6 research outputs found
Quantitative versus qualitative notions of validity: investigating the validity of PSYCHLOPS as a patient outcome measure in trials of insomnia and sleep problems
IntroductionPSYCHLOPS (‘Psychological Outcome Profiles’)is a novel patient-reported outcome measure developed by Ashworth and colleagues that allows clients to evaluate their progress by measuring severity scores for self-defined problems at the start of, during and after therapy. PSYCHLOPS was administered in a study, ‘Resources for Effective Sleep Treatment (REST)’, designed to assess the feasibility of training primary care clinicians (GPs and nurses) to deliver ‘problem focused therapy’ for insomnia to improve sleep outcomes in adults with insomnia. We aimed in this sub-study to assess both qualitative and quantitative notions of validity of PSYCHLOPS in sleep studies.MethodsPSYCHLOPS was administered by a practice nurse to trial participants in two intervention primary care sites (participants offered ‘problem focused therapy’) and two control sites (participants offered sleep hygiene information) as part of a cluster randomized feasibility study. Other predetermined outcome measures including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and sleep diaries. We investigated qualitative and quantitative markers of validity including content validity (nature of response to items), internal validity (reliability), criterion validity (strength of relationship with a related variable) and construct validity (strength of relationship with an underlying variable). ResultsA qualitative analysis of test content showed a representative sample of the behavior domain expected in relation to sleep problems including sleep, sleep-related problems and underlying psychosocial and physical problems such as anxiety, worry and arthritis. A positive, statistically significant correlation was found between PSYCHLOPS and ISI (Kendall’s tau = 0.47, p<0.001) but not between PSYCHLOPS and PSQI (Kendall’s tau = 0.13, p=0.24) suggesting partial criterion validity with regards to insomnia impact. We also found a positive correlation between PSYCHLOPS and BDI and (Kendall’s tau = 0.47, p<0.001) indicating construct validity.ConclusionPSYCHLOPS demonstrated some aspects of quantitative validity supporting its wider use in this study setting. However, applying qualitative notions of validity uncovered a number of assumptions and response biases that should be acknowledged in future studies using the tool. Qualitative analysis added an additional dimension to the assessment of validity which should be considered in other validation studies.</p
Additional file 2: of Population preference values for health states in relapsed or refractory B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the United Kingdom
Survey instrument: time trade-off exercise. (DOCX 58 kb
Relative Efficacy of Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor, Dacarbazine, and Glycoprotein 100 in Metastatic Melanoma: An Indirect Treatment Comparison
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Indirect Treatment Comparison of Talimogene Laherparepvec Compared with Ipilimumab and Vemurafenib for the Treatment of Patients with Metastatic Melanoma
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Methane Emissions from the Natural Gas Transmission and Storage System in the United States
The recent growth in production and
utilization of natural gas
offers potential climate benefits, but those benefits depend on lifecycle
emissions of methane, the primary component of natural gas and a potent
greenhouse gas. This study estimates methane emissions from the transmission
and storage (T&S) sector of the United States natural gas industry
using new data collected during 2012, including 2,292 onsite measurements,
additional emissions data from 677 facilities and activity data from
922 facilities. The largest emission sources were fugitive emissions
from certain compressor-related equipment and “super-emitter”
facilities. We estimate total methane emissions from the T&S sector
at 1,503 [1,220 to 1,950] Gg/yr (95% confidence interval) compared
to the 2012 Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas
Inventory (GHGI) estimate of 2,071 [1,680 to 2,690] Gg/yr. While the
overlap in confidence intervals indicates that the difference is not
statistically significant, this is the result of several significant,
but offsetting, factors. Factors which reduce the study estimate include
a lower estimated facility count, a shift away from engines toward
lower-emitting turbine and electric compressor drivers, and reductions
in the usage of gas-driven pneumatic devices. Factors that increase
the study estimate relative to the GHGI include updated emission rates
in certain emission categories and explicit treatment of skewed emissions
at both component and facility levels. For T&S stations that are
required to report to the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program
(GHGRP), this study estimates total emissions to be 260% [215% to
330%] of the reportable emissions for these stations, primarily due
to the inclusion of emission sources that are not reported under the
GHGRP rules, updated emission factors, and super-emitter emissions
Methane Emissions from the Natural Gas Transmission and Storage System in the United States
The recent growth in production and
utilization of natural gas
offers potential climate benefits, but those benefits depend on lifecycle
emissions of methane, the primary component of natural gas and a potent
greenhouse gas. This study estimates methane emissions from the transmission
and storage (T&S) sector of the United States natural gas industry
using new data collected during 2012, including 2,292 onsite measurements,
additional emissions data from 677 facilities and activity data from
922 facilities. The largest emission sources were fugitive emissions
from certain compressor-related equipment and “super-emitter”
facilities. We estimate total methane emissions from the T&S sector
at 1,503 [1,220 to 1,950] Gg/yr (95% confidence interval) compared
to the 2012 Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas
Inventory (GHGI) estimate of 2,071 [1,680 to 2,690] Gg/yr. While the
overlap in confidence intervals indicates that the difference is not
statistically significant, this is the result of several significant,
but offsetting, factors. Factors which reduce the study estimate include
a lower estimated facility count, a shift away from engines toward
lower-emitting turbine and electric compressor drivers, and reductions
in the usage of gas-driven pneumatic devices. Factors that increase
the study estimate relative to the GHGI include updated emission rates
in certain emission categories and explicit treatment of skewed emissions
at both component and facility levels. For T&S stations that are
required to report to the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program
(GHGRP), this study estimates total emissions to be 260% [215% to
330%] of the reportable emissions for these stations, primarily due
to the inclusion of emission sources that are not reported under the
GHGRP rules, updated emission factors, and super-emitter emissions