Aim: This paper aims to report on two modifications made to improve the measurement precision of the Ms. Olsen test. Specifically, three items were added to the Ms. Olsen test and an extended scoring was applied to some items. Design: The competence assessment had a quantitative cross-sectional design comprising of test results from 111 Registered Nurses in four municipalities in South-Eastern Norway. Methods: The Rasch model was applied to evaluate the measurement properties in four versions: the Ms. Olsen test with 19 items and the same with three added items, and the Ms. Olsen test with 19 items with an expanded scoring for the original and expanded version, respectively. Results: The person separation indexes were improved from 0.50 to 0.62. Other measurement properties were not alternating between the four versions; all had shortcomings in terms of targeting (person measure means 3.02–3.87) and unidimensionality (% t-test >5% 9.01%–13.51%). Conclusion: The clinical relevance and relatively short time spent on testing makes the Ms. Olsen test a reasonable choice and a step in the right direction for assessing competence as a means of targeting continuous professional development of nurses throughout their career. Nevertheless, depending on what kind of decisions are to be made, reliability might still be too low and further development is suggested. Public Contribution: The initiative for the competence assessment came from nursing leaders in the four municipalities involved. The municipalities were represented in all stages of the research process through co-author LS, that is, design, data collection, data analysis, writing of the manuscript as well as dissemination of the results to the four municipalities. Implications for Practice: The Ms. Olsen test exemplifies a move towards objective assessments in nursing. Precise and reliable measurements are essential to support the ongoing professional development of nurses.

Purpose: To identify factors that contribute to the enhanced life of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) in Sweden. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study combined workshops (n = 38) and survey data (n = 243) from people living with SCI and their relatives, health professionals, and personal care assistants working with people living with SCI. The data were first categorized using Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model, followed by a conventional content analysis. Results: The factors that contribute to an enhanced life for people living with SCI are similar to those of the general population, including relationships, leisure activities, and occupation within the mesosystem. However, the unique components of the exosystem and macrosystem are specifically associated with people living with SCI. The exosystem, particularly in healthcare, plays a major role for medical reasons but also tends to obtrude and minimize the mesosystem. The macrosystem is essential, as it sets the rules that govern the actors in the other layers, creating prerequisites for meeting the needs of the mesosystem and exosystem. Conclusions: The needs that contribute to an enhanced life are multifaceted and individualized. Therefore, these systems must be flexible throughout the lifespan of individuals with SCI. 

Background: To provide both preventive and rehabilitative conditions in a workplace, one must understand how employees experience work demands. Such an understanding can be obtained from each individual with valid and quality-assured questionnaires. The Work Environment Impact Questionnaire (WEIQ) is a new questionnaire for measuring employees’ self-perceived work ability in relation to their specific workplace environment. The purpose of this study was to assess the measurement properties in terms of construct validity of the WEIQ. Methods: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted with 288 respondents from three different workplaces involving assisted living personnel, vocational rehabilitation personnel and personnel at a research institute. The measurement properties of the WEIQ were assessed according to Rasch Measurement Theory (RMT), including assessment of item-to-sample targeting, threshold ordering, item fit statistics, unidimensionality and reliability. Results: Item fit, i.e., fit residuals, item characteristic curves (ICC) and chi square values, were all satisfactory, and no disordered thresholds were present after collapsing the lowest response categories. However, issues with local dependent (LD) item correlations was present in 7.6% cases, four items showed statistically significant differential item functioning (DIF), where 11% of the respondents had person fit residuals outside the recommended range of ± 2.5 and the t-test for unidimensionality did not meet the criterion of 5%. Scale-to-sample targeting and reliability (0.92) were good. LD could be resolved with testlets and at the same time maintaining fit and improving dimensionality, but then the reliability decreased to 0.82. Conclusions: This study provides an initial validation of the WEIQ to be used for assessing employees’ self-perceived work ability. Most measurement properties were acceptable, but further exploration of LD, DIF and unidimensionality in additional work settings and with larger sample sizes is warranted. Trial registration: Not applicable.

