Research Note: Reliability of Self-Report Sickness Absence Data in the Health Service

1993 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Rees ◽  
Cary L Cooper

Rees and Cooper (1990) used self-reports of sickness absence during the previous six months as a dependent measure in a diagnostic survey of stress in one health district. Comparison of self-reports with actual sickness absence showed that it achieved a high level of association (0.95) and can be recommended as an alternative to actual sickness data in studies in which, for whatever reason, actual sickness absence is difficult to obtain.

2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce D. Johnson ◽  
Angela Taylor ◽  
Andrew Golub

This research note addresses the accuracy of arrestees' self-reports of contacts with the criminal justice system as a means of exploring the relative importance of various sources of inaccurate responding. Erroneous self-report of sensitive behaviors has been linked to deception, memory problems, and faulty criterion measures, among other things. However, the existent literature provides limited guidance for investigating the relative importance of these factors in a given study. Further, variations in the amount and types of inaccuracy cannot be distinguished by commonly used summary agreement statistics, such as kappa. These issues were examined using data from the Policing Project, a National Institute of Justice-funded research study designed to explore new means of evaluating police behavior. The project interviewed 892 New York City arrestees during the second half of 1999. Subjects were asked about several forms of criminal justice system contact, and gave informed consent for researchers to obtain their official criminal histories, which were acquired from the state agency as an anonymous data set. A key finding was that the accuracy of arrestee self-reports compared to official criminal histories varied according to specific measures. Agreement regarding arrest in the prior six months was substantial, but other measures were less accurate. Overreporting was about equal to underreporting of criminal justice contacts across several measures. We conclude that arrestee self-reports continue to be valuable for criminological research. While arrestee self-reports may lack the precision and accuracy that criminal justice practitioners might prefer, the limitations of official records contribute substantially to inaccuracies between self-reports and criminal histories.


2006 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 131-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliane Degner ◽  
Dirk Wentura ◽  
Klaus Rothermund

Abstract: We review research on response-latency based (“implicit”) measures of attitudes by examining what hopes and intentions researchers have associated with their usage. We identified the hopes of (1) gaining better measures of interindividual differences in attitudes as compared to self-report measures (quality hope); (2) better predicting behavior, or predicting other behaviors, as compared to self-reports (incremental validity hope); (3) linking social-cognitive theories more adequately to empirical research (theory-link hope). We argue that the third hope should be the starting point for using these measures. Any attempt to improve these measures should include the search for a small-scale theory that adequately explains the basic effects found with such a measure. To date, small-scale theories for different measures are not equally well developed.


2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Quirin ◽  
Regina C. Bode

Self-report measures for the assessment of trait or state affect are typically biased by social desirability or self-delusion. The present work provides an overview of research using a recently developed measure of automatic activation of cognitive representation of affective experiences, the Implicit Positive and Negative Affect Test (IPANAT). In the IPANAT, participants judge the extent to which nonsense words from an alleged artificial language express a number of affective states or traits. The test demonstrates appropriate factorial validity and reliabilities. We review findings that support criterion validity and, additionally, present novel variants of this procedure for the assessment of the discrete emotions such as happiness, anger, sadness, and fear.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Pierre Jago ◽  
Karen R. Dobkins

To appeal to the opposite gender, previous research indicates that men emphasize their wealth, status, and ambition, whereas women emphasize their physical attractiveness. Such behavior seems surprising given previous surveys in which men and women reported these traits to be less important than others such as trustworthiness, intelligence, and warmth. We addressed one potential reason for any disconnect, which is that men’s and women’s beliefs about what the opposite gender prefers are misguided—according to the opposite genders’ self-reports. Using a new method, we asked participants to both self-report the traits they prefer in a romantic partner and to indicate what they imagine the opposite gender prefers. The results reveal striking discrepancies between what people report wanting in a potential partner and what the opposite gender imagines they want. Additionally, women appear to be better at imagining men’s preferences, and we discuss several reasons why this might be the case.


