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Background and Purpose: Childbirth can have negative consequences; however, measurement tools to assess this event are limited; and none consider the adolescent's birth. This study assessed the psychometric properties of the childbirth trauma index (CTI)., Methods: Construct validity and reliability of the CTI was assessed via a field test involving 160 adolescents 3 days postpartum., Results: A modified 8-item version of the original CTI exhibited acceptable construct validity and reliability criteria. The CTI was found to link with birth appraisal, but not subjective distress measurements., Conclusions: The CTI may be a more robust means of assessing birth appraisal than use of single-item measures. Recommendations for practice suggest use of the modified CTI to assess birth appraisal, or use in combination with single-item rating scales., (© Copyright 2020 Springer Publishing Company, LLC.)

Objectives: To review mentorship measurement tools in various fields to inform nursing educators on selection, application, and developing of mentoring instruments., Design: A literature review informed by PRISMA 2009 guidelines., Data Sources: Six databases: CINHAL, Medline, PsycINFO, Academic Search Premier, ERIC, Business premier resource., Review Methods: Search terms and strategies used: mentor* N3 (behav* or skill? or role? or activit? or function* or relation*) and (scale or tool or instrument or questionnaire or inventory). The time limiter was set from January 1985 to June 2015. Extracted data were content of instruments, samples, psychometrics, theoretical framework, and utility. An integrative review method was used., Results: Twenty-eight papers linked to 22 scales were located, seven from business and industry, 11 from education, 3 from health science, and 1 focused on research mentoring. Mentorship measurement was pioneered by business with a universally accepted theoretical framework, i.e. career function and psychosocial function, and the trend of scale development is developing: from focusing on the positive side of mentorship shifting to negative mentoring experiences and challenges. Nursing educators mainly used instruments from business to assess mentorship among nursing teachers. In education and nursing, measurement has taken to a more specialised focus: researchers in different contexts have developed scales to measure different specific aspects of mentorship. Most tools show psychometric evidence of content homogeneity and construct validity but lack more comprehensive and advanced tests., Conclusion: Mentorship is widely used and conceptualised differently in different fields and is less mature in nursing than in business. Measurement of mentorship is heading to a more specialised and comprehensive process. Business and education provided measurement tools to nursing educators to assess mentorship among staff, but a robust instrument to measure nursing students' mentorship is needed., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Context: Dysphagia is one of the most prevalent and distressing symptoms among palliative care patients, and a practical assessment tool is required., Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of a tool to measure the severity of dysphagia: the Food Intake LEVEL Scale (FILS), a 10-point observer-rating scale., Methods: The inter- and intrarater reliability was evaluated by three clinicians in 30 patients using weighted kappa statistics. The convergent validity was evaluated by examining correlations of FILS with the Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) and patient-reported satisfaction levels with oral intake., Results: Weighted kappa coefficients for interrater reliability ranged from 0.70 to 0.90 and those for intrarater reliability ranged from 0.83 to 0.90. The FILS score was highly associated with the FOIS (ρ = 0.96-0.99) and patient-reported satisfaction (ρ = 0.89)., Conclusion: The FILS seems to have fair reliability and validity as a practical tool for assessing the severity of dysphagia. Further study on the reliability, validity, and sensitivity of the FILS compared with the FOIS is needed., (Copyright © 2013 U.S. Cancer Pain Relief Committee. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Couples' joint coping is important in managing the impact of breast cancer. However, measures assessing couples' communication as a way of coping are insufficient. This study aimed to generate a self-report valid and reliable measure of couples' coping with a particular focus on communication. Method: We used baseline data of 343 couple dyads who participated in a randomized clinical trial targeting marital communication. Women were diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in the past eight months; couples were married or in an intimate relationship for at least six months, could read and write English, and lived within 100 miles of the study center. An expert panel selected items with conceptual fit from the Mutuality and Interpersonal Sensitivity Scale (MIS) that was originally designed to evaluate marital communication about breast cancer. Results: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a 12-item measurement model with four factors: Keeping the communication open with each other about breast cancer (4 items), Sharing a positive outlook