Ageing with Parkinson's: Identification of Personal Needs in the Northern Spanish Context.

As individuals diagnosed with Parkinson's disease enter older age, the myriad challenges and complications associated with this condition tend to escalate. Hence, there is a critical necessity to comprehensively discern the perceived needs of these individuals, along with their proposed remedies and essential support requisites. Additionally, understanding the perspectives of their families becomes imperative to formulate tailored interventions aimed at enhancing their overall development, progression, and quality of life. The study's main objective is to assess the perceived needs of individuals with PD and their family members, propose necessary solutions, and suggest future perspectives. The study encompassed a cohort of 268 participants, comprising 179 individuals diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and 89 of their relatives. A meticulously designed structured interview instrument consisting of 93 items was employed to assess various domains encompassing perceived needs, institutional support mechanisms, essential solutions, and future anticipations. Results: Statistically significant differences were found in health resources, social services resources, obstacles, solutions, and future outlook, with higher mean values from the relatives. Conclusions: The results highlight the most concerning needs in this context. Specifically, those needs related to health resources, social services resources, and future outlook present the greatest differences between the two subsamples, with the family members perceiving more needs. This alignment extended to both the categorization of unmet needs and the requisite solutions envisioned to address them. Suggested improvements include a sociosanitary strategy, stakeholder involvement, and prioritizing flexible home assistance to support older individuals with PD and their families.

The Influence of Sleep and Reading on Overweight of the Children.

The active leisure, in particular reading, and hours of sleep play an important role in health and body mass index (BMI) in children. The aim of this study is to analyze, by means of path analysis, how these variables interact in influencing children's weight. Two hundred and ninety-one children took part in the study. Their BMI was calculated and they were interviewed. A path analysis indicates that spending more time on leisure-time reading facilitates the control of BMI in two ways. Firstly, it is associated a greater number of active leisure activities (r = .35 p < .001) and predicts more hours of sleep (ß = .13 p < .05), which in turn predicts a lower BMI (ß = -.15 p < .001). Furthermore, it has been observed that spending more time reading is associated with less time spent on sedentary leisure activities (r = -.17 p < .001). It would appear that in order to control overweight in children, it is necessary to foster a well-ordered lifestyle. Reading as the last activity of the day can make a significant contribution to this process.

The influence of sleep and reading on overweight of the children

The active leisure, in particular reading, and hours of sleep play an important role in health and body mass index (BMI) in children. The aim of this study is to analyze, by means of path analysis, how these variables interact in influencing children's weight. Two hundred and ninety-one children took part in the study. Their BMI was calculated and they were interviewed. A path analysis indicates that spending more time on leisure-time reading facilitates the control of BMI in two ways. Firstly, it is associated a greater number of active leisure activities (r = .35 p < .001) and predicts more hours of sleep (β = .13 p < .05), which in turn predicts a lower BMI (β = -.15 p < .001). Furthermore, it has been observed that spending more time reading is associated with less time spent on sedentary leisure activities (r = -.17 p < .001). It would appear that in order to control overweight in children, it is necessary to foster a well-ordered lifestyle. Reading as the last activity of the day can make a significant contribution to this process

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Income Levels and Response to Contingency Management for Smoking Cessation.

BACKGROUND: Contingency management (CM) has demonstrated its efficacy in treating many drug addictions, including nicotine. However, one of the most commonly perceived limitations with regard to its dissemination into community settings is whether this protocol could be equally effective for treating patients across different income levels. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine whether individuals' income levels affect treatment success in a cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) that included a voucher-based CM protocol for smoking cessation. METHODS: A total of 92 treatment-seeking smokers in a community setting were randomly assigned to a CBT group (N = 49) or to a CBT plus CM group (N = 43). The CM procedure included a voucher program through which smoking abstinence was reinforced on a schedule of escalating magnitude of reinforcement with a reset contingency. We analyzed the impact of self-reported monthly income, alone and in combination with treatment condition, on short-term (treatment retention) and long-term (self-reported number of days of continuous smoking abstinence at 6-month follow-up) results. RESULTS: Income had no effect on treatment retention and continuous abstinence outcomes at 6-month follow-up in either treatment condition. Treatment modality emerged as the only significant predictor of treatment success. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that treatment-seeking smokers from the general population respond equally well to CM regardless of their income levels. The results of this randomized controlled trial support the generalizability of this evidenced-based program into community settings.

