Five-item Scale Research Articles

Abstract P053: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis Of The Whole Food Plant-based Diet Attitudes And Beliefs Survey

Background: Despite emerging evidence that a whole food plant-based diet (WFPBD) can reduce risk for CVD morbidity and mortality, adoption rates in the US remain low (~4%). Little is known about why this disconnect exists, and understanding this is critical to designing and implementing interventions intended to increase WFPBD consumption in the US. However, no validated survey instruments intended for use in US adults has been tested. Objective: The purpose of this study is to validate the WFPBD survey instrument using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Methods: Survey development was based on previous research in Australia and Europe, and items include “pros” and “cons” of consuming a WFPBD using constructs from the Social Cognitive Theory and the Transtheoretical Model. Sixty-four statements (33 “con” and 31 “pro”) were presented with five-item Likert scale answer options (strongly disagree to strongly agree). The WFPBD survey was administered to 412 English speaking adults in the US via MTurk. Summary statistics and CFA were used to describe outcomes and reduce the number of survey items while optimizing explained variance. Examination of item variance and covariance was used to iteratively fit a second order twelve factor model, a first order eight factor model, and a first order six factor model. Results: The mean age of participants was 34.9 years, and the sample was 12% (48) African American, 6% (25) Asian, 6% (25) Hispanic, 1% (5) Other, and 75% (309) White. The majority (85.7% (349)) had at least a Bachelor’s degree, and 33% (136) made >$65K. After adjustment for low factor loadings and high cross loadings, the first order six factor model remained significant ( X 2 = 491.87, p < 0.001). This model resulted in the best fit, as indicated by low RMSEA = 0.051 and SRMR = 0.048. The six factors were split between “cons” (social support, instrumental support, self-efficacy, health), and “pros” (instrumental support, health). The largest factor loadings for the latent variable WFPBD “cons” were “I wouldn't get enough energy or strength.” (0.85) and “I am not confident that I know how to prepare plant-based meals.” (0.81), while for the latent variable WFPBD “pros”, the highest factor loadings were for “Have a better quality of life.“ (0.77) and “Be fit.” (0.77). Attitudes towards animals and environmental concerns were not highly implicated and were excluded from the final model. Conclusion: The 25-item WFPBD survey produced internally consistent measures of the latent variables WFPBD “pros” and WFPBD “cons” in this sample of US adults. The reduced survey can be used to assess attitudes and beliefs towards a WFPBD and results can guide behavioral interventions development to promote adoption of a WFPBD. Results suggest the importance of reducing negative perceptions of a WFPBD related to energy and strength, increasing self-efficacy for preparing plant-based meals, and emphasizing health benefits.

The impact of COVID-19 stressors on psychological distress and suicidality in a nationwide community survey in Taiwan

COVID-19 stressors and psychological stress response are important correlates of suicide risks under the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of COVID-19 stress, its impact on mental health and associated risk factors among the general population during the outbreak of COVID-19 in July 2020 throughout Taiwan. A nationwide population-based survey was conducted using a computer-assisted telephone interview system with a stratified, proportional randomization method for the survey. The questionnaire comprised demographic variables, psychological distress assessed by the five-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale and independent psychosocial variables including COVID-19 stressors, loneliness, suicidality, and health-related self-efficacy. In total, 2094 respondents completed the survey (female 51%). The COVID-19 stress was experienced among 45.4% of the participants, with the most prevalent stressors related to daily life and job/financial concerns. Higher levels of suicidality, loneliness, and a lower level of self-efficacy had significantly higher odds of having COVID-19 stress. The structural equation model revealed that COVID-19 stress was moderately associated with psychological distress and mediated by other psychosocial risk factors. The findings call for more attention on strategies of stress management and mental health promotion for the public to prevent larger scales of psychological consequences in future waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Inter-Specialty Controversies on the Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases during Pregnancy: A Questionnaire Study.

