Development and validation of an end stage kidney disease awareness survey: Item difficulty and discrimination indices

The use of virtual reality-assisted interventions on psychological well-being and treatment adherence among kidney transplant recipients: A randomized controlled study

This randomized controlled trial aims to investigate the effects of educational and psychological interventions on the health outcomes of patients suffering from chronic diseases. We recruited 372 patients and randomly assigned them to one of two intervention arms during the trial, which lasted for a year. Both groups participated in a 12-month intervention program, where the intervention group received health education and supportive psychological therapy utilizing virtual reality (VR) technology, while the control group received conventional health education guidance. Statistical analysis showed that compared to the control group, the intervention group demonstrated significant improvements (p < 0.05) in depression assessment scores, compliance scores, and Barthel functional scoring. However, the two groups had no significant difference in the incidence of complications and health knowledge mastery. Additionally, the intervention group had fewer hospitalization days than the control group, with statistically significant differences. The research results prove that targeted intervention effectively improves medication adherence, patient awareness, and reduces patient hospitalization days, which is particularly important for managing chronic diseases.

Polish adaptation, psychometric properties and validation of Physician's Trust in the Patient Scale (PTPS)

Mutual trust is considered one of the critical aspects of building a successful doctor-patient relationship. Albeit patient trust in physicians has been widely explored by researchers, physician trust in patients remains neglected, which is reflected by the lack of existing tools to assess this construct. Therefore, we aimed to validate and adapt Thom's Physician's Trust in the Patient Scale (PTPS) in Polish. We conducted a survey-based study among 307 medical doctors. To determine the factor structure of the scale, both exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed. The two-factor solution was established for the scale in accordance with the original version. To determine the internal reliability and consistency of the scale, we measured Cronbach's alpha, corrected-item total correlation, and discrimination indices-all of them obtained very good or excellent values. Estimates of convergent and discriminant validity reached all suggested thresholds. The scale also performed well in theoretical validity. Together, these findings suggest that the psychometric properties of the Polish adaptation and validation of PTPS are satisfactory and that the tool can find practical and scientific applications. We believe that the scale can substantially add to our understanding of building trust-based relationships and rapport between patients and physicians.

Development and Validation of KRT Knowledge Instrument

Key Points

KRT awareness is important for informed choice and use of dialysis modalities, but we lack validated instruments capable of measuring such awareness. We present a newly developed KRT Knowledge instrument, which can be used to evaluate the kidney failure and KRT awareness among patients with CKD. Our results show that KRT awareness is different and significantly lower than CKD awareness among patients with advanced CKD.

Background

Awareness of KRTs is associated with greater home dialysis use. However, validated instruments evaluating patient knowledge and awareness of various KRTs are currently lacking and are critical for informed decision making.

Methods

We developed a 24-item KRT knowledge instrument (Know-KRT) encompassing three domains of General, Technical, and Correlative information critical for informed dialysis decision making. We conducted a cross-sectional study among Veterans with advanced CKD to determine its reliability, dimensionality, and validity.

Results

The Know-KRT instrument dimensionality was acceptable with a root mean squared error of approximation of 0.095 for the conceptual three-domain model fit (χ2=824.6, P < 0.001). Corrected Item-Total Correlation indices were excellent (>0.4) for all individual items. Internal consistency was excellent for the full instrument, Cronbach's alpha, α =0.95, with α =0.86, 0.91, and 0.79 for the General, Technical, and Correlative domains, respectively. The Know-KRT score correlated strongly with the CKD knowledge score (r =0.68, P < 0.001). KRT awareness was low, with an ease index of 0.181 for the full instrument. The General, Technical, and Correlative domain scores demonstrated strong correlations with the Know-KRT total score (r =0.68, 0.61, and 0.48, respectively, P < 0.001) and CKD instrument score (r =0.95, 0.93, and 0.77, respectively, P < 0.001). KRT and CKD awareness correlated negatively with age and positively with health literacy, employment status, hypertension, and quality of nephrology care.

Conclusions

We report a newly developed Know-KRT instrument with three domains having acceptable internal consistency, reliability, and validity. We show that patients with advanced CKD have low awareness of KRTs, even for items related to basic descriptions of modalities, highlighting the need for targeted patient education efforts.

Clinical Trial registration number:

NCT04064086 .

Reliability and Validity of the Turkish Version of the Vanderbilt Fatigue Scale for Adults

PURPOSE

Listening-related fatigue (LRF) is a prominent topic of research interest. The purpose of this study is to investigate the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the 40-item Vanderbilt Fatigue Scale for Adults (TR-VFS-A-40).

METHOD

This study included 317 adults with no hearing loss and 260 adults with hearing loss in the study group, totaling 577 adults aged 18-75 years. While 31 adults in the study group did not use any hearing technology, there were 96 hearing aid users and 123 cochlear implant (CI) users. A subset of 80 CI users completed the TR-VFS-A-40 a second time, 2 weeks later, to assess test-retest reliability. Intraclass correlation coefficients were used to assess test-retest reliability. Cronbach's alpha was used to evaluate internal consistency. To examine construct validity, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed. For concurrent validity analysis, the Checklist Individual Strength (CIS) and TR-VFS-A-40 scores were analyzed using the Spearman correlation test.

RESULTS

Cronbach's alpha values were excellent for the total scale of .987 and the cognitive, emotional, physical, and social subscales (.953, .954, .955, and .946, respectively). Analyses of concurrent validity revealed strong and significant correlations between CIS and TR-VFS-A-40 scores, indicating a good concurrent validity. The CFA determined that the construct validity of the TR-VFS-A-40 was satisfactory.

CONCLUSION

The TR-VFS-A-40 is a valid and reliable measure of LRF.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25457752.

Needs and Considerations for Standardization of Kidney Disease Education in Patients with Advanced CKD

Kidney health advocacy organizations and leaders in the nephrology community have repeatedly emphasized the need to increase home dialysis utilization in the United States. Limited awareness and understanding of options for the management of kidney failure among patients living with advanced CKD is a significant barrier to increasing the selection and use of home dialysis. Studies have shown that providing targeted comprehensive patient education before the onset of kidney failure can improve patients' awareness of kidney disease and substantially increase the informed utilization of home dialysis. Unfortunately, in the absence of validated evidence-based education protocols, outcomes associated with home dialysis use vary widely among published studies, potentially affecting the routine implementation and reporting of these services among patients with advanced CKD. This review provides pragmatic guidance on establishing effective patient-centered education programs to empower patients to make informed decisions about their KRT and, in turn, increase home dialysis use.