Validity and Reliability

This article describes the development and reliability and validity testing of the Addiction Severity Assessment Tool (ASAT), a brief, 27-item multidimensional self-report measure of problem severity in daily functioning, relational functioning, dysphoric states, dependence severity, recovery skill/self-efficacy, and existential factors for adult substance abuse clients. Items generated for an Alpha version were conceptually and empirically evaluated. A Beta version underwent further empirical evaluation and item selection. Cross validation of the final version examined internal consistency, test-retest reliability, factor structure, and convergent/discriminant and known groups validity. Sensitivity to change was evaluated in a 3-month outcome study. Clients were recruited from inpatient, outpatient and residential substance abuse treatment centers, and a sample of 238 nonpatients were also recruited from community groups. The Beta version was tested with 201 clients, and cross validation involved 242 clients. Well-known standardized, self-report and interview-based comparison measures were used to test convergent/discriminant validity of the ASAT. Reliability coefficients for the six ASAT domains were acceptable. Reasonable convergent/discriminant and known groups, construct validity were demonstrated, along with sensitivity to change of the domain scale scores. The ASAT appears to comprise a useful new tool for assessing clinical outcomes of adult clients in substance abuse treatment.

In this study, measures of irrational beliefs based on the principles of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) were reviewed and contrasted based on psychometric characteristics and quality of guidelines for interpretation. The use of measures of irrational beliefs is an important component of the assessment of presenting problems in psychotherapy and may inform clinical decision making. Additionally, these measures are a helpful way to identify change in irrational beliefs and to measure the effectiveness of specific interventions to facilitate such change. While there are a number of measures of beliefs, there is considerable variability in their psychometric properties and utility for assessment. The majority of the tests are not produced by a publishing company, nor do they provide test manuals. The reliability and validity evidence presented in the publications varies considerably as do the size and quality of standardization samples, which impacts upon the ability to draw normative conclusions. Analyses demonstrated that most measures of irrational beliefs do not provide the evidence needed to adequately address the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (Standards; American Educational Research Association [AERA], American Psychological Association [APA], National Council on Measurement in Education [NCME] 1999). Discussion of the implications of this review for the development of future measures of irrational thinking by researchers as well as recommendations in the test selection process for an REBT practitioner is offered.

The European Pollutant Emission Register in Spain (EPER-Spain) is a public inventory of pollutant industries created by decision of the European Union. The location of these industries is geocoded and the first published data correspond to 2001. Publication of these data will allow for quantification of the effect of proximity to one or more such plant on cancer and all-cause mortality observed in nearby towns. However, as errors have been detected in the geocoding of many of the pollutant foci shown in the EPER, it was decided that a validation study should be conducted into the accuracy of these co-ordinates. EPER-Spain geographic co-ordinates were drawn from the European Environment Agency (EEA) server and the Spanish Ministry of the Environment (MOE). The Farm Plot Geographic Information System (Sistema de Información Geográfica de Parcelas Agrícolas) (SIGPAC) enables orthophotos (digitalized aerial images) of any territorial point across Spain to be obtained. Through a search of co-ordinates in the SIGPAC, all the industrial foci (except farms) were located. The quality criteria used to ascertain possible errors in industrial location were high, medium and low quality, where industries were situated at a distance of less than 500 metres, more than 500 metres but less than 1 kilometre, and more than 1 kilometre from their real locations, respectively.

Theories regarding susceptibility to emotional contagion, which address the ease of "catching" the emotions expressed by others, have recently received growing interest in the field of social psychology and health. Despite the theoretical and empirical importance, reliable and valid instruments to assess emotional contagion in men and women from cultures outside the English-speaking world are not well developed. The present study examines the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Greek adaptation of the Emotional Contagion Scale (ECS), and is a first attempt to test its measurement invariance across gender and culture groups (Greece and Sweden). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of competing models supports a five-factor model that includes the five basic emotions of anger, fear, sadness, happiness, and love. Using multiple-group CFA and a sequence of nested tests, configural invariance and partial metric and partial scalar invariance across gender and culture groups of the five-factor model were demonstrated. The results show that meaningful comparisons of ECS can be made across men and women from different cultures and support the hypothesis that susceptibility to emotional contagion operates at a differential emotions level.

