scholarly journals The HDR CARE Scale, Inpatient Version: A validated survey instrument to measure environmental affordance for nursing tasks in inpatient healthcare settings

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. e0258815
Author(s):  
Renae K. Rich ◽  
Francesqca E. Jimenez ◽  
Cheryl Bohacek ◽  
Alexandra Moore ◽  
Abigail J. Heithoff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Survey Instrument ◽  
Test Theory ◽  
Response Distribution ◽  
Response Options ◽  
Healthcare Design ◽  
Study Results

Rigorous healthcare design research is critical to inform design decisions that improve human experience. Current limitations in the field include a lack of consistent and valid measures that provide feedback about the role of the built environment in producing desirable outcomes. Research findings about nurses’ efficiency, quality of care, and satisfaction related to inpatient unit designs have been mixed, and there was previously no validated instrument available to quantitatively measure nurses’ ability to work efficiently and effectively in their environment. The objective of this study was to develop, refine, and validate a survey instrument to measure affordance of the care environment to nurse practice, based on various aspects of their work in inpatient units. The HDR Clinical Activities Related to the Environment (CARE) Scale Inpatient Version was developed using item design, refinement, and reliability and validity testing. Psychometric methods from classical test theory and item response theory, along with statistical analyses involving correlations and factor analysis, and thematic summaries of qualitative data were conducted. The four-phase process included (1) an initial pilot study, (2) a content validation survey, (3) cognitive interviews, and (4) a final pilot study. Results from the first three phases of analysis were combined to inform survey scale revisions before the second pilot survey, such as a reduction in the number and rewording of response options, and refinement of scale items. The updated 9-item scale showed excellent internal consistency and improved response distribution and discrimination. The factor analysis revealed a unidimensional measure of nurse practice, as well as potential subscales related to integration, efficiency, and patient care. Within the healthcare design industry, this scale is much needed to generate quantitative and standardized data and will facilitate greater understanding about the aspects of an inpatient healthcare facility that best support nurses’ ability to provide quality patient care.

scholarly journals Time for a Change? A Research Update and Pilot Study Results on Academic Time-Based Decision-Making

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas J. Rupar ◽  
David S. Strong
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
High Stress ◽  
Survey Instrument ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Study Results ◽  
New Instrument

Engineering students in Canada and around the world are facing numerous challenges with their time, including absenteeism from class, surface approach to learning, and high stress levels.  A research study to understand the time management habits of engineering students is ongoing and a pilot study has been completed.  This paper contains an overview of the relevant background theories, the application of these theories to a new survey instrument, and the pilot study used to test and improve this instrument. The new survey instrument on time management and decision making was required as existing instruments published in the literature were considered to be flawed and inadequate for this study.  The new instrument incorporates a decision-making dimension following the think-plan-do models of self-regulated learning theories.  Analysis of this instrument will assume clusters, rather than factors, of time management behaviours to be the basis for grouping individuals. The pilot study was conducted on a number of self-selected graduate engineering students in November 2019.  Participants filled out an online survey and then some volunteered for a think-aloud interview.  Changes resultant from the pilot study analysis included question modifications, Likert scale modifications, and user experience improvements.  The pilot study resulted in an overall improvement to the validity, reliability, and completeness of the survey instrument. The full study is currently being administered to undergraduate engineering students.  The results will be published to help inform the manner in which time management is taught and used by engineering students. 

Towards a Validation of Multiple Features in the Assessment of Emotions

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 202-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Skiffington ◽  
Ephrem Fernandez ◽  
Ken McFarland
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Cognitive Appraisal ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
The Self ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Multiple Features ◽  
Action Tendency ◽  
Intensity Range

This study extends previous attempts to assess emotion with single adjective descriptors, by examining semantic as well as cognitive, motivational, and intensity features of emotions. The focus was on seven negative emotions common to several emotion typologies: anger, fear, sadness, shame, pity, jealousy, and contempt. For each of these emotions, seven items were generated corresponding to cognitive appraisal about the self, cognitive appraisal about the environment, action tendency, action fantasy, synonym, antonym, and intensity range of the emotion, respectively. A pilot study established that 48 of the 49 items were linked predominantly to the specific emotions as predicted. The main data set comprising 700 subjects' ratings of relatedness between items and emotions was subjected to a series of factor analyses, which revealed that 44 of the 49 items loaded on the emotion constructs as predicted. A final factor analysis of these items uncovered seven factors accounting for 39% of the variance. These emergent factors corresponded to the hypothesized emotion constructs, with the exception of anger and fear, which were somewhat confounded. These findings lay the groundwork for the construction of an instrument to assess emotions multicomponentially.

HOW STUDENTS DEFINE THEIR SUCCESS: A RESEARCH STUDY

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Ullrich ◽  
David S. Strong
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Survey Instrument ◽  
Undergraduate Engineering ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
Full Study ◽  
Definition Of Success ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Diverse Groups

How undergraduate engineering students define their success and plan for their future differs notably amongst students. With a push for greater diversity and inclusion in engineering schools, it is valuable to also better understand the differences in these areas among different students to allow institutions to better serve the needs of these diverse groups.  The purpose of this research study is to explore students’ definition of success both in the present and projecting forward 5 to 10 years, as well as to understand to what level students reflect on, and plan for, the future. The proposed survey instrument for the pilot stage of this research includes 56 closed-ended questions and 3 open-ended questions. Evidence for the validity of the research instrument is established through a mixed-method pilot study. This paper will discuss the survey instrument, the pilot study, and outline plans for the full study.

