The promise of open survey questions - The validation of text-based job satisfaction measures

Recent advances in computer-aided text analysis (CATA) have allowed organizational scientists to construct reliable and convenient measures from open texts. As yet, there is a lack of research into using CATA to analyze responses to open survey questions and constructing text-based measures of psychological constructs. In our study, we demonstrated the potential of CATA methods for the construction of text-based job satisfaction measures based on responses to a completely open and semi-open question. To do this, we employed three sentiment analysis techniques: Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count 2015, SentimentR and SentiStrength, and quantified the forms of measurement error they introduced: specific factor error, algorithm error and transient error. We conducted an initial test of the text-based measures’ validity, assessing their convergence with closed-question job satisfaction measures. We adopted a time-lagged survey design (Nwave 1 = 996; Nwave 2 = 116) to test our hypotheses. In line with our hypotheses, we found that specific factor error is higher in the open question text-based measure than in the semi-open question text-based measure. As expected, algorithm error was substantial for both the open and semi-open question text-based measures. Transient error in the text-based measures was higher than expected, as it generally exceeded the transient error in the human-coded and the closed job satisfaction question measures. Our initial test of convergent and discriminant validity indicated that the semi-open question text-based measure is especially suitable for measuring job satisfaction. Our article ends with a discussion of limitations and an agenda for future research

The relations between hope and subjective well-being: A literature overview and empirical analysis

How we perceive the future can greatly affect how we feel in the present. Even a currently positive situation is hard to bear when we know the future will be grim. Indeed, previous research has found that more hopeful people are happier. However, both hope and subjective well-being are multidimensional concepts comprising emotion (i.e., anticipation and affect), cognition (expectation and satisfaction) and, to some degree, motivation. Since most studies include only one dimension of hope and subjective well-being, little is known about how different aspects of hope relate to different aspects of subjective well-being. This study aims to gain insight into these relationships by providing an overview of the existing empirical literature on hope and subjective well-being. Subsequently, cross-sectional data of a representative sample of the American population are used to further examine the relationship between hope and subjective well-being. Our findings from both the literature and our empirical analysis show that positive expectations are only weakly associated with all domains of subjective well-being, whereas cognitive and emotional hope are most strongly related to subjective well-being. This finding indicates that the more passive characteristics of positive expectations have less of an impact on subjective well-being than a more agentic hopeful disposition

Views on deceased organ donation in the Netherlands

In many countries, such as the US, Germany, France, and the Netherlands, governments are dealing with a great shortage of organ donors. Even though people generally show positive attitudes towards organ donation, they often do not actually register as organ donors themselves. This study’s objective was to explore prevailing viewpoints among the Dutch population on deceased organ donation and the relation between aspects of the viewpoints potentially influencing the decision to register as an organ donor. Although substantive research about attitudes on organ donation has been conducted, this is the first study investigating people’s viewpoints focusing on the relation between beliefs, tastes, preferences, motives, goals and other constituents underlying people’s viewpoints on organ donation, such as the role of the media and public policies. This Q-methodology study revealed four viewpoints: “not donating your organs is a waste”, “it does not go with my religion”, “my family should decide”; and “it’s a good deed, but I’m doubtful”. These viewpoints convey informat

A long life in good health: subjective expectations regarding length and future health-related quality of life

Background: Subjective life expectancy is considered relevant in predicting mortality and future demand for health services as well as for explaining peoples’ decisions in several life domains, such as the perceived impact of health behaviour changes on future health outcomes. Such expectations and in particular subjective expectations regarding future health-related quality of life remain understudied. The purpose of this study was to investigate individuals’ subjective quality adjusted life years (QALYs) expectation from age 65 onwards in a representative sample of the Dutch generic public. Methods: A web-based questionnaire was administered to a sample of the adult population from the Netherlands. Information on subjective expectations regarding length and future health-related quality of life were combined into one single measure of subjective expected QALYs from age 65 onwards. This subjective QA

How do combinations of unhealthy behaviors relate to attitudinal factors and subjective health among the adult population in the Netherlands?

BACKGROUND: Health behaviours like smoking, nutrition, alcohol consumption and physical activity (SNAP) are often studied separately, while combinations can be particularly harmful. This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of lifestyle choices by studying the prevalence of (combinations of) unhealthy SNAP behaviours in relation to attitudinal factors (time orientation, risk attitude) and subjective health (self-rated health, life expectancy) among the adult Dutch population. METHODS: In total 1006 respondents, representative of the Dutch adult population (18-75 years) in terms of sex, age, and education, were drawn from a panel in 2016. They completed an online questionnaire. Groups comparisons and logistic regression analyses (crude and adjusted) were applied to analyse (combinations of) SNAP behaviours in relation to time orientation (using the Consideration of Future Consequences scale comprising Immediate (CFC-I) and Future (CFC-F) scales) and risk attitude (Health-Risk Attitude Scale; HRAS-6), as well as subjective health (visual analogue scale and subjective life expectancy). RESULTS: In the analyses, 989 respondents (51% men, average 52 years, 22% low, 48% middle, and 30% high educated) were included. About 8% of respondents engaged in four unhealthy SNAP behaviours and 18% in none. Self-rated health varied from 5.5 to 7.6 in these groups, whilst subjective life expectancy ranged between 73.7 and 85.5 years. Logistic regression analyses, adjusted for socio-demographic variables, showed that smoking, excessive drinking and combining two or more unhealthy SNAP behaviours were significantly associated with CFC-I scores, whi

