Use Of Instruments Research Articles

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of a French version of the perceived personal control questionnaire as an outcome measure instrument for genetic counseling.

The perceived personal control (PPC) questionnaire serves as an instrument to assess the concept of PPC, which refers to a person's perception of their ability to achieve positive outcomes while avoiding the negative effects of a given situation. Developed and used as a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) in genetic counseling, the PPC questionnaire has been translated and validated in several languages, but not in French. The aim of this study was to cross-culturally adapt and validate a French version of the PPC questionnaire to evaluate genetic counseling services for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC). After the translation into French, cognitive interviews were conducted with nine participants who had attended genetic counseling for HBOC to examine the adequacy of this French version and to verify participants' understanding of the questionnaire items. Cognitive interview data suggested that slight modifications should be made to four of the nine items and that it would be beneficial to add a short introduction to ensure that participants' interpretation corresponded to the intended meaning. Psychometric validation was then conducted with 99 participants who had also attended genetic counseling for HBOC. Counselees completed the questionnaire before and after their genetic consultation. The acceptability of the questionnaire was demonstrated by the presence of few missing items. The original three-factor solution was not confirmed by our exploratory factor analysis, suggesting that the questionnaire should be used as a one-dimensional instrument. The internal consistency of the questionnaire was high, with Cronbach's alpha of 0.89 before genetic counseling and 0.88 after. The significant increase in PPC scores before and after genetic counseling supports the responsiveness of the questionnaire. Convergent validity was confirmed by positive association with counselees' satisfaction with genetic counseling. These properties suggest the French PPC questionnaire is a valuable instrument for use as a PROM in genetic counseling research.

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of an Urdu version of the Vaccine Attitudes Examination (VAX-U) scale.

Martin and Petrie developed the Vaccine Attitudes Examination (VAX) scale with an aim to document general vaccination attitudes. Vaccine acceptance plays an important role in curbing COVID-19 infections. Thus, it was important to assess vaccination attitudes of Pakistani people towards novel COVID-19 vaccines. The VAX scale was not available in Urdu language for Pakistani population. The study aimed to carry out cross-cultural adaptation and validation of an Urdu version of the Vaccine Attitude Examination (VAX) scale in a selected population sample from Pakistan. A cross sectional study was conducted in September 2021 in an outpatient department of a healthcare facility in Karachi, Pakistan. Adult visitors, eligible for COVID-19 vaccine and spoke Urdu as first language were invited. Convenient sampling was used, and sample size was based on an item response ratio of 1:20. An Urdu version of the VAX scale was developed. The reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha (α) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The model fitness was evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and fit indices namely goodness of fit index (GFI), adjusted goodness of fit index (AGFI), Tucker Lewis index (TLI), comparative fit index (CFI), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA). A structural equation model (SEM) was also developed. IBM SPSS and AMOS were used to analyse the data. The study had ethical clearance. A total of 211 responses were analysed. The reliability (Cronbach's α) was 0.821. The ICC was 0.831 (95% CI: 0.795-0.863). CFA using a 4-factor model revealed the following values for fit indices; GFI = 0.944, AGFI = 0.909, TLI = 0.953, CFI = 0.966, and RMSEA = 0.051. All values reported were in the acceptable range. The VAX Urdu version is a reliable and valid instrument for use in an Urdu speaking population and will enable clinicians to assess the public's attitude towards general vaccination including COVID-19 vaccination. Clinicians can use the VAX-U to document a person's vaccine hesitancy and tailor their counselling to address the issues in vaccine uptake.

Recent trends in US federal research support for imaging instrumentation grants to departments of radiology

