Perceptions Of Efficacy Research Articles

Predicting Black Parents' Attitudes Toward Corporal Punishment: A Moderated-Mediation Model of Frequency and Valence of Childhood Experiences.

Child corporal punishment (CP) may lead to child physical abuse, which is a public health concern in the United States. The present study examined major risk factors predicting attitudes toward CP among a sample of Black parents (N = 394), including frequency and valence of experiences of CP during childhood, outcome expectancies of CP, and perceptions of self-efficacy and response efficacy of non-physical discipline strategies. Structural equation modeling results revealed that the indirect associations between CP frequency and attitudes through self-efficacy and response efficacy were moderated by CP valence. Results extend the literature and point to the need for incorporating information about efficacy of evidence-based non-physical discipline strategies into intervention messages targeting prevention of child physical abuse.

Identifying modifiable factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and acceptance among cancer patients in Jordan

IntroductionVaccines stand amongst the most effective medical interventions for the management of infectious diseases, and are pivotal tools for public health. The acceptance of vaccines is heavily influenced by perceptions of efficacy, safety and other modifiable factors.PurposeThis cross-sectional study sought to identify and examine the modifiable factors that can help address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and acceptance among cancer patients.MethodsThe study was conducted between February and April 2021 using an online survey questionnaire comprising of four domains. The survey was administered to cancer patients in Jordan.ResultsAmong the 1,029 cancer patients who completed the online questionnaire (response rate= 73%), 58% (n=597) expressed willingness (intent) to take the vaccine. Notably, 72.5% (n=433) of those intending to take the vaccine were currently undergoing treatment. Knowledge and awareness played a significant role, with 54.3% considering them essential for vaccine acceptance. Fear of infection significantly influenced vaccine acceptance (p<0.001), with 66.8% expressing concern about potential infections. Peer encouragement was also a crucial factor, as 82.4% regarded it as an important driver for influencing vaccine acceptance (p<0.001).ConclusionPeer encouragement, awareness, and fear emerged as the primary modifiable factors associated with greater vaccine acceptance by patients with active malignancies. Study results suggest that providing personalized and tailored information about vaccinations, focusing on safety and potential interactions with cancer and its treatment, are potentially excellent strategies for improving vaccine acceptance among cancer patients.

Persistent myogenic temporomandibular disorders: Are navigation-guided botulinum toxin-A injections into the lateral pterygoid muscles effective?

BackgroundBotulinum toxin has proven effective in treating persistent myogenous temporomandibular disorders (M-TMDs) unresponsive to conservative therapies. While the usual injection sites are the masseter and temporalis muscles, the deeper lateral pterygoid muscle (LPM) is often overlooked due to its difficulty of access and the risk of local complications. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of botulinum toxin-A injections (BTX-A) in the LPM with MR-guided navigation of patients with persistent M-TMDs. MethodsThis retrospective study enrolled 34 patients suffering from M-TMDs despite conservative therapies with a total of 51 injection sessions. All of them were treated by BTX-A injections in the LPM using MR-guided navigation, masseter and temporalis with clinical guidance. The effectiveness of the treatment was evaluated with measures of maximum pain-intensity scores of breakthrough and background pain, maximal interincisal mouth opening (MIO), and the presence of joint sounds. The assessment was conducted before injections, and subsequently, at 1 and 3 months postoperatively. Adverse events and perception of improvement with the treatment were also reported for each injection sessions. ResultsBTX-A injections in the LPM significantly improved pain scores intensity with a reduction of 65 % and 49 % respectively at the 1- and 3-month follow-ups, with peak effectiveness at 1 month. This study showed also a statistically significant improvement in mean MIO at 3 months post-injection and a decrease in joint sounds with persistence in 9,7 % of cases at 3-month follow-up compared to 41,2 % at baseline. No significant adverse events were observed. Patients treated with BTX-A injections in the LPM had a subjective complete improvement in their perception of treatment efficacy in 63 % of cases at the end of the follow-up period. ConclusionsThis study reports clinical experience on the use of MR-guided navigation to perform accurate, reliable, and safe BTX-A injections in the LPM. Although our results appear to be encouraging regarding symptom improvement of patients suffering from persistent M-TMDs, this approach may not be feasible as a primary standard procedure for managing M-TMDs. Further research is necessary to explore potential reproducible, safe, and cost-effective alternatives to enhance the accessibility of the LPM in clinical practice.

