Self-reported Interest Research Articles

Accuracy of dialysis medical records in determining patients' interest in and suitability for transplantation

We sought to determine the accuracy of dialysis medical records in identifying patients' interest in and suitability for transplantation. Cluster randomized controlled trial. A total of 167 patients recruited from 23 hemodialysis facilities. Navigators met with intervention patients to provide transplant information and assistance. Control patients continued to receive usual care. Agreement at study initiation between medical records and (i) patient self-reported interest in transplantation and (ii) study assessments of medical suitability for transplant referral. Medical record assessments, self-reports, and study assessments of patient's interest in and suitability for transplantation. There was disagreement between medical records and patient self-reported interest in transplantation for 66 (40%) of the 167 study patients. In most of these cases, patients reported being more interested in transplantation than their medical records indicated. The study team determined that all 92 intervention patients were medically suitable for transplant referral. However, for 38 (41%) intervention patients, medical records indicated that they were not suitable. About two-thirds of these patients successfully moved forward in the transplant process. Dialysis medical records are frequently inaccurate in determining patient's interest in and suitability for transplantation.

Sex differences in visual attention toward infant faces

Parental care and alloparental care are major evolutionary dimensions of the biobehavioral repertoire of many species, including human beings. Despite their importance in the course of human evolution and the likelihood that they have significantly shaped human cognition, the nature of the cognitive mechanisms underlying alloparental care is still largely unexplored. In this study, we examined whether one such cognitive mechanism is a visual attentional bias toward infant features, and if so, whether and how it is related to the sex of the adult and the adult’s self-reported interest in infants. We used eye-tracking to measure the eye movements of nulliparous undergraduates while they viewed pairs of faces consisting of one adult face (a man or woman) and one infant face (a boy or girl). Subjects then completed two questionnaires designed to measure their interest in infants. Results showed, consistent with the significance of alloparental care in human evolution, that nulliparous adults have an attentional bias toward infants. Results also showed that women’s interest in and attentional bias towards infants were stronger and more stable than men’s. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that, due to their central role in infant care, women have evolved a greater and more stable sensitivity to infants. The results also show that eye movements can be successfully used to assess individual differences in interest in infants.

Consumer demand for low-alcohol wine in an Australian sample

Background: The aim of this paper is to inform wine producers and marketers of those in the population who are interested in low-alcohol wine by describing the results of an Australian survey. Method: In the present study, 851 adult wine consumers completed an online questionnaire on their purchasing and consumption of wine, demographics, knowledge, and reasons for consuming wine. Reasons for consumption were defined using Brunner and Siegrist’s validated model. Self-reported interest in low-alcohol wine was used to determine the likely maximum possible market size. Results: The majority of respondents considered “low-alcohol wine” to contain around 3%–8% alcohol. Results indicated that those most likely to purchase low-alcohol wine were female and those who drink wine with food. Those who drank wine more frequently showed interest in wine sold in known-dose quantities, such as one standard drink. Reasons for preferring a low-alcohol wine included driving after drinking, to lessen the adverse effects of alcohol, and to consume more without the effects of a higher-alcohol wine. Finally, results pointed to the importance of taste as a driver of consumption. Conclusion: This is the first study to define the opportunity market for low-alcohol wine in Australia agnostic to intervening variables, thus defines the likely upper limit. Further, we showed what consumers currently define as low alcohol. Both of these findings allow wine companies to make a decision on the profitability of the low-alcohol market in Australia.

Peer Health Education in Haiti’s National Penitentiary

This field report describes Health through Wall's experience working in the largest men's prison in Haiti. Though there have been many reports of prison peer health education programs, this field report further describes how peers can increase the (self-reported) interest and uptake of HIV testing. More than 400 anonymous surveys were collected. Preliminary results indicate that the peers had a significant impact on self-reported interest in taking the HIV test.

“We're Off to Replace the Wizard”: Lessons from a Collaborative Group Project Assignment

AbstractThis article examines the effectiveness of a collaborative group learning project for teaching a core competency in comparative politics: constitutional structures. We use a quasi-experimental design and propensity score matching to assess the value of a constitutional writing group project and presentation. The results provide strong evidence that these learning tools are highly valuable for teaching abstract concepts. Students who participated in the project scored significantly higher on a short series of questions in final exams given several weeks after the completion of the group project. Somewhat paradoxically, the project increased competency but did not affect student self-reported interest in the subject matter. The challenges and improvements that can be made for the use these types of learning tools concludes the article.

