The Psychometric Properties of Intention to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine Scale Based on the Health Belief Model.

Acceptance of the SARS-CoV-2) COVID-19( vaccine is a very important factor to keep health workers safe. The study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine using a health belief model among health workers in Iran The study was a tools design study that was conducted in the period from February to March 2020, Iran Questionnaire items were designed using text review. The sampling method was multi-stage. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis at a 95% confidence level using SPSS software version 16. The designed questionnaire had an appropriate content validity and internal consistency. Also, the exploratory factor analysis showed that a 5-factor structure was extracted and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the conceptual five-factor structure of the measure had good fit indices. Reliability was evaluated using internal consistency. Cronbach Alpha coefficient was .82 and the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was .9. It can be concluded that the instrument designed in the preliminary stage of psychometrics properties had good validity and reliability indicators. Also, the constructs of the health belief model well explain the determinants of the intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at the individual level.

Development of the Malay Language of understanding, attitude, practice and health literacy questionnaire on COVID-19 (MUAPHQ C-19): content validity & face validity analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the content and face validity index of the development of the understanding, attitude, practice and health literacy questionnaire on COVID-19 (MUAPHQ C-19) in the Malay language. METHODS: The development of the MUAPHQ C-19 was conducted in two stages. Stage I resulted in the generation of the instrument's items (development), and stage II resulted in the performance of the instrument's items (judgement and quantification). Six-panel experts related to the study field and ten general public participated to evaluate the validity of the MUAPHQ C-19. The content validity index (CVI), content validity ratio (CVR) and face validity index (FVI) were analysed using Microsoft Excel. RESULTS: There were 54 items and four domains, namely the understanding, attitude, practice and health literacy towards COVID-19, identified in the MUAPHQ C-19 (Version 1.0). The scale-level CVI (S-CVI/Ave) for every domain was above 0.9, which is considered acceptable. The CVR for all items was above 0.7, except for one item in the health literacy domain. Ten items were revised to improve the item's clarity, and two items were deleted due to the low CVR value and redundancy, respectively. The I-FVI exceeded the cut-off value of 0.83 except for five items from the attitude domain and four from the practice domains. Thus, seven of these items were revised to increase the clarity of items, while another two were deleted due to low I-FVI scores. Otherwise, the S-FVI/Ave for every domain exceeded the cut-off point of 0.9, which is considered acceptable. Thus, 50-item MUAPHQ C-19 (Version 3.0) was generated following the content and face validity analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The questionnaire development, content validity, and face validity process are lengthy and iterative. The assessment of the instruments' items by the content experts and the respondents is essential to guarantee the instrument's validity. Our content and face validity study has finalised the MUAPHQ C-19 version that is ready for the next phase of questionnaire validation, using Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis.

Association between religion, mental health and social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic / Associação entre religião, saúde mental e distanciamento social na pandemia de Covid-19 / Asociación entre religión, salud mental y distanciamiento social en la pandemia Covid-19

This cross-sectional study aimed to analyze the association of religiosity with behaviors and perceptions in the context of social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as mental health outcomes, in a university community in Central-West Brazil. A sample of 1,796 subjects responded to an online form with socio-demographic questions and the DASS-21 and PWBS scales. Religion was associated with the frequency of interactions, perceptions of the duration of the social distancing measures, changes in emotional state and history of psychological illness. The prevalence of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress was lower among people with religion and their scores in psychological well-being were higher. (AU)

Trata-se de um estudo transversal com o objetivo de analisar a associação entre religiosidade e comportamentos e percepções frente ao distanciamento social decorrente da pandemia de Covid-19 e estado de saúde mental em uma comunidade universitária do Centro-Oeste brasileiro. Participaram do estudo 1796 sujeitos, os quais responderam a um formulário online com questões sociodemográficas e às escalas DASS-21 e EBEP. Observou-se associação entre religião e frequência de interações, percepção sobre a duração do distanciamento social e mudanças no estado emocional e histórico de alterações psicológicas. Constatou-se menor prevalência de sintomas relacionados à depressão, à ansiedade e ao estresse e maiores escores de bem-estar psicológico entre aqueles com religião. (AU)

