Quality and usability of clinical assessments of static standing and sitting posture: A systematic review

Author(s):  
Kees H. Woldendorp ◽  
Jonas F.E. Kleinbergen ◽  
Anne M. Boonstra ◽  
Antoine W. de Schipper ◽  
J. Hans Arendzen ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: A validated method to assess sitting and standing posture in a clinical setting is needed to guide diagnosis, treatment and evaluation of these postures. At present, no systematic overview of assessment methods, their clinimetric properties, and usability is available. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to provide such an overview and to interpret the results for clinical practice. METHODS: A systematic literature review was performed according to international guidelines. Two independent reviewers assessed risk of bias, clinimetric values of the assessment methods, and their usability. Quality of evidence and strength of recommendations were determined according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation working group (GRADE). RESULTS: Out of 27,680 records, 41 eligible studies were included. Thirty-two assessment instruments were identified, clustered into five categories. The methodological quality of 27 (66%) of the articles was moderate to good. Reliability was most frequently studied. Little information was found about validity and none about responsiveness. CONCLUSIONS: Based on a moderate level of evidence, a tentative recommendation can be made to use a direct visual observation method with global posture recorded by a trained observer applying a rating scale.

2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-178
Author(s):  
Sandra M. da S. S. Oliveira ◽  
Débora C. Fernandes ◽  
Fermino F. Sisto

This study assessed the quality of the items of the School Anxiety Inventory using the Rating-Scale Rasch model. The Inventory was administered to 253 grade school pupils, ranging in age from 9 to 12 yr. ( M = 10.2 yr., SD = 0.98); most were girls (52.8%). The results showed that the items and participants adequately fit the Rasch model. The average anxiety of these children was 0.32 logits ( SD = 1.60). The inventory items revealed good reliability (Item Reliability Index = 0.98; Cronbach's α = .74), and the fit indicators for the response categories were adequate for 50% of the items, while the other items revealed dichotomous responses. No item functioned differentially for boys and girls. The psychometric properties of the inventory were good enough to encourage plans for further development.


Hand ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 715-719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Hugo Villafañe ◽  
Raquel Cantero-Tellez ◽  
Kristin Valdes ◽  
Federico Giuseppe Usuelli ◽  
Pedro Berjano

Background: Conservative treatments are commonly performed therapeutic interventions for the management of carpometacarpal (CMC) joint osteoarthritis (OA). Physical and occupational therapies are starting to use video-based online content as both a patient teaching tool and a source for treatment techniques. YouTube is a popular video-sharing website that can be accessed easily. The purpose of this study was to analyze the quality of content and potential sources of bias in videos available on YouTube pertaining to thumb exercises for CMC OA. Methods: The YouTube video database was systematically searched using the search term thumb osteoarthritis and exercises from its inception to March 10, 2017. Authors independently selected videos, conducted quality assessment, and extracted results. Results: A total of 832 videos were found using the keywords. Of these, 10 videos clearly demonstrated therapeutic exercise for the management of CMC OA. In addition, the top-ranked video found by performing a search of “views” was a video with more than 121 863 views uploaded in 2015 that lasted 12.33 minutes and scored only 2 points on the Global Score for Educational Value rating scale. Conclusions: Most of the videos viewed that described conservative interventions for CMC OA management have a low level of evidence to support their use. Although patients and novice hand therapists are using YouTube and other online resources, videos that are produced by expert hand therapists are scarce.


1997 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 199-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Tuynman-Qua ◽  
F de Jonghe ◽  
S.P. McKenna

SummaryThe joint development of the Dutch and English versions of the Quality of Life in Depression Scale (QLDS) is described. The QLDS is based on the needs model of quality of life developed by Hunt and McKenna. The scale has good reliability and internal consistency. Test-retest correlation coefficients were 0.94 and 0.87 in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, respectively. Internal consistency alpha-coefficients were 0.95 and 0.92, respectively. The validity of the scale is highly acceptable. The QLDS was shown to correlate relatively highly with established measures of well-being, and scores obtained with the measure were related to severity of depression as assessed by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. The QLDS was shown to be responsive to change in an open study with fluoxetine in 540 patients with major depression. The scale has wide applicability and has been shown to be user-friendly, both for respondents and administrators. It has been, or is in the process of being, tested for reliability and validity in the following additional countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Morocco, Spain and the United States.


SAGE Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824401882449
Author(s):  
Joana R. Casanova ◽  
Leandro S. Almeida ◽  
Francisco Peixoto ◽  
Rui-Bártolo Ribeiro ◽  
João Marôco

Academic expectations play a significant role in the quality of student adaptation and academic success. Previous research suggests that expectations are a multidimensional construct, making it crucial to test the measures used for this important characteristic. Because assessment of student adaptation to higher education comprises a multitude of personal and contextual variables, including expectations, shortened versions of assessment instruments are critical. In this article, confirmatory factor analysis was used to obtain a short version of the Academic Perceptions Questionnaire–Expectations (APQ-E). Participants were 3,017 first-year Portuguese college students. The results support the use of a shorter version of 24 items, distributed over six dimensions, with good reliability and validity.