on breast cancer (2 items), Avoiding discussion of negative thoughts and feelings about breast cancer (3 items), and Spending sufficient time together talking about breast cancer (3 items). Reliability ranged from 0.76 to 0.87 for women and 0.70 to 0.83 for spouses. Conclusion: This new measure has potential application in clinical practice and future research to assess couple's joint coping efforts especially through communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To design user-centered services, it is essential to build empathy toward users. It is hence strategic to trigger empathy for users among professionals concerned with shaping service user experiences. There is, however, a lack of quantitative tools to measure empathy in design. Through two studies, we report on the development and validation of the Empathy in Design Scale (EMPA-D). The tool aims to measure service employees' empathy toward users. Grounded in theories from psychology and design, we first generated and tested a pool of items through expert inspection and cognitive interviews. In Study 1, we administered 16 items to 406 full-time service employees from various industries, including employees in customer-facing positions. In Study 2, we iterated on additional items and administered a revised scale to 305 service employees. The selected model consists of 11 items and has a three-factor structure (Emotional interest/Perspective-taking , Personal experience and Self-awareness) , which showed an adequate model fit and good internal consistency. Evidence of convergent validity was provided by moderate correlations of the EMPA-D scale with empathy measures in psychology (SITES, Empathy Quotient, Interpersonal Reactivity Index), whereas discriminant validity was demonstrated by low correlations with the narcissism measure Narcissistic Personal Inventory. We outline how this self-reported empathy measure can support organizations in enhancing their services and discuss potential limitations of quantitatively measuring empathy in service teams. Research Highlights We present the development and validation of the Empathy in Design Scale (EMPA-D), a self-report measure of employees' empathy toward users of a service. We report on two validation studies and document the psychometric properties of the scale. The selected model consists of 11 items and a three-factor structure (Emotional interest/Perspective-taking, Personal experience and Self-awareness). The resulting EMPA-D scale contributes to filling the gap in metrics to assess empathy in the service design context. In industry, measuring employees' empathy support the selection of appropriate empathic interventions to foster the service user-centeredness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Premenstrual Change Coping Inventory (PMS‐Cope). Methods: A total of 170 women who met the inclusion criteria were included in the methodological study. Data were collected between the dates of November 5, 2018 and May 5, 2019 with personal information form, PMS‐Cope Turkish version, and Premenstrual Syndrome Scale. Results: The PMS‐Cope was obtained through the translation‐back translation method and the content validity was obtained according to expert opinions. After the factor analysis, the Turkish version of the PMS‐Cope consisted of three sub‐dimensions as in the original scale. The factor loadings of the three‐dimensional scale ranged from 0.46 to 0.84, and the explained variance (60.329%) was at the desired level. As a result of structural equation modeling; ×2/SD values of the scale were found to be 4.19, GFI 0.93, AGFI 0.91, CFI 0.95, RMSEA 0.079, and SRMR 0.082, and this scale was acceptable. The Cronbach alpha coefficient of the PMS‐Cope was 0.86. It was determined that item‐total score correlations were higher than 0.30 in all items of PMS‐Cope and there was no need to remove items from the scale. When the mean scores of the lower 27% and upper 27% of the scale were compared, a statistically significant difference was found between the groups (p < 0.05). The PMS‐Cope score was 41.04 ± 8.99. Conclusion: It was determined that the Turkish version of the PMS‐Cope was a valid and reliable measurement tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the importance of psychometric properties in psychiatric measurement tools for adolescents and young adults. Adolescence is a critical period characterized by biological changes and evolving psychosocial competencies. Mental health problems and disorders affect a significant percentage of this population, leading to increased disability. Validity and reliability are key aspects of psychometric properties, ensuring that measurement tools accurately measure the intended concepts and produce consistent results. The article emphasizes the need for evidence-based culture, reporting trial results, refining and selecting items, and continual re-evaluation to enhance the psychometric properties of measurement tools. [Extracted from the article]

