Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale–Parent Form in parents of preterm infants

BackgroundThe Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale (RHDS)−Parent Form shows satisfactory reliability and validity to assess the readiness of parents to take care of their children discharged from hospitals in Western countries. However, the reliability and validity of this instrument has not been evaluated in Chinese populations.ObjectivesEvaluate the psychometric features of the RHDS−Parent Form among Chinese parents of preterm infants.MethodsThe RHDS−Parent Form was translated into a Chinese version following an international instrument translation guideline. A total of 168 parents with preterm infants were recruited from the neonatal intensive care units of two tertiary-level hospitals in China. The internal consistency of this measure was assessed using the Cronbach's α coefficient; confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to evaluate the construct validity; and Pearson correlation coefficient was used to report the convergent validity.ResultsThe Chinese version of RHDS (C-RHDS)−Parent Form included 22 items with 4 subscales, accounting for 56.71% of the total variance. The C-RHDS−Parent Form and its subscales showed good reliability (Cronbach's α values 0.78–0.92). This measure and its subscales showed positive correlations with the score of Quality of Discharge Teaching Scale.ConclusionThe factor structure of C-RHDS−Parent Form is partially consistent with the original English version. Future studies are needed to explore the factors within this measure before it is widely used in Chinese clinical care settings.     

First year undergraduate nursing students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of blended learning approaches for nursing numeracy

The ability to safely calculate and administer medications are indispensable, core nursing skills in nursing education and practice. Therefore, it is imperative that nursing students are adequately prepared with the necessary numeracy skills during their undergraduate nursing studies. The focus of this study, conducted at a single multi-campus university in the western Sydney region of Australia, was to determine the effectiveness of a suite of blended learning approaches on numeracy self-efficacy from the students' perspective. Surveys were administered as part of the study and included open-ended questions. 525 students provided open-ended responses that were analysed by the research team. Four main themes were identified from the open-ended responses: (i) Self-realisation; (ii) Practice, practice, practice; (iii) Boosting confidence; and (iv) Wanting more. The themes captured students' perceptions of the benefits of having a rigorous learning design in blended learning approaches. The study showed that a structured pedagogical approach to nursing numeracy in undergraduate programs improved students’ self-reported self-efficacy with mathematics and assisted students in realising the importance of learning and applying these skills as nursing clinicians.     

Linguistic validation of the Spanish version of the National Cancer Institute’s Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE)

Purpose

The U.S. NCI’s PRO-CTCAE is a library of self-report items for assessing symptomatic adverse events in cancer clinical trials from the patient perspective. The aim of this study was to translate and linguistically validate a Spanish version.

Methods

PRO-CTCAE’s 124 items were translated from English into Spanish using multiple forward and back translations. Native Spanish speakers undergoing cancer treatment were enrolled at six cancer treatment sites. Participants each completed approximately 50 items and were then interviewed using cognitive probes. The interviews were analyzed at the item level by linguistic themes, and responses were examined for evidence of equivalence to English. Items for which ≥20 % of participants experienced difficulties were reviewed, and phrasing was revised and then retested in subsequent interviews. Items where <20 % of respondents experienced difficulties were also reviewed and were considered for rephrasing and retesting.

Results

One hundred nine participants from diverse Spanish-speaking countries were enrolled (77 in Round 1 and 32 in Round 2). A majority of items were well comprehended in Round 1. Two items presented difficulties in ≥20 % of participants and were revised/retested without further difficulties. Two items presented difficulties in <20 %, and when retested exhibited no further difficulties. Two items presented difficulties in <20 %, but were not revised due to lack of alternatives. Sixteen items presented difficulties in ≤12 % and were not revised because difficulties were minor.

Conclusions

The Spanish PRO-CTCAE has been developed and refined for use in Spanish-speaking populations, with high levels of comprehension and equivalence to the English PRO-CTCAE.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov:NCT01436240

     

Are senior UAE medical and nursing students ready for interprofessional learning? Validating the RIPL scale in a Middle Eastern context

The success of interprofessional education initiatives depends substantially on attitudes and readiness of health care students to this type of learning. To our knowledge, nothing is known about this subject in a non-western educational context. Using a self-administered extended 29 item version of the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS), this study examined attitudes and readiness for interprofessional education of senior medical (n = 90) and nursing (n = 88) students' from the United Arab Emirates University and Institute of Nursing. The researchers also tested the validity of the RIPLS in this Middle Eastern context. Three main factors, comprising 20 statements emerged from statistical analysis of the data. Sub-scales were labelled "teamwork and collaboration", "professional identity" and "patient-centredness" and each had a strong internal consistency (0.86, 0.80, 0.80 respectively). Both groups of students believed that there are potential academic and clinical benefits of interprofessional learning. Nevertheless, analysis of variance indicated significant differences between the two groups of students in respect of key statements on each factor. The extended RIPLS was validated for use in an undergraduate Middle Eastern community and thus provides programme developers and evaluators with a useful tool to assess medical and nursing students' readiness for interprofessional learning in this context.     

