جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « construct validity » در نشریات گروه « پزشکی »

Today, overweight and obesity are among the significant challenges in the world. They can have adverse effects on quality of life. Quality of life is determined by social and physical environment. The present study investigated the construct validity of the Persian version of the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life (IWQOL-lite) questionnaire using multilevel confirmatory factor analysis.

The present study was conducted on 310 people over 18 years old living in Yazd city. The data were analyzed using m-plus6.2 software.

The mean age of the participants in this study was 33.97± 4.70 years. Sixty percent (N=183) of subjects were male. The indices of the one-level model were more appropriate than those of the two-level model, and the one-level confirmatory factor analysis model had a good fitting to the data (CLI: 0.98, TLI: 0.98, RMSEA: 0.038).

The results of this study indicated the need for more effectiveness of urban areas on quality of life. The one-level confirmatory factor analysis model confirmed the construct validity of the IWQOL-lite questionnaire. This questionnaire can be used in the Iranian population.

Well-being is a positive and stable state of mind that is directly related to the quality of life of caregivers and brings a sense of satisfaction and happiness. So measuring the well-being of caregivers with a valid instrument is important for researchers and clinicians. Hence, the present study was conducted to investigate the structural validity of the caregiver well-being scale (CWBS) in a sample of informal caregivers of chemical warfare elderly veterans.

The method of this study is cross-sectional for psychometric evaluation. The sample included 142 of informal caregivers of chemical warfare elderly veterans aged 60 and over in Sardasht city. Study participants were selected by convenience sampling technique. Psychometric evaluation of CWBS assessed through face and construct validity regarding WHO translation protocol. Face validity was evaluated based on the opinions of 6 experts review and construct validity investigated with confirmatory factor analysis. Moreover, Cronbach's alpha was used to evaluate internal consistency reliability. The software of SPSS.V.23 and AMOS.V.23 were used for data analysis.

Regarding the face validity, the expert panel evaluated and revised the items of the CWBS. CFA revealed that the CWBS structure model was indicated as a validated model for basic needs dimension (CMIN=1.329, GFI=0.986, CFI=0.995, RMSEA=0.048) and daily activity dimension (CMIN=2.236, GFI=0.961, CFI=0.946, RMSEA=0.094) in the context of Iran and the sample of caregivers of veterans. The Cronbach's alpha of the scale was 0.83.

The result showed CWBS is a valid and reliable scale for measuring caregiver well-being. This study recommended using Iranian CWBS in future research and policy-making after more consideration.

 Dysphagia is commonly encountered in Multiple Sclerosis (MS). It can consequently cause severe complications such as the increased risk of dehydration, malnutrition and aspiration pneumonia that associated with an increased risk of death in the late stages of the disease. These complications can be prevented with an effective screening protocol. The Dysphagia in Multiple Sclerosis (DYMUS) is the only questionnaire developed specifically for patients with MS. The aim of the present study was translation and cross-culturally adaptation of DYMUS for the Persian population and estimation of the questionnairechr('39')s reliability and validity. Also, we investigated the frequency and severity of dysphagia in the patients referring to the Tehran MS Society and its association with the course of MS, disease duration, and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS).

This is a methodological and descriptive-analytic study. The statistical populations consist of the patients with MS referring to the Tehran Multiple Sclerosis Society in 2018. The study sample consisted of 108 patients who were selected through a convenient sampling method. The research instruments consisted of 10-items DYMUS questionnaire (in the first part of the study, translated and its psychometric properties examined), Dysphagia Handicap Index and a demographic information questionnaire. In methodological section, translation and cross-cultural adaptation were fulfilled and the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to assess the construct validity and to test the goodness-of-fit of the presented model. The association between the DYMUS and Dysphagia Handicap Index (DHI) scores investigated to convergent validity. ‏ The inter-item correlation matrix was calculated to assess the homogeneity of the questionnaire items. Kuder - Richardson (KR-20) was measured to assess the internal consistency of the questionnaire. Also, the test-retest procedure was conducted on the 19 subjects understudy to assess the reliability. Finally, the frequency and severity of dysphagia and its association with the course of MS, disease duration, and EDSS was investigated. KR-20 reliability coefficient, Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), inter-item correlation matrix, Mann-Whitney U test and rank correlation coefficient or Spearmanchr('39')s were used to inferential statistical analysis.

