Biomedical subjects

E P Willems

Publications and source records attributed to E P Willems.

17 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1998

The predictive validity of the Diet Readiness Test in a clinical population.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the psychometric properties, including the factorial and predictive validity, of the Diet Readiness Test (DRT) in a clinical population. METHOD: The DRT was administered to 132 women who participated in an obesity and binge eating treatment study. RESULTS: The DRT demonstrated adequate internal consistency. The DRT's proposed factor structure was not supported. Neither the DRT subscales nor the derived factors predicted changes in weight, binge eating, or exercise. DISCUSSION: The DRT did not demonstrate factorial or predictive validity in this study. Based on the DRT's cutoff criteria, 100% of the sample was considered not ready to begin a weight loss program, suggesting that the DRT may have limited utility with clinical populations.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Telephone versus face-to-face mode for collecting self-reports of sequences of behavior.

This study compared telephone vs face-to-face interviews as ways to collect self-reported sequences of daily activities. Twenty-seven persons with spinal cord injury in a rehabilitation hospital participated. The Self-Observation and Report Technique was used to obtain, in the participants' own words, two reports per week of 24-hour sequences of activities. One report per week was given over the telephone and one in person. Each behavior was coded for activity, assistance, companions, and locations. Nineteen measures assessing independence, level and diversity of activity, mobility, and social contacts were derived from the last four interviews for each participant. Differences in the measures derived from each mode were tested. Accuracy was assessed by comparing the self-reports to data on activities recorded by trained observers. Measures from the two modes did not differ, nor did the percent agreements with observation data. Investigators can use the more convenient and efficient telephone mode with confidence.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1987

Behavioral and demographic predictors of postdischarge outcomes in spinal cord injury.

Functional assessments were made on 39 spinal cord injured persons, during their stay at a comprehensive rehabilitation hospital, to predict behavior at three months after discharge. Subjects reported 24-hour sequences of activities using the Self-Observation and Report Technique (SORT). Demographic and injury-related data were also obtained. During the third month after discharge, participants reported on daily behavior and health status. Results of multiple regression analyses showed that (1) independent behavior (activities without help) in the ward predicted postdischarge independence: (2) number and diversity of activities predicted number of activities after discharge; (3) a combination of four demographic variables predicted number of different locations entered; and (4) three behavioral measures accounted for effects of health problems on daily activities. By predicting which hospitalized clients are likely to have difficulty in some important aspects of their adjustment after discharge, treatment teams may develop strategies for coping with the anticipated difficulties.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1986

Team care: an analysis of verbal behavior during patient rounds in a rehabilitation hospital.

Patient rounds are an important aspect of multidisciplinary team care. Team perceptions of ideally functioning rounds were compared with the actual communication patterns in rounds in a physical rehabilitation hospital. Perceptions of the patients' needs in the content areas of physical, psychosocial, and support systems were also compared with the actual distribution of content in rounds. Physicians spoke more (41%) and made more authoritative statements (62%) than did staff from any other discipline. The physicians participated far more than was perceived as ideal in all areas but the physical. Patients contributed only 9% of the discussion and less than 1% of authoritative statements. The physical content area was overemphasized (65%) and the psychosocial area was underemphasized (14%) when compared with the perceived needs of the patients. Interpretations of these findings and implications for investigation of the impact of team care are discussed.

Authoritarianism↗

PubMed1983

Patient behavior monitoring through self-reports.

This research examined the accuracy of data obtained by a self-observation and report technique (SORT) developed to record patients' ongoing everyday behaviors, where the behaviors occur, whether aid is provided, and if so, by whom. Over 2 consecutive weeks 10 persons with recent spinal cord injuries hospitalized at a major rehabilitation center reported their behaviors during 8 half-day periods. Assessments of reporting accuracy compared self-reports with data recorded by independent observers. Minute-by-minute comparisons of self-report and independent observations indicated moderate levels of agreement. Weekly measures of performance derived from the 2 kinds of records showed high agreement. Reporting accuracy was relatively unaffected by the amount of time between the occurrence of a behavior and its report and the personal importance of various behaviors to the patients. The SORT provides a dependable, flexible and cost-efficient means for assessing what patients do on a day-to-day basis and it offers many options for monitoring patients' functional performance in rehabilitation.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1981

Quality of life: some measurement requirements.

The current view of quality of life as subjective responses is briefly reviewed. A new view emphasizing quality of life as the reciprocal relationships between persons and their environments is presented conceptually. This ecological view of quality of life is illustrated by summarizing 2 analyses conducted on a large archive of detailed data descriptive of the actual functional performance of 15 patients with spinal cord injury during 1st hospitalization for comprehensive rehabilitation. The 1st analysis identifies generic dimensions of patients' behavior during hospitalization. These behavioral vital signs represent the minimum requirements for measuring quality of life. The 2nd analysis demonstrates that the measures of performance during hospitalization have an extremely high level of predictive validity in the community or postdischarge environment. Thus, the minimum requirements for measuring quality of life should include measures of actual functioning along the generic dimensions.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1981

Patient behavior as a predictor of outcomes in spinal cord injury.

This study explores relationships between behavior of spinal cord injured persons during hospitalization and their medical and behavioral status after discharge. It illustrates a logic for identifying, selecting and testing indicators of patient performance that predict important aspects of outcome. Key behavioral measures were obtained for 14 patients, including independence, diversity, level of activity, and mobility. Factor analysis and multiple regression analysis were used to identify significant predictors of outcome. A subset of inhospital measures predicted an estimated 39% of the variance in unscheduled readmissions to the rehabilitation center, and 70% of the variance in independent functioning after discharge. Inhospital mobility predicted an estimated 68% of the variance in the rate of activities performed outside the home. In general, measures obtained late in hospital stays were the best predictors of both medical and behavioral status. Patient behavior during hospitalization can have practical implications for planning health care services and clinical practice.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1980

Clinical application of longitudinal functional assessment.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1979

Spinal cord injury: time out of bed during rehabilitation.

Preliminary experience in applying unobtrusive instrumentation to monitor selected patient activities over extended periods of time has shown this procedure to be both feasible and useful. The target activity studied was time out of bed (TOB) for 36 spinal cord injury patients undergoing comprehensive rehabilitation. Measurements were made with a rest-time monitor (RTM), which provides an objective daily record of how often and for how long a patient is out of bed. During the initial week of mobilization, paraplegic patients (n = 14) were out of bed for an average of 1.7 hours and quadriplegic patients (n = 22) for an average of 1.5 hours. Maximum TOB in each group was 8.7 and 9.2 hours, respectively, which dropped to 7.2 and 7.8 hours at time of discharge. Based on this experience, a standard activity curve has been developed which is used as a reference in assessing the weekly progress of individual patients. Distinctive types of activity patterns are described in relation to clinical and functional outcomes during hospitalization and 12 months after discharge.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1974

Behavioral technology and behavioral ecology.

Applied behavior analysis, as a special case of behavioral technology, is discussed from the standpoint of behavioral ecology. The ecological orientation and its emphasis upon system-like interdependencies among environment, organism, and behavior are presented. The widespread possibilities for unintended effects of simple interventions provide the context for evaluating effective behavioral technology and calling for cooperation between the technologist and ecologist. Such cooperation, in the form of mutual and cooperative research efforts, should come naturally for the technologist and ecologist, because they share some fundamental values and assumptions, and each has much to offer the other. Several areas of such cooperative effort are spelled out.

Behavior↗

PubMed1972