Computerized Adaptive Assessment of Organizational Climate / Evaluación adaptativa informatizada del clima organizacional

Computerized Adaptive Tests (CAT) constitutes a major advance in the field of the assessment of social sciences and health. It is interesting to incorporate this methodological development to organizational field. The objective of this research is to develop a CAT for evaluating the organizational climate. In order to do this, a bank of 160 items was constructed, which was administered to a sample of 3,163 workers (M age= 51.90 years; SD= 6.28 years). The results show that the CAT works efficiently for the three item banks used (150, 130 and 50 items). The information function shows that the latent trait in the whole range of values is measured with similar accuracy. The correlation between the scores obtained with the CAT, the three item banks and the CLIOR scale of organizational climate was higher than .90 in all cases (SE< 0.32, the 150 item CAT uses a mean of 22.5 items (SD = 13.5 items). The CAT developed allows an accuracy and useful assessment of the organizational climate on organizational settings and research

Los Tests Adaptativos Informatizados (CAT) constituyen un gran avance en el campo de la evaluación de las ciencias sociales y de la salud. Es interesante incorporar este desarrollo metodológico al campo de la psicología organizacional. El objetivo de esta investigación es desarrollar un CAT para evaluar el clima organizacional. Para ello, se construyó un banco de 160 ítems, que se administró a una muestra de 3163 trabajadores (M = 51,90 años; DT = 6,28 años). Los resultados muestran que el CAT funciona de manera eficiente para los tres bancos de ítems utilizados (150, 130 y 50 ítems). La función de información muestra que el rasgo latente se mide con una precisión similar en todo el rango de valores. La correlación entre las puntuaciones obtenidas con el CAT, los tres bancos de ítems y la escala CLIOR de clima organizacional fue superior a 0,90 en todos los casos (ET < 0,32). Con una precisión fijada en ET < 0,32, el CAT de 150 ítems utiliza una media de 22,5 ítems (DT = 13,5). El CAT desarrollado permite una evaluación útil y precisa del clima organizacional en contextos organizacionales

What happens when drivers face hazards on the road?

The current study aims to obtain knowledge about the nature of the processes involved in Hazard Perception, using measurement techniques to separate and independently quantify these suspected sub-processes: Sensation, Situation Awareness (recognition, location and projection) and decision-making. It applies Signal Detection Theory analysis to Hazard Perception and Prediction Tasks. To enable the calculation of Signal Detection Theory parameters, video-recorded hazardous vs. quasi-hazardous situations were presented to the participants. In the hazardous situations it is necessary to perform an evasive action, for instance, braking or swerving abruptly, while the quasi-hazardous situations do not require the driver to make any evasive manoeuvre, merely to carry on driving at the same speed and following the same trajectory. A first Multiple Choice Hazard Perception and Prediction test was created to measure participants' performance in a What Happens Next? Task. The sample comprised 143 participants, 47 females and 94 males. Groups of non-offender drivers (learner, novice and experienced) and offender drivers (novice and experienced) were recruited. The Multiple Choice Hazard Perception and Prediction test succeeded in finding differences between drivers according to their driving experience. In fact, differences exist with regard to the level of hazard discrimination (d' prime) by drivers with different experience (learner, novice and experienced drivers) and profile (offenders and non-offenders) and these differences emerge from Signal Detection Theory analysis. In addition, it was found that experienced drivers show higher Situation Awareness than learner or novice drivers. On the other hand, although offenders do worse than non-offenders on the hazard identification question, they do just as well when their Situation Awareness is probed (in fact, they are as aware as non-offenders of what the obstacles on the road are, where they are and what will happen next). Nevertheless, when considering the answers participants provided about their degree of cautiousness, experienced drivers were more cautious than novice drivers, and non-offender drivers were more cautious than offender drivers. That is, a greater number of experienced and non-offender drivers chose the answer "I would make an evasive manoeuvre such as braking gradually".

Skipping breakfast, sedentarism and overweight in children.

To show by use of path analysis how in children of 9 and 10 years of age the known relationship between breakfast and high body mass index (BMI) is mediated by sedentary leisure time activities. A random sample of 291 9-year-old and 10-year-old school children from the Principality of Asturias (Spain) was taken. A transversal design was used, their weight and height were measured and an individual standardized interview was carried out in which they were asked about their breakfast habits and the time they spent each week on sedentary leisure activities. Using path analysis, a model was tested in which breakfast habits and leisure time were the independent variables and the BMI was the dependent variable. The results showed that there was an inverse correlation between number of breakfasts and BMI and a direct correlation between the time spent on sedentary leisure activities and BMI. Path analysis showed that the relationship between the frequency with which breakfast was eaten and BMI was mediated by the time spent on sedentary leisure activities. The above appears to confirm the direct role played by failing to have breakfast in the pandemic of obesity as this habit tends to increase children's BMI. This relationship is, however, mediated by sedentary leisure. According to the data compiled, being overweight in children can only be prevented by modifying not just one of the habits that have been associated with it, but rather the whole group of habits as these appear to make up an obesogenic cluster in which sedentary leisure and not having breakfast are included.