Background and Objectives: Management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) during pregnancy is challenging and usually requires eminence-based decisions due to limited strong-evidence data in this field. The purpose of our study was to compare the attitudes of anaesthesiologists, cardiologists, and gynaecologists towards the diagnosis and treatment of potentially life-threatening CVDs during pregnancy. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was performed among 111 doctors (55 anaesthesiologists, 36 cardiologists, 20 gynaecologists). Personal opinions on the recommendations (n = 19) regarding rare, potentially life-threatening CVDs during pregnancy were recorded using a five-item Likert scale. Results: Opinions regarding eight statements (42%) varied substantially between specialties (p < 0.05). The most distinctive differences between physicians concerned the following recommendations: “thrombolysis should only be used in pulmonary embolism with cardiogenic shock” (agree: 52.7% of anaesthesiologists, 80.4% of cardiologists, 25.0% of gynaecologists; p < 0.001); “women with the antiphospholipid syndrome should restart treatment with vitamin K antagonists from the second trimester of pregnancy” (agree: 12.7% of anaesthesiologists, 69.4% of cardiologists, 20.0% of gynaecologists; p < 0.001); “women with symptomatic pulmonary hypertension should have a Swan–Ganz catheter inserted for labour” (agree: 20.0% of anaesthesiologists, 11.1% of cardiologists, 55.0% of gynaecologists; p = 0.001). Conclusions: Physicians’ opinions regarding diagnostics and treatment of CVDs in pregnancy remain controversial. A multidisciplinary approach is recommended to ensure the safety and effectiveness of management in these unique medical conditions.

Correlations between Psychiatric Symptoms and Quality of Life in Patients with Psychological Disorders: Hospital-Based Retrospective Study

Little research has been conducted on the relationship between the five-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS-5) and quality of life in patients with mood disorders. The purpose of this study was to investigate potential effects of psychological symptoms on quality of life in patients with psychological disorders. We recruited 124 patients with psychological disorders from a psychological teaching hospital in northern Taiwan. Data were obtained from medical records of all patients with a diagnosis of mood or adjustment disorder. We assessed psychological symptoms on the BSRS-5 and examined quality of life by using the Taiwanese version of the abbreviated World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF). We performed hierarchical linear regression analysis to explore the relationship between psychological symptoms and quality of life. The analysis revealed a significant correlation between the items on the BSRS-5 and WHOQOL and their correlations with the total scores on these assessments (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05). Our findings indicated that scores on the BSRS-5 can predict scores on quality of life. This suggests that psychometrically measured psychological symptoms constitute critical determinants of quality of life.

Outpatient antibiotic prescribing behavior and their psychosocial predictors among early-career clinicians in Delhi, India

Introduction: Psychosocial factors are significant drivers of inappropriate antibiotic prescription leading to antibiotic resistance. We ascertained the psychosocial predictors of outpatient antibiotic prescribing (OAP) behavior among early-career clinicians in India. Materials and Methods: We enrolled 200 early-career clinicians, including 100 medical interns and 100 junior residents (postgraduate student doctors) in six clinical departments, and collected data using a self-administered questionnaire. Response options were coded on five-item Likert scales. Results: Antimicrobial resistance was viewed as a significant public health problem by most (95%) participants. Presumptive antibiotic prescribing was reported by 84% of participants, although the participant attitude indicated a slight disinclination against the presumptive use of antibiotics (mean = 2.8, standard deviation = 0.72). The majority (52.5%) of the participant's perceived social pressure frequently influenced their decision to prescribe antibiotics to the outpatients. Furthermore, the maximum social pressure was perceived as driven by patient expectation for antibiotics and the existing antibiotic prescribing behavior of their peers and colleagues. The perception of increased social pressure stipulating antibiotic prescribing negatively correlated with the participant's intention to reduce antibiotic use in outpatients (r= −0.124, P &lt; 0.001). Social pressure was reported to be higher when treating adult patients reporting diarrheal symptoms and children having cough. Conclusions: OAP practices among early-career clinicians working in the government health sector in India are mediated by considerable social pressure despite behavioral intention for reducing antibiotic use. The following core competencies are addressed in this article: Practice-based learning and improvement, Professionalism.

