Using handheld computers for daily alcohol assessment: Results from a pilot study

Aims: The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the feasibility and usability of daily retrospective assessments of alcohol use using handheld computers and to explore their comparability to Timeline Followback (TLFB) assessments.

Methods: College student participants received a Handheld Assessment Tool (HAT) at enrolment, which surveyed alcohol consumption and contextual factors for the previous day. After 1 week of daily monitoring, participants completed a paper‐and‐pencil TLFB assessment and HAT usability scale.

Results: Of the 1,800 matched data points on the HAT and TLFB, the overall level of agreement was very good (kappa = 0.80, p<0.001). The mean difference between the number of drinks per drinking days recorded using both methods was 0.19 (SD = 0.56). Participants completed HAT surveys on 87 out of 91 total possible survey days (95.6%). The HAT recorded 34 drinking days and the TLFB recorded 37 out the 91 possible days; the HAT was reported to be highly usable by all participants.

Conclusion: Overall, the HAT was found to be usable and feasible and produced high adherence. Further research should validate this alcohol assessment approach and apply it to representative populations.     

Summer Research Training for Medical Students: Impact on Research Self‐Efficacy

There is a well‐documented shortage of physician researchers, and numerous training programs have been launched to facilitate development of new physician scientists. Short‐term research training programs are the most practical form of research exposure for most medical students, and the summer between their first and second years of medical school is generally the longest period they can devote solely to research. The goal of short‐term training programs is to whet the students’ appetite for research and spark their interest in the field. Relatively little research has been done to test the effectiveness of short‐term research training programs. In an effort to examine short‐term effects of three different NIH‐funded summer research training programs for medical students, we assessed the trainees’ (N = 75) research self‐efficacy prior to and after the programs using an 11‐item scale. These hands‐on training programs combined experiential, didactic, and mentoring elements. The students demonstrated a significant increase in their self‐efficacy for research. Trainees’ gender, ranking of their school, type of research, and specific content of research project did not predict improvement. Effect sizes for different types of items on the scale varied, with the largest gain seen in research methodology and communication of study findings.     

本科实习护生患者安全态度及影响因素的调查分析

目的 调查本科实习护生的患者安全态度现状,并分析影响因素,为开展患者安全教育提供参考.方法 采用中文版安全态度问卷(C-SAQ)对重庆市某医学院校的225名本科实习护生进行问卷调查,采用SPSS 20.0软件进行数据分析.结果 实习护生患者安全态度总均分为(3.75±0.54)分,安全态度6个维度的平均分由高到低依次为...     

运动员维生素E营养水平初探

采用荧光分光光度法对４０名北京体院竞技体校运动员和３０名普通大学生维生素Ｅ（ＶＥ）营养水平作了调查，结果表明：①运动员组与大学生组平均血清ＶＥ含量分别为１．２０±０．２８ｍｇ／ｄｌ和１．３３±０．３３ｍｇ／ｄｌ，运动员明显低于大学生组（Ｐ＜０．０５）。②竞走及中长跑组与短跑组平均血清ＶＥ含量分别为１．２４±０．２６ｍｇ／ｄｌ和１．１８±０．２９ｍｇ／ｄｌ，二者无明显差异（Ｐ＞０．０５）。而将这两组与大学生组比，则短跑组表现的差异大（Ｐ＜０．０５），竞走及中长跑组与大学生组没有显著性差异（Ｐ＞０．０５）。③从血中ＶＥ／ＴＣ（胆固醇）比值看，运动员组虽有低于大学生组的趋势，但两者无显著性差异（Ｐ＞０．０５）。运动员的ＶＥ营养状况是否存在不同于普通大学生的现象仍有待进一步的研究。