Antonio Rial

An application of importance-performance analysis (IPA) to the management of sport centres

The importance-performance analysis (IPA) constitutes an approach to the measurement of customer/user satisfaction which allows for a simple and functional identification of both the strong and the weak aspects, or improvement areas, of a given service. Taking both the importance assigned by users to all relevant aspects of a given service and the perceived performance of the establishment in providing the service, a graph with four quadrants is obtained. This graph allows for (a) a very intuitive visual assessment of the management of the establishment and (b) the corresponding advice for a better distribution of organizational resources. Nevertheless, this tool has been subjected to controversy since its origins, due mainly to (a) the position of the axis determining the quadrants and (b) the conceptualization and measurement of both importance and performance of the elements of the service. In the present paper, the practical solution for some of these issues is posed, and the potential of IPA as a management tool for sport centres is illustrated.

Análisis de la relación entre grupo de iguales, vinculación familiar y escolar, autocontrol y conducta antisocial, en una muestra de adolescentes venezolanos

Resumen En este trabajo se pone a prueba un modelo teórico en el que se integran variables del grupo de iguales, variables familiares/escolares, y el nivel de autocontrol, con el propósito de comprobar su capacidad explicativa sobre la conducta antisocial de los adolescentes de ambos sexos. La muestra del estudio incluye 471 adolescentes escolarizados en centros públicos del estado de Mérida en Venezuela. Los resultados de los análisis de Estructuras de Covarianza revelan que, tanto para los hombres como para las mujeres, la pertenencia a un grupo desviado, la inadecuada supervisión familiar y un bajo nivel de autocontrol son las variables más relevantes con respecto a la probabilidad de desarrollar conducta desviada. Sin embargo, estas variables dan cuenta en mayor medida de la conducta antisocial de los chicos que de la de las chicas. Se plantea la necesidad de prestart mayor atención al tema del género en la investigación y los modelos teóricos de la delincuencia.

Adverse events analysis as an educational tool to improve patient safety culture in primary care: A randomized trial

BackgroundPatient safety is a leading item on the policy agenda of both major international health organizations and advanced countries generally. The quantitative description of the phenomena has given rise to intense concern with the issue in institutions and organizations, leading to a number of initiatives and research projects and the promotion of patient safety culture, with training becoming a priority both in Spain and internationally. To date, most studies have been conducted in a hospital setting, even though primary care is the type most commonly used by the public, in our experience.Our study aims to achieve the following:- Assess the registry of adverse events as an education tool to improve patient safety culture in the Family and Community Teaching Units of Galicia.- Find and analyze educational tools to improve patient safety culture in primary care.- Evaluate the applicability of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Spanish version, in the context of primary health care.Design and methodsDesign:Experimental unifactorial study of two groups, control and intervention.Study population:Tutors and residents in Family and Community Medicine in last year of studies in Galicia, Spain.SampleFrom the population universe through voluntary participation. Twenty-seven tutor-resident units in each group required, randomly assigned.InterventionResidents and their respective tutor (tutor-resident pair) in teaching units on Family and Community Medicine from throughout Galicia will be invited to participate. Tutor-resident pair that agrees to participate will be sent the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture. Then, tutor-resident pair will be assigned to each group-either intervention or control-through simple random sampling. The intervention group will receive specific training to record the adverse effects found in patients under their care, with subsequent feedback, after receiving instruction on the process. No action will be taken in the control group. After the intervention has ended, the survey will once again be provided to all participants.Outcome measuresChange in safety culture as measured by Hospital Survey on Patient Safety CultureCONSORT Extension for Non-Pharmacologic Treatments 2008 was applied.DiscussionThe most significant limitations on the project are related to selecting a tool to measure the safety environment, the training calendar of residents in Family and Community Medicine in last year of studies and the no-answer bias inherent to research conducted through self-administered surveys.The development and application of a safety culture in the health sector, specifically in primary care, is as yet limited. Thus, identifying the strengths and weaknesses in the safety environment may assist in designing strategies for improvement in the primary care health centers of our region.Trial registrationISRCTN: ISRCTN41911128

Cómo valoran los consumidores las extensiones de marca

ResumenLa extension de marca resulta una estrategia muy atractiva en el lanzamiento de un producto, por el ahorro que supone en publicidady el aprovechamiento que se saca del posicionamiento de la marca. No obstante, una mala planificacion de la extension puede acarrear serias consecuencias. Se ha demostrado que la percepcion que los consumidores tienen de una marca puede afectar a la aceptacion de sus extensiones. En este trabajo pretendenos ofrecer evidencias en torno al papel desempenado por variables como el estatus, el caracter abierto o dinamico de la marca, asi como el tipo de de extension. El principalresultado gira en torno a la importancia que tiene, precisamente, el tipo de extension. Solo si esta es percibida como continua o aparentemente logica, se tendran en cuenta otros criterios como estatus o dimamismo de la marca.

Relación entre el consumo de alcohol y otras drogas y el uso problemático de Internet en adolescentes

Alcohol and drug use among adolescents has been causing great concern for decades in Spain and in the European Union as a whole. In addition, the technology boom experienced over the last two decades has contributed to the emergence of a new public healthcare issue: problematic Internet use. The increasing importance that both problems have been gaining in recent years has led some authors to analyze the relationship between alcohol and the consumption of other drugs alongside problematic Internet use, and to provide relevant empirical evidence. Based on a sample of 3,882 Spanish adolescents aged between 12 and 18, the results obtained confirm that there is a relationship between the consumption of alcohol (measured by the AUDIT) and other drugs (measured by the CRAFFT and the CAST), and problematic Internet use (measured by the EUPI-a). Problematic Internet users among them not only have more significant levels of substance use, but also a three-times greater chance of developing hazardous drug use (39.4% vs 13.3%). This highlights the need to develop transversal prevention capable of acting on the common variables to both issues, beyond developing programs focused on specific behaviors. In this sense, values-based education and life skills training should be given priority in prevention.