The Children's Depression Rating Scale, revised version (CDRS-R), is a reliable, clinician-rated scale which differentiates the depressed from the nondepressed child. The sum score of the CDRS-R appears to provide a better estimate of depressive symptomatology than does clinical impression. The relationship of the sum of the CDRS-R with global clinical ratings of depression indicates that the scale measures the severity of depression which is its primary purpose. The scale is not affected by the age of the child in our clinical sample, and the content of the items grouped as mood, somatic, subjective, and behavior all show good correlations with depression. The CDRS-R has been shown to be useful in a variety of settings, suggesting it is useful in both primary and secondary depressions.

General practitioners (GPs) are recommended to use DSM-IV criteria to diagnose major depression in daily clinical practice. This implies the assessment of nine depressive symptoms and four additional criteria. A short structured interview has been developed to assess these symptoms and criteria, and a study was carried out to investigate the reliability and validity with which GPs can assess these symptoms and criteria and the DSM-IV diagnosis of major depression. In 14 general practices, 52 patients with symptoms of distress and depression were interviewed twice by their GP, with an interval of one to four days. Furthermore, the patients filled out three depression questionnaires. The reproducibility of eight symptoms and three additional criteria was moderate to good (kappa Ͼ0.40). The reproducibility of the depressive symptom count, that is necessary to arrive at a diagnosis of major depression, was such that in 75 percent of the patients the test-retest difference did not exceed one symptom. The reproducibility of the diagnosis of major depression was good (kappa 0.63). The validity of the diagnosis of major depression assessed by the GPs, as compared to results of the self-report depression questionnaires, was satisfactory (r 0.35-0.61). Diagnosing major depression in patients with depressive symptomatology just above or below the threshold of major depression warrants a certain amount of caution in general practice.

Background: Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) measures are being increasingly used to introduce dimensions excluded by normative measures. Consequently, there is a need for an index which evaluates children's OHRQoL validated for Brazilian population, useful for oral health needs assessments and for the evaluation of oral health programs, services and technologies. The aim of this study was to do a cross-cultural adaptation of the Child Oral Impacts on Daily Performances (Child-OIDP) index, and assess its reliability and validity for application among Brazilian children between the ages of eleven and fourteen.

A new scale for children and adolescents aged 4-18 years, called the Movement Disorder Childhood Rating Scale, was designed to: (1) describe clinical features of different types of movement disorders; (2) evaluate the intensity of movement disorders in different body regions at rest and during specific tasks; and (3) assess the influence of movement disorders on motor function and daily living activities. The scale is divided into 2 parts: Part I for general assessment, and Part II for movement-disorder severity. It includes a 20-minute standardized video protocol of all items. The scale was applied to 61 patients with different types of movement disorder, and was independently scored by 3 observers. Reliability, construct validity, and consistency indexes are reported. High interrater agreement on each item, and a high degree of internal consistency on several proposed items, were evident.

