Perfils: Xevi Xirgo

Xevi Xirgo és director adjunt del diari El Punt. Dóna classes a la Universitat de Girona perquè considera que per a la seva feina el contacte amb els estudiants comporta un enriquiment molt gran. Ell els aporta els seus vint-i-tres anys d’experiència

A feasibility study of cell phone and landline phone interviews for monitoring of risk and protection factors for chronic diseases in Brazil

The study objective was to evaluate the feasibility of interviews by cell phone as a complement to interviews by landline to estimate risk and protection factors for chronic non-communicable diseases. Adult cell phone users were evaluated by random digit dialing. Questions asked were: age, sex, education, race, marital status, ownership of landline and cell phones, health condition, weight and height, medical diagnosis of hypertension and diabetes, physical activity, diet, binge drinking and smoking. The estimates were calculated using post-stratification weights. The cell phone interview system showed a reduced capacity to reach elderly and low educated populations. The estimates of the risk and protection factors for chronic non-communicable diseases in cell phone interviews were equal to the estimates obtained by landline phone. Eligibility, success and refusal rates using the cell phone system were lower than those of the landline system, but loss and cost were much higher, suggesting it is unsatisfactory as a complementary method in such a context.

Formal performance appraisal interviews: Can they really be objective, and are they useful anyway?

This paper reports on a qualitative field study conducted in Australia which examined what is occurring in formal performance appraisal interviews in relation to their objectivity and resultant outcomes. Supervisors and subordinates who had recently been involved in performance appraisals were interviewed about their experiences of the process. Perceptions of the utility of, and satisfaction with the interview process were examined. Further, the effect of the relationship between the participants on objectivity was investigated. Results indicated that formal appraisal interviews were not perceived to be of great utility, and that the relationship of the participants influenced the interview.

Teaching Psychodynamics to Psychiatric Residents through Psychiatric Outpatient Interviews

Objective: This study evaluates whether a course that was designed for first-year psychiatric residents and that specifically addressed psychodynamic principles fostered residents` progress in knowledge, skills, and attitudes regarding these concepts. Methods: The course was given in the 2005 academic year to all residents (N = 18) in their first psychiatric postgraduate year at the Department and Institute of Psychiatry, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The residents were assessed in the first and last sessions of the course through a written test that was blindly rated by two independent judges. Residents were also interviewed to observe whether psychodynamic concepts had been integrated into actual practice. Their responses were subjected to content analysis. Significance was tested using analysis of variance or nonparametric tests when necessary. Agreement between the judges was tested using intraclass correlation coefficients. Results: The judges demonstrated a high level of agreement. The difference in mean scores before and after the course was such that the total score increased by a mean of 2.5 points (total test score was 10 points). Additionally, residents started to undergo personal psychotherapy after the course. They reported that this course had markedly improved their relationship with patients. They emphasized the opportunities for self-reflection and gaining insights into themselves and patient treatment issues. Conclusion: This initial study indicates that this educational method can effectively promote psychodynamic knowledge, skills, and appropriate attitudes for managing psychiatric outpatients among residents. The course was very well received by the residents, and a similar method can easily be instituted within other residency programs that pursue integrated teaching methods.

Agreement between data obtained from repeated interviews with a six-years interval

The objective of the study was to compare information collected through face-to-face interviews at first time and six years later in a city of Southeastern Brazil. In 1998, 32 mothers (N=32) of children aged 20 to 30 months answered a face-to-face interview with structured questions regarding their children's brushing habits. Six years later this same interview was repeated with the same mothers. Both interviews were compared for overall agreement, kappa and weighted kappa. Overall agreement between both interviews varied from 41 to 96%. Kappa values ranged from 0.00 to 0.65 (very bad to good) without any significant differences. The results showed lack of agreement when the same interview is conducted six years later, showing that the recall bias can be a methodological problem of interviews.

Vaterschaft heute : Einstellungen und Erfahrungen ; Qualitative Befunde zu Interviews mit engagierten Vätern

[s.c.]

