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Background: Many healthcare professionals, including pediatricians, psychiatrists, Clinical Psychologists (CPs), Occupational Therapists (OTs), and Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs), are involved in the identification and intervention of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in children. Distinctive training backgrounds and professional exposure can result in contrasting ideas regarding the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of ASD. Only a few studies have addressed the cross-disciplinary perspective of knowledge, belief, and awareness about diagnostic criteria required for diagnosing ASD. Materials and Methods: A total of 154 allied healthcare professionals (98 SLPs, 33 CPs, and 23 OTs) participated in the study. The survey tool used for this study was adapted from a previously available survey on the assessment of knowledge and belief about ASD and self-efficacy. Results: The overall knowledge and belief of allied healthcare professionals regarding ASD differed significantly across the groups. However, the knowledge of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) diagnostic criteria for ASD did not differ significantly between the groups. Conclusion: Our findings have salient clinical implications and advocates for the continued education of healthcare professionals in India regarding recent diagnostic criteria for ASD.

Background: Disease often depends on how a host interacts with his or her environment. This interaction is important for respiratory infectious diseases, where built environments may promote transmission. To learn about time use, or the amount of time people spend in a day doing various activities, in sub-Saharan Africa may be difficult because of low literacy and different cultural perceptions of time. We developed a culturally appropriate survey tool to measure time use called the mweso game. Method: Three cross-sectional studies were performed among adults in Kampala, Uganda, to evaluate criterion and construct validity and to assess reliability of the mweso game. The mweso game was compared to actual elapsed time, a detailed 24-hr recall survey, and between three different recall periods. In all analyses, the mean number of beads, or hours, was calculated; Pearson correlation coefficients and Cronbach’s α were estimated. Results: Criterion validity for the use of beads to measure time was fair; mean values tended to be accurate, but there was variability in estimates of time across participants. When comparing the mweso game to the 24-hr recall survey, construct validity was very good. For most of the settings, the difference between measurements was less than one hour; there was good to excellent correlation for most settings. Reliability and internal consistency were best for time use at home and work. Conclusions: We have developed the mweso game as an instrument to measure time use in the context of low literacy and different cultural perceptions of time. The mweso game was valid and reliable, especially for measuring time use at home and work. With further validation, it may prove useful in measuring time use and in studying its relation to transmission of respiratory infectious diseases.

Trauma center readiness costs are incurred to maintain essential infrastructure and capacity to provide emergent services on a 24/7 basis. These costs are not captured by traditional hospital cost accounting, and no national consensus exists on appropriate definitions for each cost. Therefore, in 2010, stakeholders from all Level I and II trauma centers developed a survey tool standardizing and defining trauma center readiness costs. The survey tool underwent minor revisions to provide further clarity, and the survey was repeated in 2013. The purpose of this study was to provide a follow-up analysis of readiness costs for Georgia's Level I and Level II trauma centers. Using the American College of Surgeons Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient guidelines, four readiness cost categories were identified: Administrative, Clinical Medical Staff, Operating Room, and Education/Outreach. Through conference calls, webinars and face-to-face meetings with financial officers, trauma medical directors, and program managers from all trauma centers, standardized definitions for reporting readiness costs within each category were developed. This resulted in a survey tool for centers to report their individual readiness costs for one year. The total readiness cost for all Level I trauma centers was $34,105,318 (avg $6,821,064) and all Level II trauma centers was $20,998,019 (avg $2,333,113). Methodology to standardize and define readiness costs for all trauma centers within the state was developed. Average costs for Level I and Level II trauma centers were identified. This model may be used to help other states define and standardize their trauma readiness costs.

Many US medical schools have added a scholarly or research requirement as a potential intervention to increase the number of medical students choosing to become academic physicians and physician scientists. We designed a retrospective qualitative survey study to evaluate the impact of medical school research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) on career choices. A survey tool was developed consisting of 74 possible questions with built-in skip patterns to customize the survey to each participant. The survey was administered using the web-based program Qualtrics to UAB School of Medicine alumni graduating between 2000 and 2014. Alumni were contacted 3 times at 2-week intervals during the year 2015, resulting in 168 completed surveys (11.5% response rate). MD/PhD graduates were excluded from the study. Most respondents completed elective research, typically for reasons relating to career advancement. 24 per cent said medical school research increased their desire for research involvement in the future, a response that positively correlated with mentorship level and publication success. Although completion of medical school research was positively correlated with current research involvement, the strongest predictor for a physician scientist career was pre-existing passion for research (p=0.008). In contrast, students motivated primarily by curricular requirement were less likely to pursue additional research opportunities. Positive medical school research experiences were associated with increased postgraduate research in our study. However, we also identified a strong relationship between current research activity and passion for research, which may predate medical school.

Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures can capture a patient’s perspective on their health. In an effort to increase use of PROs in ambulatory practice, an app-based survey tool was tested in nine diverse ambulatory settings. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s (ONC) PRO FHIR Implementation Guide was used to modify an existing app. The app was utilized in nine diverse ambulatory settings with ninety patients. Nine interviews with patients and nine interviews with providers were completed during the data collection process to better understand the facilitators and barriers to implementation. The interviews revealed that human computer interaction, survey relevance, and clinical context could all have a significant impact on the success of a PRO app implementation.

The potential benefits of teacher leadership are widely acknowledged; however, the conceptualization of this construct is in need of theoretical development and analytic clarification. The purpose of this mixed methodology study was to operationalize distinct types of teacher leadership into an organized typology, based on case studies of teacher leaders in a science education project. In addition, through confirmatory factor analysis, evidence for factors representing the distinct types of teacher leadership identified in the typology was found in a general teacher leadership survey. Implications for teacher leadership research and practice are discussed.

A reporting and learning system is a method of monitoring the occurrence of incidents that affect patient safety. This cross-sectional survey asked pediatric chiropractors about factors that may limit their participation in such a system. The list of potential barriers for participation was developed using a systematic approach. All members of the 2 pediatric councils associated with US national chiropractic organizations were invited to complete the survey (N = 400). The cross-sectional survey was created using an online survey tool (REDCap) and sent directly to member emails addressed by the respective executive committees. Of the 400 potential respondents, 81 responded (20.3%). The most common limitations to participating were identified as time pressure (96%) and patient concerns (81%). Reporting and learning systems have been utilized to increase safety awareness in many high-risk industries. To be successful, future patient safety studies with pediatric chiropractors need to ensure these barriers are understood and addressed.

Purpose This survey investigated current practice in intensive care unit radiology reporting using a survey tool. We ascertained physician attitudes regarding best practice. Methods A national survey was sent by email to a sample of intensive care units throughout UK between March and October 2014. The questionnaire determined current practice in reporting chest X-ray in intensive care units. It also identified differences between ‘routine’ and emergency and out-of-hours service. Further, it investigated how reports were documented and physician preferences for perceived best practice. Results Of 146 intensive care units contacted, 55% completed the survey. Of the sample, radiologists were solely responsible for chest X-ray reporting in 43.7%, intensive care unit clinicians in 33.7% and joint reporting in 25% of intensive care units. The reporting clinician on intensive care unit was a consultant in 67% of the centres. Written reports by radiologists were provided in 71.7% of cases. This was only 54.5% when intensive care unit clinicians reported chest X-rays. For all routine and emergency films, written reports by radiologists occurred in 63.1% of responders. Out-of-hours, 54.9% of clinicians described different reporting practice to normal hours. Regarding perceived best practice, 64.8% of clinicians preferred joint daily reporting, whilst 27% preferred a radiologist’s formal report. For emergencies, 55.2% of the survey recipients preferred a joint report. Conclusion Based on this cohort of UK intensive care units, at present, there appears to be a lack of a standardised system for image reporting. There are discrepancies in who reports chest X-rays, written documentation and the timing of reports, more so out-of-hours. Clinicians suggest that joint reporting should be the standard.

We sought to better understand the preoperative neonatal intensive care unit to operating room (NICU-to-OR) handover process and to elicit barriers to effective handovers. We first conducted observations of NICU-to-OR handovers to ascertain current handover practices, including the participants involved, handover content, as well as barriers and facilitators of effective handovers. We then developed a survey tool to assess the generalizability of our findings to other NICUs across the country. The resulting pilot data highlight key areas for future research and potential interventions to improve the quality of NICU-to-OR care transitions.

The assessment of usability is a common task for human factors professionals. The System Usability Scale (SUS) is a survey tool that has been supported empirically as a psychometrically robust, valid and highly adaptive way to measure subjective usability. One area in which the SUS has not been applied yet, but could have direct and important applicability, is in the assessment of textbooks. Although usability (and a SUS score) is not typically thought of as a textbook metric, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) metrics of effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction map well onto key attributes that describe a good textbook. Here we describe the results of an initial effort to explore using the SUS to measure textbook usability. A total of 319 participants completed the SUS and indicated the usability of the textbooks required in their classes in a given semester. In total, participants rated 169 unique textbook titles. Results showed that only 32% of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) textbooks were rated as acceptable, with almost twice as many non-STEM textbooks (63%) rated as acceptable. Specific attributes of textbook design that support usability are discussed.

