Effects of a dementia dietary educational program on nutritional knowledge and healthy eating behavior of family caregivers

ABSTRACT

Family caregivers play a critical role in dietary care and the nutritional status of people with dementia. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a family care-based dementia dietary educational program (DDEP) on family caregivers’ nutritional knowledge, healthy eating behavior and nutritional status of people with dementia. A total of 57 pairs of participants completed this longitudinal experimental study. Group A received routine care. Group B received the DDEP. Three outcomes were measured at pretest (T1), posttest (T2) and follow-up test (T3). Generalized estimating equations and regression were used to analyze the data. The scores of the caregivers’ nutritional knowledge significantly increased after receiving the DDEP in group B, and this increase was better than in group A. The posttest and follow-up test scores of healthy eating behavior were significantly higher than the pretest scores in both groups. The scores of nutritional status in group B increased from the pretest to the follow-up test, although there was no significant difference between the two groups. Some demographic factors played significant roles in the caregivers’ nutritional knowledge and healthy eating behavior. In sum, the DDEP improved the caregivers’ nutritional knowledge and healthy eating behavior for dementia. The demographic factors of family caregivers should be considered when providing nutritional information to enhance the nutritional status of people with dementia. The DHPDEP should be incorporated into the in-service education and training courses for nurses or dietitians who work with people with dementia.     

Teacher actions and student task involvement in high school science classrooms

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the investigation was to investigate the consistency of NOS views among high school students across different scientific and socio-scientific contexts. A total of 261 high school students from eight different schools in Lebanon participated in the investigation. The schools were selected based on different geographical areas in Lebanon and the principals’ consent to participate in the study. The investigation used a qualitative design to compare the responses of students across different contexts/topics. All the participants completed a five-item open-ended questionnaire, which includes five topics addressing scientific and socio-scientific contexts. The items of the questionnaire addressed the empirical, tentative, and subjective aspects of NOS. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted to answer the research questions. Results showed that participants’ views of the emphasised NOS aspects were mostly inconsistent. Plus, there was variance in participants’ views of NOS between scientific and socio-scientific issues. Discussion of the results related to differential developmental progression, contextual factors, social constructivist perspective, different domains of knowledge, and students’ individual differences.     

Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias: An Organizational Approach to Identifying and Addressing Practices and Learning Needs of Family Physicians

ABSTRACT

Caring for patients with dementia is complex and demanding. Since family physicians (FPs) provide much of this care, we examined their practices, learning needs, and barriers to care concerning Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. We surveyed 392 (approximately 50%) Nova Scotia FPs and conducted focus groups and interviews with: FPs; staff of long-term care facilities; health professionals in home care; patients and their caregivers; FPs with advanced geriatric training; geriatricians; and psychiatrists. Results suggest that many FPs do not perform assessment and management practices as frequently as they ideally should. However, systemic factors, not only inadequate knowledge, affect care.     

Factors Influencing Nursing Students’ Intention to Practice Sexuality Education in their Professional Work

Abstract

Sexuality has an essential part in human lives and can be affected by changes in one’s health status. Since the nursing profession delivers holistic care for patients, nurses must have the knowledge and skills to deliver care concerning sexuality. Evidence from the professional literature demonstrates that nurses do not address sexuality care consistently, mainly due to different factors such as lack of knowledge, skills, and cultural attitudes. This study’s purpose was to learn about the factors that affect nursing students’ willingness to grasp the nurse’s role as a sexuality educator in practice prior to establishing a specified course in sexual education for BSN students. A quantitative study was conducted in a college at the center of Israel, with a convenience sample of nursing students in a BSN program (n?=?214). The research tool was a questionnaire designed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and willingness of nursing students to practice sexuality education in the future. The study’s approach was based on Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior. Results indicated that self-efficacy is the main mediator between attitudes and intentions. There is a need to reinforce nursing student’s self-efficacy on the subject to increase their intention to practice it in the future.     

