Validación de un cuestionario web sobre actividad física para niños y adolescentes / Validation of a Web Questionnaire on Physical Activity for Children and Adolescents

El objetivo del estudio fue llevar a cabo la validez concurrente del cuestionario WebCas para evaluar la actividad física (AF) en 140 estudiantes (10 a 16 años) divididos en cuatro grupos, instruidos para usar un acelerómetro y contestar el cuestionario WebCas diariamente, resultó en 213 días de monitoreo de AF. Los análisis estadísticos se realizaron utilizando la prueba U de Mann-Whitney, gráficos de dispersión (Bland y Altmann) y coeficientes de correlación. La correlación entre las mediciones de AF (WebCas) en comparación con las mediciones de acelerometria (un día) mostró correlación de baja intensidad (r = 0.22; p <0.001), moderado intensidad (r = 0,48; p <0,04), promedio de los tres días. Se observó mayor correlación para el promedio de AF de los 5 días (r = 0,67; p <0,01). El cuestionario WebCas presentó indicadores de validez satisfactorios. (AU)

The objective of the study was to carry out the concurrent validity of the WebCas questionnaire to evaluate physical activity (PA) in 140 students (10 to 16 years) divided into four groups, instructed to use an accelerometer and answer the WebCas questionnaire daily, which resulted in 213 days of PA monitoring. Statistical analyses were performed using the Mann-Whitney U-test, scatter plots (Bland and Altmann) and correlation coefficients. The correlation between PA (WebCas) measurements compared to acelerometry measurements (one day) showed low-intensity correlation (r = 0.22; p <0.001), moderate intensity (r = 0.48; p <0.04), an average of three days. Increased correlation was observed for the 5-day AF average (r = 0.67; p <0.01). The WebCas questionnaire presented satisfactory validity indicators. (AU)

Health outcomes of the July 14, 2016 Nice terror attack among hospital-based professionals and students: the « ECHOS de Nice ¼ health survey protocol.

BACKGROUND: The terror attack of July 14, 2016, in Nice, France, resulted in 86 deaths, including children, and several hundred wounded, with a major psychological impact on the population. Hospital staff had to cope with exceptional circumstances which made them vulnerable to detrimental effects on their own health. This paper describes the method that was selected for the survey entitled "ECHOS de Nice 14 Juillet" which aimed to assess the impact of the attack on the psychological, psycho-traumatic and somatic health condition of the Nice University and Lenval hospital staff who were directly or indirectly exposed to the attack, and also to describe the support and care facilities they were offered. METHOD: ECHOS de Nice 14 juillet is an observational, cross-sectional, multicentre study focusing on all the hospital staff and students of both institutions, i.e. 10,100 persons in June 2017. A web-based questionnaire based on the model developed by Santé Publique France (IMPACTS and ESPA 13 novembre 2015) was adapted to the contexts of the healthcare professionals and students employed in these healthcare institutions in Nice and published on line from June 21 to October 30, 2017. The paper describes the tools that were used to meet the aims of the study, i.e. identification of exposure categories ('civilian' exposure for those present during the attack and/or 'professional' exposure); indicators of psychological impact (anxiety, depression, burnout, compassion fatigue, suicidal states, tobacco and alcohol use, self-medications), psycho-traumatic and somatic impact; professional and social impact. Lastly, awareness of availability and use of psychological support and care-follow-up facilities by professionals were investigated. Respondents could include extensive qualitative comments on the various themes explored in the questionnaire, with text analysis complementing that of quantitative data. DISCUSSION: The benefits and limitations of the selected methodology are discussed, in view of contributing useful information to help anticipate and manage health issues among hospital staff who have been victims of traumatic events.

Characteristics of Pruritus in Relation to Self-assessed Severity of Atopic Dermatitis.

The objective of this study was to explore characteristics of pruritus in atopic dermatitis (AD) in relation to the severity of AD. A web-questionnaire was used, which included the Patient-Oriented SCORing Atopic Dermatitis index, the 5-D itch scale and the Brest questionnaire. A total of 170 participants were included (86.5% women, mean age 30.9 years). Severity of AD was mild for 8.2% of patients, moderate for 38.2% and severe for 53.5%. Mean 5-D itch scale was 13.2. The mean intensity of pruritus was 5.8, and mean sleep loss was 4.7 (from 0 to 10). The participants frequently described burning (61.8%) and stinging (58.8%); these symptoms suggest a neuropathic component. Pruritus was worse in severe AD compared with moderate AD, exhibiting a higher impact on sleep and more associated symptoms. The majority of participants reported sleep disturbance as a result of pruritus. The characteristics of pruritus varied depending on the severity of AD.

