Evidence Of Good Reliability Research Articles

Psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the COVID-19 Impact Scale in university students

The psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have substantially changed and this requires a new measurement tool reflecting these changes. The COVID-19 Impact Scale (CIS) assesses the psychological stress responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study, for the first time, examined the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the CIS in university students by focusing on its internal consistency reliability, factor structure, criterion validity and predictive validity. Using a cross-sectional research design, data were collected from 486 university students studying at a public university in Turkey. Participants completed the CIS and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale-6 using an online survey. The results showed that the CIS had excellent internal consistency reliability. Results of exploratory and confirmatory yielded a one-factor solution for the scale with high factor loadings. Also, the results showed that the CIS was not only significantly positively correlated with psychological distress but also accounted for a significant amount of unique variance in the prediction of psychological distress after controlling for the effects of age and gender. These results suggest that the CIS is a psychometrically sound scale with good evidence of reliability and validity in Turkish university students. The CIS can be confidently used for research and clinical practices.

The Economic Challenges Facing Small Scale Sugarcane Farmers in Malava Sub-County, Kakamega County, Kenya

This study examined the challenges and their effects on sugarcane farming in the Malava sub-county, Kakamega County. The study objectives were to: assess cane transportation problems and establish challenges related to the marketing of sugarcane farmers in the Malava Sub-county. It was undertaken in Malava Sub-county, where sugarcane is the economic backbone and the region’s key cash crop owing to the favourable geographical conditions in Western Kenya. Despite Malava Sub-county’s vast experience in sugarcane farming, production has gone down. Furthermore, such a study is yet to be done in Malava. The study purposed to find out the reasons for inefficiency and insufficiency in sugar production. A descriptive research design was used. Purposive and systematic random sampling techniques were used to select sugarcane farmers from the seven wards; Manda/Shivanga, Butali/Chegulo, Chemuche, East Kabras, West Kabras, and South Kabras, Shirugu/Mugai and the sugar factory stakeholders in the two sugar factories; Butali and Kabras in Malava Sub-county. Malava Sub-county has an estimated population of 65,323 sugarcane farmers. From this population, a sample of 384 was used, based on Mugenda and Mugenda’s formula (2003): n=z2pq/d2, for a target population which is greater than 10,000. Primary data was collected by the use of questionnaires, interview schedules, Focus Group Discussions, and observation guides. Secondary data was collected through a literature search in online journals, theses and publications related to the study topic. Analysis was done using descriptive statistics aided by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The presentation of data was done using tables and graphs. A pilot study in Lwandeti and Chevaywa wards in Lugari Subcounty was conducted to test the validity and reliability of the data collection instruments, and Cronbach’s alpha of 0.8 was good evidence of reliability. Research findings showed that 70% (269) of the respondents accepted that the transportation charges were high compared to other costs of production, 60% (230) of the cane farmers sampled said that there was a ready market for mature sugarcane, while 40% (154) responded negatively and 100% of the farmers indicated that they never witnessed the weighing of their cane. Finally, 79.95% (307) of the farmers accepted that the equipment for the operation of cane farming was mainly the locally available ones for instance, Jembes, Pangas, and ox ploughs; and 83% (319) of farmers failed to uproot old cane due to lack of money to hire the tractors and high technology equipment. Small-scale farmers in the Malava sub-county have low productivity due to these factors. This study recommends that sugar millers cover transportation costs, provide licenses on schedule, introduce mobile weighbridges to allow farmers to observe the weighing of their cane, and the government provide loans for small-scale farmers to acquire village tractors

Reliability and Validity of the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score in Patients Undergoing Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty

