To construct a competency model for junior caregivers for the elderly and to provide a reference for the selection, evaluation and training for the junior caregivers for the elderly.
 Methods: Firstly, we drafted the primary competency model for junior caregivers for the elderly through literature review. Then, we used Delphi method to carry out 2 rounds of questionnaire survey for 20 experts to optimize the indicators for primary model. The weight of each indicator is determined by analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and expert sequencing method.
 Results: The effective recovery rates of the two-round questionnaire were 87% and 100%, respectively. The expert authority coefficient was 0.70-0.93, and the average authority coefficient was 0.80. The final version of the competency model for junior caregivers for the elderly included 4 first-grade indexes, 11 second-grade indexes and 37 third-grade indexes.
 Conclusion: The competency model for the junior caregivers for the elderly is reliable and can be used as the reference standard for the selection, evaluation and training for the junior caregivers for the elderly.
Aged ; Caregivers ; standards ; Clinical Competence ; Delphi Technique ; Health Services for the Aged ; standards ; Humans ; Medical Staff, Hospital ; standards ; Reference Standards ; Surveys and Questionnaires

INTRODUCTIONA process-oriented instrument was developed for the summative assessment of student performance during problem-based learning (PBL) tutorials. This study evaluated (1) the acceptability of the instrument by tutors and (2) the consistency of assessment scores by different raters.

MATERIALS AND METHODSA survey of the tutors who had used the instrument was conducted to determine whether the assessment instrument or form was user-friendly. The 4 competencies assessed, using a 5-point rating scale, were (1) participation and communication skills, (2) cooperation or team-building skills, (3) comprehension or reasoning skills and (4) knowledge or information-gathering skills. Tutors were given a set of criteria guidelines for scoring the students' performance in these 4 competencies. Tutors were not attached to a particular PBL group, but took turns to facilitate different groups on different case or problem discussions. Assessment scores for one cohort of undergraduate medical students in their respective PBL groups in Year I (2003/2004) and Year II (2004/2005) were analysed. The consistency of scores was analysed using intraclass correlation.

RESULTSThe majority of the tutors surveyed expressed no difficulty in using the instrument and agreed that it helped them assess the students fairly. Analysis of the scores obtained for the above cohort indicated that the different raters were relatively consistent in their assessment of student performance, despite a small number consistently showing either "strict" or "indiscriminate" rating practice.

CONCLUSIONThe instrument designed for the assessment of student performance in the PBL tutorial classroom setting is user-friendly and is reliable when used judiciously with the criteria guidelines provided.

Education, Medical ; methods ; standards ; Educational Measurement ; methods ; Humans ; Problem-Based Learning ; standards ; Retrospective Studies ; Students, Medical ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; standards

BACKGROUND: Documentation is very important; a considerable number of documents exist for use in accreditation inspection. However, most laboratories do not effectively manage the processes of documentation, organization, and storage. The purpose of this study was to facilitate the establishment of a strategically effective and sustainably standardized document management system. METHODS: A document code formatting system was modified by comparing the document list data received from 3 major university hospitals. In addition, a questionnaire regarding document code standardization was created and sent to 268 institutes to establish document classifications and generate a standard coding scheme. A computerized document management system was developed. RESULTS: Only 32% (8 out of 25 institutes) answered that they were able to identify all of the document types and their numbers. In total, 76% of institutes (19 out of 25) answered that a systematic document management system was necessary. Disorganized document files were systemized by classifying them into 8 major groups according to their characteristics: patient test records (T), test quality control (Q), manuals (M), equipment and environment management (E), statistics (S), division administration (A), department administration (R), and others (X). CONCLUSIONS: Our documentation system may serve as a basis for the standardization of documents and the creation of a document management system for all hospital laboratories.
Documentation/*standards ; Hospitals, University ; Laboratories, Hospital/*standards ; Questionnaires ; Tertiary Healthcare ; User-Computer Interface

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to identify the factors influencing service quality in nursing homes, and to develop an evaluation instrument for service quality. METHODS: A three-phase process was employed for the study. 1) The important factors to evaluate the service quality in nursing homes were identified through a literature review, panel discussion and focus group interview, 2) the evaluation instrument was developed, and 3) validity and reliability of the study instrument were tested by factor analysis, Pearson correlation coefficient, Cronbach's alpha and Cohen's Kappa. RESULTS: Factor analysis showed that the factors influencing service quality in nursing homes were healthcare, diet/assistance, therapy, environment and staff. To improve objectivity of the instrument, quantitative as well as qualitative evaluation approaches were adopted. The study instrument was developed with 30 items and showed acceptable construct validity. The criterion-related validity was a Pearson correlation coefficient of .85 in 151 care facilities. The internal consistency was Cronbach's alpha=.95. CONCLUSION: The instrument has acceptable validity and a high degree of reliability. Staff in nursing homes can continuously improve and manage their services using the results of the evaluation instrument.
Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Nursing Evaluation Research ; *Nursing Homes/standards ; Program Development ; Quality of Health Care/*standards ; Questionnaires

OBJECTIVETo study the validity and accuracy of differing cutoff scores of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires-Chinese (ASQ-C) for screening infants and toddlers in comparison with the gold standard, Bayley Scale of Infant Development, Second Edition (BSID II).

