Likert-type Scale Items Research Articles

Contacting Patients After an Emergency Department Visit to Influence their Follow-Up Care Preferences

CONTEXTEmergency Departments (ED) have faced increasing challenges in providing quality, cost-effective patient care. In addition, healthcare administrators have sought specific techniques to improve patient perceptions of care and satisfaction as a component of Medicare reimbursement and physician contract retention. This five-month study sought to examine whether contacting patients per phone or leaving them a voicemail message after an ED visit might influence their perceptions of care and subsequent follow-up care preferences.METHODSA sample of 95 discharged ED patients were contacted by phone and mailed surveys rating their likelihood of return directly for future ED as well as scheduling office-based visits. Patients were stratified by whether they were: a) directly spoken to over the phone, b) left a voicemail message, or c) never successfully contacted. Mailed patient surveys utilized a five-point Likert-type scale items concerning future follow-up care preferences. Sample patients were also monitored in the electronic health record to correlate self-reported intentions with whether they actually returned to the same ED for the same chief complaint within 30 days of their initial visit.RESULTSThose patients who were directly contacted after ED discharge tended to be more likely to report they would return to the same ED, although not significantly (p = 0.060). Patients who were left a voicemail message were not more likely to return to the ED (p = 0.230). However, patients who were contacted directly indicated that they were more likely to adhere to received discharge instructions (p = 0.010). Neither did phoning patients significantly influence whether they followed-up with clinic providers (p = 0.999) or return to the same ED within 30 days (p = 0.999).CONCLUSIONSAlthough there are often many complex factors influencing patients’ post-ED care decisions, the results from this smaller project indicated that contacting patients after ED discharge may help influence their perceptions of care and influence some follow-up care preferences.

Development of a Scale to Assess High Schoolers’ Attitudes toward Sustainable Development

The study aims to develop a scale to assess high school students’ attitudes toward sustainable development. For this purpose, 90 Likert-type scale items pertaining to attitudes were initially developed based on existing literature. Further consultations with experts led to a reduction of the item count to 60, followed by a further reduction to 40 items. The scale was administered to 509 students enrolled in an Anatolian high school, a science high school, and an Anatolian religious vocational high school in Akcaabat. The data gathered were analyzed using the SPSS 18.0 statistics package. An item analysis, comprising the item-total correlation test, was performed on the scale, which was followed by a reliability analysis that focused on the Cronbach’s alpha internal consistency factor. Furthermore, factor analysis was performed to determine the validity of the scale. The factor analysis led to the development of a two-factor scale composed of a total of 14 items. The Cronbach’s alpha internal consistency factor of the scale is 0.811. The scale was deemed appropriate for assessing the attitudes of high school students with regards to sustainable development.

Examining the Inclusion of Students with Severe Disabilities in School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

To explore the accessibility of school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS) for students with severe disabilities, we conducted a survey of 179 schools implementing SWPBIS during the 2015-2016 school year. Personnel from each school reported the frequency and level of importance of SWPBIS implementation across Likert-type scale items related to the domains of systems procedures, practices, and data collection procedures applicable to students with severe disabilities. Personnel from each school also responded to open-ended items to report barriers to and strategies for including students with severe disabilities in SWPBIS. Overall, school personnel reported high levels of implementation and importance across these SWPBIS domains and a range of barriers and strategies related to SWPBIS accessibility. School characteristics related to grade level, tiers of SWPBIS implementation, and the percentage of students included in general education settings for a majority of the school day contributed to statistically significant differences in ratings of frequency and importance for some aspects of the SWPBIS domains.

Physician and Parent Perspectives on Psychosocial and Emotional Data Entry in the Electronic Medical Record in a Pediatric Setting.

Objective:This pilot study was conducted to evaluate physician and patient preferences for documentation of emotional and psychosocial information in the electronic medical record (EMR).Methods:Pediatricians from an academic medical center and parents of patients in an academic pediatric rheumatology practice were surveyed on 10 different elements using Likert-type scale items (1 = not at all important, 10 = extremely important). The importance of the proposed categories was evaluated by means testing and pairwise comparisons of the responses.Results:Responses were obtained from 45 physicians and 35 parents. The overall mean scores for physicians and parents were 7.70 and 7.44, respectively. Scores on personality, friends, and school differed between physicians and parents, but those differences were not significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons (P = .13, .17, and .26, respectively). Fears, special requests, and special needs were in the high-score group for both physicians and parents.Conclusion:Physicians and parents reported that the incorporation of emotional and psychosocial information into the EMR added value to the health care of children.