Contralaterally controlled functional electrical stimulation video game therapy for hand rehabilitation after stroke: a randomized controlled trial

Purpose To estimate the effect of integrating custom-designed hand therapy video games (HTVG) with contralaterally controlled functional electrical stimulation (CCFES) therapy. Methods Fifty-two stroke survivors with chronic (>6 months) upper limb hemiplegia were randomized to 12 weeks of CCFES or CCFES + HTVG. Treatment involved self-administration of technology-mediated therapy at home plus therapist-administered CCFES-assisted task practice in the lab. Pre- and post-treatment assessments were made of hand dexterity, upper limb impairment and activity limitation, and cognitive function. Results No significant between-group differences were found on any outcome measure, and the average magnitudes of improvement within both groups were small. The incidence of technical problems with study devices at home was greater for the CCFES + HTVG group. This negatively affected adherence and may partially explain the absence of effect of HTVG. At end-of-treatment, large majorities of both treatment groups had positive perceptions of treatment efficacy and expressed enthusiasm for the treatments. Conclusion This study makes an important contribution to the research literature on the importance of environmental factors, concomitant impairments, and technology simplification when designing technology-based therapies intended to be self-administered at home. This study failed to show any added benefit of HTVG to CCFES therapy. Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03058796).

Greater perceived stress management skills and heightened brain metabolic activity in cortical and subcortical stress processing regions in metastatic breast cancer patients

PurposeEmotional distress and adversity can contribute to negative health outcomes in women with breast cancer. Individual differences in perceived stress management skills such as cognitive reframing and relaxation for coping with adversity have been shown to predict less distress and better psychological and physiological adaptation. Prior work shows that more distressed breast cancer patients reveal less metabolic activity in brain regions such as the insula, thalamus, ventromedial and lateral prefrontal cortices. This led us to pose the hypothesis that breast cancer patients with greater stress management skills (e.g., ability to reframe stressors and use relaxation) may conversely show greater activation in these brain regions and thereby identify brain activity that may be modifiable through stress management interventions. The main objective of this study was to examine the association of perceived stress management skill efficacy with the metabolism of 9 key stress-implicated brain regions in women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.MethodsSixty women (mean age 59.86 ± 10.04) with a diagnosis of mBC underwent 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. Perceived stress management skill efficacy was assessed with the Measure of Current Status Scale.ResultsGreater perceived stress management skill efficacy related significantly to higher metabolic activity in the insula, thalamus, ventromedial and lateral prefrontal cortices, and basal ganglia; this network of regions overlaps with those previously shown to be under-activated with greater level of distress in this same sample of metastatic breast cancer patients.ConclusionThis is the first study to demonstrate in metastatic cancer patients that greater perceptions of stress management skill efficacy are associated with metabolic activity in key brain regions and paves the way for future studies tracking neural mechanisms sensitive to change following stress management interventions for this population.

Risk Perception and Sense of Public Health Safety: The Mediating Role of Emotional Perception

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only caused significant economic, social, and cultural impacts, but it has also significantly influenced the public’s sense of psychological health and safety. Therefore, this study aimed to explain the theoretical logic of risk perception and the sense of public health safety. A conceptual framework of risk perception consisting of four dimensions—emotional perception, information perception, trust perception, and efficacy perception—was constructed. Additionally, the impact of risk perception on the sense of public health safety was empirically explored. By conducting an analysis of a survey of 292 residents in China, we found that risk perception had different impacts on residents’ sense of public health safety. Emotional perception and information perception had significantly negative effects on the sense of public health safety, while the effects of trust perception and efficacy perception were significantly positive. Notably, emotional perception played a partial mediating role in the impact of information perception, trust perception, and efficacy perception on sense of public health safety, respectively. The findings of this study showed that emotional perception is a critical mechanism for improving residents’ sense of public health safety. Some certain guidance measures are provided to reduce public anxiety and fear during pandemics.