BackgroundThe Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) was developed to document outcomes from knee injury, including the impact of osteoarthritis on knee function. The purpose of this study is to determine the reliability and validity of the KOOS subscales for evaluating outcomes following unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). MethodsKOOS Pain, Activities of Daily Living (ADL), Sport, Symptoms, and Quality of Life (QoL) scores collected from 172 patients who underwent UKA were used in the analysis. KOOS subscales were tested for reliability and validity of scores through a Rasch model analysis. ResultsKOOS Sport, KOOS ADL, and KOOS QoL had good evidence of reliability with acceptable person reliability, person separation, and item reliability. For overall scale functioning, KOOS Pain, Symptoms, and ADL all had 1 question that did not have an acceptable value for infit or outfit mean square value. Questions in KOOS Sport and QoL all had acceptable values. There was a positive, linear relationship between the Short-Form 12 Physical Component Summary and the KOOS subscales which indicated good evidence of convergent validity. These associations were also seen when the cohort was separated in medial and lateral UKA. ConclusionTwo of the 5 KOOS subscales (KOOS Sport and KOOS QoL) were considered adequate in measuring outcomes, as well as reliability. The KOOS ADL had borderline values; however, it had adequate infit and outfit values. The KOOS Pain and Symptom score performed poorly in this analysis. For documenting outcomes following UKA, this study supports the use of KOOS ADL, Sport, and QoL.

Psychometric Properties of the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory in a Portuguese Sample of Aircraft Maintenance Technicians.

From its initial conceptualization as emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced personal efficacy for the help professions, burnout has received increasing attention in modern times, especially after the 2019 WHO’s inclusion of this syndrome in the ICD-11 list. Burnout can be measured using several psychometric instruments that range in dimensionality, number of items, copyrighted, and free use formats. Here, we report the psychometric properties of data gathered with the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) in a sample of Portuguese Aircraft maintenance technicians. As far as we know, this is the first study addressing the burnout syndrome in this occupational group. Data gathered with the OLBI displayed good evidence of validity related to internal structure, to other variables, with good evidence of reliability. We showed that burnout significantly correlated with mental and physical fatigue emphasizing the vital critical role that these variables play with safety in the aviation industry.

Time to Renovate the Humor Styles Questionnaire? An Item Response Theory Analysis of the HSQ.

The Humor Styles Questionnaire (HSQ) is one of the most popular self-report scales in humor research. The present research conducted a forward-looking psychometric analysis grounded in Rasch and item response theory models, which have not been applied to the HSQ thus far. Regarding strengths, the analyses found very good evidence for reliability and dimensionality and essentially zero gender-based differential item functioning, indicating no gender bias in the items. Regarding opportunities for future development, the analyses suggested that (1) the seven-point rating scale performs poorly relative to a five-point scale; (2) the affiliative subscale is far too easy to endorse and much easier than the other subscales; (3) the four subscales show problematic variation in their readability and proportion of reverse-scored items; and (4) a handful of items with poor discrimination and high local dependence are easy targets for scale revision. Taken together, the findings suggest that the HSQ, as it nears the two-decade mark, has many strengths but would benefit from light remodeling.

German translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire: a cohort study.

The Musculoskeletal Health Questionnaire (MSK-HQ) was developed to measure the health status of patients with various musculoskeletal conditions across multiple settings including rehabilitation. Formal translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the MSK-HQ into German (MSK-HQ<inf>G</inf>), to determine test-retest-reliability, standard error of measurement (SEM), smallest detectable change (SDC), construct validity, responsiveness, minimal important change (MIC), and to test for floor or ceiling effects. Cohort study with six weeks follow-up. Seven physiotherapy clinics/rehabilitation centres. Patients with a referral for physiotherapy indicating musculoskeletal complaints of the spine or extremities. Translation and cross-cultural adaptation were carried out in accordance with guidelines provided by the developers. As reference standards we used pain intensity (0-10 numeric rating scale), quality of life (EQ5D-5L) and disability measures (RMDQ, NDI, WOMAC and SPADI) that were combined using z-scores. On 100 patients (age 44.8±13.4 years, 66% female) the test-retest-reliability intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.87 (95% CI 0.72; 0.93) and for construct validity correlation with the combined disability measure was r<inf>s</inf>=-0.81 (95% CI -0.88, -0.72), the SEM was 3.4, the SDC (individual) 9.4, and the MIC 8.5. Overall, the study provides evidence for good reliability and validity for the MSK-HQ<inf>G</inf>. Further studies in different settings and diagnostic subgroups should follow to better understand the psychometric properties of this measure in primary care, rehabilitation and specialist care settings. The results demonstrate that the MSK-HQ<inf>G</inf> has sufficient psychometric properties for use in musculoskeletal research and practice. However, the SDC should be kept in mind when using the tool for individual patients. The MSK-HQ<inf>G</inf> has the advantage of being a single instrument that can measure musculoskeletal health status across different pain sites, reducing the burden from the use of multiple tools.