 Analysis of the inter-item correlations matrix indicated a positive correlation between all items, exception item 10. Based on the results of the inter-item correlation, item 10 had the lowest correlation coefficient that was deleted from the questionnaire. CFA results confirmed the two-factor model of DYMUS, “dysphagia for solids” and “dysphagia for liquids”, and revealed that the item 10 was minimally contributing to the measurement of "dysphagia of solids" and internal consistency increased after the deletion of this item. Also, the solution of the 9-item Model was the best goodness-of-fit indicator for the sample. The obtained results from the convergent validity indicated a positive significant correlation between the DYMUS and DHI (rs=0.693, P<0.001). A KR-20 reliability coefficient of the DYMUS was 0.856, indicating high internal consistency of the Persian translation of the questionnaire items. Test-retest reliability was excellent with 0.965 value. The results also showed that 65.7% of multiple sclerosis patients had a swallowing disorder. In terms of the dysphagia severity, 25.9% of participants had mild dysphagia, and 39.8% of participants had alarming dysphagia. DYMUS values were significantly correlated with disease duration (rs=0.198, P= 0.040), and EDSS (rs=0.235, P= 0.014) and significantly higher mean scores were observed in the patients with secondary progressive than the other subgroups of multiple sclerosis.

 The Persian adjusted 9-item questionnaire was demonstrated to be a simple, consistent, valid and reliable tool for the detection of patients who need more specific instrumental evaluations of swallowing. Also, about the dysphagia is very frequent in these patients, it is important that clinicians monitor these patients carefully even in early stages of the disease‏ for early detection and planning a rehabilitation program to the prevention of serious subsequence complications.

In spite of the paramount importance of religion in human life, the definition of its domain, concepts, and components is subject to theoretical and methodological uncertainty. The root of many of these ambiguities lies in the absence of appropriate measurement tools. Given that, the main purpose of this research is validating and determining reliability of a local instrument for measuring religiosity. This study aimed at developing an instrument. The participants were provided with researchers' questionnaire developed after studying documents and providing the theoretical framework, preparing question banks and validity. The sample, 500 adult citizens over 18 years old in 22 districts of Tehran selected by using random sampling and classification according to gender, age, and area of residence. The obtained data were utilized for exploratory factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha reliability, validity criteria, indicators fitted, and eventually the introduction of religiosity questionnaire. In this research, all the Ethical issues were observed and authors declared no conflicts of interest. Based on exploratory factor analysis (EFA), seven factors accounted for 65.67% of the religiosity variance. The results of exploratory factor analysis (RMSEA=0.08, CFI=0.907, GFI=0.869) show the 21-item questionnaire has an acceptable fit. The internal consistency (α=0.83) and consistency over time also indicated that the final questionnaire has acceptable reliability. Results show that the developed questionnaire is acceptable in terms of validity and reliability to be used in Islamic societies for measuring religiosity.

The evaluation of psychometric indicators in order to evaluate the quality of academic achievement exams is of particular importance. The aim of this study was to investigate the results of the written exams and internal evaluations among the emergency medicine residents in terms of the construct validity and also their ability in predicting resident’s academic success.

In this descriptive correlational study all the emergency medicine residents of Tehran University of Medical Sciences who could enter the emergency medicine residency program within 2009 to 2014 and had participated in the pre-board exam till 2017, were selected through the census method (n=199). The certification exam score was considered as the main variable; then, correlation of written and internal evaluations results were compared with it. The Pearson correlation test was used to determine the correlation between the scores.

Finally, the evaluation results of 125 residents were analyzed. The correlation between first and second internal evaluation scores, first and second written scores with the certification exam scores were (p=0.006, r=0.3), (p=0.014, r=0.2), (p=0.202, r=0.1) and (p=0.000, r=0.3), respectively. The mean scores of the first, second and third year residents in written exams were 77.92±12.57, 91.33±8.05, 123.13±8.52 out of 150 in 2014; the mean of these scores were 67.44±8.52, 73.17±23.41, 121.52±6.38 in 2015 and 68.71±28.04, 88.24±14.34 and 118.15±7.73 in 2016, respectively

The results of this study showed that in-training evaluations of the emergency medicine residents had acceptable predictive validity in predicting academic success of residents. Also, the ability of the written exams in discriminating between residents of different grades demonstrated the construct validity of these exams.

The results of recent studies suggest that model-based health education programs are more effective in changing health behaviors. Interventional programs based on health education theories can be used to explain individual and psychological behavioral determinants in order to reduce the risk of HIV/AIDS. This study was conducted with the aim of psychometric analysis of an HIV scale based on model, population and culture of Iran.

We used qualitative and quantitative methods during August 2015 to December 2017. The items were generated based on a literature review and interviews with an expert panel. After providing a primary list of the instrument items, we used content and face validity. The first step of the study was done in a sample of medical and non-medical college and high school student from Zanjan. The exploratory factor analysis, internal consistency reliability, and test-retest reliability of the scale were measured.

Fifty-eight items were generated from interviews with experts and review of the literature. After measuring the face and content validity, the items decreased to 53 items. The exploratory factor analysis discovered five factors (perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy), including 30 items for high school students and 31 for university students, that predictive more than 58% of the observed variance. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the sub-scales ranged from 0.80 to 0.86, and the ICC was above 0.86.

The results showed that the HBM was a valid and reliable tool for measuring the HIV/AIDS beliefs and could be used in future investigations.