Relationships between sleeping habits, sedentary leisure activities and childhood overweight and obesity.

The aim of this study is to show how sedentary leisure activities and a decrease in hours of sleep interact to lead to an increase in the body mass index (BMI) in children. A random sample of 291 nine-year-old and ten-year-old schoolchildren from Asturias (Spain) was taken. A cross-sectional design was used, the children's weight and height were measured and an individual interview was carried out. Using path analysis, a model was tested in which bedtime, the number of hours spent sleeping and sedentary leisure activities were the independent variables and the BMI was the dependent variable. The results show that sedentary leisure activities and hours spent sleeping are predictors of a greater BMI in children. Moreover, the effect of the time spent sleeping is mediated by sedentary leisure activities. That is to say, it is those children who go to bed late and who use that extra time to watch the television or play with the computer that tend to have a greater BMI. Attention should be drawn to the importance of this fact and to the implications it may have for education and children's health.

Contingency management improves outcomes in cocaine-dependent outpatients with depressive symptoms.

Despite depressive symptoms being very common among patients seeking treatment for cocaine dependence, few studies have examined the effects of depressive symptoms on cocaine outpatient treatment outcomes, and there is even less research in the context of Contingency Management (CM). The purpose of this study was to assess the main and interactive effects of co-occurring depressive symptoms on CM outcomes. Cocaine-dependent individuals (N = 108) were randomized to Community Reinforcement Approach (CRA) or CRA plus CM in two outpatient community clinical settings. Participants were categorized according to depression symptoms, self-reported by means of the BDI at treatment entry. Outcome measures included treatment retention and documented cocaine abstinence over a 6-month treatment period. Depressive symptoms were more commonly found in females and in unemployed participants, and were associated with more drug-related, social, and psychiatric problems at treatment entry. Individuals with baseline depressive symptoms had poorer treatment outcomes than patients without depressive symptoms. The addition of CM to CRA made the program more effective than with CRA alone, regardless of depressive symptoms. CM was associated with better abstinence treatment outcomes, while the interaction between unemployment and depressive symptoms was associated with negative retention treatment outcomes. This study supports the efficacy of CM for cocaine-dependent outpatients with and without depressive symptoms, and highlights its importance for improving treatment for unemployed and depressed cocaine-dependent individuals.

Assessing organizational climate: psychometric properties of the CLIOR Scale / Evaluación del clima organizacional: propiedades psicométricas de la Escala CLIOR

Background: Organizational climate is the set of perceptions shared by workers who occupy the same workplace. The main goal of this study is to develop a new organizational climate scale and to determine its psychometric properties. Method: The sample consisted of 3,163 Health Service workers. A total of 88.7% of participants worked in hospitals, and 11.3% in primary care; 80% were women and 20% men, with a mean age of 51.9 years (SD= 6.28). Results: The proposed scale consists of 50 Likert-type items, with an alpha coefficient of 0.97, and an essentially onedimensional structure. The discrimination indexes of the items are greater than 0.40, and the items show no differential item functioning in relation to participants’ sex. A short version of the scale was developed, made up of 15 items, with discrimination indexes higher than 0.40, an alpha coefficient of 0.94, and its structure was clearly one-dimensional. Conclusions: These results indicate that the new scale has adequate psychometric properties, allowing a reliable and valid assessment of organizational climate (AU)

Antecedentes: el clima organizacional es el conjunto de percepciones que comparten los trabajadores de un determinado ámbito laboral. El objetivo central de este trabajo es la construcción de una nueva escala para evaluar el clima organizacional y el estudio de sus propiedades psicométricas. Método: la muestra estaba formada por 3.163 trabajadores del ámbito sanitario, un 88,7% trabajaban en hospitales y un 11,3% en servicios de Atención Primaria. Un 80% eran mujeres y un 20% hombres, con una edad media de 51,9 años y una desviación típica de 6,28. Resultados: la escala construida está formada por 50 ítems tipo Likert, con un coeficiente alfa de 0,97 y una estructura esencialmente unidimensional. Los índices de discriminación de los ítems son todos superiores a 0,40, y ninguno de los ítems muestra un funcionamiento diferencial respecto al sexo. Se desarrolló una versión corta de la escala de 15 ítems, con índices de discriminación superiores a 0,40, coeficiente alfa de 0,94 y estructura unidimensional. Conclusiones: los resultados obtenidos indican que la nueva escala desarrollada tiene unas propiedades psicométricas adecuadas, permitiendo una evaluación fiable y válida del clima organizacional (AU)

Assessing organizational climate: psychometric properties of the CLIOR Scale.