Risk of Sleepiness-Related Accidents in Switzerland: Results of an Online Sleep Apnea Risk Questionnaire and Awareness Campaigns.

OBJECTIVES: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is associated with major morbidity and mortality but OSAS is frequently under recognized. To promote awareness of OSAS, the Swiss Lung League launched an online questionnaire combined with annual advertisements in mass media. Characteristics of participants, prevalence of sleep apnea, OSAS-related symptoms, and their association with accidents were investigated. METHODS: A questionnaire was created incorporating anthropometrics, the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), the OSAS domain of the sleep disorders questionnaire (SDQ), and a question on accidents related to sleepiness. RESULTS: A total of 198,422 persons participated, 63% were male, mean (±SD) age was 45 (±16) years, weight 80 (±18) kg, height 173 (±9) cm, and body mass index 26.7 (±5.4) kg/m2. Some male (19%) and female (17%) participants had both elevated ESS and SAS scores (SAS > 35 (m)/SAS > 31 (f) and ESS > 10) and were suspected of having sleep apnea. In all, 6,654 (3.4%) had suffered an accident related to sleepiness. In multivariate regression analysis, ESS item #8 (falling asleep on the wheel, while stopping for a few minutes in traffic) was closest related to suffering an accident (OR 2.8). CONCLUSION: The OSAS awareness campaign of the Swiss Lung League reached a large number of people of both genders and of a wide age range. Many participants suffered from excessive sleepiness and symptoms of sleep apnea were highly prevalent. The campaign raised awareness of OSAS and contributed to the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea, thereby possibly preventing related morbidity and mortality.

Management, prevention and treatment of canine leishmaniosis in north-eastern Spain: an online questionnaire-based survey in the province of Girona with special emphasis on new preventive methods (CaniLeish vaccine and domperidone).

Knowledge of how canine leishmaniosis (CanL) is being managed clinically and its epidemiology is very important, since dogs are the main reservoir of human leishmaniosis. This study reports the results obtained through a questionnaire-based survey of veterinary practitioners in Girona province, a recognised, but non-documented endemic area in north-eastern Spain. The primary objective was to obtain data on the clinical management of CanL, focusing particularly on new preventive methods and therapeutic tools. The results show an extensive routine management of CanL cases and a widespread use of the CaniLeish (Virbac) vaccine and domperidone (Leisguard, Esteve). Adverse reactions were detected by a vast majority of the vaccine users (82 per cent), the most frequent being local reactions, apathy, fever and gastroenteritis. All the respondents had treated confirmed cases, and the therapeutic protocol most used was the combination of meglumine antimoniate (Glucantime, Merial) and allopurinol (Zyloric, GlaxoSmithKline).

Web Health Monitoring Survey: A New Approach to Enhance the Effectiveness of Telemedicine Systems.