I will only help if others tell me to do so! The simultaneous influence of injunctive and descriptive norms on donations

To address the gaps in the understanding of how social norms can be used to increase charitable donations, we conducted two experiments with 347 participants. We demonstrated the following: (a) that the norms supporting or not supporting charitable donations influence donation intentions; (b) that injunctive norms (what the majority of people approve of) have stronger influences on donation intentions than descriptive ones (what the majority of people do); and (c) that when injunctive and descriptive norms do not align, they demotivate individuals to donate by reducing perceptions of collective efficacy. Our findings expand the literature on charitable donation, social norms and collective efficacy and offer insights for charitable organisations in terms of increasing donations by crafting convincing marketing content.

Potential determinants of childhood COVID-19 vaccine confidence among the primary school's stakeholders in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study to assess the effects of education.

Rapid corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination drives aimed to immunize primary school-aged youth have a potential for health safety and supportive academic attainment. This study aimed to identify the potential factors influencing childhood COVID-19 vaccine confidence among the primary school's stakeholders in Bangladesh and assess the effects of health education on vaccine confidence and receptivity. This cross-sectional study used a bilingual, multi-item, closed-ended, anonymous questionnaire adopted from the extant literature studies on the topic. Data were collected purposively by the face-to-face interview approach. In total, 627 primary school's stakeholders participated in this study. The binary logistic regressions and Chi-square tests were employed to investigate and rationalize the study-outlined objectives where <0.05 was considered statistically significant. The pooled childhood vaccine confidence and receptivity against COVID-19 was 91% (95% CI 89-93) among the primary school's stakeholders. The regression analysis revealed that of eight potential determinants of vaccine confidence, "safety" and "effectiveness" had a highly significant (P = 0.006, P = 0.001, respectively) and positive association and "efficacy" had a significant (P = 0.03) and positive association, while "rumor" had a highly significant (P = 0.000) and negative association with childhood vaccine confidence. The analysis also showed that"health education" had a significant (P = 0.04) and positive association with childhood vaccine confidence and receptivity against COVID-19. Although the odds ratio for receiving childhood vaccine was found to be 0.6, the result was insignificant (P > 0.05) in the Chi-squared test. Hence, there was no vaccine-hesitant risky recipient group identified in implementing upcoming childhood COVID-19 vaccination programs. This study confirms the importance of a positive perception of vaccine safety, efficacy, effectiveness, and health education for vaccine confidence under any circumstances. Childhood COVID-19 vaccine confidence is Improved if vaccination data become more available to the guardians and school community. Public health education would be considered a preferred approach for building trust and fostering childhood vaccine confidence against COVID-19 in Bangladesh.

Efficacy of intradermal injected tranexamic acid vs intense pulse light in the treatment of melasma.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of Intradermal Tranexamic acid and Intense Pulse Light (IPL) in the treatment of melasma. Study Design: Interventional study. Setting: Department of Dermatology, HIT Hospital. Period: Dec 2022 to May 2023. Material &amp; Methods: 88 Female aged between 18 and 50 with melasma were included in this study. Participants who have used topical treatments for melasma, with any medical illness or bleeding disorder, history of photosensitivity were excluded. Participants of ITA group received intradermal tranexamic acid in a concentration of 4mg/ml monthly for four sessions. While the participants of IPL group were treated fortnightly for four sessions. mMASI was used to calculate the severity of melasma before and 2 weeks after last session. Patients perception of treatment efficacy and side effects were noted in each group. SPSS-28 was used. Paired t- test and independent t- test was applied to compare the effectiveness of both treatment modalities. A p-value ≤0.05 was considered as significant. Chi square was used to compare the side effects of both the groups. Results: Paired t-test indicated a highly significant p-value of less than 0.000 in both the groups. mMASI-II scores of both groups were compared using an independent t-test, p-value was found to be statistically insignificant at 0.512. Participants in ITA group experienced more side effects, comparison of side effects between both groups was done using chi-square test, and p-value was found to be statistically significant at 0.002. Conclusion: ITA and IPL have emerged as secure and efficacious therapeutic choices.