‘Thinking like a nurse’. Changing the culture of nursing students′ clinical learning: Implementing collaborative learning in practice

This article reports a study evaluating the implementation of Collaborative Learning in Practice models at a university School of Nursing and Midwifery with practice partners across the South West of England. We conducted four focus group interviews with 40 students with experience of Collaborative Learning in Practice placements, and two focus groups with eight clinical practice staff with responsibility for implementing and supporting such models in their areas. Data were transcribed and analysed using the Framework Method. Key themes were ‘Real time’ Practice of Collaborative Learning Implementation, Collaborative Learning as Preparation for Registrant Practice, and the Student/Mentor Relationship. We conclude that Collaborative Learning in Practice utilising models of coaching and peer support, offers benefits to students who are exposed to the reality of nursing practice from the beginning of their placement experiences, enabling them greater responsibility and peer support than under normal mentoring arrangements. Furthermore, there are benefits to the registrants because the burdens of supervising students are spread more widely. This is timely given the review of Nursing and Midwifery Council standards for programmes and student support and the need to increase placement capacity as a response to global nursing shortages.     

Supervisors’ experiences of undergraduate nursing students’ learning in clinical practice when applying caring and learning as parallel processes in a caritative caring conceptual learning model (Part 2)

The Model for Improvements in Learning Outcomes (MILO) is theoretically grounded and designed to intertwine didactics, pathophysiology and medicine with specific concepts important for learning. The aim was to describe supervisors' experiences of undergraduate nursing students' learning during clinical practice when using MILO. A qualitative and explorative design was used. Seventeen supervisors, thirteen women and four men from different departments at three hospitals in southern Sweden participated. After using the model, data were collected through four focus group interviews with open unstructured interview questions and analysed using inductive latent content analysis. Twelve subcategories, four generic subcategories and one main category emerged. The students developed a questioning approach and were more reflective, open and compliant. Twosomes enhanced learning. Specific documents generated structure and feelings of participation. The supervisors felt that taking the students' pre-understanding into account and a caring approach in the learning environment were valuable for enhanced learning. The students established a caring relationship with the patients and the patients’ perspective became emphasized. Using MILO, intertwining between the natural and the professional became possible; enhanced learning in nursing skills together with a more caritative caring approach towards the patient was revealed. The need of compassion is discussed.     

Cross-cultural adaptation and Rasch validation of the Slovene version of the Orthotics and Prosthetics Users’ Survey (OPUS) Client Satisfaction with Device (CSD) in upper-limb prosthesis users

ObjectiveTo validate the Slovene version of the Orthotics and Prosthetics Users’ Survey (OPUS) 8-item Client Satisfaction with Device (CSD) questionnaire in upper-limb prosthesis users and to further verify measurement properties of this tool with Rasch analysis.DesignParticipants consisted of a convenience sample of 76 adults (54 men) using a prosthesis after unilateral upper-limb amputation who consecutively attended a follow-up visit at our centre.MethodsAfter translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the CSD into the Slovene language, we evaluated functioning of the rating scale categories, item fit (internal construct validity), reliability indices and dimensionality, as well as convergent and discriminant construct validity of the questionnaire.ResultsRasch analysis indicated that: (1) functioning of the 4 response options was acceptable; (2) all items fitted the measured construct [information-weighted (infit) and outlier-sensitive (outfit) mean-square statistics 0.60 to 1.40]; (3) person separation reliability was 0.62 (and Cronbach α = 0.76), item separation reliability was 0.83; (4) on principal component analysis (PCA) on the standardised residuals, the CSD showed borderline but acceptable unidimensionality and no local item dependency. Moreover, as expected, the CSD score showed good correlation with the QUEST 2.0 score (r_s = 0.57) and little to fair correlation with the OPUS Upper Extremity Functional Status score (r_s = 0.21).ConclusionThe metric properties of the Slovene version of CSD agree with previous studies. The present study confirms the validity of CSD for measuring patient satisfaction with an upper-limb device, enhances the confidence in this tool for assessing upper-limb prosthesis users, and contributes to further refining the technical quality of this measure.     

The strive for clinical effectiveness in medication dosage calculation problem-solving skills: the role of constructivist learning theory in the design of a computer-based ‘authentic world’ learning environment

This is the second of three papers in a series describing the design and production of an ‘authentic world’ environment to help students as they learn medication dosage calculation skills. It begins with a brief account of the constructivist view of the role of words as ‘containers of meaning’. This shows that didactic teaching methods may be founded on assumptions which deny the relationship between words and the concepts constructed by each individual as a result of their prior experience. It is suggested that problems experienced by students when taught in this way constitute a very real theory practice divide and may be explained in terms of constructivist learning theory.A fuller explanation of the range of constructivist theories follows and we show how thinking which arose in a number of educational fields, including mathematics education, influenced the adoption of a constructivist approach to the teaching and learning of practical mathematics in nursing.This led to the need to develop a suitable learning environment in which students could acquire medication dosage problem-solving skills. The main body of the paper provides an illustrated account of a prototype computer based ‘authentic world’ environment and the educational theories which informed and shaped its development. The evaluation of this system in both educational and clinical settings is the subject of the third and final paper in this series.     

