The overall aim was to investigate bachelor nursing students’ experiences with simulation as a learning approach conducted under various conditions. Additionally, the aim was to translate and validate questionnaires for the evaluation of simulation in a Norwegian context. Methods: Quantitative and qualitative methods were used. Nursing students responded to three questionnaires after attending either low- or high-fidelity simulation. Data were analyzed with statistics (I). Two evaluation questionnaires were subjected to a principal components analysis (II, III). Data were obtained from nursing students through focus group interviews, and analyzed with a qualitative content analysis (IV). Main findings: Independent of the fidelity level in the simulation and educational level, the students reported satisfaction and that the emphasized features in learning were present. Those who had used a paper/pencil case study were the most satisfied (I). Debriefing was reported to be crucial for learning, but in particular by attending the large groups, also as a stressful and intrusive situation (IV).The Norwegian version of the questionnaire, the Student Satisfaction and Self-Confidence Scale, revealed no stable factor solution (II). The translated version of the Debriefing Experience Scale was shown to hold a good potential for evaluating debriefing, but benefited from reducing the subscales (III). To ensure safety and security were reported to be a prerequisite for learning, with the students requesting a more frequent use of simulation and a higher degree of familiarity with active learning in their program in general (IV). Conclusions: Simulation at all fidelity levels should be used in nursing education. To exploit the potential, the learning approaches should be integrated into the program in general through a systematic and structured building of a learning community. A further validation and testing of the questionnaires in different programs and contexts is needed.

The Boxall Profile (BP) aims at assessing the quality of adaptation of primary school pupils along with their particular difficulties of adaptation, in order to guide teacher interventions in classroom. At this time, the BP's psychometric proprieties have not been studied much. 169 boys and 23 girls ( N = 192) ranging from 6 to 13 years old (M = 9.24 years old, SD = 1.83) were assessed by their teacher using the French versions of the Boxall Profile, the Strenghts and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Teacher Report Form (TRF). Confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis (CFA/EFA) and area under receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) were all performed. The results support the fit of the first level of factorial structure and a good concurrent validity. These results suggest the effectiveness of BP in properly identifying pupils in a problematic situation. However, one has to be cautious when it comes to interpreting given scale's scores to guide the intervention.

The current study examined the psychometric properties of the Physical Activity and Nutrition Self-Efficacy (PANSE) scale. If proven a valid and reliable measure of self-efficacy for weight-loss behaviors, the PANSE scale may be useful in future research involving activity and nutrition for weight loss. This is particularly important given today’s high prevalence of overweight and obesity, which may be curtailed with increased levels of activity and/or improved food-related behaviors. Initial reliability and validity testing was performed using a sample of 71 women low-income in central Texas. The average age of the participants was 24.5 ± 4.75 years; 35.2% were African American, 32.4% were Hispanic, and 32.4% were White. The women completed the 11-item PANSE questionnaire at baseline and at a 7-week follow-up data collection. Test-retest results provided reliability evidence, and there was sufficient evidence of internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.89). Construct validity was established with significant correlations in expected directions with the Self Care Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale, and Decisional Balance Inventory. The predictive validity of the PANSE scale for weight-loss at 7-week follow-up and program drop out was not established. Exploratory factor analyses revealed a 2-factor model for the 11 items. Initial examination provided evidence for the reliability and construct validity of the PANSE scale. Future testing of the scale should to be conducted with other populations to assess the generalizability of the PANSE scale outside of the population studied in the current report. / text