BACKGROUND: Organizational climate is the set of perceptions shared by workers who occupy the same workplace. The main goal of this study is to develop a new organizational climate scale and to determine its psychometric properties. METHOD: The sample consisted of 3,163 Health Service workers. A total of 88.7% of participants worked in hospitals, and 11.3% in primary care; 80% were women and 20% men, with a mean age of 51.9 years (SD= 6.28). RESULTS: The proposed scale consists of 50 Likert-type items, with an alpha coefficient of 0.97, and an essentially one-dimensional structure. The discrimination indexes of the items are greater than 0.40, and the items show no differential item functioning in relation to participants' sex. A short version of the scale was developed, made up of 15 items, with discrimination indexes higher than 0.40, an alpha coefficient of 0.94, and its structure was clearly one-dimensional. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the new scale has adequate psychometric properties, allowing a reliable and valid assessment of organizational climate.

Contingency management is effective across cocaine-dependent outpatients with different socioeconomic status.

Contingency management (CM) has demonstrated its efficacy for treating cocaine dependence, but there is still some controversy with regard to its dissemination. Understanding how individual differences affect CM outcomes is important for detecting barriers to its dissemination. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of socioeconomic variables in cocaine-dependent outpatients on the effectiveness of CM in a community setting. Cocaine-dependent outpatients (N=118) were randomized to community reinforcement approach (CRA) treatment or a CRA plus vouchers program. The impact of baseline economic variables, alone and in combination with treatment conditions, on abstinence and retention outcomes after 6 months of treatment was assessed. Results showed that income had no effect on retention or abstinence outcomes after 6 months of treatment in either treatment condition. The addition of a CM component was beneficial for individuals with any socioeconomic status. These results support the generalizability of CM strategies with patients of different socioeconomic status in community settings.

Forensics ergonomics in Spain. Research priorities by the Delphi technique.

Among the many fields of application of Ergonomics, this research deals with the services offered to Justice from the expertise recognized by the Law on prevention of occupational risks within the framework of the Law of Civil Procedure: Ergonomics forensic also called Legal Ergonomics. In Spain there are experiences since 1995 and an important development and this paper is to investigate the actions required for a more widespread use in trials. Consensus methods such as the Delphi survey technique are being employed to help enhance effective decision-making in the future development of Ergonomics Forensics. The Delphi survey is a group facilitation technique, which is an iterative multistage process, designed to transform opinion into group consensus. It is a flexible approach, that is used commonly within the health and social sciences, however, there is little use and practice of ergonomics as a technique to facilitate the participation of all experts involved: judges, lawyers and expert ergonomists.

Evaluación de tests editados en España / No disponible

La utilización correcta de los tests psicológicos requiere por un lado que los instrumentos de medida tengan las propiedades psicométricasadecuadas, tales como fiabilidad y validez, y por otro, que los profesionales que los utilizan tengan la preparación técnica necesaria para usarlos. En el presente trabajo se presentan las primeras evaluaciones de tests editados en España, llevadas a cabo con un Modelo de Evaluación desarrollado por la Comisión Europea de Tests y adaptado al contexto español. El modelo permite llevar a cabo una evaluación tanto cualitativa como cuantitativa de las pruebas. Se evaluaron diez tests elegidos de entre los más utilizados por los profesionales españoles, cada uno de ellos se envió a dos revisores expertos para su evaluación, y a partir de dichos informes se elaboró el informe final. En líneas generales puede afirmarse que la calidad de los diez instrumentos de medida evaluados es buena, poniéndose de manifiesto sus puntos fuertes y débiles. A la vista de las revisiones se recomienda una mejora de las pruebas y sus Manuales para futuras ediciones, haciendo hincapié en la necesidad de incluir el mayor número posible de evidencias de validez sobre las pruebas. Finalmente se comentan los detalles del proceso de revisión seguido, y se analizan las posibles líneas de futuro en la evaluación de los tests en España (AU)

The proper use of psychological tests requires that the measuring instruments have adequate psychometric properties, such as reliabilityand validity, and professionals who use those instruments have the necessary expertise to utilize them. In this paper we present the first evaluation of tests published in Spain, carried out with an Assessment Model developed by the European Test Commission, and adapted to the Spanish context. The model allows conducting a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the test. Ten tests were evaluated, elected from among the most used by Spanish professionals. Each test was sent to two peer reviewers for evaluation, based on these reports a final inform was prepared. In light of the revisions carried out some improvements are suggested for future editions of the tests, emphasizing the need to include in the Manuals as many as possible evidences of validity of the tests. Finally, we discuss the details of the review process followed, and analyze possible future directions for the evaluation of tests in Spain (AU)