Inter-item Consistency Research Articles

Assessing the return-to-work mode of Dutch precarious workers with mental health issues

Abstract Background Mental health issues are highly prevalent among precarious workers, often leading to sickness absence, work disability, and job loss. Return to work (RTW) is more challenging for these workers, as they often lack a job to return to and have limited access to occupational health care. Perceptions and attitudes about RTW are important determinants and can be categorized into three modes within the RTW process: a passive, an ambivalent and an active RTW-mode. To identify the RTW mode, we developed the RE-MODE tool. This study aimed to assess occupational health professionals’ agreement on the RTW-mode of sick-listed precarious workers with mental health issues using RE-MODE. Methods In a vignette study, 71 occupational health professionals from a Dutch social security institute viewed six videos of consultations between insurance physicians and precarious workers. They then used RE-MODE to assess the RTW mode and need for RTW-support. They also provided feedback on the tool’s validity and usability. We used a generalized linear mixed model to analyze inter-rater agreement, inter-item consistency, and the contribution level of each item. Additionally, we calculated the content validity index and the system usability scale. Results The agreement on the RTW mode with RE-MODE is high (ICC 0.86, 95% CI 0.64-0.95) and on the workers’ need for RTW-support moderate (0.61, 95% CI 0.31-0.84). Furthermore, the content-validity (Scale-CVI 0.83), usability (SUS 0.75), and inter-item consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha 0.70) show favorable results. We are currently analyzing the contribution of each item to the total score. The items with the best overall performance will be included in RE-MODE 2.0. Conclusions REMODE is a valuable tool for occupational health professionals to identify precarious workers with mental health issues at risk of long-term disability. Then they can arrange targeted RTW-support. Based on the study results, RE-MODE 2.0 is in development. Key messages • RE-MODE is a valuable tool for the assessment of the RTW-mode of precarious workers with mental health issues. • RE-MODE’s reliability, content-validity and usability is satisfactory.

Effect of an Optimistic Approach on Individual Life Satisfaction

The study explores the impact of an optimistic approach on an individual’s life satisfaction. The study aims to understand the relationships between variables and determine whether they align with previous research findings showing that an optimistic approach benefits greater life satisfaction. The study was conducted in Pakistan. Two hundred participants were taken through purposive sampling, belonging to different socio-economic backgrounds. They were administered The Life Orientation Test (LOT) and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). To establish inter-item consistency, Cronbach alpha value was found for LOT as (α = .69-.72) and for SWLS as (α = .83-.92). Results showed a positive & relatively strong correlation (r=.473, n=200, p=.000) between the two variables through Pearson correlation test. Further, Regression was applied, resulting in a highly significant relationship f (1, 98) = p<0.05, R2=.552. Despite low optimism scores, a high level of life satisfaction was determined, and when optimism increases by 1 point, the life satisfaction score increases by 2,141 points. Based on the results of the study, the influence of optimism on life satisfaction in the context of Pakistan is discussed.

Improving clinical reasoning and communication during handover: An intervention study of the BRIEF-C tool

BackgroundExisting handover communication tools often lack a clear theoretical foundation, have limited psychometric evidence, and overlook effective communication strategies for enhancing diagnostic reasoning. This oversight becomes critical as communication breakdowns...

Assessing clinician competence in the delivery of cognitive-behavioural therapy for eating disorders: development of the Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy Scale for Eating Disorders (CBTS-ED)

ABSTRACT Evidence-based cognitive-behaviour therapy for eating disorders (CBT-ED) differs from other forms of CBT for psychological disorders, making existing generic CBT measures of therapist competence inadequate for evaluating CBT-ED. This study developed and piloted the reliability of a novel measure of therapist competence in this domain—the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Scale for Eating Disorders (CBTS-ED). Initially, a team of CBT-ED experts developed a 26-item measure, with general (i.e. present in every session) and specific (context- or case-dependent) items. To determine statistical properties of the measure, nine CBT-ED experts and eight non-experts independently observed six role-played mock CBT-ED therapy sessions, rating the therapists’ performance using the CBTS-ED. The inter-item consistency (Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega) and inter-rater reliability (ICC) were assessed, as appropriate to the clustering of the items. The CBTS-ED demonstrated good internal consistency and moderate/good inter-rater reliability for the general items, at least comparable to existing generic CBT scales in other domains. An updated version is proposed, where five of the 16 “specific” items are reallocated to the general group. These preliminary results suggest that the CBTS-ED can be used effectively across both expert and non-expert raters, though less experienced raters might benefit from additional training in its use.