BACKGROUND: Aging of the European population and interest in a healthy population in western countries have contributed to an increase in the number of health surveys, where the role of survey design, data collection, and data analysis methodology is clear and recognized by the whole scientific community. Survey methodology has had to couple with the challenges deriving from data collection through information and communications technology (ICT). Telemedicine systems have not used patients as a source of information, often limiting them to collecting only biometric data. A more effective telemonitoring system would be able to collect objective and subjective data (biometric parameters and symptoms reported by the patients themselves), and to control the quality of subjective data collected: this goal be achieved only by using and merging competencies from both survey methodology and health research. OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to propose new metrics to control the quality of data, along with the well-known indicators of survey methodology. Web questionnaires administered daily to a group of patients for an extended length of time are a Web health monitoring survey (WHMS) in a telemedicine system. METHODS: We calculated indicators based on paradata collected during a WHMS study involving 12 patients, who signed in to the website daily for 2 months. RESULTS: The patients' involvement was very high: the patients' response rate ranged between 1.00 and 0.82, with an outlier of 0.65. Item nonresponse rate was very low, ranging between 0.0% and 7.4%. We propose adherence to the chosen time to connect to the website as a measure of involvement and cooperation by the patients: the difference from the median time ranged between 11 and 24 minutes, demonstrating very good cooperation and involvement from all patients. To measure habituation to the questionnaire, we also compared nonresponse rates to the items between the first and the second month of the study, and found no significant difference. We computed the time to complete the questionnaire both as a measure of possible burden for patient, and to detect the risk of automatic responses. Neither of these hypothesis was confirmed, and differences in time to completion seemed to depend on health conditions. Focus groups with patients confirmed their appreciation for this "new" active role in a telemonitoring system. CONCLUSIONS: The main and innovative aspect of our proposal is the use of a Web questionnaire to virtually recreate a checkup visit, integrating subjective (patient's information) with objective data (biometric information). Our results, although preliminary and if need of further study, appear promising in proposing more effective telemedicine systems. Survey methodology could have an effective role in this growing field of research and applications.

Healthy work environment--a challenge?

PURPOSE: In Sweden, leave due to sickness was high during the 1990s. The Swedish Social Insurance Agency was able to decrease sick days in the period between 2000 and 2010 but sick days are rising again in Sweden, mostly due to psychological problems among women and partly due to their work environment. It is important to find methods to identify poor work settings to prevent absenteeism due to sickness. The paper aims to discuss these issues. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The authors created a web questionnaire focusing on the organizational setting and its impact on employee wellbeing--reported as mental energy, work-related exhaustion and work satisfaction. The questionnaire measures good and poor work environment factors to help managers improve organizational settings. The questionnaire was validated qualitatively and quantitatively. FINDINGS: It is possible to measure individual wellbeing in an organizational context at an early stage. The authors followed a company undergoing organizational change and identified groups at risk of developing illness. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Managers uncertain about employee mental status can measure employee wellbeing easily and cost effectively to prevent illness. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The authors created a method, statistically evaluated, to proactively identify good and poor work environments to promote healthy co-workers.

Concordância e fidedignidade de um questionário eletrônico para crianças (WEBDAFA) / Agreement and reliabilty of an eletronic questionnarie for children (WEBDAFA)

O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a concordância entre a versão impressa (VI) e a versão eletrônica (VE) de um instrumento para avaliar atividade física (AF) em crianças e verificar a fidedignidade entre o teste-reteste da VE. Participaram do estudo, 230 crianças, de sete a 10 anos, de duas escolas, divididas em dois grupos: a) análise de concordância (n=130), duas aplicações do questionário (VE versus VI); b) análise da fidedignidade (n=127), duas aplicações do questionário eletrônico (teste-reteste). Não houve diferença significativa entre os escores de AF obtida pela VI versus VE (48,6 vs 46,8). O coeficiente de correlação intraclasse (análise de concordância) foi significativo para todos os tipos de AF (p<0,05). Na análise de fidedignidade, a diferença entre os escores de AF do teste-reteste foi de 2,70, a concordância foi superior a 70% e correlação intraclasse foi de 0,84 (IC95%=0,78-0,89). O questionário eletrônico (Webdafa) apresentou índices psicométricos de concordância e fidedignidade adequados quando aplicado em crianças de sete a 10 anos.

The objective was to analyse the agreement between the printed version (PV) and electronic version (EV) of an instrument to assess PA in children and to verify the reliability between two applications of the EV. The sample included 230 seven to ten-year-old children, from two schools (public and private). The sample was divided into two groups: a) analysis of agreement (n = 130), two applications of the questionnaire (EV vs. PV); b) reproducibility analysis (n = 127), two applications of the EV (test-retest). There was no significant difference between the PV and PE in the PA domain (48,6 vs 46,8). The intraclass correlation coefficient (analysis of concordance) was significant for all types of PA (p <0.05). In the reliability analysis, the difference between the scores of PA test-retest was of 2.70, the concordance was over 70% and the intraclass correlation was 0.84 (95% CI = 0.78 to 0.89). The electronic questionnaire (WEBDAFA) presented appropriate psychometric indices of agreement and reliability when applied to children aged seven to ten years.