Development and psychometric study of a simple instrument to assess patient communication and comprehension skills: the AsCkS

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 568-573
Author(s):  
Luis González-De Paz ◽  
Pablo Gálvez-Henández ◽  
María Dolores Navarro-Rubio

Abstract Background Instruments to examine patients’ communication skills are impractical for daily clinical practice in primary health care, and it is assumed that health care professionals are always aware of the communication and comprehension status of patients. Objective To design and examine the psychometric properties of a new questionnaire (AsCkS) to screen patients’ risk of low communication and comprehension skills. Methods Designing the new questionnaire involved: (i) a content validity study to generate a set of items, (ii) administration of a questionnaire in a sample of patients and (iii) study of the psychometric properties using a Rasch probabilistic model. The test probability function was used to detect patients at risk of having low communication and comprehension skills, and the associated factors were studied using multivariate logistic regression. Results Five items were generated and 369 patients screened. In the Rasch analysis, one item was removed due to a lack of goodness-of-fit (Outfit = 3.64). The final set of four items showed good reliability (person separation index = 0.90). Convergent validity was moderate for the health literacy construct (r = 0.53) and low for the patient activation (r = 0.38): 77 patients (20.86%) were at risk of having low communication and comprehension skills. After adjustment, the associated factors were age (p < 0.001) and lower educational level (p < 0.001). Conclusion The AsCkS is a reliable and valid instrument and may be used to detect patients requiring a greater effort by the physician to communicate health care messages.

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Pilar Martínez ◽  
Elena Miró ◽  
Ana I. Sánchez ◽  
María J. Lami ◽  
Germán Prados ◽  
...  

AbstractExcessive attention to pain is a common psychological characteristic among people who suffer from chronic pain. The Pain Vigilance and Awareness Questionnaire (PVAQ) is an internationally accepted tool to assess this feature, although there is no validated version of this measure for Spanish people with fibromyalgia. Since this pain syndrome mainly affects women, the aim of this study was to determine the psychometric properties of the PVAQ in Spanish women with fibromyalgia. A group of 242 women diagnosed with fibromyalgia aged between 20 and 66 years participated in the study. The goodness of fit of several structures of the PVAQ reported in previous studies was compared via confirmatory factor analysis. A two-factor solution (active vigilance and passive awareness) of the 9-item shortened version (PVAQ-9) was identified as the most appropriate (RMSEA = .08, NNFI = .96, CFI = .97, GFI = .87). It showed good reliability (internal consistency α = .82), convergent validity and divergent validity (p < .01). The optimal cutoff point for identifying fibromyalgia women with worse daily functioning was a score of 24.5, with a sensitivity of .71 and a specificity of .75. The relevance of vigilance to pain for clinical research in fibromyalgia is discussed.


2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 255-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Loos ◽  
Reinhold Kilian ◽  
Thomas Becker ◽  
Birgit Janssen ◽  
Harald Freyberger ◽  
...  

Objective: There are presently no instruments available in German language to assess the therapeutic relationship in psychiatric care. This study validates the German version of the Scale to Assess the Therapeutic Relationship in Community Mental Health Care (D-STAR). Method: 460 persons with severe mental illness and 154 clinicians who had participated in a multicenter RCT testing a discharge planning intervention completed the D-STAR. Psychometric properties were established via item analysis, analyses of missing values, internal consistency, and confirmatory factor analysis. Furthermore, convergent validity was scrutinized via calculating correlations of the D-STAR scales with two measures of treatment satisfaction. Results: As in the original English version, fit indices of a 3-factor model of the therapeutic relationship were only moderate. However, the feasibility and internal consistency of the D-STAR was good, and correlations with other measures suggested reasonable convergent validity. Conclusions: The psychometric properties of the D-STAR are acceptable. Its use can be recommended in German-speaking countries to assess the therapeutic relationship in both routine care and research.


2021 ◽  
pp. 106648072110230
Author(s):  
Çiğdem Yavuz Güler

Objective: According to the family systems theory, triangulation is defined as reflecting and conveying the tension between two individuals to a third individual to reduce the existing tension, stress, and anxiety. This study was conducted to adapt the “Triangular Relationship Inventory” to Turkish and to assess psychometric properties. Method: The sample of the study included 337 individuals (234 women and 103 men) aged between 18 and 25 years. The structure validity of the inventory was evaluated with the confirmatory factor analysis and reliability was evaluated with Chronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient, test–retest method, and item analyses. Results: The result showed that the Turkish form of the Triangular Relationship Inventory showed similar psychometric properties to the original inventory. The structure which consists of the balanced, mediator, cross-generational coalition, and scapegoat subdimensions of 24 items displayed acceptable goodness-of-fit values in the Turkish sample with the 0.91 Cronbach's alpha coefficient while the reliability values of the subdimensions changed between 0.86 and 0.91. Considering the convergent validity of the inventory, there was a negative correlation between the triangular relationship and satisfaction with life and the differentiation of self, and a significant positive correlation with depression, anxiety, and stress. Conclusion: The psychometric properties revealed in this study show that the Turkish form of the Triangular Relationship Inventory is a valid and reliable measurement tool that can be used to measure the triangulation levels and roles of the individuals, who are in the Turkish sample and between the ages of 18 and 25 years, within the family system.