Consumo intensivo de alcohol en adolescentes: prevalencia, conductas de riesgo y variables asociadas

According to the last Survey on Drug Use among Secondary School Students (ESTUDES 2014-2015), consumption levels of alcohol and other substances have decreased in the last years in Spain. However, available data on binge drinking remain worrying, given the negative consequences related with this pattern. The aim of this paper is to analyse binge drinking among adolescents, providing updated data on prevalence in addition to information about the consequences and some predictive factors of binge drinking. A correlational method was used for this purpose, comprised of administering a survey to Compulsory Secondary School, High School and Vocational Training students. Based on a sample of 3,419 Galician adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years (M = 14.57; SD = 1.76), the results show that binge drinking is a common and global practice, with few socio-demographic differences but related with a wide range of risk practices. Furthermore, variables such as consumption expectancies, consumption by family and friends, as well as curfew time and allowance money have been identified as interesting predictive factors that should be taken into account at the preventive level.

Patterns of Alcohol Consumption in Spanish University Alumni: Nine Years of Follow-Up

The aim of this study was to empirically identify different profiles of Spanish university alumni, based on their alcohol use over 9 years, and to further characterize them. A cohort study was carried out between 2005 and 2015 among university students (Compostela Cohort-Spain; n2015 = 415). Alcohol consumption was measured using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT). A two-stage cluster analysis, based on their AUDIT total scores was carried out separately for males and females. The further characterization of every profile was based on demographic data, age at onset of alcohol use, positive alcohol-related expectancies, tobacco and cannabis use, as well as their answers to some European Addiction Severity Index items. Five different clusters were identified: Low users (29.2%), Moderated users (37.2%), At-risk users (14.2%), Decreasing users (13.2%) and Large users (6.2%) for females, and Low users (34.4%), At-risk users (25.6%), High-risk users (15.6%), Decreasing users (14.4%) and Large users (10.0%) for males. Being a cannabis user or a smoker was positively associated to those more hazardous clusters in both genders. Regarding females, significant differences in the age of onset and high positive expectancies were found. However, there were few significant differences among the groups in relation to their employment status and social relations. The results reveal the existence of different typologies of alcohol users among university alumni, with differences among males and females. Modifying positive expectancies, limiting access to alcohol at a young age, and reducing uses of other substances uses are key to promote healthier alcohol use profiles and to prevent hazardous uses.

Profiles of Internet use and parental involvement, and rates of online risks and problematic Internet use among Spanish adolescents

Abstract This study aimed to empirically identify the major adolescent Internet user profiles in Spanish secondary students based on self-reported pattern of use, level of parental control and parent-child conflict around use, and to characterize their demographics and rates of engaging in online risky experiences and screening positive for problematic Internet use (PIU). Students from 255 secondary schools throughout the Galicia region of Spain completed an anonymous, online survey in school, with 39,993 having sufficient data for analyses. We used two-stage cluster analysis to identify the groups, and then compared demographics, online risks and PIU rates across groups. We identified five clusters: occasional users (21.4%), moderate users with parental control (22.2%), moderate users without parental control (22.1%), habitual users with parent-child conflict (16.8%), and intensive users (17.5%). The heaviest user groups had the highest rates of any online risk (>60%) and PIU (>25%). The majority of adolescents with frequent Internet use have engaged in online risky experiences. Such behaviors, and problematic Internet use, are higher among adolescents without parental control over their use, so empowering parents to moderate their childs Internet use is encouraged. These findings highlight the need to support parents, schools, and policymakers in prevention, since it is a shared responsibility.

Identification and Characterization of Adolescent Internet User's Profiles.

The percentages of adolescent Internet use in general terms have been measured for nearly two decades now; however, it might be thought that not every teenager behaves online in the same way. This study aims to identify the different types or profiles of adolescents and to characterize them from an attitudinal, behavioral and socio-demographic viewpoint. A questionnaire was applied to a representative sample of 2,339 Compulsory Secondary School students (M = 13.77 years old) from Galicia (a North-Western region of Spain) for this purpose. A two-stage cluster analysis, based on the response pattern in relation to their attitudes toward Internet, was carried out. Four different segments with specific characteristics were identified: the first steppers, the trainees, the sensible users, and the heavy users. Besides the relevance of descriptive data, these results are of particular interest at an applied level, because they could lead to a better fit of programs to prevent risky behaviors and problematic Internet use in adolescents.

Minors and problematic Internet use: Evidence for better prevention

Abstract The expansion of ICT has contributed to the emergence of a new issue of increasing importance: problematic Internet use. Addressing this phenomenon comes with the understanding that it is not isolated from other online risky behaviors or other common problems in adolescence, such as substance use. This suggests the desirability in identifying common factors that can guide preventive work. This empirical study based on a sample of 3772 Spanish adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years has allowed: a) to verify that the use of Internet and social networking sites is widespread; b) to demonstrate that problematic Internet use is associated with different online risky practices (contacting strangers, sexting, online gambling …), as well as substance use, and c) to identify personal variables related to problematic Internet use and online risky behaviors. The results obtained emphasize the relevance of relying on a transversal approach to prevention, based on values and life skills education.