Se trata de un estudio transversal con el objetivo de analizar la asociación entre religiosidad, comportamientos y percepciones frente al distanciamiento social resultante de la pandemia Covid-19 y el estado de salud mental en una comunidad universitaria de la región Centro-Oeste de Brasil. Participaron en el estudio 1796 sujetos, que respondieron un formulario en línea con preguntas sociodemográficas y las escalas DASS-21 y EBEP. Se observó asociación entre religión y frecuencia de interacciones, la percepción de la duración del aislamiento social y los cambios en el estado emocional y el historial de cambios psicológicos. Se observó una menor prevalencia de síntomas relacionados con la depresión, la ansiedad y el estrés, y puntuaciones más altas de bienestar psicológico entre quienes profesaban una religión. (AU)

Exploratory Factor Analysis of a French Adapted Version of the Substance Abuse Attitude Survey among Medical Students in Belgium.

To evaluate the impact of a new Substance Use Disorder (SUD) education program on medical students' attitudes, we selected the Substance Abuse Attitude Survey (SAAS) questionnaire, which we adapted to our curriculum and cultural context. To validate this adapted version, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis following the administration of our 29-item bSAAS questionnaire to 657 medical students in Belgium (response rate: 71.1%). Twenty-three items correlated to three factors; namely, "Stereotypes and moralism", "Treatment optimism" and "Specialized treatment" were retained (70% of total variance explained, Cronbach's alpha = 0.80) and constituted the new questionnaire called beSAAS. The factor "Specialized treatment" stood out from previous studies, which could be explained by our target population and the impact of the formal, informal and hidden curricula in medical education. This study was able to highlight certain factors influencing stereotypical representations such as age, gender, origin, personal or professional experience with substance use. Our study allowed us to retain the beSAAS as a good questionnaire to evaluate SUD stigma and highlighted interesting findings to improve SUD training in medicine. Further studies are needed to complete its validity and reliability.

Validity and reliability of the Pandemic Fatigue Scale (PFS) in the Turkish population.

BACKGROUND: The measures developed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic caused fear, stress and anxiety in people over time. It was reported that pandemic fatigue, associated with the gradual loss of motivation to follow the implemented protective measures, emerged in societies. OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional-methodological study aimed to validate the Turkish version of the Pandemic Fatigue Scale, developed by Lilleholt et al. (2020). METHODS: A web-based questionnaire was conducted to examine the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the PFS. 1149 participants from all regions in Turkey participated. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were performed. RESULTS: As a result of the KMO and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity, the scale was suitable for the factor analysis. According to EFA, the scale has two sub-factors. The first sub-factor explained 48.7%, and the second sub-factor explained 16.7% of the total variance. Factor loadings of items varied between 0.67 and 0.89. CFA shows that acceptable fit values were obtained for the RMSEA, GFI, AGFI, CFI, NFI and IFI fit indices. CONCLUSIONS: The results support that PFS is a valid and reliable screening tool that can be used to measure the phenomenon of pandemic fatigue.

Developing a Multilevel Scale to Assess Retention of Workers with Disabilities.

Purpose Persons with disabilities (PwD) face difficulties in employment. Despite extensive research on PwD in the workplace, there is lack of research on the factors behind retaining or terminating the job of a PwD. This study aims to address this gap by developing the Retaining Workers with Disability (RWD) model. Method Predicated on 1032 respondents with employment decision authority, we performed exploratory factor analysis (EFA) followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for convergent and discriminant validity of the RWD model. Next, we developed the two-rank model RWD-II and employed CFA for validation. Results We presented a dual-facet measurement tool for assessing employer attitudes towards retaining PwD in the workplace. Two dominant factors were measured, direct and indirect work-related items. Indices for both models (one and two-rank) showed a good fit. Conclusion Our study highlighted two major factors influencing managers in the decision-making process of retaining workers with disabilities as follows: direct and indirect work-related concerns. The measure was validated using the RWD scale. By providing the tool to identify attitudes towards PwD work retention, we offer the first step in identifying and changing a negative approach toward this population in the workplace. Practical contributions are discussed.

