Performance of the EQ-5D-Y Interviewer Administered Version in Young Children

(1) Background: An estimated 78% of South African children aged 9–10 years have not mastered basic reading, therefore potentially excluding them from self-reporting on health-related outcome measures. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the performance of the EQ-5D-Y-3L self-complete to the newly developed interviewer-administered version in children 8–10 years. (2) Methods: Children (n = 207) with chronic respiratory illnesses, functional disabilities, orthopaedic conditions and from the general population completed the EQ-5D-Y-3L self-complete and interviewer-administered versions, Moods and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ) and Faces Pain Scale-Revised (FPS-R). A functional independence measure (WeeFIM) was completed by the researcher. (3) Results: The 8-year-olds had significantly higher missing responses (x2 = 14.23, p < 0.001) on the self-complete version. Known-group and concurrent validity were comparable across dimensions, utility and VAS scores for the two versions. The dimensions showed low to moderate convergent validity with similar items on the MFQ, FPS-R and WeeFIM with significantly higher correlations between the interviewer-administered dimensions of Mobility and WeeFIM mobility total (z = 1.91, p = 0.028) and Looking After Myself and WeeFIM self-care total (z = 3.24, p = 0.001). Children preferred the interviewer-administered version (60%) (x2 = 21.87, p < 0.001) with 22% of the reasons attributed to literacy level. (4) Conclusions: The EQ-5D-Y-3L interviewer-administered version is valid and reliable in children aged 8–10 years. The results were comparable to the self-complete version indicating that versions can be used interchangeably.

The Effects of Sociocultural Factors on the Appearance of Women in Their 20s in China on Beauty Interests

This study uses demographic methods to understand Chinese women in 20s’ beauty concerns. Mainly focus on the impact about five following 5 socio-cultural factors of beauty concerns includes media beauty interest, beauty consciousness, friend beauty tendency, cultural living standards, and dependence on others. In the survey, Chinese women in their 20s will be asked about the impact on sociocultural factors of beauty interests. The study conducted a total of 350 women in 30 cities across China, including large cities, metropolitan cities, secondary cities, small cities and prefectural cities. Excluding 41 unfaithful or missing responses, 301 surveys were used as final analysis. The survey results are categorized according to general characteristics and socio-cultural factors in appearance. In general characteristics, people in their 20s were divided into three groups (20-23 years old, 24-26 years old, 27-29 years old) to surveyed on their final educational background, direct, poor areas, and monthly living expenses. Also, the socio-cultural factors of appearance were divided into five categories including media appearance, beauty awareness, friend beauty tendency, cultural living standards and dependence on others. Their beauty concerns are mainly focused on hair beauty, face beauty, nail beauty, and skin care. Investigating the above content, “the difference between interest in beauty based on general characteristics”, “the relationship between social cultural factors of appearance and interest in beauty”, and “the influence of socio-cultural factors on appearance” were identified as research questions.

Handling Missing Responses in Psychometrics: Methods and Software

The presence of missing responses in assessment settings is inevitable and may yield biased parameter estimates in psychometric modeling if ignored or handled improperly. Many methods have been proposed to handle missing responses in assessment data that are often dichotomous or polytomous. Their applications remain nominal, however, partly due to that (1) there is no sufficient support in the literature for an optimal method; (2) many practitioners and researchers are not familiar with these methods; and (3) these methods are usually not employed by psychometric software and missing responses need to be handled separately. This article introduces and reviews the commonly used missing response handling methods in psychometrics, along with the literature that examines and compares the performance of these methods. Further, the use of the TestDataImputation package in R is introduced and illustrated with an example data set and a simulation study. Corresponding R codes are provided.

Comparing measurement properties of EQ-5D-Y-3L and EQ-5D-Y-5L in paediatric patients

Background The adult versions EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L have been extensive compared. This is not the case for the EQ-5D youth versions. The study aim was to compare the measurement properties and responsiveness of EQ-5D-Y-3L and EQ-5D-Y-5L in paediatric patients. Methods A sample of patients 8–16 years old with different diseases and a wide range of disease severity was asked to complete EQ-5D-Y-3L, EQ-5D-Y-5L, PedsQL Generic Core Scale, and selected, appropriate disease-specific instruments, three times. EQ-5D-Y-3L and EQ-5D-Y-5L were compared in terms of: feasibility, (re-)distribution properties, discriminatory power, convergent validity, test–retest reliability, and responsiveness. Results 286 participating patients suffered from one of the following diseases: major beta-thalassemia, haemophilia, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, acute illness. Missing responses were comparable between versions of the EQ-5D-Y, suggesting comparable feasibility. The number of patients in the best health state (level profile 11111) was equal in both EQ-5D-Y versions. The projection of EQ-5D-Y-3L scores onto EQ-5D-Y-5L for all dimensions showed that the two additional levels in EQ-5D-Y-5L slightly improved the accuracy of patients in reporting their problems, especially if severe. Convergent validity with PedsQL and disease-specific measures showed that the two EQ-5D-Y versions performed about equally. Test–retest reliability (EQ-5D-Y-3L 0.78 vs EQ-5D-Y-5L 0.84), and sensitivity for detecting health changes, were both better in EQ-5D-Y-5L. Conclusions Extending the number of levels did not give clear superiority to EQ-5D-Y-5L over EQ-5D-Y-3L based on the criteria assessed in this study. However, increasing the number of levels benefitted EQ-5D-Y performance in the measurement of moderate to severe problems and especially in longitudinal study designs.