No description available.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: We sought to evaluate the construct validity and factor structure of the Spanish-language version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) among pregnant Peruvian women. METHODS: A cohort of 642 women were interviewed at ≤ 16 weeks of gestation. During interview, we ascertained information about lifestyles, demographics, sleep characteristics, and mood symptoms. Stress induced sleep disturbance, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms were evaluated using the Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test (FIRST), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) assessment scales, respectively. Consistency indices, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, correlations, and logistic regressions were used. RESULTS: Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated a three-factor solution: sleep quality, sleep efficiency, and sleep medication. We observed significantly positive correlations of the PSQI with the FIRST (0.42), the PHQ-9 (0.49), and the GAD-7 (0.46). Poor sleepers (PSQI global score > 5) had significantly increased odds of experiencing stress-induced sleep disturbance (odds ratio, OR = 3.57; 95% CI: 2.40, 5.31), depression (OR = 5.48; 95% CI: 3.58, 8.37), and generalized anxiety disorder (OR = 4.57; 95% CI: 3.08, 6.76). CONCLUSION: The Spanish-language version of the PSQI instrument was found to have good construct validity among pregnant Peruvian women. Consistent with some other studies, the PSQI was found to have a three-factor structure. Further assessment and validation studies are needed to determine whether the three, factor-specific scoring of the PSQI is favored over the PSQI global score in diverse populations.

O presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o desempenho da versão traduzida e adaptada para o português do Short Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Perception Questionnarie - SAAPPQ. O desenho metodológico do estudo é do tipo descritivoexploratório. O instrumento foi aplicado a 235 (92,5%) estudantes de enfermagem de uma faculdade privada da cidade de Fátima do Sul-MS. Os alunos apresentaram atitudes predominantemente negativas em relação ao alcoolista e na satisfação e motivação em trabalhar com alcoolista. No entanto, os graduandos apresentaram atitudes positivas no que diz respeito, a saber, que investigar o consumo de bebida alcoólica dos pacientes faz parte do papel do enfermeiro. Na sub-escala segurança profissional os estudantes apresentaram atitude neutra e na sub-escala compromisso terapêutico atitude negativa. O SAAPPQ apresentou bom índice de confiabilidade com alfa global de 0,8764, variando de 0,7079 a 0,8386. A estrutura fatorial da escala na versão brasileira constitui-se por dois fatores, diferentes da versão original. Concluí-se que a escala SAAPPQ pode ser usada em outros estudos e que a graduação de enfermagem deve reavaliar as práticas de ensino sobre álcool e seus problemas correlatos. / This study aimed to evaluate the performance of translated and adapted into Portuguese of the Short Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Perception Questionnaire - SAAPPQ. The methodological design of the study is descriptive and exploratory. It was administered to 235 (92.5%) nursing students from a private college in the city of Fátima do Sul-MS. The students had predominantly negative attitudes towards alcoholics and satisfaction and motivation in working with addicts. However, the graduates had positive attitudes with to regard, namely, to investigate the alcohol consumption of patients is part of the nurse´s role. In sub-scale security professional students had neutral attitude and in the sub-scale therapeutic commitment they had negative attitude. The SAAPPQ showed good reliability index with alpha of 0.8764, ranging from 0.7079 to 0.8386. The factorial structure of the Brazilian version is constituted by two factors, different from the original version. We concluded that the scale SAAPPQ can be used in other studies and graduate nursing should reconsider the practice of education about alcohol and its related problems.

