Does More Sleep Time Improve Memory? Evidence for the Middle-Aged and Elderly
– Wei Chen
Background: The world population is aging rapidly. However, no study exists that examines specifically the effect of sleep time on memory among the middle-aged and elderly.
Purpose: This paper examines the effect of sleep time on memory for the middle-aged and elderly.
Methods: Data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) were analyzed using fixed-effects models for panel data. The final sample used for this study included 4,330 middleaged and elderly adults, of which about 50.4% were male.
Results: The effect of sleep time on memory is heterogeneous across gender. One more hour of sleep time per night was estimated to increase the probability of “good memory” by roughly 0.2% (p > .1) for men and 1.6% (p < .01) for women. The odds ratios of “good memory” for men and women were estimated to be around 1.05 (p > .1) and 1.6 (p < .01), respectively.
Discussion: This study suggests that efforts aimed at improving sleep time can bring significant memory-related benefit to middle-aged and elderly women.
Translation to Health Education Practice: Health care providers and health educators should play a role in raising middle-aged and elderly women’s general awareness of the memory-related benefit of sleep.
Research Articles
Is the Brief Multidimensional Student’s Life Satisfaction Scale Valid and Reliable for African American Adolescents?
– Robert F. Valois, Keith J. Zullig, Larry K. Brown, Michael P. Carey, Peter A. Vanable, Daniel Romer, and Ralph J. DiClemente
Background: Health promotion/education strive to promote healthful conditions that improve quality of life based on the perceptions of those whose lives are affected Though health promotion/education might have instrumental value in reducing risks for premature morbidity and mortality, their ultimate value lies in contributions to quality of life. Life satisfaction (LS) has been defined as an individual’s assessment of their quality of life based upon personal criteria and linked to adolescent health risk behaviors and developmental assets.
Purpose: We investigated the psychometrics of the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale [BMSLSS] with an adolescent sample of African Americans (N = 1,658) from four mid-sized cities in the United States. Reliability and validity of the BMSLSS has not been determined for samples of exclusively African American adolescents.
Methods: Data analysis included calculating mean ratings, standard deviations and effect sizes (Cohen’s d) and inspecting the scale’s internal structure, reliability, and relationships to other variables.
Results: Evidence of internal structure, internal consistency reliability, and hypothesized relationships to other variables for participants were determined.
Translation to Health Education Practice: The BMSLSS is a useful indicator of LS for research and health education assessment purposes among African American adolescents where brevity of psychometric measures is imperative.
What Motivates Individuals to Get Obesity Related Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Tests? A Reasoned Action Approach
– Yue Dong and Paul Branscum
Background:Research suggest that genetic testing and its application (personalized medicine/ precision medicine) has great potential to help public health professionals deliver proper health promotion and education to target populations who have high predispositions for certain genetic-related diseases.
Purpose:The purpose of this study was to use the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA) to investigate factors that influence behavioral intentions for obtaining an Obesity Related Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Tests (ODTCGT).
Methods:This study utilized a cross-sectional design. Data were collected by an online questionnaire and administered to a sample attending a large public Southwestern university (n = 288).
Results: Perceived norms, attitudes, and perceived behavioral control predicted a significant amount of the variance of behavioral intentions (adjusted R2 = 0.642). An independent group t-test showed that those who had prior knowledge of the obesity gene, and genetic testing, had significantly higher behavioral intentions, and behavioral antecedents.
Discussion:Results from this study show that the RAA is a valid and robust model for investigating one’s behavioral intention of obtaining ODTCGT, and attitudes, perceived norms, and PBC.
Translation to Health Education Practice: Findings from this study suggest that to motivate young adults, public health educators should create strategies to change their perceived norms (stemming from descriptive norms).
The development and psychometric properties of a survey to assess breast knowledge and attitudes of adolescent girls
– Atefeh Omrani, Joanna Wakefield-Scurr, Jenny Smith, and Nicola Brown
Background: Breast health education could alleviate breast concerns reported by adolescent girls.
Purpose: This article describes the development and psychometric properties of a survey to measure knowledge in multiple aspects related to breasts, attitudes to breasts and breast issues and the likelihood of engagement with positive breast habits among adolescent girls.
Methods: An 85-item, developmentally appropriate, breast survey was generated using previous research. Consultation with 13 breast experts and a focus group of 7 girls established face and content validity. Survey validity and reliability was established by item analysis with 148 girls, principal components analysis with 729 girls, confirmatory factor analysis with 921 girls, known groups validation with 15 breast experts and 18 girls, internal reliability (729 and 921 girls) and test-re test reliability (18 girls).
Results: Results indicate that the final 39-item breast survey (10-subscales) is valid, reliable, and easy to administer.
Discussion: Each subscale within the survey addresses adolescent girls’ specific breast concern which is consistent with the breast needs of adolescent girls.
Translation to Health Education Practice: This study offers researchers and health educators a survey that can be used to inform the design of breast health education programs and determine the impact of such programs.
Development and Psychometric Evaluation of Andragogy-based Patient Education Questionnaire (APEQ)
– Negin Niksadat, Sakineh Rakhshanderou, Reza Negarandeh , Ali Ramezankhani , Ali Vasheghani Farahani, and Mohtasham Ghaffari
Background: The existing literature supports the application of the principles of andragogy on patient education. But there is a lack of a suitable tool for assessing patient education’s conformity with these principles.
Purpose: This study was conducted to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a questionnaire that measures the degree to which the patient education adheres to the principles of andragogy.
Methods:The primary instrument, consisting of 70 items, was developed after the literature review. The psychometric properties of the instrument were determined. The content validity of the items was assessed by an expert panel review. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test the construct validity. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to assess the internal consistency of the scale. A sample of 300 hospitalized adult CVD patients with a mean age of 54.93 ± 13.59 in 2 heart hospitals, were selected through convenience sampling method. The data were analyzed using SPSS 16 statistical software.
Results: After determining face and content validity, the questionnaire items decreased to 59. The exploratory factor analysis indicated the existence of 6 factors that accounted for 53.37% variance of the questionnaire. The confirmatory factor analysis revealed a good fit to a predetermined send of constructs. Analyses also indicated acceptable results for the internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha value (0.72 to 0.93). The final questionnaire was approved; this comprised of six factors with 40 items.
Discussion: The psychometric evaluation of the APEQ resulted to a reliable and valid instrument.
Translation to Health Education Practice: This instrument is helpful in assessing the adherence of patient education to the principles of andragogy, eliminating deficiencies and promoting the performance of health education providers in patient education.
Academic Course Evaluations in Health Sciences Can Be a Joke: A Cross-sectional Examination of whether Students Appreciate a Professor’s Sense of Humor
– Marney A. White
Background: There is some evidence that humor can be used effectively in teaching, to maintain student interest in the material and potentially to reduce academic stress.
Purpose: To examine the relationship between students’ appreciation of a professor’s use of humor and course evaluations.
Methods:128 undergraduate and graduate students completed course evaluations following enrollment in epidemiology and public health classes. Course evaluations included a single “custom question” that assessed perceived funniness of a joke. Primary outcomes were student ratings of the perceived funniness of a joke, student ratings of a professor’s effectiveness, and student evaluations of the course overall.
Results: Perceived funniness of a joke was positively and significantly associated with evaluations of the instructor and course overall.
Discussion: The study supports the use of humor as a pedagogical technique, so long as the jokes are actually funny.
Translation to Health Education Practice: Humor can be used as a teaching tool, especially to increase student attention and perhaps to reduce stress.