Psychometric evaluation of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale among Iranian population.

BACKGROUND: The resilience construct is considered a personal trait composed of multiple aspects. Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale is a standard tool composed of five factors and 25 items. This study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of this scale. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, after the scale translation, the factorial structural validity was assessed via the confirmatory factor analysis with 70 180 samples. Internal consistency, composite reliability, convergent validity were assessed by calculating Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability, maximum reliability, and Average Variance Extracted. The discriminant validity was assessed using Heterotrait-monotrait ratio of correlations matrix and also, measure invariance was evaluated. RESULTS: The original five-factor model had good model fit indices but due to low factor loading of item 2 and 20, the model was modified. The Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability for four factors were above 0.7 (except for factor 5). The convergent validity for all five factors were achieved. Between factors 1 with 2 and 4, 2 with 3 and 4 discriminant validity was not established (correlations > 0.9) and the results suggested that there might be a second-order latent construct behind these factors. Therefore, a second-order assessment was performed. The results of the second-order latent construct assessment showed a good goodness-of fit and strong measurement invariance for both men and women. CONCLUSION: The 23-item version of Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale is a reliable and valid scale to measure resilience as a complex construct in the Iran context.

Development and Validation of the Chinese Family Resilience Scale in Families in Hong Kong.

Family resilience is an important protective factor mitigating the negative impact of adversities on individuals and families. As there are very few validated measures of family resilience in the Chinese context, we have developed the Chinese Family Resilience Scale (C-FRS) based on the family resilience framework of Froma Walsh. In this paper, we outline the development and the validation of the C-FRS with reference to the socio-cultural context of Hong Kong. Based on content validation involving family experts, the initial 51 items were assessed in terms of their relevance, clarity, and representativeness. The results showed that these items possessed adequate content validity. In order to validate the 51-item measure, we examined its convergent validity, its factorial validity, and its internal consistency based on the responses of 1020 Chinese families (N = 2858 participants). After removing the items with unsatisfactory psychometric properties, we retained 35 items in the final scale. The results showed that the C-FRS scores were significantly related to family functioning, thus providing support for its convergent validity. This study also provided support for the conceptual model of Walsh (i.e., three high-order domains involving nine primary indicators). Most importantly, the measurement invariance tests showed that the dimensions of the C-FRS were invariant among fathers, mothers, and adolescent children. As the findings support the reliability and the validity of the 35-item C-FRS, we suggest that this measure can be objectively used to assess family resilience in Chinese communities.

Construct validity and internal consistency of the Home and Family Work Roles Questionnaires: a cross-sectional study with exploratory factor analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) measures the underlying relationships between questionnaire items and the factors ("constructs") measured by a questionnaire. The Home and Family Work Roles Questionnaire has not been assessed using EFA; therefore, our objective was to identify the factors measured by this questionnaire. METHODS: We recruited 314 persons to complete the questionnaire and to answer several demographic questions. We determined if the data was factorable by performing Bartlett's test of sphericity and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy. We used the Factor package in Jamovi statistical software to perform EFA. We employed an Oblimin rotation and a Principal Axis extraction method. We also calculated the internal consistency of the questionnaire as a whole as well as each individual question. RESULTS: Our sample consisted of 265 (85%) women, 45 (14%) men, and 3 (1%) non-binary or other genders. The mean age of our participants was 34.65 (SD = 11.57, range = 18-65) years. EFA suggested a three-factor model. Questions 11, 13, 14, 15, and 16 measured one factor (we interpreted this as "Caregiving Roles"), questions 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 18, and 19 measured a different factor ("Traditionally Feminine Roles"), and questions 2, 5, 6, and 12 measured the "Traditionally Masculine Roles". The questionnaire and each individual question demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's α > 0.90). CONCLUSION: The Home and Family Work Roles Questionnaire may measure three distinct factors, which we have named Caregiving, Traditionally Feminine, and Traditionally Masculine Roles. This aligns with the theory used in developing the questionnaire. Separation of the Home and Family Work Roles Questionnaire into three sub-scales with distinct scores is recommended to measure each of the recommended constructs.

