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The article presents a study which examined the measurement properties of the fine motor scale of the Peabody Development Motor Scales-Second Edition in children through Rasch analysis. It involved a total of 419 children from Taiwan, wherein each of them was evaluated with the Peabody Development Motor Scales-Second Edition. Moreover, the Rasch analysis investigated the rating scale performance of the Peabody Development Motor Scales-Second Edition and found that the latter should be explored thoroughly.

Purpose: To confirm a core competency scale for Hong Kong infection control nurses at the advanced nursing practice level from the core competency items proposed in a previous phase of this study. This would serve as the foundation of competency assurance in Hong Kong hospitals., Design: A cross-sectional survey design was used., Setting: All public and private hospitals in Hong Kong., Subjects: All infection control nurses in hospitals of Hong Kong., Methods: The 83-item proposed core competency list established in an earlier study was transformed into a questionnaire and sent to 112 infection control nurses in 48 hospitals in Hong Kong. They were asked to rate the importance of each infection prevention and control item using Likert-style response categories. Data were analyzed using the Rasch model., Results: The response rate of 81.25% was achieved. Seven items were removed from the proposed core competency list, leaving a scale of 76 items that fit the measurement requirements of the unidimensional Rasch model., Conclusions: Essential core competency items of advanced practice for infection control nurses in Hong Kong were identified based on the measurement criteria of the Rasch model. Several items of the scale that reflect local Hong Kong contextual characteristics are distinguished from the overseas standards., Implications: This local-specific competency list could serve as the foundation for education and for certification of infection control nurse specialists in Hong Kong. Rasch measurement is an appropriate analytical tool for identifying core competencies of advanced practice nurses in other specialties and in other locations in a manner that incorporates practitioner judgment and expertise.

Objective: To investigate the measurement properties (including rating scale performance, unidimensionality, and differential item functioning) of the fine motor scale of the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-Second Edition in children, by using the Rasch analysis., Design: A total of 419 children (including 342 typically developing children and 77 children with fine motor delays or difficulties) were recruited in Taiwan for this prospective study. Each child was evaluated with the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-Second Edition that consists of 26-item grasping and 72-item visual-motor integration subtests. Partial credit Rasch analysis was used for all analyses., Results: The Rasch analysis indicated that middle rating category for 19 grasping and 52 visual-motor integration items could be collapsed to allow only dichotomous response categories. Item fit analysis and principal component analysis suggested that the unidimensionality of the grasping and visual-motor integration subtests could be achieved after removal of two grasping and eight visual-motor integration misfitting items. All but 13 items in the composite scale could form a unidimensional construct of overall fine motor ability. Furthermore, only a few items were found to show differential item functioning across sex (ten items) or fine motor status (seven items). However, significant ceiling effects were found in the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-Second Edition subtests and composite scale when applied to these typically developing children., Conclusions: Our results suggest grounds for the revision of the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-Second Edition in a subsequent edition. Simplifying the rating scales and reducing the misfitting items in the subtests and composite scales might result in a unidimensional assessment of children's fine motor ability. Clinicians and researchers could use the reduced Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-Second Edition as a criterion-referenced outcome measure to document changes; however, further work is needed to reduce the ceiling effects.