Use and Perceived Credibility of Medication Information Sources for Patients with a Rare Illness: Differences by Gender

Patients with rare illnesses may use medication information sources that are appreciably different from those used by patients with more common illnesses. This article's purpose is to describe vasculitis patients' most frequently used medication information sources, determine which sources patients perceive as credible, and explore gender differences in source use and perceived credibility. Using an online questionnaire, patients (n=232) indicated how often they obtained medication information from 12 sources during the previous year and rated the credibility of 6 sources. The authors used multivariate analysis of covariance and follow-up contrasts to test for gender differences in source use and conducted t tests to compare patients' perceived credibility ratings. Patients used physicians and the Internet most often to obtain medication information and rated them as the most credible sources. Male patients used their spouse/partner more often and rated them as more credible than did female patients. Female patients were more likely to use medication package inserts and the Internet and were less likely to use nurses than were male patients. There appear to be similarities and differences between the information-seeking behaviors of vasculitis patients and other patient populations. Because male patients view their spouse/partner as a credible information source, providers may want to involve the spouse/partner in prescription decision making

Quantification of the whole-body burden of radiographic osteoarthritis using factor analysis

INTRODUCTION: Although osteoarthritis (OA) commonly involves multiple joints, no widely accepted method for quantifying whole-body OA burden exists. Therefore, our aim was to apply factor analytic methods to radiographic OA (rOA) grades across multiple joint sites, representing both presence and severity, to quantify the burden of rOA. METHODS: We used cross-sectional data from the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project. The sample (n = 2092) had a mean age of 65 ± 11 years, body mass index (BMI) 31 ± 7 kg/m2, with 33% men and 34% African Americans. A single expert reader (intra-rater κ = 0.89) provided radiographic grades based on standard atlases for the hands (30 joints, including bilateral distal and proximal interphalangeal [IP], thumb IP, metacarpophalangeal [MCP] and carpometacarpal [CMC] joints), knees (patellofemoral and tibiofemoral, 4 joints), hips (2 joints), and spine (5 levels [L1/2 to L5/S1]). All grades were entered into an exploratory common factor analysis as continuous variables. Stratified factor analyses were used to look for differences by gender, race, age, and cohort subgroups. RESULTS: Four factors were identified as follows: IP/CMC factor (20 joints), MCP factor (8 joints), Knee factor (4 joints), Spine factor (5 levels). These factors had high internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α range 0.80 to 0.95), were not collapsible into a single factor, and had moderate between-factor correlations (Pearson correlation coefficient r = 0.24 to 0.44). There were no major differences in factor structure when stratified by subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: The 4 factors obtained in this analysis indicate that the variables contained within each factor share an underlying cause, but the 4 factors are distinct, suggesting that combining these joint sites into one overall measure is not appropriate. Using such factors to reflect multi-joint rOA in statistical models can reduce the number of variables needed and increase precision

Validity and factor structure of the AUSCAN Osteoarthritis Hand Index in a community-based sample

The AUStralian CANadian Osteoarthritis Hand Index (AUSCAN) is a self-report assessment of hand pain, stiffness, and function. Prior studies have examined its validity in small clinical samples and family-based samples. This study examined measurement properties of the AUSCAN in a large, community-based sample, extending knowledge about the scale's generalizability

Development and validation of the student attitudes and beliefs about authorship scale: a psychometrically robust measure of authorial identity

One approach to plagiarism prevention focuses on improving students’ authorial identity, but work in this area depends on robust measures. This paper presents the development of a psychometrically robust measure of authorial identity - the Student Attitudes and Beliefs about Authorship Scale. In the item generation phase, a pool of items was developed and assessed for content validity by subject matter experts. In the exploratory phase, data from 439 higher education students were used to identify a latent variable model with three factors: ‘authorial confidence’, ‘valuing writing’ and ‘identification with author’. In the confirmatory phase, data from 306 higher education students were used to test the three-factor model's reliability and validity. The three-factor structure was confirmed, and the results showed the SABAS has a stronger psychometric basis than previously available measures. This measure of authorial identity can be used with confidence in research and pedagogy to help students improve their authorial identity

Personality, conventional Christian belief and unconventional paranormal belief : a study among teenagers

A sample of 10,851 pupils (5493 males and 5358 females) attending Year 9 classes (13- to 14-year-olds) and a sample of 9494 pupils (4787 males and 4707 females) attending Year 10 classes (14- to 15-year-olds) in non-denominational state-maintained secondary schools in England and Wales completed questions concerned with conventional Christian belief and unconventional paranormal belief, alongside the short-form Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. The data demonstrated that conventional Christian belief and unconventional paranormal belief occupy different locations in relation to the Eysenckian model of personality in respect of the psychoticism scale and the lie scale. While conventional Christian belief is associated with lower psychoticism scores and higher lie scale scores (greater social conformity), unconventional paranormal belief is associated with higher psychoticism scores and lower lie scale scores (lower social conformity)