A QOL instrument was developed to measure the specific concerns of long term cancer survivors. The QOL-CS is based on previous versions of the QOL instrument developed by researchers at the City of Hope National Medical Centre (Grant, Padilia, and Ferrell). This instrument was revised over a one year pilot by Hassey-Dow and Ferrell. The revised instrument included 41 items representing the four domains of quality of life incorporating physical, psychological, social, and spiritual well being. The present study was conducted as a mail survey to the membership (n = 1,286) of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship with 686 subjects responding to the survey. Thts survey included a Demographic tool, QOL-CS and the FACT-G tool developed by Cella. Psychometric analysis, performed on 666 respondents, included measures of reliability and validity. Two measures of reliability included test-retest and internal consistency. The overall QOL-CS tool test-retest reliability was 0.69 with subscales of Physical r = 0.66, Psychological r = 0.68, Social r = 0.81, and Spiritual, r = 0.90. The second measure of reliability was computation of internal consistency using Cronbach's a coefficient as a measure of agreement between items and subscales. Analysis revealed an overall r = 0.93. Subscale alphas average ranged from r = 0.71 for spiritual well being, r = 0.77 for physical, r = 0.81 for social, and r = 0.89 for psychological. Several measures of validity were used to determine the extent to which the instrument measured the concept of QOL in cancer suwivors. The first method of content validity was based on a panel of QOL researchers and nurses with expertise in oncology. The second measure used stepwise multiple regression to determine factors most predictive of overall QOL in cancer suwivors. Seventeen variables were found to be statistically significant accounting for 91% of the variance in overall QOL. The fourth measure of validity used Pearson's correlations to estimate the relationships between the subscales of QOL-CS and the subscales of the established FACT-G tool. There was moderate to strong correlation between associated subscales including ' To whom correspondence should be addressed. @ 1995 Rnpid Science Publishers QOL-CS physical to FACT physical (r = 0.74), QOL-CS Psych to FACT Emotional (r = 0.65), QOL Social to FACT Social (r = 0.44). The overall QOL-CS correlation with the FACT-G was 0.78. Additional measures of validity included correlations of individual items of the QOL-CS tool, factor analysis, and construct validity discriminating known groups of cancer survivors. Findings demonstrated that the QOL-CS and its subscales adequately measured QOL in this growing population of cancer suwivors.

Purpose: Although an adult model of patient-provider mutual exchange of information has been proposed, there is no guiding model for adolescents or measurement methodology. Our purpose was to develop a new scale of patient-provider interaction for adolescents accessing reproductive health care and at risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and assess the reliability and validity of the scale. Methods: The Adolescent Patient-Provider Interaction Scale (APPIS) was developed from the Roter and Hall theory of doctor-patient relationships, previously validated adolescent satisfaction and communication scales, and focus group and individual elicitation interviews. To assess construct validity, the new nine-item APPIS was compared with the satisfaction scale used by the Young Adult Health Care Survey (YAHCS), and Kahn's Provider Communication Scale. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to examine convergence across scales, and factor analysis of the APPIS was performed. Results: The study recruited 192 African American girls aged 17.9 Ϯ 1.7 years (range 15-21 years) from three sites: a county STD clinic (n ϭ 51), urban adolescent clinic (n ϭ 99), and a family planning clinic (n ϭ 42). Most participants (85%) rated their overall health care highly (Ն 7 on a 10-point scale); 49% felt that both the provider and patient were "in charge" of the visit, and 88% "strongly agreed" or "agreed" that there was an equal "exchange of information" during the visit. The APPIS showed good internal consistency (Cronbach alpha ϭ .75), and moderate convergence with the six-item YAHCS scale (r ϭ .57, p Ͻ .001) and seven-item Kahn scale (r ϭ .48, p Ͻ .001). Three factors emerged from exploratory factor analyses, supporting our conceptualization of patient-provider interaction as being multi-dimensional.

Background: It is alleged that depression distorts the assessment of general personality traits. To test that hypothesis, we examined scores on the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) administered to acutely depressed patients at baseline and 14 to 26 weeks after treatment with antidepressant medication. Method: Two hundred and fifty patients completed the NEO-PI-R at baseline, 109 patients after 14 to 26 weeks of antidepressant pharmacotherapy. 48 patients (49.5%) were identified as responders while 49 (50.5%) were identified as nonresponders. The remaining 12 patients were excluded because they met HRSD response criteria but not the SCID-I MDD criteria at treatment completion. Results: At baseline, NEO-PI-R scales showed high internal consistency and replicated the normative factor structure, suggesting that psychometric properties were preserved. Among non-responders, retest correlations were uniformly high (rs = .50 to .88) and mean levels showed little change, providing evidence for the consistency of personality self-reports during an acute depressive episode. NEO-PI-R scales showed construct validity in the concurrent prediction of a number of clinical criteria. Effective treatment had significant effects on the mean levels of neuroticism, which decreased, and extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness, which increased. Limitations: The participants were from a clinical database and were not randomly assigned for the treatment. Conclusions: The results suggest that the effect of acute depression is to amplify somewhat the personality profile of people prone to depression. Rather than regard these depression-caused changes in assessed personality trait levels as a distortion, we interpret them as accurate reflections of the current condition of the individual. Personality traits have biological bases, and when they are changed (by disease or therapeutic interventions) trait levels change. D

