Core Set Of Items Research Articles

Guatemala City youth: an analysis of health indicators through the lens of a clinical registry.

Despite the inclusion of adolescent health in recent global frameworks, limited data exist on health indicators in low-income countries. Our objective was to identify socioeconomic measures, risk behaviors and health indicators of young people in Guatemala. We conducted a secondary data analysis of the Pan American Health Organization's Sistema Informático del Adolescente of 2831 participants ages 10-24 y from 2008 to 2014. We examined frequencies for a core set of items, and generalized regression models assessed correlations between age, sex and ethnicity with health outcomes of interest. Fewer than 17% of participants reported a history of chronic illness (16.6%) and severe psychological problems (16.8%). While 66.1% of participants' mothers and 36.6% of fathers reported job instability, far fewer families had housing instability (1.9% with no electricity, 6.3% with no running water). Fewer than one-third (29.1%) were sexually active and the majority (76.0%) routinely used condoms. About one-quarter (22.6%) reported abnormal mood. Indigenous participants were significantly more likely to have experienced psychological problems (odds ratio [OR] 1.75 [confidence interval {CI} 1.65-1.86]) and violence (OR 1.34 [CI 1.27-1.42]) compared with whites. The prevalence of risk behaviors and mental health concerns is low compared with other sources of national and regional data. Further work is needed to examine the benefits and limitations of this system in order to improve health surveillance.

Protocol for the development of a CONSORT extension for RCTs using cohorts and routinely collected health data

BackgroundRandomized controlled trials (RCTs) are often complex and expensive to perform. Less than one third achieve planned recruitment targets, follow-up can be labor-intensive, and many have limited real-world generalizability. Designs for RCTs conducted using cohorts and routinely collected health data, including registries, electronic health records, and administrative databases, have been proposed to address these challenges and are being rapidly adopted. These designs, however, are relatively recent innovations, and published RCT reports often do not describe important aspects of their methodology in a standardized way. Our objective is to extend the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement with a consensus-driven reporting guideline for RCTs using cohorts and routinely collected health data.MethodsThe development of this CONSORT extension will consist of five phases. Phase 1 (completed) consisted of the project launch, including fundraising, the establishment of a research team, and development of a conceptual framework. In phase 2, a systematic review will be performed to identify publications (1) that describe methods or reporting considerations for RCTs conducted using cohorts and routinely collected health data or (2) that are protocols or report results from such RCTs. An initial “long list” of possible modifications to CONSORT checklist items and possible new items for the reporting guideline will be generated based on the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) and The REporting of studies Conducted using Observational Routinely-collected health Data (RECORD) statements. Additional possible modifications and new items will be identified based on the results of the systematic review. Phase 3 will consist of a three-round Delphi exercise with methods and content experts to evaluate the “long list” and generate a “short list” of key items. In phase 4, these items will serve as the basis for an in-person consensus meeting to finalize a core set of items to be included in the reporting guideline and checklist. Phase 5 will involve drafting the checklist and elaboration-explanation documents, and dissemination and implementation of the guideline.DiscussionDevelopment of this CONSORT extension will contribute to more transparent reporting of RCTs conducted using cohorts and routinely collected health data.

Development of an ICF-based core set of activities and participation for patients with mental disorders: an approach based upon data

Objective: To use data and patient involvement to identify categories within the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) component activities and participation relevant for patients with affective, somatoform, anxiety and adjustment disorders. Design: The first step was to identify systematically, outcome instruments used in randomized controlled trials, to relate item content to the ICF. Then four patient focus group discussions (n = 21 participants) were conducted, and finally an expert panel (n = 11 participants) was used to identify the most relevant categories in therapy settings. Participants: Focus groups: inpatient psychotherapy patients. Expert panel: clinicians, stakeholders, patient representative. Results: In the literature search, 313 measures were identified, which included 1562 meaningful concepts (separate content units). These were allocated to ICF categories that were validated and complemented in focus groups and by an expert panel. The resulting core set includes 27 categories related to the nine chapters of the ICF component activities and participation. Conclusions: A core set of items, set within the World Health Organization ICF and relevant to the treatment of people with affective, somatoform, anxiety and adjustment disorders, has been developed based on existing evidence.

