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Introduction Informed consent is essential patient's right even in overcrowded emergency department (ED). We compared the effect of animation-assisted informed consent using tablet PC with the standard informed consent for contrast-enhanced computed-tomography (CT) in ED. Methods We included 150 patients scheduled to undergo contrast-enhanced CT in ED from November 2010 through January 2011. Participants were randomised to either animation-assisted information (AAI) (n=75) or standard verbal information (SVI) group (n=75). AAI was provided by tablet personal computer (PC); and SVI by clinicians. All participants completed 10-point scale questionnaires after the CT scan. The questionnaires included two main categories – understanding and satisfaction of informed consent. Results Participants in the AAI group had a better understanding of purpose (8.95±1.48 vs. 8.32±1.88, p=0.026) and methods (8.93±1.43 vs. 8.37±1.83, p=0.048) of CT scans compared to participants in the SVI group. Every score in satisfaction categories was significantly higher in the AAI group. In the SVI group, relatively low-educated participants had a lower score in understanding when compared with university-educated participants (7.53±2.28 vs. 8.52±1.40, p=0.029). Regardless of education level, understanding score was high in the AAI group (8.73±1.27 vs. 8.57±1.50, p=0.71). Conclusions Participants receiving animation assisted informed consent with tablet PC shows a higher degree of understanding and satisfaction compared with patients receiving standard verbal informed consent. Particularly in patients with lower education, animation-assisted informed consent may be better for understanding of contrast-enhanced CT.

This study reports preliminary psychometric findings for a seven-item religiosity scale in a community-based sample of Vietnamese Americans ages 18 to 83 years ( N = 119; 58% women, 42% men). A bilingual survey was distributed to Vietnamese who were evacuated during Hurricane Katrina and had returned after the disaster. Internal consistency, factorial structure validity, and criterion validity were evaluated on the scale items. The bilingual scale had good internal consistency. While exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis results provided support for a two-factor structure which captured Religious Involvement and Religious Coping, a one-factor model had slightly better fit. Individuals who scored high on the religiosity scale reported a significantly lower score on their stressful experiences during the hurricane, providing evidence of criterion validity.

Clinical staff's safety perception is considered an important indicator of the implementation level of safety climate and safety culture. For this purpose, the Safety Climate Survey Questionnaire was submitted to the dialysis clinics staff of the Fresenius Medical Care (FME) network in Italy. Moreover, to explore how standard procedures implementation influences staff opinion of safety levels, the Universal Hygiene Precautions Questionnaire was also submitted.Safety Climate Survey and Universal Hygiene Precautions questionnaires were based on 19 and 14 statements, respectively. Staff members (n=346) of 33 dialysis units were involved: 21.4% physicians, 58.1% registered nurses and 20.5% health care assistants (HCAs).Safety Climate mean total score was 81.9%. Medical directors (91.5%) and quality-responsible head nurses (QHRNs) (87.4%) showed higher scores in comparison with staff physicians (82.4%), nurses responsible for hygiene (81.1%) and HCAs (78.8%). Staff nurses (78.9%) showed a significant difference (p0.05) compared with medical directors. Universal Hygiene Precautions mean total score was 90.8%, not significantly different among medical directors (92%), staff physicians (91.4%), QHRNs (93.2%), nurses responsible for hygiene (91.7%) and staff nurses (91.4%). Only HCAs reported a significantly (p0.05) lower score (83.6%) compared with medical directors. As the respondents were asked to complete both questionnaires anonymously, a direct correlation between the 2 questionnaires was not possible.A relatively high value for Safety Climate was evaluated within the FME network of Italian dialysis clinics. Management showed higher Safety Climate scores than frontline staff. Fostering communication and implementation of training programs are considered valid tools to improve safety.

Contrast sensitivity is one of several factors necessary to obtain good visual quality. The aim of this study was to develop normal data on the Cambridge Low Contrast Gratings test in children and to compare these data with data from a group of children with developmental delay. Ninety-nine normal children (aged 2-14 years) and 146 children with developmental delay were tested with the contrast sensitivity test. All children had normal visual acuity and stereopsis. The normal children had an age-dependent development in contrast sensitivity, and adult level was reached after the age of 10 years. A significantly lower score was found in children with developmental delay compared to normal children. The Cambridge Low Contrast Gratings test is suitable for preschool children and children with developmental delay because of its simplicity, and it might be a valuable tool in diagnosing ophthalmologic diseases in children with developmental delay.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between chronic pain and a healthy sense of humor in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. It was hypothesized that women with a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis who scored higher on the sense of humor scales would have a lower score on the pain scale. Likewise, if a lower score was obtained on the humor scales, it was expected that the subject would have a higher pain score. The sample population consisted of 30 women from the Northeast section of the United States, randomly chosen, between the ages of 33 and 66 years, diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. The results of this study showed a significant positive correlation (r = .31, p < .01) between humor and pain, which was contrary to the stated hypothesis. Findings also showed that, except for age, there were no significant relationships between the demographic data and the subjects' perception of pain or humor. It was found that age was negatively correlated with both humor and pain. Possible reasons for the findings are discussed, and nurses are encouraged to consider all the functions of humor in working with patients.