Assessing self-reported clinical high risk symptoms: The psychometric properties of the polish version of the prodromal questionnaire-brief and a proposal for an alternative approach to scoring.

Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) might occur in the general population as low-risk individual differences or prodromal features, requiring quick detection and early intervention. The aims of this study were to conduct a mini-systematic review of the prognostic abilities of the Prodromal Questionnaire-Brief (PQ-B), describe the PLEs distribution for the first time in a Polish population, assess PQ-B reliability and propose an innovative scoring approach based on cluster analysis. Five hundred and twenty eight (334 female) adult volunteers underwent screening with the PQ-B, 49% also underwent the early psychosis screening test PRIME, to verify the tests' psychometric properties, to compare the prognostic accuracy of the PQ-B to the more restrictive PRIME, and to the detected types of possible diagnosis in the general population. Almost 70% of respondents met the prognostic criteria of the PQ-B while only 30.6% met the PRIME criteria. Both tests proved reliable (α > .835) and valid (rho >.710; P < .001). A cluster analysis identified three different sub-groups detected with the PQ-B: healthy individuals without PLE; healthy with low-distressing PLEs; and possibly prodromal subjects reporting less frequent but more distressing PLEs and no worries about their own mental state. Also in systematic reviews, authors of different adaptations have observed that the PQ-B has too low specificity and postulated the need for higher cut-offs. Study provides evidence of good reliability and sensitivity of the PQ-B in assessing PLEs among the general population, but emphasizes that straightforward quantitative scoring criteria are still unclear. A more qualitative approach might be useful for differentiating true prodromal subjects from clinically low-risk individual differences.

How to measure person-centred practice - An analysis of reviews of the literature.

BackgroundFacilitation and collaboration differentiates person-centred practice (PcP) from biomedical practice. In PcP, a person-centred consultation requires clinicians to juggle three processes: facilitation, clinical reasoning and collaboration. How best to measure PcP in these processes remains a challenge.AimTo assess the measurement of facilitation and collaboration in selected reviews of PcP instruments.MethodsOvid Medline and Google Scholar were searched for review articles evaluating measurement instruments of patient-centredness or person-centredness in the medical consultation.ResultsSix of the nine review articles were selected for analysis. Those articles considered the psychometric properties and rigour of evaluation of reviewed instruments. Mostly, the articles did not find instruments with good evidence of reliability and validity. Evaluations in South Africa rendered poor psychometric properties. Tools were often not transferable to other socio-cultural-linguistic contexts, both with and without adaptation.ConclusionThe multiplicity of measurement tools is a product of many dimensions of person-centredness, which can be approached from many perspectives and in many service scenarios inside and outside the medical consultation. Extensive research into the myriad instruments found no single valid and reliable measurement tool that can be recommended for general use. The best hope for developing one is to focus on a specific scenario, conduct a systematic literature review, combine the best items from existing tools, involve multiple disciplines and test the tool in real-life situations.

Measurement properties and factor analysis of the Diabetic Foot Ulcer Scale-short form (DFS-SF).