2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052098113
Author(s):  
Simon Sawyer ◽  
Glenn Melvin ◽  
Angela Williams ◽  
Brett Williams

Partner abuse (PA) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Health care practitioners regularly encounter patients experiencing PA and require comprehensive education on how to respond. This study describes the creation and validation of a new measure of readiness to encounter patients experiencing PA for health care practitioners and students. Initial item development and content validation were informed by expert feedback. Psychometric properties were assessed using data collected from Australian health care students, using Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Internal consistency, inter-scale correlations, and test–retest analysis were performed. An initial pool of 67 items was reduced to 48 following content validation by 5 experts as a measure of construct validity. A total of n = 926 responses were collected, which were randomly split into two groups to perform a PCA and CFA. The PCA resulted in a 31-item version, which was further reduced to a 27-item version following the CFA, containing four factors. Internal consistency and test–retest analyses demonstrated good reliability. The produced scale is a 27-item measure of readiness to encounter patients experiencing PA, which has demonstrated good psychometric properties with a sample of Australian health care students. Results indicate that self-efficacy and Emotional-readiness are a large component of readiness. The scale may be used to measure the readiness of a cohort, or as a pre and post-intervention measure, and results may provide insight into the educational needs of a cohort.


SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824402098615
Author(s):  
Humaira Bibi ◽  
Syeda Farhana Kazmi

The current study includes Urdu translation and validation of Borderline Personality Features Scale–11 (BPFS-11) in two phases. Phase 1 included forward and back translation of BPFS-11, and Phase 2 included establishment of psychometric properties for BPFS-11. For this purpose, 930 adolescents were selected from different hospitals, schools, and colleges. The reliability value of the scale was .72. Exploratory factor analysis revealed factor structure with four principal dimensions; besides confirmatory factor analysis, goodness-of-fit indices indicated good fit of model to data, and two dimensions of scale and factors showed good values of internal consistency. The obtained value for goodness-of-fit index was .995, for adjusted goodness-of-fit index was .989, for comparative fit index was .998, for incremental fit index was .998, and for root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) value was .019. Good values of composite reliability and convergent validity were measured for both dimensions of the scale. The analysis of criterion-related validity showed significant positive correlation of BPFS-11 with Affective Lability Scale, Deliberate Self-Harm Inventory, and neuroticism scale of Big Five Inventory. Significant differences were found between scores of individuals having borderline personality disorder and scores of normal individuals. The results of the current study indicated that BPFS-11 is short and easily administered diagnostic tool that has good psychometric properties and can be helpful for diagnosis of borderline personality features in adolescents. It can enhance the understanding of the participants regarding the statements of the scale for Urdu natives.


Author(s):  
E. Rodriguez-Ruiz ◽  
M. Campelo-Izquierdo ◽  
A. Estany-Gestal ◽  
A.B. Hortas ◽  
M.S. Rodríguez-Calvo ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 342-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gavin J. Putzer ◽  
Mirka Koro-Ljungberg ◽  
R. Paul Duncan

ABSTRACTObjective: Disaster preparedness has become a health policy priority for the United States in the aftermath of the anthrax attacks, 9/11, and other calamities. It is important for rural health care professionals to be prepared for a bioterrorist attack or other public health emergency. We sought to determine the barriers impeding rural physicians from being prepared for a human-induced disaster such as a bioterrorist attack.Methods: This study employed a qualitative methodology using key informant interviews followed by grounded theory methods for data analysis. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 6 physicians in the state of Florida from federally designated rural areas.Results: The interview participants articulated primary barriers and the associated factors contributing to these barriers that may affect rural physician preparedness for human-induced emergencies. Rural physicians identified 3 primary barriers: accessibility to health care, communication between physicians and patients, and rural infrastructure and resources. Each of these barriers included associated factors and influences. For instance, according to our participants, access to care was affected by a lack of health insurance, a lack of finances for health services, and transportation difficulties.Conclusions: Existing rural organizational infrastructure and resources are insufficient to meet current health needs owing to a number of factors including the paucity of health care providers, particularly medical specialists, and the associated patient-level barriers. These barriers presumably would be exacerbated in the advent of a human-induced public health emergency. Thus, strategically implemented health policies are needed to mitigate the barriers identified in this study.(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2012;6:342–348)


2005 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 651-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon D. Smith ◽  
Shannon B. Dermer ◽  
Randall L. Astramovich

This article outlines special issues related to being a nonheterosexual youth. Information is presented on the sexual development of homosexual youth and their unique challenges. Included are data about the average age of initial awareness and self-identification of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning youth. The average age of awareness of homosexual orientation is between 10 or 11 years, while the average for identifying or self-labeling is ages 13–15. This age range is consistent across studies. The special issues related to a unique sexual development, prejudices associated with being a nonheterosexually oriented youth, typical behavioral outcomes of dealing with discrimination, and major health concerns for this at-risk population are identified. Finally, implications for health care professionals working with these adolescents are outlined.


2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eshrat Ara

The How I Think Questionnaire (HIT-Q; Barriga et al., 2001) is a self-report measure of self-serving cognitive distortions. This study aimed to analyze the psychometric properties of the validated version HIT-16-Q (Ara & Shah, 2015) scores in large sample adolescents. Results showed good reliability of the total HIT-16-Q scores: alpha .83. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) revealed a single factor. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), revealed the better fit for the one-dimensional structural model. Moreover, the HIT-16-Q has good convergent validity.


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