Invesrigations of verbal and nonverbal "immediacy" behaviors have found that individuals manifest relatively immediate communicative behavior under approval-seeking conditions. For example, subjects talk longer (3) and maintain more eye contacr (2) when interacting with people whose approval they seek than when interacting under other conditions. This study investigates whether individuals also manifest increased linguistic immediacy (4) as they seek the approval of another. College students, 29 males and 52 females, were asked to imagine being interviewed by a psychologist who asked them personal questions, ending the interview with the query. "Do you mind talking about yourself to people who don't know you very well?" One-third of the subjects wrote the answer they would give if, during the interview, they (a) had a positive experience (positive response), ( b) had a negative experience ( negarive response), or (c) wanted to get the interviewer to like and approve of them . (appr~~al-seeking response). The immediacy of subjects' responses was scored accordng to Wiener and Mehrabian (4), with a lower score indicating greater immediacy. An analysis of variance indicated a main effect of response condirion (FI.B) = 3.92, p < .05) which was explored further through comparison via the Newman-Keuls method of rhe mean immediacy scores of the three response conditions. Significantly (ps < .05) more immediate communication was associated with both the approval-seeking (M = 2.99, SD = .35) and positive response (M = 2.96, SD = .62) conditions than with the negative response condition (M = 3.42, SD = 1.22). These results extend the findings of Wiener and Mehrabian (4) by indicating that people manifest relatively immediate verbal communication under approval-seeking as well as other positive communication conditions. It could be argued, however, that results obtained in a role-playing paradigm do not necessarily generalize to actual behavior (1). In this regard, the validity of the relationship between linguistic immediacy and approval-seeking instructions is supported by its consistency with other findings (2, 3) of a relationship between immediacy behaviors and approval-seeking when subjects' behavior has been observed in actual interactions.

Blatt and Allison ( 1 ) present the hypothesis that the Comprehension subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) reflects Ss' grasp of social conventionality and social judgment. They argue that a low score may be used as an indicator of anti-social tendencies. Crowne and Marlowe (2, 3 ) have developed a scale for the measurement of the need for approval, arguing that high need-approval Ss seek social approval through culturally acceptable behaviors ( 4 ) . The present study tested the hypothesis that high need-approval Ss would score significantly higher than low need-approval Ss on the WAIS Comprehension subtest. Ss were male undergraduates at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and ranged in age from 16 to 21 yr. The Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale was initially administered to more than 100 students. High and low need-approval Ss were selected from the upper and lower quintiles of the distribution. There were 18 high need-approval Ss (scores of 16 to 30) and 21 low need-approval Ss (scores of 0 to 5 ) . Ss were administered the six verbal subtests of the WAIS by a female examiner. The examiner was not identified with the collection of the need-approval data, and Ss were not informed about che hypothesis. Ss were told that they had been selected randomly and that the examiner was collecting test data for the development of norms. The two groups were not significantly different on any of the verbal subtests nor on over-all Verbal 1Q. The mean Verbal IQ for the entire sample was 135.03. As groups were similar on total Comprehension, the subtest was divided into two sets of items. Items 3, 4, 5 , 6, 8, and 12 require social judgment; Items 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 14 assess non-social judgment and understanding of proverbs. (Items 1 and 2 are not administered unless Ss fail subsequent items.) Mean scores between groups on each set were not significantly different. The low need-approval group means were 9.19 and 9.62 for the social and nonsocial sets respectively ( t < 1.00). The high need-approval group means were 8.56 and 9.78, respectively ( t = 2.18 @ < .05, two-tailed). Thus, the high need-approval Ss did signlficandy more poorly on the items involving social judgment. Since much data support the interpretation of the need-for-approval scale as a measure of the tendency to conform to social expecrations, the present study questions rhe Blatt and Allison hypothesis regarding the Comprehension subtest. The present Ss were a select group and further study is needed. The significantly lower score on socialjudgment items than on non-social-judgment items for the high need-approval Ss was unexpected and is difficult to explain. However, since the high and low groups were not significantly different on the social-judgment items, replication should be attempted.