Evaluation of a new intrinsic and extrinsic motivation scale in youth with psychosis spectrum symptoms

BackgroundImpairment in intrinsic motivation (IM), the drive to satisfy internal desires like mastery, may play a key role in disability in psychosis. However, we have limited knowledge regarding relative impairments in IM compared to extrinsic motivation (EM) or general motivation (GM), in part due to limitations in existing measures. MethodsHere we address this gap using a novel Trait Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation self-report scale in a sample of n = 243 participants including those with schizophrenia, psychosis-risk, and healthy controls. Each of the 7 IM and 6 EM items used a 7-point Likert scale assessing endorsement of dispositional statements. Bifactor analyses of these items yielded distinct IM, EM, and GM factor scores. Convergent and discriminant validity were examined in relation to General Causality Orientation Scale (GCOS-CP) and Quality of Life 3-item IM measure (QLS-IM). Utility was assessed in relation to psychosis-spectrum (PS) status and CAINS clinical amotivation. ResultsIM and EM showed acceptable inter-item consistency (IM: α = 0.88; EM: α = 0.66); the bifactor model exhibited fit that varied from good to borderline to inadequate depending on the specific fit metric (SRMR = 0.038, CFI = 0.94, RMSEA = 0.106 ± 0.014). IM scores correlated with established IM measures: GCOS-CP Autonomy (rho = 0.38, p < 0.01) and QLS-IM (rho = 0.29, p < 0.01). Supporting discriminant validity, IM did not correlate with GCOS-CP Control (rho = −0.14, p > 0.05). Two-year stability in an available longitudinal subset (n = 35) was strong (IM: rho = 0.64, p < 0.01; EM: rho = 0.55, p < 0.01). Trait IM was lower in PS youth (t = 4.24, p < 0.01), and correlated with clinical amotivation (rho = −0.36, p < 0.01); EM did not show significant clinical associations. ConclusionsThese results demonstrate the clinical relevance of IM in psychosis risk. They also provide preliminary support for the reliability, validity and utility of this new Trait IM-EM scale, which addresses a measurement gap and can facilitate identification of neurobehavioral and clinical correlates of IM deficits.

Evaluating Psychometric Properties of the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City (SBAHC) Nurses' Electronic Handover Tool.

Handover is crucial during the transfer of patient care between healthcare professionals.Successful handover maintains patients' safety and high-quality care. The electronic handover of patients' information is achievable, feasible, and potentially improves the quality of patient care. However, the introduction of the electronic handover is relatively recent and challenging for healthcare providers, especially nurses. Since Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City (SBAHC)has recently implemented an electronic handover system among nurses, the main aim of the current study was to develop a tool to assess the perception and barriers to electronic handover systems among nurses working at SBAHC and evaluate its psychometric properties. The tool content and face validity were assessed by the content validity ratio (CVR). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used as validity methods, while the test-retest and inter-item consistency were used as reliability measures. The sample size was planned as five times the number of questions and a total of 200 nurses participated in the study. The criteria required for factor analysis were met as indicated by the results of the Kaiser-Mayer-Olkin test and Bartlett's test of sphericity. The reliability results showed a Cronbach's alpha coefficient ranging from 0.858 to 0.910 for the perception subscale and from 0.564 to 0.789 for the barrier subscale, and an overall interclass correlation of 0.986, p<0.001. The developed SBAHC electronic handover tool was valid and reliable, and it is advisable to consider it at the initial stages of implanting an electronic handover system to identify obstacles that are faced by the staff to be considered and addressed by the higher management.