Measuring the impact of caregiving on informal carers: a construct validation study of the CarerQol instrument

__Abstract__ __Background:__ Informal caregivers provide a significant part of the total care needed by ill or disabled persons. Although informal care is often the preferred option of those who provide and those who receive informal care, caring can nevertheless be very straining. This study investigates construct validation of an instrument of the impact of caregiving, the CarerQol. __Methods:__ Data was collected among adult caregivers (n = 1,244) selected from the general population using an online questionnaire in October 2010, in the Netherlands. The CarerQol measures and values the impact of informal care. The CarerQol measures subjective burden (CarerQol-7D) and well-being (CarerQol-VAS). Construct validation comprised clinical, convergent and discriminative validity tests. __Results:__ Clinical validity was supported by statistically significant associations of CarerQol-VAS and caregivers’ health, income and employment status, care recipients’ health, and the relationship between caregiver and care recipient. Convergent validity was supported by positive associations of CarerQol-VAS with the two positive CarerQol-7D dimensions (fulfillment and support) and negative associations with the five negative CarerQol-7D dimensions (relational problems, mental health problems, problems combining daily activities, financial problems and physical health problems). Moreover, CarerQol-VAS was negatively associated with other instruments measuring caregiving burden. __Conclusions:__ Construct validity tests in a large, heterogeneous sample of caregivers show that the CarerQol validly measures the

Measuring care-related quality of life of caregivers for use in economic evaluations

__Background__ Informal care is often not included in economic evaluations in healthcare, while the impact of caregiving can be relevant for cost-effectiveness recommendations from a societal perspective. The impact of informal care can be measured and valued with the CarerQol instrument, which measures the impact of informal care on seven important burden dimensions (CarerQol-7D) and values this in terms of general quality of life (CarerQol-VAS). The CarerQol can be included at the effect side of multi-criteria analyses of patient interventions or in cost-effectiveness or utility analysis of interventions targeted at caregivers. __Objective__ At present, utility scores based on relative utility weights for the CarerQol-7D are only available for the Netherlands. This study calculates CarerQol-7D tariffs for Australia, Germany, Sweden, UK, and US. __Methods__ Data were collected among the general population in Australia, Germany, Sweden, UK, and US by an Internet survey. Utility weights were collected with a discrete choice experiment with two unlabeled alternatives described in terms of the seven CarerQol-7D dimensions. An efficient experimental design with priors obtained from the Netherlands was used to create the choice sets. Data was analyzed with a panel mixed multinomial logit model with random parameters. __Results__ In all five countries, the CarerQol-7D dimensions were significantly associated with the utility of informal care situations. Physical health problems were most strongly associated with the utility for informal care situations. The tariff was constructed by adding up the relative utility weights per category of all CarerQol-7D dimensions for each country separately. __Conclusion__ The CarerQol tariffs for Australia, Germany, Sweden, UK, and US facilitate the inclusion of informal care in economic evaluations

The perseverance time of informal carers for people with dementia: Results of a two-year longitudinal follow-up study

Background: Given the projected increase of people with dementia over the next few decades and the related demand for informal care, an important question for health policy makers is to what extent and for how long informal carers can be expected to provide care in a sustainable way. This study aimed to investigate the perseverance time of informal carers for people with dementia. Methods: A 2-year longitudinal cohort study was conducted. Questionnaires were used to collect data about the care situation, the impact of caregiving on carers and their need for support, and the anticipated and realized perseverance time of informal carers for people with dementia living at home. The data were analysed using bivariate and multivariate analyses. Results: Two hundred twenty-three carers for people with dementia were included in the study and 25 (11.2 %) dropped out during the follow-up. The results show that after 1 year, 74 (37.4 %) of 198 patients were still living at home, and after 2 years, 44 (22.2 %) patients were still living at home. The variables that were associated with this outcome were identified. When informal carers anticipated that their perseverance time would be less than 1 year, this was indicative of their actual perseverance time. Conclusions: Anticipated perseverance time provides a fair indication of the actual duration of informal care. It is most accurate when carers anticipate a limited rather than an unlimited perseverance time. Although further research is required to support these findings, the concept of perseverance time may be considered a useful additional instrument in health policy and clinical practice for monitoring carers' need for support and for planning the transition of care from home to a nursing home

The impact of the design of payment scales on the willingness to pay for health gains

The questionnaire format applied in a CV study represents the way in which the WTP estimates are obtained. Payment scales are often used in CV studies as the questionnaire format of choice. The study summarized here analyzes the impact of the design of two payment scales (PS) on the monetary value of QALY gains. The scales differed in terms of their end-points, mid points, and coarseness. We judged the performance of the two PS against several indicators: the average WTP per QALY estimates, post-estimation uncertainty levels, the existence of mid-point concentration, and the dependency on end-points. Our results show that PS design influences respondents’ WTP values. The results also suggest that a more detailed scale with a more realistic range may help respondents to elicit values closer to their “true” WTP values, hence produce higher-quality outcomes. Further research and pretesting strategies are suggested to explore and minimize the effects of PS design on WTP estimates, which may ultimately increase the quality of WTP estimates