The objective of this study was to translate the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) into German, to evaluate this translation through psychometric testing in a German sample of adolescents, and to analyze whether the content-derived hypothesis of two eHEALS subscales was confirmed by the data. We hypothesized that the first subscale would cover self-perceived competence in seeking health information online, and the second subscale information appraisal of health information on the Internet. A cross-sectional survey among 18-year-old students (N = 327) using our translation of the eHEALS was conducted. A confirmatory factor analysis compared the 1-factor model based on Norman and Skinners’ analyses with the a priori specified 2-factor model. The results indicated a better fit for the 2-factor model (chi-square difference of 150.93, p < .0001), supporting the division into subscales.

The CBT-based telephone intervention increased mental and physical health as well as coping abilities of family caregivers of people with dementia. The intervention can be delivered by qualified CBT therapists after an 8-h training session in existing health care provision structures.

No abstract

Adjustment methods such as propensity scores and analysis of covariance are often used for estimating treatment effects in nonexperimental data. Shadish, Clark, and Steiner used a within-study comparison to test how well these adjustments work in practice. They randomly assigned participating students to a randomized or nonrandomized experiment. Treatment effects were then estimated in the experiment and compared to the adjusted nonexperimental estimates. Most of the selection bias in the nonexperiment was reduced. The present study replicates the study of Shadish et al. despite some differences in design and in the size and direction of the initial bias. The results show that the selection of covariates matters considerably for bias reduction in nonexperiments but that the choice of analysis matters less.

No abstract

Introduction: The evaluation of effective interventions is still needed to prevent family caregivers of persons with dementia from becoming physically or mentally ill. However, in most existing intervention studies, primary outcomes are not well matched to the treatment goals. Method: A randomized controlled trial (N = 229) was conducted to compare a treatment group (CBT), a treated control group, and an untreated control group. In theses analyses we focused on the primary outcome measurement (GAS) as a perceived treatment success as well as treatment compliance and participants’ evaluation. Results: Results showed that 30.1% achieved complete goal attainment, 39.8% partial goal attainment, and 24.1% declared no change (overachievement 2.4%; deterioration 3.6%). Discussion: The intervention can be considered to have been successful.

The feasibility of integrating qigong in school lessons was shown. Six months after starting qigong lessons, schoolchildren improved in social behavior and showed stable grades, while inappropriate behavior decreased, compared to the control. Combining quantitative and qualitative research methods appeared to be useful to detect the effects of qigong in individuals. Due to the limitations of our pilot study, further studies with larger sample sizes and long-term follow-up are needed.

The study indicates that higher health literacy is associated with decreased risk of poor well-being.