A landscape assessment of the activities and capacities of evidence-to-policy intermediaries (EPI) in behavioral health

BackgroundA significant gap exists between the production of research evidence and its use in behavioral health policymaking. Organizations providing consulting and support activities for improving policy represent a promising source for strengthening the infrastructure to address this gap. Understanding the characteristics and activities of these evidence-to-policy intermediary (EPI) organizations can inform the development of capacity-building activities, leading to strengthened evidence-to-policy infrastructure and more widespread evidence-based policymaking.MethodsOnline surveys were sent to 51 organizations from English-speaking countries involved in evidence-to-policy activities in behavioral health. The survey was grounded in a rapid evidence review of the academic literature regarding strategies used to influence research use in policymaking. The review identified 17 strategies, which were classified into four activity categories. We administered the surveys via Qualtrics and calculated the descriptive statistics, scales, and internal consistency statistics using R.ResultsA total of 31 individuals completed the surveys from 27 organizations (53% response rate) in four English-speaking countries. EPIs were evenly split between university (49%) and non-university (51%) settings. Nearly all EPIs conducted direct program support (mean = 4.19/5 [sd = 1.25]) and knowledge-building (4.03 [1.17]) activities. However, engagement with traditionally marginalized and non-traditional partners (2.84 [1.39]) and development of evidence reviews using formal critical appraisal methods (2.81 [1.70]) were uncommon. EPIs tend to be specialized, focusing on a group of highly related strategies rather than incorporating multiple evidence-to-policy strategies in their portfolios. Inter-item consistency was moderate to high, with scale α’s ranging from 0.67 to 0.85. Ratings of respondents’ willingness to pay for training in one of three evidence dissemination strategies revealed high interest in program and policy design.ConclusionsOur results suggest that evidence-to-policy strategies are frequently used by existing EPIs; however, organizations tend to specialize rather than engage in a breadth of strategies. Furthermore, few organizations reported consistently engaging with non-traditional or community partners. Focusing on building capacity for a network of new and existing EPIs could be a promising strategy for growing the infrastructure needed for evidence-informed behavioral health policymaking.

Development of a Scale to Measure Environmental Consciousness of Pre-Service Teachers in Punjab, Pakistan

This research aimed to design a scale for measuring pre-service teachers’ environmental consciousness. A systematic literature review was carried out to develop initial items for measuring pre-service teachers’ environmental consciousness. A total of 64 items were finalized for the scale under five parts, with seventeen items under knowledge, attitude, pedagogies, beliefs, and practices of pre-service teachers regarding environmental consciousness. Through a survey, this scale was administered to 362 pre-service teachers from public sector universities offering teacher education programs in Punjab. The validity of the scale is ensured through expert opinion, and reliability (inter-item consistency) is confirmed through Cronbach’s alpha test. The reliability value was found to be .863 for items on the scale. Validity and reliability were statistically tested by conducting exploratory factor analysis. Values of factor loading range from a maximum of .800 to .501. After exploratory factor analysis, a total of 23 items were removed, and the final scale consisted of 41 items. The final scale indicates appropriate reliability and validity regarding five factors related to environmental consciousness. Theoretically, this scale contributes significantly to identifying and measuring the environmental consciousness of pre-service teachers. The scale for environmental consciousness of pre-service teachers could be useful for understanding the environment and also helpful in investigating relation relationship among different variables regarding environmental consciousness.

An initial validation of the Clients’ Experience of Therapy Scale (CETS): assessing the quality of psychotherapy process and outcome from clients’ perspectives

ABSTRACT In studies of psychotherapy, researchers typically rely on symptom-focused measures to assess treatment success. However, good psychotherapy can engage clients in many other transformations–such as, improved relationships, insight, and emotional engagement. In line with research indicating that clients value a distinct set of therapeutic gains, our goal was to develop a measure that assesses the quality of psychotherapy as experienced by clients. Initial items were based upon results from an omnibus meta-analysis of the qualitative literature on clients’ experiences of therapy, lending both construct and face validity. In this initial study, exploratory (Study 1) and confirmatory (Study 2) factor analyses were conducted. The Clients’ Experiences of Therapy Scale (CETS) contains five subscales including 15 questions. It demonstrated strong test-retest reliability and inter-item consistency across diverse demographic groups and psychotherapy orientations. Comparisons with symptom measures suggested that the scale assesses related but distinct constructs. The CETS shows potential to predict client dropout from therapy, correctly classifying 80.0% of cases posthoc. When used in routine outcome monitoring, because the items assess the quality of psychotherapy in relation to in-session process and micro-outcomes, they can provide feedback to therapists, on specific in-session dynamics to change, discuss with clients, or refine in practice.