Global validation of the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS).

The five-item Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS) was found to be a useful and valid mental health screener. Participants in the respective surveys were mostly from single countries such as the US, Turkey, Mexico, or Brazil. However, a cross-cultural re-examination is lacking. This study fills this gap. In several multigroup confirmatory factor analyses with 25 countries from five continents as groups, sex and age as groups, and different stages of concern with COVID-19 infection, CAS was found to be invariant across all groups; this indicates that CAS is appropriate for meaningfully comparing the results across different groups. On a global basis, Coronavirus anxiety did not differ between female and male participants. Regarding age, however, younger individuals suffered more from anxiety of the pandemic. Individualistic cultures and those with low power distance such as in the Western hemisphere had higher COVID-19 anxiety. CAS values were also higher for those individuals who had been infected by COVID-19, those whose relatives had been infected, and those who experienced COVID-19-related death in the family. Overall, CAS is a parsimonious, valid, and reliable mental health screener on a global basis.

Predictors for psychological distress of young burn survivors across three years: A cohort study of a burn disaster in Taiwan.

PurposeThe study aims to investigate long‐term psychological distress and its risk factors in the burn survivors.DesignA longitudinal study with follow‐up interviews was conducted from November 2015–June 2018. A post‐burn baseline interview was conducted 6 months after the event, followed by annual surveys for three years.MethodsThe burn survivors received structured assessment through telephone in the four‐wave interviews, including the five‐item Brief Symptom Rating Scale (BSRS‐5); two‐item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ‐2); four‐item Startle, Physiological Arousal, Anger, and Numbness Scale (SPAN‐4); and six‐item Impact of Event Scale (IES‐6) alongside demographic data and other health‐related assessment.FindingsA total of 180 respondents with the mean age of 23 years old completed the four waves of interview. Using the BSRS‐5 as the outcome, each variable had different input in psychological distress during the follow‐up years. The main finding was that the SPAN‐4 score could predict more than 62% of psychological distress between 6 months and 3 years after the disaster. The generalized estimating equation demonstrated that SPAN‐4, IES‐6, family functioning impairment, hypnotics use, adaptation to the event, and PHQ‐2 could predict psychological distress. However, the variable of follow‐up year did not exemplify significant estimation in the model.ConclusionsThe results indicated that different factors had various influences on psychological distress across the four follow‐up stages. PTSD‐like symptoms, depression, and anxiety were the most common psychological problems experienced by the young burn cohort in the longitudinal post‐traumatic period.Clinical relevanceHealthcare providers should be aware of psychological consequences of traumatic events within up to a 3‐year post‐burn period, particularly post‐traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms.

Open Communication and Physical Intimacy in Young and Midlife Couples Surviving Cancer Beyond the First Year of Diagnosis.

To assess the association between levels of dyadic coping (e.g., collaboration, communication) and sexual satisfaction in young and midlife couples surviving cancer beyond the first year of diagnosis. This cross-sectional study included 49 young and midlife couples (aged 21-57 years) beyond the first year of diagnosis. Couples were from rural and urban areas. A mailed survey was used to gather data from cancer survivors and their partners. Controlling for cancer survivor sex and age, open communication was significantly associated with greater involvement in affectionate and sexual behaviors of the couple. Protective buffering behaviors (i.e., concealing worries and avoiding communication) were not significantly associated with engagement in physical intimacy. Perception of how much a partner openly communicates was more salient for engaging in physical intimacy than one's own open communication. Nurses should include partners in planned care, assess the concerns of the partner, and treat the couple as the unit of care.

Implementation of a WeChat-Based Smoking Cessation Program for Chinese Smokers.