Assessing 10- to 11-year-old children’s performance and misconceptions in number sense using a four-tier diagnostic test

Background: Number sense is a key topic in mathematics education, and the identification of children’s misconceptions about number is, therefore, important. Information about students’ serious misconceptions can be quite significant for teachers, allowing them to change their teaching plans to help children overcome these misconceptions. In science education, interest in children’s alternative conceptions has led to the development of three- and four-tier tests that not only assess children’s understandings and misconceptions, but also examine children’s confidence in their responses. However, there are few such tests related to mathematical content, especially in studies of number sense.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate children’s performance and misconceptions with respect to number sense via a four-tier diagnostic test (Answer Tier → Confidence rating for Answer Tier → Reason Tier → Confidence rating for Reason Tier).

Design and method: A total of 195 fifth graders (10–11 years old) from Taiwan participated in this study. The four-tier test was web-based and contained 40 items across five components of number sense.

Findings: The results show that (1) students’ mean confidence rating for the answer tier was significantly higher than for the reason tier; (2) an average of 68% of students tended to have equal confidence ratings in both answer and reason tiers; (3) students who chose correct answers or reasons had higher mean confidence ratings in most items (36 out of 40) than those who did not; and (4) 16 misconceptions were identified and most of them were at a strong level.

Conclusion: The four-tier test was able to identify several misconceptions in both the answer and reason tier and provide information about the confidence levels. By using such information, teachers may be better positioned to understand the nature of learners’ misconceptions about number sense and therefore support their pupils’ progress in mathematics.     

School self-evaluation instruments and cognitive validity. Do items capture what they intend to?

School self-evaluation (SSE) often makes use of questionnaires in order to sketch a picture of the school. How respondents cognitively process questionnaire items determines the validity of SSE results. Still, one readily assumes that respondents interpret and answer items as intended by the instrument developer (referred to as cognitive validity), but it remains unclear whether they do. This study tested an exemplary SSE instrument by focusing on the extent to which SSE results are cognitively valid, and on the extent to which differences in cognitive validity can be attributed to respondents and/or items. Cognitive interviews with 20 participants made respondents’ answering processes manifest. Results show that, overall, fewer than 50% of respondents’ processes of interpreting and elaborating on items are cognitively valid. Cross-classified multilevel analyses indicate that various hierarchical levels, respondents and items, are significant in explaining differences in cognitive validity, but not for all stages of the answering process.     

A Survey on Dementia Training Needs Among Staff at Community-Based Outpatient Clinics

Dementia is a major public health concern. Educating health-care providers about dementia warning signs, diagnosis, and management is paramount to fostering clinical competence and improving patient outcomes. The objective of this project was to describe and identify educational and training needs of staff at community-based outpatient clinics related to treating and managing veterans with dementia. Health professionals took an online survey consisting of questions related to general knowledge and skills in working with veterans with dementia and their families, staff training, and attitudes toward people with dementia. Most participants considered knowledge of dementia important; however, few reported having received training in dementia care within the past year. Furthermore, over half of participants considered themselves beginners in terms of knowledge and skills in dementia care. Regarding training needs, topics that could improve the overall care of veterans with dementia and their caregivers were most often cited. Participants reported being most satisfied with in-person training. Physicians rated their dementia knowledge and skill as greater than nurses'/other medical professionals’ and support staff's. Compared with support staff, nurses/other medical professionals held more positive attitudes toward persons with dementia. Survey results suggest that staff are interested in improving knowledge of, and skills for, working with persons with dementia, and that job classification is associated with differences in attitudes.     