The question shapes the answer: The neural correlates of task differences reveal dynamic semantic processing

Task effects in semantic processing were investigated by contrasting the neural activation associated with two semantic categorization tasks (SCT) using event-related fMRI. The two SCTs involved different decision categories: is it an animal? vs. is it a concrete thing? Participants completed both tasks and, across participants, the same core set of items were presented in both tasks. Results showed task differences in the neural activation associated with these items: in the animal SCT there was greater activation in a number of frontal and temporal regions, including left superior and middle temporal gyri, while in the concrete SCT there was greater activation in left medial frontal gyrus and bilaterally in the precentral gyri. These results are interpreted as evidence of top-down modulation of semantic processing; participants make adjustments to optimize performance in a given task and these adjustments have consequences for the activation observed.

Evaluation of Instruments for Measuring the Burden of Sport and Active Recreation Injury

Sport and active recreation injuries are common. Participants are generally young, healthy and physically active individuals and as a result their injuries can have long-ranging effects for both the individuals and society. Accurate and appropriate measurement of the outcomes of sport and active recreation injuries is essential for understanding the time frame and quality of recovery, and quantifying the burden of these injuries. The WHO has developed a framework that can be used for studying health-related outcomes called the International Classification of Function (ICF). As such, the ICF is a useful tool for assessing the suitability of outcome measures for general sport and active recreation populations. This article provides a review of outcome measures that are potentially suitable for use in a general sport and active recreation injury population, assessed within the framework of the ICF. An extensive literature search was performed to identify instruments used in sport and active recreation (and general) injury populations that would be suitable for measuring the outcomes and burden of sport and recreation injuries and return to physical activity. The search identified six health status and health-related quality-of-life (HR-QOL) measures and five functional outcome measures. Of the outcome measures reviewed, the Short Form-36 was the most commonly used and covered many of the areas relevant to a sport and active recreation population. The comprehensiveness of the Sickness Impact Profile-36 meant that it contained many relevant items; however, its usefulness is limited by its high level of responder burden. The Musculoskeletal Functional Assessment provided a detailed measure of function, appropriate to a sport and active recreation population, and the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended can provide a suitable global measure of function. The Short International Physical Activity Questionnaire is a potential means of measuring return to physical activity for this group. There are no outcome measures specifically designed to measure outcomes in a general sport and active recreation population. There are, however, existing measures that when used in combination have the potential to provide a comprehensive assessment of injury outcomes in this group. Future research should focus on validating existing measures suitable for a sport and active recreation population as well as developing an ICF sport and active recreation core set of items. An ICF core set would assist researchers and clinicians in selecting the combination of outcome measures most appropriate to their needs as well forming the basis for the development of a specific sport and active recreation outcome measure.

Estimating capacity requirements for mental health services after a disaster has occurred: a call for new data.

We sought to estimate the extended mental health service capacity requirements of persons affected by the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. We developed a formula to estimate the extended mental health service capacity requirements following disaster situations and assessed availability of the information required by the formula. Sparse data exist on current services and supports used by people with mental health problems outside of the formal mental health specialty sector. There also are few systematically collected data on mental health sequelae of disasters. We recommend research-based surveys to understand service usage in non-mental health settings and suggest that federal guidelines be established to promote uniform data collection of a core set of items in studies carried out after disasters.

Quality of Youth Sport Friendships: Measurement Development and Validation

The role of peers has been neglected in research on youth psychosocial development in sport. The purpose of the present study was to develop and validate a measure of youth sport friendship quality for the purpose of facilitating such research. Dimensions and higher order themes found in Weiss, Smith, and Theeboom’s (1996) qualitative study of sport friendships among children and adolescents, as well as a core set of items from previous research (Parker & Asher, 1993), were used to develop and refine items for a sport friendship quality scale. Over the course of three studies, content, factorial, and construct validity, as well as internal consistency and test-retest reliability, were demonstrated for the Sport Friendship Quality Scale (SFQS). Future research is recommended to examine the role of children’s sport friendship quality on psychosocial development in the physical domain.

Reliability estimates for the Minimum Data Set for nursing home resident assessment and care screening (MDS).

The MDS is a core set of items, definitions, and response categories used to assess all of the nation's 1.5 million nursing home residents who reside in facilities participating in the Medicare or Medicaid programs. Further, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) has proposed a rule that would require facilities to computerize MDS data and submit it to state and federal agencies, paving the way for a national database. This article describes the process of testing the reliability of the MDS items in 13 nursing homes in five states. The results demonstrate that MDS data gathered in a research effort attain reliabilities that make such data useful. MDS items met a standard for excellent reliability (i.e., intraclass correlation of .7 or higher) in key areas of functional status, such as cognition, ADLs, continence, and diagnoses. Sixty-three percent of the items achieved reliability coefficients of .6 or higher. Eighty-nine percent of the items in the MDS achieved .4 or higher.