Established by the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1982, the S10 program supports the purchase or upgrade of expensive, specialized, and commercially available equipment to be shared among NIH-funded researchers and used to supplement ongoing and future research projects in basic, translational, or clinical research. Given the critical role of biomedical research that uses costly dedicated imaging equipment and requires a large footprint, extensive user training, and frequent upgrades, we analyzed S10 awards to Radiology in the past 10 years.Data were exported from NIH RePORTER (Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools) using a search of S10 awards from NIH fiscal year (FY) 2014 – FY2023. All awards and funding data were limited to clinical departments.From FY2014 – FY2023, the NIH awarded $273.0 M in S10 awards, corresponding to an average award amount of $837,377. During this 10-year period, departments of radiology received $135.8 M (49.7 %) across 116 awards (35.6 %), corresponding to an average award amount of $1.17 M Among the different S10 award types to Radiology, the most common was High End Instrumentation (HEI), with 54 (61.4 %) out of 116 awards.Departments of radiology received over one-third-of all S10 awards in the last 10 NIH FYs, corresponding to nearly half all federal S10 funding. The most common S10 award type to Radiology was the HEI, with funding for high priced imaging equipment, including MRI scanners and associated instrumentation for use in human or animal imaging.

Cross-cultural Adaptation, Validity, and Reliability of the Persian Version of Back Pain and Body Posture Evaluation Instrument for Adults

Background and Objectives: Back pain and neck pain are prevalent health concerns, emphasizing the importance of identifying effective risk factors for prevention. This study aimed to cross-culturally adapt and validate a tool assessing back and neck pain in adults, with a specific focus on body posture, to the Persian language. Methods: A methodological study was conducted involving forward and backward translation of the original English questionnaire into the Persian language. Face validity was evaluated with feedback from 30 participants, and content validity was determined using content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index based on expert opinions from 10 physiotherapy specialists. A total of 237 participants were involved in the study, with 90 completing the questionnaire again after one week for test re-test reliability assessment. Results: The Persian version of the questionnaire demonstrated high content validity with a CVR above 0.6. The Persian version had suitable face validity. Test re-test reliability, assessed using percentage agreement and the Kappa coefficient, revealed satisfactory results, with all percentages above 70%. Notably, the intraclass correlation coefficient for questions 16 and 20 was 0.898 and 0.878, respectively. Conclusion: The Persian version of the tool exhibits high validity and reliability, making it a valuable instrument for use within the Persian-speaking community.

Adaptation and validation of an inventory for assessing subjective task value beliefs regarding the decision to pursue postgraduate studies

The desire to pursue postgraduate studies is motivated by several interrelated and multifaceted factors ranging from intrinsic to extrinsic. However, little consensus exists in the literature regarding an instrument that assesses an individual’s motivation for pursuing postgraduate education. In this study, we adapted and validated a pre-existing inventory that evaluates the individuals’ motives for pursuing postgraduate studies using the subjective task value beliefs framework. The study, in particular, focused on assessing the factor structure, construct validity, and reliability of the adapted scale. Study participation invitations were sent to a pool of postgraduate students in two higher education institutions, of which 501 students finally responded to the online questionnaire. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to analyse the data to address the research objectives. The results revealed a five-factor structure for the adapted scale with excellent construct validity and reliability indicators. The findings of the research add value to the psychometric literature and also provide a useful instrument for use among instructors, researchers, and university administrators in their line of duty.

Identifying studies examining the validity of instruments for use as outcome measures in child and adolescent forensic mental health services: a systematic review.

Outcome measurement in child and adolescent forensic mental health services can support service improvement, research, and patient progress evaluation. This systematic review aimed to identify studies which validate structured instruments available for use as outcome measures in the child and adolescent forensic mental health service cohort and assess the quality of these studies. A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Studies were identified by searching six online databases in November 2023. The quality and risk of bias of each study meeting inclusion criteria was independently assessed by two authors using the Crowe Critical Appraisal Tool. Results were synthesised narratively. A total of eight studies were identified which met inclusion criteria. These looked at six instruments which primarily focused on outcome measures in the areas of treatment motivation, level of functioning, psychiatric symptoms, care needs and response to social situations. Papers scored between 17/40 and 30/40 on the Crowe Critical Appraisal Tool. Studies were rated as low (n = 1), moderate (n = 6), high (n = 1) or very high quality (n = 0). Despite the large number of structured instruments potentially available, evidence for their use as outcome measures in child and adolescent forensic mental health services is limited. Future research should aim to validate current structured instruments for use in the forensic child and adolescent setting, with consideration of whether new instruments should be developed specifically for this group. Such instruments should be developed with both young people as service users and professionals who will be utilising the instrument in mind.