Multilevel Factors Affecting College Students’ Perceived Knowledge Transferability: From the Perspective of Self-Determination Theory

Promoting students’ ability to transfer or apply their knowledge and skills to real-life situations is critical in higher education. The current study was designed to test the likelihood that the constructs based on self-determination theory (SDT) framework help understand college students’ perceived knowledge transferability. A total of 3783 undergraduates from 301 classes participated in this study. The results of a series of multilevel modeling analyses indicated that (a) competence satisfaction and identification were the most salient factors influencing students’ perceived knowledge transferability; (b) the SDT-related variables together explained 64.2% of the between-student variance in perceived knowledge transferability; (c) after controlling for student-level covariates and SDT-related variables, 7.9% of the variance in perceived knowledge transferability was caused by between-class differences, and 19.6% of it could be explained by course fields and course levels. Our results, which provide evidence of multilevel factors influencing college students’ perceived knowledge transferability, have implications for promoting transfer in higher education.

     

Development and validation of a questionnaire for teacher effective communication in Qur’an learning

ABSTRACT

A student’s perception of teacher effective communication influences the learning atmosphere. The measurement of perception indicates how students view the quality of learning. As few studies have explored the development of an appropriate measurement tool of students’ perception of learning to read the Qur’an, this study aims to develop such a tool. Conceptual analysis and a survey using open-ended questions resulted in dimensions and items. Six experts and three instructors evaluated the content validity. The questionnaire was then administered to 421 participants – 201 for Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and 220 for Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The results successfully identified four dimensions that explained 64.6% of the variation. The instrument consisted of 13 items with satisfactory reliability and validity. The dimension with the highest coefficient path was ‘understanding and friendliness’ (UF), while the dimension of ‘learning media’ (LM) was the lowest. There was a significant influence of gender on the dimension of UF, as well as verbal (V) and non-verbal (NV) communication, while there were no differences in the dimension of LM. The questionnaire can be effectively used as a measurement device of dimensions related to students’ perception of teacher effective communication in Qur’an learning.     

Stress in Teaching: a study of occupational stress and its determinants,job satisfaction and career commitment among primary schoolteachers

A questionnaire survey of 710 Maltese primary schoolteachers revealed that the level of teacher stress, job satisfaction and career commitment was constituted differently in some of the teacher demographic subgroups. A principal components analysis of the stress ratings of 20 items covering various aspects of the teacher's work environment yielded four factors described in terms of ‘pupil misbehaviour’, ‘time/ resource difficulties’, ‘professional recognition needs’ and ‘poor relationships’. Teacher sex and ability‐group taught interacted significantly with the stress factors. Results also showed that teachers who reported greater stress were less satisfied with their job and less committed to choose a teaching career were they to start life over again. Moreover, the association between the general measure of job stress and the stress due to each of the four stress factors was strongest for ‘pupil misbehaviour’ and ‘time/resource difficulties’. Of the four factors, ‘professional recognition needs’ had the strongest inverse relationship with job satisfaction and career commitment.     

Second-Year Nursing Students’ Retention of Gross Anatomical Knowledge

Human anatomy is a foundational course in nursing education, however, there is growing concern that students do not retain enough anatomical knowledge to successfully apply it in clinical settings. The aim of this study was to determine retention level of anatomy knowledge among second-year nursing students from their first-year anatomy class, and to determine if there is a difference in level of retention based on organ system. For each system, second-year students were asked to answer 9 to 11 multiple-choice questions (MCQs), and the scores from these quizzes were compared to matched test items from their first-year anatomy examinations. There was a significant decrease in the overall mean score from 83.05 ± 8.34 (±SD) in first year to 54.36 ±12.9 in second year (P = 0.0001). Retention levels were system specific. System-specific knowledge retention was highest for the gastrointestinal system (89.7%), respiratory system (88.5%), and genitourinary system (83.6%). This was followed by the integumentary system (80.1%), special senses (79.4%), nervous system (74.9%), and musculoskeletal system (69.3%). Retention was lowest for the lymphatic system (64.3%), cranial nerves (58.8%), vascular system (53.9%), and head and neck (42.6%). The present study shows that nursing students’ anatomy knowledge retention was comparatively higher than rates reported by others in medical and allied-health students. The researchers are now investigating knowledge retention in third- and fourth-year nursing students. Further investigation into why retention is higher for specific systems and intervention strategies to improve knowledge acquisition and retention in nursing students is recommended.     