Partially linear model estimation for missing response data

This paper will discuss the estimation of a partially linear (semiparametric) model with missing responses using the normal approach. An estimator class is defined which includes special cases, namely the partially linear imputation estimator, the marginal mean estimator and the trend score weighted estimator. The estimator class is asymptotically normal. The three special estimators have the same asymptotic variance. Based on the above conditions, the mean F will be estimated, say θ. The three special estimators above will be used to estimate the mean F, namely in the form of point estimates and confidence intervals with some missing responses using the normal approach method.

The Effect of Rapport on Data Quality in Face-to-Face Interviews: Beneficial or Detrimental?

The benefits of rapport between interviewers and respondents, in terms of recruiting the latter and motiving them to participate in research, have been generally endorsed. However, there has been less clarity with regard to the association between rapport and data quality. In theory, rapport could be beneficial if it motivates people to give complete and honest responses. On the other hand, efforts to maintain rapport by exhibiting pleasing and socially desirable behaviour could well be detrimental to data quality. In a large longitudinal epidemiological sample, generalized estimating equations (GEE) analyses were used to examine the association between rapport and the following three quality indicators: missing responses, responses to sensitive questions, and consistency of responses. The results of these analyses indicate an association between a high level of rapport and fewer missing responses. In contrast, we found more socially desirable responses for the high-rapport group. Finally, the high-rapport group did not differ from the low-rapport group in terms of the consistency of their responses.

Latent Profile of Internet and Internet Game Usage Among South Korean Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: Globally, more people are spending time on the Internet and gaming since the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Consequently, concerns about developing behavioral addiction of adolescents have been raised. Such risk could be greater for adolescents in South Korea where the majority of adolescents have access to the Internet and own a smartphone. In fact, statistics indicate that Korean youths are spending significantly more time on the Internet and gaming during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous studies on the patterns of time spent on the Internet and Internet gaming show inconsistent results. The aim of this study is to investigate the latent profiles of the Internet and Internet game usage among adolescents in South Korea.Method: Data from a national survey on elementary and middle school students across South Korea were used. The sample consists of 3,149 respondents, and 2,984 responses were analyzed after removing missing responses. Latent profile analysis was performed to investigate the number of latent profiles for the Internet and Internet game usage time. To validate the profiles, differences in problematic gaming behavior, sex, and neuroticism were examined.Results: Seven profiles were found: Casual User, Moderate User, Smartphone User, Internet User, PC Internet Gamer, Heavy User, and Excessive User. Validation of the profiles indicated differences in problematic gaming behavior, sex, and neuroticism among selected profiles.Conclusion: This study presented different profiles of the Internet and Internet game usage among adolescents in South Korea. Profiles with higher game usage time scored higher in problematic game use compared to other profiles. Males were more likely to be in the profiles with high gaming time, and females were more likely to be in Internet and Smartphone User profiles. The results indicate that Internet and Internet gaming usage patterns could be classified by the type of device used and the content of the Internet.

A New Measure of Population Health in a Complex Sampling Survey: The 2019 Georgia Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey – Unweighted, Weighted, and Imputed Weighted Data

Background: Measuring population health requires a well-defined denominator. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) is designed to provide one for state-level populations. In 2019, the U.S. state of Georgia tested a new module to study recent bereavement among its 8.1 million residents aged 18 years and older. This is the first population-level assessment of bereavement. In BRFSS, bereavement is defined as the fact of a death. The term grief is not used because it denotes emotions related to that death. There is evidence from cohort studies linking new bereavement to subsequent mortality and health care utilization. Methods: BRFSS data are obtained using list-assisted, random digit dialing from the non-institutionalized population aged 18 years and older within primary statistical units. Data came from both landline telephones and cellular phones. Three questions were added to the end of the latest BRFSS asking about death of family or friend in 2018 or 2019. To evaluate data from this new module, the report presents three statistical approaches - unweighted panel data, weighted data, and weighted data using multiple imputation of missing responses. The estimated prevalence of bereavement and its standard error under each data scenario is calculated. Results: The threat to the validity of data from this new module are bias due to small samples and missingness. The unweighted panel contains 5,206 persons (70.9 percent response). Among these, 2,396 persons (46.0 %) responded ‘Yes’ to ‘Have you experienced the death of a family member or close friend in the years 2018 or 2019? To estimate the size of the population, weights are applied. With weighted data and removal of missing responses yields a prevalence of 45.56 % (SE = 1.13) with a population estimate of 4,937,056 persons. Using multiple imputation to keep missing responses, the prevalence is 45.80 % (SE = 1.18) with a denominator of 8,164,018 persons. Conclusions: New bereavement can be ascertained in a surveillance survey without bias due to refusals. Multiple imputation provides a population size estimate that is comparable to U.S. Census bureau. More field testing is required to replicate these results in other states.