Functional Independence Measure in Iran: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Evaluation of Ceiling and Floor Effects in Traumatic Brain Injury Patients

Background: The functional independence measure (FIM) is one of the most important assessment instruments for motor and cognitive dependence in rehabilitation medicine; however, there is little data about its confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and ceiling/floor effects from other countries and also in Iranian patients. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate a two-factor model (motor and cognitive independence as latent variables) and ceiling/floor effects for FIM in Iranian patients with traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 185 subacute TBI patients were selected from emergency and neurosurgery departments of Poursina Hospital (the largest trauma hospital in northern Iran, Rasht) using the consecutive sampling method and were assessed for functional independence. Results: The results of this study showed that the floor effect was not observed; however, ceiling effects were observed for the FIM total score and its subscales. The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the chi-square/df ratio was 2.8 for the two-factor structure and the fit indices for this structural model including root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.099, normed fit index (NFI) = 0.96, tucker lewis index (TLI) = 0.97, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.97 were close to standard indices. Conclusions: Although ceiling effects should be considered for rehabilitation targets, the two-factor model of FIM (motor and cognitive independence) has an eligible fitness for Iranian patients with TBI

Psychometric properties of the university student engagement inventory among Chinese students

Abstract Purpose: Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in China, student engagement in online learning has been a critical issue for all educational institutions. The university student engagement inventory (USEI) is the most used scale for assessing the construct of student engagement. The present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the USEI among 1504 Chinese university students who completed a survey through an online platform between December 2020 and January 2021. Design/methodology/approach: In this cross-sectional study, content validity, construct validity and reliability of the scale were assessed. Findings: The results supported the three-factor model with acceptable goodness of fit (χ2 (71) = 369.717, p = 0.13, χ2/df = 5.207, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.967, normed fit index (NFI) = 0.960, Tucker–Lewis index (TLI) = 0.958, standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.030, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) (90% CI) = 0.053 [0.049, 0.057]), good internal consistency and construct reliability (Cronbach's alpha and omega coefficient >0.70) and strong convergent validity. Also, the measurement invariance was confirmed across gender. Originality/value: This study showed that the 3-factor structure of USEI with Chinese university students had good construct validity, internal consistency and reliability. It could help measure student engagement in online learning in China. © 2023, Long She, Fatemeh Khoshnavay Fomani, João Marôco, Kelly-Ann Allen, Hamid Sharif Nia and Pardis Rahmatpour.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Psychometrics evaluation of the university student engagement inventory in online learning among Arab students

Aim Student’ engagement is a predictor of various educational outcomes, and it is a key factor in perceived learning. This study aims to investigate the psychometric properties of University Student Engagement Inventory (USEI) among students of Arab universities. Methods In this cross-sectional methodological study 525 Arab university students participated. Data was collected from December 2020 to January 2021. The confirmatory factor analysis used for construct validity, reliability and Invariance analysis for Sex were evaluated. Results Confirmatory factor analysis indices confirmed the good model fit to the data (CFIscl=0.977, NFIscl=0.974, TLIscl=0.972, SRMR = 0.036, RMSEAscl=0.111, n = 525). All tested models showed strong invariance of the USEI between male and females. There was also evidence of convergent (AVE > 0.7 for all the scales) and discriminant validity (HTMT > 0.75 for all scales). Reliability evidence for the USEI measures in the sample of Arabic students was high (αordinal and ω above 0.86). Conclusion The results of this study support the validity and reliability of the USEI with 15 items and 3 factors and demonstrate the importance of students’ engagement in the learning process, academic progress, and self-directed learning.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A psychometric lens for e-learning: Examining the validity and reliability of the persian version of University Students’ Engagement Inventory (P-USEI)

Student engagement is a critical component of e-learning, which became an important focus for most academic institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. University students’ engagement is measured using various scales with diferent subscales. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the University Student Engagement Inventory (P-USEI). A cross-sectional methodology study was conducted among Iranian university students (n =667) from April to May 2020. After forward–backward translation, the content, and construct validity, and reliability of the scale were assessed. The results obtained from the confrmatory factor analysis confrmed that the P-USEI has three factors: cognitive, emotional, and behaviour. The fndings of the study supported the adequate reliability, factorial, convergent, and discriminant validities of P-USEI in a sample of Iranian students. The P-USEI dimensions have predictive value for important academic variables that can be generalized by developing the research through a psychometric evaluation on student engagement.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Parental hesitancy toward children vaccination: A multi-country psychometric and predictive study