Fostering critical thinking, reasoning, and argumentation skills through bioethics education.

Developing a position on a socio-scientific issue and defending it using a well-reasoned justification involves complex cognitive skills that are challenging to both teach and assess. Our work centers on instructional strategies for fostering critical thinking skills in high school students using bioethical case studies, decision-making frameworks, and structured analysis tools to scaffold student argumentation. In this study, we examined the effects of our teacher professional development and curricular materials on the ability of high school students to analyze a bioethical case study and develop a strong position. We focused on student ability to identify an ethical question, consider stakeholders and their values, incorporate relevant scientific facts and content, address ethical principles, and consider the strengths and weaknesses of alternate solutions. 431 students and 12 teachers participated in a research study using teacher cohorts for comparison purposes. The first cohort received professional development and used the curriculum with their students; the second did not receive professional development until after their participation in the study and did not use the curriculum. In order to assess the acquisition of higher-order justification skills, students were asked to analyze a case study and develop a well-reasoned written position. We evaluated statements using a scoring rubric and found highly significant differences (p<0.001) between students exposed to the curriculum strategies and those who were not. Students also showed highly significant gains (p<0.001) in self-reported interest in science content, ability to analyze socio-scientific issues, awareness of ethical issues, ability to listen to and discuss viewpoints different from their own, and understanding of the relationship between science and society. Our results demonstrate that incorporating ethical dilemmas into the classroom is one strategy for increasing student motivation and engagement with science content, while promoting reasoning and justification skills that help prepare an informed citizenry.

Delaying progression to type 2 diabetes among high-risk Spanish individuals is feasible in real-life primary healthcare settings using intensive lifestyle intervention

To assess the feasibility and effectiveness of an active real-life primary care lifestyle intervention in preventing type 2 diabetes within a high-risk Mediterranean population. A prospective cohort study was performed in the setting of Spanish primary care. White-European individuals without diabetes aged 45-75 years (n = 2,054) were screened using the Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC) and a subsequent 2 h OGTT. Where feasible, high-risk individuals who were identified were allocated sequentially to standard care, a group-based or an individual level intervention (intensive reinforced DE-PLAN [Diabetes in Europe-Prevention using Lifestyle, Physical Activity and Nutritional] intervention). The primary outcome was the development of diabetes according to WHO criteria. Analyses after 4-year follow-up were performed based on the intention-to-treat principle with comparison of standard care and the combined intervention groups. The standard care (n = 219) and intensive intervention (n = 333) groups were comparable in age (62.0/62.2 years), sex (64.4/68.2% women), BMI (31.3/31.2 kg/m(2)), FINDRISC score (16.2/15.8 points), fasting (5.3/5.2 mmol/l), 2 h plasma glucose (7.1/6.9 mmol/l) and self-reported interest to make lifestyle changes at baseline. Diabetes was diagnosed in 124 individuals: 63 (28.8%) in the standard care group and 61 (18.3%) in the intensive intervention group. During a 4.2-year median follow-up, the incidences of diabetes were 7.2 and 4.6 cases per 100 person-years, respectively (36.5% relative risk reduction, p < 0.005). The number of participants needed to be treated by intensive intervention for 4 years to reduce one case of diabetes was 9.5. Intensive lifestyle intervention is feasible in a primary care setting and substantially reduces diabetes incidence among high-risk individuals. ClinicalTrial.gov NCT01519505. Commission of the European Communities, Institute of Health Carlos III, Spanish Ministry of Health and Department of Health, Generalitat de Catalunya.

Looking through the Same Eyes? Do Teachers’ Participation Ratings Match with Ratings of Students with Autism Spectrum Conditions in Mainstream Schools?