2001 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 4-8
Author(s):  
P. Struthers

This paper describes a situation analysis of the rehabilitation personnel, employed by the state and non-governmental organisations, and the services available for people with disabilities in one health district in Cape Town. The recurrent cost of employing the rehabilitation personnel is analysed to determine how funding is allocated within the district. The results indicate that most expenditure on personnel is at two state institutions in the district, with 76% of the expenditure at the regional psychiatric hospital and its residential facility for people with a profound intellectual disability. The balance - 24% of expenditure - is the cost of employing rehabilitation personnel who provide a district level service. Seventy percent of this district level expenditure is at one special school that accepts 6% of children with disabilities in the district. A high percentage of intellectually disabled children and adults, with or without physical disabilities, do not have access to rehabilitation. There is minimal expenditure on employing rehabilitation personnel at the community heath centre. The only expenditure on community based rehabilitation is provided by the non-governmental organisation. The study demonstrates the inequitable distribution of funding for rehabilitation services within one relatively well-resourced health district and makes recommendations to facilitate change.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Pelle Guldborg Hansen ◽  
Erik Gahner Larsen ◽  
Caroline Drøgemüller Gundersen

Abstract Surveys based on self-reported hygiene-relevant routine behaviors have played a crucial role in policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, using anchoring to test validity in a randomized controlled survey experiment during the COVID-19 pandemic, we demonstrate that asking people to self-report on the frequency of routine behaviors are prone to significant measurement error and systematic bias. Specifically, we find that participants across age, gender, and political allegiance report higher (lower) frequencies of COVID-19-relevant behaviors when provided with a higher (lower) anchor. The results confirm that such self-reports should not be regarded as behavioral data and should primarily be used to inform policy decisions if better alternatives are not available. To this end, we discuss the use of anchoring as a validity test relative to self-reported behaviors as well as viable alternatives to self-reports when seeking to behaviorally inform policy decisions.


Author(s):  
Yu-Hsiang Wu ◽  
Elizabeth Stangl ◽  
Octav Chipara ◽  
Anna Gudjonsdottir ◽  
Jacob Oleson ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is a methodology involving repeated surveys to collect in-situ self-reports that describe respondents' current or recent experiences. Audiology literature comparing in-situ and retrospective self-reports is scarce. Purpose To compare the sensitivity of in-situ and retrospective self-reports in detecting the outcome difference between hearing aid technologies, and to determine the association between in-situ and retrospective self-reports. Research Design An observational study. Study Sample Thirty-nine older adults with hearing loss. Data Collection and Analysis The study was part of a larger clinical trial that compared the outcomes of a prototype hearing aid (denoted as HA1) and a commercially available device (HA2). In each trial condition, participants wore hearing aids for 4 weeks. Outcomes were measured using EMA and retrospective questionnaires. To ensure that the outcome data could be directly compared, the Glasgow Hearing Aid Benefit Profile was administered as an in-situ self-report (denoted as EMA-GHABP) and as a retrospective questionnaire (retro-GHABP). Linear mixed models were used to determine if the EMA- and retro-GHABP could detect the outcome difference between HA1 and HA2. Correlation analyses were used to examine the association between EMA- and retro-GHABP. Results For the EMA-GHABP, HA2 had significantly higher (better) scores than HA1 in the GHABP subscales of benefit, residual disability, and satisfaction (p = 0.029–0.0015). In contrast, the difference in the retro-GHABP score between HA1 and HA2 was significant only in the satisfaction subscale (p = 0.0004). The correlations between the EMA- and retro-GHABP were significant in all subscales (p = 0.0004 to <0.0001). The strength of the association ranged from weak to moderate (r = 0.28–0.58). Finally, the exit interview indicated that 29 participants (74.4%) preferred HA2 over HA1. Conclusion The study suggests that in-situ self-reports collected using EMA could have a higher sensitivity than retrospective questionnaires. Therefore, EMA is worth considering in clinical trials that aim to compare the outcomes of different hearing aid technologies. The weak to moderate association between in-situ and retrospective self-reports suggests that these two types of measures assess different aspects of hearing aid outcomes.


