Are clergy serving yoked congregations more vulnerable to burnout? : a study among clergy serving in the Presbyterian church (USA)

Pressures generated by increasing secularization and decreasing vocations to ordained ministry are resulting across denominations in a growing number of clergy serving more than one congregation. This study assesses the hypothesis that clergy serving more than one congregation are more susceptible to burnout. Data were provided by a sample of 735 clergy serving in The Presbyterian Church (USA) who completed the Francis Burnout Inventory together with the abbreviated Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised. Among these clergy, 82% served one congregation, 13% served two congregations, and 5% served three or more congregations. After controlling for individual differences in age and personality, the data demonstrated that clergy serving yoked congregations experienced no statistically significant differences in susceptibility to burnout, either in terms of levels of emotional exhaustion or in terms of levels of satisfaction in ministry, compared with colleagues serving just one congregation

Developing a patient measure of safety (PMOS)

Background: Tools that proactively identify factors that contribute to accidents have been developed within high-risk industries. Although patients provide feedback on their experience of care in hospitals, there is no existing measure which asks patients to comment on the factors that contribute to patient safety incidents. The aim of the current study was to determine those contributory factors from the Yorkshire Contributory Factors Framework (YCFF) that patients are able to identify in a hospital setting and to use this information to develop a patient measure of safety (PMOS). Methods: Thirty-three qualitative interviews with a representative sample of patients from six units in a teaching hospital in the north of England were carried out. Patients were asked either to describe their most recent/current hospital experience (unstructured) or were asked to describe their experience in relation to specific contributory factors (structured). Responses were coded using the YCFF. Face validity of the PMOS was tested with 12 patients and 12 health professionals, using a 'think aloud' approach, and appropriate revisions made. The research was supported by two patient representatives. Results: Patients were able to comment on/identify 13 of the 20 contributory factors contained within the YCFF domains. They identified contributory factors relating to communication and individual factors more frequently, and contributory factors relating to team factors, and support from central functions less frequently. In addition, they identified one theme not included in the YCFF: dignity and respect. The draft PMOS showed acceptable face validity. Discussion: Patients are able to identify factors which contribute to the safety of their care. The PMOS provides a way of systematically assessing these and has the potential to help health professionals and healthcare organisations understand and identify, safety concerns from the patients' perspective, and, in doing so, make appropriate service improvements

Conceptualisation, development and validation of T-QoL© (Teenagers' Quality of Life): a patient-focused measure to assess quality of life of adolescents with skin diseases

Aim To develop and validate a dermatology-specific quality of life (QoL) instrument for adolescents with skin diseases. Methods Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with adolescents with skin disease to gain in-depth understanding of how skin diseases affect their QoL. A prototype instrument based on the themes identified from content analysis of interviews was tested in several stages, using Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT) models to develop this new tool and conduct its psychometric evaluation. Results Thirty-three QoL issues were identified from semi-structured interviews with 50 adolescents. A questionnaire based on items derived from content analysis of interviews was subjected to Rasch analysis: factor analysis identified three domains, therefore not supporting the validity of T-QoL as a unidimensional measure. Psychometric evaluation of the final 18-item questionnaire was carried out in a cohort of 203 adolescents. Convergent validity was demonstrated by significant correlation with Skindex-Teen and CDLQI or DLQI. The T-QoL showed excellent internal consistency reliability: Cronbach's α=0.89 for total scale score and 0.85, 0.60, and 0.74 respectively for domains 1, 2 and 3. Test-retest reliability was high in stable subjects. T-QoL showed sensitivity to change in two sub-groups of patients who indicated change in their self-assessed disease severity. Conclusion Built on rich qualitative data from patients, the T-QoL is a simple and valid tool to quantify the impact of skin disease on adolescents’ QoL; it could be used as an outcome measure in both clinical practice and clinical research

Churchmanship and personality among clergymen in the church in Wales : are Anglo-Catholic priests more feminine?

The aim of the present study is to develop and test a new measure of Anglo-Catholic orientation capable of assessing the extent of the continuing influence of the Anglican-Catholic movement among Anglican clergy and useful for testing theories regarding the association between Anglo-Catholic orientation and personality. Data provided by a sample of 232 clergymen serving in the Church in Wales support the internal consistency reliability of the 21-item Francis-Littler Anglo-Catholic Orientation Scale, and, in terms of the Eysenckian dimensional model of personality, demonstrate that Anglo-Catholic orientation is associated with higher levels of psychological femininity as assessed by the neuroticism scale, but not as assessed by the psychoticism scale

Stop Using the Modified Work APGAR to Measure Job Satisfaction

Background. The psychometric properties of the Modified Work APGAR (MWA) scale are not established, yet researchers use this scale as an overall measure of job satisfaction. Objective. Perform psychometric analyses on the MWA scale using data from two populations. Methods. A landmark occupational cohort and a clinical cohort are populations with low back pain studied. The first five items of the MWA scale measure social support from coworkers, one item measures dissatisfaction with job tasks, and the sixth item measures lack of social support from a supervisor. Exploratory principal components analyses were conducted in both cohorts. Results. In both cohorts, the first five items of the MWA scale loaded consistently onto one factor, social support from coworkers subscale. Conclusions. Unless researchers are interested in measuring social support from coworkers only, future studies should use other reliable and valid instruments to measure a broad range of psychosocial work characteristics

Associations Between Patient Characteristics and the Amount of Arthritis Medication Information Patients Receive

Little is known about factors associated with receipt of medication information among arthritis patients. This study explores information source receipt and associations between demographic and clinical/patient characteristics and the amount of arthritis medication information patients receive. Adult patients with osteoarthritis (OA) or rheumatoid (RA) arthritis (n = 328) completed an online cross-sectional survey. Patients reported demographic and clinical/patient characteristics and the amount of arthritis medication information received from 15 information sources. Bivariate and multivariable linear regression analyses were used to investigate whether those characteristics were associated with the amount of medication information patients received. Arthritis patients received the most information from health professionals followed by printed materials, media sources, and interpersonal sources. Greater receipt of information was associated with greater medication adherence, taking more medications, greater medication-taking concerns, more satisfaction with doctor medication-related support, and Black compared to White race. RA patients reported receiving more information compared to OA patients, and differences were found between RA patients and OA patients in characteristics associated with more information receipt. In conclusion, arthritis patients received the most medication information from professional sources, and both positive (e.g., greater satisfaction with doctor support) and negative (e.g., more medication taking concerns) characteristics were associated with receiving more medication information