1,721,008 research outputs found
Life satisfaction Index: Italian version and validation of a short-form
No full textThe Life Satisfaction Index-version A (LSIA) is a 20-item questionnaire providing a cumulative score acknowledged as a valid index of quality of life. In the present study, an Italian version was produced through validated procedures of repeated back-translations. The final Italian version (LSIA.it) was administered to 90 healthy subjects (55 women; aged 40-65 yr, median 51). Cronbach alpha was 0.74, in agreement with previous studies on English, Greek, and Spanish versions, suggesting satisfactory internal consistency of the scale. Also in agreement with previous studies, factor analysis identified three factors (mood tone, zest for life, and congruence between desired and achieved goals), with eigenvalues of 2.80, 1.72, and 1.34, respectively. Nine of the original 20 items were dropped because of inconsistency with the overall scale and/or because of ambiguous loading onto the extracted factors. The resulting 11- item short form (LSI-11) had alpha = 0.69 and Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sample adequacy = 0.65. In our sample, the mean score of LSIA.it was almost the same as that previously reported in the literature for LSIA, and the correlation between LSIA and LSI-11 was very high (r = 0.91). In a test- retest trial, the cumulative score of LSI-11 showed a percentage of agreement ranging from 73.9 to 100 and Cohen's k statistic for reliability ranging from 0.51 to 1. The individual items of the LSI-11 presented substantial (k > 0.6) to excellent (k > 0.8) levels of agreement. The responsiveness of LSIA and LSI-11 during a hospital stay for 30 consecutive inpatients for medical rehabilitation programs, as measured by effect size, was 0.57 and 0.63, respectively. The results suggest that (1) the LSIA.it has cultural equivalence with the English LSIA and that (2) the 11-item short form of LSIA is not only simpler but also more valid from a psychometric standpoint
Reliability of four simple, quantitative tests of balance and mobility in healthy elderly females
No full textFour common tests of balance and mobility were administered to 45 healthy women, aged 55-71 years: Sharpened Romberg (also defined as tandem stance), eyes open and closed; One-Legged Stance Test, eyes open and closed; Functional Reach; and Sit-To-Stand test. Two independent observers scored the tests, which were performed on two successive days. Inter-rater (IRR) and test-retest reliability (TRR) were good. Across the six different tests, Intraclass Correlation Coefficients ranged from 0.95 to 0.99 for scoring consistency between rates, and from 0.73 to 0.93 within raters. This is in line with previous findings based on similar subjects and similar, though not identical, testing procedures. Intercorrelations between the scores were moderate: r coefficients ranged 0.40-0.66. The results suggest that this simple test battery provides reliable scores, and that the different tests relate to a homogeneous construct, while not being redundant. It thus seems worthwhile to further investigate whether they represent and measure a unidimensional domain, rather than conceptually different dimensions, in view of achieving a unique measure of balance performance
Psychometric properties of the Rivermead Mobility Index in Italian stroke rehabilitation inpatients
No full textObjective: To examine the internal consistency, validity, responsiveness and test scalability of the Rivermead Mobility Index (RMI) in Italian rehabilitation inpatients recovering from stroke. Design: Seventy-three stroke inpatients undergoing rehabilitation were assessed at admission (T0) and five weeks later (T1), using RMI, the motor (motFIM) and cognitive (cognFIM) subscales of the Functional Independence Measure, the 'leg' section of the Motricity Index and Trunk Control Test. Results: Cronbach's alpha of the RMI was 0.92. The item-to-total correlation coefficients (rrb) ranged from 0.36 to 0.83, all p < 0.003. All correlations between RMI scores and the other instruments, both at T0 and T1, were statistically significant (r ≥ 0.49, all p < 0.0001), except those with cognFIM. The difference in RMI scores over the testing period was statistically significant (sign test: z = 7.1, p < 0.0001) and the effect size was 0.89. The coefficient of reproducibility was 0.95 at T0 and 0.93 at T1, and both coefficients of scalability were 0.67. Conclusions: The study confirms the internal consistency, construct validity and responsiveness of the RMI, according to the classic psychometric indexes. However, some minor concerns arise regarding: (a) a floor effect of RMI in subacute rehabilitation stroke inpatients at admission and; (b) one item ('bathing') that seems sensitive to cultural and environmental factors. Moreover, even though RMI met the scaling criteria, the item hierarchy is not coincident with the one originally postulated. So, RMI should be considered only as a summated index with ordinal properties, and not a hierarchically ranked scale
Satisfaction with hospital rehabilitation: is it related to life satisfaction, functional status, age or education?
No full textSatisfaction with care, functional and cognitive status, life satisfaction, anxiety, and sociodemographic variables were correlated in 55 in-patients admitted to a rehabilitation unit after hip or knee surgery. The study aimed at investigating whether, as an index of care quality, patient satisfaction can be considered as a distinct domain or instead is subsidiary to other patient characteristics. Patient satisfaction with rehabilitation care was measured through a questionnaire, SAT-16. The SAT-16 scores were moderately correlated with a short form of the Life Satisfaction Index (LSI-11: rs = 0.41, p = 0.001), but did not correlate with either the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), the STAI form X (the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), age or educational level. According to the "discrepancy model", the fair degree of correlation between SAT-16 and LSI-11 could be explained by connecting both expressions of satisfaction with personal background expectations and their perceived degree of fulfilment. The results confirm, also for rehabilitation care, that patient satisfaction should be considered as a valuable specific outcome, independent of most of the patient characteristics investigated (functional and cognitive status, anxiety, age, and education)
Assessment of a patient satisfaction scale in rehabilitation
No full textA new scale is presented, measuring patients' satisfaction with respect to the quality of care during stay in a rehabilitation unit. The questionnaire is self-administered and anonymous, and it includes 15 items, scored 1 to 4. The cumulative score may thus range 15-60; the higher the score, the higher the patient's satisfaction
Writing a case report for the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine.
No full textCase reports (CR) have led to the description and discovery of new diseases, syndromes, therapeutic complications or side-effects, and previously unknown potential benefits of pharmacologic agents. CRs may also be used as an effective training strategy for novice authors to develop the skills needed for medical writing. Yet, too often, CRs do not follow standards for excellence in scientific writing. Therefore, in this article, the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (AJPMR) and the European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (EJPRM) collaborate with the purpose of providing guidance to authors in selecting CRs that might be appropriate for publication. In addition, we discuss different aspects of the preparation of a well-written CR in accordance with the mission and editorial views of both journals
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