Internal Strengths for Adverse Life Events.

In this study, a brief measure of four internal attributes found to protect against the impact of adverse life events on mental health was developed and validated. In addition, profiles of internal strengths that significantly predict mental health outcomes in young Chinese adults were identified. The results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on data from 831 Chinese university students supported the proposed four-factor model of the ISALES. Participants in the current study fell into two clusters, with one cluster being higher than the other in all four internal strengths, with the former cluster demonstrating better overall mental health than those in the latter cluster. The ISALES is a promising instrument for use in clinical settings and may be used to identify individuals who are more 'at risk' of developing poor mental health in the aftermath of a negative life event. The use of the ISALES may permit tailored interventions and timely support to be provided to individuals within clinical settings.

Exploring the Loss Aversion Scale’s psychometric properties in Spain

Loss aversion is a psychological construct defined as a tendency to value potential losses more than gains in a situation that requires decision-making. The Loss Aversion Scale (LAS, eight items) measures an individual’s loss aversion to various situations. However, the generalization of its psychometric properties to different population groups is unknown. This study aimed to validate the LAS instrument for use among Spanish university adults. To this end, two studies were conducted: a content validity study calculating the substantive validity (N = 24) of the instrument’s translation from original English to Spanish and a study of internal structure and association (N = 766) among Spanish university men and women aged 18–35. The analyses performed for each sample indicated that the instrument had adequate validity and reliability values as a one-dimensional measure; however, items 5 and 8 had to be removed. Their scores indicated moderate-magnitude correlations with social desirability. This article debates the study’s limitations, practical implications, and future lines of research based on the results. The conclusion is that the Loss Aversion Scale instrument suits general Spanish population samples and requires probable methodological control concerning social desirability.

Children's Tinnitus Questionnaire – A novel tool for assessing the impact of tinnitus on a child's everyday life

ObjectiveSelf-report instruments are commonly used in tinnitus clinics, but they are presently available only for adults. There is a lack of a validated multi-item instrument to capture tinnitus-related problems in children and their impact on everyday life. This study has developed and validated a specifically child-centered questionnaire to assess the impact of tinnitus. MethodsDevelopment of the tool consisted of several stages. Following a pilot study on 12 children with tinnitus, a validation study was done on a further 192 children with tinnitus aged between 11 and 14 years. The children had an audiological examination, completed a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the newly framed questionnaire. ResultsThe development and validation process resulted in the new 11-item Children's Tinnitus Questionnaire (CTQ). It includes items concerning the impact of tinnitus on functional, cognitive, emotional and social domains. The validity of the new tool has been established by finding significant correlations between it and VAS loudness (r = 0.42), VAS annoyance (r = 0.67), and VAS coping (r = −0.41). Validity has also been confirmed by measuring differences in CTQ scores and 4 groups of children having graded incidences of tinnitus. The internal consistency assessed with Cronbach's alpha was high (α = 0.82). ConclusionThe Children's Tinnitus Questionnaire (CTQ) is the first fully validated multi-item instrument designed specifically for children. The tool has the potential to become a valuable new instrument for use in clinical practice and research; it might be useful for assessing the impact of tinnitus on those children who find that the condition creates problems in their everyday life.

Interactive Electronic Pegboard for Enhancing Manual Dexterity and Cognitive Abilities: Instrument Usability Study.