Comparison of the effectiveness of two styles of case-based learning implemented in lectures for developing nursing students’ critical thinking ability: A randomized controlled trial

PurposeTo explore and compare the effectiveness of two styles of case-based learning methods, unfolding nursing case and usual nursing case, implemented in lectures for developing nursing students’ critical thinking ability.Methods122 undergraduate nursing students in four classes were taught the subject of medical nursing for one year. Two classes were randomly assigned as the experimental group and the other two the control group. The experimental group received the lectures presenting unfolding nursing cases and the control group was taught the usual cases. Nineteen case-based lectures were provided in 8 months in two semesters to each group.ResultsThe two groups started with a similar level of critical thinking ability as tested by the instrument of Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory—Chinese version (CTDI-CV). After receiving 19 case-based learning lectures for 8 months, both groups of students significantly improved their critical thinking ability. The improvement in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group (with the average total score of 303.77 ± 15.24 vs. 288.34 ± 13.94, p < 0.05). The experimental group also had significantly better improvement in six out of seven dimensions whereas the control group showed improvement in only three out of seven dimensions of CTDI-CV.ConclusionsThe study suggests the feasibility of implementing case-based learning in lectures. Unfolding nursing cases appear to be significantly more effective than the usual nursing cases in developing undergraduate nursing students’ critical thinking ability in the subject of medical nursing. Further research can implement the unfolding nursing cases in other nursing subjects.     

The Czech version of the life satisfaction index for the third age—short form (LSITA-SF12): Psychometric properties

Background

Evaluation of life satisfaction of older people using standardised tools can play a crucial role in evaluating the effectiveness of policy measures aimed at mitigating the effects of population aging.

Objectives

The aim of the study was to verify the psychometric properties of the Czech version of a 12-item scale (the Life Satisfaction Index for the Third Age) for older people living in the community.

Methods

The research involved 1113 older people from the Moravian–Silesian Region over 60 years of age living in a home environment. For the newly created Czech version of LSITA-SF12, we tested validity (construct validity and convergent validity) and reliability (internal consistency).

Results

We confirmed a single-factor model for the LSITA-SF12 scale (χ² = 71.33, p < .001, CFI = 0.995, TLI = 0.994, RMSEA = 0.065, SRMR = 0.056, GFI = 0.999) by confirmatory factor analysis and load factor analysis (values of explorations ≥0.45). The internal consistency of the scale was satisfactory (α = 0.878). Furthermore, there was a medium correlation rate (r = 0.592; p < .001) between the overall score of the LSITA-SF and quality-of-life score (OPQoL-Brief).

Conclusions

We found the Czech version of the LSITA-SF12 questionnaire to have satisfactory psychometric properties. The questionnaire is suitable for use in research and clinical practice to evaluate the effectiveness of preventive measures. Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov. PRS Protocol Registration and Results System; NCT05637177.

Implication for practice

The LSITA_SF12 questionnaire can beadministered by a community gerontological nurse and can be used in clinicalpractice and research.     

Moments of ‘touch’ as a way for mental support in Traditional Chinese Medicine consultations: Analysis of the interactional process of co-constructing understanding of the patient’s body conditions in Hong Kong

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a growing phenomenon around the world. However, despite its historical role in Chinese society, there has been limited research on exploring the nature of TCM practitioner-patient interactions in the Chinese context. This study used 10 hours audio recordings of consultations to elucidate how a TCM practitioner used moments of ‘touch’ (where the term is used to represent the nature of holistic TCM interactions) for co-constructing understanding of the patients’ body conditions. In these moments, the practitioner interacted with patients in order to explore their ‘Zheng’, the outcome of an in-depth analysis of all symptoms such as an imbalance in the pulse, lack of energy. This study illustrates how TCM practitioner strategically used discourse features in shaping the patient’ understanding of their current body’s conditions, and thus opened up space to elaborate their concerns or seek clarifications, leading to a holistic understanding and compliance with the recommended treatments. Specifically, the data show how the TCM practitioner through using the moments of ‘touch’ to shape the ongoing discourse so that the patients can have a better understanding of their illnesses. The results suggest that the long-term relationships between TCM practitioners and their patients can be developed through recognising the specific communication strategies used by the TCM practitioners in shaping the patient’s understanding. If TCM practitioners can learn better communication skills, it will lead to better quality of interactions and reach better clinical outcomes such as high patient satisfaction and compliance with treatments.