There is a ‘need to know’ for people who have acquired a spinal cord injury (SCI) and a ‘lack of knowledge’ is considered to be a barrier to coping with SCI. In-patient SCI care and rehabilitation have emphasized that information should be provided in the right amounts, at the right place and at the right time. Such needs and timing probably go beyond initial care and rehabilitation. Likewise, there is also, reasonably a need for knowledge for other groups of people meeting people with SCI, such as relatives, health professionals and personal care assistants1 as well as authorities, decision-makers, employers, architects and city planners etc. Our recent work, shows that more evidence is needed regarding the provision of specialist expertise in SCI by care services and to what extent they are therefore able to respond to the needs of people living with SCI. A Swedish need assessment project, including a priority setting partnership (PSP2 ) according to James Lind Alliance, has been implemented nationwide 2021–22 to address the needs which are most important for people with SCI to enhance their lives. The Swedish need assessment project comprises three parts: (a) needs to be met; (b) questions to be answered; (c) knowledge required. In part (b), which is the PSP we have identified research priorities (e.g. knowledge gaps); while in part (c), presented here, we report results from an online survey addressing knowledge translation gaps in order to shed light on the knowledge that is available yet which does not reach out. An online survey was released in November–December 2021 with people with SCI, relatives of people with SCI and health professionals and care assistants working with people with SCI. This survey included an open-ended question concerning knowledge translation gaps – what kind of knowledge is lacking and who needs the knowledge. In total, 242 persons responded the survey. Table 1 provides personal characteristics. Each respondent could state one to five knowledge needs, resulting in 480 inputs (statements with more than one need were treated separately in the total number of inputs). However, 84 statements were removed due to beyond the scope of the study (e.g., addressing general needs not related to needs for knowledge). The statements where further complemented with 64 statements from the PSP question (where these were asked for issues which were difficult to find answers to). Thus, this report is based on a total of 459 statements included in this study.

Background: Persons on the autism spectrum exhibit poorer body awareness than neurotypical persons. Since movement quality may be regarded as an expression of body awareness, assessment of movement quality is important. Sound assessments of measurement properties are essential if reliable decisions about body awareness interventions for persons on the autism spectrum are to be made, but there is insufficient research. Objective: To assess measurement properties of the Body Awareness Scale Movement Quality (BAS MQ) in an autism and a neurotypical reference group. Methods: Persons on the autism spectrum (n=108) and neurotypical references (n=32) were included. All were assessed with BAS MQ. Data were analyzed according to the Rasch model. Results: BAS MQ was found to have acceptable unidimensionality, supported by the fit statistics. The hierarchical ordering showed that coordination ability was the most difficult, followed by stability and relating. Response category functioning worked as intended for 19 out of 23 items. There were few difficult items, which decreased targeting. Reliability measures were good. BAS MQ discriminated between the autism and the reference groups, with the autism group exhibiting poorer movement quality, reflecting clinical observations and previous research. Conclusions: BAS MQ was found to have acceptable measurement properties, though suffering from problems with targeting item difficulty to person ability for persons on the autism spectrum. The BAS MQ may, along with experienced movement quality, contribute to clinically relevant information of persons on the autism spectrum, although we encourage refinements and further analyses to improve its measurement properties. 

BACKGROUND: Associations between longitudinal changes of plasma biomarkers and cerebral magnetic resonance (MR)-derived measurements in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remain unclear. METHODS: In a study population (n = 127) of healthy older adults and patients within the AD continuum, we examined associations between longitudinal plasma amyloid beta 42/40 ratio, tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 (p-tau181), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), neurofilament light chain (NfL), and 7T structural and functional MR imaging and spectroscopy using linear mixed models. RESULTS: Increases in both p-tau181 and GFAP showed the strongest associations to 7T MR-derived measurements, particularly with decreasing parietal cortical thickness, decreasing connectivity of the salience network, and increasing neuroinflammation as determined by MR spectroscopy (MRS) myo-inositol. DISCUSSION: Both plasma p-tau181 and GFAP appear to reflect disease progression, as indicated by 7T MR-derived brain changes which are not limited to areas known to be affected by tau pathology and neuroinflammation measured by MRS myo-inositol, respectively. Highlights: This study leverages high-resolution 7T magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and MR spectroscopy (MRS) for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) plasma biomarker insights. Tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 (p-tau181) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) showed the largest changes over time, particularly in the AD group. p-tau181 and GFAP are robust in reflecting 7T MR-based changes in AD. The strongest associations were for frontal/parietal MR changes and MRS neuroinflammation. 

Why?

Society's need for knowledge about experiences, feelings, behaviours and abilities is increasing. It is important to know how people and society feel or how a product or service is perceived, and to be able to compare how these change over time and between different areas, for example when making decisions about priorities, efforts and effects. In order for measurements of experiences, feelings, behaviours and abilities to be useful and provide reliable data, quality-assured measurement is required for socalled category based measurements1. It is therefore necessary that basic measurement principles are applied, which is often not the case today in this field. For the physical quantities (length, mass, time, etc.) there has long been an internationally established measurement quality infrastructure. In Sweden, it is mainly RISE as the National Metrological Institute which, through its national measurement sites, is responsible for ensuring access to quality-assured and traceable measurements for society. However, the corresponding measurement quality infrastructure is so far missing for category based measurements.

What?

