The National Institutes of Health (NIH) are under increasing pressure to identify practical, cost-effective interventions, therapies, and medications. Overall, the public health impact could be substantial if effective science-based prevention and treatment programs were implemented on large scales with sufficient fidelity. Yet penetration of even the most successful interventions rarely occurs at a quick pace. Research-to-practice gaps are pervasive throughout various fields of behavioral health and safety. In this article the authors explore factors contributing to the pace of translation and reaffirm that research advances or retreats the progress of scientific discovery as data accumulate in what can be described as a translational research loop that is iterative and bidirectional. They also touch on the challenges inherent in deploying science to the marketplace, and in an attempt to foreshadow what's next for translational efforts, they conclude by offering some ideas about how researchers might more accurately conceptualize "best practices."
Analyses of data collected from 172 members of 23 matrix teams indicated that member perceptions of team-level politics were negatively related to executive and member ratings of effectiveness and to member expressions of satisfaction with and commitment to the matrix team. In addition, results of moderated multiple regression analyses indicated that member-team goal congruence moderated these relationships. Perceptions of politics were more strongly related to the outcome variables among individuals who did not share the priorities of their team members than among those whose goal priorities were consistent. These results suggest that leaders can help their team members cope with politics by making efforts to ensure that they share goal priorities of team members.
Background
Two item banks for substance use were developed as part of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®): severity of substance use and positive appeal of substance use.
Methods
Qualitative item analysis (including focus groups, cognitive interviewing, expert review, and item revision) reduced an initial pool of more than 5,300 items for substance use to 119 items included in field testing. Items were written in a first-person, past-tense format, with 5 response options reflecting frequency or severity. Both 30-day and 3-month time frames were tested. The calibration sample of 1,336 respondents included 875 individuals from the general population (ascertained through an internet panel) and 461patients from addiction treatment centers participating in the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network.
Results
Final banks of 37 and 18 items were calibrated for severity of substance use and positive appeal of substance use, respectively, using the two-parameter graded response model from item response theory (IRT). Initial calibrations were similar for the 30-day and 3-month time frames, and final calibrations used data combined across the time frames, making the items applicable with either interval. Seven-item static short forms were also developed from each item bank.
Conclusions
Test information curves showed that the PROMIS item banks provided substantial information in a broad range of severity, making them suitable for treatment, observational, and epidemiological research in both clinical and community settings.
The initial psychometric characteristics of the item bank support its use as a computerized adaptive test or short form, with either version providing a brief, precise, and efficient measure relevant to both clinical and community samples.
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