Factor Analysis in Distinguishing Coronavirus Disease 2019 From Other Influenza-like Illness Using a Validated Patient-Reported Outcome Instrument FLU-PRO Plus: A Prospective Real-world Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: InFLUenza Patient-reported Outcome (FLU-PRO Plus) is a 34-item patient-reported outcome instrument designed to capture the intensity and frequency of viral respiratory symptoms. This study evaluates whether FLU-PRO Plus responses could discriminate between symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and influenza-like illness (ILI) with no COVID diagnosis, as well as forecast disease progression. METHODS: FLU-PRO Plus was administered daily for 14 days. Exploratory factor analysis was used to reduce the FLU-PRO Plus responses on the first day to 3 factors interpreted as "symptom clusters." The 3 clusters were used to predict COVID-19 versus ILI diagnosis in logistic regression. Correlation between the clusters and quality of life (QoL) measures was used to assess concurrent validity. The timing of self-reported return to usual health in the 14-day period was estimated as a function of the clusters within COVID-19 and ILI groups. RESULTS: Three hundred fourteen patients completed day 1 FLU-PRO Plus, of which 65% had a COVID-19 diagnosis. Exploratory factor analysis identified 3 symptom clusters: (1)general Body, (2) tracheal/bronchial, and (3) nasopharyngeal. Higher nasopharyngeal scores were associated with higher odds of COVID-19 compared with ILI diagnosis [adjusted odds ratio = 1.61 (1.21, 2.12)]. Higher tracheal/bronchial scores were associated with lower odds of COVID-19 [0.58 (0.44, 0.77)]. The 3 symptom clusters were correlated with multiple QoL measures ( r = 0.14-0.56). Higher scores on the general body and tracheal/bronchial symptom clusters were associated with prolonged time to return to usual health [adjusted hazard ratios: 0.76 (0.64, 0.91), 0.80 (0.67, 0.96)]. CONCLUSION: Three symptom clusters identified from FLU-PRO Plus responses successfully discriminated patients with COVID-19 from non-COVID ILI and were associated with QoL and predicted symptom duration.

Occupational well-being of the work community in social and health care education during the COVID-19 pandemic-A cross-sectional study.

AIM: To evaluate factors related to the occupational well-being of social and health care educators' work communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted among social and health care educators in Finland 2020. METHODS: Data (n = 552) were collected through a questionnaire containing continuous, Likert scale and categorical variables. Descriptive, exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression modelling were used for analysing the data. RESULTS: Educators regarded their work as meaningful and experienced collegiality. Age and work experience were related to experiences on work community subscales and community occupational well-being. Personal occupational well-being and activities promoting occupational well-being on the community level were most related to experiences of the work community and its well-being. The activities that promote occupational well-being on the work community level should be emphasized.

The Behavioral and Social Dimension of the Public Health System of European Countries: Descriptive, Canonical, and Factor Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The state and prospects of the healthcare industry of a country are among its top priorities because the quality of life and health of its citizens are indicators of its success and competitiveness. The aim of this study is to conduct a theoretical analysis and qualitative and quantitative assessments of indicators by developing an integral indicator in the context of behavioral, social, demographic, and economic factors that characterize the level of healthcare system development in European countries using multivariate statistical modeling methods. METHODS: The study was implemented using Statistica 10 and Statistica Portable statistical packages. The statistical base of the study was formed using descriptive analysis; a group of 10 European countries was identified using a cluster analysis based on the application of an iterative divisive k-means method. The degree and significance of the interrelations between the components characterizing the studied groups of indicators were determined using canonical correlations by conducting a canonical analysis. Factor modeling is conducted by applying the analysis of the main components to determine the relevant indicators for assessing the level of healthcare system development to build integral indicators of the level of healthcare system development in European countries. RESULTS: The need to improve the level of healthcare system development in European countries was confirmed. Shortcomings and possible reserves for potential improvement of the healthcare system were identified. CONCLUSIONS: The results can help public authorities, officials and employees of the healthcare sector organize and conduct effective, timely, high-quality regulation and adjustment of the regulatory and legislative framework to improve healthcare system development.