METHODThe 269 samples were enrolled from the normative children, aged 3 - 31 months, of the ASQ-C in Shanghai. The age-appropriate ASQ-Cs were completed by parents/caregivers and the BSIDIIwas administered by professionals. The cutoff scores of -2 standard deviation (s), -1.5 s, and -s for the ASQ-C were examined against BSID II with the cutoff scores set at -2 s as the standard of developmental delay, -s as the standard of suspected developmental delay and developmental delay respectively. Agreement between the classifications of the ASQ-C (i.e., typical, suspected, delay) was compared with the classification of the BSID II (typical, suspected, delay), sensitivity, specificity, Youden Index and area under ROC curve of ASQ-C were examined. The statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS 13.0.

RESULTWhen the cutoff score for BSID II was -2 s, the -2 s cutoff score for ASQ-C exhibited the following properties: the highest agreement of 83.64%, the sensitivity and specificity both above 80% being respectively 88.46% and 83.13%, the highest Youden Index of 0.72 and the largest area of 0.86 under ROC curve. The -1.5 s cutoff score for ASQ-C showed the following properties: 71.75% agreement, 100% sensitivity, 68.72% specificity, Youden Index = 0.69, the area under ROC curve = 0.84. The -s cutoff score for ASQ-C showed the following properties: the lowest agreement of 55.02%, 100% sensitivity, the lowest specificity of 50.21%, the lowest Youden Index of 0.50, and the smallest area of 0.75 under ROC curve. When the cutoff score for BSID II was set at -s, the -2 s for ASQ-C showed the following properties: the highest agreement of 85.87%, the lowest sensitivity of 68.57%, the highest specificity of 91.96%, Youden Index = 0.61, the smallest area = 0.77 under ROC curve. The -1.5 s for ASQ-C showed the following properties: the agreement of 80.67%, the sensitivity and specificity both above 70% being respectively 85.71% and 78.89%, the highest Youden Index of 0.65, the largest area of 0.82 under ROC. The -s cutoff score for ASQ-C showed the following properties: the lowest agreement of 68.40%, the highest sensitivity of 94.29%, the lowest specificity of 59.30%, the lowest Youden Index of 0.54, and the area under ROC curve = 0.80. When the cutoff score for BSID II was -1 to 2 s, the identifying percentages of the -2 s, -1.5 s and -s for the ASQ-C were 56.82%, 77.27% and 90.91%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONFor developmental delay identification, the -2 s cutoff score for ASQ-C produces the most robust validity and highest accuracy; for the identification of suspected developmental delay and developmental delay, the -1.5 s cutoff score for ASQ-C has the highest screening accuracy with appropriate sensitivity and specificity; for identifying the suspected developmental delay, the -s cutoff score for ASQ-C has the highest percentage of the identification. It is necessary to add 1 - 2 s to the ASQ-C's cutoff scores as the standard for screening suspected developmental delays.

Child Development ; Child, Preschool ; Humans ; Infant ; Mass Screening ; Reference Standards ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; standards

OBJECTIVEThis study describes the development of a preliminary version of an instrument that attempts to assess the quality of reports of individualized homeopathic prescriptions in clinical trials and observational studies.

METHODSA multidisciplinary panel of 15 judges produced an initial version of the instrument through iterative Delphi rounds and pilot-tested the instrument on five clinical trials. Later they assessed, under blind conditions, the individualization quality of 40 randomly-selected research reports. The final version of the instrument included six criteria. These items were scored consistently by all the raters regardless of background.

RESULTSThe instrument appeared to have adequate face and content validity, acceptable internal consistency or reliability (Cronbach's α 0.606 - 0.725), significant discriminant validity (F = 398.7; P < 0.000 1), moderate interrater reliability (Fleiss κ 0.533), agreeable test-retest reliability (Cohen's κ 0.765 - 0.934), moderate sensitivity (0.4; 95% confidence interval 0.253-0.566), and high specificity (1.0; 95% confidence interval 0.891-1.000).

