Psychometric Analysis of the Emotional Tone Rating Scale: A Measure of Person-Centered Communication

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Clinical Gerontologist on 2012-01-01, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/07317115.2012.702648.Psychometric analysis of the Emotional Tone Rating Scale (ETRS) was completed using ratings of naïve listeners who evaluated staff-resident communication in three nursing homes. Interrater consistency was high with ICC (2, 1) for agreement = 0.95 and consistency = 0.95. Factor analysis revealed two factors—person-centered communication and controlling communication—that explained 84.8% of the variance. Person-centered communication included seven descriptors (items) with loadings ranging from 0.84 to 0.98 and a coefficient alpha of 0.98. Controlling communication included five items that loaded from −0.63 to .99 with a coefficient alpha of 0.94. These factors were negatively correlated p = −.64 and demonstrated good ranges, standard deviations, and high item-total correlations. Person-centered communication correlated with higher resident engagement in conversation in contrast to controlling communication. The ETRS provides a measure of person-centered communication that can be used to evaluate interactions between nursing staff and older adults who reside in long term care settings

Symptomology following mRNA vaccination against SARS-CoV-2

Despite demonstrated efficacy of vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), widespread hesitancy to vaccination persists. Improved knowledge regarding frequency, severity, and duration of vaccine-associated symptoms may help reduce hesitancy. In this prospective observational study, we studied 1032 healthcare workers who received both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine and completed post-vaccine symptom surveys both after dose 1 and after dose 2. We defined appreciable post-vaccine symptoms as those of at least moderate severity and lasting at least 2 days. We found that symptoms were more frequent following the second vaccine dose than the first (74% vs. 60%, P < 0.001), with >80% of all symptoms resolving within 2 days. The most common symptom was injection site pain, followed by fatigue and malaise. Overall, 20% of participants experienced appreciable symptoms after dose 1 and 30% after dose 2. In multivariable analyses, female sex was associated with greater odds of appreciable symptoms after both dose 1 (OR, 95% CI 1.73, 1.19-2.51) and dose 2 (1.76, 1.28-2.42). Prior COVID-19 was also associated with appreciable symptoms following dose 1, while younger age and history of hypertension were associated with appreciable symptoms after dose 2. We conclude that most post-vaccine symptoms are reportedly mild and last <2 days. Appreciable post-vaccine symptoms are associated with female sex, prior COVID-19, younger age, and hypertension. This information can aid clinicians in advising patients on the safety and expected symptomatology associated with vaccination