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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]

The American Heart Association's ideal cardiovascular health score is based on 7 cardiovascular health metrics to measure progress toward their Impact Goal of reducing cardiovascular disease by 20 % before 2020. This study applied this construct to assess cardiovascular health in a sample of Asian Americans. Convenience sampling methods were used to enroll self-identified Asian American's over the age of 18 years who were attending community health fairs across the greater Philadelphia and urban areas of New Jersey. The heart health metrics of tobacco use, body mass index, physical activity, diet, blood pressure, and glucose were measured. In the greater sample (N = 541), 82 % were female, the mean age was 65.1 (SD = 15.5) years, 45 % were Vietnamese, 38 % were Chinese and 17 % were Korean. Prevalence of ideal heart health for the metrics of tobacco use (95 %) was high. Only 19.4 % achieved ideal levels of physical activity, 35.1 % for BMI, 28.9 % for glucose and 66 % for blood pressure. Dietary intake was ideal for 20.7 % of the sample. More years since migration and Korean race trended toward having a higher prevalence of poor health in some metrics. Most Asian Americans are not achieving ideal cardiovascular health for several of the metrics evaluated, with those residing in the United States for more than 13 years and Korean Americans being higher-risk groups. Targeted community based intervention approaches to improving and monitoring heart health in Asian American, and Asian American subgroups, are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnic minority groups are less engaged than Caucasian American adults in advance care planning (ACP). Knowledge deficits, language, and culture are barriers to ACP. Limited research exists on ACP and advance directives in the Chinese American adult population. Using a pre-posttest, repeated measures design, the current study explored the effectiveness of a nurse-led, culturally sensitive ACP seminar for Chinese American adults on (a) knowledge, completion, and discussion of advance directives; and (b) the relationship between demographic variables, advance directive completion, and ACP discussions. A convenience sample of 72 urban, community-dwelling Chinese American adults (mean age = 61 years) was included. Knowledge, advance directive completion, and ACP discussions increased significantly after attending the nurse-led seminar (p < 0.01). Increased age correlated with advance directive completion and ACP discussions; female gender correlated with ACP discussions. Nursing education in a community setting increased advance directive knowledge and ACP engagement in Chinese American adults. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 47(8), 17-21.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]