Individual Perception of Telehealth: Validation of a German Translation of the Telemedicine Perception Questionnaire and a Derived Short Version

Telehealth is a growing domain with particular relevance for remote patient monitoring. With respect to the biopsychosocial model of health, it is important to evaluate perception and satisfaction with new methods in telehealth as part of an integrative approach. The Telemedicine Perception Questionnaire (TMPQ) is a 17-item questionnaire measuring patients’ perception of and satisfaction with telecare. We translated this survey into German and determined its validity and reliability in 32 adolescents and adults. Furthermore, we derived a short version of the TMPQ, named Patient and Physician Satisfaction with Monitoring (PPSM), which is a 5-item questionnaire that can be administered to both patients and physicians. Validity and reliability were tested in 32 patients and 32 physicians. Crohnbach’s α for the translated TMPQ was 0.76, and the German version yielded high validity (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) 0.995). We tested the PPSM in both patients and physicians and found acceptable values for Crohnbach’s α (0.72 and 0.78) with excellent validity (ICC 0.965). We therefore concluded from this small study that both German versions of the TMPQ and PPSM can be used to investigate the acceptance of telehealth applications.

Construction and validation of the employability questionnaire for accounting graduates

PurposeGlobally, serious doubts are now expressed about the quality of accounting education, and employers are concerned about the lack of employability among graduates. There is a lack of a validated tool to measure employability in the Saudi Arabia context. Such a tool is required to assess the level of employability so that required corrective measures could be taken. The purpose of the study is to construct and validate a questionnaire to measure employability of accounting graduates.Design/methodology/approachThe data for the study was collected from various accounting professionals using a pool of 50 items from 420 randomly collected samples. The researchers used different statistical techniques, including exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, to construct and validate the 29 item questionnaire.FindingsBased on the purpose of the study, a questionnaire for measuring the employability of accounting graduates was constructed. The questionnaire developed and scientifically validated through various scientific techniques has 20 items under five factors. The questionnaire is ideal for measuring employability of accounting graduates.Originality/valueA fair review of the literature revealed a dearth of a validated tool to measure employability of accounting graduates. The study has constructed and validated a questionnaire to measure employability of accounting graduates, thereby bridging the gap in literature. This questionnaire, it is expected, would facilitate the conduct of further empirical examinations about employability of accounting graduates.

Validation of the Psychological Insight Scale: A new scale to assess psychological insight following a psychedelic experience

Introduction: As their name suggests, ‘psychedelic’ (mind-revealing) compounds are thought to catalyse processes of psychological insight; however, few satisfactory scales exist to sample this. This study sought to develop a new scale to measure psychological insight after a psychedelic experience: the Psychological Insight Scale (PIS). Methods: The PIS is a six- to seven-item questionnaire that enquires about psychological insight after a psychedelic experience (PIS-6) and accompanied behavioural changes (PIS item 7). In total, 886 participants took part in a study in which the PIS and other questionnaires were completed in a prospective fashion in relation to a planned psychedelic experience. For validation purposes, data from 279 participants were analysed from a non-specific ‘global psychedelic survey’ study. Results: Principal components analysis of PIS scores revealed a principal component explaining 73.57% of the variance, which displayed high internal consistency at multiple timepoints throughout the study (average Cronbach’s α = 0.94). Criterion validity was confirmed using the global psychedelic survey study, and convergent validity was confirmed via the Therapeutic-Realizations Scale. Furthermore, PIS scores significantly mediated the relationship between emotional breakthrough and long-term well-being. Conclusion: The PIS is complementary to current subjective measures used in psychedelic studies, most of which are completed in relation to the acute experience. Insight – as measured by the PIS – was found to be a key mediator of long-term psychological outcomes following a psychedelic experience. Future research may investigate how insight varies throughout a psychedelic process, its underlying neurobiology and how it impacts behaviour and mental health.

The Emotional Response to Pandemic of Middle- and High-School Students of an Italian Northern Province: The ERP Study

The COVID-19 outbreak variably affected people’s mental reactions worldwide but was only episodically investigated in healthy Italian teenagers. Our aim was to investigate the emotional responses of Italian middle and high school students to the pandemic. An anonymous 10-item questionnaire was distributed in pre-selected school samples. Responders had to score their perceived extent for each reaction from 0 (lowest perception) to 10 (highest perception). A group of adults was selected as control. Generalized linear models were used to estimate differences among adults and students, high school (HS) and middle school (MS) students, and urban (U) and rural (R) MS students. Comparisons were presented as mean difference (Δ) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). A total of 1512 questionnaires (635 adults, 744 HS, 67 UMS, and 66 RMS) were analyzed. Students appeared more indifferent (Δ = 1.97, 1.52–2.41), anxious (Δ = 0.56, 0.07–1.04), aggressive (Δ = 2.21, 1.72–2.70), and depressed (Δ = 1.87, 1.40–2.34) than adults did, and claimed a higher loss of interest in their activities (Δ = 1.21, 0.72–1.70). Students were less disbelieving (Δ = −0.93, −1.50–0.35) and feared for their loved ones (Δ = −0.89, −1.40–0.39). MS students were less affected by the outbreak than HS students were. Furthermore, R-MS students were significantly less aggressive and depressed, but more indifferent and disbelieving than U-MS. Female sex was an independent factor associated to almost all the questionnaire domains. The pattern of the psychological responses to the pandemic in Italian students proved multifaceted. In addition to anxiety, loss of interest in activities, and depression, aggressiveness emerged as the most characterizing mental attitude in response to the pandemic.