Identification with social role obligations, possible selves, and L2 motivation in foreign language learning

Abstract This study discusses the motivational disposition of learners learning English as a second language (L2) and another third language (L3) simultaneously in Taiwan. Utilizing Dornyei's (2005) L2 motivational self system as the framework for describing learner motivation and incorporating motivational characteristics specific to Confucian-influenced societies ( Chen et al., 2009 , Hwang, 2012 ), the present study investigates the predictive effects of learners' future L2 self-images and social identities on their L2 learning behaviors. A questionnaire with 35 Likert-type scale items was developed to survey the language learning motivation of 1132 college students who were taking English as an L2 and French, German, Japanese, or Korean as their L3 in Taiwan. Results from responses to the questionnaire show that Taiwanese language learners have unique motivation characteristics that are mediated by culturally and socially grounded self-identities. The study concludes that the foreign language learning of multiple languages within diverse local contexts provides insight to cross-cultural effects on the motivational properties of possible selves.

Assessing Outcomes and Perceived Benefits of a Professional Development Seminar Series

To evaluate the outcomes of alumni who were enrolled in a professional development seminar series during their doctor of pharmacy program. A weekly development seminar series was administered over 5 semesters with the goal of bringing academic advisees together to help develop performance-based abilities, prepare them for entry into the profession after graduation, and provide exposure to different career opportunities. A survey instrument containing 39 Likert-type scale items, 2 open-ended questions, and a 10-item demographic survey was created and content-validated to assess the effect of the seminar series on alumni advisees' perceived outcomes and professional development since their graduation. The survey was electronically forwarded to advisees from the graduating classes of 2005 to 2012, and response data was collected with Qualtrics, a web-based survey service. A total of 36 percent of alumni responded to the survey. Respondents cited exposure to career alternatives and opportunities, development of presentation and communication skills, networking, and the importance of advisor/mentor relationships as benefits of the seminar series. The professional development seminar series has demonstrated a positive impact on alumni advisees' career development and professional outcomes, most notably relating to career path exposure, communication skills, and advisor/mentor relationships.

Psychological distress among mental health social workers

This study employs the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) in order to examine psychological distress among Greek mental health social workers. The findings are examined in the light of the respondents' demographics, professional characteristics (educational background and work experience), work perspectives (job satisfaction and perceived work efficiency) and perceived financial strain. The study took place two years after austerity measures were imposed in the country. A self-addressed questionnaire employing 4-point Likert-type scale items was posted to 154 mental health social workers residing in an urban area in Greece. A statistical analysis of the 65 returned questionnaires identified frequencies and correlations in the corpus of the data. According to the findings, 15% of the practitioners were within the psychological distress range. When compared to their non-psychologically distressed counterparts, the psychologically distressed respondents were clearly differentiated according to their professional characteristics, work perspectives and perceived financial strain.

Longitudinal Factor Structure of General Self-Concept and Locus of Control Among High School Students

This study examined the longitudinal factor structure of general self-concept and locus of control among high school students over a 4-year period, with data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988. Measurement invariance was tested over time and across gender and ethnic groups; second-order piecewise latent growth models were applied to study changes. In all analyses, Likert-type scale items were correctly treated as ordered-categorical variables and methodology was used accordingly. Results suggested that the measurement structure of general self-concept and locus of control was stable over time and across groups. In addition, both constructs decreased and then increased during the 4-year period. The female group and the White group followed the pattern of changes of the total sample. The male group and the three ethnic minority groups (Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and Black) differed from the total sample in their change patterns. Further, group differences were observed in the two constructs at the base year.