To create an inclusive classroom and act accordingly, teachers' understanding of the experiences of participation of students with autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) is crucial. This understanding may depend on the teachers' professional experiences, support and personal interests. The aim of the present questionnaire study was to investigate how well the teachers' ratings of their students with ASCs' perception of participation matched with the students' own ratings. Furthermore, possible correlations between the accuracy of teachers' ratings and the teachers' self-reported professional experience, support (including support-staff), and personal interest were investigated. Teachers' ratings were also used to examine how their understandings correlated with classroom actions. The agreements between teachers' and students' ratings were moderate to high, and the ability to attune to the students' perception of participation was not affected by the presence of a support-staff. The teachers' personal interest in teaching students with ASC correlated with their accuracy, suggesting that this is a factor to consider when planning for successful placements in mainstream schools. Teachers' understandings of the students with ASCs' perception of being bullied or unpopular correlated with implementation of activities to improve the attitudes of classmates, but not with actions to enhance social relations for the students with ASC.

Assessment of Response to Mindfulness Meditation: Meditation Breath Attention Scores in Association with Subjective Measures of State and Trait Mindfulness and Difficulty Letting Go of Depressive Cognition

How best to operationalize the mindfulness construct requires further research. In two related studies, we examined undergraduates’ self-reported ability to maintain their attention toward the process of their breathing during 10- and 15-min practices of mindful breath meditation, referred to as “Meditation Breath Attention Scores” (MBAS). MBAS were positively correlated with self-reported interest in and awareness of the breath during both 10- and 15-min meditations and negatively correlated with self-reported difficulties maintaining attention toward breathing (i.e., mind wandering) during the 15-min meditation. MBAS were not positively correlated with the Toronto Mindfulness Scale (TMS) measures of mindful “decentering” and “curiosity.” In study 2 but not study 1, MBAS were positively correlated with the five-factor mindfulness trait “Acting with Awareness.” Secondary analyses replicated an association between measures of trait mindfulness and trait difficulty letting go of depressive thoughts, although MBAS and the TMS measures were unrelated with trait difficulty letting go of depressive thoughts. Future research directions are discussed.

Effects of Text and Hypertext Structures on User Interest and Understanding of Science and Technology

An experiment ( N = 301) manipulated two news stories about science and technology to investigate effects of text and link structures on interest and comprehension. A 2 (Text) × 2 (Link) factorial design included inverted pyramid stories versus a linear narrative. Dependent variables included self-reported interest plus situational understanding. In support of construction—integration theory, the highest interest and understanding scores occurred when the linear (narrative) text structure was read with linear links. Surprisingly, interest and understanding scores placed second for matched nonlinear text and nonlinear links. Mismatched text and links for either condition consistently resulted in poor understanding.

General practitioner attitudes to prescribing hepatitis C antiviral therapy in a community setting

There is a growing debate about the prescription of hepatitis C virus (HCV) antiviral therapies within a community setting in Australia. This study aimed to identify interest and confidence among general practitioners (GPs) in prescribing HCV antiviral therapy in a community setting. Data from 580 GPs who responded to a cross-sectional population-based survey were analysed to measure: self-reported interest and confidence in initiating HCV antiviral therapy; and/or prescribing maintenance antiviral therapy; and self-perceived education needs about HCV antiviral therapy. Forty-two percent of respondents indicated they would be interested in prescribing HCV antiviral therapy. Most were not confident to initiate therapy (80%). Higher proportions indicated that they would be more confident in prescribing maintenance therapy (35%) rather than initiating (7%) therapy (z=10.5, P<0.001). Confidence in prescribing was related to a higher caseload of patients with HCV (P=0.001) and being a HIV community-based prescriber (P=0.002). Fifty-three percent of respondents expressed an interest in education about HCV antiviral therapy. The initial step to recruit potential primary care prescribers of HCV antiviral therapies should be to develop an integrated education program. Recruitment to this program might be most efficient from GPs with a high caseload of patients with HCV.

The Accuracy of Instructor Perceptions of Student Interest and Learning: An Exploratory Study

Instructors adjust pace, methods, and other aspects of instruction based on their perceptions of student interest and learning. The current study is an exploratory investigation of the congruence between faculty and student perceptions within a single class session. The study examined the degree to which faculty could predict each student's self-reported interest, perceived learning and actual learning. Overall, instructors are more accurate in reading their students' level of interest than their perceived or actual learning. There is, however, great inconsistency between faculty in their ability to accurately predict interest and learning. Personal characteristics of the instructor may significantly impact predictive accuracy. Results suggest that faculty should assess the accuracy of their own student perceptions in the classroom.