Cancer fatigue (CF) is a major issue facing cancer patients that can negatively impact their quality of life. This study describes the development and validation of the Cancer Fatigue (CF) scale for the assessment of fatigue in cancer patients. A total of 202 cancer patients at university hospitals in South Korea were recruited and completed the questionnaires. Descriptive analysis was performed to determine the participants' socio-demographic characteristics; the construct validity was examined using exploratory factor analysis; internal consistency reliability of the scale was estimated for the meaningful total scale and factors; and confirmatory factor analysis was performed to confirm the repetitive reproducibility of the factors. Findings indicated that the CF scale had good psychometric properties. 67.89% of the variance was explained by four subfactors: socio-cognitive (six items), physical (five items), psycho-affective (three items), and social-relationship networks (two items). The Cronbach's alpha of the 16-item CF scale was 0.89 for the total scale, and the range of Cronbach's alpha for subfactors was.75 to.89, indicating that it is valid and reliable. The 16-item CF scale is a feasible and time-efficient tool for assessing the fatigue of cancer patients in the clinical setting. Healthcare providers may use this measurement tool to explore cancer patients' fatigue and routinely track the effect of a customized intervention on CF. This study also informs healthcare providers in other countries about the fatigue characteristics of Korean cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In order to be able to carry out systematic teaching activities for the orientation and mobility skills that are vital in the lives of students with visual impairment in schools, it is extremely important to determine their performance levels with measurement tools. The aim of this study is to develop an Orientation and Mobility Skills Checklist (OMSC) for visually impaired students at primary and secondary school levels and to determine the cutoff scores. Method: The OMSC consists of two independent checklists. In the process of the OMSC development, the psychometric properties of the tool were determined by applying it to all tactile students studying in primary and secondary schools in a province. The findings on the validity and reliability of the OMSC have shown that it is suitable to be used as a measurement tool to determine orientation and mobility skills. The Orientation Skills (OS) checklist is a single-factor structure of 6 items. On the other hand, the Mobility Skills (MS) checklist has a 19-item, 3-factor structure. After the tool was developed, identifying the norm values was aimed by determining the percentiles so that the scores could be interpreted. With this aim, the OMSC was applied to a total of 402 students who were studying in separate educational environments opened for visually impaired students and to students who were continuing their inclusive education in the regions close to these schools in Turkey. However, since the scores obtained aggregated in low scores, the cut-off scores were determined with the Angoff method based on expert opinion. After the implementation, the psychometric features of the OMSC were re-examined. Findings: The descriptive statistics of the scores obtained revealed that 70.1% of the students received zero points from the MS control checklist. OS scores did not deviate excessively from the normal distribution. The construct validity and reliability of the checklists were examined, and the cut-off scores for minimum competency levels for the OS and MS checklists were determined as 2 and 6 points, respectively. Discussion: The results of the research were discussed within the framework of the relevant literature. The OMSC can be used to assess students, determine the progress of students studying at different educational institutions, and direct them to appropriate training in line with their needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale Aims and Objectives: Horizontal violence has been defined as aggressive or hostile behaviour directed at an individual or between colleagues from the same working group. Measuring the prevalence of horizontal violence requires valid measures. To date, there has not been a review of the psychometric properties of available measurement tools for horizontal violence. Method: A rapid review of the MEDLINE and BUSINESS EBSCO databases was conducted to identify studies testing the validity of any measure of horizontal violence in any workplace setting. Title and abstract and full‐text screening, data extraction and quality appraisal were completed by two researchers working independently. The COnsensus‐based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) was used to determine the methodological quality of studies, including details of the psychometric properties of included papers. Results: Fourteen papers reporting 17 studies were included in the review. Seven measures of horizontal violence (Civility Norms Questionnaire Brief; Negative Acts Questionnaire—Revised; Inventory of Violence and Psychological Harassment; Leyman Inventory Psychological Terror Mobbing of Single Cases of Harassment in Employees Relations; Shortened Negative Acts Questionnaire—Revised; Uncivil Workplace Behaviour Questionnaire) were identified. Most included studies were methodologically robust. Six measures had strong psychometric properties except for the Mobbing of Single Cases of Harassment in Employees Relations (MSCH) where key information about psychometric properties was not reported. Conclusions: We identified six measures of horizontal violence that had good psychometric