The measurement of treatment adherence (i.e., the frequency and thoroughness with which a therapist delivers a treatment as designed) is critical to the field of implementation science, as adherence is often considered an indicator of successful implementation. Most existing instruments of treatment adherence are treatment protocol specific; however, this approach is costly, inefficient, and disallows cross-treatment and cross-study comparisons. Thus, there is a need for adherence instruments that can be used across treatment protocols. It has been suggested that an instrument that captures adherence at the practice element level would meet this need, as it would have utility across protocols that share practice elements. The current study examines the extent to which an observational adherence instrument designed to assess the core common practice elements found in individual cognitive-behavioral therapy (ICBT) for youth anxiety (the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Adherence Scale for Youth Anxiety; CBAY-A) can produce scores that can be reliably and validly interpreted across two separate ICBT protocols: Coping Cat (a standard manualized treatment; SMT) and MATCH (a modular manualized treatment; MMT). This study provides initial psychometric data for scores on an SMT subscale (comprised of CBAY-A items found in the SMT protocol) and an MMT subscale (comprised of CBAY-A items found in the MMT protocol) of the CBAY-A. Treatment sessions (n = 359 SMT; n = 243 MMT) from 38 youth participants (n = 22 SMT; n = 16 MMT; M age = 9.84 years, SD = 1.65; 52.6% male, 60.5% Caucasian) in an effectiveness study were independently coded by two coders using the CBAY-A. Inter-rater reliability intraclass correlation coefficients (2,2) for the item scores averaged 0.83 (SD = 0.07) for the SMT group and 0.80 (SD = 0.09) for the MMT group. CBAY-A SMT and CBAY-A MMT subscale scores demonstrated evidence of convergent and discriminant validity via associations with observational instruments of therapist adherence designed specifically for the SMT and MMT protocols, and observational instruments of competence and alliance. Results provide preliminary evidence that the CBAY-A can be effectively used in place of two separate protocol-specific adherence instruments, indicating that it may be a flexible, efficient, and useful tool for capturing adherence to ICBT protocols for youth anxiety in a way that allows for comparisons across treatment protocols and research studies.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the methods currently available to measure the functional outcomes of physiotherapy treatment for low back problems. As a preliminary step, all extant questionnaires were located and evaluated against practical criteria to determine their likely utility in clinical practice. This process identified a large number of questionnaires, however, only six back-specific questionnaires fulfilled the practical criteria for clinical application. Four of these questionnaires were selected for further evaluation along with a generic health status assessment instrument, the SF-36 Health Survey. Current recommendations suggest that a low-back specific and a generic questionnaire are required for comprehensive assessment of the impact of low back problems. The four back-specific questionnaires selected were the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire, the Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale, the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire and the Waddell Disability Index. An evaluation of the literature on the clinimetric properties of these questionnaires revealed that little information was available for the Quebec and Waddell questionnaires and no information was available for any of the questionnaires for a clinical population of people with low back pain seeking physiotherapy treatment in an Australian setting. The primary aim of the research was identify which, if any, of the questionnaires should be recommended for measuring outcomes of physiotherapy treatment for low back pain. Consecutive ambulatory (non-admitted) patients presenting for physiotherapy treatment at three public hospital physiotherapy outpatient departments, three community health services, and four private practices were invited to enter the study. Patients were included if they were seeking treatment for a low back problem, were aged 18 or over, and could read and write English. Subjects completed the questionnaires on two occasions six-weeks apart. One hundred and forty subjects returned the first set of questionnaires, and 106 the second set. The mean age of the sample at pre-test was 51 (SD 17) and ranged from 18 to 89 years. Sixty-six percent were female, 41% were employed and 12% were receiving compensation for their back problem. Duration of the back complaint was more than six weeks for 56% of subjects, and 60% reported five or more previous episodes or continuous pain. Referred pain in the buttock thigh or leg was reported by 70% of subjects. The first aim was to compare the questionnaires for acceptability and comprehensibility. Data quality was high for all the questionnaires (less than 5% missing data). As expected, subjects found the more complex SF-36 Health Survey more difficult to complete than three of the low-back questionnaires. However, less than 10% of subjects found any of the questionnaires more than a little difficult to complete. The next aim was to explore the internal structure and inter-relationships of the low-back questionnaires and the three physical scales of the SF-36 Health Survey (Physical Functioning, Role-Physical and Bodily Pain). Analysis of item-item correlation, item-total correlation and Cronbach�s alpha confirmed that all scales were internally consistent. Factor analysis confirmed item homogeneity (unidimensionality) of all questionnaires except the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire. The questionnaires were significantly intercorrelated, but correlations exceeded .70 only for the Oswestry, Quebec and Waddell questionnaires. The next aim of the research was to compare test-retest reliability of the questionnaires. The Oswestry, Quebec and SF-36 Physical Functioning scale had sufficient reliability and scale width for clinical application. Despite previous reports of high reliability, the Roland-Morris scale was significantly less reliable than several of the other questionnaires. This indicates the importance of establishing the measurement properties of a test in the population or setting in which it will be used. The Waddell Disability Index, and the SF-36 Role-Physical and Bodily Pain scales had insufficient scale width to be useful in clinical practice. More than 15% of respondents had an initial score on these scales that would not allow change to be detected with 90% confidence. The next aim of the research was to compare the responsiveness of the questionnaires. None of the questionnaires was consistently identified as more or less responsive than the others although two methods (effect size and Liang�s standardized response mean) suggested the SF-36 Bodily Pain scale was more responsive than some other questionnaires. A secondary aim of this section was to evaluate the validity of the many available responsiveness indices and a novel �reliable change� method. A �known groups� strategy was used to determine whether the responsiveness index could discriminate between the low-back relevant questionnaires and the SF-36 General Health scale, the scores of which did not change across the retest period. With the exception of the novel �reliable change� method the responsiveness indices were all found to be valid indicators of responsiveness. Guyatt�s Responsiveness Index, effect size and Liang�s standardized response mean discriminated at 95% confidence between the reference scale and all the low-back questionnaires. The standardized response mean, t-test, correlation and ROC methods discriminated between the reference scale and five or six of the seven other questionnaires. Guyatt�s index was recommended as the best of the criterion-based methods, and the effect size the best of the distribution-based methods. The three questionnaires identified as having sufficient reliability and scale width, the Oswestry, Quebec and SF-36 Physical Functioning scale, were next analysed for data fit to a Rasch model. All three questionnaires had good data fit and item function was not affected by time, age, gender or whether or not subjects reported avoiding bending. The final aim of this research was to identify by Rasch analysis items to supplement the SF-36 Physical Functioning scale. The new scale, named the Low-Back SF-36 Physical Functioning18, showed comparable reliability and responsiveness to the SF-36 Physical Functioning scale. Further research is required to establish the measurement properties of the Low-Back SF-36 Physical Functioning18 scale in an independent sample. However, it has the potential to improve the clinical measurement of function by providing clinicians with a single measurement tool for comprehensive assessment of patients with low back pain.