CONCLUSIONThe initial data suggest that this instrument may be a promising systematic tool amendable for further development.

Adult ; Evaluation Studies as Topic ; Female ; Homeopathy ; standards ; Humans ; Male ; Precision Medicine ; standards ; Quality Control ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVES: Korea faces a number of challenges to meet demands in the area of geriatric professional medicine in a country with a rapidly ageing population. We evaluated the satisfaction and feasibility of the current education certification for geriatric physicians. METHODS: Geriatric physicians who were deemed qualified by the Korean Geriatrics Society during the period of 2001 to 2005 (n=2,200) were asked to complete structured questionnaires sent to them by mail about their satisfaction of and need for certificates of education, as well as their opinions on their geriatric specialty training. A total of 419 physicians responded. Descriptive analysis and hierarchical regression were performed to rate the respondents.satisfaction, the characteristics of the need for clarity and utility in education certification, and the characteristics of their patients. RESULTS: Although most respondents were satisfied with their education certification, those who had more elderly patients, aged 65 or older, and those who had more cognitively impaired patients, rated their education as significantly lower than did other physicians. Both groups expressed the need for more the comprehensive care and assessment concerning of their education. Multiple regression analysis indicated that satisfaction with geriatric physician qualification was associated with a physician's age, specialty, and percentage of elderly patients. CONCLSIONS: This study suggests that the current system of education certification is limited in terms of feasibility and physician satisfaction.
Adult ; Aged ; *Certification ; Education, Medical/*standards ; Female ; Geriatrics/*education/standards ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Questionnaires

OBJECTIVE: To compare three sterilizing methods for reusable medical goggles. METHODS: A total of 180 medical goggles of the same brand and same model were randomly divided into three groups. In group A the goggles were first soaked with 2000 mg/L chlorine-containing disinfectant and then cleaned manually; goggles in other two groups were sterilized using pre-programmed automatic spray cleaning and disinfection machine, the disinfection program was set to 90 ℃ for 5 min in group B and 70 ℃ for 30 min in group C. The quality of the sterilization was monitored by visual inspection with luminous magnifying glass and residual protein detection assay. User satisfaction on cleanliness of medical goggles, clarity of mirror surface and suitability of elastic bands was investigated with questionnaire survey. RESULTS: The qualification rates verified by visual inspection were 82.4%, 84.6%and 98.3%in group A, B and C, respectively, the qualification rate in group C was significantly higher than those in group B and group C (all CONCLUSIONS Machinery sterilization set 70 ℃ for 30 min has better cleaning and sterilizing effects for reusable medical goggles.
Eye Protective Devices/standards* ; Sterilization/methods* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Content validity is the degree to which an instrument has an appropriate sample of items for the construct being measured and is an important procedure in scale development. Content validity index (CVI) is the most widely used index in quantitative evaluation. There are 2 kinds of CVI: I-CVI and S-CVI. A method to compute a modified kappa statistic (K*) can be used to adjust I-CVI for chance agreement. S-CVI/UA and S-CVI/Ave are both scale level CVI with different formulas. Researchers recommend that a scale with excellent content validity should be composed of I-CVIs of 0.78 or higher and S-CVI/UA and S-CVI/Ave of 0.8 and 0.9 or higher, respectively. The characteristics and qualifications of the experts, process and main results of content validity evaluation should be reported in scale-related manuscript.
Data Collection ; Humans ; Psychometrics ; methods ; Reproducibility of Results ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; standards

OBJECTIVE: To establish a comprehensive evaluation system for the development of health services, and to assess the levels of health services in 2008 and 2009 in Hunan compared with seven other provinces in central China, so as to provide a basis for hygiene management decisions. METHODS: In order to establish a comprehensive evaluation system, a Delphi method, a boundary value method, and an RSR method were applied, respectively, to survey indices of health service development, to screen indices, and to determine index weights. A weighted TOPSIS method was used to evaluate the development status of health services of the eight provinces. RESULTS: The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.884, indicating a proper surface validity and a content validity. The expert positive coefficient, authority coefficient and Kendall coefficient were 93.75%, 0.8117, and 0.31, respectively. A comprehensive evaluation system, which consisted of 3 primary indices, 10 secondary indices and 52 tertiary indices, was established. The result of the comprehensive evaluation showed that the health services development of Hunan Province ranked 7th and 6th among the 8 central provinces for 2008 and 2009, respectively. CONCLUSION The established, comprehensive evaluation system has a high reliability. Health services development of Hunan Province is relatively backward among the 8 central provinces.
China ; Health Services ; standards ; statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; Surveys and Questionnaires