Predictors of impaired functioning among long COVID patients.

BACKGROUND: There is limited information on which acute factors predict more long-term symptoms from COVID-19. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to conduct an exploratory factor analysis of self-reported symptoms at two time points of Long COVID-19. METHODS: Data from patients with Long COVID-19 were collected at the initial two weeks of contracting SARS CoV-2 and the most recent two weeks, with a mean duration of 21.7 weeks between the two-time points. At time point 2, participants also completed the Coronavirus Impact Scale (CIS), measuring how the COVID-19 pandemic affected various dimensions of their lives (e.g., routine, access to medical care, social/family support, etc.). RESULTS: At time 1, a three-factor model emerged consisting of Cognitive Dysfunction, Autonomic Dysfunction and Gastrointestinal Dysfunction. The analysis of time 2 resulted in a three-factor model consisting of Cognitive Dysfunction, Autonomic Dysfunction, and Post-Exertional Malaise. Using factor scores from time 1, the Autonomic Dysfunction and the Gastrointestinal Dysfunction factor scores significantly predicted the CIS summary score at time two. In addition, the same two factor scores at time 1 predicted the occurrence of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome at time 2. CONCLUSION: Cognitive and Autonomic Dysfunction emerged as factors for both time points. These results suggest that healthcare workers might want to pay particular attention to these factors, as they might be related to later symptoms and difficulties with returning to pre-illness family life and work functioning.

Validation of the Collaborative Outcomes study on Health and Functioning during Infection Times (COH-FIT) questionnaire for adults.

BACKGROUND: The Collaborative Outcome study on Health and Functioning during Infection Times (COH-FIT; www.coh-fit.com) is an anonymous and global online survey measuring health and functioning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to test concurrently the validity of COH-FIT items and the internal validity of the co-primary outcome, a composite psychopathology "P-score". METHODS: The COH-FIT survey has been translated into 30 languages (two blind forward-translations, consensus, one independent English back-translation, final harmonization). To measure mental health, 1-4 items ("COH-FIT items") were extracted from validated questionnaires (e.g. Patient Health Questionnaire 9). COH-FIT items measured anxiety, depressive, post-traumatic, obsessive-compulsive, bipolar and psychotic symptoms, as well as stress, sleep and concentration. COH-FIT Items which correlated r ≥ 0.5 with validated companion questionnaires, were initially retained. A P-score factor structure was then identified from these items using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) on data split into training and validation sets. Consistency of results across languages, gender and age was assessed. RESULTS: From >150,000 adult responses by May 6th, 2022, a subset of 22,456 completed both COH-FIT items and validated questionnaires. Concurrent validity was consistently demonstrated across different languages for COH-FIT items. CFA confirmed EFA results of five first-order factors (anxiety, depression, post-traumatic, psychotic, psychophysiologic symptoms) and revealed a single second-order factor P-score, with high internal reliability (ω = 0.95). Factor structure was consistent across age and sex. CONCLUSIONS: COH-FIT is a valid instrument to globally measure mental health during infection times. The P-score is a valid measure of multidimensional mental health.

The Development and Psychometric Properties of the Impact of Covid-19 Scale (Ic19-S): A Factor Analysis Approach.