properties. The Negative Acts Questionnaire—Revised has been most extensively tested in different settings but is not necessarily a more precise measure than others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Relational dynamics between patients and staff in forensic settings can be complicated and demanding for both sides. Reflective practice groups (RPGs) bring clinicians together to reflect on these dynamics. To date, evaluation of RPGs has lacked quantitative focus and a suitable quantitative tool. Therefore, a self-report tool was designed. This paper aims to pilot The Relational Aspects of CarE (TRACE) scale with clinicians in a high-secure hospital and investigate its psychometric properties. Design/methodology/approach: A multi-professional sample of 80 clinicians were recruited, completing TRACE and attitudes to personality disorder questionnaire (APDQ). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) determined factor structure and internal consistency of TRACE. A subset was selected to measure test–retest reliability. TRACE was cross-validated against the APDQ. Findings: EFA found five factors underlying the 20 TRACE items: "awareness of common responses," "discussing and normalising feelings;" "utilising feelings," "wish to care" and "awareness of complicated affects." This factor structure is complex, but items clustered logically to key areas originally used to generate items. Internal consistency (α = 0.66, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.55–0.76) demonstrated borderline acceptability. TRACE demonstrated good test–retest reliability (intra-class correlation = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.78–0.98) and face validity. TRACE indicated a slight negative correlation with APDQ. A larger data set is needed to substantiate these preliminary findings. Practical implications: Early indications suggested TRACE was valid and reliable, suitable to measure the effectiveness of reflective practice. Originality/value: The TRACE was a distinctive measure that filled a methodological gap in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The original Rainbow Model of Integrated Care Measurement Tool (RMIC-MT) is based on the Rainbow Model of Integrated Care (RMIC), which provides a comprehensive theoretical framework for integrated care. The aim of this paper is to modify the original patient version of the RMIC-MT for the Chinese primary care context and validate its psychometric properties. Methods: The translation and adaptation processes were performed in four steps, forward and back-translation, experts review and pre-testing. We conducted a crosssectional study with 386 patients with diabetes attending one of 20 community health stations in the Nanshan district. We analyzed the distribution of responses to each item to study the psychometric sensitivity. Exploratory factor analysis with principal axis extraction method was used to assess the construct validity. Confirmation factor analysis was used to evaluate model fit of the modified version. Cronbach's alpha was used to ascertain the internal consistency reliability. Results: During the translation and adaptation process, all 24 items were retained with some detailed modifications. No item was found to have psychometric sensitivity problems. Five factors (person-centeredness, clinical integration, professional integration, team-based coordination, organizational integration) with 15 items were determined by exploratory factor analysis, accounting for 53.51% of the total variance. Good internal consistency was achieved with each item correlated the highest on an assigned subscale and Cronbach's alpha score of 0.890. Moderately positive associations (r= 0.4, p<0.01) between the score of the scale and these correlations indicate good construct validity. Conclusions: The results showed initial satisfactory psychometric properties for the validation of the Chinese RMIC-MT patient version. Its application in China will promote the development of people-centered integrated primary care. However, future studies with diverse samples crossing regions would be needed to test its psychometric properties for the various Chinese primary care contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, it is aimed to adapt the Scientific Reasoning Scale (SRS) into Turkish. The translated form has been provided to the students enrolled at different levels together with a form in which they were requested to present what they have understood and the reason of their responses. It was seen that the explanations of students to one item were inconsistent or insufficient, and an alternative item was added to the test. Investigations based on PCA and CFA revealed that the psychometric properties of the test containing the alternative item were better. Moderate and positive correlations were found between the SRS scores and the CCTDI and LCTSR scores. The applications carried out before and after the course on scientific research methods carried out during a term at the undergraduate level revealed that a significant increase in the SRS scores was achieved. It was seen that there was significant difference between the scores of the students enrolled at undergraduate and graduate levels. Average item difficulty was .40 and discrimination indices was .50 and over. As result, it is seen that SRS could be