Biomedical subjects

Barbara Habermann

Publications and source records attributed to Barbara Habermann.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Differential attrition in a caregiver skill training trial.

Participant attrition in randomized trials can reduce statistical power and bias outcomes. However, elective withdrawals are seldom discussed in trial reports. We examined factors associated with elective withdrawals for the first 131 Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) caregiver participants that entered Project ASSIST (Assistance, Support and Self-health Initiated through Skill Training), an on-going trial of caregiver skill training interventions. After 20 months of recruitment, 14 (11%) of the 131 ASSIST participants had electively withdrawn before completing the final assessment. Survival analysis demonstrated AD caregivers and non-spousal caregivers dropped out earlier than PD and spousal caregivers, even after controlling for selected baseline covariates. Findings suggest caregiver trial contact strategies may need to be tailored to retain different caregiver groups.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2006

Lessons learned from a Parkinson's disease caregiver intervention pilot study.

This article discusses the pilot test of a psychoeducational intervention designed to improve the care skills, self-health skills, and resource-acquisition skills of caregivers of adults with Parkinson's disease. It describes the intervention and discusses specific feasibility issues explored in the pilot test as well as the modifications made in an ongoing randomized trial as a result of the pilot test. Recommendations for researchers who conduct interventions with older persons in community-based settings are included.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

The influence of spirituality on family management of Parkinson's disease.

This study examined the role of spirituality in defining and managing Parkinson's disease (PD) for people with PD and their families. A content-analysis approach was used to interpret and analyze individual and family interviews from 27 families. Participants primarily were Caucasian dyads representing different geographic areas and socioeconomic statuses. Findings revealed that the ways persons with PD and their families managed the chronic illness were influenced by belief and faith, purpose and meaning, prayer, the support of family and friends, and hope. Healthcare providers need to understand the role of spirituality in influencing ways that persons with PD and their families define and manage the disease and to support people in their efforts.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2006

Implementing the research budget.

Reworking a reduced budget after the award and monitoring and managing the budget once funds are received are critical to the success of a research project. Few resources are available to help principal investigators and research teams deal with these components of grant implementation. This article will address strategies and concerns related to the revision of the postaward budget and the implementation of the budget. Among the strategies discussed for the revision of the postaward budget are cost sharing, renegotiation with administration, and reallocation of funds. Also addressed are topics related to monitoring and managing the budget, including understanding budget guidelines, account management and documentation, tracking expenditures, and challenges in grant budget management.

Budgets↗

PubMed2005

Hiring the right people and management of research staff.

Research grant or project management requires substantial skills and experiences of the principal investigator and the investigative team. Hiring the right people for appropriate positions and ongoing staff training and management are critical keys to successful conduct of the research projects. Necessary activities include the clear identification of positions and qualifications, recruiting the best, and hiring, training, and retaining the right staff. Tips and strategies for problem solving during each step are included.

Education, Nursing, Continuing↗

PubMed2005

Caring for family with Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease: needs, challenges and satisfaction.

A convenience sample of 40 family members caring for an individual with either Alzheimer's disease (AD) or Parkinson's disease (PD) completed the Caregiver Assistance Measure (CAM) to identify the types of assistance that would be most helpful in caring for a family member at home. The CAM measures three categories or types of assistance: care knowledge and skills, self-care, and resource acquisition. Caregivers also completed open-ended questions about the difficulties and the satisfactions of caregiving. The PD and AD caregivers agreed on the importance of 75% of the assistance items on the CAM. In addition, both groups of caregivers identified issues related to care knowledge and skills and selfcare as the most difficult aspects of caregiving. These findings suggest many caregiver needs may be common across chronic illness populations and provide initial support for the development and testing of standardized interventions for caregivers.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Participant-centered adaptations in caregiver trials: strategies for managing confounds.

BACKGROUND: Randomized trials have been criticized for being more protocol than participant-centered, with concerns raised about higher subject attrition and limited generalizability under controlled conditions. Informal caregivers are similar to other participants in community-based trials: many are unlikely to remain in a trial without procedural adaptations to meet some of their needs. PURPOSE: This article discusses design and statistical strategies for tracking potential confounds associated with 3 participant-centered adaptations that may be made in community-based caregiver trials: tailoring multi-component interventions, using interpersonal contacts for participant maintenance, and non-blinding of trial participants. The intent of the article is to initiate dialogue on the seldom-discussed issue of participant-centered adaptations in community-based trials. CONCLUSIONS: Participant-centered adaptations may reduce subject attrition and enhance generalizability, but protocol adaptation can compromise trial integrity. The challenge for investigators is to develop scientifically sound methods for tracking / controlling potential confounds associated with each adaptation.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The Scholarship of Engagement in nursing.

We propose the time is right for the Scholarship of Engagement to serve as a model of scholarship in schools of nursing given the shift towards community-based research and the emphasis of community-based research in the recently published National Institutes of Health (NIH) roadmap initiative. Thus, this article addresses the need of nursing academe to embrace a broader paradigm of scholarship, the Scholarship of Engagement, in order to expand knowledge development via implementation of the NIH roadmap. The need for implementation of a broader paradigm of nursing science within the context of nursing academics' roles is discussed.

Benchmarking↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The Scientific Misconduct Questionnaire--Revised (SMQ-R): validation and psychometric testing.

PURPOSE: The overall purposes of this article are to report the development of a survey instrument, Scientific Misconduct Questionnaire-Revised (SMQ-R) that elicits the perceptions of research coordinators managing clinical trials about the various aspects of scientific misconduct and to present psychometric analyses for the SMQ-R. METHODS: A panel of five researchers and research coordinators reviewed the original SMQ (Rankin and Esteeves, 1997) and suggested an additional 42 items based on the review of the literature and their own experiences in research. The SMQ-Revised (SMQ-R) consists of 68 closed-choice items in six sections and one section with 12 open-ended questions. The SMQ-R was sent to 5302 persons who were members of the Association for Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) or subscribers to Research Practitioner, published by the Center for Clinical Research Practice (CCRP). FINDINGS: Internal consistency of subscales was assessed with Cronbach's alpha and ranged from .83 to .84. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test construct validity of the instrument subscales. The factor structure was assessed with the principal factors method, using the squared multiple correlations as initial communality estimates followed by varimax (orthogonal) or biquartimax (oblique) rotations. Analyses revealed five distinct factors among three subscales. Construct validity for the SMQ-R was also assessed by testing hypothesized relationships using the known groups approach. CONCLUSION: The current effort demonstrated the usefulness of the SMQ-R in obtaining information from a national sample of experienced research coordinators about their perceptions of the prevalence of different types of scientific misconduct and of factors that influence the occurrence of misconduct. The psychometric evaluation of the SMQ-R suggests good internal consistency for most subscales and suggests adequate construct validity of the instrument as a whole. The analyses also suggest that further refinement of the instrument for future studies is warranted.

Attitude↗