Koen Ilja Neijenhuijs

Response to Comment on "Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science"

Gilbert et al. conclude that evidence from the Open Science Collaboration’s Reproducibility Project: Psychology indicates high reproducibility, given the study methodology. Their very optimistic assessment is limited by statistical misconceptions and by causal inferences from selectively interpreted, correlational data. Using the Reproducibility Project: Psychology data, both optimistic and pessimistic conclusions about reproducibility are possible, and neither are yet warranted.

A Young Scientists’ Perspective on DBS: A Plea for an International DBS Organization

Our think tank tasked by the Dutch Health Council, consisting of Radboud University Nijmegen Honours Academy students with various backgrounds, investigated the implications of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for psychiatric patients. During this investigation, a number of methodological, ethical and societal difficulties were identified. We consider these difficulties to be a reflection of a still fragmented field of research that can be overcome with improved organization and communication. To this effect, we suggest that it would be useful to found a centralized DBS organization. Such an organization makes it possible to 1) set up and maintain a repository, 2) facilitate DBS studies with a larger sample size, 3) improve communication amongst researchers, clinicians and ethical committees, and 4) improve communication between DBS experts and the public at large.

Mood mirroring with an embodied virtual agent : A pilot study on the relationship between personalized visual feedback and adherence

Human support is thought to increase adherence to internet-based interventions for common mental health disorders, but can be costly and reduce treatment accessibility. Embodied virtual agents may be used to deliver automated support, but while many solutions have been shown to be feasible, there is still little controlled research that empirically validates their clinical effectiveness in this context. This study uses a controlled and randomized paradigm to investigate whether feedback from an embodied virtual agent can increase adherence. In a three-week ecological momentary assessment smartphone study, 68 participants were asked to report their mood three times a day. An embodied virtual agent could mirror participant-reported mood states when thanking them for their answers. A two-stage randomization into a text and personalized visual feedback group, versus a text-only control group, was applied to control for individual differences (study onset) and feedback history (after two weeks). Results indicate that while personalized visual feedback did not increase adherence, it did manage to keep adherence constant over a three-week period, whereas fluctuations in adherence could be observed in the text-only control group. Although this was a pilot study, and its results should be interpreted with some caution, this paper shows how virtual agent feedback may have a stabilizing effect on adherence, how controlled experiments on the relationship between virtual agent support and clinically relevant measures such as adherence can be conducted, and how results may be analyzed.

A systematic review of the measurement properties of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer In-patient Satisfaction with Care Questionnaire, the EORTC IN-PATSAT32

PurposeThe EORTC IN-PATSAT32 is a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) to assess cancer patients’ satisfaction with in-patient health care. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the initial good measurement properties of the IN-PATSAT32 are confirmed in new studies.MethodsWithin the scope of a larger systematic review study (Prospero ID 42017057237), a systematic search was performed of Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, and Web of Science for studies that investigated measurement properties of the IN-PATSAT32 up to July 2017. Study quality was assessed, data were extracted, and synthesized according to the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) methodology.ResultsNine studies were included in this review. The evidence on reliability and construct validity were rated as sufficient and of the quality of the evidence as moderate. The evidence on structural validity was rated as insufficient and of low quality. The evidence on internal consistency was indeterminate. Measurement error, responsiveness, criterion validity, and cross-cultural validity were not reported in the included studies. Measurement error could be calculated for two studies and was judged indeterminate.ConclusionIn summary, the IN-PATSAT32 performs as expected with respect to reliability and construct validity. No firm conclusions can be made yet whether the IN-PATSAT32 also performs as well with respect to structural validity and internal consistency. Further research on these measurement properties of the PROM is therefore needed as well as on measurement error, responsiveness, criterion validity, and cross-cultural validity. For future studies, it is recommended to take the COSMIN methodology into account.

A systematic review of the measurement properties of the Body Image Scale (BIS) in cancer patients

IntroductionBody image is acknowledged as an important aspect of health-related quality of life in cancer patients. The Body Image Scale (BIS) is a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) to evaluate body image in cancer patients. The aim of this study was to systematically review measurement properties of the BIS among cancer patients.MethodsA search in Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science was performed to identify studies that investigated measurement properties of the BIS (Prospero ID 42017057237). Study quality was assessed (excellent, good, fair, poor), and data were extracted and analyzed according to the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) methodology on structural validity, internal consistency, reliability, measurement error, hypothesis testing for construct validity, and responsiveness. Evidence was categorized into sufficient, insufficient, inconsistent, or indeterminate.ResultsNine studies were included. Evidence was sufficient for structural validity (one factor solution), internal consistency (α = 0.86–0.96), and reliability (r > 0.70); indeterminate for measurement error (information on minimal important change lacked) and responsiveness (increasing body image disturbance in only one study); and inconsistent for hypothesis testing (conflicting results). Quality of the evidence was moderate to low. No studies reported on cross-cultural validity.ConclusionThe BIS is a PROM with good structural validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability, but good quality studies on the other measurement properties are needed to optimize evidence. It is recommended to include a wider variety of cancer diagnoses and treatment modalities in these future studies.