used for measuring the scientific reasoning ability of the undergraduate students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background A large body of road safety research has focused on developing self-report measurement scales that identify the type and frequency of risk driving behaviours that lead to crash involvement. With the dearth of Arabic measurement tools, the aim of the study was to develop a modified, valid and reliable measurement tool that can be utilized among young drivers within the Oman context. Methods A total of 1319 (27.1% female) young drivers aged 17–25 years completed a questionnaire that was distributed through a snowballing sampling technique across Oman. The survey included a range of demographic information and driving behaviours, and utilized aspects of the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (DBQ) and the Behaviour of Novice Young Drivers Scale (BNYDS). An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was undertaken to examine the factor structure of the modified 40-items tool. Results A maximum likelihood and varimax rotation factor analysis revealed seven behavioural dimension comprising 39 items, which explained 49.28% of the variance in the behavioural scale of young drivers. These factors were transient violations (20.12% of the variance), mood driving (7.03% of the variance), speeding (6.59% of the variance), fatigue driving (4.36% of the variance), distracted driving (4.12% of the variance), seatbelt usage (3.55% of the variance) and close following (3.51% of the variance). The composite behavioural scale (39-items) showed an excellent internal consistency (α = 0.939) with transient violations exhibiting the highest internal consistency (α = 0.927) and close following showed the lowest internal consistency (α = 0.700). Crash predictability of the seven behavioural dimensions was investigated (as 39.6% of the sample reported crash involvement). Conducting logistic models between each behavioural dimensions and crash involvement adjusted for drivers’ characteristics found that mood driving, fatigue driving and distracted driving were strong predictors of crash involvement among young drivers. However, consistent with previous research, the full model was not an efficient predictor of crash involvement among the sample of young Omani drivers, as distracted driving was the only significant predictor in the model. Conclusions The modified risky driving behaviours scale exhibited appropriate psychometric properties and key aberrant driving behaviours were associated with crash involvement. This paper further outlines the key study findings and provides suggestions for future research that aims to develop effective self-report methods to identify “at risk” drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: At the end of life, anxious attitudes concerning the dying process are common in patients in Palliative Care. Measurement tools can identify vulnerabilities, resources and the need for subsequent treatment to relieve suffering and support well-being. Aim: To systematically review available tools measuring attitudes towards dying, their operationalization, the method of measurement and the methodological quality including generalizability to different contexts. Design: Systematic review according to the PRISMA Statement. Methodological quality of tools assessed by standardized review criteria. Data sources: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PsyndexTests and the Health and Psychosocial Instruments were searched from their inception to April 2017. Results: A total of 94 identified studies reported the development and/or validation of 44 tools. Of these, 37 were questionnaires and 7 alternative measurement methods (e.g. projective measures). In 34 of 37 questionnaires, the emotional evaluation (e.g. anxiety) towards dying is measured. Dying is operationalized in general items (n = 20), in several specific aspects of dying (n = 34) and as dying of others (n = 14). Methodological quality of tools was reported inconsistently. Nine tools reported good internal consistency. Of 37 tools, 4 were validated in a clinical sample (e.g. terminal cancer; Huntington disease), indicating questionable generalizability to clinical contexts for most tools. Conclusion: Many tools exist to measure attitudes towards the dying process using different endpoints. This overview can serve as decision framework on which tool to apply in which contexts. For clinical application, only few tools were available. Further validation of existing tools and potential alternative methods in various populations is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This systematic review identified 127 measures targeting at ToM in children. • Measures were appraised based on the multidimensional ToM construct. • Cognitive–affective and intrapersonal–interpersonal ToM dimensions were examined. • No measures have been developed based on the multidimensional ToM constructs. • This study provides recommendations for choosing children's ToM measures. Theory of mind (ToM) is a developmental and multidimensional ability to impute mental states to oneself and others. This systematic review aimed to identify and appraise the current ToM measures for children in terms of their constructs, modes of presentation and response, the test theories adopted to