Introduction: Although smoking prevalence has recently declined, the smoking prevalence in China remains high. Extensive research has demonstrated ways that social media can assist in quitting smoking. WeChat is the most commonly used social media platform in China but has not been used for smoking cessation. A process evaluation of a novel WeChat-based smoking cessation intervention was conducted to measure its efficacy of content delivery, participant satisfaction, engagement, and likelihood of recommendation to others. Methods: A three-week, three-arm, single-blind randomized control trial was established. WeChat was used to recruit 403 participants and to deliver intervention messages and process evaluation surveys to them. Recruitment advertisements were posted on an official WeChat account and were forwarded to WeChat Moments. Intervention messages were delivered once a day during weekdays, using the WeChat broadcasting messages function, with two messages being sent each time. Process evaluation surveys were organized using Wenjuanwang and were delivered via WeChat. Process assessments were conducted every Friday to assess intervention message receipt, satisfaction level, engagement level, and recommendation to others. The receipt of intervention messages was measured by a self-reported question indicating which messages were read each week. Satisfaction was measured by a five-item Likert scale survey. Engagement was measured by a one-item Likert scale survey. Recommendation to others was measured by one self-reported question. Results: Participants read an average of 4.76 (out of 10), 5.80 (out of 10), and 4.25 (out of 6) messages at week 1, week 2, and week 3, respectively. The second messages were less likely to be read compared to the first messages (52.3% vs. 61.6%, respectively). Moreover, within each single week, the number of participants who read the intervention messages gradually decreases over time. Picture-based intervention messages tended to be less likely to be read than video-based intervention messages. Total program satisfaction scores ranged between 5 and 25, and the overall scores for satisfaction for each week were 21.55, 22.27, and 22.76, respectively. No significant differences were found in all the satisfaction indicators between groups. More than 60% of participants reported being either highly engaged or somewhat engaged each week. In addition, most participants (93.0% at week 1, 95.8% at week 2, and 96.2% at week 3) reported that they were willing to recommend our program to others. Discussion: A WeChat-based smoking cessation intervention for Chinese smokers was implemented and evaluated. For future studies, one should consider sending messages of a higher importance as the first message of a given day. Smokers had a higher rate of reading intervention messages at the beginning part of each week, during which, relatively important messages should be prioritized. One might also consider alternating the topics and formats of the messages for a better engagement of the users in future studies.

Age-Related Hearing Loss With Tinnitus and Physical Frailty Influence the Overall and Domain-Specific Quality of Life of Chinese Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Objective: To investigate the impact of the severity of age-related hearing loss (ARHL) and tinnitus, presence of ARHL and/or tinnitus, and physical frailty on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and domain-specific HRQoL in Chinese community-dwelling older adults.Design: This was a cross-sectional study of a community-based cohort.Participants: We evaluated Chinese older adults (n = 429, 183 men and 246 women) aged ≥ 58years.Measurements: The severity of HL and tinnitus were measured using pure-tone audiometry and the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), respectively. Physical frailty was measured using the five-item Fried scale. HRQoL was assessed using the Assessment of Quality of Life-8-Dimension (AQoL-8D) multi-attribute utility instrument (35 HRQoL items and eight domain-specific HRQoL subcategories). Low HRQoL (HRQoL score or subscores in the highest quintile) was used as a dependent variable in logistic regression analyses adjusted for demographic (Model 1) and health-related (Model 2) and psychosocial (Model 3) confounders.Results: Age-related hearing loss severity was an independent determinant of senses in the physical dimension of HRQoL after adjusting for all covariates. Tinnitus severity was significantly associated with HRQoL and with independent living, senses, and pain in the physical dimension after adjusting for demographic and health-related covariates and was still associated with independent living and senses after adjusting for all covariates. The presence of ARHL and/or tinnitus was significantly associated with independent living and senses in the physical dimension after adjusting for all the covariates. Physical frailty was an independent determinant of HRQoL, independent living, and pain in the physical dimension and with mental health, happiness, and coping in the psychosocial dimension after adjusting for demographic and health-related covariates. The association with HRQoL, independent living, and pain in the physical dimension, and with happiness and coping in the psychosocial dimension remained significant after adjusting for the covariates. Depressive symptoms, social dysfunction, and a number of comorbidities were critical determinants of psychosocial HRQoL.Conclusion: Physical frailty has a stronger and more profound effect on HRQoL, particularly on independent living and pain in the physical dimension and on happiness and coping in the psychosocial dimension. Domain-specific HRQoL should be considered in the management of patients with ARHL with tinnitus and physical frailty.Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT2017K020.