Curriculum-based measurement encompasses an assessment methodology that can be used to develop goals benchmarks or short-term objectives for individualized educational programs for students with disabilities. Teachers also use curriculum-based measurement as a means for monitoring student progress across the year. This paper describes curriculum-based measurement in reading and mathematics and provides sample goal statements for each area. In addition the

Objective Balance system and postural control are one of the major problems in people with multiple sclerosis. Therefore, the assessment of the balance system and postural control is very essential. Identification and use of standard tools can be a practical solution for more purposeful plan in this issue. Several tools have been used to investigate the balance disorders in these patients, which solely able to screen equilibrium problems, and only predict the risk of falling in the elderly. These questionnaires cannot help the therapist to diagnose the underlying causes of imbalance and also are not useful in directing the purposeful therapeutic process. The Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BESTest) was designed from 1990 to 1999 by Dr. Horak in the Continues Medical Education System. This questionnaire is based on the Bernstein's theory of motor control, and the test evaluates Biomechanical, Stability Limits, Postural Responses, Anticipatory Postural Adjustments, Sensory Orientation, and Dynamic Balance through 36 questions. The objective of this study was to determine the validity and reliability of the BESTest evaluation system in patients with multiple sclerosis after providing a coherent version of the questionnaire in Persian. Materials & Methods This is a methodological and non-experimental study. The BESTest questionnaire was translated by the researcher. The face validity of the questionnaire was evaluated by a survey of 21 patients with multiple sclerosis. The content validity of the questionnaire was further evaluated by a survey of 6 specialists in the field of rehabilitation (three occupational therapists and three specialists in the field of physiotherapy). After that, the BESTest questionnaire and Berg questionnaire were completed by two researchers (the author and another examiner) for 110 people diagnosed as multiple sclerosis, considering inclusion and exclusion criteria, from north, south, east, west, and center of Tehran in the years 2016-2017. After one week, 36 patients from the first stage were reevaluated in with a BESTest questionnaire by the researcher to evaluate the test-retest reliability. The internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha coefficient, test-retest reliability by intra-class correlation coefficients traces, inter-rater reliability coefficients of correlation between the traces, and convergent validity between the two questionnaires (BESTest and Berg) with Pearson correlation coefficient were investigated. Results The content validity of the questionnaire (the comprehensibility, relevance of the questions, and the cultural matching of words), which were measured by the CVR and CVI statistical methods, were approved by the specialist (CVI>0.79 and CVR>0.99). Pearson correlation coefficient between all the domains of the BESTest questionnaire (except for the second domain) with the score of the Berg questionnaire was between 0.79 and 0.93. Given that the numbers are above the minimum acceptable value of 0.70 indicates a good convergence between these two questionnaires. By removing a part of a 6th item from the second domain, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient calculated in all domains were between 0.71 and 0.93, which were much higher than the minimum acceptable value of 0.70. These results indicate an excellent internal consistency. Correlation coefficients between two testers in six domains were reported 0.76 to 0.98. Therefore, these coefficients were above 0.70 in all domains, which indicates the good reliability between two examiners. Furthermore, the Intra-sectional correlation coefficient for two repetitions of the questionnaire for the test-retest reliability of the test were 0.84 to 0.99, which were higher than 0.70 (minimum acceptable), which shows that the questionnaire has an excellent test-retest reliability. Conclusion After changing and removing part of question 6 of the second domain, results demonstrated that the questionnaire BESTest is a valid and reliable test for assessing balance performance in multiple sclerosis patients. It can be used as an accurate tool, both in the areas of clinical (to evaluate the patients' equilibrium status and purposeful therapy planning) and to apply for scientific research in patients with multiple sclerosis.