The Impact of the Broadcasting Mistake Management Culture in a Healthy Organization on the Quality of the Personnel Work Life

Today, healthy organizations such as hospital have found out the importance of quality of work life (QWL) of their personnel. QWL direct to increase job satisfaction, improve the quality of services to patient of hospital, and create high performance. One of factors that impact QWL is mistake management culture (MMC) when contribute different organization aspects such as QWL and cover its needs and finally promote job performance. A questionnarie was designed with items involve five-item Likert-type scale items and it distribute samong a sample of 207 nurses of four hospitals that voluntarily participated in research plan in Mashhad city. Two hospitals were private and two hospitals were public. There are significant relationships between MMC, QWL and performance. According to importance of enhancement of QWL and job performance in organizations such as hospital, broadcasting culture of mistake management plays positive role and promotes quality level of work life of employees. Therefore, we can improve job satisfaction by changing and manipulating QWL factors, and thus move toward the development of the organization.

Teaching Nurses Sight Unseen

This study supports best practices in nursing education and the need for cultural competency among faculty members. The purpose of this study was to examine the levels of cultural competency among on-campus Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) faculty compared with those of online BSN faculty. The research used a quantitative, nonexperimental, descriptive, correlational design. The Cultural Diversity Questionnaire for Nurse Educators (CDQ-NE) was e-mailed to 500 BSN faculty at five research sites (N = 222). The instrument included Likert-type scale items organized into the components of cultural competence according to Campinha-Bacote. The lowest levels of cultural competency were among the on-campus group (3.95). Faculty teaching both online and on-campus had the highest levels (4.0). A significant finding indicated that training within the past 5 years in cultural competency reflected higher scores. These findings suggest that some cultural competency training should be mandatory for all BSN faculty, whether it occurs during their orientations or as part of nurse-educator curricula at the graduate levels.

Assessing competencies and training needs of pharmacy staff to deliver chlamydia screening in community pharmacies

Abstract Objective In the UK community pharmacies have become involved in providing chlamydia testing and treatment (CT&T) to young people. Our objective was to ascertain among pharmacy staff their self-reported competencies and training needs prior to implementation of a pharmacy-based CT&T service. Methods Self-complete questionnaires were posted to 166 community pharmacies in Lothian, Scotland. Questions included socio-demographic information and four-point Likert-type scale items addressing self-judged competencies and training needs for the provision of a CT&T service. Each competency item was transformed to a binary variable ‘insufficiently competent’ (comprising responses of ‘not at all’ or ‘somewhat’), and each training need item to a binary variable ‘substantial training need’ (responses of ‘full’ or ‘top-up’ training needed). Results Forty-one per cent of the 235 respondents were pharmacists, 32% technicians and 26% counter assistants. In respect of ‘insufficient’ competency, more than half of all staff responses were thus categorised for four competencies regarding offering and giving instructions for screening (60% to 83%), knowing the signs/symptoms of chlamydia (60%), raising the issue of sexual health (58%) and responding to a request for sexual health information (53%). ‘Substantial training need’ was identified for the majority of respondents, for all but two items, highest rates being for the four inter-communicative competencies: giving guidance on use of the kit, offering test to men, or to women, and advising regarding screening (71% to 83%). For pharmacist-only competencies the highest rates of substantial training need were for clarity regarding medico-legal aspects (Fraser guidelines), criteria for referral, and ability to take a sexual history and to review staff competencies for CT&T service (74% to 83%). Conclusions Insufficient competency with respect to specifics of service procedure was not surprising, given that no training had yet been given and pharmacists and their support staff had not had any practical experience in the provision of the CT&T service. Substantial training need is particularly indicated for inter-communicative aspects specific to sexual health.

The impact of patient knowledge of patient-centered medication label content on quality of life among older adults