Strokes pose a substantial health burden, impacting 1 in 6 people globally. One-tenth of patients will endure a second, often more severe, stroke within a year. Alarmingly, a younger demographic is being affected due to recent lifestyle changes. As fine motor and cognitive issues arise, patient disability as well as the strain on caregivers and health care resources is exacerbated. Contemporary occupational therapy assesses manual dexterity and cognitive functions through object manipulation and pen-and-paper recordings. However, these assessments are typically isolated, which makes it challenging for therapists to comprehensively evaluate specific patient conditions. Furthermore, the reliance on one-on-one training and assessment approaches on manual documentation is inefficient and prone to transcription errors. This study examines the feasibility of using an interactive electronic pegboard for stroke rehabilitation in clinical settings. A total of 10 patients with a history of stroke and 10 healthy older individuals were recruited. With a limit of 10 minutes, both groups of participants underwent a series of challenges involving tasks related to manual operation, shape recognition, and color discrimination. All participants underwent the Box and Block Test and the Purdue Pegboard Test to assess manual dexterity, as well as an array of cognitive assessments, including the Trail Making Test and the Mini-Mental Status Examination, which served as a basis to quantify participants' attention, executive functioning, and cognitive abilities. The findings validate the potential application of an interactive electronic pegboard for stroke rehabilitation in clinical contexts. Significant statistical differences (P<.01) were observed across all assessed variables, including age, Box and Block Test results, Purdue Pegboard Test outcomes, Trail Making Test-A scores, and Mini-Mental Status Examination performance, between patients with a history of stroke and their healthy older counterparts. Functional and task testing, along with questionnaire interviews, revealed that patients with a history of stroke demonstrated prolonged completion times and slightly inferior performance. Nonetheless, most patients perceived the prototype as user-friendly and engaging. Thus, in the context of patient rehabilitation interventions or the evaluation of patient cognition, physical functioning, or manual dexterity assessments, the developed pegboard could potentially serve as a valuable tool for hand function, attention, and cognitive rehabilitation, thereby mitigating the burden on health care professionals. Health care professionals can use digital electronic pegboards not only as a precise one-on-one training tool but also as a flexible system that can be configured for online or offline, single-player or multiplayer use. Through data analysis, a more informed examination of patients' cognitive and functional issues can be conducted. Importantly, patient records will be fully retained throughout practices, exercises, or tests, and by leveraging the characteristics of big data, patients can receive the most accurate rehabilitation prescriptions, thereby assisting them in obtaining optimal care.

Russian versions of FADI and FAAM for preoperative and postoperative assessment of the foot function

Introduction Self-administered questionnaire recommended by international orthopaedic community is a practical instrument for use in pathological conditions related to the foot and ankle.The objective was to validate the Russian-language versions of the FADI and FAAM questionnaires to be filled out by orthopaedic patients with forefoot disorders before and after surgical treatment.Material and methods The study included 100 adult patients with forefoot disorders to be surgically treated. The average age of the patients was 52 ± 12.1 years with 97 % being females and 26 % being athletes. The patients completed the FADI and FAAM questionnaires preoperatively and at 2 months after surgery and they were requested to fill out the SF-36 questionnaire and the LEFS scale preoperatively.Results The Cronbach's α value was 0.91 for activities of daily living and 0.94 for sports measured with both questionnaires. The reproducibility of the questionnaires was demonstrated by high ICC values (≥ 0.992) and no changes (ES &lt; 0.01) in stable patients. Satisfactory construct validity was confirmed by significant correlations in activities of daily living and sports activities; criterion validity was confirmed by the dorsiflexion angle in the MCP1 and the daily (p &lt; 0.001) and sports activities (p &lt; 0.05). Convergent validity of the FADI and FAAM was identified with correlations measured with SF-36 and LEFS. Patients with moderate/severe impairment in range of motion had worse functional status scored with the FADI and FAAM as compared with those who had no/mild impairment. A significant improvement was seen postoperatively in non-athletes (p &lt; 0.001). Sports activity significantly improved postoperatively in athletes (p &lt; 0.05).Discussion A limitation of the study includes the sample consisting mostly of patients with one type of orthopaedic pathology (valgus foot). Another limitation is that the majority of patients were females, and the patients were treated in the same health care facility. We can conclude that in the future it would be advisable to test the Russian versions of the FADI and FAAM questionnaires in patients with other foot pathologies and to conduct multicenter studies using these questionnaires.Conclusion The FADI and FAAM scores measured in the Russian population showed greater sensitivity to changes in the foot/ankle joint in individuals who had indications for surgical treatment for a foot condition.