The Importance of Work Preparation for Residents of Babakan Banten Hamlet: Building Personal Branding and Writing CV

Purpose: This study underscores the importance of work preparation before entering the workforce, focusing on personal branding and skills crucial for professional success. Addressing Babakan Banten Hamlet residents' need for work readiness awareness, it guides youth in crafting effective CVs and job application letters. Utilizing mixed methods, qualitative interviews, and quantitative surveys assess community needs and program efficacy perceptions.&#x0D; Method: Community engagement involves workshops for 17 to 22-year-olds. Data collected through observation and surveys assesses training effectiveness.&#x0D; Practical Applications: This research empowers participants for better job market entry, improved job application outcomes, and potentially higher youth employment rates, contributing to community growth. It also informs similar community development approaches.&#x0D; Conclusion: This activity strives to prepare Babakan Banten Hamlet's youth for the workforce through essential skills training. Its potential impact on employability and community well-being underscores the importance of targeted engagement in addressing specific challenges.

Falling Into the Same Hole: Abandoning Cigarettes, Approaching E-Cigarettes

Effective communication regarding the risks associated with electronic cigarettes is a crucial part of efforts to control their usage, and incorporating elements of fear is an effective method to achieve proper regulation. This research, utilizing content analysis methodology, examined three online news articles from Indonesian news portals: Kompas.com, IDNTimes.com, and Detik.com. The study aimed to describe how online news conveys the dangers of using electronic cigarettes using the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM). The research method employed was content analysis. EPPM explains how people manage the fear evoked by threat messages. There are two key factors that can explain how individuals respond to fear messages. The first factor is the perception of threat, consisting of the severity and vulnerability to the threat. The second factor is the perception of efficacy, consisting of response efficacy and self-efficacy. The research findings indicate that online news coverage prioritizes the perception of threat. Conversely, the aspect of efficacy perception still needs to be applied in reporting the dangers of electronic cigarettes. These results are also influenced by ethical codes, journalistic principles, and cultural influences.

Identification the Impact of Differentiated Digitally Supported Learning Environments

The concepts of flipped learning (FL) and augmented reality (AR) draw attention which find strong support for contributing to learning performance. The purpose of this research is to examine to what extent pre-service teachers' environments with and without AR support differ from traditional digitally supported learning environments in terms of learning achievement. In this process, the analysis of the relationship between the perception of efficacy and motivation related to the learning content and the learning performance to measure the pure effect of the variables was the objective of another study. The study was conducted with the static group comparison design, which is among the weak experimental designs. The study group consisted of 109 pre-service teachers. Gain score test, academic motivation scale for learning information technology and perceived information and communication technologies (ICT) proficiency scale for pre-service teachers were used as data collection tools. Within the scope of the study, in-class implementations lasted for a total of eight weeks with each lasting for three hours. The ANOVA results indicated a statistically significant difference in favor of the AR-supported FL learning environment compared to the traditional digitally supported learning environment in terms of gains scores showing the pretest-posttest difference. In addition, no significant relationship was observed between perceived information technology proficiency and motivation status and gain scores. In this context, it can be suggested that the creation of AR supported FL environments from suitable content situations in learning performance.

Examination of the Effectiveness of a Public Health Nurses’ National Call Center for Young Families