Translation and validation of a Swedish version of the Visual Vertigo Analogue Scale

Purpose The present study aimed to construct and validate a Swedish translation (VVAS-S) of the Visual Vertigo Analogue Scale (VVAS). Materials and Methods The original English VVAS was translated into Swedish by the two authors and back-translated by an independent professional translator. Pilot-tests were performed on two healthy participants and five patients suffering from Visually Induced Dizziness (VID). The translation was deemed understandable by all subjects. Twenty-one patients with VID were recruited to complete the VVAS-S, once in-lab and once at home after 2–3 weeks. Cronbach’s alpha, inter-item consistency and internal consistency were calculated. Results Test-retest values were reliably strong across all items. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.843, which is considered to represent very-high reliability. The corrected-item total-correlation was above 0.3 for all items, meaning they were appropriately associated with one-another. Fourteen out of 36 inter-item correlation interactions were within the 0.2–0.4 range. Conclusions The VVAS-S was found to be comparable to the original VVAS in terms of internal reliability. The translation was perceived as easy to implement by all participants and can be considered ready for clinical use in a Swedish-speaking setting. Item-specific correlations may be valuable for developing future vertigo questionnaires. Key messages The Swedish version of the Visual Vertigo Analogue Scale is a questionnaire suitable for evaluating visually induced dizziness in a Swedish population. This study found that the Swedish questionnaire was comparable to the original in terms of internal consistency. The Swedish Visual vertigo Analogue Scale can be found as an appendix to this article.

국내 자폐스펙트럼장애 영유아 대상 한국판 영유아 자폐 양적 체크리스트-10(KQ-CHAT-10)의 신뢰도 및 타당도 연구

This study examined reliability and validity of the Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers 10 (Q-CHAT-10) to verify its effectiveness for Korean children. Subjects included 50 children with ASD and 81 typical children. Instruments were the Korean version of the Q-CHAT-10 (KQ-CHAT-10), CBCL 1.5-5 and CARS. The KQ-CHAT-10 showed a significant inter-item correlation except the item number 10 and its reliability was verified by inter-item consistency and test-retest reliability. Exploratory factor analysis showed all items excluding the number 10 were loaded onto one factor. Also, concurrent validity was checked between the KQ-CHAT-10, CBCL'S Pervasive Developmental Problems DSM-Oriented Scales, and CARS. In the 2-point KQ-CHAT-10, the statistical cut-off value of 3 demonstrated the highest sensitivity and specificity. This study is of significance in that it is the first study to check the reliability and validity of Q-CHAT-10 with Korean children.

Antibiotic prescription errors: the relationship with clinical competence in junior medical residents