2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 367-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura D. Seligman ◽  
Erin F. Swedish ◽  
Jason P. Rose ◽  
Jessica M. Baker

Abstract. The current study examined the validity of two self-report measures of social anxiety constructed using social comparative referent points. It was hypothesized that these comparison measures would be both reliable and valid. Results indicated that two different comparative versions – one invoking injunctive norms and another invoking descriptive norms – showed good reliability, excellent internal consistency, and acceptable convergent and discriminant validity. The comparative measures also predicted positive functioning, some aspects of social quality of life, and social anxiety as measured by an independent self-report. These findings suggest that adding a comparative reference point to instructions on social anxiety measures may aid in the assessment of social anxiety.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Li ◽  
Jingmin Ding ◽  
Yishan Wang ◽  
Chengyao Tang ◽  
Puhong Zhang

BACKGROUND There are an increasing number of mobile applications that provide dietary guidance in supporting healthy lifestyle and disease management. However, the characteristics of these nutrition-related apps are not well analyzed. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate the functionality and quality of nutrition-related apps in China. METHODS Mobile apps providing dietary guidance were screened in Chinese iOS and android app stores using stepwise searching criteria in November 2017. Primary review was conducted by extracting information from the description of apps. Free apps that contain all the information of diet and nutrition, with the last update after 1st Jan 2016 were downloaded for further analysis on the nutritional functionality features based on the framework of Chinese Dietary Guidelines and on the market related features as well. The user version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale (uMARS) was used to assess the quality of apps. RESULTS Among the 44 downloaded nutrition-related apps screened from 628 apps with dietary guidance content, only 11(25%) were aimed exclusively for dietary guidance, the others were aimed for fitness guidance (17, 39%), disease management (11, 25%) and maternal health (5, 11%) respectively. The nutritional functionalities of the 44 apps included nutritional information enquiry (40, 91%), nutrition education (35, 80%), food record (34, 77%), diet analysis (34, 77%), and personalized recipes (21, 48%). Twelve out of 44 apps contained all of the above five nutrition related functionalities. The diet analysis and suggestions were mainly focused on energy (33/44, 75%), less on other factors like dietary structure (10/44, 23%). About 96% (42/44) of the apps provided social communication functionality and 59% (26/44) of the apps supported user incentives. Eight out of 44 apps (18%) also applied intelligent recognition technology. Using 5-point uMARS as scales of quality, the median scores of the 44 apps was 3.6 (IQR = 0.7). CONCLUSIONS Most nutrition-related apps are developed in the service of health management other than for dietary guidance exclusively. Although basic energy balance theory was generally applied, the nutritional functionality of the nutrition-related apps is relatively limited and not individualized. More efforts should be taken to integrate with the scientific nutritional knowledge and innovative technology in developing an app followed with complete and personalized dietary guidance.


Author(s):  
Yannik Terhorst ◽  
Paula Philippi ◽  
Lasse Sander ◽  
Dana Schultchen ◽  
Sarah Paganini ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Mobile health apps (MHA) have the potential to improve health care. The commercial MHA market is rapidly growing, but the content and quality of available MHA are unknown. Consequently, instruments of high psychometric quality for the assessment of the quality and content of MHA are highly needed. The Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) is one of the most widely used tools to evaluate the quality of MHA in various health domains. Only few validation studies investigating its psychometric quality exist with selected samples of MHAs. No study has evaluated the construct validity of the MARS and concurrent validity to other instruments. OBJECTIVE This study evaluates the construct validity, concurrent validity, reliability, and objectivity, of the MARS. METHODS MARS scoring data was pooled from 15 international app quality reviews to evaluate the psychometric properties of the MARS. The MARS measures app quality across four dimensions: engagement, functionality, aesthetics and information quality. App quality is determined for each dimension and overall. Construct validity was evaluated by assessing related competing confirmatory models that were explored by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). A combination of non-centrality (RMSEA), incremental (CFI, TLI) and residual (SRMR) fit indices was used to evaluate the goodness of fit. As a measure of concurrent validity, the correlations between the MARS and 1) another quality assessment tool called ENLIGHT, and 2) user star-rating extracted from app stores were investigated. Reliability was determined using Omega. Objectivity was assessed in terms of intra-class correlation. RESULTS In total, MARS ratings from 1,299 MHA covering 15 different health domains were pooled for the analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed a bifactor model with a general quality factor and an additional factor for each subdimension (RMSEA=0.074, TLI=0.922, CFI=0.940, SRMR=0.059). Reliability was good to excellent (Omega 0.79 to 0.93). Objectivity was high (ICC=0.82). The overall MARS rating was positively associated with ENLIGHT (r=0.91, P<0.01) and user-ratings (r=0.14, P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS he psychometric evaluation of the MARS demonstrated its suitability for the quality assessment of MHAs. As such, the MARS could be used to make the quality of MHA transparent to health care stakeholders and patients. Future studies could extend the present findings by investigating the re-test reliability and predictive validity of the MARS.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Shah ◽  
F. M. Ali ◽  
A. Y. Finlay ◽  
M. S. Salek