Validation Assessment of a Pain Interference Questionnaire among Student Pharmacists.

Validation studies of pain interference instruments used among student pharmacists are rare yet essential for understanding their appropriate use and interpretation in pharmacy education and practice. This study conducted validation and reliability assessments of a five-item Pain Interference Scale previously administered to student pharmacists. Construct validity was assessed using Rasch analysis. Unidimensionality was measured using: point-biserial measure correlations; percent of raw variance explained by items; difference between expected; variance modeled by items; and Rasch model fit. To assess scale functioning, response frequency distribution, observed average and sample expected logit distribution, Andrich logit distribution, item separation, and item reliability were assessed. Visual examination of the Item-Person Map determined content validity. Items explained 64.2% of data raw variance. The difference between raw variance modeled and observed was 0.6. Point-biserial measure correlations were >0.77. Item mean-square infits were 0.7–1.3 while outfit measures were 0.72–1.16. There were >10 responses per response category, response frequency and Andrich thresholds progressively advanced, and observed average and sample expected logits advanced monotonically, Andrich logits = −2.33–1.69, item separation = 2.61, and item reliability = 0.87. Item probability curves indicated response categories were minimally yet adequately distinct. Cronbach’s alpha = 0.93. The Item-Person Map had a ceiling effect indicating content gaps. In conclusion, the pain interference instrument has acceptable construct validity yet contains content gaps. Additional difficult items should be added to the instrument to better capture pain interference among student pharmacists.

Nový přístup v testování ekvivalence na příkladu měření subjektivního blahobytu

Survey-based measures of subjective well-being are more and more often analyzed cross-culturally. However, international comparison of these measures requires measurement invariance. Therefore, the major goal of this study was to investigate the cross-country comparability of the five-item subjective well-being scales used in the International Social Survey Programme (2011, 2017). This study applied both the traditional exact and the more recent Bayesian approximate approach to assess whether the subjective well-being scales were measurement invariant. The Bayesian approach detected several non‑invariant items that were problematic for cross-national comparison and could be dropped from the scales. Consequently, measurement invariance was established in all countries for the reduced scales, allowing researchers to meaningfully compare their latent mean scores and the relationships with other theoretical constructs of interest. Thus, the study highlighted the advantages of using multiple indicators and the necessity of measurement invariance testing in subjective well-being research.

Prevalence and factors influencing COVID-19 Anxiety among Nepalese Population during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Global health epidemics or pandemics have short and long-term negative psychological impacts, including anxiety, in people everywhere. We thus investigated the prevalence of COVID-19 anxiety among the general population aged ≥18 years. A web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted using a self-selected convenience sampling method among 546 participants. Participants completed a five-item Corona Virus Anxiety Scale, a measure of COVID-19 anxiety. We used SPSS software to perform descriptive and inferential analysis. The majority of the participants were

Perceived changes in capability during the COVID-19 pandemic: A Swedish cross-sectional study from June 2020.

