This paper proposes and showcases a methodology to develop an observational behavior assessment instrument to assess psychological competencies of police officers. We outline a step-by-step methodology for police organizations to measure and evaluate behavior in a meaningful way to assess these competencies. We illustrate the proposed methodology with a practical example. We posit that direct behavioral observation can be key in measuring the expression of psychological competence in practice, and that psychological competence in practice is what police organizations should care about. We hope this paper offers police organizations a methodology to perform scientifically informed observational behavior assessment of their police officers’ psychological competencies and inspires additional research efforts into this important area.
MULTIFILE
This paper proposes and showcases a methodology to develop an observational behavior assessment instrument to assess psychological competencies of police officers. We outline a step-by-step methodology for police organizations to measure and evaluate behavior in a meaningful way to assess these competencies. We illustrate the proposed methodology with a practical example. We posit that direct behavioral observation can be key in measuring the expression of psychological competence in practice, and that psychological competence in practice is what police organizations should care about. We hope this paper offers police organizations a methodology to perform scientifically informed observational behavior assessment of their police officers’ psychological competencies and inspires additional research efforts into this important area.
MULTIFILE
OBJECTIVES: The Behavioral Pain Scale (BPS) and Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT) are behavioral pain assessment tools for sedated and unconscious critically ill patients. The aim of this study was to compare the reliability, internal consistency, and discriminant validation of the BPS and the CPOT simultaneously in mechanically ventilated patients after cardiac surgery.DESIGN: A prospective, observational cohort study.SETTING: A 20-bed closed-format intensive care unit with mixed medical, surgical, and cardiac surgery patients in a teaching hospital in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.PARTICIPANTS: The study comprised 72 consecutive intubated and mechanically ventilated patients after cardiac surgery who were not able to self-report pain.MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Two nurses assessed the BPS and CPOT simultaneously and independently at the following 4 moments: rest, a nonpainful procedure (oral care), rest, and a painful procedure (turning). Both scores showed a significant increase of 2 points between rest and turning. The median BPS score of nurse 1 showed a significant increase of 1 point between rest and the nonpainful procedure (oral care), whereas both median CPOT scores did not change. The interrater reliability of the BPS and CPOT showed fair-to-good agreement of 0.74 overall. During the periods of rest 1 and rest 2, values ranged from 0.24 to 0.46. Cronbach's alpha values for the BPS were 0.62 (nurse 1) and 0.59 (nurse 2) compared with 0.65 and 0.58, respectively, for the CPOT.CONCLUSIONS: The BPS and CPOT are reliable and valid pain assessment tools in a daily clinical setting. However, the discriminant validation of both scores seems less satisfactory in sedated or agitated patients and this topic requires further investigation.
DOCUMENT
This paper presents the results of an evaluation of a technology-supported leisure game for people with dementia in relation to the stimulation of social behavior.
DOCUMENT
Background: Physical inactivity is common during hospitalization. Physical activity has been described in different inpatient populations but never across a hospital. Purpose: To describe inpatient movement behavior and associated factors throughout a single university hospital. Methods: A prospective observational study was performed. Patients admitted to clinical wards were included. Behavioral mapping was undertaken for each participant between 9AM and 4PM. The location, physical activity, daily activity, and company of participants were described. Barriers to physical activity were examined using linear regression analyses. Results: In total, 345 participants from 19 different wards were included. The mean (SD) age was 61 (16) years and 57% of participants were male. In total, 65% of participants were able to walk independently. On average participants spent 86% of observed time in their room and 10% of their time moving. A physiotherapist or occupational therapist was present during 1% of the time, nursing staff and family were present 11% and 13%, respectively. Multivariate regression analysis showed the presence of an intravenous line (p = .039), urinary catheter (p = .031), being female (p = .034), or being dependent on others for walking (p = .016) to be positively associated with the time spent in bed. Age > 65, undergoing surgery, receiving encouragement by a nurse or physician, reporting a physical complaint or pain were not associated with the time spent in bed (P > .05). Conclusion: As family members and nursing staff spend more time with patients than physiotherapists or occupational therapists, increasing their involvement might be an important next step in the promotion of physical activity.
LINK
Teaching students with behavioral problems is a challenge for many teachers in inclusive education. To assess a teacher's quality in teaching students with behavioral problems and to explore what differentiates them from less effective teachers, this study aimed to validate a method for measuring this type of teacher quality. Based on classroom observations, special needs support teachers (n = 12) rated the extent to which teachers met the need for competence, autonomy, and relatedness of students with behavioral problems. Primary school teachers (n = 137) completed a self-efficacy questionnaire related to teaching students with behavioral problems. Head teachers (n = 12) and the same teachers participated in a nomination procedure. Factor, reliability, descriptive, correlation, and cluster analyses were performed. Significant positive not fully overlapping correlations were found between the instruments. A group of 10–15 expert teachers of students with behavioral problems were selected. Future directions for research are discussed.
