An empirical investigation of issues in the assessment of social skill

Research in the assessment and training of social skills has been hampered by the absence of adequate measurement and assessment instruments. The present study investigated a number of assessment issues in the area of social skill. These issues concerned the reliability and validity of untrained judges, the utility of role play, the behavioural consistency of skilled and unskilled subjects and the predictive power of nonverbal, paraverbal and verbal behaviours in social skill. Forty-three subjects were videotaped in two roleplays and a waiting interaction with a confederate of the opposite sex. Nine untrained judges provided criterion ratings of global social skill, while raters scored the paraverbal taped performances on a and verbal measures. The results indicated that untrained judges were fairly reliable; behaviour in role play and waiting interaction differed for unskilled subjects, but not for skilled subjects; skilled subjects did not show greater behavioural variability than unskilled subjects. A series of regression analyses revealed that the amount and timing of speech had the greatest influence on skill judgements. In general, predictive behaviours were able to account for considerably more of the variance in unskilled subjects than in skilled subjects. These findings suggest that nonverbal and paraverbal behaviours are significant at the lower end of the skill spectrum, but that other factors, probably verbal, influence judgements of high skill. The implications of these results for social skill assessment and training and for further research in the area are discussed

Knowledge brokers and rapid reviews: what do they do and how do they do it?

Knowledge brokering is a strategy frequently utilised to increase interaction between policymakers and researchers and build capacity for research. The Sax Institute uses knowledge brokers in one-off brief interventions to commission rapid reviews for use in decision making. Using knowledge brokers has been found to increase the clarity of rapid review proposals, yet little is known about how knowledge brokers assist policymakers to define their rapid research needs

Handling missing items in the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS): a simulation study

Additional file 1: Appendix S1. Individual results

The trials and tribulations of conducting an m-health pilot randomized controlled trial to improve oral cancer therapy adherence: recommendations for future multisite, non-drug clinical trials

Abstract Objective Integrating mobile phone-based health (m-health) interventions into healthcare systems is one solution to improve access to services for the growing number of patients with chronic illness. Practical challenges such as poor recruitment and inadequate resource allocation can hamper the assessment of such interventions with clinical trial methodology. This paper highlights the challenges encountered during a pilot randomized controlled trial of an m-health medication adherence intervention and offers recommendations for future multi-site, non-drug clinical trials. Results Eighteen patients were recruited to the study; eight were randomly allocated to the intervention arm. Intervention participants responded to their daily medication-reminder text messages, indicating that medication had been taken or not, and nurses were able to organize their calls around their workload. The trial closed prematurely primarily due to inadequate numbers of eligible patients; however, other potentially resolvable feasibility issues were identified. These included lack of infrastructure at study sites, poor screening data acquisition and management processes, and inexperience in conducting supportive care trials at participating sites. M-health intervention trials are designed to inform implementation of best supportive care practice. Adequate skills and infrastructure are research prerequisites that require careful consideration and sufficient investment for the successful execution of multi-site supportive care trials. Trial registration Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register: ACTRN1261200063586

The TRIO Framework : Conceptual insights into family caregiver involvement and influence throughout cancer treatment decision-making

This research was supported under Australian Research Council's Discovery Projects funding scheme (Project Number: DP140103838).Peer reviewedPostprin

From normal response to clinical problem : definition and clinical features of fear of cancer recurrence

Research to date on fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) shows that moderate to high FCR affects 22-87 % of cancer survivors and is associated with higher psychological morbidity (Simard et al J Cancer Surviv 7:300-322, 2013). Despite growing research interest in FCR, the lack of consensus on its definition and characteristics when it reaches a clinical level has impeded knowledge transfer into patient services. In order to address these gaps, expert researchers, policy makers, trainees, and patient advocates attended a 2-day colloquium at the University of Ottawa in August 2015. A Delphi method was used to identify the most relevant definition of FCR, and the attendees generated possible diagnostic characteristics of clinical FCR. After three rounds of discussion and voting, the attendees reached consensus on a new definition of FCR: "Fear, worry, or concern relating to the possibility that cancer will come back or progress." Regarding clinical FCR, five possible characteristics were proposed: (1) high levels of preoccupation, worry, rumination, or intrusive thoughts; (2) maladaptive coping; (3) functional impairments; (4) excessive distress; and (5) difficulties making plans for the future. The new proposed definition of FCR reflects the broad spectrum in which patients experience FCR. A consensual definition of FCR and the identification of the essential characteristics of clinical FCR are necessary to accurately and consistently measure FCR severity and to develop effective interventions to treat FCR. We hope this broad definition can encourage further research and the development of inclusive policies for all cancer patients and survivors who are struggling with this issue.PostprintPeer reviewe

Can consumers learn to ask three questions to improve shared decision making? A feasibility study of the ASK (AskShareKnow) Patient–Clinician Communication Model® intervention in a primary health-care setting

Funded by Informed Medical Decisions Foundation. Grant Number: #0175-1 National Health and Medical Research Council Public Health Training Fellowship. Grant Number: 568962Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Interventions before consultations to help patients address their information needs by encouraging question asking: systematic review

Objective To assess the effects on patients, clinicians, and the healthcare system of interventions before consultations to help patients or their representatives gather information in consultations by question asking