BACKGROUND: Individuals are exhibiting COVID-19 anxiety- related responses including psychological impact besides physiological, social, and economic impacts of COVID-19 which are prevalent across countries and territories. COVID-19 anxiety-related responses include anxiety of coronavirus transmission, fear of foreigners with perceived infection transmissibility, and stress of socioeconomic conditions. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The current study developed and psychometrically validated 37 items Impact of COVID-19 Scale (IC19-S) to assess COVID-19 related factors in to facilitate healthcare planning and management among general public. The IC19-S aims to assess COVID-19 related anxiety and predict the mental health impact of future epidemics or pandemics. RESULTS: The factor analysis yielded a 3 factor solution namely: COVID-19 Psychological Impact - anxiety of transmission and infection (including apprehensions, compulsive acts, posttraumatic impact, and misinformation); COVID-19 Social Impact - fear of foreigners for infection transmission (including disease transmission, xenophobia); and COVID-19 Economic Impact - distress towards the economic conditions (including poverty, unemployment and deflation) for personal and family care. The factors showed that scale had high internal consistency, construct, convergent and discriminant validity and intercorrelation. CONCLUSION: The IC19-S is a consistent and valid tool to measure the impact of COVID-19 on various life aspects in a range of population.

A confirmatory factor analysis of a cognitive model of COVID-19 related anxiety and depression.

The mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been significant, with many regions across the globe reporting significant increases in anxiety, depression, trauma, and insomnia. This study aims to validate a potential cognitive model of maintenance factors of COVID-19 related distress by examining psychological predictors of distress, and their goodness-of-fit as a coherent model. Participants from the general population (n = 555) were recruited using a cross-sectional on-line survey design, assessing Demographic factors, Anxiety, Depression, Loneliness, COVID-19 related distress, Trauma Cognitions related to COVID-19, Rumination, Safety Behaviours, Personality Factors, and Mental Effort related to COVID-19. A series of stepwise linear regressions found that components of the model were significant and accounted for a large percentage of variance when examining Covid-19 related distress (R2 = 0.447 Covid Stress Scale), Anxiety (R2 = 0.536 DASS-Anxiety Subscale) and Depression (R2 = 0.596 Depression DASS-subscale). In a confirmatory factor analysis, Loneliness, Post-Traumatic Cognitions about Self, Post-Traumatic Cognitions about the World, Emotional Stability, and Mental Effort related to COVID-19 loaded onto a single factor. The final model showed adequate fit (CFI = 0.990, TLI = 0.983, RMSEA = 0.053 (0.027-0.080), GFI = 0.986, SRMR = 0.0216, χ2 = 23.087, p = .006). The results highlight the importance of cognitive factors, such as post-traumatic cognitions, rumination, and mental effort in maintaining COVID-19 related distress.

Exploratory factor analysis determines latent factors in Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) has been developed as a powerful statistical procedure in psychological research. EFA's purpose is to identify the nature and number of latent constructs (= factors) underlying a set of observed variables. Since the research goal of EFA is to determine what causes the observed responses, EFA is ideal for hypothesis-based studies, such as identifying the number and nature of latent factors (e.g., cause, risk factors, etc.). However, the application of EFA in the biomedical field has been limited. Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is peripheral neuropathy, in which the presence of antibodies to glycolipids has been associated with clinical signs. Although the precise mechanism for the generation of anti-glycolipid antibodies is unclear, we hypothesized that latent factors, such as distinct autoantigens and microbes, could induce different sets of anti-glycolipid antibodies in subsets of GBS patients. Using 55 glycolipid antibody titers from 100 GBS and 30 control sera obtained by glycoarray, we conducted EFA and extracted four factors related to neuroantigens and one potentially suppressive factor, each of which was composed of the distinct set of anti-glycolipid antibodies. The four groups of anti-glycolipid antibodies categorized by unsupervised EFA were consistent with experimental and clinical findings reported previously. Therefore, we proved that unsupervised EFA could be applied to biomedical data to extract latent factors. Applying EFA for other biomedical big data may elucidate latent factors of other diseases with unknown causes or suppressing/exacerbating factors, including COVID-19.