Aim Understanding vaccine hesitancy, as a critical concern for public health, cannot occur without the use of validated measures applicable and relevant to the samples they are assessing. The current study aimed to validate the Vaccine Hesitancy Scale (VHS) and to investigate the predictors of children’s vaccine hesitancy among parents from Australia, China, Iran, and Turkey. To ensure the high quality of the present observational study the STROBE checklist was utilized. Design A cross-sectional study. Method In total, 6,073 parent participants completed the web-based survey between 8 August 2021 and 1 October 2021. The content and construct validity of the Vaccine Hesitancy Scale was assessed. Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega were used to assess the scale’s internal consistency, composite reliability (C.R.) and maximal reliability (MaxR) were used to assess the construct reliability. Multiple linear regression was used to predict parental vaccine hesitancy from gender, social media activity, and perceived financial well-being. Results The results found that the VHS had a two-factor structure (i.e., lack of confidence and risk) and a total of 9 items. The measure showed metric invariance across four very different countries/cultures, showed evidence of good reliability, and showed evidence of validity. As expected, analyses indicated that parental vaccine hesitancy was higher in people who identify as female, more affluent, and more active on social media. Conclusions The present research marks one of the first studies to evaluate vaccine hesitancy in multiple countries that demonstrated VHS validity and reliability. Findings from this study have implications for future research examining vaccine hesitancy and vaccine-preventable diseases and community health nurses.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A predictive study between anxiety and fear of COVID-19 with psychological behavior response: The mediation role of perceived stress

Published: 22 March 2022Objective: Despite the abundance of studies linking fear and anxiety to Covid-19, there are limited studies that examine how these elements impact psychological behavioral responses, especially in Iran. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between anxiety and fear of COVID-19 with psychological behavior response, whether this relationship is mediated by role of perceived stress among Iranian population during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A predictive cross-sectional study was used to investigate the relationships between COVID-19 anxiety syndrome, fear of the COVID-19 with psychological behavioral responses due to the pandemic and the mediating role of the COVID-19 perceived stress in these relationships. Results: The current study revealed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, fear and anxiety of COVID-19 can influence the psychological behavioral responses of the individuals, however this can be explained through perceived stress. Conclusion: As such, the current study points to the individuals who perceived high stress due to COVID-19 were more likely to comply with guidelines, which was contrary to the findings of previous studies. The current study findings are applicable for health policy-makers in order to help them in understanding human behavior for developing health promotion programs and also for fostering resilience among the general population.Hamid Sharif Nia, Long She, Harpaljit Kaur, Christopher Boyle, Fatemeh Khoshnavay Fomani, Esmaeil Hoseinzadeh, Daniyal Kohestani and Pardis Rahmatpou

Development and psychometric evaluation of postgraduate nursing student academic satisfaction scale

Aim: To develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of postgraduate nursing student academic satisfaction scale (PNSASS). Design: The mixed-method study was carried out in two phases; (a) item generation by hybrid concept analysis and (b) item reduction by psychometric evaluation of the developed scale. Methods: The initial item pool (N = 209) was prepared based on concept analysis results and similar instruments. A total of 402 postgraduate nursing students willingly participated in online data gathering from August 2019 to May 2020. The validity (face, content and construct) and reliability (stability and internal consistency) of the scale were assessed. Results: Exploratory factor analysis identified that the scale had four factors which explained 64.80 of the total extracted variance. The results of confirmatory factor analysis showed a good model fit. The reliability of scale was strong to excellent. The results showed that the PNSASS has suitable validity and reliability properties, which can be used to measure the academic satisfaction of postgraduate nursing students. © 2020 The Authors. Nursing Open published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Social determinants of breast cancer screening among married women: A cross-sectional study

Background: Regular cancer screening is the best way for early detection of breast cancer, but studies showed the low participation rates of screening in Iran. We aimed to determine breast cancer screening among married women and related factors in North of Iran. Study design: A cross-sectional study. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out from Jan to Mar 2017 among 1472 married women in an urban population in Rasht City, North of Iran. Data were collected using a questionnaire included socio-demographic information and breast cancer screening behaviors. Descriptive statistics, chi-square and logistic regression were used for data analyzing with SPSS. Results: The mean age of women was 35.1 ±6.5 years. Majority of women never performed clinical breast examination (70.7) and regular monthly breast self-examination (52.2). Only women over 40 yr performed mammography. Mammography performance was associated with health insurance (OR=4.99; 95 CI: 1.10, 22.53) and family history (OR=1.60; 95 CI: 1.19, 2.19), clinical breast examination was associated with age of women (OR=2.87; 95 CI: 1.90, 4.32) and breast self-examination was associated with age and occupation of women OR=1.67; 95 % CI: 1.16, 2.39, OR=1.65; 95% CI: 1.19, 2.29) respectively. Conclusion: The rate of breast cancer screening was low among married women. Therefore considering the structural and cultural barriers, effective health education is essential to reduce inequality and increase the efficiency of screening programs. © 2020 The Author(s)

The prevalence of amblyopia in Iran: A systematic review

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of amblyopia in the population of Iran. Methods: This article is a systematic review. A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Ovid, Web of Science, SID, Magiran, with appropriate terms. Information related to the sample size and the prevalence of amblyopia was extracted and summarized in tables. Analysis was performed using STATA software. Results: From 551 articles that were originally extracted from the databases, 31 articles met the criteria for entering the review. These studies were conducted in different regions of Iran. The prevalence of amblyopia in different regions varied between 0.19 and 3.69%. Study results were heterogeneous (I2 = 99.7%), and therefore, a meta-analysis was not done. Conclusions: The prevalence of amblyopia in Iran is very different. In addition to conducting national screenings, it is necessary to report the incidence of amblyopia and its related factors in different parts of the country. Keywords: Amblyopia, Systematic review, Iran, Prevalenc