BackgroundPrescription drugs have made great contributions to health and quality of life (QOL). However, inappropriate use of drugs may result in just the opposite effect. Older adults often take multiple medications simultaneously and thus are more vulnerable to inappropriate drug use. Knowledge of important aspects of medication use might reduce the risk of inappropriate utilization and improve QOL. ObjectiveTo determine the extent of patient knowledge concerning patient-centered contents of medication labels (PCCMLs) and whether level of patient knowledge is associated with health outcomes. MethodsA survey was administered to members of 6 senior centers in Memphis, TN, USA. Surveys from older adults (65 or older) who were taking at least 1 medication were included in the current analyses (N=287). QOL was measured using the Euroqual EQ-5D and the Visual Analog Scale (EQ-VAS). Older adults reported their knowledge of PCCML on a set of 4 Likert-type scale items concerning the PCCMLs. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, correlation analysis, and linear regression. ResultsStudy participants scored on average 16.20 (standard deviation [SD]=3.41) for knowledge of PCCML. Patient knowledge of PCCML was associated with age (rs=−0.1469, P=.0127), race/ethnicity (F=4.40, P=.0131), education (rs=0.1984, P=.0007), and household income (rs=0.1539, P=.0159). Study participants had an average EQ-5D score of 0.82 (SD=0.16) and EQ-VAS score of 77.80 (SD=15.07). Multivariate linear regression results showed that 1 unit increase in patient knowledge resulted in 0.62 unit increase (P=.017) in EQ-VAS QOL scores after adjusting for the impact of other variables. However, patient knowledge of PCCML did not significantly predict EQ-5D QOL scores (β^=0.002, P=.4633) when all other variables were controlled. ConclusionPatient knowledge of medication use was associated with QOL among older adults. New standardized labels should be designed to improve patient knowledge of PCCML information. Furthermore, providers of medication therapy management should ensure that older adults have a complete knowledge of the PCCML information.

ICTS – new organizational form linkage in the Australian context: Theoretical model and research instrument

Since the publication of the seminal article 'Management in the 1980s' (Leavitt and Whisler, 1958), the relationship between Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and organizations has been one of the most challenging issues for management scholars and researchers. Despite a long tradition of research that has been looking into the relationship between ICTs and organizations, the findings remain inconclusive. In particular, the specific mechanisms by which new information technologies affect and are affected by organizational forms have not been described in any systematic manner. This paper aims to make a contribution to address the above gap in research by developing an instrument and theoretical model that relates ICT and the attributes of new organizational forms (NOFs). Likert-type scale items were used for all scale items. Of the 3770 emails sent to top Australian managers, 312 were completed and returned. An Exploratory Factor Analysis was used to identify the underlying constructs in this research. The research findings provide an instrument whose properties were validated and ready to use in future research.

International Students' Perceptions of Speakers With a Cajun English Dialect1

The present study examined the perceptions of 35 international students who had learned English as a second language (ESL) and who were enrolled in three state universities in Louisiana. Recorded passages consisting of speech samples of two speakers with a Cajun English (CE) dialect and two speakers with a Standard American English (SAE) dialect were presented to the participants. After listening to each recording, the participants were asked to rate several aspects of the speakers by filling out a short survey questionnaire, which was constructed for the purpose of the present study. The questionnaire contained Likert-type scale items that pertained to the speakers' intelligibility of speech, personality (likability), education, income, and employment status. The results suggested that a bias was present among international students in regards to their perceptions of CE speakers' education, income, and employment status, but SAE and CE speakers were viewed almost similarly in terms of intelligibility and likability.

Understanding Negative Impacts of Perceived Cognitive Load on Job Learning Effectiveness: A Social Capital Solution

This study proposes a model explaining how social capital helps ease excessively required mental effort. Although organizational researchers have studied both social capital and cognitive load, no prior research has critically examined the role of social capital in improving individuals' mental load and effort and consequently enhancing job learning effectiveness. This study surveys participants made up of professionals in Taiwan's information technology industry. It measures the constructs with the use of 5-point Likert-type scale items modified from existing literature. The survey data were analyzed with the use of structural equation modeling. Job learning effectiveness is negatively influenced by role ambiguity and role conflict. Time pressure has a positive influence on role ambiguity and role conflict Although the relationship between task complexity and role ambiguity is insignificant, task complexity has a positive influence on role conflict. Because the relationship between network ties and role conflict is insignificant, trust has a negative influence on role conflict. Last, shared vision has a negative influence on role ambiguity. This study provides an example of how social capital can be applied as a useful remedy to ease the negative impact of perceived cognitive load on job learning effectiveness. The negative relationship between shared vision and role ambiguity suggests that a shared vision helps in disseminating organizationally common goals and directions among employees to alleviate individuals' mental efforts in dealing with the ambiguity of their job roles. A firm's management team should take actions to decrease role conflict by strengthening trust among employees.