develop them, and psychometric properties. Among the 588 articles retrieved, 127 ToM measures were identified. Twelve measures covered the full spectrum of ToM development in childhood. Only four measures had items in all construct dimensions (i.e., cognitive–interpersonal, cognitive–intrapersonal, affective–interpersonal, and affective–intrapersonal ToM), but they were not designed with specific items on developmental components in every dimension. As regards modes of presentation and response, twenty-one measures designed with visual aids are recommended for children with poor verbal comprehension and expression abilities. Only six measures were constructed or examined with Rasch modeling to better quantify ToM ability. To sum up, currently, no single ToM measure constructed with Rasch modeling and featuring visual aids can assess children's ToM ability simultaneously and specifically with the multidimensional construct. A thorough ToM measurement for children with the above-mentioned characteristics is warranted for clinicians and researchers to better understand children's ToM ability and examine the mechanisms governing the developmental and multidimensional constructs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has tremendous clinical, health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL), and economic burden on patients and the society. To assess the comprehensive impact of HCV infection, systematic tracking of HRQOL in patients with HCV infection is important.Objective: The aim of this study was to systematically validate an HCV-specific HRQOL instrument, the Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire-Hepatitis C Version (CLDQ-HCV), in patients with chronic HCV infection.Methods: The CLDQ-HCV has 29 items in four domains, each scored on a Likert scale of 1 -to 7. We used a large cohort of patients with HCV infection enrolled in clinical trials (N = 4142) to test internal consistency, validity, and responsiveness, and we used another cohort of untreated patients with HCV infection (N = 36) to assess test-retest reliability.Results: The CLDQ-HCV performed well in all the psychometric assessments. In particular, the Cronbach alphas ranged from 0.84 to 0.94 for the four domains. The item-to-own-dimension correlations exceeded 0.6 for 27 of the 29 items. Of the clinical and demographic parameters, the presence of cirrhosis and history of psychiatric conditions were discriminated best by the CLDQ-HCV (all P < 0.0001). The domains' correlations with similar domains of the 36-item short form health survey exceeded 0.8. The responsiveness to significant clinical outcomes such as developing treatment-induced anemia and clearance of HCV infection was notable (up to -0.70 for anemia and up to +0.85 for achieving sustained virologic response; all P < 0.0001). Test-retest reliability showed intraclass correlations of 0.84 to 0.93 between multiple administrations.Conclusions: The CLDQ-HCV is a fully validated, simple-to-administer HCV-specific instrument for patients with HCV infection that could be considered in studies of HCV-infected patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the prevalence of sexual myth by developing a measurement scale and discusses the testing of the scale for its validity and reliability. It states the need to develop a measurement tool in order to understand the perception of sexuality in society and provide a direction for future education on sexuality. It mentions that university students were chosen as a target groups for the study.

Background The Burns Specific Health Scale-Brief (BSHS-B) questionnaire is a suitable measurement tool for the assessment of general, physical, mental, and social health aspects of the burn survivor. Aim To translate, culturally adapt and validate the BSHS-B to Hebrew (BSHS-H), and to investigate its psychometric properties. Methods Eighty-six Hebrew speaking burn survivors filled out the BSHS-B and SF-36 questionnaires. Ten of them (11.63%) completed a retest. The psychometric properties of the scale were evaluated. Internal consistency, criterion validity, and construct validity were assessed using interclass correlation coefficient, Cronbach's alpha statistic, Spearman rank test, and Mann–Whitney U test respectively. Results BSHS-H Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.97. Test–retest interclass coefficients were between 0.81 and 0.98. BSHS-H was able to discriminate between facial burns, hand burns and burns >10% body surface area ( p < 0.05). BSHS-H and SF-36 were positively correlated ( r 2 = 0.667, p < 0.01). Conclusions BSHS-H is a reliable and valid instrument for use in the Israeli burn survivor population. The translation and cross-cultural adaptation of this disease specific scale allows future comparative international studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research sought to develop a palliative care measurement tool that could track and measure the rendering of care by informal caregivers to dying persons across the diversity of South African cultural and religious groups. This mixed method research led to the development of an instrument consisting of a one-dimensional domain, eight sub-items and 56 scores against which care can be numerically quantified on a radar graph. It is recommended that this tool be utilised to provide objective indications about