Who are the early adopters of alternative fuel technology? A study of Swedish road freight companies

This study investigates the effect of three key firm characteristics (diversification, size, and age) on road freight companies’ early adoption of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs). While previous studies have identified the determinants of the adoption intention of AFVs, a gap in the literature is research into firm characteristics and the early adopters of AFVs. Because early adopters play an important role in the diffusion of innovation, it is imperative to fill this gap. Based on a survey of 156 Swedish road freight companies and logistic regression analyses, we report that firm size and diversification affect the early adoption of AFVs. In addition, the partial impact of the importance of driver comfort and payload capacity on early adoption of AFVs has been reported. Other factors, including purchase price, fuel cost, and truck refueling efficiency, were not found to discriminate early adopters of AFVs from those who had not yet adopted AFVs. These findings imply to policymakers that the current instruments in use in Sweden, including the greenhouse gas mandate and the relatively high taxation on diesel fuel, have led to the adoption of AFVs by larger road freight companies. For vehicle producers aiming to scale up the production and sales of AFV, the findings suggest the benefit of targeting diversified and larger road freight companies in the first place.

Validation of Arabic versions of the child psychosocial distress screener and pediatric symptom checklist for young adolescents living in vulnerable communities in Lebanon

BackgroundIn humanitarian settings, brief screening instruments for child psychological distress have potential to assist in assessing prevalence, monitoring outcomes, and identifying children and adolescents in most need of scarce resources, given few mental health professionals for diagnostic services. Yet, there are few validated screening tools available, particularly in Arabic.MethodsWe translated and adapted the Child Psychosocial Distress Screener (CPDS) and the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) and conducted a validation study with 85 adolescents (aged 10–15) in Lebanon. We assessed internal consistency; test-retest reliability; convergent validity between adolescent- and caregiver-report and between the two measures; ability to distinguish between clinical and non-clinical samples; and concurrent validity against psychiatrist interview using the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia.ResultsThe translated and adapted child-reported PSC-17 and PSC-35, and caregiver-reported PSC-35 all showed adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability and high concurrent validity with psychiatrist interview and were able to distinguish between clinical and non-clinical samples. However, the caregiver-reported PSC-17 did not demonstrate adequate performance in this setting. Child-reported versions of the PSC outperformed caregiver-reported versions and the 35-item PSC scales showed stronger performance than 17-item scales. The CPDS showed adequate convergent validity with the PSC, ability to distinguish between clinical and non-clinical samples, and concurrent validity with psychiatrist interview. Internal consistency was low for the CPDS, likely due to the nature of the brief risk-screening tool. There were discrepancies between caregiver and child-reports, worthy of future investigation. For indication of any diagnosis requiring treatment, we recommend cut-offs of 5 for CPDS, 12 for child-reported PSC-17, 21 for child-reported PSC-35, and 26 for caregiver-reported PSC-35.ConclusionsThe Arabic PSC and CPDS are reliable and valid instruments for use as primary screening tools in Lebanon. Further research is needed to understand discrepancies between adolescent and caregiver reports, and optimal methods of using multiple informants.

Comparative Study of Keras CNNs for Tuberculosis Detection from Chest X-rays

As a major global health burden, tuberculosis (TB) requires prompt and accurate diagnostic solutions. The effectiveness of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for TB prediction from chest X-ray images is investigated in this work using a variety of Keras applications. We compare the accuracy, efficiency, and computational resource usage of the VGG16, ResNet50, and EfficientNetV2B2 architectures. By means of comprehensive testing and analysis on a wide range of datasets, we determine the applicability of every model for tuberculosis identification. The findings show that EfficientNetV2B2 is the most promising architecture, achieving remarkable accuracy (99.5%) with enhanced computational efficiency, while VGG16 and ResNet50 show competitive performance. These results highlight how deep learning-based methods have the potential to transform tuberculosis diagnosis by providing doctors with a trustworthy and usable instrument for early detection and treatment. Our research has implications for improving healthcare outcomes and bolstering international efforts to fight tuberculosis. Keywords—EfficientNet, CNN, VGG16,Keras, Accuracy

Multi-purpose InSTRument for Astronomy at Low-resolution: MISTRAL at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence

Multi-purpose InSTRument for Astronomy at Low-resolution (MISTRAL) is the new Faint Object Spectroscopic Camera mounted at the folded Cassegrain focus of the 1.93m telescope of the Haute-Provence Observatory (OHP). We describe the design and components of the instrument and give some details about its operation. We emphasize in particular the various observing modes and the performance of the detector. A short description of the working environment is also provided. Various types of objects, including stars, nebulae, comets, novae, and galaxies, have been observed during various test phases to evaluate the performance of the instrument. The instrument covers the range of 4000 to 8000 AA with the blue setting, or from 6000 to 10000 AA with the red setting, at an average spectral resolution of 700. Its peak efficiency is about 22$&lt;!PCT!&gt;$ at 6000 AA . In spectroscopy, a limiting magnitude of rsim 19.5 can be achieved for a point source in one hour with a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 in the continuum (and better when emission lines are present). In imaging mode, limiting magnitudes of 20-21 can be obtained in 10-20mn (with average seeing conditions of 2.5 arcsec at the OHP). The instrument is very user-friendly and can be put into operations in less than 15mn (rapid change-over from the other instrument in use) if required by the science (e.g. for gamma-ray bursts). Some first scientific results are described for various types of objects, and in particular, for the follow-up of gamma-ray bursts. While some further improvements are still under way, in particular, to facilitate the switch from blue to red setting and add more grisms or filters, MISTRAL is ready for the follow-up of transients and other variable objects, in the soon-to-come era of the Space-based multi-band astronomical Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM) satellite and of the Rubin telescope, for instance.

Strategic Analysis of Feature Selection Methods for Enhanced Dental Therapy Recognition in Machine Learning Applications

The popularity of smart clinics has increased significantly as a result of technical developments in fields like computer vision. At the heart of such systems is the ability to recognize objects and activities as well as perceive the environment as a whole. This is crucial for both eco-independent systems and human-machine interaction, especially in settings with constrained workspaces, like dental care. Our study delves into an extensive analysis of multiple machine learning models designed to robustly predict dental treatments. These models encompass Lazy Instance-based Learning, Sequential Minimal Optimization, Hoeffding Tree, and Random Tree. Leveraging object-oriented input sourced from gaze-guided wearable cameras, we scrutinize intricate attributes such as material properties, patients' dental conditions, and the array of instruments in use. Notably, we exploit the insight that identifying visual cues during an activity holds the potential to address the specific therapy identification challenge. Utilizing a dental data set that we gathered in the real world, we conducted our experiments and discovered that combining multiple criteria enhances accuracy in comparison to using each one alone. We did see, nevertheless, that in certain circumstances employing the symptoms alone produced superior outcomes. Additionally, symptoms demonstrated to have lesser error than combination in terms of RMS error convergence. Finally, we observed that the machine learning models' build and test durations increased as a result of the combined method. This demonstrates that adding additional parameters does not necessarily result in better outcomes in machine learning applications generally and in medical/dental applications in particular. Instead, it relies on the machine learning tool used, the settings taken into account and the input data provided. The versatility of our approach extends beyond dental contexts. It has been systematically validated across diverse domains, including the recognition of kitchen activities within smart home environments. This methodology holds relevance for various outdoor scenarios where the focal point of attention guides ongoing activities.

Validation of the Mexican version of the EORTC QLQ-CR29 in patients with colorectal cancer.

The evaluation of the quality of life (QoL) of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) is an essential measure to measure the impact of the disease and treatments on the lives of patients. However, in Latin America there is no validated and reliable instrument to assess this construct. This study aims to validate the EORTC QLQ-CR29 instrument in the Mexican population with CRC. This study aims to validate the EORTC QLQ-CR29 instrument in the Mexican population with CRC. The study used an instrumental design and a nonprobabilistic sample due to availability, made up of 251 patients with CRC, with an average age of 54.7 ± 12.28 years. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed, as well as concurrent validity tests. The exploratory factorial analysis yielded 4 factors that explained 51.64% of the variance, with a Cronbach reliability coefficient of .766 and an Omega index of .725. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the proposed theoretical model fits the data almost perfectly, with an error close to 0, which shows that it is a balanced and parsimonious instrument to measure the QoL of the patients with CRC. The EORTC QLQ-CR29 instrument proved to be a valid and reliable instrument for use in clinical care and research directed at patients with CRC in Mexico. Its use is recommended by multidisciplinary health teams in oncology in Mexico, since it allows knowing the patient's perspective on the impact of CRC on their life, guiding therapeutic decision-making and being a primary outcome measure.

