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The development of efficient and reliable online assessments has become increasingly important in the digital era. We developed a 10-min online word reading assessment of global English based on the existing paper-and-pencil version of our English silent word reading test. The test includes two parts, namely, random word recognition and contextual word reading. A total of 889 participants (437 children and 392 adults; 62.7% female) took part in the study. They were from various regions including mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, Poland, the United States, and the Philippines. Reliability and validity analyses on various demographics samples (by age and country/region of origin) demonstrated that the WordSword Test is highly reliable and valid (e.g., the correlation of this test with other English reading measures were above.80). Education level was positively correlated with test performance, while the correlations between age and test performance were not consistent. Ninety-seven children participants also took the paper-and-pencil version of the WordSword Test. The correlation between performances on the online and paper-and-pencil versions of the test was.879, one year apart. With more children and adults taking the WordSword Test, we ultimately hope to establish norms by area, grade level, and age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The purpose of the paper was to compare the prevalence of barriers to optimum postoperative pain management in elderly patients, observed by nurses in a clinical, provincial and municipal hospital in Poland. Background It is currently estimated that the lack of adequate pain management affects 80% of the global population and the phenomenon poses a serious problem in more than 150 countries. Methods A questionnaire-based study of 1602 nurses working at clinical, provincial and municipal hospitals. Results In the clinical hospitals barriers more often related to a poorly organised systems of care and obstacles in discussing pain management within the team. In provincial and municipal hospitals lack of uninform pain measurement was more evident. Conclusions Despite the availability of effective pain treatments in hospitals difficulties continue with communication, poorly organised care and limited access to clinical guidelines. Implications for nursing management Although there are possibilities of pain relief after surgery, they are still used insufficiently. Postoperative pain management in Poland needs considerable improvement. This study can contribute to the improvement of pain management quality by supporting and developing practical guidelines or management algorithms for nurses, facilitating the effective implementation of new pain management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background National nursing workforce studies are important for evidence-based policymaking to improve nursing human resources globally. Survey instrument translation and contextual adaptation along with level of experience of the research team are key factors that will influence study implementation and results in countries new to health workforce studies. Aim This study's aim was to describe the pre-data collection instrument adaptation challenges when designing the first national nursing workforce study in Poland while participating in the Nurse Forecasting: Human Resources Planning in Nursing project. Methods A descriptive analysis of the pre-data collection phase of the study. Instrument adaptation was conducted through a two-phase content validity indexing process and pilot testing from 2009 to September 2010 in preparation for primary study implementation in December 2010. Means of both content validation phases were compared with pilot study results to assess for significant patterns in the data. Results The initial review demonstrated that the instrument had poor level of cross-cultural relevance and multiple translation issues. After revising the translation and re-evaluating using the same process, instrument scores improved significantly. Pilot study results showed floor and ceiling effects on relevance score correlations in each phase of the study. Limitations The cross-cultural adaptation process was developed specifically for this study and is, therefore, new. It may require additional replication to further enhance the method. Conclusions The approach used by the Polish team helped identify potential problems early in the study. The critical step improved the rigour of the results and improved comparability for between countries analyses, conserving both money and resources. This approach is advised for cross-cultural adaptation of instruments to be used in national nursing workforce studies. Implications for nursing and health policy Countries seeking to conduct national nursing workforce surveys to improve nursing human resources policies may find the insights provided by this paper useful to guide national level nursing workforce study implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The built environment (BE) impacts on people's disability and health, in terms of overweight, depression, alcohol abuse, poor self-rated health and presence of psychological symptoms; it is reasonable to assume that BE also impacts on participation levels. This paper presents the validation of the COURAGE Built Environment Self-Reported Questionnaire (CBE-SR), an instrument designed to evaluate BE in the context of health and disability. Subjects participating to COURAGE, a cross-sectional study conducted on 10 800 citizens of Poland, Finland and Spain, completed a protocol inclusive of the CBE-SR. Psychometric properties and factor structure were analysed, and factor scores created. Gender differences, differences between persons from different age groups and persons reporting the environment as facilitating, hindering or neutral were calculated. Eight items were deleted so that the final version of CBE-SR comprises 19 items. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.743 to 0.906, and test-retest stability was demonstrated for the majority of items. Four subscales were identified: Usability of the neighbourhood environment; Hindrance of walkable environment; Easiness of use of public buildings, places and facilities; and Risk of accidents and usability of the living place. Younger respondents reported their neighbourhood as more usable but perceived walkways as more hindering and public buildings as less easy to use; gender differences were almost inexistent. The CBE-SR is a four-scale instrument with good psychometric properties that measures the person-environment interaction. It is sensitive across age groups and is consistent with the subject's overall judgement of the degree to which the environment is facilitating or hindering. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message Poor built environments have a negative impact on the level of a person's participation. However, instruments measuring the person-environment interaction are lacking., The CBE-SR is a valid and reliable instrument that researchers can use to assess the relationships between the intrinsic health state and the objective features of the environment., Understanding this relationship would provide further insight into the need of addressing the individual's functioning either by means of interventions directed to the individual or by making changes to the individual's environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper was to evaluate changes in muscle force-velocity parameters (F-v) in elderly women subjected to physical exercise. The examinations encompassed 20 women, aged 62–71, who were students at the University of the Third Age in Wrocław. The evaluation of flexors and extensors of the knee joint, as well as flexors and extensors of the spine within the lumbar part, was performed under isokinetic conditions. The assessment was conducted three times: first, a preliminary evaluation; second, after four months of rehabilitation, which included march training and systemic exercises; third, was performed after another 12 months, during which the patients were subjected to various forms of individually selected physical activity. The examinations of muscles affecting the knee joint revealed that the results achieved in the second measurement, performed with load of 60°/s, revealed higher values than in the first examination and were similar or higher in the third examination. With a load of 180°/s, values achieved in the second measurement were higher than results from the first measurement and were mostly lower than registered in the measurement. The highest values of parameters F-v for flexors and extensors of the lumbar part of the spine were registered in third examination. The results were about 20% higher than achieved within measurements 1 and 2. The increase and maintenance of muscular fitness in elderly women is possible only if a load applied exceeds threshold values and is applied for a long time. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Introduction and aim: This paper aims to outline the relationships between kinesiotherapy methods used in rehabilitation and the recovery of the patient's ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs), improvement of functional condition, regression of pareses and improvement of conscious state following surgical treatment of traumatic subdural haematomas. Materials and methods: The study was conducted on 84 patients treated surgically for traumatic subdural haematomas, divided into two groups. The key differentiating factor was the kinesiotherapy method used in rehabilitation. Patients were assessed using the International Scale of Muscle Weakness (ISMW), Barthel Index and modified Rankin Scale, while their conscious state was assessed using the Glasgow Coma Scale. Results: A significant improvement of the assessed features was observed in all patients. However, patients treated with proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) and elements of the Bobath concept regained lost function significantly faster than patients treated with traditional kinesiotherapy. No significant differences were observed in the course of improvement of conscious state between the two groups. Conclusions: Treatment using functional elements may significantly accelerate the return of the ability to perform ADLs, improvement in functional condition and regression of pareses in comparison with traditional kinesiotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]