Biomedical subjects

Mark Blades

Publications and source records attributed to Mark Blades.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Factors influencing agreement between child self-report and parent proxy-reports on the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 (PedsQL) generic core scales.

BACKGROUND: In situations where children are unable or unwilling to respond for themselves, measurement of quality of life (QOL) is often obtained by parent proxy-report. However the relationship between child self and parent proxy-reports has been shown to be poor in some circumstances. Additionally the most appropriate statistical method for comparing ratings between child and parent proxy-reports has not been clearly established. The objectives of this study were to assess the: 1) agreement between child and parent proxy-reports on an established child QOL measure (the PedsQL) using two different statistical methods; 2) effect of chronological age and domain type on agreement between children's and parents' reports on the PedsQL; 3) relationship between parents' own well-being and their ratings of their child's QOL. METHODS: One hundred and forty-nine healthy children (5.5 - 6.5, 6.5 - 7.5, and 7.5 - 8.5 years) completed the PedsQL. One hundred and three of their parents completed these measures in relation to their child, and a measure of their own QOL (SF-36). RESULTS: Consistency between child and parent proxy-reports on the PedsQL was low, with Intra-Class correlation coefficients ranging from 0.02 to 0.23. Correlations were higher for the oldest age group for Total Score and Psychosocial Health domains, and for the Physical Health domain in the youngest age group. Statistically significant median differences were found between child and parent-reports on all subscales of the PedsQL. The largest median differences were found for the two older age groups. Statistically significant correlations were found between parents' own QOL and their proxy-reports of child QOL across the total sample and within the middle age group. CONCLUSION: Intra-Class correlation coefficients and median difference testing can provide different information on the relationship between parent proxy-reports and child self-reports. Our findings suggest that differences in the levels of parent-child agreement previously reported may be an artefact of the statistical method used. In addition, levels of agreement can be affected by child age, domains investigated, and parents' own QOL. Further studies are needed to establish the optimal predictors of levels of parent-child agreement.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Brief report: assessing the impact of rating scale type, types of items, and age on the measurement of school-age children's self-reported quality of life.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of age, scale, and item type on the reliability and reproducibility of children's quality-of-life (QOL) responses. METHODS: The TedQL (ability, social, and mood items) was administered to 266 healthy children (age range of 5-6 and 7-9 years) at two time points, comparing three rating scales (circles, faces, and thermometer). Children were given the same (n = 144) or different (n = 122) scales over time. RESULTS: Reliability for total QOL and ability items was highest for circles and for social items using the faces. Faces and thermometer scales showed highest reproducibility over time. Greater agreement over time across different scales was found between circles and faces (5-6 years) and thermometer and circles (7-9 years). CONCLUSIONS: For maximum internal reliability, circles are recommended for ability items and faces for social items. For maximum reproducibility over time, the thermometer is recommended for 5-6 years and faces for 7-9 years.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2006

The effect of question repetition within interviews on young children's eyewitness recall.

This study investigated the influence of question repetition and question type (answerable, unanswerable, or opinion seeking) on children's recall. A total of 136 children (5-, 7-, and 9-year-olds) watched a live 15-min presentation. One week later, the children were asked 20 questions that were repeated an additional two times within the interview. Accuracy of children's responses to unanswerable questions declined with repetition. Children were more likely to change a response to an unanswerable question than to an answerable question. Overall, children maintained the same answers to only three-quarters of the repeated questions. The most common pattern of change was for children to change their answer the second time a question was asked and then to maintain that answer when questioned again. The high percentage of changed answers within a single interview has important implications for forensic interviewing.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2006

Characteristics of health-related self-report measures for children aged three to eight years: a review of the literature.

AIMS: To review and make recommendations about the format and quality of health-related self-report measures for children aged 3-8 years. METHODS: Literature searches used to identify measures of QOL, self-esteem, self-concept and mental health. The format (i.e., scale type, presentation style) and quality (i.e., item generation, reliability, validity, responsiveness) of measures were compared and evaluated. RESULTS: Fifty three measures were identified: QOL (n = 25, 47%), self-esteem/concept (n = 15, 28%), mental health (n = 13, 25%). Likert scales were used most frequently to represent response choices (n = 34, 64%). The authors of 11 (21%) measures provided justification for their scale choice. Items were most commonly presented in written format (n = 24, 45%). Item content was generated from the respondent population in only 21 (40%) measures. Twenty-seven (51%) measures reported internal reliability between 0.70 and 0.90, and 12 (23%) reported reproducibility in this range. Although validity was reported for 48 (91%) measures, evidence for three or more aspects occurred for only 9 (17%). Eleven (21%) measures evidenced responsiveness to change. CONCLUSION: Authors should provide clearer evidence for reliability and responsiveness. Newly developed instruments need to meet established standards, and further studies should assess the impact of scale and presentation types on the psychometrics of measures.

Attitude to Health↗

PubMed2006

Children's identification of faces from lineups: the effects of lineup presentation and instructions on accuracy.

The authors investigated whether the type of lineup and instructions given to children 6-7 or 9-10 years of age affected their identification accuracy. Children witnessed a man stealing property and were later asked to identify him in either photo or video lineups. Some lineups contained the target and some did not. Two lineup procedures were used (standard or elimination), and 2 types of instruction were used (standard or cautioning about false identification). Standard lineups with cautioning instructions decreased target-absent errors with no associated reduction in correct identifications, but elimination lineups did not. Lineup media had an interaction effect whereby correct identifications were reduced in video but not photo elimination lineups. The results are discussed in a forensic context.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

The role of substance P in microvascular responses in murine joint inflammation.

1. Rheumatoid arthritis is a serious, inflammatory disease of the distal joints that has a possible neurogenic component underlying its pathology. 2. Substance P (SP), an endogenous neuropeptide that acts upon the neurokinin 1 (NK(1)) receptor, is released from sensory nerves and is involved in neurogenic inflammation. 3. In this study, we have developed novel techniques to determine the contribution of SP to microvascular responses in a model of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced arthritis in NK(1) knockout mice. 4. Detailed analysis in normal mice revealed that CFA (20 microg i.art.)-induced plasma extravasation was raised from 18 to 72 h, when compared with intravascular volume. By comparison, knee swelling was sustained for 3 weeks. Neutrophil accumulation mirrored plasma extravasation. SP (10 pmol i.art.) caused significant acute plasma extravasation, but not other parameters, in wild type (WT), but not NK(1) knockout mice. CFA (10 microg i.art.) induced a significantly decreased intravascular volume, presumably due to decreased blood flow, at early time points (5 and 7 h) in WT but not NK(1) knockouts. Otherwise, similar responses in WT and NK(1) knockout mice were observed. However, injection of SP into CFA-pretreated joints caused a significant enhancement of plasma extravasation and knee swelling in the WT but not NK(1) knockouts. 5. In conclusion, the present study has used novel techniques in WT and NK(1) knockout mice to show that SP can modulate vascular tone and permeability in the inflamed joint via activation of the NK(1) receptor and that SP-induced responses are more pronounced where pre-existing inflammation is present.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Language and auditory processing in autism.

Autism is characterized by varying degrees of disorders in language, communication and imagination. What are the prospects for making sense of this heterogeneous condition? Advances in identifying phenotypes in relation to subgroups within autism, based on disproportionate language impairment, have been recently reported by Tager-Flusberg and Joseph. The symptom severity of these subgroups requires investigation for underlying deficits, such as in auditory processing. Other recent reports support the view that a deficit in auditory processing might be a key factor in autism.

Journal Article↗