OBJECTIVE To test whether a theoretical scheme developed in the United States within the framework of Western science could be applied to a study of HIV risk behaviors among Ethiopian youths. METHODS Informal interviews and focus group discussions were conducted to determine the relevance of particular AIDS-related risk and protective factors suggested by Jessor's theoretical framework and to...

Exposure to community violence can influence adolescents' anxiety. Researchers have examined the relationship between exposure to community violence and anxiety. In their pursuit to explore that relationship, researchers have used a variety of instruments. This review of literature provides an overview of the instruments used to measure anxiety in adolescents exposed to community violence and e...

BACKGROUND New health status survey instruments are often described by their psychometric (measurement) properties, such as Validity, Reliability, Effect Size, and Responsiveness. For cluster-randomized trials, another important statistic is the Intraclass Correlation (ICC) for the instrument within clusters. Studies using better instruments can be performed with smaller sample sizes, but bette...

Background: In clinical practice, nurses’ attitudes regarding older patients are important in relation to quality of care. The Older People in Acute Care Survey (OPACS) is an instrument measuring hospital nurses attitudes regarding older patients and is validated in Australia and the USA. The OPACS is translated in Dutch language and content validity of this translation is previously assessed, ...

BACKGROUND Measurement of self-efficacy requires carefully developed and validated instruments. It is currently unclear whether available self-efficacy instruments for chronic diseases fulfill these requirements. Our aim was to systematically identify all existing self-efficacy scales for five major chronic diseases and to assess their development and validation process. METHODS We conducted ...

Retrograde amnesia for autobiographical information is the most critical adverse effect of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Much, if not most, modern research demonstrating long-term autobiographical amnesia after ECT has used either the Columbia University Autobiographical Memory Interview (CUAMI) or the short form of this scale (CUAMI-SF). Semkovska and McLoughlin claimed that studies using t...

SEVERAL PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES ASSUME THAT THERE ARE TWO BASIC BRAIN MECHANISMS THAT GUIDE BEHAVIOR: an avoidance or inhibition system, which is responsive to signals of punishment, and an approach or activation system, which is sensitive to signals of reward. Several self-report scales have been developed to assess the sensitivity to punishment and reward, and these instruments have been shown...

OBJECTIVE As the population ages, the incidence of heart valve disease (HVD) is increasing. The aim of treatment is to improve prognosis and quality of life. Standard surgical treatment is being superseded by new catheter-based treatments, many of which are as yet unproven. The need for appropriate instruments to measure quality of life in patients receiving treatment for HVD has therefore neve...

Over the years, researchers have used several methods to investigate reflection. These are based on various theories. Researchers mainly use qualitative methods to study reflection, but mixed methods and quantitative studies are carried out as well. A number of different scales have been developed and used to measure reflection. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the internal consiste...

Selecting the best instruments to measure quality of end-of-life care and quality of dying in long term care Published as MC van Soest-Poortvliet, JT van der Steen, S Zimmerman, LW Cohen, D Reed, WP Achterberg, MW Ribbe, HCW de Vet. Selecting the best instruments to measure quality of end-of-life care and quality of dying in long-term care. ABSTRACT Objectives: To compare available instruments ...