of cigarettes in behavioural change programmes is urgently required. Abstract Using cigarettes to change client behaviour is a common, yet little studied, practice in mental health care. A questionnaire survey was used to explore mental health nursing student's experiences and attitudes to this practice. The sample was four cohorts of mental health nursing students (n= 151). Of them, 84% had experienced the practice of using cigarettes to change client behaviour in acute wards (73%), rehabilitation wards (28%) and elderly care (14%). Cigarettes were used to change client behaviour in areas such as attending to personal hygiene (57%) or engaging in the ward routine (39%). However, items such as leave (60%) or drinks (tea and coffee) (38%) were also reportedly used. Of the respondents, 54% inferred that the practice did not work well with 46% stating it was not written up in care plans; 52% felt it was an ad hoc practice, 60% inferred that at times it was used as a punishment while 55% intimated that they felt bad withholding cigarettes. There are ethical and moral dilemmas around using lifestyle risk factors as rewards or using client's nicotine addiction as a means of controlling behaviour. The question of whether this intervention should ever be used, given its associated health risk, requires more critical debate in clinical practice. [source] Adverse Drinking-Related Consequences Among Lower Income, Racial, and Ethnic Minority Drinkers: Cross-Sectional ResultsALCOHOLISM, Issue 4 2009Anna-Marie Vilamovska Objective:, To examine factors associated with adverse consequences of alcohol consumption among a community sample of drinkers in a low-income, racial, and ethnic minority community. Methods:, A sample of 329 drinkers was recruited from 17 randomly selected off-sell alcohol outlets in South Los Angeles. Respondents were interviewed by trained research personnel on their demographic characteristics, income, drinking patterns and preferences, and alcohol-related adverse consequences (using the Drinkers Inventory of Consequences,DrInC), among other items. We developed logistic regression models predicting high scores on DrInC total score and subscales (impulse control, interpersonal, intrapersonal, physical, and social responsibility). Results:, In this sample, we found drinking patterns,bingeing, drinking outdoors, drinking in the morning,to be significantly associated with total DrInC scores and some subscales. Malt liquor beverage (MLB) use was significantly associated with total DrInC score and interpersonal and social responsibility subscales. Previous alcohol treatment predicted all but 1 DrInC subscale and total score. Conclusions:, A diverse array of factors predicted high DrInC total and subscale scores. More research on the association between MLB use and consequences is required. In addition, studies with community samples are likely to further enrich our understanding of the interactions between drinking patterns and preferences, settings, and negative consequences. [source] Are individuals with lower neutrophil oxidative burst activity more prone to Helicobacter pylori infection?LUMINESCENCE: THE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL LUMINESCENCE, Issue 3 2008Masashi Matsuzaka Abstract Helicobacter pylori infection has been reported to cause enhanced reactive oxygen species in the gastric mucosa. We examined the relationship between H. pylori infection and neutrophil function of peripheral blood. The subjects were 904 volunteers who participated in the Iwaki Health Promotion Project in 2005. 158 subjects who were infected with H. pylori in 2005 also participated in this project in 2006 and were categorized into two groups: the eradication group, in which H. pylori was successfully eradicated during the 12 month period, and the non-eradication group, in which eradication was unsuccessful or the subjects did not receive eradication therapy. The laboratory assays performed were: a titre of H. pylori antibody; neutrophil counts; and oxidative burst activity (OBA) of neutrophils. Logistic regression analysis was executed, with H. pylori infection as the dependent variable and other items as the independent variables. OBA showed an inverse association with H. pylori infection in 2005. Additionally, when comparing the eradication and non-eradication groups, the change rates of OBA between 2005 and 2006 did not show any significant difference. It was concluded that H. pylori infection does not lower OBA, but those individuals in whom OBA was lower were more prone to H. pylori infection. