Biomedical subjects

David Esch

Publications and source records attributed to David Esch.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Reliability and validity of the BASIS-24 Mental Health Survey for Whites, African-Americans, and Latinos.

Increasing racial and ethnic diversity calls for mental health assessment instruments that are appropriate, reliable, and valid for the wide range of cultures that comprise the current US population. However, most assessment instruments have not been tested on diverse samples. This study assessed psychometric properties and sensitivity to change of the revised Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale (BASIS-24) among the three largest race/ethnicity groups in the USA: Whites, African-Americans, and Latinos. BASIS-24 assessments were obtained for 2436 inpatients and 2975 outpatients treated at one of 27 mental health and/or substance abuse programs. Confirmatory factor analysis and several psychometric tests supported the factor structure, reliability, concurrent validity, and sensitivity of the instrument within each race/ethnicity group, although discriminant validity may be weaker for African-Americans and Latinos than for Whites. Further research is needed to test and validate assessment instruments with other race/ethnicity groups.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Patterns of Internet use by persons with spinal cord injuries and relationship to health-related quality of life.

OBJECTIVES: To examine patterns of computer and Internet use among persons with spinal cord injuries (SCI) and to assess the relationship between Internet use and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey design. SETTING: National Model Spinal Cord Injury Systems. PARTICIPANTS: People with SCI enrolled in a national database. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patterns of Internet use and relationship to HRQOL indicators: self-perceived health status, health status compared with 1 year ago, severity of depression, social integration score, occupation score, contacts with friends, business contacts, and satisfaction with life. RESULTS: Most subjects owned computers, had Internet access, and used the Internet regularly-primarily for email, disability and health information, and shopping. Bivariate analysis revealed significant differences in Internet access based on sociodemographics, particularly among subjects with less education and among African Americans and Hispanics. In initial univariate analysis, most HRQOL indicators were significantly better for Internet users; once sociodemographic factors were included, 4 indicators remained significant. CONCLUSIONS: Complex factors contribute to Internet access among people with SCI, with more barriers among specific subgroups. A significant HRQOL benefit from Internet use is suggested. Targeted interventions and studies of usage patterns are recommended.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

The Revised Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale (BASIS-R): reliability and validity.

BACKGROUND: To assess outcomes of health services, providers need brief, responsive, reliable, and valid measures that can be implemented in clinical settings with minimal cost and burden. The Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale (BASIS-32) is a self-report measure developed in 1984 to assess mental health treatment outcomes. During the past 3 years, multiple methods were used to revise the instrument to improve reliability, validity, and applicability to diverse groups of mental health service recipients. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to field test the revised instrument, make further changes based on analysis of the field test data, and assess reliability and validity of the final version (BASIS-24). METHODS: A field test was implemented at 27 treatment sites across the United States. A total of 2656 inpatients and 3222 outpatients participated. Factor analytic methods, classic test theory, and item response theory modeling were used to select the most discriminating, nonredundant items for inclusion in the final version of the instrument and to assess its reliability and validity. Item response theory modeling was used to score the instrument. RESULTS: The final instrument includes 24 items assessing 6 domains: depression/ functioning, interpersonal relationships, self-harm, emotional lability, psychosis, and substance abuse. Test-retest and internal consistency reliability were acceptable. Tests of construct and discriminant validity supported the instrument's ability to discriminate groups expected to differ in mental health status, and its correlation with other measures of mental health. CONCLUSIONS: Analyses of the BASIS-24 supported its reliability and validity for assessing mental health status from the patient's perspective.

Adolescent↗