The purpose of this paper is to provide measurement properties evaluation and factor analysis of the Brazilian version of the diabetic foot ulcer scale-short form (DFS-SF). This methodological study evaluated the measurement properties of the DFS-SF by ceiling and floor effect reliability, responsiveness, and structural construct validity. The study included 290 people with diabetic foot under regular follow-up in a specialised outpatient clinic in inland São Paulo. Reliability was assessed by internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability. Ceiling and floor effects were assessed by the percentage of participants who scored the 15% worst (floor) and 15% best (ceiling) possible scale results. Validity was tested by correlating the instrument values with the domains of the Brazilian version of the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). Responsiveness (n = 34) was accessed through the wound area obtained by photography and evaluated by the Image J Features program and the DFS-SF score at two moments, with a 4-week interval between them. The instrument had good evidence of reliability, shown by adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha in domains >0.70) and compound reliability (0.84 > CC > 0.92); and of convergent validity, by significant positive correlations of moderate to strong magnitude with SF-36. Structural construct validity was examined by applying the DFS-SF confirmatory factor analysis, which indicated that the Brazilian version of the instrument is properly fitted to the original dimensional structure. The ceiling and floor effect analysis showed no ceiling or floor effects. Responsiveness was observed in the wound area, but not in the DFS-SF scores in the times. The Brazilian version of the DFS-SF presented evidence of validity and reliability, suggesting that this instrument is a valid tool for assessing the quality of life of people with diabetic foot in the Brazilian population.

Spanish version of the Parenting Sense of Competence scale: Evidence of reliability and validity

AbstractPerceived parenting competence influences parenting practices and is a decisive factor in child development and health. There is a lack of valid and reliable tools in Spain to measure perceived parenting competence. The objective was to adapt the Parenting Sense of Competence scale (PSOC) and analyse its psychometric properties in a sample of 600 mothers of children aged between 6 and 12 months old from Spain. The PSOC was translated into Spanish (PSOC‐E) using a standard forward‐ and back‐translation process. Internal consistency, factor structure, and comparisons between known groups and correlations with other variables were assessed. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the original two‐factor structure: satisfaction and efficacy. The PSOC‐E showed good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .85). Perceived parenting competence was negatively associated (P &lt; .01) with parental depression, fatigue, and parental stress and positively associated (P &lt; .01) with dyadic adjustment. An equivalent Spanish version of the PSOC was obtained with good evidence of reliability and validity.

Measuring the outcomes of volunteering for education: development and pilot of a tool to assess healthcare professionals’ personal and professional development from international volunteering

ObjectiveThe development and pilot of a self-report questionnaire, to assess personal and professional development of healthcare professionals gained through experiences in low-income and middle-income countries.DesignThe instrument was developed from a...

A New Measure for the Assessment of Appreciation for Creative Personality

This article introduces a new scale for the assessment of Appreciation for Creative Personality (ACP). The ACP scale is a brief 13-item forced-choice measure that assesses interindividual differences in the preference for interacting with creative people. ACP is considered an important factor of creative climate at the level of interpersonal interaction. Individuals who score high on ACP are thought to foster a creative climate in that they value creative traits in others. In two studies, the psychometric characteristics of the ACP scale were probed. The scale showed a clear unidimensional structure with evidence of good reliability and convergent, discriminant, and criterion validity. The ACP was substantially related to Big Five openness to experience, but predicted relevant criteria over and above openness, supporting the conceptual distinction between ACP and openness. In dyadic data analyses, participants’ openness to experience was significantly associated with their parents’ ACP, which shows that the ACP scale captured shared interpersonal variance. Moreover, parental ACP indirectly predicted participants’ everyday creative activities via the path of openness. These findings suggest that the ACP scale is a useful tool for the study of social-environmental climate for creativity from an interpersonal perspective.

University student engagement inventory (USEI): Psychometric properties

Academic engagement describes students’ investment in academic learning and achievement and is an important indicator of students’ adjustment to university life, particularly in the first year. A tridimensional conceptualization of academic engagement has been accepted (behavioral, emotional and cognitive dimensions). This paper tests the dimensionality, internal consistency reliability and invariance of the University Student Engagement Inventory (USEI) taking into consideration both gender and the scientific area of graduation. A sample of 908 Portuguese first-year university students was considered. Good evidence of reliability has been obtained with ordinal alpha and omega values. Confirmatory factor analysis substantiates the theoretical dimensionality proposed (second-order latent factor), internal consistency reliability evidence indicates good values and the results suggest measurement invariance across gender and the area of graduation. The present study enhances the role of the USEI regarding the lack of consensus on the dimensionality and constructs delimitation of academic engagement.