6- and 8-year-olds’ performance evaluations: Do they differ between self and unknown others?

The current study investigated kindergarteners and second graders’ ability to monitor and evaluate their own and a virtual peer’s performance in a paired-associate learning task. Participants provided confidence judgments (CJs) for their own responses and performance-based judgments (judgments provided after receiving feedback on their performance) for both their own and a virtual peer’s responses. For the performance-based judgments, children were confronted with their own or the peer’s answer as well as the correct answer. Additionally, participants were asked to credit their own and the peer’s correct and incorrect answers while facing feedback. Results indicate an age-related progression in metacognitive monitoring skills, with second graders differentiating more strongly in their confidence judgments between correct and incorrect responses compared to kindergarteners. Regarding performance-based judgments, children of both age groups provided higher judgments for correctly compared to incorrectly recognized items as well as for their own responses in comparison to the responses of the unknown child. Similarly, when crediting, participants of both age groups gave more credits for correct recognition than for incorrect recognition and for their own responses than for the peer’s responses. The significant interaction between age group and recognition accuracy for the crediting shows that second graders gave more credits for correctly recognized items while kindergarteners gave more credits for incorrect answers than the older children – primarily for their own incorrect answers. In conclusion, the study provides new insights into 6- and 8-year-olds’ evaluations of their own and an unknown child’s performance in a paired-associate learning task by showing that children of both age groups generally judged and credited responses in their own favor. These results add to our understanding of biases in children’s performance evaluations, including metacognitive judgments and judgments provided after receiving feedback.     

Teachers’ expectations of children with Down Syndrome starting school in the United Arab Emirates or United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

Starting school has been shown to correlate with later school outcomes. Teachers working in early years’ settings either in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) or the United Kingdom completed a questionnaire asking them to rate the importance of 20 statements in answer to the question ‘How important are the following for deciding whether a child with Down Syndrome has had a successful first two terms of school?’ Findings demonstrated a different pattern of expectations depending on where the teacher was working. Specifically, teachers in the United Kingdom placed more importance on academic performance and the relationship with the family. Some similarities in the rankings of the scales were also obtained. Teachers, regardless of the location, placed most importance on children’s happiness and knowledge of school routines in successfully starting school. Implications for children with Down Syndrome starting school in the UAE and the United Kingdom are discussed.     

Knowledge of Alzheimer's Disease Among Norwegian Undergraduate Health and Social Care Students: A Survey Study

With an aging general population and a concurrent increase in the prevalence of dementia, health and social care professional students are increasingly exposed to this group of patients during their clinical placements and after graduation. A sound dementia-related knowledge base among health and social care students is important in providing high-quality dementia care. The present study assessed dementia-related knowledge in health and social care students. The Alzheimer's Disease Knowledge Scale (ADKS) was utilized to measure the level of dementia knowledge. A total of 321 undergraduate students from various disciplines in their final years of study, but prior to graduation, participated in this study. The study identified a moderate dementia knowledge base (mean score: 23.51 out of 30) among health and social care students. The results revealed that the students were also ignorant of many facts and had many misconceptions pertaining to Alzheimer's Disease (AD). In addition, significant differences in knowledge were evident between student groups. These results suggest that the current dementia curriculum should be evaluated in an attempt to improve the dementia knowledge base of health and social care students.     

The “None of the Above” Option in Multiple-Choice Testing: An Experimental Study

The authors assessed the effects of using “none of the above” as an option in a 40-item, general-knowledge multiple-choice test administered to undergraduate students. Examinees who selected “none of the above” were given an incentive to write the correct answer to the question posed. Using “none of the above” as the keyed option made items much more difficult (d = ?1.11). Furthermore, 45% of the time that examinees correctly selected “none of the above,” they wrote either a wrong answer (19%) or no answer (26%), and rescoring items to deny credit in these cases caused item discrimination to fall (d = ?0.35). Thus, when “none of the above” is the keyed option, credit earned by examinees with knowledge deficiencies can make items appear to have more discriminatory power than is actually the case. The authors recommend that “none of the above” should not be used as an option in multiple-choice items.     