Racial Differences in Sleep Medication Use: A Cross-Sectional Study of the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project

Little is known about racial differences in the use of sleep medications

Osteoarthritis and Sleep: The Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project

Objective—Little is known about the association of symptomatic osteoarthritis (OA) with sleep disturbance. We compared the prevalence and severity of current sleep problems among individuals with and without symptomatic hip or knee OA in a large, community-based sample. Methods—Participants (N = 2682, 28% with symptomatic hip or knee OA) were from the Johnston County Osteoarthritis Project. Six sleep variables were grouped into 2 categories: insomnia (trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, or waking early) and insufficient sleep (daytime sleepiness, not enough sleep, or not feeling rested). The presence of any sleep problem (insomnia or insufficient sleep) was also assessed, as were annual frequency and cumulative days of sleep problems. Adjusted models examined associations of symptomatic OA with sleep problems controlling for demographic characteristics, obesity, self-reported health, and depressive symptoms. Results—Symptomatic hip or knee OA was associated with increased odds of any sleep problem (odds ratio 1.25, 95% confidence interval 1.02–1.54), insomnia (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.07–1.56), and insufficient sleep (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.12–1.62) in adjusted models. Among participants with sleep problems, those with symptomatic OA reported higher median numbers of annual and cumulative days of insomnia and insufficient sleep, although these associations were not statistically significant in adjusted models. Conclusion—Symptomatic hip and knee OA are significantly associated with sleep problems, independent of other factors related to sleep difficulties, including self-rated health and depression. Patients with OA should be regularly screened for sleep disturbance as part of routine care

Views of treatment decision making from adolescents with chronic illnesses and their parents: a pilot study

Objective Shared decision making may increase satisfaction with health care and improve outcomes, but little is known about adolescents’ decision‐making preferences. The primary purpose of this study is to describe the decision‐making preferences of adolescents with chronic illnesses and their parents, and the extent to which they agree

Initial evidence for the criterion-related and structural validity of the long versions of the direct and meta-perspectives of the Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2010 Taylor & Francis.The aim of the present study was to develop and initially validate a longer version of the direct (Jowett & Ntoumanis, 2004) and meta-perspectives (Jowett, 2009a, 2009b) of the Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (CART-Q). In Study 1, instruments (e.g. questionnaires, scales, and inventories) that have been used to assess relationship quality in the broader psychological literature were examined and items potentially relevant to the coach-athlete relationship were identified. The content validity of the identified items was then assessed using expert panels. A final questionnaire was subsequently prepared and administered to 693 participants (310 coaches and 383 athletes). Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to assess the multidimensional nature of the questionnaire based on the 3Cs (i.e. closeness, commitment, and complementarity) model of the coach-athlete relationship. The findings indicated that the direct and meta-perspective items of the long versions of the CART-Q approached an adequate data fit. Moreover, evidence for the internal consistency and criterion validity of the new instruments was also obtained. In Study 2, the newly developed measure was administered to an independent sample of 251 individuals (145 athletes and 106 coaches). Further statistical support was gained for the factorial validity and reliability of the longer version of the CART-Q

Examining the moderating effect of individual-level cultural values on users’ acceptance of E-learning in developing countries: a structural equation modeling of an extended technology acceptance model

In this study, we examine the effects of individual-level culture on the adoption and acceptance of e-learning tools by students in Lebanon using a theoretical framework based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). To overcome possible limitations of using TAM in developing countries, we extend TAM to include subjective norms (SN) and quality of work life constructs as additional constructs and a number of cultural variables as moderators. The four cultural dimensions of masculinity/femininity (MF), individualism/collectivism, power distance and uncertainty avoidance were measured at the individual level to enable them to be integrated into the extended TAM as moderators and a research model was developed based on previous literature. To test the hypothesised model, data were collected from 569 undergraduate and postgraduate students using e-learning tools in Lebanon via questionnaire. The collected data were analysed using the structural equation modelling technique in conjunction with multi-group analysis. As hypothesised, the results of the study revealed perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), SN and quality of work life to be significant determinants of students’ behavioural intention (BI) towards e-learning. The empirical results also demonstrated that the relationship between SN and BI was particularly sensitive to differences in individual-cultural values, with significant moderating effects observed for all four of the cultural dimensions studied. Some moderating effects of culture were also found for both PU and PEOU, however, contrary to expectations the effect of quality of work life was not found to be moderated by MF as some previous authors have predicted. The implications of these results to both theory and practice are explored in the paper