People with visual impairment in outward-facing work: Developing a tool to measure employer attitudes.

BACKGROUND: Over the years, persons with disabilities have suffered unjustifiably due to a low employment rate, largely the result of unsupportive and negative attitude from employers. Such attitudes are exacerbated during periods of economic stress, with a case par excellence being the current COVID-19 pandemic. Prior studies have addressed common concerns of employers within the workplace. However, the dimensions of these concerns extend beyond the internal working environment, to the outward-facing work environment, involving interactions with customers and suppliers. These concerns have not, thus far, been properly addressed. OBJECTIVE: To develop the Service from People With Visual Impairment (SPVI) psychometric measure, a 6-item employers' attitude assessment tool. METHODS: This study is based on 1,036 questionnaires collected using Online Panel Data (OPD), from managers who have hiring authority. We performed Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) followed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) for discriminant and convergent validity. Finally, we present an empirical model comprising a stable single factor and establish predictive validity using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). RESULTS: CFA showed good fit to the observed data; CMIN/DF = 1.94, p > 0.05, CFI = 1, TLI = 0.99, NFI = 1, RMSEA = 0.03. SEM showed good fit; CMIN/DF = 1.91, CFI = 1, TLI = 0.99, NFI = 0.99, RMSEA = 0.03. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the instrument could become a pragmatic tool to assess employer attitudes to employ people with visual impairment or blindness due to external work environment concerns. The tool is relevant to a wide range of circumstances, including economic downturns. Practical considerations are discussed.

Development, Validity, and Reliability of the Perceived Telemedicine Importance, Disadvantages, and Barriers (PTIDB) Questionnaire for Egyptian Healthcare Professionals.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to develop and investigate the psychometric properties of the Perceived Telemedicine Importance, Disadvantages, and Barriers (PTIDB) questionnaire for healthcare professionals (HCPs) in Egypt. This study was conducted in three phases: (1) development of the questionnaire, (2) preliminary testing of the questionnaire, and (3) investigation of its validity and reliability using a large survey. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted over two months. A convenience sample of 691 HCPs and clerks from 22 governorates accessed the online survey. The construct validity was assessed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and internal reliability. RESULTS: The initial Eigenvalues showed that all 19 items of the questionnaire explained 56.0% of the variance in three factors. For Factor 1 (importance), eight items were loaded on one factor, with factor loading ranging from 0.61 to 0.78. For Factor 2 (disadvantages), seven items were loaded on one factor with factor loading ranging from 0.60 to 0.79. For Factor 3 (barriers), four items were loaded on one factor, with factor loading ranging from 0.60 to 0.86. The CFA showed that All loadings ranged from 0.4 to 1.0, with CFI = 0.93 and RMSEA = 0.061. All the factors had satisfactory reliability; 0.87 for ''Importance'', 0.82 for ''Disadvantages'', and 0.79 for ''Barriers''. CONCLUSION: The PTIDB questionnaire has an acceptable level of validity and internal consistency, at a readability level of 12th grade. The retest reliability, however, still needs to be tested.

Individuals' Assessments of Their Own Wellbeing, Subjective Welfare, and Good Life: Four Exploratory Studies.

This paper reports on four exploratory online studies of how wellbeing and welfare are valued and perceived from a subjective, individual perspective. Study 1 (n = 707) compares individuals' subjective ratings and correlations of the importance of the three wellbeing dimensions happiness, meaning in life, and a psychologically rich life, as well as their welfare. Study 2 (n = 679) factor-analyses the same four (five-item) wellbeing and subjective welfare constructs. Study 3 (n = 710) gauges how individuals' global assessments of the three dimensions of wellbeing and of subjective welfare contribute to their assessments of living a good life, using stepwise regression analysis. Study 4 (n = 663) replicates the stepwise regression analysis with global measures of relative, rather than absolute, wellbeing and subjective welfare.