An important part of studies on psychology of behavior and learning, as well as social and health sciences requires the use of researcher-made questionnaires. To achieve valid results and provide the possibility of publishing the results of a research, researchers seek suitable methods to assess the validity of research tools. This is mainly due to the fact that failure to provide such an important feature in a research tool might lead to the waste of effort and resources allocated to the study. One of the conventional types of validity of measurement tools is construct validity, which is often assessed as one of the most valid statistical techniques using factor analysis method. Generally, factor analysis applies statistical processes to simplify the related measurements and discover a pattern from a group of variables. This method is mainly used to find the simplest way to interpret the observed data. In several fields, including behavioral sciences and psychology, social sciences, medical sciences and nursing, economics, and geography, factor analysis is used as one of the important achievements of technology advancement in computers. In the present research, stages and methods of exploratory factor analysis are discussed and described step-by-step by using SPSS.

Data collection is one of the important stages of research process and requires valid and reliable instruments. The aim of this article was to introduce important steps of translation and construction process of a questionnaire. Adopting an appropriate instrument for research and developing an optimal instrument needs knowledge on psychometric criteria. The present paper explains the construct validity reliability and responsiveness as the important components of psychometric properties of health related instruments.
The present paper was written based on exisiting documentaries.
There are different methods for evaluating construct validity, which include structural validity (factor analysis), hypothesis testing, convergent and discriminant validity, and cross-cultural validity. Criterion validity is also a type of validity, which can improve the quality of an instrument if being applicable. Reliability is an essential part of psychometric evaluation, which includes internal consistency, stability, equivalency and standard error of measurement. Instrument developers have often been concerned with internal consistency and stability. Examining standard error of measurement as an important component of reliability has been ignored in the development of most instruments. Responsiveness is approved if the smallest detectable change is less than the clinical minimal important change. Furthermore, the area under the ROC curve can also be used for examining responsiveness. Floor and ceiling effects exist if more than 15% of respondents get the highest or lowest possible scores.
Psychometric knowledge should be considered as basic requirement of translation and development of health-relate measures. This could help investigators to collect valid and reliable information when collecting the data.

Children are the future of any society and ensuring their growth and health should be a major concern of every society. One of the related concepts to their health is health-related quality of life. The aim of current study was to examine the construct validity, internal consistency, and reliability along time for the Persian version of children's Health related quality of life.
Population included whole of employers (men and women) who had a child between 5-18 years old in Mashhad education system. Two hundred samples were selected by a stratified random sampling and data gathered by the health related quality of life questionnaire (28-items). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha, correlation coefficient, and goodness of fit indices were used for data analysis. SPSS and AMOS were used for analyzing.
According to the explanatory factor analysis, seven factors which explained 68% of life quality variation were found. Based on confirmatory factor analysis (construct validity), first (GFI=0.885, CFI=0.925, RMSEA=0.056) and second (GFI=0.869, CFI=0.907, RMSEA=0.06) order factors had an appropriate goodness of fit. Internal consistency (α=0.68-0.85) and reliability along time (r=0.721-0.566, p The 22-items health related quality of life questionnaire which was examined by Persian version, was valid and reliable. Therefore, researchers can use it with confidence to measure the Iranian Children health related quality of life, but it requires more studies for the sick children.

Board certification in any specialty is associated with a better professional reputation as well as some other advantagessuch as the opportunity of working as an academician. Accuracy of any test in the assessment of its participant performance is of paramount importance. One of the main factors regarding test accuracy is its validity.The aim of this study was to investigate the views of the Iranian Board of Dermatology Examination Committee (IBDEC) Members onimproving its validity. This study was a cross sectional survey. In order to extract the items for development of the instrument for the survey, unstructured individual interviews were conducted with two members of the IBDEC, two faculty members who were not members of the IBDEC, and two resident dermatologists. Afterperforming a content analysis, writing the items, and making revisions in accordance with the expert panel suggestions, the face and content validities of the developed instrument were confirmed by the panel. The instrument was distributed among the members of the IBDEC in September 2013. The collected data were entered into a data set. Fifteen of 16 present members of the IBDEC answered and returned the instrument to the distributer. Ten (%66.7) of participants were male. Mean (standard deviation [SD]) of age and membership duration in IBDEC of the participants were 56.1 (7.8) and 9.6 (6.2) years, respectively. The most difficult and easiest items for being agreed upon were: "Inclusion of key feature problems (KFP) in the written examination may result in better assessment of the resident's clinical decision making" and: "In the board examination, attitudes of the residents towards ethical issues are assessed properly".Cronbach's α was calculated for assessment of the internal consistency of the instrument and was equaled to 0.76. While 53% of the IBDEC members were disagree with that the written board examination can assess resident's different levels of knowledgeproperly, the majority of them were also disagree with the implementation of suggested approved methods for improving the validity of the written board examination. Most of them were also disagree with implementation of evaluation methods for improving oral examination validity.