The paper analyzes the performance of a hospital system using a holistic and multidisciplinary approach. Data on impacts to the hospital system were collected using a standardized survey tool. A fault-tree analysis method is adopted to assess the functionality of critical hospital services based on three main contributing factors: staff, structure, and stuff. Damage to utility networks and to nonstructural components was found to have the most significant effect on hospital functionality. The functional curve is integrated over time to estimate the resilience of the regional acute-care hospital with and without the redistribution of its major services. The ability of the hospital network to offer redundancies in services after the earthquake increased the resilience of the Christchurch Hospital by 12%. The resilience method can be used to assess future performance of hospitals, and to quantify the effectiveness of seismic retrofits, hospital safety legislation, and new seismic preparedness strategies.

In one of the first visual preference surveys to use Google Street View, adult students viewed a series of paired images of city streets and were asked to choose which image they preferred for riding a bicycle. Subsequent analyses showed differences by continent in respondents' preferences. Discrete choice models were used to demonstrate the extent to which certain segment-level factors, such as presence of trees along the street, width of the street, presence of sidewalks, and other features, were preferred. The models revealed that increasing the vehicle traffic, number of lanes, tree density of the streetscape, or number of parking lots decreased the probability of image choice. The presence of sidewalks, pedestrians, trees set back from the street, and traffic-calming devices were positively associated with respondents' preferences. The tree-related results may relate to perceived safety; for example, dense trees close to a street may limit visibility along a roadway. The models also revealed signific...

Assessing safety culture, while valuable, may neglect day-to-day variation in the experiences of individual care providers. Understanding day-to-day variation may be a key to understanding and improving the single-day quality (SDQ) of care providers. The goal of this study was to: (1) determine the variables that contribute to the quality of each day (SDQ), (2) determine the validity and perceived importance of each contributing variable, and (3) determine how well care providers can predict whether the variables will have an effect on their SDQ. Interviews of NICU nurses and literature reviews were used to identify six variables perceived to influence SDQ. A survey tool assessing the six variables and SDQ was developed. Nurses were then surveyed at the beginning and end of each shift, providing a prospective (pre) and retrospective (post) assessment of all six variables plus an overall SDQ rating. The results identified which variables predicted or contributed to SDQ. Although the predictive power of the six variables differed between prospective and retrospective estimations, environmental factors and patient acuity were consistent contributors to SDQ. Overall, understanding the contributors to day-to-day variation can be used to as means to improve the healthcare provider’s SDQ and the safety of patient care.

A usability survey of various cybercollaboration techologies with 32 questions was created and administered through the Rochester Institute of Technology’s (RIT) Clipboard online survey tool. A tot...

This article describes a virtual reality role-playing game that was developed as a survey tool to collect travel behavior data and explore and monitor travel behavior adaptation. The Advanced Energy and Material Systems Laboratory has designed, developed a prototype, and tested such a game platform survey tool, called Travel Activity Constraint Adaptation Simulation (TACA SIM). A main objective is investigating adaptability under the simulated situation of rapid fuel price. The computer game survey approach has the potential to capture real behavior data through a well-controlled experiment, because the participant experiences the survey as a role-play exploration. Feedback from participants confirms that TACA SIM collects data efficiently in an acceptable time while the participants enjoyed the experience. The authors propose that this gamed-based survey approach provides the basis for collecting and evaluating travel behavior data and adaptation behavior.

Cognitive readiness can be defined as “possessing the psychological (mental) and sociological (social) knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) that individuals and team members need to sustain competent professional performance and mental wellbeing in the dynamic, complex, and unpredictable environments of military operations.” Determining if medical personnel are cognitively ready to perform their job poses a considerable challenge to the research community both in terms of understanding what is meant by being cognitively ready and in terms of developing methods to actually assess it. Accordingly, as part of a government-sponsored research program, we set out to gain a better understanding of what is meant by being “cognitively ready” for military medical teams as well as develop a tool for predicting cognitive readiness. In this paper, we describe the design, development, and initial user testing of our Medical Cognitive REadiness Survey Tool (M-CREST).

The Study of Shared Opinions in Varied Relational Situations - The Multiple-Association Methodology: This article examines the manner in which actors manage to form an opinion concerning certain aspects of AIDS, supposing that opinions are the product of interaction and not isolated acts. Cognitive and normative références are involved, but in societies of cultural diversity, an actor can be associated with different reference systems. Thus, we have adopted a structural approach for developing a theoretical model and a research protocol to study the (trans)formation of actor opinions associated with different relational contexts. The communicational convergence model we have adopted has led us to a survey tool capable of collecting information on actor opinions and the relational processes that produced them by comparing an actor's opinions formulated in two different situations. The data were analyzed at the individual level, at the dyade level and at the triad level, showing the influence of socio-metric structures on the versatility of opinions.