RISE has been working for several years to develop methodology and working methods for measurement quality assurance of experiences, feelings, behaviours and abilities. Through dialogue over several years with actors at various levels, including in health care and academia, it has emerged that there is a great need for support for this development. RISE has therefore produced a first draft of a possible sustainable organization for measurement quality assurance of category based measurements. A national centre for quality assurance of category based measurements would be tasked with coordinating and ensuring reliable and comparable measurements of experiences, feelings, behaviours and abilities. Such infrastructural support must make methodologies available to enable quality assurance for category based measurements. The organization must meet society's need for support by offering services based on internationally accepted metrological principles and scientific methods, as well as adopting a neutral and independent role.

How?

We have humility about the fact that it is a long process to establish an organization for category based measurements and that it needs to happen through a dynamic and iterative development in co-creation with the actors involved. We look forward to continuing to develop ideas and revise the proposal in dialogue in the coming years. It is also important to start a dialogue together with relevant actors about how the implementation of the organization can take place in the future.

The Cooking and Food Provisioning Action Scale (CAFPAS) is a 28-item validated tool for measuring food agency, a latent construct representing an individual's ability to make and achieve food-preparation and -provisioning goals. Here, key measurement parameters (targeting, threshold ordering, item fit, unidimensionality, differential item functioning, local dependency, and person reliability) of the CAFPAS are evaluated using a specific case of item response theory, Rasch analysis, on data from a development sample (N = 1853; 910 from Sweden; 943 from the US). Winsteps (v.5.1.7) is used for this analysis. The similarity of the Swedish version of the CAFPAS to the original is also assessed. Based on an iterative assessment of the measurement properties with different combinations of items in the development sample, ways to shorten the CAFPAS without jeopardizing construct validity or person reliability are examined. After removing items that do not fit the Rasch model, or that appear redundant in relation to other items, an 11-item version (CAFPAS-short) is suggested and tested using further Rasch analysis on both the development sample and an additional US-based validation sample (N = 1457). Scores of cooking confidence and attitudes are then modelled with measures from the CAFPAS and CAFPAS-short using frequentist and Bayesian analysis. Results suggest that the CAFPAS-short performs similarly to the full-length version, and potential future improvements to the CAFPAS are discussed. This study represents a successful application of item response theory to investigate and shorten a psychometric scale, reducing cognitive load on participants in studies using the CAFPAS whilst minimizing loss of data reliability. © 2023 The Author(s)

Varför?

Samhällets behov av kunskap om upplevelser, känslor, beteenden och förmågor ökar. Det är viktigt att veta hur personer och samhället mår eller hur en produkt eller tjänst upplevs samt att kunna jämföra hur detta förändras över tid och mellan olika områden, för att exempelvis fatta beslut om prioriteringar, insatser och effekter. För att mätningar av upplevelser, känslor, beteenden och förmågor ska vara användbara och ge tillförlitliga underlag krävs kvalitetssäkrad mätteknik för s.k. kategoribaserade mätningar. Det är alltså nödvändigt att grundläggande mättekniska principer tillämpas, vilket ofta inte är fallet i dag inom detta område. För de fysikaliska storheterna (längd, massa, tid etc.) finns sedan länge en internationellt etablerad mätkvalitetsinfrastruktur. I Sverige är det huvudsakligen RISE som Nationellt Metrologiskt Institut som genom sina riksmätplatser ansvarar för att säkerställa tillgång till kvalitetssäkrade och spårbara mätningar för samhället. Motsvarande mätkvalitetsinfrastruktur saknas dock för kategoribaserade mätningar.

Vad?

RISE arbetar sedan flera år för att utveckla metoder och arbetssätt för mätkvalitetssäkring av upplevelser, känslor, beteenden och förmågor. Genom dialoger med aktörer på olika nivåer, bland annat inom hälso- och sjukvården och akademin, som pågått under flera års tid har det framkommit att det finns ett stort behov av stöd för denna utveckling. RISE har därför tagit fram ett första utkast för en möjlig hållbar organisering för mätkvalitetssäkring av kategoribaserade mätningar. Ett nationellt centrum för mätkvalitetssäkring av kategoribaserade mätningar skulle ha i uppdrag att samordna och säkerställa tillförlitliga och jämförbara mätningar av upplevelser, känslor, beteenden och förmågor. Ett sådant infrastrukturellt stöd ska tillgängliggöra metodiker för att möjliggöra mätkvalitetssäkring för kategoribaserade mätningar. Organiseringen ska möta samhällets behov av stöd genom att erbjuda tjänster baserade på internationellt vedertagna mättekniska principer och vetenskapliga metoder samt ha en neutral och oberoende roll.

Hur?

Det finns en stor ödmjukhet kring att det är en lång process att etablera en organisering för kategoribaserade mätningar och att det behöver ske genom en dynamisk och iterativ utveckling i samskapande med berörda aktörer. Vi ser fram emot att fortsätta utveckla tankar och revidera förslaget i dialog under kommande år. Det är också viktigt att påbörja en dialog tillsammans med relevanta aktörer om hur implementeringen av organiseringen kan ske i framtiden.