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Reliability Data (reliability + data)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	60%

Selected Abstracts

Prevalence of disruptive behaviour displayed by older people in community and residential respite care settings

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 2 2007
Christine C. Neville
ABSTRACT:, The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of disruptive behaviour displayed by older people in community and residential respite care settings. The specific objectives were to (i) obtain an estimate of the frequency of disruptive behaviour displayed by older people in the community setting before residential respite care; (ii) characterize older people being admitted for residential respite care; and (iii) obtain an estimate of the frequency of disruptive behaviour displayed by older people in residential respite care. A quantitative approach using a cross-sectional survey was employed in the community and in the residential aged care facilities. The older people (n = 100) had a mean age of 81.8 years (range 66,96 years). The older people were being admitted from their homes for booked respite care at residential aged care facilities in a regional Australian city. Home caregivers and nurses rated disruptive behaviour using the Dementia Behaviour Disturbance Scale (DBDS). Reliability data for the DBDS are provided. As expected, in both community and residential respite settings, older people with dementia (29%) scored significantly higher on the DBDS than people without dementia. In addition, DBDS scores were unexpectedly higher in the community setting than in the respite setting. These findings should be taken into consideration by primary health-care professionals when offering treatment options to the home caregivers and by staff in the residential aged care facilities that offer respite. [source]

Reliability assessment of the somatomorphic matrix

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EATING DISORDERS, Issue 4 2004
Guy Cafri
Abstract Objective The appearance of muscularity is an emerging topic of research interest within the body image field. However, the most widely used measure to assess attitudes toward muscularity, the somatomorphic matrix, lacks pertinent reliability data. Method In response to this dearth of information, the current study assessed the test-retest reliability of this measure in samples of men and women. Results Surprisingly, the somatomorphic matrix demonstrated inadequate reliability for the majority of assessed rating protocols. Discussion The implications of this finding on assessment of the muscularity construct are discussed. © 2004 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 35: 597,600, 2004. [source]

Reliability in multi-site psychiatric studies

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF METHODS IN PSYCHIATRIC RESEARCH, Issue 1 2001
Morven N. Leese
Abstract Multi-site psychiatric studies need to take account of cultural and sometimes also linguistic differences and the reliability of the instruments used may need to be re-established. The analysis of reliability data in these circumstances presents special problems, arising from the requirements to make the best use of all the available data and to compare reliability coefficients across sites, interpreting any differences found in terms of measurement errors and/or sample heterogeneity. Focusing on statistical issues, this paper discusses some topics that should ideally be considered when planning, conducting and analysing such studies. A number of practical examples using data from a recent European study involving the translation and cultural adaptation of five instruments used in mental health service research (the EPSILON Study) are used to illustrate the issues. Copyright © 2001 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source]

Outcome Variables and Their Assessment in Alcohol Treatment Studies: 1968-1998

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 10 2003
John W. Finney
Background: This article provides a historical overview of the assessment of outcome variables in alcohol treatment studies that were first published between 1968 and 1998. The review focuses on changes over time in (1) the number of outcome variables and the number of different types of outcome variables assessed, (2) the likelihood of assessing specific types of outcome variables, (3) the methods used to assess outcome variables, and (4) the status of outcome assessment in more recent studies first published between 1990 and 1998. Methods: Reports of 357 alcohol treatment trials with two or more treatment/control groups were coded with respect to the number and types of outcome variables assessed, sources of outcome data, and methodological aspects of outcome assessment. Results: Although the number of outcome variables assessed in studies, on average, did not increase significantly over time, the number of different types of outcome variables did increase. An expected decrease in the assessment of categorical abstinence was not found, but another categorical variable, global ratings of drinking improvement, did decrease over time. More recent studies were more likely to assess such continuous variables as time abstinent, alcohol consumption, time drinking, dependence symptoms, and drinking-related problems. Physiological markers of drinking/alcohol misuse also were assessed more frequently in later years. Some aspects of outcome assessment methods exhibited improvement over time; validity data were more likely to be provided or cited, and self-reports of drinking behaviors were more likely to be corroborated in studies first published in more recent years. However, the percentages of studies that provided/cited reliability data for outcome measures, indicated that follow-up data collectors were not affiliated with treatment and were unaware of respondents' treatment conditions, and reported that respondents were alcohol-free at follow-up did not rise significantly over time. Conclusions: Although the methods of outcome assessment improved between 1968 and 1998, much room for improvement remains. [source]

III-V concentrator solar cell reliability prediction based on quantitative LED reliability data,

PROGRESS IN PHOTOVOLTAICS: RESEARCH & APPLICATIONS, Issue 6 2007
Manuel Vázquez
Abstract III-V Multi Junction (MJ) solar cells based on Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology have been proposed and developed in recent years as a way of producing cost-competitive photovoltaic electricity. As LEDs are similar to solar cells in terms of material, size and power, it is possible to take advantage of the huge technological experience accumulated in the former and apply it to the latter. This paper analyses the most important parameters that affect the operational lifetime of the device (crystalline quality, temperature, current density, humidity and photodegradation), taking into account experience on the reliability of LEDs. Most of these parameters are less stressed for a III-V MJ solar cell working at 1000 suns than for a high-power LED. From this analysis, some recommendations are extracted for improving the long-term reliability of the solar cells. Compared to high-power LEDs based on compound semiconductors, it is possible to achieve operational lifetimes higher than 105,hours (34 years of real-time operation) for III-V high-concentration solar cells. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]