the quality of home-based palliative care rendered to terminally ill patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to determine the psychometric properties of the newly developed Perceived Manageability Scale (PMnac). The study was retrospective in design. Two hundred sixty-one inpatients with a spinal cord injury were recruited from The National Spinal Injuries Centre (NSIC), Stoke Mandeville Hospital, UK, as part of a convenience sample. The PMnac was developed to measure an individual's perceived manageability of their situation. The Mood Questionnaire is used to assess an individual's current mood. Both scales are part of the Needs Assessment Checklist; a psychometrically valid and reliable outcome tool and vital part of the rehabilitation pathway at the NSIC. Results indicated that out of the six items in the scale, five were found to load onto one factor. The remaining item (item number five) did not load onto this factor structure and was consequently removed from subsequent analyses. With the removal of this item, the PMnac was found to yield high internal validity correlations, internal consistency coefficients and significant sensitivity to change. The PMnac is a psychometrically reliable and valid clinical measure of an individual's perceived manageability of their situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Team Decision Making Questionnaire (TDMQ) demonstrated internal consistency, stability over time, and construct validity. Internal consistencies were excellent and Cronbach's Alphas (N = 102) for the 4 components ranged from 0.83 to 0.91. The internal consistency for the total instrument was 0.96. Test re-test reliability (N = 22) measured with Intraclass Correlation Coefficient was good. Transdisciplinary teamwork is widely practiced in health care. However, specific measures to evaluate transdisciplinary team decision-making are not described in the literature. The purpose of this study was to develop and psychometrically test a scale to measure the quality of transdisciplinary teamwork. A multi-method approach using focus groups, field testing, and quantitative instrument development procedures was used to develop and evaluate TDMQ. Principal component analysis (PCA) with a varimax rotation (N = 102) revealed a four-component solution resulting in a 19-item measure consisting of 4 subscales including Decision Making, Team Support, Learning, and Developing Quality Services. This study's findings support the use of the TDMQ for measuring the benefits of transdisciplinary teamwork. The four subscales of the measure provide insight into the nature of such benefits. To validate the TDMQ research is required with a greater number of health care professionals and in other clinical fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Problem: Psychometrically validated measurement tools are needed to evaluate an organization''s safety climate. In 2000, Gershon and colleagues published a new healthcare safety climate measurement tool to determine its relationship to safe work behavior (Gershon, R., Karkashian, C., Grosch, J., Murphy, L., Escamilla-Cejudo, A., Flanagan, P., et al. (2000). Hospital safety climate and its relationship with safe work practices and workplace exposure incidents. American Journal of Infection Control, 28, 211–21). The present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Gershon tool when modified to address respiratory rather than bloodborne pathogen exposures. Method: Medical practitioners, nurses, and nurse aides (n=460) were surveyed using the modified Gershon tool. Data were analyzed by factor analysis and psychometric properties of the tool evaluated. Results: Eight safety climate dimensions were extracted from 25 items (Cronbach''s alpha range: 0.62 – 0.88). Factor extractions and psychometric properties were reasonably consistent with those of the Gershon tool. Impact on Industry: The Gershon safety climate tool appears to have sufficient reliability and validity for use by healthcare decision makers as an indicator of employee perceptions of safety in their institution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Athletes report using imagery most often to successfully cope with and master challenging situations. This function of imagery is termed “motivational general-mastery” and includes imagining being focused, confident and in control in difficult circumstances. Also, athletes often use imagery to regulate their arousal levels (e.g. relaxing, psyching up) and this function of imagery is termed “motivational-general arousal”. While most athletes report employing these two motivational functions of imagery, their ability to do so has not been examined. The aim of the present study was to develop a measure of motivational general sport imagery ability, the Motivational Imagery Ability Measure for Sport (MIAMS). This was accomplished through three phases. Across these phases, evidence was generated showing that the psychometric properties of the instrument are adequate. In addition, the relationship of scores on the MIAMS to demographic variables, including sex, sport type and competitive standard, were examined. It was found that athletes participating at a competitive level scored higher on the MIAMS than athletes participating at a recreational level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]