What Goes Into a Decision? How Nursing Faculty Decide Which Best Practices to Use for Classroom Testing.

AIM: To explore the decision-making process of BSN faculty when determining which best practices to use for classroom testing. METHOD: A descriptive, correlational study was conducted with a national sample (N = 127) of full-time BSN faculty. Participants completed a web-based survey incorporating instruments that measured beliefs about evaluation, decision-making, and best practices for item analysis and constructing and revising classroom tests. RESULTS: Study participants represented 31 states and were primarily middle-aged white women. In multiple linear regression analyses, faculty beliefs, contextual factors for decision-making, and decision-making processes accounted for statistically significant amounts of the variance in item analysis and test construction and revision. Strong faculty beliefs that rules were important when evaluating students was a significant predictor of increased use of best practices. CONCLUSION: Results support that understanding faculty beliefs around classroom testing is important in promoting the use of best practices.

The Online Use of the Newest Vital Sign in Adolescents.

Seventy percent of premature adult deaths are caused by adolescent behaviors. Data suggests that health literacy may influence adolescent behaviors. However, adolescent health literacy research is scarce; and, timely, more robust data is imperative. Nonetheless, many potential study samples are currently inaccessible due to the pandemic. Thus, there is an immediate need to evaluate online adolescent health literacy research modalities to further the science. The purpose of this study is to explore the psychometric properties of online administration of the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) health literacy instrument in adolescents. A total of 105 adolescents completed the study via Qualtrics. Internal consistency reliability of the online NVS was good (α = .77). There was, however, no significant correlation between online and in-person comparison scores (r = .05, p = .59). This study yields clinically significant results showing insight into the online NVS for adolescents, providing a foundation for future adolescent health literacy research.

The health literacy disparity in adolescents with sickle cell disease.

PURPOSE: There are over 100,000 individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD) in the United States, most of whom are Black, poor, and publically insured. In combination with a chronic illness, these demographics lead to significant barriers to healthcare for patients with SCD, leaving them exceptionally vulnerable within the healthcare system. This unique vulnerability is especially notable when transitioning adolescents with SCD from pediatric to adult care, as this is a significant time of morbidity and mortality for these patients. It is postulated that health literacy influences transition from pediatric to adult care in adolescents with SCD. To better understand this relationship, more adolescent health literacy research must be conducted with both adolescents with and without SCD. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to systematically compare health literacy in adolescents with and without SCD. DESIGN AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive, exploratory study. One hundred and thirty-four adolescents with SCD and 105 adolescents without SCD were recruited for this study. The Newest Vital Sign (NVS) health literacy instrument was used to evaluate health literacy. Pearson correlations were conducted to evaluate relationships among health literacy and the influencing factors of age, grade level, income, and parental education level. Differences in NVS scores between groups were assessed using independent samples t tests. RESULTS: There was a significant relationship between health literacy, age (r = .286, p < .01) and grade level (r = .317, p = .00) in adolescents with SCD. In adolescents without SCD, there was a significant relationship between health literacy, income (r = .235; p < .05) and parental education (r = .263; p < .01). The mean NVS score was 2.66 for adolescents with SCD and 3.77 for adolescents without SCD. A statistically significant difference in NVS scores was found between groups (t = 4.772; p < .001). Adolescents with SCD demonstrated significantly lower NVS scores than adolescents without SCD. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: There are significant differences in health literacy scores and influencing factors in adolescents with and without SCD. Thus, this article provides unique insight for nurses as they design, implement and evaluate health promotion, patient education, and future research initiatives for adolescents and families, both with and without SCD. Further research is needed to gain more insight into this phenomenon.

Partnering to Establish and Study Simulation in International Nursing Education.

The purpose of this article was to describe an international partnership to establish and study simulation in India. A pilot study was performed to determine interrater reliability among faculty new to simulation when evaluating nursing student competency performance. Interrater reliability was below the ideal agreement level. Findings in this study underscore the need to obtain baseline interrater reliability data before integrating competency evaluation into a simulation program.