Author(s):  
Gomolemo Mahakwe ◽  
Ensa Johnson ◽  
Katarina Karlsson ◽  
Stefan Nilsson

Anxiety has been identified as one of the most severe and long-lasting symptoms experienced by hospitalized children with cancer. Self-reports are especially important for documenting emotional and abstract concepts, such as anxiety. Children may not always be able to communicate their symptoms due to language difficulties, a lack of developmental language skills, or the severity of their illness. Instruments with sufficient psychometric quality and pictorial support may address this communication challenge. The purpose of this review was to systematically search the published literature and identify validated and reliable self-report instruments available for children aged 5–18 years to use in the assessment of their anxiety to ensure they receive appropriate anxiety-relief intervention in hospital. What validated self-report instruments can children with cancer use to self-report anxiety in the hospital setting? Which of these instruments offer pictorial support? Eight instruments were identified, but most of the instruments lacked pictorial support. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Pediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL™) 3.0 Brain Tumor Module and Cancer Module proved to be useful in hospitalized children with cancer, as they provide pictorial support. It is recommended that faces or symbols be used along with the VAS, as pictures are easily understood by younger children. Future studies could include the adaptation of existing instruments in digital e-health tools.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason A. Randall ◽  
Aiste Guobyte ◽  
Laure Delbecque ◽  
Louise Newton ◽  
Tara Symonds ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Ulcerative Colitis (UC) is a chronic gastrointestinal disease that often presents during one’s most productive years and is characterized by colon inflammation. Key symptoms and impacts in adults are well-known, however, experiences among pediatric populations have not been well documented. The purpose of this study was to understand the health-related quality of life and symptomatic experience of children (2–11 years) living with UC. Methods Qualitative, semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted. Children aged 5–11 years were interviewed, as well as their parents/caregivers in matched dyads. Parents/caregivers of children aged2–4 years were interviewed within a parent/caregiver-only cohort. All participants were recruited from the United States. Interviews were coded using thematic analysis. Results Key symptoms and impacts reflecting the lived experience of UC were identified following thematic analysis, generating a conceptual model. A total of 32 participants (20 parents/caregivers and 12 children) were interviewed. Results identified a substantial burden of UC in children. All children and parents/caregivers reported that they/their child experienced stomach/abdominal pain. Other symptoms discussed by over 75% were blood in stool, diarrhea/loose stools, stool urgency, incomplete evacuation, stool frequency, and feeling gassy/passing gas. The most frequently discussed impacts by over 75% of participants were on emotional and practical aspects, seriously affecting quality of life. Conclusions Qualitative analysis of the interviews identified a substantial burden of UC on children, with a profound impact on their lives. The symptomatic experience is reflective of adults and adolescents. A high level of agreement between parents/caregivers and children was demonstrated regarding the perception of the presence or absence of symptoms. Children aged 8–11 years showed higher levels of agreement with parents/caregivers than did younger children, indicating appropriateness of self-report of symptom data in the 8–11 years age group.


2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 561-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Korhonen ◽  
Ilona Luoma ◽  
Raili K. Salmelin ◽  
Mika Helminen ◽  
Riittakerttu Kaltiala-Heino ◽  
...  

Group-based modeling techniques are increasingly used in developmental studies to explore the patterns and co-occurrence of internalizing and externalizing problems. Social competence has been found to reciprocally influence internalizing and externalizing problems, but studies on its associations with different patterns of these problems are scarce. Using data from a Finnish longitudinal normal population sample, trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems were formed using the Child Behavior Checklist completed by the mother at the child’s age of 4- to 5-years-old, 8- to 9-years-old, and 16- to 17-years-old ( N = 261). The results indicate that adolescent’s self-reported internalizing and externalizing problems based on the Youth Self Report were associated with the trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems. Social competence both in early childhood and in adolescence was poorer among children with chronic internalizing problems and among those with adolescent-onset externalizing problems. One-third of the children who had a chronically high level of internalizing problems had an initially high but decreasing level of externalizing problems, while 33% of the adolescents with adolescent-onset externalizing problems had a chronically high level of internalizing problems. School psychologists are encouraged to screen for internalizing problems from children with behavioral, academic or social problems.


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