DOCUMENT
BACKGROUND: Although enhancing physical activity (PA) is important to improve physical and/or cognitive recovery, little is known about PA of patients admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation setting. Therefore, this study assessed the quantity, nature and context of inpatients PA admitted to a rehabilitation center. METHODOLOGY/PRINICIPAL FINDINGS: Prospective observational study using accelerometry & behavioral mapping. PA of patients admitted to inpatient rehabilitation was measured during one day between 7.00-22.00 by means of 3d-accelerometery (Activ8; percentage of sedentary/active time, number of sedentary/active bouts (continuous period of ≥1 minute), and active/sedentary bout lengths and behavioral mapping. Behavioral mapping consisted of observations (every 20 minutes) to assess: type of activity, body position, social context and physical location. Descriptive statistics were used to describe PA on group and individual level. At median the 15 patients spent 81% (IQR 74%-85%) being sedentary. Patients were most sedentary in the evening (maximum sedentary bout length minutes of 69 (IQR 54-95)). During 54% (IQR 50%-61%) of the observations patients were alone) and in their room (median 50% (IQR 45%-59%)), but individual patterns varied widely. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The results of this study enable a deeper understanding of the daily PA patterns of patients admitted for inpatient rehabilitation treatment. PA patterns of patients differ in both quantity, day structure, social and environmental contexts. This supports the need for individualized strategies to support PA behavior during inpatient rehabilitation treatment.
DOCUMENT
BACKGROUND: Depression in later life is a common mental disorder with a prevalence rate of between 3% and 35% for minor depression and approximately 2% for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). The most common treatment modalities for MDD are antidepressant medication and psychological interventions. Recently, Behavioral Activation (BA) has gained renewed attention as an effective treatment modality in MDD. Although BA is considered an easy accessible intervention for both patients and health care workers (such as nurses), there is no research on the effectiveness of the intervention in inpatient depressed elderly.The aim of study, described in the present proposal, is to examine the effects of BA when executed by nurses in an inpatient population of elderly persons with MDD. METHODS/DESIGN: The study is designed as a multi-center cluster randomized controlled trial. BA, described as The Systematic Activation Method (SAM) will be compared with Treatment as Usual (TAU). We aim to include ten mental health care units in the Netherlands that will each participate as a control unit or an experimental unit. The patients will meet the following criteria: (1) a primary diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) according to the DSM-IV criteria; (2) 60 years or older; (3) able to read and write in Dutch; (4) have consented to participate via the informed consent procedure. Based on an effect size d = 0.7, we intend to include 51 participants per condition (n = 102). The SAM will be implemented within the experimental units as an adjunctive therapy to Treatment As Usual (TAU). All patients will be assessed at baseline, after eight weeks, and after six months. The primary outcome will be the level of depression measured by means of the Beck Depression Inventory (Dutch version). Other assessments will be activity level, mastery, costs, anxiety and quality of life. DISCUSSION: To our knowledge this is the first study to test the effect of Behavioral Activation as a nursing intervention in an inpatient elderly population. This research has been approved by the medical research ethics committee for health-care settings in the Netherlands (No. NL26878.029.09) and is listed in the Dutch Trial Register (NTR No.1809).
DOCUMENT
It is commonly assumed that TV commercials successfully influence affective tourism destination image by coupling positive emotions to a destination. In this study we record emotional responses to destination pictures before and after viewing a destination TV commercial from participants’ brains using electroencephalography (EEG). A control group of participants watched the same destination pictures, and an unrelated TV commercial. Emotion-related event-related potential (ERP) components, the P2 and LPP, were derived from the EEG. For the participants that watched the destination TV commercial, the P2 and the LPP were larger in response to destination pictures after compared to before having watched the TV commercial. This effect was not observed in the control group. In a behavioral version of the same experiment, we did not observe any effects in the self-report data. It is concluded that ERP methodology is a useful tool to complement the toolbox of tourism marketing researchers
LINK
In clinical practice, formal elements of art products are regularly used in art therapy observation to obtain insight into clients’ mental health and provide directions for further treatment. Due to the diversity of formal elements used in existing studies and the inconsistency in the interpretation, it is unclear which formal elements contribute to insight into clients’ mental health. In this qualitative study using Constructivist Grounded Theory, eight art therapists were interviewed in-depth to identify which formal elements they observe, how they describe mental health and how they associate formal elements with mental health. Findings of this study show that art therapists in this study observe the combination of movement, dynamic, contour and repetition (i.e., primary formal elements) with mixture of color, figuration and color saturation (i.e., secondary formal elements). Primary and secondary elements interacting together construct the structure and variation of the art product. Art therapists rarely interpret these formal elements in terms of symptoms or diagnosis. Instead, they use concepts such as balance and adaptability (i.e., self-management, openness, flexibility, and creativity). They associate balance, specifically being out of balance, with the severity of the clients’ problem and adaptability with clients’ strengths and resources. In the conclusion of the article we discuss the findings’ implications for practice and further research.
DOCUMENT