BackgroundA large portion of prescribing errors can be attributed to deficiencies in medication knowledge. These errors are preventable and most often occur at the time of prescription. Antimicrobials are the drug class most common incorrectly prescribed.ObjectiveTo characterize the relationship between clinical competence and antibiotic prescription errors. We also investigated the frequency and severity of antibiotic prescription errors to identify items and attributes of clinical competence which are correlated with the antibiotic prescription error ratio.MethodA cross-sectional study was applied to assess clinical competence of junior medical residents in two reference academic hospitals and a regional hospital in Mexico City. It was conducted during February 2019. We used an infectious disease Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) to assess clinical competence and a measure of frequency, and severity of antibiotic prescription errors.ResultsThe number of eligible participants was ~ 255 (hospital meeting attendance), and the number of residents in this study were 51 (~ 20%), 31 were female (60.8%). The mean OSCE score was 0.692 ± 0.073. The inter-item (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.927) and inter-station internal consistency was adequate (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.774). The G coefficient in generalizability theory analysis was 0.84. The antibiotic prescription error ratio was 45.1% ± 7%. The most frequent category of severity of antibiotic prescription errors was category E (errors that may contribute to or result in temporary harm to the patient and require intervention), 235 (65.2%). We observed a negative and significant correlation between clinical competence and antibiotic prescription errors (r = -0.33, p < 0.05, CI95% -0.57 to -0.07), which remained significant after controlling for the effect of gender and time since graduation from medical school (r = -0.39, p < 0.01, CI95% -0.625 to -0.118). Using exploratory factor analysis we identified two factors, which explained 69% of the variance in clinical competence, factor 1 evaluated socio-clinical skills and factor 2 evaluated diagnostic-therapeutic skills. Factor 2 was correlated with antibiotic prescription error ratio (r = -0.536, p < 0.001).ConclusionsWe observed a negative correlation between clinical competence and antibiotic prescription error ratio in graduated physicians who have been accepted in a medical specialty. The therapeutic plan, which is a component of the clinical competence score, and the prescription skills had a negative correlation with antibiotic prescription errors. The most frequent errors in antibiotic prescriptions would require a second intervention.

Improve the clinical effective decision of the oral feeding readiness in preterm infants: Revise and validate the TC-POFRAS

Currently there is limited information to guide health professionals regarding the optimal time frame to initiate safe and effective oral feedings to preterm infants. The study aims to revise and validate a streamlined version of the Traditional Chinese-Preterm Oral Feeding Readiness Assessment Scale, the TC-POFRAS®, and evaluate its construct validity in the clinical decisions regarding feeding readiness of preterm infants. Eighty-one clinically stable preterm infants were assessed using the TC-POFRAS for oral feeding readiness. Item-total correlation analysis was used to check if any item was inconsistent with the averaged TC-POFRAS scores. Cronbach's α coefficient was used to evaluate the inter-item consistency. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the coherence of variables to reorganize assessment domains. The revised version of TC-POFRAS (TC-POFRAS®) was developed and a new cut-off score based on discriminant accuracy was established. Based on the results from statistical analysis, five items ("lips posture," "tongue posture," "biting reflex," "gag reflex," and "tongue cupping") were deleted from the original TC-POFRAS to form the TC-POFRAS®. The TC-POFRAS®'s global accuracy was 92.1%. The cut-off value of 19 was the one that presented the most optimization of sensitivity based on specificity. The TC-POFRAS® was reconstructed into corrected gestational age and five behavioral domains. The TC-POFRAS® is considered a valid, safe, and accurate objective instrument to assist health professionals to initiate oral feeding of preterm infants.

The clinician-administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) structured interview for PTSD: A French language validation study.

The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) is a structured interview that assesses the frequency and severity of each symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in relation to a single traumatic stressor over a 1-month period, allowing the trained interviewer to infer a current or lifetime diagnosis congruent with the 5th Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the original English language CAPS-5 translated to French. Participants (N = 168) were recruited in clinical settings of France, Lebanon, and Canada. The psychometric properties of the measure were found to be excellent, as good-to-strong interitem consistency was found (α = .90; ITC = .52; ICC = .30), while also finding strong convergent validity between the CAPS-5 total score and the severity score of a self-report PTSD measure (r = .82): the PCL-5. The test-retest reliability was excellent, with Cohen's κ = 1.00 and the intraclass coefficient (ICC) = .95. However, no latent factor structure model was deemed a strong fit to the data. Overall, the reliability and validity of the French CAPS-5 and are consistent with those of the original CAPS-5. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Comparison of Axis II psychosocial assessment methods of RDC/TMD and DC/TMD as part of DC/TMD-FIN phase II validation studies in tertiary care Finnish TMD pain patients.

The Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) and Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (DC/TMD) include Axis II instruments for psychosocial assessment. The aims were to compare the Finnish versions of Axis II psychosocial assessment methods of the RDC/TMD and DC/TMD and to study their internal reliability. The sample comprised 197 tertiary care referral TMD pain patients. The associations between RDC/TMD [Graded Chronic Pain Scale (GCPS) 1.0, Symptom Check List 90-revised (SCL-90R)] and DC/TMD (GCPS 2.0, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), PHQ-15) assessment instruments were evaluated using Spearman correlation coefficients, Wilcoxon Signed Rank s, chi-squared test and gamma statistics. The internal reliability and internal inter-item consistency of SCL-90-R, PHQ-9, PHQ-15 and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) were evaluated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient values. The DC/TMD and RDC/TMD Axis II psychosocial instruments correlated strongly (p<.001). GCPS 1.0 and GCPS 2.0grades were similarly distributed based on both criteria. The RDC/TMD psychological instruments had a higher tendency to subclassify patients with more severe symptoms of depression and non-specific physical symptoms compared to DC/TMD. The internal reliability and internal inter-item consistency were high for the psychological assessment instruments. The Finnish versions of the RDC/TMD and DC/TMD Axis II psychosocial instruments correlated strongly among tertiary care TMD pain patients. Furthermore, the Axis II psychological assessment instruments indicated high validity and internal inter-item consistency and are applicable in Finnish TMD pain patients as part of other comprehensive specialist level assessments, but further psychometric and cut-off evaluations are still needed.

Put Safety First: Exploring the Role of Health and Safety Practices in Improving the Performance of SMEs

The study was conducted to ascertain the role of health and safety practices (HSPs) in improving the performance of the firm and safety performance. The study was conducted in Pakistan, a developing country from South Asia. This study collected data from various small and medium enterprises (SMEs) located in Karachi and Sindh, Pakistan. Data were analyzed through statistical packages for scientific solutions. The feasibility of survey data was primarily tested with the help of Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, .80, which shows the construct items to have interitem consistency. Subsequently, descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistic techniques (Pearson correlation coefficient of significant [two-tailed] and simple regression) were used. The study findings reveal that HSPs have a significant effect on the performance of SMEs and safety performance. Firms in developing countries need to pay more attention to HSPs so that the positive benefits of increased SME performance and safety performance can be attained. The implications are discussed in detail.

The development of a reliable and valid instrument to measure the osteoporosis-related knowledge: validation of the Hungarian version of Osteoporosis Knowledge Assessment Tool (OKAT)

BackgroundOsteoporosis is one of the most common chronic musculoskeletal diseases. Osteoporosis-related knowledge is an important contributor in to prevent osteoporosis. There is no validated reliable questionnaire to measure the knowledge in Hungary. The aim of the study was to validate the Osteoporosis Knowledge Assessment Tool (OKAT) Hungarian version.MethodsThe research was a randomized validation study of a new Hungarian language instrument. The questionnaire was administered to 557 randomly selected healthy women (age between 25 and 44 years) from December 2018 to July 2019 in Baranya county, Hungary. The reliability was examined by the Flesch reading ease and McNemar’s test. We examined item discrimination and item-total correlations, inter-item consistency (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient) and principal component factor analysis.ResultsSignificant differences (p < 0.001) were reported between total scores and the age categories. Significant (p < 0.001) correlation (r = 0.25) was found between the education level and the knowledge. Significantly (p < 0.001) higher knowledge were found in health care profession (14.53 ± 3.58) than the non-health care profession (9.99 ± 4.04). Participants with osteoporosis or fracture in family history had better knowledge (p < 0.001). Flesch reading ease was 44, the questionnaire had a Ferguson’s sigma of 0.94 and a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.81. There were no negative inter-item correlations psychometric properties of the OKAT, all items had more than 70% of correlations (p < 0.001).ConclusionsThe Hungarian version of the Osteoporosis Knowledge Assessment Tool is a reliable and objective questionnaire to measure women’s knowledge in Hungary.

