Screening reading comprehension in adults : development and initial evaluation of a reading comprehension measure

Reading comprehension in adults is a rather neglected variable in the practice of psychological assessment. We propose a new screening instrument for adult reading comprehension based on a pragmatic definition of reading comprehension as the textual understanding of the text read. Using data from a calibration sample (n = 266) and a replication sample (n = 148) for cross-validation, we tested the model fit for the 1-PL model (Rasch-model; graphic model test, Anderson’s Conditional Likelihood-Ratio test). Model fit was established and verified in the replication sample after the stepwise exclusion of three (out of 16) items. Correlations with a test for memory and the external criterion reading proficiency were in the expected direction. The comparison of a sub-group of putatively highly skilled readers (n = 59; University students and lecturers) and putatively low skilled readers (n = 122; participants undergoing psychological assessment for having their driving license reinstated after a ban) showed that a percent rank < 10 in the measure might indicate insufficient reading skills for practical purposes. Pending further research, the instrument seems to be a useful instrument for the screening of reading comprehension skills in adults

Michaela Wagner-Menghin - PhD project data for study 4

Study 4: Communication skills supervisors’ monitoring of history-taking performance: How doctors and non-doctors use cues to prepare feedback. Medical students need feedback to improve their patient-interviewing skills because self-monitoring is often inaccurate. Effective feedback should reveal any discrepancies between desired and observed performance (cognitive feedback) and indicate metacognitive cues which are diagnostic of performance (metacognitive feedback). Studying supervisors’ cue-utilisation when preparing feedback we adapted a cue-utilisation model and compared doctors’ and non-doctors’ cue-utilisation

Mentally Demanding Work and Strain: Effects of Study Duration on Fatigue, Vigor, and Distress in Undergraduate Medical Students

Aims: The impact of the extent of mentally demanding work on the next-day’s strain is largely unknown, as existing studies generally investigate consequences of extended versus normal workdays. The present study sought to fill this gap by investigating how short work periods of mentally demanding academic work impact strain reactions in medical students preparing for an exam, using days of no work as reference category. Method: The observational design involved students repeatedly self-reporting fatigue, vigor, distress, and the preceding day’s study duration. Hours of nocturnal sleep, attending paid work and compulsory classes, gender, and proximity to the exam were controls in the linear model (generalized estimating equations). Forty-nine students provided 411 self-reports (M = 8.6, SD = 7.0 self-reports/student). Results: Engaging in mentally demanding work was associated with increased distress and work periods > 4 h with increased fatigue. Distress, vigor loss, and fatigue increased in proximity to the exam. Conclusion: Despite students’ high control of their schedule, even short periods of mentally highly demanding work may impair next-day’s well-being when task motivation is high. Freelancers and students might require health-promoting scheduling of work and leisure to avoid an accumulation of strain

Comparison of rest-break interventions during a mentally demanding task

Research is scarce on ways to enhance the effect of rest breaks during mentally demanding tasks. The present study investigated the effectiveness of two restbreak interventions on wellbeing during an academic lecture. Sixtysix students (53 females, mean age 22.5 years) enrolled in two different university classes of 4hr duration participated in the study. Two measures of wellbeing (fatigue and vigor) were assessed immediately before, after, and 20 minutes after the break. A control condition without a break as well as an unstructured break was compared with breaks either encompassing physical activity or a relaxation exercise. Compared with the nonbreak condition, the unstructured rest break led to an increase in vigor, the exercise break as well as the relaxation break both to an increase in vigor and a decrease in fatigue at 20min post break. Compared with the unstructured break, exercise led to an (additional) increase in vigor and relaxation to an (additional) decrease in fatigue at 20min post break. Thus, the effects of rest breaks during mentally demanding tasks can be enhanced by engaging in physical activity or relaxation exercises, with effects lasting at least as long as 20 min into the continuation of the task.(VLID)340544

Taking the history in patients with swallowing disorders : an international multidisciplinary survey

Purpose: Clinical assessment of swallowing disorders (dysphagia) requires accurate and comprehensive medical history-taking to further tailor the diagnostic work-up, but functional health care questionnaires show a large variability and various limitations. The aim of this study was to assess the way in which international swallowing experts from various disciplines asses swallowing problems in order to improve the radiologist´s ability to take a thorough medical history in this specific patient group. Methods: A two-step Delphi method was used to collect swallowing experts’ ways of taking the medical history in patients with swallowing disorders. The questions obtained in a first interview round were pooled and structured by dividing them into general and specific questions, including several subcategories, and these were scored by the experts in a second step based on to their clinical relevance. Results: Eighteen experts provided 25 different questions categorized as general questions and 34 dimension-specific questions (eight attributed to ‘suspicion of aspiration,’ 13 to ‘dysphagia,’ six to ‘globus sensation,’ four to ‘non-cardiac chest pain,’ and three to ‘effect of life.’) In the second interview round, the experts´ average predictive values attributed to those questions showed the varying importance of the presented items. Seven general and 13 specific questions (six of them attributed to ‘effect on life’ and seven ‘others’) were also added. Conclusions: This collection of questions reflects the fact that a multidisciplinary approach when obtaining the medical history in patients with swallowing disorders may contribute to an improved technique for performing a symptom-oriented medical history-taking for radiologists of all training levels