Disease-related and functional predictors of employment status among adults with multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Due to the extent and complexity of its physical, cognitive, and psychological accompaniments, multiple sclerosis has tremendously negative effects on employment outcomes for adults with the disease. OBJECTIVE: This article extends the current understanding of the relationship between disease-related and functional factors and employment status among adults with multiple sclerosis. METHODS: Findings are reported in terms of descriptive statistics and logistic regression. The logistic regression analysis was completed to determine the extent to which disease-related and functional predictors contributed to the overall prediction model for the employment status of adults with MS. RESULTS: The combined variables explained approximately 33% of the variance in employment status. In addition to three items of the Psychological subscale and 12 items of the Physical subscale, one of the items from the Cognitive Functioning Scale contributed to the prediction of employment status. CONCLUSIONS: The findings emphasize the importance of including physical, psychological, and cognitive functioning variables when predicting employment status among adults with multiple sclerosis.

A response to Harris, Gould, and Fujiura: Beyond scoping reviews: a case for mixed-methods research reviews.

This article serves as a response to the Work article on scoping literature reviews by Harris et al. [1]. Conceptualizing scoping reviews as an exploratory approach to organizing literature and research findings in a content area that is still developing, we propose a mixed-methods approach to systematic reviews that enables researchers to capture the breadth and depth of existing knowledge, thereby facilitating the transfer of research findings into field practice.

Examining the factor structure of the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factor structure of the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29) to assess its suitability for modeling the impact of MS on a nation-wide sample of individuals from the United States. Investigators completed a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to examine the two-factor structure proposed by Hobart et al. [17]. Although the original MSIS-29 factor structure did not fit the data exactly, the hypothesized two-factor model was partially supported in the current data. Implications for future instrument development and rehabilitation practice are discussed.

Examining the factor structure of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) as a measure of victim response to the psychological pain of subtle workplace bullying.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Literature addressing victim-bully dynamics suggests that subtle bullying is prevalent in health care, both in practice and educational settings. The complex dynamics of workplace bullying complicate its assessment. The purpose was to investigate the factor structure of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) for modeling victim responses to subtle workplace bullying. METHODS: Nursing faculty members from multiple Midwestern universities (N = 116) completed the PCS online. RESULTS: The 3-factor PCS structure (i.e., Rumination, Helplessness, Magnification) developed to describe victim response to chronic physical pain was useful in describing victim response to the chronic psychological pain of bullying via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). CONCLUSIONS: With minor modifications, the PCS represented the construct of victim response to bullying's psychological pain.

Using scoping literature reviews as a means of understanding and interpreting existing literature.

OBJECTIVE: This article compares and contrasts scoping literature reviews with other established methods for understanding and interpreting extant research literature. METHODS: Descriptions of the key principles and applications of scoping reviews are illustrated with examples from contemporary publications. CONCLUSIONS: Scoping reviews are presented as an efficient way of identifying themes and trends in high-volume areas of scientific inquiry.

Quantitative alternatives to narrative reviews for understanding existing research literature.

This article is the second in a series that examine the role of literature reviews in rehabilitation research. Methods of generating new knowledge from existing literature are categorized into three approaches: synthetic literature reviews which interpret previous findings in narrative fashion, quantitative literature reviews which summarize findings from primary research studies using a variety "counting" approaches, and meta-analyses which aggregate effect sizes from primary research studies and allow for a more complex analysis of trends in the empirical research literature. This articles examines the role that quantitative literature reviews can play in better understanding the status of knowledge in rehabilitation research, thereby shaping field practices as well as future scientific investigations. Examples of quantitative reviews from contemporary rehabilitation and related health sciences literature are provided throughout the article.

Meta-analysis as a tool for understanding existing research literature.

This article describes the rationale for and methods used in conducting meta-analyses in rehabilitation research. Advantages and disadvantages of meta-analysis, vis a vis the narrative and quantitative literature reviews described in previous articles, are discussed. Hypothetical and actual examples from the rehabilitation and related health sciences fields are used to illustrate points throughout the text.

Effectiveness of the Responsible Social Values Program for 6th grade students in one rural school district.

The present study reports the effectiveness of an abstinence-based program (the Responsible Social Values Program) designed for 6th grade students in a rural school district. To assess whether this 6-hr. abstinence-based program changed students' knowledge of their sexual development during adolescence, attitudes toward early sexual involvement, intentions regarding sexual involvement, views related to expected consequences of being sexually involved, and views related to expected outcomes of being sexually involved, a pre-experimental one-group, pretest-posttest design was employed. Analysis indicated that the curriculum was effective in terms of improving scores for each of the constructs measured. Immediately after the 6-hr. program, more students stated that they planned to avoid having sex until marriage (70%) than prior to the program (50%). Replication with a control group and longer term follow-up testing is necessary.

Using narrative literature reviews to build a scientific knowledge base.

This is the first in a series of three articles that examine the role that literature reviews play in rehabilitation research. The authors briefly describe the nature of narrative literature reviews, provides examples and descriptions of narrative literature reviews from the contemporary rehabilitation literature, and examines the limitations of these types of reviews in terms of modifying the prevailing status of knowledge in a particular research area.

Using analysis of variance (ANOVA) in rehabilitation research investigations.

The article examines the underlying assumptions, applications, and interpretations of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) in rehabilitation research. ANOVA is presented as a widely used and highly versatile statistical tool for assessing the performance of two or more groups on a broad range of dependent variables. Examples from the contemporary rehabilitation literature are used to demonstrate how ANOVA can be applied and interpreted in a number of scientific contexts.