Influence of curriculum reform: An analysis of student mathematics achievement in Mainland China

This study investigated curriculum influences on student mathematics achievement by following two groups of students from fifth to sixth grade that were taught either the reformed curriculum or the conventional curriculum. Analyses with three-level modeling were conducted to examine learning outcomes of the students who were assessed three times over a period of 18 months. Achievement was measured with regard to computation, routine problem solving, and complex problem solving. Affective aspects included self-reported interest in learning mathematics, classroom participation, views of the nature of mathematics, and views of learning mathematics. The results showed overall improved performance among all the students over the time on computation, routine problem solving, and complex problem solving but not on the affective measures. There were differentiated patterns of performance between the groups. On the initial assessment, the reform group performed better than the non-reform group on calculation, complex problem solving, and indicated higher interest in learning mathematics. The two groups did not differ on the other achievement and affective measures at the first time of assessment. There was no significant difference in growth rate between the groups on the cognitive and affective measures except that the non-reform group progressed at a faster pace on calculation. Therefore, the non-reform group outperformed the reform group on computation at the third (last) assessment. These results are discussed with respect to the possible influence of the curriculum on student learning.

Fictitious Issues Revisited: Political Interest, Knowledge and the Generation of Nonattitudes

It has long been suspected that, when asked to provide opinions on matters of public policy, significant numbers of those surveyed do so with only the vaguest understanding of the issues in question. In this article, we present the results of a study which demonstrates that a significant minority of the British public are, in fact, willing to provide evaluations of non-existent policy issues. In contrast to previous American research, which has found such responses to be most prevalent among the less educated, we find that the tendency to provide ‘pseudo-opinions’ is positively correlated with self-reported interest in politics. This effect is itself moderated by the context in which the political interest item is administered; when this question precedes the fictitious issue item, its effect is greater than when this order is reversed. Political knowledge, on the other hand, is associated with a lower probability of providing pseudo-opinions, though this effect is weaker than that observed for political interest. Our results support the view that responses to fictitious issue items are not generated at random, via some ‘mental coin flip’ . Instead, respondents actively seek out what they consider to be the likely meaning of the question and then respond in their own terms, through the filter of partisan loyalties and current political discourses.

Self-reported cardiac risks and interest in risk modification among volunteer firefighters.

Self-reported cardiac risks and interest in risk modification among volunteer firefighters.

Self-reported cardiac risks and interest in risk modification among volunteer firefighters: a survey-based study.

Coronary heart disease causes approximately 45% of firefighter deaths annually. Although firefighters have clinically significant cardiac risks, a paucity of research and data exists. To evaluate firefighters' cardiac risk factors as well as their motivation to resolve these risk factors. During a 3-month period, volunteer firefighters representing the 79 fire departments serving Nassau and Suffolk counties in Long Island, NY, were asked to complete a nonvalidated, 19-item questionnaire regarding their health habits, medical history, and demographics. A total of 730 surveys were returned among a potential study population of 20,590 volunteer firefighters. More than three-quarters of respondents met the criteria for being overweight or obese, and nearly 40% reported having high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or both. Most respondents expressed at least some interest in attending a fire department-sponsored health lecture and participating in a fitness program. Firefighters expressed desire to learn more about risk factor modifications and have fire departments take a more active role in helping firefighters improve their health. The effectiveness of resources and intervention programs should be assessed.

Compromised sensitivity to monetary reward in current cocaine users: An ERP study

We studied modulation of the P300 by monetary reward expected to be received on a sustained attention task in 18 individuals with current cocaine use disorders (CUD) and 18 control subjects. Results in the controls revealed sensitivity to money as measured with P300 amplitude and speed of behavioral response and their intercorrelations. In contrast, despite generally faster P300 waveforms and higher self-reported interest in the task, individuals with CUD did not display these responses to money versus nonreward; at the behavioral level, this impairment correlated with frequency of recent cocaine use. These preliminary results suggest a compromised sensitivity to a secondary reinforcer in CUD. This deficit, which needs to be replicated in larger samples of people with currently active versus abstaining CUD, may underlie the compromised ability to advantageously modify behavior in response to changing inner motivations and environmental contingencies.