Validation of the de Morton mobility index (DEMMI) among acute stroke patients aged ≥65 years: a register study

Purpose To validate the de Morton Mobility Index (DEMMI) in older (≥65 years) patients with acute stroke in a hospital setting within the first week after stroke onset. Materials and methods In the Danish National Database of Geriatrics, we identified 4,176 patients with acute stroke (≥65 years). Floor and ceiling effects of DEMMI were investigated. Furthermore, convergent validity was investigated by correlations between DEMMI and the Barthel Index using Spearman’s rho. Known-groups validity was tested by comparing DEMMI scores for different groups (with/without dementia, depression, comorbidity, and walking aids), and unidimensionality of DEMMI was evaluated by Mokken scale analysis. Results A floor effect was identified with 22.1% of the patients scoring 0 on DEMMI on admission. Both convergent and known-groups validity were confirmed for DEMMI. Patients who were bedbound had a lower DEMMI score (median [IQR]: 0 [0;0]) than patients without any walking aid (median [IQR]: 62 [33;74]). Furthermore, Mokken scale analysis identified unidimensionality with overall fit to the model (Loevinger H 0.88 (p < 0.0001)). Conclusion DEMMI is a valid instrument for use in patients with acute stroke (≥65 years) in a hospital setting within the first week after stroke onset.

Psychometric Analyses of a Food Literacy Behaviors Questionnaire for Adults With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

The purpose of the study was to develop and validate a food literacy instrument specific to individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Twelve T2DM-specific, food literacy-related statements underwent content validity and face validity testing, and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted (phase 1). The 6 statements remaining after EFA testing were added to an existing food literacy questionnaire called the Eating and Food Literacy Behaviors Questionnaire (EFLBQ). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) examined the EFLBQ plus the T2DM-specific statements, and the instrument was called the Eating and Food Literacy Questionnaire for Diabetics (EFLBQ-D; phase 2). Both EFA and CFA were administered by third-party provider Centiment via Qualtrics to adults with T2DM residing in the 13 United States Department of Agriculture Southern region states. Reliability was assessed via point estimate reliability testing. The EFA items clustered into 2 factors each with 3 statements: (1) carbohydrate counting and nutrition label reading and (2) healthy food preparation methods. The CFA indicated that the EFLBQ-D had good fit and that the factors had good reliability. The EFLBQ's integrity was maintained with its items loading on the respective constructs. The EFLBQ-D appears to be a valid, reliable instrument for use by researchers and professionals to better understand food behaviors and food literacy skills of those with T2DM. This is an important tool to help individualize medical nutrition therapy, improving patient care in this population.

The athlete psychological well-being inventory: Factor equivalence with the sport injury-related growth inventory

Until now, research on growth following sport injury has relied exclusively on retrospective reports and nomothetic measures drawn from other fields of research. Therefore, to more objectively explore growth following sport injury pre- and post-injury, rather than retrospectively, this study adapts and examines the psychometric properties of the Athlete Psychological Well-Being Inventory (APWBI), which can be used throughout the sport injury process (i.e., prior to and following sport injury). A sample of 164 athletes free from injury (71.3 % men; M age = 19.7 years, SD = 2.1) were compared to a sample of 168 athletes with history of previous injury (73.2 % men; M age = 19.7 years, SD = 2.1). Multigroup Confirmatory Factor Analysis demonstrated the measurement and factor equivalence between the APWBI and a retrospective measure, the Sport Injury-Related Growth Inventory (SIRGI). The APWBI also showed satisfactory to excellent internal consistency reliability for all its sub-dimensions (“sense of mastery”, “positive relations with others”, “responsibility for one’s health”, “self-awareness”, “emotional ability”, “purpose in life”, “purpose in sport”, and “body awareness”) and for the total score. Analysis of the relationships with other self-report measures (i.e., the Positive Functioning Inventory, the Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale, and the Lie Scale) provided convergent and discriminant evidence to support the construct validity of the instrument. To conclude, the APWBI is a valid and reliable instrument for use within English-speaking athletes of various competitive levels (from local/county to international level).