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Background and Purpose: Many instruments in which religious involvement is measured often (a) contain unclear, poorly developed constructs; (b) lack methodological rigor in scale development; and (c) contain language and content culturally incongruent with the religious experiences of diverse ethnic groups. The primary aims of this review were to (a) synthesize the research on instruments designed to measure religious involvement, (b) evaluate the methodological quality of instruments that measure religious involvement, and (c) examine these instruments for conceptual congruency with African American religious involvement., Methods: An updated integrative research review method guided the process (Whittemore & Knafl, 2005)., Results: 152 articles were reviewed and 23 articles retrieved. Only 3 retained instruments were developed under methodologically rigorous conditions. All 3 instruments were congruent with a conceptual model of African American religious involvement., Conclusions: The Fetzer Multidimensional Measure of Religious Involvement and Spirituality (FMMRS; Idler et al., 2003) was found to have favorable characteristics. Further examination and psychometric testing is warranted to determine its acceptability, readability, and cultural sensitivity in an African American population.

The benefits of item response theory (IRT) analysis in obtaining empirical support for construct validity make it an essential step in the instrument development process. IRT analysis can result in finer construct interpretations that lead to more thorough descriptions of low- and high-scoring respondents. A critical function of IRT is its ability to determine the adequacy with which the attitude continuum underlying each dimension is assessed by the respective items in an instrument. Many nurse researchers, however, are not reaping the benefits of IRT in the development of affective instruments. The purpose of this article is to familiarize nurse researchers with this valuable approach through a description of the Facets computer program. Facets uses a one parameter (i.e., item difficulty) Rasch measurement model. Data from a survey of 525 new mothers that assessed the psychometric properties of the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale are used to illustrate the Facets program. It is hoped that IRT will gain increased prominence in affective instrument development as more nurse researchers become aware of computer programs such as Facets to assist in analysis.

Although blood pressure (BP) is a frequently used variable in nursing studies, measurements are likely to be inaccurate for a variety of reasons: incorrect technique, operator error, and environmental factors. Ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) reduces measurement error, is relatively easy to use, and yields many more BP parameters than do clinic BP measurements. The cost of equipment for ABPM ranges from $2,500 to $5,000 per monitor and from $2,000 to $3,000 for computer software. A research assistant can easily be trained to follow a standardized procedure. Researchers have used ABPM to study normal BP patterns, complications of hypertension, effects of antihypertensive drugs, and the prognosis of cardiovascular events. This article provides the nurse researcher with an introduction to this technology and an overview of information gained from ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.