The present study evaluated the subjective happiness of Lebanese college youth using a multi-item rather than a single-item subjective happiness measure. An Arabic translation of the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS) was administered to 273 Lebanese college youth from state- and private-run higher institutions of learning, as was the Arabic Adult Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (Arabic PARQ). The reliability and validity of the Arabic SHS was tested in terms of factor analysis, internal consistency, and correlation with Arabic PARQ scores, as was the factorial invariance and relation of the scale across age, sex, marital status, birth order, and college campus. The Arabic SHS showed a reliable unitary structure similar to those found in other cultures, and factorial invariance across sex, marital status, birth order and college campus. While age, sex, marital status and birth order were independent of happiness scores, college students attending the private university reported greater happiness than those from the state-run academic setting. It was concluded that the Lebanese Arabic SHS is a reliable and valid measure of global subjective happiness, its factor structure is similar across other translated versions of the scale, and its scores are independent of age, sex, marital status and birth order.

This study determined the reliability and validity of a branching treadmill protocol in predicting V O 2 max. Thirtyseven, apparently healthy individuals (19 women and 18 men); volunteered to participate. On 2 separate testing days, each subject underwent maximal exercise testing using the protocol developed. Stepwise regression analysis indicated that the percentage of age-predicted maximum heart rate (APMHR) achieved at stage 3, speed and grade at stage 3, and APMHR accounted for 89% of the variance in V O 2 max. The 4 predictor variables were statistically significant (p Ͻ 0.01), and the standard error of the estimate was 4.56 ml·kg Ϫ1 ·min Ϫ1 . Results indicate that health and fitness professionals can incorporate this protocol into their practices for the purpose of predicting V O 2 max for their clients outside the laboratory environment. Furthermore, our results indicate that using the proposed regression model is reliable and has received preliminary construct validity support. . Development of a branching submaximal treadmill test for predicting V O 2 max. J. Strength Cond. Res. 15(3):302-308. 2001.

Goals of work  Based on meta-analyses regarding the preparation of patients for potentially threatening medical procedures, a DVD, incorporating behavioral role modelling, was developed to prepare patients for chemotherapy and assist them to self-manage side effects. It was hypothesized that patients who watched the DVD (vs those who did not) would report (1) lower anxiety; (2) higher self-efficacy related to coping

The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) is a selfadministered eight-item questionnaire that is widely used in English speaking countries for assessment of daytime sleepiness in adults. The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of the ESS in the Turkish language. The Turkish version of the ESS (ESStr) was applied to 194 healthy controls and 150 consecutive subjects attending the sleep centre with symptoms of sleepdisordered breathing. Test-retest reliability of the ESStr was tested in a separate group of 30 subjects. The ESStr scores of 60 subjects with mild to severe obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) were compared with the ESStr scores of 60 healthy controls matched for age, gender, and body mass index (BMI). Concurrent validity with the Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQtr) was also assessed in 12 subjects. The questionnaire had a high level of internal consistency as measured by Cronbach's alpha (≥0.86). The test-retest intraclass correlation coefficient was r =0.81 (95% confidence interval: 0.64-0.90) (p< 0.001) and Spearman's correlation coefficient was r=0.80 (p=0.01). The control group had lower ESStr scores than subjects with sleep-disordered breathing (3.6±3 vs 12.6±6, respectively; p<0.001). Subjects with mild sleep-disordered breathing also had lower scores of the ESStr than those with moderate and severe sleep-disordered breathing (10± 6.2 vs 14±5. and 10±6.2 vs 16±5.4, respectively; both p< 0.05), but there were no significant differences between moderate and severe subjects with sleep apnoea. There were significant correlations between the ESStr and total FOSQtr and its subscales (r =−0.22 to r=−0.92; all p = 0.05). Factor analysis of item scores showed that the ESStr had only one factor. The ESStr is a reliable and valid measure of daytime sleepiness. These features and the simplicity of the ESStr make it a valuable measure for clinical management and research.