Psychometric model for safety culture assessment in nuclear research facilities

A safe and reliable operation of nuclear power plants depends not only on technical performance, but also on the people and on the organization. Organizational factors have been recognized as the main causal mechanisms of accidents by research organizations through USA, Europe and Japan. Deficiencies related with these factors reveal weaknesses in the organization’s safety culture. A significant number of instruments to assess the safety culture based on psychometric models that evaluate safety climate through questionnaires, and which are based on reliability and validity evidences, have been published in health and ‘safety at work’ areas. However, there are few safety culture assessment instruments with these characteristics (reliability and validity) available on nuclear literature. Therefore, this work proposes an instrument to evaluate, with valid and reliable measures, the safety climate of nuclear research facilities. The instrument was developed based on methodological principles applied to research modeling and its psychometric properties were evaluated by a reliability analysis and validation of content, face and construct. The instrument was applied to an important nuclear research organization in Brazil. This organization comprises 4 research reactors and many nuclear laboratories. The survey results made possible a demographic characterization and the identification of some possible safety culture weaknesses and pointing out potential areas to be improved in the assessed organization. Good evidence of reliability with Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.951 was obtained. Validation method was based on Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), using Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Varimax orthogonal factor rotation. The results confirmed the unidimensionality of the items and, almost entirely, the conceptual framework of the safety culture proposed for the instrument. However, the results also suggested that some adjustments to the conceptual framework of the instrument must be performed in case of a new application.

Measurement Properties of Instruments for Measuring of Lymphedema: Systematic Review.

Lymphedema is a common complication of cancer treatment, resulting in swelling and subjective symptoms. Reliable and valid measurement of this side effect of medical treatment is important. The purpose of this study was to provide best evidence regarding which measurement instruments are most appropriate in measuring lymphedema in its different stages. The PubMed and Web of Science databases were used, and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. Clinical studies on measurement instruments assessing lymphedema were reviewed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) scoring instrument for quality assessment. Data on reliability, concurrent validity, convergent validity, sensitivity, specificity, applicability, and costs were extracted. Pooled data showed good intrarater intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) (.89) for bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) in the lower extremities and high intrarater and interrater ICCs for water volumetry, tape measurement, and perometry (.98-.99) in the upper extremities. In the upper extremities, the standard error of measurement was 3.6% (σ=0.7%) for water volumetry, 5.6% (σ=2.1%) for perometry, and 6.6% (σ=2.6%) for tape measurement. Sensitivity of tape measurement in the upper extremities, using different cutoff points, varied from 0.73 to 0.90, and specificity values varied from 0.72 to 0.78. No uniform definition of lymphedema was available, and a gold standard as a reference test was lacking. Items concerning risk of bias were study design, patient selection, description of lymphedema, blinding of test outcomes, and number of included participants. Measurement instruments with evidence for good reliability and validity were BIS, water volumetry, tape measurement, and perometry, where BIS can detect alterations in extracellular fluid in stage 1 lymphedema and the other measurement instruments can detect alterations in volume starting from stage 2. In research, water volumetry is indicated as a reference test for measuring lymphedema in the upper extremities.

Measurement Properties of the Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale in Patients With Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Systematic Review.

The Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale (QBPDS) has been translated into different languages, and several studies on its measurement properties have been done. The purpose of this review was to critically appraise and compare the measurement properties, when possible, of all language versions of the QBPDS by systematically reviewing the methodological quality and results of the available studies. Bibliographic databases (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO) were searched for articles with the key words "Quebec," "back," "pain," and "disability" in combination with a methodological search filter for finding studies on measurement properties concerning the development or evaluation of the measurement properties of the QBPDS in patients with nonspecific low back pain. Assessment of the methodological quality was carried out by the reviewers using the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) checklist for both the original language version of the QBPDS in English and French and all translated versions. The results of the measurement properties were rated based on criteria proposed by Terwee et al. The search strategy resulted in identification of 1,436 publications, and 27 articles were included in the systematic review. There was limited-to-moderate evidence of good reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the QBPDS for the different language versions, but for no language version was evidence available for all measurement properties. For research and clinical practice, caution is advised when using the QBPDS to measure disability in patients with nonspecific low back pain. Strong evidence is lacking on all measurement properties for each language version of the QBPDS.

Further Reliability and Validity of the Heterosexist Attitudes in Sport—Lesbian Scale

Homophobia and heterosexism in women’s collegiate athletics has been predominantly researched using qualitatively methodology (e.g., Blinde &amp; Taub, 1992; Kauer &amp; Krane, 2006; Krane 1996, 1997; Krane &amp; Barber, 2003). Few researchers have examined the heterosexist attitudes from a quantitative perspective and few with a sport—specific questionnaire. The researcher examined whether on-going evidence of reliability and validity for the Heterosexist Attitudes in Sport—Lesbian scale (Mullin, 2013) questionnaire would be demonstrated. Female collegiate athletes (N = 239) from the mid-Atlantic region completed the HAS-L as well as a battery of questionnaires. Approximately 4 weeks later, participants completed the HAS-L again. The HAS-L was significantly related with the Attitudes toward Lesbians subscale of the Attitudes toward Lesbians and Gay Males—Short scale (Herek &amp; McLemore, 2011) and other identified correlates of heterosexism, suggesting evidence of some criterion-related and convergent validity. Internal consistency and test-retest estimates ranged from .50–85 and .64–.91, respectively. The findings demonstrate good evidence of reliability and validity for the Cognitive/Affective subscale of the HAS-L. More research is necessary to better examine the behavioral subscales. Future researchers should consider making revisions of the Avoidance of the Lesbian Label subscale to achieve acceptable levels of reliability and validity.

Development of the anxiety scale for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASC-ASD).

Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience high levels of anxiety. A widely used measure for typically developing children is the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS). However, such anxiety measures may require adaptation to accommodate characteristics of those with ASD. An adapted version of the RCADS was created based on empirical evidence of anxiety phenomenology in ASD, which included additional items related to sensory anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, and phobias. Content validity was refined during focus groups with parents. Polychoric factor analysis was undertaken on data from 170 children with ASD, aged 8-16, and their parents. This process resulted in the creation of a new 24 item scale (self and parent report) each with four subscales: Performance Anxiety, Uncertainty, Anxious Arousal, and Separation Anxiety, with evidence of good reliability and validity. The freely available Anxiety Scale for Children - ASD, Parent and Child versions (ASC-ASD) has promising psychometric properties including good internal consistency, validity, and 1 month test-retest reliability. Autism Res 2016, 9: 1205-1215. © 2016 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Poor Sleep Quality at Discharge as a Predictor of Readmission to a Psychiatry Partial Hospitalization Program.