In this article we describe and evaluate the process of conducting online survey research about the legal recognition of same-sex relationships (key findings from which we have reported elsewhere, see Harding and Peel, 2006). Our aim in so doing is to contribute to the growing generic literature on internet-based research methods (Nosek et al., 2002; Rhodes et al., 2003; Stern, 2003; Strickland et al., 2003; Thomas et al., 2000) to the research methods literature within lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ) psychologies (Fish, 2000; Morris and Rothblum, 1999; Meezan and Martin, 2003; Mustanski, 2001) and also to extend the germinal literature focusing on internet research with non-heterosexual groups (Elford et al., 2004; Ellis et al., 2003; Ross et al., 2000). We begin by discussing the process of developing the online survey tool, before outlining the experience of the survey ?going live? and providing details of who completed the survey. We conclude by exploring some of the positives and pitfalls of this type of research methodology.

Written asthma action plans (WAAPs) are recommended for children with asthma. However, limited studies have examined how parents use WAAPs. The objective of this study was to describe how parents of children with asthma use the WAAPs they receive from their child’s primary care provider and to examine their perceived effectiveness. Investigators surveyed parents of children with asthma at an inner-city academic community health center in the Bronx, New York. A structured parent survey tool was developed to collect information about parents’ use of WAAPs, and a trained physician researcher interviewed parents in person or by phone. Of 428 subjects interviewed, 27% had a WAAP in the home. Children who had a WAAP were older and more likely to have persistent asthma. Most parents reported that they kept the WAAP posted at home or in another safe place. Eighty percent believed that WAAPs were extremely useful, and 55% looked at the WAAP when their child was sick or when they needed to administer medication. Parents viewed the use of WAAPs to be extremely useful in the care of their children with asthma. Our findings support guideline recommendations that primary care providers prescribe WAAPs.

This pilot study assessed the validity of an instrument used to identify opinion leaders within a sample of nurses. Survey data were collected from all nurses within four surgical wards at a Scottish teaching hospital. The survey tool had three components: professional and personal characteristics; attitudes towards research; identification of opinion leaders. The main outcome measure was the identification of opinion leaders and the number of people who nominated each opinion leader. A total of 93 nurses were surveyed, of whom 61% (n=57) returned a questionnaire. However, only 40% (n=38) of the sample completed the opinion leader component of the survey tool. These response rates varied across the four wards. Four opinion leaders were nominated by more than five people: two in ward C; one in ward A; and one in ward D. Coverage across the wards was 58% (n=33) of those who had completed the questionnaire. This comprised just over one-third of the total sample (35%). All those identified as opinion leaders were of a significantly higher nursing grade than their non-opinion leader peers. The opinion leaders were also more likely to have academic qualifications and a greater awareness of research, and to participate actively in additional educational activities. The findings of this pilot study indicate that the survey instrument may be able to identify nurse opinion leaders in a ward. However, doubts exist over the use of the instrument to identify opinion leaders nominated by enough nurses in the sample.

One way to determine an optimum price for a product or service is to assess what the customer is willing to pay and then set production methods and costs to achieve a profit based on that price. Traditional pricing methods, including "cost-plus" and "gut feel," operate backwards by setting a price based on the operator's costs or profit goals. Measuring the customer's price sensitivity in a reasonably unbiased way is difficult, however. Moreover, the matter of appropriate pricing is complicated by the fact that consumers use price as an indicator of quality. So, it is not only possible to set a price too high (pricing the item out of the market), but also to set it too low (giving a perception of unacceptably low quality). The statistical technique of price-sensitivity measurement (PSM) works by asking consumers questions that allow them to indicate when a product is "too expensive" or "too cheap." Graphing these numbers shows a range between expensive and cheap-indicating the likely best price range. Proprietors of Taco Bell applied the PSM method in creating their value menu, with considerable success. As an example, the authors developed a price-value range for buyers in the association-meeting market.

The OPCS scales of disability were developed as a survey tool to estimate the prevalence of disability amongst adults in the UK. This study evaluates the use of the OPCS scales in a clinical setting. A total of 265 patients attending a rehabilitation unit and wheelchair centre were assessed. The OPCS scales were validated against the standard Barthel Index and sensitivity to change over time was examined. An inter-rater reliability study was also performed. The results showed good correlation between the OPCS scales and Barthel Index (0.82, p < 0.001, n = 265) and it was shown that the OPCS scales were sensitive to clinical change over a six-month period. Inter-rater reliability was also good (0.96, p < 0.001, n = 120). The 95% confidence limits were also examined. The 'ceiling' effect of the Barthel Index is not found in the OPCS scales of disability. The results of the study support further use of the OPCS scales and suggest that it has a place in the assessment of rehabilitation outcome.