Changes in anti-fat attitudes among undergraduate nursing students

BACKGROUND

The number of people with obesity has been increasing significantly in recent decades. Nursing students play a role in the care of obese patients, but the presence of a stigma regarding this patient group reduces the quality of care due to a climate of mistrust and lack of expectations.

OBJECTIVES

To analyse if the anti-fat attitudes of nursing students at the Faculty of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Podiatry at Universidad de Sevilla (Spain) change during their degree training.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study was carried out.

SETTINGS

Undergraduate nursing institution in Spain.

PARTICIPANTS

578 nursing students enrolled at the Faculty in all academic years, from the first through the fourth.

METHODS

Following ethical approval, each participant took part in an individual self-report via the Anti-Fat Attitudes (AFA) Questionnaire, in its validated Spanish version.

RESULTS

The mean standardised AFA total was 2.29.; by domains: 1.29 in Dislike, 2.87 in Fear of fat, and 3.73 in Willpower. Analysis of variance tests showed significant differences in the AFA total score and domains by sex and academic year. Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that the highest prejudices were shown by enrolled participants in their first year, particularly when the AFA total score was considered.

CONCLUSIONS

Nursing students at the Faculty do not have many prejudices towards obese people. Anti-obesity attitudes among nursing students decrease as the students progress in their degree, implying that the specific training received (degree curriculum) also enables students to develop their non-technical skills.

Attitudes toward and beliefs about obese persons across Hong Kong and Taiwan: wording effects and measurement invariance

Background

The psychosocial consequences of obesity are important but often underrated. The Attitudes Toward Obese Persons (ATOP) and Beliefs About Obese Persons (BAOP) scales used to measure weight-related bias have little psychometric information, especially in East Asian contexts. The objective of this study was to use rigorous statistical methods to demonstrate the psychometric properties of these two instruments in Hong Kong and Taiwanese college students.

Methods

A convenience sample of 707 students was recruited from the universities in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Several competing confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were conducted to confirm the factorial structure of the ATOP and BAOP. The best fit models for the ATOP and BAOP were chosen for the examination of the measurement invariance across subcultures. We then compared configurable models with or without loading and/or intercept constrained before correlating the latent constructs between the best models for the ATOP and BAOP.

Results

The comparison in multiple CFAs found that the model with one factor and two correlated-wording-method factors outperformed the other models for both the ATOP and BOAP. However, the internal consistency was suboptimal (ATOP: α = .56 to .80; BTOP: α = .57 to .65) and the measurement invariance was somewhat unsupported among the Hong Kong and Taiwan samples. Moreover, after controlling wording effects, the latent construct of the ATOP was moderately associated with that of BAOP (r = .356; p < .001).

Conclusion

Chinese versions of the ATOP and BAOP can be treated as a unidimensional factor for use in Hong Kong and Taiwan university students. However, further refinements of both instruments may be needed before using them to capture the social attitudes and beliefs toward obesity individuals, which is expected to advance our understanding of weight-related bias in East Asian contexts.

Challenges in adapting a survey: ensuring cross-cultural equivalence

BACKGROUND

The increase in the number of international research studies means more surveys need to be adapted for use in different languages. To obtain valid cross-cultural study results, researchers often use translated surveys.

AIM

To describe the translation process used, and lessons learned by a bilingual English/Mandarin PhD student and her three English-speaking supervisors when developing and translating an English-language survey for use in a study in Taiwan.

DISCUSSION

In evaluating the translation process in this study, the three criteria of content equivalence, semantic equivalence and conceptual equivalence are discussed in relation to the challenges these presented to the research team. Some of the ways the team addressed these challenges are also considered.

CONCLUSION

The time available for the research and the ability of translators need to be assessed when adapting surveys for use in different languages and cultures. Sharing experiences and lessons learned in the translation process was worthwhile, as all members of the research team came away with new knowledge and an understanding of the need to ensure the final version of a translated survey is culturally congruent.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

To accurately translate a survey into another language, it is essential that one of the researchers be fluent in that language. This guarantees the closest fit of content and semantic and conceptual meaning.