Recent advances in imaging technology have resulted in a proliferation of images across different media. Before it reaches the end user, these signals undergo several transformations, which may introduce defects/artifacts that affect the perceived image quality. In order to design and evaluate these imaging systems, perceived image quality must be measured. This work focuses on analysis of print image defects and characterization of printer artifacts such as banding and graininess by using a human visual system (HVS) based framework. Specifically the work addresses the prediction of visibility of print defects (banding and graininess) by representing the print defects in terms of the orthogonal wavelet and sinusoidal basis functions and combining the detection probabilities of each basis functions to predict the response of the human visual system (HVS). The detection probabilities for basis function components and the simulated print defects are obtained from separate subjective tests. The prediction performance from both the wavelet based and sine based approaches is compared with the subjective testing results .The wavelet based prediction performs better than the sinusoidal based approach and can be a useful technique in developing measures and methods for print quality evaluations based on HVS.

Recent studies have been done to create models that predict the response of the human visual system (HVS) based on how the HVS processes an image. The most widely known of these models is the Gabor model, since the Gabor patterns closely resemble the receptive filters in the human eye. The work of this thesis examines the use of Symlets to represent the HVS, since Symlets provide the benefit of orthogonality. One major problem with Symlets is that the energy is not stable in respective Symlet channels when the image patterns are translated spatially. This thesis addresses this problem by up sampling Symlets instead of down sampling, and thus creating shift invariant Symlets. This thesis then compares the representation of Gabor versus Symlet approach in predicting the response of the HVS to detecting print defect patterns such as banding and graining. In summary we noticed that Symlet prediction outperforms the Gabor prediction thus Symlets would be a good choice for HVS response prediction. We also concluded that for banding defect periodicity and size are important factors that affect the response of the HVS to the patterns. For graining defects we noticed that size does not greatly affect the response of the HVS to the defect patterns. We introduced our results using two set of performance metrics, the mean and median.