To the Editor: Sleep disturbances commonly co-occur with mental disorders and often are sufficiently severe to warrant targeted treatment.1 Left untreated, sleep disturbances may exacerbate comorbid conditions and complicate recovery.2 Moreover, sleep disturbances are considered modifiable risk factors for onset and relapse of mental disorders.3 Numerous prospective longitudinal studies have demonstrated that the specific sleep disturbance of insomnia is a risk factor for psychiatric disorders and suicidal ideation or behavior.4–6 Very little work has been done to examine sleep disturbance as a risk factor for relapse within the context of acute psychiatric treatment within a partial hospital setting. The purpose of this retrospective chart review study was to examine the long-term follow-up over 18 months after discharge from a partial hospitalization program to determine if poor sleep quality at discharge predicts early readmission into the program. In our previous work,7 it was demonstrated that sleep improved for patients who completed this program. In this follow-up study, we examined whether patients with higher scores on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)8 at discharge (indicating worse sleep quality) were at increased risk for rehospitalization, controlling for covariates related to mental health status. Method. The PSQI was completed by 183 patients at the time of entry into a psychiatry partial hospitalization program (typically lasting 1 month) and again at discharge. The PSQI is a self-report scale for measuring sleep quality and has shown evidence of good reliability and validity.8 A retrospective chart review was conducted to examine predictors of readmission over an 18-month follow-up period. The institutional review board of the Minneapolis VA Health Care System (Minneapolis, Minnesota) approved this study. Data were collected between November 2007 and March 2009. Results. The mean age of the patients was 48.2 years. Most participants were male (91.2%, n = 165), 152 (84.0%) were white, 56 (30.9%) were married, and 34 (18.8%) were currently employed. The mean number of mental health diagnoses (DSM-IV criteria) was 2.15. Poor sleep quality defined by a PSQI score ≥ 6 was significantly associated with readmission (P = .02), with 13.2% of patients with poor sleep quality readmitted compared to 0% with good sleep quality. As shown in Table 1, PSQI scores significantly predicted readmission over 18 months after controlling for covariates associated with mental health status, including total number of mental health diagnoses, employment status, marital status, age, and ethnicity (odds ratio = 2.10; 95% CI, 1.16–3.69). For every increase in 1 standard deviation on the PSQI, patients were twice as likely to be readmitted. Neither change in continuous PSQI scores nor change in categories based on clinical cutoffs over the course of treatment predicted readmission. Table 1. Step-Wise Multiple Logistic Regression Predicting Readmission to Psychiatry Partial Hospitalization Program 18 Months After Discharge Overall, we found that poor sleep quality at discharge is predictive of readmission to a partial hospitalization program, suggesting the need for a higher level of sleep-focused care during and following psychiatric admission. Our earlier work7 suggests that sleep disturbances did improve over the course of treatment, but change in sleep was not predictive of readmission. This study highlights the need to identify and treat patients who have poor sleep quality following intensive mental health treatment to support remission and recovery. There are several limitations to this study. First, covariates were determined from records and therefore are most likely less accurate than information obtained from diagnostic interviews. The data were also limited to dichotomous diagnoses; although this is not expected to introduce systematic bias regarding the direction and significance of the findings, it did prevent a more fine-grained analysis of continuous mental health symptom covariates for which sleep quality may be a proxy. Despite these limitations, this study is one of the first to evaluate the outcome following partial hospital treatment in those with poor sleep quality at discharge. This study highlights the importance of assessing poor sleep quality prior to discharge and incorporating behavioral or pharmacologic treatments for sleep disturbances into treatment planning.

Psychometric testing of the Family Satisfaction with Decision Making subscale (FS-ICU/DM) in an acute care pediatric hospital setting

Aim. This paper is a report of the psychometric testing of the Family Satisfaction with Decision Making subscale of the Family Satisfaction with Care in the Intensive Care Unit questionnaire to determine whether it would be suitable to use as a primary outcome measure in a proposed randomized control trial in a pediatric hospital setting.Background. Parents have reported that relinquishing important aspects of their role is the most stressful element of a child’s hospitalization. Concerns over communication and decision-making processes have been particularly cited. Therefore, increasing parents’ satisfaction with their child’s care and responding to their priorities are key to improving quality of care. Instruments have been developed to measure global satisfaction with care among parents of hospitalized children. However none of these focus specifically on communication and decision-making processes. One instrument was found that measures these items, but in an adult intensive care unit, not a pediatric setting.Design/method. As a component of a larger study, a psychometric study was conducted in 2010 to assess the properties of the Family Satisfaction with Decision Making subscale in a pediatric setting. Eighty-two parents of children admitted to a large metropolitan pediatric hospital completed the subscale prior to their child’s transfer and/or discharge from the hospital.Results/Conclusion. The psychometric data indicated that the Family Satisfaction with Decision Making subscale showed evidence of good reliability and validity as a primary outcome measure that could be used for a future randomized controlled trial in a pediatric setting.