"I don't know how you are" or indirect questioning in oncology interviews: an ongoing exploratory study

Background: The exploratory study is part of an evaluation of the pre-graduate teaching of communication skills (Lausanne Medical School). It is based on the data of a project highlighting the impact of individualized vs. group training for medicine students in breaking bad news to simulated patients who are diagnosed with cancer. The analysis of the video-taped interviews of the students (N=63) with the RIAS has shown a current usage of utterances such as I don't know if -you have any plans for the future / you have already heard about chemotherapy / ... or I don't know how -you are feeling today after this surgery / you like that all this stuff takes place / ...Aim: The present study questions the specificity of these assertive utterances used as questions (indirect), the specificity of their content, and their intentionality - specific vs. exploratory.Methods: The mentioned utterances are qualitatively analyzed (content analysis, intentionality analysis, etc).Results: 26 students (41%) used 1 to 6 times I don't know utterances during the interviews that contain 53 of such utterances in total. In contrast, they are atypical in an oncologist sample who conducted similar interviews (N=31; 4 oncologist used them 1 to 2 times). In more than half of the cases (29/53), simulated patients interpret I don't know questions as giving them a space to speak (open responses). Conclusions: The atypicality of the I don't know utterances in the oncologist sample may have linguistic explanations in terms of generational marker, but the specificity of the content suggests psychological explanations in terms of defense mechanism as well (marker of "toning down" or insecurity as regards the discussed topic).Keywords: Breaking bad news, communication skills, oncology, pre-graduate medical education, indirect questioning

Narrative interviews: an important resource in qualitative research

Objetives This methodological study explain and emphasize the extent and fertility of the narrative interview in qualitative research. Methods To describe the narrative method within the qualitative research. Results The qualitative research method is characterized by addressing issues related to the singularities of the field and individuals investigated, being the narrative interviews a powerful method for use by researchers who aggregate it. They allow the deepening of research, the combination of life stories with socio-historical contexts, making the understanding of the senses that produce changes in the beliefs and values that motivate and justify the actions of possible informants. Conclusion The use of narrative is an advantageous investigative resource in qualitative research, in which the narrative is a traditional form of communication whose purpose is to serve content from which the subjective experiences can be transmitted.

Interviews and adverse selection

Interviewing in professional labor markets is a costly process for firms. Moreover, poor screening can have a persistent negative impact on firms bottom lines and candidates careers. In a simple dynamic model where firms can pay a cost to interview applicants who have private information about their own ability, potentially large inefficiencies arise from information-based unemployment, where able workers are rejected by firms because of their lack of offers in previous interviews. This effect may make the market less efficient than random matching. We show that the first best can be achieved using either a mechanism with transfers or one without transfers.

Improving Transition Outcomes: Council Bluffs Youth Connections Prototype: Barriers Identified Through the Focus Groups and Interviews

Information gleaned from the focus groups and individual interviews with educators, youth and parents.

Well, you have hepatic metastases: Use of technical language by medical students in simulated patient interviews.

OBJECTIVE: This research explored medical students' use and perception of technical language in a practical training setting to enhance skills in breaking bad news in oncology. METHODS: Terms potentially confusing to laypeople were selected from 108 videotaped interviews conducted in an undergraduate Communication Skills Training. A subset of these terms was included in a questionnaire completed by students (N=111) with the aim of gaining insight into their perceptions of different speech registers and of patient understanding. Excerpts of interviews were analyzed qualitatively to investigate students' communication strategies with respect to these technical terms. RESULTS: Fewer than half of the terms were clarified. Students checked for simulated patients' understanding of the terms palliative and metastasis/to metastasize in 22-23% of the interviews. The term ambulatory was spontaneously explained in 75% of the interviews, hepatic and metastasis/to metastasize in 22-24%. Most provided explanations were in plain language; metastasis/to metastasize and ganglion/ganglionic were among terms most frequently explained in technical language. CONCLUSION: A significant number of terms potentially unfamiliar and confusing to patients remained unclarified in training interviews conducted by senior medical students, even when they perceived the terms as technical. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This exploration may offer important insights for improving future physicians' skills.