High School Teachers’ Understanding of Blackbody Radiation

This study is a detailed look at the level of understanding of fundamental ideas about blackbody radiation (BBR) among physics teachers. The aim is to explore associations and ideas that teachers have regarding blackbody radiation: a concept used routinely in physics and chemistry, which is necessary to understand fundamentals of quantum physics. In this explorative study, the responses of 106 high school physics teachers from 18 different cities in Turkey were examined using an online questionnaire during the 2014/2015 academic year. Male (88 %) and female (12 %) teachers with an average teaching experience of 17 years participated in this study. Teachers were asked about the concept of a “blackbody” and its radiation as well as about the closely related topics such as Wien’s law and the historic effect of understanding BBR on the development of modern physics. In this study, teachers’ spontaneous ideas about the BBR are depicted by “answer sculptures.” The answer sculpture is a new way of representing and categorizing responses provided by the participants. The analysis of answer sculptures revealed that the physics teachers’ factual knowledge and their conceptual understanding of the BBR are incomplete and even misleading. Here is what teachers we surveyed make of BBR as presented in our answer sculptures. This study is left at investigating teachers’ understandings of (1) blackbody radiation and (2) the significance of this scientific breakthrough.     

XHOSA INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE: STAKEHOLDER AWARENESS, VALUE, AND CHOICE

This study investigated a sample of isiXhosa mother tongue-speaking science teachers’, their pupils’, and adult local community members’ awareness of Xhosa indigenous knowledge. It also investigated what aspects of this knowledge they value and think should and could be integrated into the school science curriculum and their reasons for suggesting that it should (or should not) be incorporated. The participating teachers voluntarily completed an open-ended questionnaire. On completion, they were given the task of administering the questionnaire to at least 1 of their pupils and 1 community member who they believed could contribute ideas about indigenous knowledge that might relate to science education. Interviews were held with a small sample of teachers and community members. The data generated suggest that there is a shared awareness of indigenous knowledge across the respondents (teachers, pupils, and community members). The reasons given for including indigenous knowledge in the school curriculum related mainly to the realm of recognition (social justice and cultural sensitivity), and there was also little evidence that the respondents were aware of current understandings underpinning the demarcation of science and indigenous knowledge as disciplines.     

A comparative study of perceptions of overseas consulting ‘effectiveness’ ‐Australian providers and Asian and Pacific clients

This study sought to compare the perceptions of Australian consultants, involved in a three year assignment in the South Pacific of the essential knowledge, attitudes and attributes, and skills needed for ‘effective’ consulting, with those of the client group and a third group of Asian and Pacific consumers and providers of consulting services. This latter group consisted of executive members, sub‐regional coordinators and program facilitators of the Asia South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education.

A two‐round questionnaire was employed to enable them to provide qualitative data on the knowledge, qualities and skills required of ‘effective’ consultants and then to rank order these items, and others obtained from an extensive literature search, to guide project managers and cross‐cultural trainers in the recruitment and preparation of consultants for effective outcomes. These guidelines seemed particularly urgent in the light of the 80% early return rate (premature return of consultants before project completion) at a cost of two billion dollars per annum (in the USA) and the evidence that fewer than one‐in‐three consultants receive cross‐cultural preparation before their departure and are generally recruited on the basis of strong success records at home.

The major findings that emerge are that there are statistically significant differences between the three groups as to the most important ‘competencies’ required for successful overseas consulting; that ‘cultural sensitivity’ is the most important attribute; ‘interpersonal’ and ‘teaching’ skills the most important skills, after ‘technical expertise'; that the composite ‘Mentikit’ effective consultant yielded by the literatureis quite different from that constructed from the survey responses; and that ‘home country success’ is unimportant compared with other traits and skills with major implications for culture‐general and culture‐specificcross‐cultural selection and training.