Use of Satiation Therapy in the Treatment of Adolescent-Manifest Sexual Interest in Male Children

Satiation therapy was employed as an adjunctive therapy in the residential treatment of a 19-year-old male sexual offender with treatment-refractory sexual interest in prepubescent male children. Satiation therapy was administered on a 14-day cycle according to an “A-B-A-B” treatment design. Self-reported sexual interest, sexual fantasy, and emotion data were collected three times daily over the course of 64 days. Results support the effectiveness of the intervention in differentially reducing sexual interest in young males relative to interest in male peers. Concomitantly, the client evidenced a shift toward the predominance of sexual fantasies of male peers over those involving male children. Experienced anger proved to be a predictor of relative sexual interest in male children. Analyses suggested that diurnal changes in mood, sexual interest, and sexual fantasy made him more vulnerable to sexual acting-out in the evening or night. Implications for relapse prevention planning are discussed.

Field Test of an Epidemiology Curriculum for Middle School Students

The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a middle school epidemiology curriculum called Detectives in the Classroom. The curriculum presents epidemiology as the science of public health, using health-related issues that capture the interest of young students and help prepare them to make evidence-based health-related decisions. The curriculum was field tested among seventh-grade urban students using a quasi-experimental design. Analysis of covariance of pre- and post-test scores examined five outcomes, including students' perceptions of their abilities in science as inquiry, scientific literacy, and knowledge about five enduring epidemiologic understandings; their self-reported interest in science, and assessment of students' epidemiological reasoning ability. The 378 experimental students, compared to 620 controls, had generally higher post-test improvements in epidemiology-related outcomes and smaller increases in the other measures. A dose-response was suggested by higher scores among students exposed to more than 10 lessons. Strengths of this evaluation include a large sample and availability of data to account for differences in demographic and school performance variables. Limitations of this evaluation include randomization by school as opposed to student, the relatively short-term and generally self-reported outcomes, and inconsistencies in proportion of the curriculum actually taught. The findings offer encouragement about the potential for Detectives in the Classroom to improve students' perceptions of their science abilities and scientific literacy, their interest in science and their abilities in basic epidemiologic reasoning. Further tests of this and other epidemiology curricula are needed to respond to the growing interest in teaching public health science to younger students. And while it is important to test near-term impacts, an additional challenge from a curriculum evaluation stand-point will be to follow students over several years to examine subsequent choices concerning selected courses, college majors, and career paths.

Influence of tumor type, disease status, and patient age on self-reported interest regarding participation in cancer clinical trials

6100 Background: There is limited data available regarding the reasons cancer patients decide to enter clinical trials. Methods: To explore this issue, aggregate responses to the question, “Are you interested in learning about clinical trials for your condition?” obtained from &gt; 115,000 cancer patients (or their families) who entered data into one of several proprietary decision-support programs embedded within approximately 100 cancer-related Internet sites, were analyzed. Results: The proportion of patients (or their families) who expressed interest in learning of the availability of clinical trials ranged from as low as 21% (endometrial and cervix cancer patients &gt; 80 years old; n=178) to as high as 85% (recurrent ovarian cancer patients, aged 51–60; n=842). Patients &gt; 80 years old, regardless of sex, tumor type, or disease status, were substantially less likely to desire such information. Patients with self-declared more “serious conditions” (e.g., metastatic breast cancer [71%; n=5,444], recurrent prostate cancer [70%; n=4,121]), and those with cancers widely known to have a poor prognosis (e.g., non-small cell lung cancer [75%; n=23,298]), were more likely to request data on trials, than those with an overall more “favorable” prognosis (e.g., newly diagnosed prostate cancer [46%; n=21,348]). There were no observed differences in interest between men and women with similar conditions. Conclusion: In this large data base, major differences in self-expressed interest regarding availability of clinical trails were observed. Particularly notable were the reduced interest among the very elderly, and the increased interest by patients with the most serious cancer-related conditions. [Table: see text]