Approbation of body investment scale on youth sample in Azerbaijan

IntroductionBody attitudes may serve as both vulnerability and protective factors for various forms of emotional and behavioral disorders, including suicidal and self-harm behaviors in adolescent and youth populations. Body Investment Scale (BIS, Orbach &amp; Mikulincer, 1998) is an instrument specially designed to account for body attitudes in suicide assessment.ObjectivesThe study was aimed to provide a preliminary evidence for using the BIS translation in the assessment of suicide risk factors in Russian-speaking student population in Azerbaijan.Methods The common recommendations for test translation were used. The factor structure, inter-item consistency of scales, and retest reliability were assessed. The participants were 100 students (18-23 years, 40 females, 60 males), 50 of them completed the retest.ResultsThe exploratory factor analysis with fixed number of factors reveals a homologous structure to the original BIS scales, explaining 48.2% of variance (in comparison to 55% of original measure). Inter-item reliability coefficients were lower: .989 for Body attitude, .696 for comfort with touch, .65 for Care and .61 for Protection scales. Pearson’s r for retest reliability (in a month) were above 0.9. Three items that could be excluded for enhancing the consistency of scales address physical contact and self-harm issues and might be culturally inappropriate.ConclusionsBIS is a promising instrument due to its grounded factor structure, but refinement of some items of the Russian translation is desired, as well as further study of applicability for adolescent population. BIS could fill the gap in scarcity of instruments for suicide assessment for Russian speaking population.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Teacher Beliefs About Sustainable Agriculture: A Self-made Measurement Scale

The study&amp;rsquo;s purpose was to analyze the validity of the construct of a self-made Alternative-Conventional Agricultural Paradigm scale using the teacher population teaching high school agriculture in the North Central Region of the USA. A random sample of 844 teachers was drawn. Teachers were self-administered questionnaires with 5-point Likert-type scales. Instrument inter-item consistency and item coherence were determined. The relatively high coefficient alpha (.82), mean item total correlation (.40), and unrotated first factors with modest number of items loading on the factor means that the scale has mainly one underlying construct. The teacher population holds consistent views and attitudes about SA constituting an agricultural paradigm. The instrument items are coherent as components of a whole and are related. However, the teacher population did not hold stronger paradigmatic views on the scale as can be expected because of their relatively low mean score item-total correlation and coefficient alpha for the instrument compared to what was found for the scale in the Beus and Dunlap (1991) study. This should be expected because agriculture teachers are not strong adherents of the two agricultural paradigms who can be expected to make extreme and polar scores on the scale. The instrument can therefore be used to preliminarily gauge the paradigmatic orientation of agriculture teachers in the region. Further research with the instrument with known groups supporting the two paradigms is necessary to establish its validity.

Development of the Diabetic Wound Assessment Learning Tool (DiWALT) and validity evidence

ObjectiveDiabetic foot wounds account for up to one-third of diabetes-related health care expenditure and are the greatest cause of extremity amputation in Canada. Physicians encounter patients with such wounds in all specialties, particularly as generalists in medical wards and emergency departments. However, there is a dearth of literature on the optimal way to teach and to assess the management of these patients. Given the importance of assessment for learning in the shift toward competency-based medical education, we aimed to develop an assessment tool and to build validity evidence for its use in this context. MethodsA consensus process involving nine Canadian experts in diabetic wound management was used to develop the Diabetic Wound Assessment Learning Tool (DiWALT) items and two 10-minute simulation-based testing scenarios. The simulators used were modified from commercially available models to serve the testing scenarios. Validity evidence for the DiWALT was subsequently evaluated by assessing 24 physician participants' performance during the two scenarios. All participants were novices (<50 cases managed). Two assessors independently rated participants using the DiWALT. Evidence was organized using Kane's validity framework and included Cronbach α for interitem consistency as well as test-retest and inter-rater reliability using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). ResultsCronbach α was 0.92, implying high internal consistency. Test-retest reliability was also excellent with ICC of 0.89 (confidence interval [CI], 0.76-0.95) for single measures and ICC of 0.94 (CI, 0.86-0.98) for average measures. Inter-rater reliability was fair for single measures with ICC of 0.68 (CI, 0.65-0.71) and good for average measures with ICC of 0.81 (CI, 0.79-0.83). ConclusionsThese results demonstrate that the DiWALT consistently and reliably evaluates competence in diabetic wound management during simulated cases using a small, homogeneous sample of physicians. Further work is necessary to quantify sources of error in the assessment scores, to establish validity evidence when it is used to assess larger and more heterogeneous participants, and to identify how well the DiWALT differentiates between different experience levels.