Background: Researchers have previously commenced examining the degree of concordance between parent proxy and child self-reports on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of many disease and impairment populations. Objects: To explore the differences between parent proxy and child self-reports on the HRQOL using Korean version of KIDSCREEN-10 questionnaires for applying to elementary school children and their parents who participated for a school-based wellness program. Methods: The focus groups were recruited for a school-based wellness program by implementing the following wellness services: 1) referring to a screening session for detecting potential posture-related musculoskeletal problems and 2) recommending home exercise programs. Before a primary field testing for the program, two focus groups were formed with a group of 9 parents and their 9 elementary school children aged 8–10 years of age. The parent proxy and child self-report versions of KIDSCREEN-10 questionnaires were administered to both groups after completion of the wellness program. Item level Rasch rating scale analysis was applied to compute logit scales of KIDSCREEN-10 questionnaire. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and scatterplot of item difficulty between two reports were analyzed. Results: For fit statistics of parent proxy report, all items except 4 items (i.e., psychological well-being, mood/emotions, self-perception, parent relation) were found to be acceptable. For fit statistics of child self-report, all items except 3 items (i.e., psychological well-being, autonomy and home life) were acceptable. The relationship between two reports using ICCs were ranging from weak to very strong at p = 0.05 (i.e, ICCs = 0.011 to 0.905). Scatterplot analysis between two reports showed a major disparity on self-perception item at 95% confidence intervals. Conclusion: Both item level analyses and ICC comparisons provided a disparity between parent proxy and child self-reports of the HRQOL on self-perception item after competing a school-based wellness program. Therapist should consider the item as part of the HRQOL assessment.

Background: Functional capacity evaluations (FCEs) are designed to systematically assess the capacity to perform work-related tasks and to determine worker’s ability to return to the previous job following work-related injuries. These evaluations may be rated either by clinician or worker. There has been a lack of consensus between the two scoring methods. Objects: This study aimed: 1) to confirm if the data are fit to the Rasch rating scale model and 2) to investigate the item-level concordance rate between the ratings of clinician and injured worker of the FCE. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample (n=124) of a rehabilitation program with the Occupational Rehabilitation Data Base for workers with low back pain. The functional capacity evaluation at admission and discharge was administered to clinicians and workers. The data were analyzed using both classical test theory-based Pearson’s r and intra-class coefficient followed by item-level analysis with Rasch rating scale model. Results: All items of the FCE, except sitting items rated by clinician at admission and handling items rated by both clinician and worker throughout admission and discharge, were acceptable fit statistics with minor out of ranges for a misfit criterion. This may indicate that the items of the FCE overall fit to the Rasch rating scale model. Few problematic items responding differently to clinician and worker both at admission and discharge were detected with the differential item functioning analysis despite the excellent concordance rate using the two conventional statistics-sitting and handling items at admission and handling item at discharge. Conclusion: The item-level speculations using Rasch analysis of the FCE demonstrate that the ratings of clinician and self ratings of worker were psychometrically acceptable though there was an apparent discrepancy between the raters both at admission and discharge.

By employing primarily the Kendall's Concordance Test, the paper attempted to conduct an experts' evaluation on the interaction among the agents in Busan marine tourism cluster and recommend some measures for policy consideration for the cluster's activation. For this purpose, a conceptual framework was developed to guide the assessment by using inter-agent cooperation and network approaches regarding the nature of the marine tourism cluster. Such factors as cooperation, competition, relationship marketing, and networking were identified as critical. Findings of the study imply that Busan marine tourism cluster is at its embryonic stage and needs desperate measures for improvement in the inter-organizational cooperation and networking, the major regional characteristics that determine the competitiveness of marine tourism.