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Evidence of Iberian Bronze Age ,Boquique' Pottery in the Balearic Islands: Trade, Marriage or Culture?OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 4 2003W. Waldren Summary. This paper deals with the recent discovery of Iberian ,Boquique' Bronze Age pottery on the Balearic Island of Mallorca. It marks the ,maritime' spread of this distinctive pottery into a geographic area not previously recorded. It should therefore be of particular interest to mainland investigators and others concerned with its geographical distribution as well as those dealing with long-distance trade and possible kinship links during the period. The find is further supported by the ,micaceous' and ,quartz' composition of the pottery clay fabric, since mica is not known on the island as a component of local clays. The presence of Boquique pottery with ,micaceous' clay properties is demonstrated by microphotographic slab and thin sections as well as chemical clay analysis. This suggests that the pottery was imported, either as a trade item or as personal possessions. Along with recent evidence of earlier trade in exotic ,elephant' ivory and other items during Bell Beaker times, where the Boquique pottery appears to be a late intrusive element into local Beaker contexts (Waldren 1998), this new evidence represents the first material sign of cultural maritime interaction (Boquique in the present case), either as demographic extension or commercial exchange of these cultural items into the area. Furthermore, contextual radiocarbon dating surveys strongly indicate a date of 1700,1400 BC for the pottery, in accord both with recent Iberian mainland dates as well as the local archaeological sequence in which it was found. [source] Macaque,human interactions and the societal perceptions of macaques in SingaporeAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, Issue 10 2009John Chih Mun Sha Abstract Humans and long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) interface in several locations in Singapore. We investigated six of these interface zones to assess the level of conflict between the two species. We observed macaque-to-human interactions and distributed questionnaires to residents and visitors of nature reserves. We observed an average of two macaque-to-human interactions per hour at the sites, which included affiliative or submissive behaviors (46.9%), aggression (19.1%), taking food and other items (18.5%) searching bins, cars, and houses (13.4%), and nonaggressive contact (2.1%). Two-thirds of interactions occurred when a human was carrying food or food cues, and one-quarter occurred when a human provoked macaques. Only 8% of interactions occurred without a clear human-triggered context. Our interview showed one-third of respondents experienced nuisance problems from macaques. They had items taken from them (50.5%) and received threats (31.9%). Residents reported more nuisance problems than visitors, and their perceptions toward macaques differed. Residents were more aware of the consequences of food provisioning and that there were regulations against feeding. Residents fed macaques less and held more negative sentiments toward macaques. Nearly half of the interviewed people held neutral attitudes toward macaques and only 26.2% of respondents thought conflict with macaques warranted urgent action. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents supported education programs to ameliorate human,macaque conflict, and less than 15% supported removing or eradicating macaques. 87.6% felt that it is importance to conserve and protect macaques. Our results show that human,macaque conflict exists in Singapore, but that it may not be severe. Human behavior is largely responsible for macaque-to-human interactions, and thus could be lessened with management of human behavior in interface zones (i.e. restrict food carrying and provocation). Moreover, our interviews shows people living in Singapore value macaques, do not wish them entirely removed, prefer education-based solutions, and consider conservation and protection of them important. Am. J. Primatol. 71:825,839, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Histopathology reporting in colorectal cancer: a proforma improves qualityCOLORECTAL DISEASE, Issue 8 2009P. N. Siriwardana Abstract Aim, The histopathology report is vital to determine the need for adjuvant therapy and prognosis in colorectal cancer (CRC). Completeness of those in text format is inadequate. This study evaluated the improvement of quality of histopathology reports following the introduction of a template proforma, based on standards set by the Royal College of Pathologists (RCP), UK. Method, Sixty-eight consecutive histopathology reports based on 19 items for rectal cancer (RC) and 15 items for colon cancer (CC) using the proforma were prospectively analysed and compared with results of a previous audit of 82 consecutive histopathology reports in text format. The percentage of reports containing a statement for each data item for both series was compared using the Normal test for difference between two proportions. Completeness of each report was assessed and a percentage score (percentage completeness) was given. Mean percentage completeness was calculated for each format and compared using the two sample t -test. Results, Except for comments on the presence of ,histologically confirmed liver metastases' in CC and RC, ,distance from dentate line' and ,distance to circumferential margin' in RC, all other items were commented in more than 90% of reports, where 71% of the items based on the minimum data set were present in all reports. Compared to prose format, the mean percentage completeness (SD) improved from 74% (8) to 91% (4) (P < 0.0001) and from 81% (5) to 99% (1) (P < 0.0001) for RC and CC respectively in template proforma format. Conclusion, A template proforma and surgeon's contribution in relation to operative findings improves the quality of the histopathology report in CRC. [source] | ||||||||||