The study examined reliability and validity of a new measure of emotional (i.e. non-cognitive) intelligence, the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i; , in a sample of 243 university students. Results indicated that the EQ-i domain and component scales had good item homogeneity and internal consistency. Scores were not unduly aected by response styles or biases. The EQ-i scales had a meaningful pattern of convergent validities with respect to measures of normal personality, depression, somatic symptomatology, intensity of aective experience and alexithymia. The reliability and validity results for men and women were very similar. Overall, the results suggested that the EQ-i is a promising measure of emotional intelligence. We recommend strategies for further validation of the EQ-i, as well as the construct of emotional intelligence. #

Purpose -The main aim of this paper is to describe the development of a scale designed to measure self-efficacy for information literacy. Design/methodology/approach -Cronbach's alpha, item analysis and item discrimination indices, principal component analysis, varimax rotation, and discriminant validity were used to measure reliability and validity of the scale. A 28-item refined version of the scale was found highly reliable and of reasonable length. Findings -Further refinement based on principal component analysis indicated three major components, which allow approaching information literacy skills regarding to their complexity levels.

Resumen: Cada día son más las instituciones con sistemas de información hospitalarios. Con el advenimiento de las distintas tecnologías y estándares disponibles, actualmente pueden satisfacerse muchas de las necesidades de intercambio de información. Utilizar un formato estándar para los documentos clínicos aumenta las posibilidades de lograr interoperabilidad. El CDA (Clinical Document Architecture) de HL7 es un estándar de documentos marcados o rotulados, que especifica la estructura y la semántica de un documento clínico. Poder implementar la utilización de documentos CDA permitiría la transferencia de información clínica detallada bajo un formato estándar evitando la ambigüedad. Como parte del proyecto de informatización de los registros médicos, el Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, ha implementado este estándar para generar documentos clínicos de distintos eventos de salud, a los cuales se les puede agregar un proceso de firma digital, otorgándole validez a los documentos. Así, es posible tener acceso a los distintos documentos en un formato que permite una total legibilidad, posibilitando también el proceso y posterior inclusión de esta información en otros sistemas o aplicaciones relacionadas con los cuidados de la salud. Estos documentos pueden visualizarse en cualquier navegador de Internet.

Based on an examination of current methods used to define and assess a defendant's competency to stand trial, the authors propose an assessment and research instrument, referred to as the Interdisciplinary Fitness Interview (IFI). The IFI is a structured interview and rating scale designed to take into account both legal and mental health issues, and calls for an interdisciplinary approach to the assessment of competency. The purpose of the present study was to provide preliminary reliability and validity data on the use of the IFI in one jurisdiction. The results are discussed in terms of policy implications and the development of methods for evaluating competency with brief screening interviews in less restrictive settings.

Abstract The purpose of the study was to examine the reliability and validity of the digital DynEx dynamometer. Grip strength testing was conducted on 100 healthy subjects (aged 20-40 years) using both the Jamar and DynEx dynamometers in the second handle position. The data were analyzed for test-retest reliability and concurrent validity using the intraclass correlation coefficient. A repeated-measures analysis of covariance was conducted to reveal differences in grip strength between instruments. In addition, measurement error was calculated with known weights. The DynEx dynamometer was found to have high test-retest reliability both with human subjects ( r = 0.9864) and with known weights suspended from the dynamometer&amp;amp;amp;#39;s handle ( r = 0.9999). The DynEx dynamometers had a smaller measurement error (1.63%) than the Jamar dynamometers (7.74%). Although significant differences were found between grip scores obtained on the Jamar and the DynEx (F = 6.222; p = 0.014), the concurrent validity between the two instruments was excellent ( r &amp;amp;amp;gt; 0.98). The results of this study indicate that clinicians can use the DynEx dynamometer at the second handle position knowing that it is reliable, valid, and comparable to the second handle position of the Jamar dynamometer.