Aims:Measures against COVID-19 potentially impact quality of life in different ways. The capability approach by Amartya Sen with a broad and consistent framework for measuring quality of life is suited to capture the various consequences. We aimed to examine (a) whether individuals experienced change in 10 capability dimensions during the first half of 2020, (b) which dimensions were affected most, and (c) whether changes were unequally distributed in terms of gender, education, income, geography, housing, living situation and place of birth.Methods:We assessed self-reported capability change in Sweden in 10 capability dimensions in a cross-sectional online survey among 500 participants on a five-item Likert scale. We analysed the distribution of answers by comparing the balance of positive and negative perceived changes and used mixed effects logistic regression to examine associations with background characteristics of the participants.Results:Reported perceived negative changes outweighed positive changes, and a higher proportion stated negative perceived changes if they also stated having low capability in the same dimension. In the capabilities of financial situation, political resources and health, the proportions of perceived negative change were highest. Odds for perceived negative change compared to no or positive change were higher for lower incomes, living in smaller municipalities compared to living in medium-sized municipalities, being born outside Europe, living in the south of Sweden, and renting instead of owning housing.Conclusions:Self-reported negative capability change, and associated inequalities related to socioeconomic position, place of birth and regional residence should be of concern for policymakers.

Multilevel IRT analysis of the Everyday Discrimination Scale and the Racial/Ethnic Discrimination Index.

Unfair treatment based on race is an unfortunate reality. While there is increasing interest in mapping the daily and longer-term impact of discrimination in psychology, studies that examine the psychometric properties of indicators spanning these timeframes are limited. Item response analysis examined the measurement characteristics of two daily measures of ethnic/racial discrimination: (a) the six-item Racial/Ethnic Discrimination Index (REDI), and (b) the modified five-item Everyday Discrimination Scale (EDS; Williams et al., Journal of Health Psychology, 1997, 2, 335). This study investigated whether the two scales can be appropriately adapted to access adolescents' daily-level ethnic/racial discrimination experiences. Both measures were administered for 14 consecutive days in a sample of 350 adolescents attending public schools in a large, urban area. Results suggest that the REDI has high loading and high difficulty. All REDI items functioned similarly at daily and person levels, suggesting that any single REDI item measured on a single day is sufficient for measuring daily ethnic/racial discrimination experiences. The EDS also shows high loading and high difficulty. However, EDS items functioned differently at the daily and person levels. REDI items were invariant across gender and race/ethnicity (African Americans, Asians, and Latinx). Recommendations for measuring daily ethnic/racial discrimination are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Prevalence and risk factors of worry among teachers during the COVID-19 epidemic in Henan, China: a cross-sectional survey

ObjectiveTo evaluate the level of worry and its influencing factors during the COVID-19 epidemic among teachers in Henan Province in China.Study designA cross-sectional study was conducted.MethodsWe designed a cross-sectional survey...

Perceptions of stalking in Malaysia and England: The influence of perpetrator-target prior relationship and personality

Abstract Little work has examined whether culture and personality influence perceptions of stalking behaviour. A fictional stalking scenario was manipulated to assess judgements of case severity, culpability, and consequences for the stalker and target, measured by a five-item Likert scale. Participants were mainly students based in Malaysia (N = 269; 63.9% females) and England (N = 167; 90.4% females). As expected, participants were more likely to judge the stalking as less serious and the victim as more responsible when the stalker was depicted as an ex-partner, as opposed to a stranger or acquaintance. Malaysian participants judged the stalking as less serious and victims as more responsible than their English counterparts, as did male participants. The influence of personality traits was also assessed, using the HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised, the Short Dark Triad and the Varieties of Sadistic Tendencies measures. Correlational analyses revealed narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism scores to be negatively associated with perceived severity. Emotionality was negatively associated with perceived victim responsibility while all Dark Tetrad traits were positively associated with perceived victim responsibility. Findings extend literature indicating that a range of factors, both internal and external to the individual observer, contribute to how stalking is perceived.

R-scale for pulmonary fibrosis: a simple, visual tool for the assessment of health-related quality of life.

Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) experience impaired health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Several tools have been developed to objectively assess HRQoL in this patient population, but none are in use in routine clinical practice. To develop a rapid, specific tool that can be used for patients with IPF during routine clinic visits. A novel and simple five-item numerical rating scale was developed and compared with two other previously validated tools. 100 consecutive patients with IPF managed at a centre for interstitial lung disease were recruited to complete the Raghu scale for pulmonary fibrosis (R-Scale-PF), King's Brief Interstitial Lung Disease questionnaire (K-BILD), and the EuroQol Five-Dimensional Five-Level questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) in addition to pulmonary function and 6-min walk tests. All 100 patients successfully completed the three HRQoL tools with 53 completing them again at follow-up visits. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach's α 0.825) with minimal floor/ceiling effect. Concurrent validity of the R-Scale-PF was moderate to high compared with the K-BILD (r=-0.713) and the EQ-5D-5L (r=-0.665). Concurrent validity was moderate with physiologic measures (forced vital capacity, r=-0.307, 6-min walking distance, r=-0.383). The R-Scale-PF demonstrated good known-groups validity when comparing scores across stages of disease severity. The R-Scale-PF correlates well with the K-BILD and EQ-5D-5L. It is hoped that this novel simple numerical rating scale tool, subject to validation in patients from other centres, will provide an opportunity to objectively measure HRQoL in routine clinical practice for patients with IPF.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Academic Activity and Health Status among Romanian Medical Dentistry Students; A Cross-Sectional Study.

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, dental faculties had to rethink their way of teaching and interacting with students and of delivering solid theoretical knowledge and practical skills to students. Background: The purpose of the study was to assess dentistry students’ opinions about the online activity, together with a self-evaluation of their mental and physical health, during the first wave of the pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey. Three hundred and three students, enrolled across all six years of study, were included in the research. Socio-demographic and academic data were collected, along with a self-evaluation of physical and mental status. Some items investigated students’ opinions about distance learning and the impact of that online activity on their achievement. The answers were rated using a five-item Likert-like scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS (v.24). Results: statistical analyses showed that more than 20% of the students strongly agreed with the statement that they felt more anxious and depressed during the first months of the pandemic, and more than 30% were totally satisfied with their relationships with their family members. One-fifth of the respondents declared that they were totally dissatisfied with the relationships with their colleagues and friends. Overall, 50.60% of the students attended the courses/labs in their entirety when they were connected online. Two-thirds of the respondents considered that their practical training was affected due to the online activity, and that not all of the subjects could be taught online. More than half of the respondents agreed that the most objective evaluation method is that of the multiple-choice exams administered at school, and considered that exclusively utilizing online assessments of students encourages unethical behaviors. Age, involvement in online activity, and active participation using video cameras were strongly correlated with satisfaction with academic results. Conclusions: The results of the present study showed that online activity was a good alternative for dentistry students during the pandemic restrictions. The positive aspects, together with the negative consequences, of distance learning should also be taken into consideration by university teachers and academic institutions to improve teaching experiences and to ensure a solid professional formation for dentistry students.

Online Shopping for Sporting Goods: The Role of Flow, E-Satisfaction, and E-Loyalty

Websites are a highly effective instrument for marketing and purchasing sporting goods. The purpose of this article is to propose and test a model of hedonism, perceived ease use and perceived usefulness, website quality, flow experience, e-satisfaction and e-loyalty. Data were collected from users of the largest online sporting goods retailer in Iran. Participants completed a seven-item scale for e-loyalty ( Gremler &amp; Brown, 1996 ), three-item scale for e-satisfaction ( Janda et al., 2002 ); four-item scale for flow ( O’Cass &amp; Carlson, 2010 ), five-item scale for website quality ( Hur et al., 2011 ), four-item scales for both perceived ease use and perceived usefulness ( Venkatesh &amp; Davis, 1996 ) and four-item scale for hedonism ( Mohammadi &amp; Isanejad, 2018 ). The results of structural equation model show that user beliefs and website quality have a positive effect on the flow experience. Hedonism also affected e-satisfaction and e-loyalty. Although the findings have shown meaningful relationships, there are other influential factors such as skill/challenge, perceived playfulness and interactivity that may play a fundamental role in the flow experience and thus satisfaction and loyalty.