Abstract Background The Public Health Nurses Call Center (PHNCC) is an innovative, free-of-charge Israeli national pilot aimed at parents of 0-6 years old children. The Center provides information, counseling, and guidance re- issues of health and preventative medicine and is active when the daily Infant-Parent Centers are closed. Aims Examining the PHNCC's suitability for the target population's needs and evaluating its effectiveness in locating situations needing intervention, improving patient experience, and promoting the children's and their parent's health. Methods Three sub-studies were conducted: (1) a descriptive study using an initial analysis of 6,000 calls received at the Center, as well as a profound analysis of randomly selected 1,500 calls; (2) a comparative study among 201 parents who had called the Center and 232 parents who had not; and (3) a qualitative study which included interviews with 20 parents who had called the Center and six of the PHNCC nurses. Findings The PHNCC provides a fast, professional, and accessible response. Caller satisfaction is high, as is that of the Center's nurses. The population of people calling the Center is mainly made up of young parents to first-born children, as well as parents characterized by high levels of parental efficacy perception, social support, and health literacy, as opposed to the population of parents who did not call. There is a direct association between callers’ satisfaction with the PHNCC and their level of trust in the Center nurses. Conclusions Both parents and nurses describe an accessible, professional Center and high satisfaction levels. However, the study's findings highlight the need to minimize health-related gaps and make the Center accessible to additional populations, such as parents with lower health literacy. Key messages • Both parents and nurses describe an accessible, professional Center suitable for the target population's needs. • The PHNCC is a service with excellent implementation potential for promoting public health. It should be budgeted accordingly and made accessible to the various populations of Israeli society.

The effects of peer inclusion in the design and implementation of university prison programming: A participatory action research, randomized vignette study.

Objective: Including people most impacted by a challenge in designing and implementing solutions to that challenge has reemerged in social science research. In prison settings, academics' outside knowledge of "what works" combined with incarcerated people's inside knowledge of lived experience could lead to more comprehensive rehabilitative programs. This combined approach may make less sense as an intervention in prison, however, due to sensitive and complicated interpersonal dynamics. We determine if incarcerated women perceive prison programs as more efficacious when other incarcerated women are collaboratively involved in the design and implementation of those programs, as compared to other program delivery methods. Methods: We employ a participatory action research framework in administering a randomized vignette to 200 incarcerated women. We randomize who designs and teaches a prison program in a hypothetical scenario, with incarcerated women alongside university researchers the key combined condition of interest. We then ask a series of questions regarding incarcerated women's perception of the program's efficacy. Results: Women who received the combined condition were four times more likely to view the program as legitimate when compared to programs taught by correctional staff. The combined condition was not significantly different on legitimacy when compared to either researchers alone or incarcerated women alone. We did not observe other expected relationships between the combined condition and perceived program efficacy. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: Researcher and incarcerated person-led programming should be implemented carefully in institutional settings to leverage the value of lived experience while avoiding creating further harm for confined people. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Winning or Losing Hearts and Minds? Evidence from Afghanistan on How Leadership Decapitation Affects Civilian Perceptions of Government Efficacy

Winning or Losing Hearts and Minds? Evidence from Afghanistan on How Leadership Decapitation Affects Civilian Perceptions of Government Efficacy

Perception of Threat and Efficacy in Contracting COVID-19 Infection among Tobacco Users - A Cross-sectional Analytical Study from Four Indian States.

To trigger quit intention and practice of preventive measures for COVID-19 among tobacco users; it is imperative for them to be well aware of the fact that they are at higher risk of COVID-19 infection and should be at higher efficacy to practice preventive measures for the disease as compared to nonusers of tobacco. This community-based cross-sectional analytical study was conducted from April 2020 to May 2020 among 1203 adult participants to compare the threat and efficacy perception among users and nonusers of tobacco. Perception of threat was assessed using three questions on perceived threat and one question on perceived susceptibility; whereas perception of efficacy was assessed using four questions each on self-efficacy and response efficacy through telephonic interview. There was no significant difference in the overall threat perception among users and nonusers of tobacco. However, state-wise analysis showed that tobacco users had higher perception of threat for SARS-CoV-2 infection in all the states except Telangana. The overall perception of efficacy among tobacco users was significantly higher as compared to nonusers of tobacco. The study calls for active collaboration between tobacco control enthusiasts and the Government to promote awareness of a higher risk of COVID-19 disease among tobacco users. In essence, the study's implications extend beyond COVID-19 and can guide targeted efforts to promote awareness, behavior change, and collaboration in the context of other infectious diseases among tobacco users.

