Improving measurement in nutrition literacy research using Rasch modelling: examining construct validity of stage-specific ‘critical nutrition literacy’ scales

Objective Critical nutrition literacy (CNL), as an increasingly important area in public health nutrition, can be defined as the ability to critically analyse nutrition information, increase awareness and participate in action to address barriers to healthy eating behaviours. Far too little attention has been paid to establishing valid instruments for measuring CNL. The aim of the present study was to assess the appropriateness of utilizing the latent scales of a newly developed instrument assessing nursing students’ ‘engagement in dietary habits’ (the ‘engagement’ scale) and their level of ‘taking a critical stance towards nutrition claims and their sources’ (the ‘claims’ scale). Design Data were gathered by distributing a nineteen-item paper-and-pencil self-report questionnaire to university colleges offering nursing education. The study had a cross-sectional design using Rasch analysis. Data management and analysis were performed using the software packages RUMM2030 and SPSS version 20. Setting School personnel handed out the questionnaires. Subjects Four hundred and seventy-three students at ten university colleges across Norway responded (52 % response rate). Results Disordered thresholds were rescored, an under-discriminating item was discarded and one item showing uniform differential item functioning was split. The assumption of item locations being differentiated by stages was strengthened. The analyses demonstrated possible dimension violations of local independence in the ‘claims’ scale data and the ‘engagement’ scale could have been better targeted. Conclusions The study demonstrates the usefulness of Rasch analysis in assessing the psychometric properties of scales developed to measure CNL. Qualitative research designs could further improve our understanding of CNL scales

Health Literacy in Five Immigrant Populations in Norway: Pakistan, Poland, Somalia, Turkey, and Vietnam. English summary. In Helsekompetansen i fem innvandrerpopulasjoner i Norge: Pakistan, Polen, Somalia, Tyrkia og Vietnam. Befolkningens helsekompetanse, del II

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Health Literacy in the Norwegian Population. English Summary. In Befolkningens helsekompetanse, del I. The International Health Literacy Population Survey 2019 – 2021 (HLS19) – et samarbeidsprosjekt med nettverket M-POHL tilknyttet WHO-EHII

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Nursing students’ experiences with concept cartoons as an active learning strategy for developing conceptual understanding in anatomy and physiology: A mixed-method study

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore bachelor-level nursing students’ experiences with concept cartoons as an active learning strategy and formative assessment to develop conceptual understanding in anatomy and physiology (A&P). Background: Many first-year nursing students struggle to understand central concepts in A&P. Concept cartoons–cartoon characters proposing scientifically acceptable statements and misconceptions combined with an illustration–might facilitate active learning in lectures, overcome misconceptions and promote deep learning. Voting on the most precise statement using a student response system gives formative information about the students’ conceptual understanding. Design: Parallel mixed methods design with an emphasis on a qualitative approach. Methods: Nine concept cartoons were developed based on former students’ written answers to exam items and applied in lectures at three universities/university colleges. Qualitative data of students’ experiences were collected in three focus group interviews during November 2019, one focus group at each of the three universities/university colleges (n = 5, 8 and 8). A short questionnaire was also applied (n = 343) to all students at the three universities/university colleges. Qualitative data were analysed using qualitative content analyses, whereas frequency analysis and Chi-square statistics were applied for the quantitative data. The study was approved by the Norwegian Centre for Research Data, ref. 779586. Results: Qualitative data analysis indicated that the use of concept cartoons addresses different learning styles and could promote deep learning and enhance the environment for learning. The concept cartoons were also seen as valuable for examination preparation. Regarding potential improvements, more information about concept cartoons, how they were developed and how they were supposed to be used would be beneficial, and the cartoons could be used in a more time-efficient manner during lectures. Quantitative data indicated that most of the students thought that concept cartoons were useful and inspiring in learning A&P, and they would recommend further use to increase their understanding of central concepts. There were no significant differences across sex, age, or entrance qualifications when it comes to the benefits of using concept cartoons in learning A&P.publishedVersio

Polymer Injectivity Test Design Using Numerical Simulation

Polymer flooding is an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) process, which has received increasing interest in the industry. In this process, water-soluble polymers are used to increase injected water viscosity in order to improve mobility ratio and hence improve reservoir sweep. Polymer solutions are non-Newtonian fluids, i.e., their viscosities are shear dependent. Polymers may exhibit an increase in viscosity at high shear rates in porous media, which can cause injectivity loss. In contrast, at low shear rates they may observe viscosity loss and hence enhance the injectivity. Therefore, due to the complex non-Newtonian rheology of polymers, it is necessary to optimize the design of polymer injectivity tests in order to improve our understanding of the rheology behavior and enhance the design of polymer flood projects. This study has been addressing what information that can be gained from polymer injectivity tests, and how to design the test for maximizing information. The main source of information in the field is from the injection bottom-hole pressure (BHP). Simulation studies have analyzed the response of different non-Newtonian rheology on BHP with variations of rate and time. The results have shown that BHP from injectivity tests can be used to detect in-situ polymer rheology.publishedVersio

Reproducibility of optical coherence tomography in vein grafts used for coronary revascularization

Background: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a high-resolution imaging modality able to provide near-histological images of vessel walls making it possible to distinguish intima and media layers of the vessel wall separately. The use of this imaging technique is increasing while data on the variability and reliability is lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the reproducibility of frequency-domain OCT in vein grafts used for coronary revascularization.Methods: Five pullbacks were analyzed by the same analyst with a 1-month delay (intraobserver) and by two different analysts (interobserver). Five pairs of pullbacks from the same catheters and vein graft were also analyzed (inter pullback).Results: Optical coherence tomography showed low variability in intra- and interobserver analysis with relative differences of mean media and intima thicknesses and areas of less than 5% for most parameters.Relative differences of the same parameters in the inter pullback analysis were in the 5–15% range. Intra- and interobserver reliability was excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] > 0.90) for intima thickness and intima, media and intima-media area measurements. Inter pullback reliability was good (ICC: 0.75–0.90) for intima and intima-media area measurements, and moderate to good for mean intima thickness measurements (ICC: 0.79; 0.7338–0.8284).Conclusions: Optical coherence tomography provides good reproducibility for the measurements of parameters relevant for the development of atherosclerosis in vein grafts.Clinical trial registration: ID NCT01834846

Matprogram med næringsverdi. Evaluering av bedriftsrettede prosjekter i Verdiskapingsprogrammet for matproduksjon og Nettverksprogrammet

Verdiskapingsprogrammet for mat ble igangsatt for å øke verdiskapingen basert på norske matressurser. Etter hvert har programmet fått hele leveringskjeden fra jord til butikk som virkeområde, men siktemålet er stadig å skape positive lønnsomhetseffekter for primærprodusentene. Våre resultater sannsynliggjør at det er positive lønnsomhetseffekter av tiltaket, og at bøndene er relativt mer fornøyd med lønnsomhetseffektene enn andre støttemottagere. Innenfor programmet foregår det et eget nettverksprogram som skal styrke kompetansen i matsektoren. Også dette virkemidlet får klart positiv vurdering fra deltagerne, men tiltaket er for lite til å kunne identifisere målbare lønnsomhetseffekter. Det er viktig for måloppnåelsen ved utviklingsprosjekter at primærprodusentene er med i prosjektene. Resultatene tilsier bl.a. sterkere vektlegging av primærprodusenter og samarbeid med primærleddet i prosjektvurderingen.publishedVersio

Study design

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