Abstract Background A person’s chronic health condition or disability can have a huge impact on the quality of life (QoL) of the whole family, but this important impact is often ignored. This literature review aims to understand the impact of patients' disease on family members across all medical specialities, and appraise existing generic and disease-specific family quality of life (QoL) measures. Methods The databases Medline, EMBASE, CINHAL, ASSIA, PsycINFO and Scopus were searched for original articles in English measuring the impact of health conditions on patients' family members/partner using a valid instrument. Results Of 114 articles screened, 86 met the inclusion criteria. They explored the impact of a relative's disease on 14,661 family members, mostly 'parents' or 'mothers', using 50 different instruments across 18 specialities including neurology, oncology and dermatology, in 33 countries including the USA, China and Australia. These studies revealed a huge impact of patients' illness on family members. An appraisal of family QoL instruments identified 48 instruments, 42 disease/speciality specific and six generic measures. Five of the six generics are aimed at carers of children, people with disability or restricted to chronic disease. The only generic instrument that measures the impact of any condition on family members across all specialities is the Family Reported Outcome Measure (FROM-16). Although most instruments demonstrated good reliability and validity, only 11 reported responsiveness and only one reported the minimal clinically important difference. Conclusions Family members' QoL is greatly impacted by a relative's condition. To support family members, there is a need for a generic tool that offers flexibility and brevity for use in clinical settings across all areas of medicine. FROM-16 could be the tool of choice, provided its robustness is demonstrated with further validation of its psychometric properties.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. e041379
Author(s):  
Allard Willem de Smalen ◽  
Zhie X Chan ◽  
Claudia Abreu Lopes ◽  
Michaella Vanore ◽  
Tharani Loganathan ◽  
...  

BackgroundA large number of international migrants in Malaysia face challenges in obtaining good health, the extent of which is still relatively unknown. This study aims to map the existing academic literature on migrant health in Malaysia and to provide an overview of the topical coverage, quality and level of evidence of these scientific studies.MethodsA scoping review was conducted using six databases, including Econlit, Embase, Global Health, Medline, PsycINFO and Social Policy and Practice. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were conducted in Malaysia, peer-reviewed, focused on a health dimension according to the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII) framework, and targeted the vulnerable international migrant population. Data were extracted by using the BARHII framework and a newly developed decision tree to identify the type of study design and corresponding level of evidence. Modified Joanna Briggs Institute checklists were used to assess study quality, and a multiple-correspondence analysis (MCA) was conducted to identify associations between different variables.Results67 publications met the selection criteria and were included in the study. The majority (n=41) of studies included foreign workers. Over two-thirds (n=46) focused on disease and injury, and a similar number (n=46) had descriptive designs. The average quality of the papers was low, yet quality differed significantly among them. The MCA showed that high-quality studies were mostly qualitative designs that included refugees and focused on living conditions, while prevalence and analytical cross-sectional studies were mostly of low quality.ConclusionThis study provides an overview of the scientific literature on migrant health in Malaysia published between 1965 and 2019. In general, the quality of these studies is low, and various health dimensions have not been thoroughly researched. Therefore, researchers should address these issues to improve the evidence base to support policy-makers with high-quality evidence for decision-making.


Author(s):  
Yukio Abe ◽  
Youhei Takahashi ◽  
Kenzo Fujii

Abstract Background The arthroscopically assisted Sauvé–Kapandji (S-K) procedure has been described as a safe and promising technique for distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) arthrodesis. Our purpose was to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of the arthroscopically assisted S-K procedure. Methods Eight patients underwent an arthroscopically assisted S-K procedure. All patients were diagnosed as DRUJ osteoarthritis (OA), including six primary DRUJ OA, one OA following a distal radius fracture, and one rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Arthroscopy was performed in neutral forearm rotation with vertical traction. The surface of the DRUJ was debrided through arthroscopy to expose the subchondral surface, and the DRUJ was fixed with a cannulated screw and Kirschner wire (K-wire) with zero or minus ulnar variance in the same posture. Bone graft was not performed. Results Bone union was achieved at 2 to 3.5 months postoperatively. At an average of 17-month follow-up, the pain intensity on 10-point numerical rating scale (NRS) decreased from 10 preoperatively to 0.4 postoperatively, average range of pronation significantly improved from 77 degrees to 89 degrees, and average grip strength as a percentage of contralateral side improved from 76 to 104%. Conclusion Satisfactory outcomes were achieved with the arthroscopically assisted S-K procedure. Advantages of this procedure included the ability to achieve union without bone grafting, preservation of the extensor mechanism integrity, and easy reduction of the ulnar head due to its wrist positioning. No major complications were encountered. Disadvantages included its required use of arthroscopic technique and potential contraindication for cases with severe deformity at the sigmoid notch. Level of Evidence This is a Level IV, therapeutic study.


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