Development and validation of the corrective feedback self-efficacy instrument

The authors present the Corrective Feedback Self-Efficacy Instrument (CFSI), which measures counselor trainees' self-efficacy for giving corrective feedback in counselor training groups. The CFSI consists of 16 Likert-type scale items in 2 factors: therapeutic efficacy and fears efficacy. The CFSI was developed through a process of replicated factor analysis. Convergent and discriminant validity of factor and total CFSI scores were investigated. Reliability of the CFSI also was established. Uses of the CFSI to increase awareness of counselor trainees' self-efficacy and to plan instruction in counselor training are discussed.

The Relation between Variations in Pitch and Maternal Perceptions of Infant Crying

ZESKIND, PHILIP SANFORD, and MARSHALL, TIMOTHY R. The Relation between Variations in Pitch and Maternal Perceptions of Infant Crying. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1988, 59, 193-196. The relation between aspects of the fundamental frequency (basic pitch) of 16 newborn infant cries and 28 multiparous mothers' perceptions of those cries was examined. Mothers rated the tape-recorded pain cries of 16 newborn infants on 4 7-point Likert-type scale items. 3 measures were extracted from each of the 16 cry sounds by spectrum analysis: mean fundamental frequency, standard deviation of the fundamental frequency, and peak fundamental frequency. All 3 cry features were positively correlated to all 4 rating scale items. Multiple regression analyses showed that the mean fundamental frequency best predicted how urgent, arousing, and distressing the cries were perceived to be. The standard deviation of the fundamental frequency was the best predictor of how sick the infant sounded. These results support the hypothesis that increases in fundamental frequency are related to increases in maternal perceptions of the intensity of the infant's cry, and that different aspects of the basic pitch best convey different messages to the caregiving environment.

Adult Perceptions of Pain and Hunger Cries: A Synchrony of Arousal

180 male and female nonparent adults rated tape-recordings of the initial, middle, and final 10-sec segments of pain and hunger cries on 4 7-point Likert-type scale items describing how urgent, arousing, aversive, and sick the cry segments sounded. Multivariate analyses of variance showed that the final segment of the pain cry was perceived as less urgent, arousing, and aversive than the initial and middle segments. The hunger cry was perceived as increasingly more urgent, arousing, and aversive from the initial to the middle to the final cry segments, with the final segment receiving higher ratings than the final segment of the pain cry. The middle segment of both cries was the most sick sounding. While females were more aroused than males as the hunger cry intensified, and females were less aroused than males as the pain cry subsided, the initial segments of the pain cry were particularly potent stimuli to both males and females. These results suggest that different segments of cries resulting from the same stimulus provide different messages that communicate the presumed level of infant arousal.

The Effects of Within-Group and between-Group Methodologies in the Study of Perceptions of Infant Crying

Recent studies have indicated that various infant cry patterns can be reliably distinguished when directly compared with other infant cry patterns. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of this within-group method of cry presentation (in which listeners are exposed to 2 types of cry patterns) with the effects of a between-group methodology (in which listeners are exposed to only 1 type of infant cry pattern). 4 groups of adult listeners rated the tape-recorded cries of low- and high-risk infants on 4 Likert-type scale items during experimental phases. In phase 1, subjects were exposed to either the cries of low-risk or high-risk infants but not both. In phase 2, subjects were exposed to both low-risk and high-risk infant cries. In phase 3, subjects were exposed to the cries they heard in phase 1. Whereas all scale items differentiated the low- and high-risk infant cries during the within-group analyses of phase 2, all scale items did not differentiate low- and high-risk infant cries during the between-group phase of the experiment. The specific pattern of results indicate that within-group methods of cry presentation accentuate the perceptual distance among cry types and may actually create many reliable differences that would not be found in between-group comparisons.

Student attitudinal inventory for outcome evaluation of adolescent drug abuse prevention programs

This study introduces an evaluation instrument entitled the "High-Risk Student Attitudinal Inventory." It can be used for outcome evaluation in assessing the effectiveness of various primary prevention programs aimed at deterring adolescent drug abuse. This instrument has seven attitudinal syndromes that are theoretically based and are empirically related to student drug involvement. Each attitudinal syndrome is composed of ten Likert-type scale items. The mean Cronbach Alpha coefficient of reliability pertaining to the scales is .83. Criterion-related validity of the scales is established through a known-group method. The groups identified are the current drug users and non-drug users.