We conducted a two-part study that contributes to the discussion about cervical auscultation (CA) used as a scientifically justifiable and medically useful tool to identify patients with a high risk of aspiration/penetration. We sought to determine (i) acoustic features which mark a deglutition act as dysphagic; (ii) acoustic changes in healthy older deglutition profiles compared with those of younger adults; (iii) the correctness and concordance of rater judgments based on CA; (iv) if education in CA improves individual reliability. The first part of the study focuses on a comparison of the "swallow morphology" of dysphagic as opposed to healthy subjects' deglutition in terms of structure properties of the pharyngeal phase of deglutition. We obtained the following results. The duration of deglutition apnoea is significantly higher in the older group than in the younger one. Comparing the younger and the dysphagic group we found significant differences in the parameters duration of deglutition apnoea, onset time and number of gulp. Just one parameter, number of gulps distinguishes significantly between the older and the dysphagic groups. The second part of the study aimed at evaluating the reliability of CA in detecting dysphagia measured as the concordance and the correctness of CA experts in classifying swallowing sounds. The inter-rater reliability coefficient AC1 resulted in a value of 0.46 which is to be interpreted as fair agreement. Further, we found that comparison with radiologically defined aspiration/penetration for the group of experts (speech and language therapists; SLTs) yielded 70 % specificity and 94 % sensitivity. We conclude that the swallowing sounds contain audible cues that should in principle permit reliable classification and view CA as an early warning system for identifying patients with a high risk of aspiration/penetration however it is not appropriate as a stand alone tool.

Pain is a common problem for many older adults, with up to 50% of community-dwelling and 70% to 80% of nursing home residents experiencing pain regularly. Effective pain management requires thorough assessment, appropriate intervention, and systematic reassessment. Pain assessment, however, is complicated by dementia, which impairs memory, reasoning, recognition, and communication, and affects elders' ability to verbally report pain. As such, observational measures are needed to assess pain in this vulnerable population. The Noncommunicative Patient's Pain Assessment Instrument (NOPPAIN) was developed for this purpose, but more validation of this measure is needed. Thus, the purpose of this study was to (1) evaluate reliability of the NOPPAIN tool when used by nurses and to (2) compare NOPPAIN ratings with self-report and other well-established behavioral rating procedures. Forty participants (20 cognitively intact and 20 impaired) were randomly selected for this study from a larger sample. In the parent study, participants were asked to perform everyday activities (i.e., sit, stand, walk in place, transfer in and out of bed) while being videotaped. The tapes, all previously scored using microanalytic observational coding, were rated again by naïve raters using the NOPPAIN measure. Results indicated (1) high inter-and intrarater reliability of the NOPPAIN and (2) significant correlations of the NOPPAIN with self-reported pain and detailed behavioral coding. Findings support the reliability and validity of the NOPPAIN measure-

The Information Literacy Test (ILT) was developed to meet the need for a standardized instrument that measures student proficiency regarding the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. The Web-based, multiple-choice ILT measures both lowerand higher-order skills. Evidence is presented that the ILT scores provide reliable and valid measures of information literacy. In addition, a rigorous standard setting method was used to identify score values corresponding to various absolute levels of proficiency. The ILT can be used to help institutions measure student information literacy outcomes and determine the effectiveness of instruction programs.

Objective: IMPACT-S is the screener part of the ICF Measure of Participation and ACTivities questionnaire. IMPACT-S consists of 33 items in 9 scales, reflecting the 9 activity and participation chapters of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). The reliability and validity of IMPACT-S as an independent brief measure of activities and participation was examined. Design: Repeated administration of a postal questionnaire.

Background Despite recognition of the need to deliver evidence-based programmes in the field of mental health, there is little emphasis on implementing such programmes with fidelity. Attempts by programme developers to ensure adherence to their programmes ...