Biotower Pilot Study Results for a Photographic and Specialty Paper Manufacturer

1992 ◽  
Vol 26 (9-11) ◽  
pp. 2109-2112
Author(s):  
J. G. Cleary ◽  
T. J. Boehm ◽  
R. J. Geary
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
New York State ◽  
Cross Flow ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Treatment System ◽  
Salmon River ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Comparable Performance ◽  
Pollutant Discharge

Schoeller Technical Papers, Inc. (Schoeller), which manufactures photographic and other specialty papers, is located in Pulaski, New York. The wastewater treatment system consists of a primary clarifier and two settling lagoons. Secondary treatment using a biotower was proposed to meet the new New York State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) discharge limits for BOD and TSS. The effluent from each basin is discharged directly to the Salmon River, at an approximate average flow of 1.6 million gallons/day (mgd). A biotower pilot study was performed to evaluate the suitability of a biotower treatment process for treating the total effluent from Schoeller's facility. The pilot study was used to select the media for the full-scale biotower and to confirm the design loading for the full-scale biotower, which proceeded in parallel with the pilot study due to the schedule constraints. Two pilot systems were operated to compare a conventional cross-flow and vertical media. Test data were collected to evaluate the performance of each pilot treatment system at a range of loading conditions and to develop the design loading information for the full-scale plant. The pilot units were operated for a period of 10 months. BOD concentrations to the pilot units averaged 58 mg/l with a peak of 210 mg/l. Approximately 80% of the BOD was soluble. BOD loadings averaged 21 lb BOD/day/1,000 cubic feet with a peak of 77 lb BOD/day/1,000 cubic feet. Both pilot units achieved excellent BOD removals exceeding 75%, with average effluent soluble BOD concentration less than 10 mg/l and average effluent TSS concentrations of 12 mg/l. The two media achieved comparable performance throughout most of the pilot study.

scholarly journals Development and Validation of a Faith Scale for Young Children

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 197
Author(s):  
Sungwon Kim
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Christian Education ◽  
Faith Development ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Development And Validation

The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a faith scale for young children. Data were collected from 424 young children, who had not yet entered elementary school, with their parents rating their faith level. Sixty-five preliminary questions were formulated under three domains―knowing, loving, and living—that were based on existing studies related to faith. The questions were reduced to 40 through a content validity test conducted by a seven-member panel. These questions were subsequently refined through pilot study, main survey, and statistical analysis. After exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the scale was finalized, comprising 25 questions that can be categorized into three factors: confessional faith life, missional life, and distinctive life. This scale is expected to measure early childhood faith and prove the effectiveness of Christian education programs on a young child’s faith development.

scholarly journals Symptom Cluster-Matching Antidepressant Treatment: A Case Series Pilot Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 526
Author(s):  
Sławomir Murawiec ◽  
Marek Krzystanek
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Antidepressant Treatment ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Symptom Cluster ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Cluster Matching ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Effectiveness Studies

Despite treating depression with antidepressants, their effectiveness is often insufficient. Comparative effectiveness studies and meta-analyses show the effectiveness of antidepressants; however, they do not provide clear indications as to the choice of a specific antidepressant. The rational choice of antidepressants may be based on matching their mechanisms of action to the symptomatic profiles of depression, reflecting the heterogeneity of symptoms in different patients. The authors presented a series of cases of patients diagnosed with depression in whom at least one previous antidepressant treatment was shown to be ineffective before drug targeted symptom cluster-matching treatment (SCMT). The presented pilot study shows for the first time the effectiveness of SCMT in the different clusters of depressive symptoms. All the described patients obtained recovery from depressive symptoms after introducing drug-targeted SCMT. Once validated in clinical trials, SCMT might become an effective and rational method of selecting an antidepressant according to the individual profile of depressive symptoms, the mechanism of their formation, and the mechanism of drug action. Although the study results are preliminary, SCMT can be a way to personalize treatment, increasing the likelihood of improvement even in patients who meet criteria for treatment-resistant depression.

scholarly journals DNA methylation and behavioral dysfunction in males with 47,XXY and 49,XXXXY: a pilot study

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard S. Lee ◽  
Sophia Q. Song ◽  
Henri M. Garrison-Desany ◽  
Jenny L. Carey ◽  
Patricia Lasutschinkow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
X Chromosome ◽  
Child Behavior Checklist ◽  
Epigenetic Modification ◽  
Cpg Methylation ◽  
Monoamine Oxidase A ◽  
Low Fertility ◽  
X Chromosomes ◽  
Behavioral Dysfunction ◽  
Study Results

Abstract Background Equal dosage of X-linked genes between males and females is maintained by the X-inactivation of the second X chromosome in females through epigenetic mechanisms. Boys with aneuploidy of the X chromosome exhibit a host of symptoms such as low fertility, musculoskeletal anomalies, and cognitive and behavioral deficits that are presumed to be caused by the abnormal dosage of these genes. The objective of this pilot study is to assess the relationship between CpG methylation, an epigenetic modification, at several genes on the X chromosome and behavioral dysfunction in boys with supernumerary X chromosomes. Results Two parental questionnaires, the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), were analyzed, and they showed expected differences in both internal and external behaviors between neurotypical (46,XY) boys and boys with 49,XXXXY. There were several CpGs in AR and MAOA of boys with 49,XXXXY whose methylation levels were skewed from levels predicted from having one active (Xa) and three inactive (Xi) X chromosomes. Further, methylation levels of multiple CpGs in MAOA showed nominally significant association with externalizing behavior on the CBCL, and the methylation level of one CpG in AR showed nominally significant association with the BRIEF Regulation Index. Conclusions Boys with 49,XXXXY displayed higher levels of CpG methylation at regulatory intronic regions in X-linked genes encoding the androgen receptor (AR) and monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), compared to that in boys with 47,XXY and neurotypical boys. Our pilot study results suggest a link between CpG methylation levels and behavior in boys with 49,XXXXY.

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