The Influence of Flooding Imagery and Party Cues on Perceived Threat, Collective Efficacy, and Intentions for Political Action to Address Climate Change

This study investigates how episodic and thematic flooding imagery and political party cues in climate change news stories influence risk perceptions, collective efficacy perceptions, and intended political action. We found that imagery and party cues had significant total effects on perceived flooding threat but not on perceived climate change threat. Specifically, episodic imagery (but not thematic imagery) increased perceived flooding threat, and party cues lowered perceived threat. Perceived threat was positively associated with collective efficacy, which, in turn, was positively associated with intended political action. Both imagery and party cues had significant indirect effects on perceived efficacy and intended action.

Water utility engagement in wildfire mitigation in watersheds in the western United States

Scaling up climate-adaptation in wildfire-prone watersheds requires innovative partnerships and funding. Water utilities are one stakeholder group that could play a role in these efforts. The overarching purpose of this study was to understand water utility engagement in wildfire mitigation efforts in the western United States. We conducted an online survey of water utilities in nine states and received 173 useable responses. While most (68%) respondents were concerned or very concerned about future wildfire events and the impact of wildfire on their operations, only 39% perceived their organization as responsible for mitigating wildfire risk. Federal land ownership decreased feeling responsible for wildfire mitigation, while concern for and information on wildfire increased feeling responsible for mitigation. The perception of response efficacy of mitigation actions for the 68 water utilities engaged in wildfire risk mitigation activities was very high, with most agreeing that mitigation actions are effective. Self-efficacy to implement mitigation actions, however, was mixed, with most utilities wanting more information on wildfire risk and impacts to watershed services. The most reported wildfire mitigation actions were forest thinning and stream restoration. Water utilities engaging in these actions typically partnered with government agencies or other water utilities to complete the work and funded these activities through water user fees and grants. Our findings suggest that water utility engagement in wildfire mitigation for water security could be increased through providing more assessments of wildfire risk to water utilities and through more outreach and engagement with water utilities operating on federal lands.

A psychosocial network approach studying biomedical HIV prevention uptake between 2017 and 2019

Biomedical HIV-prevention strategies (BmPS) among men who have sex with men (MSM), such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and viral load sorting (VLS), are essential but relatively new and their uptake gradual. Using an extension of the causal attitude network approach, we investigated which beliefs are related to uptake of PrEP and VLS at each time-point. We included 632 HIV-negative MSM from the Amsterdam Cohort Studies from four data-waves between 2017 and 2019. We estimated weighted, undirected networks for each time-point, where we included pairwise interactions of PrEP and VLS uptake and related beliefs. PrEP use increased from 10 to 31% (p < 0.001), while VLS was reported by 7–10% at each time-point. Uptake of both BmPS was directly related to the perceived positive impact of the strategy on one’s quality of sex life and perceived supportive social norms. Overall network structure differed between time points, specifically in regard to PrEP. At earlier time points, perceptions of efficacy and affordability played an important role for PrEP uptake, while more recently social and health-related concerns became increasingly important.The network structure differed across data-waves, suggesting specific time changes in uptake motives. These findings may be used in communication to increase prevention uptake.

ÖĞRETMENLERİN ÇOKKÜLTÜRLÜ YETERLİK ALGILARI

This study aims to analyse the perceptions of teachers who teach in high schools concerning multicultural efficacy in terms of several variables. Teachers were analysed according to a) gender, b) years of service, c) domain of teaching, d) in what order they chose teaching profession, e) reason for choosing the profession, f) whether or not they joined cultural events, g) whether or not they had any other teachers in their family, h) marital status and i) whether or not they thought of quitting teaching. The research was conducted in general high schools located in the centre districts of Ankara and 434 teachers were included in the study. The “perceptions of multicultural efficacy scale” developed by Başbay and Kağnıcı (2011) was used for data collection. The Alpha reliability of the scale was found as 0.92. The t test was used to compare paired groups whereas one-way variance analysis and the Scheffe test were used to compare more than two groups in data analysis. It was found as a result that teachers’ perceptions of multicultural efficacy differed significantly according to a) gender, b) domain of teaching, c) in what order they chose teaching profession, d) whether or not they joined cultural events and e) marital status. On the other hand, no significant differences were found according to their years of service, reasons for teaching the profession or whether or not they thought of quitting teaching.