Learning experiences of pre-clinical medical students in virtual problem-based learning amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: Medical schools universally responded by migrating teaching and learning to virtual learning environments (VLE) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of virtual problem-based learning (PBL) in lieu of face-to-face sessions seems to be an appropriate response, but its effectiveness was understudied. The study compared the learning experiences of pre-clinical medical students at the beginning and completion of the virtual PBL. Methods: The study was conducted at the University of Malaya, a public-funded university in Malaysia. A 12-item questionnaire was developed and validated to assess the learning experiences of students conducting virtual PBL sessions. Principal component analysis and test for internal consistency suggested that the questionnaire is valid and reliable. The questionnaire was administered to pre-clinical students (Year 1 and Year 2) twice: at the beginning and the end of the virtual PBL implementation. Their responses were compared for the domains “learning”, “confidence” and “concern”. Results: 344 pre-clinical students were recruited but only 275 students (80%) responded to both the initial and final questionnaires. Based on the responses, the learning experiences of students generally improved by the completion of the virtual PBL implementation. Students were most convinced that they obtained and understood the information given during the virtual PBL. However, they continued to be worried about passing the clinical examination and content acquisition. Conclusion: The study supports the feasibility of virtual PBL as an acceptable alternative to replace face-to-face PBL during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kuwaiti Teachers' Satisfaction with the Social Studies Curriculum and Their Performance in the Classroom

This study investigated Kuwaiti teachers' satisfaction with the structure of the social studies curriculum and their performance in the classroom. It aimed to answer two main questions through a twenty-two-item questionnaire applied to a sample of 132 social studies teachers. The results have shown moderate satisfaction in this regard among those teachers. There were no effects of teacher gender, experience, or various school districts on the satisfaction of social studies teachers and their performance in the classroom. The researcher called for reevaluating the curriculum by its developers to pinpoint and rid it of the causes that obstruct higher teachers' satisfaction and performance, mainly its inadequacy to students' interests, needs, skills, creativity, individual differences, and practical learning activities, and up-to-date teaching methods. Received: 9 September 2021 / Accepted: 5 December 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

Gender Differences in Using Arabizi Among Jordanian Undergraduate Students: A Socio-Linguistic Study

This study aimed to explore the statistical differences between each gender in using Arabizi according to their age, place of living. The sample of the study consisted (283) students selected randomly from both Yarmouk and Jadara universities. A quantitative method approach was employed by the researchers in order to answer the questions of the study. A fourteen-item questionnaire was adapted, developed and validated based on the past literature and data collection in order to achieve the purpose of the study. The results showed that there are statistically significant differences at (α = 0.05) due to the gender variable in favor of females, and regarding the age variable the preference is in favor 19-24 age group, and no preference found related to the place of living. The study recommends examining other students who study different majors in these two universities or in other universities located in/ out the geographic region.

Critical Thinking Ability and Performance in Argumentative Essays of the Education Major Students

The study was carried out to assess the relationship between students' critical thinking abilities and their success in writing an argumentative essay. The descriptive-correlation design was used in this research. The respondents in this survey were a total of 310 Education major students. This is 22.32 percent of the 1387 students enrolled in the Education program. The 50-item questionnaire was based on the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal from Pearson TalentLens to measure the student's study critical thinking abilities. The following conclusions were drawn: the students lack critical thinking ability; the students have difficulty in constructing argumentative essays; and the less critical the students are, the less performance they have in writing argumentative essays.

Mothers in Need of Lactation Support May Benefit from Early Postnatal Galactagogue Administration: Experience from a Single Center

Background: Galactagogues are substances that promote lactation, although data on their effects on humans remain limited. We investigated the efficacy of Silitidil to increase milk supply and duration of breastfeeding of a specific subgroup of mothers in need of lactation support. Methods: 161 mothers from November 2018 until January 2021 were the study subjects in this retrospective study; during their hospitalization, due to neonatal or maternal factors that inhibited lactation, they were prescribed galactagogues. Mothers were surveyed by telephone interview via a 13-item questionnaire. Results: 73.91%, were primigravidas, 78.26% gave birth by cesarean section (CS) and 72.05% continued to take galactagogues after hospital discharge. Of the neonates, 24.22% were preterm ≤37 weeks of gestation, and 55.9% had birth weight (BW) between 2500 and 3500 g. With respect to breastfeeding rates, 100% were breastfed during their first week, 98.8% breastfed during the first month, 87% during the first 4 months, dropping to 56.5% at 6 months, 41% at 1 year and 19.3% over 1 year of age. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that administration of a galactagogue containing Silitidil (Piulatte-Humana) improves breastfeeding rates at from 1 until 12 months of life in mothers with low milk supply during their hospital stay. Further studies are needed to generate evidence-based strategies to improve breastfeeding outcomes.

DOES KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATE TO SAFE HYGIENE BEHAVIOUR IN PUBLIC PLACES? -THE CASE OF ENUGU URBAN IN NIGERIA

This study examined people’s hygiene attitude and practices in public places in Enugu metropolis. Individual’s hygiene behavior and practices may differ in public and private settings. Such behavior could also be moderated by the threat of epidemics such as Covid-19 or its absence. Using the stratified random sampling method, 384 respondents were selected from public places grouped into places of worship, business premises and markets, motor parks, and public offices. A 37 item questionnaire captured the demographic characteristics of respondents, sanitation attitude and behavior and predisposing factors. This was supplemented with personal interviews, as well as non participant observations. Data collected were summarized with the aid of frequency, percentages, tables and charts. Findings show that education per se was not a determinant in people’s sanitation behavior but rather the availability and state of the facilities. The study recommends hygiene behaviour moderation through facilities provision and maintenance.