Suchergebnisse

The purpose in this study was to develop a questionnaire measuring the subjective importance among adolescents of medical humanities issues. Based on a series of literature reviews and expert panel discussions, a questionnaire was created and completed by 460 randomly selected individuals.
An exploratory factor analysis and a principal component analysis were conducted. The 19 items in the questionnaire were classified into 5 factors: professionalism, caring and empathy, patient orientation, disclosure of harm, and communication. These 5 factors accounted for 59.19% of the variance.
The developed questionnaire was subsequently completed by 258 adolescents enrolled in medical science courses and 268 adolescents enrolled in other courses to see whether or not there was any significant difference between the two groups in their awareness of medical humanities. Results revealed
that adolescents enrolled in medical science courses placed greater importance on these issues than did those enrolled in other courses.

Our objective was to construct the Patient–Healthcare Provider Communication Scale (P–HCS) in Chinese. An initial sample of 494 healthcare students and providers in Taiwan participated in the scale development stage, and another sample of 150 participants was then used to
examine the test–retest reliability and concurrent validity of the P–HCS. We conducted exploratory factor analysis and derived 23 items across 4 factors: perception of trust and receptivity, patient-centered information giving, rapport building, and facilitation of patient involvement.
Significant correlations between the P–HCS and the Provider-Patient Relationship Questionnaire also provided evidence of our scale's concurrent validity. The Cronbach's α and test–retest reliability coefficients for the entire scale and subscales ranged from .72 to .93, and
from .80 to .90, respectively. Thus, the P–HCS can be considered a reliable and valid instrument to measure patient–healthcare provider communication in the Chinese context.

We developed the Reflective Thinking Scale for Healthcare Students and Providers (RTS-HSP) in Chinese by conducting a systematic literature review and consulting with a panel of experts. Participants were 579 randomly selected healthcare students and professionals from Taiwan. Using
exploratory factor analysis we developed 22 items rated on a 9-point Likert scale, and extracted 4 factors: reflective skepticism (6 items explaining 29.48% of the variance), self-examination (6 items explaining 11.41% of the variance), empathetic reflection (5 items explaining 8.96% of the
variance), and critical open-mindedness (5 items explaining 6.81% of the variance). Cronbach's alpha reliability values for the 4 dimensions and the overall scale ranged from .77 to .87. An assessment of the RTS-HSP's concurrent validity with the Questionnaire for Reflective Thinking
also supported our scale's external validity. Thus, the RTS-HSP can be considered a reliable instrument for measuring reflective thinking among healthcare students and professionals.

We examined whether or not instructing Taiwanese students in the use of comprehension strategies when they are reading English as a foreign language, reduces their English reading anxiety and increases their English reading self-efficacy and proficiency. We used a quasiexperimental
design and conducted a 15-week course. The experimental group (n = 31) received instruction in reading comprehension strategies and the control group (n = 31) received instruction by traditional teaching methods. The results show that the experimental group had less anxiety when
reading English and higher proficiency than the control group. In regard to self-efficacy when reading English, the experimental group also performed better than the control group in terms of self-affirmation, perseverance, verbal persuasion, and performance overall. However, there was no
statistically significant difference for learning attitude between the groups.

Our objective was to construct a comprehensive and psychometrically tested Chineselanguage Empathy Scale in Patient Care (ES-PC) for use with Taiwanese people. We randomly selected 820 medical-care students and professionals who provided 789 valid responses to a written survey. After
exploratory factor analysis, 23 items were derived, which were rated on a 9-point scale, and 3 factors were elicited: behavioral empathy (9 items; 44.73% of total variance), affective empathy (7 items; 10.99%), and intellectual empathy (7 items; 5.71%). The Cronbach's α coefficient values
for the 3 subscales and the overall scale ranged from .87 to .94, indicating internal consistency. Evidence of concurrent validity was also provided to support the external validity of the ES-PC. The test–retest correlation coefficient for the entire scale was r = .89. The findings
proved that the ES-PC could be a reliable and valid instrument to measure the level of empathy in the medical cultural context of Taiwan.

In this study we examined whether or not university students in Taiwan experience anxiety when taking the General English Proficiency Test (GEPT), and whether there are differences in GEPT anxiety levels among students according to gender and/or personality. We developed a GEPT test
anxiety scale (GEPT-TAS) to explore the anxiety levels of university students. The final questionnaire included 36 questions, covering the cognitive, emotional, and affective dimensions of test anxiety. Several conclusions can be drawn from the findings of this study. First, university students
do experience GEPT test anxiety. Second, females experience more emotional anxiety than do males. Third, students who are inclined to be introverted tend to experience more anxiety compared with students inclined to be extroverted.

Our aim was to develop the Critical Thinking Disposition Assessment (CTDA) scale to assess medical care professionals' or students' level of critical thinking disposition and to validate the psychometric properties of this instrument. A total of 775 medical care professionals and students
agreed to respond to the survey instrument. Exploratory factor analysis extracted 3 factors; systematicity and analyticity, inquisitiveness and conversance, and maturity and skepticism, accounting for 63.40% of the variance. The final scale comprised 19 statements rated on a 7-point Likert
scale. Reliability analysis produced Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging from .86 to .94 for the 3 factors and the overall scale, indicating acceptable reliability for the instrument. The concurrent validity analysis was also conducted to compare the instrument with other measures. In light
of these findings, the CTDA was found to be a valid and reliable instrument to measure the critical thinking disposition of medical care professionals and students.

Since 1989, blue-collar foreign workers have been permitted to work in Taiwanese industries. Most blue-collar foreign workers apply for jobs in Taiwan through blue-collar foreign workers' agencies. Because blue-collar foreign workers are not familiar with the language and culture in Taiwan, in occupational accident education and hazard prevention, the agencies play an important role in the coordination and translation between employees and blue-collar foreign workers. The purpose of this study is to establish the agencies' role in the occupational accidents education and hazard prevention for blue-collar foreign workers in Taiwan. This study uses a qualitative method—grounded theory—to collect, code, and analyze the data in order to understand the agencies' role in occupational accident education and hazard prevention for blue-collar foreign workers in Taiwan. The results show that the duty of agencies in occupational accident education and hazard prevention includes selecting appropriate blue-collar foreign workers, communicating between employees and blue-collar foreign workers, collecting occupational safety and health information, assisting in the training of occupational safety and health, and helping blue-collar foreign workers adapt to their lives in Taiwan. Finally, this study suggests seven important points and discusses the implementation process necessary to improve governmental policies. The government and employees should pay attention to the education/training of occupational safety and health for blue-collar foreign workers to eliminate unsafe behavior in order to protect the lives of blue-collar foreign workers.