Search Results (49)

This essay discusses feminist ideas in connection to the occulture—Christopher Partridge’s term for the re-enchantment of art, popular culture, and everyday life through esoteric and spiritual currents—present in opera, musical theater, and film, focusing on femmes fatales, tricksters and ‘wicked women’ in a transcultural approach to religion, (Western) esotericism, and the performing arts. The spiritual–scientific embodiment of Afro-Brazilian traditions is explored through the figure of Pombagira—a Brazilian occultural creation of a female enchantress with mystical powers connected to healing and sex, often placed in patriarchal opposition to her male counterpart, Exu. Drawing on Partridge’s notions of occulture and Walter Mignolo’s understanding of decoloniality, the Western gendering imposed on Pombagira as a purveyor of evil is discussed as both mythology and potential epistemicide. The thesis statement presented here is that the Pombagira episteme is an underlying emblem throughout art and scholarship invested in queering essential binary categories of womanhood, as seen in staged adaptations of Verdi’s La forza del destino (1862), Bizet’s Carmen (1875), and numerous cinematic Lola incarnations—Marlene Dietrich’s in Der blaue Engel (1930), Gwen Verdon’s in Damn Yankees (1958), and Almodóvar’s in Todo sobre mi madre (1999). This indisciplinary reading connects Gloria Anzaldúa’s queer feminist practice of spiritual mestizaje with the Pombagira as an occultural anti-patriarchal force. Full article

Background and Objectives: Oral health is an important component of overall health, including in children, since dental caries is the most frequent oral health condition in this demographic. It affects children’s daily performance and can lead to complications ranging from moderate discomfort to highly disabling problems, which are reflected in their quality of life. Validating instruments that provide reliable information to measure how oral health impacts children’s quality of life will help prioritize the management of these problems through personalized treatments. The aim of this study was to perform transcultural adaptation and Spanish validation of a POQL instrument in children aged 6 to 12 years who attended the Pediatric Dentistry Clinic at the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez (UACJ), and to establish an association between the presence of carious lesions and the quality of life of children. Materials and Methods: We conducted a validation study involving a sample of 379 children aged 6 to 12 years who were attending the Pediatric Dentistry Clinic at the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez. The instrument, adapted into Spanish, was applied to measure oral health-related quality of life, and the clinical diagnosis of caries was established using the ICDAS II system. Results: The mean age of the children was 8.51 years ± 1.64; 50.4% were boys and 49.6% girls. A total of 45.9% of the children presented caries with ICDAS II codes 5 and 6, corresponding to a severe stage with advanced tooth destruction, and 52% of the children reported their perception of their oral health-related quality of life as good. In the bivariate statistical analysis, the chi-square test showed no relationship between moderate and severe ICDAS II stages and the children’s perception of their quality of life, resulting in a very low Spearman correlation. Conclusions: The findings suggest that this instrument may represent a reliable and valid tool for use in children aged 6 to 12 years. The observed association between different degrees of carious lesions and children’s quality of life may reflect the close relationship between oral health and important psychosocial domains, including physical, emotional, and social development, which constitute the core dimensions evaluated by the POQL instrument. Full article

This article examines the early formation of Confucian–Islamic synthesis during the Yuan dynasty, arguing that institutional and intellectual adaptations in this period laid the groundwork for the later systematic synthesis known as “Yi-Ru Huitong” (伊儒會通). Moving beyond narratives of assimilation or resistance, it analyzes how Muslim communities navigated China’s pluralistic sociopolitical landscape through a process of creative adaptation. Employing a multidisciplinary approach that integrates textual analysis, historical comparison, and transcultural theory, the study investigates three key dimensions: the development of hybrid religious institutions, legal-political negotiations, and mechanisms of social integration. Drawing on multilingual sources—including Persian Islamic manuals, Yuan administrative archives, and epigraphic evidence—it demonstrates how Yuan-era Muslims established patterns of selective adaptation that preserved Islamic identity while enabling meaningful engagement with Chinese cultural norms. These developments not only ensured the survival of Islam in China but also generated a range of transcultural achievements in astronomy, medicine, architecture, and the literary arts, thereby creating the necessary conditions for the profound philosophical syntheses of the Ming-Qing era. By positioning the Yuan period as a crucial incubator of Sino-Islamic civilization, this study offers insights for comparative philosophy and the global history of civilizational dialog, inviting reflection on the early Chinese Islamic experience as a significant case of sustainable cross-civilizational engagement. Full article

The complex fabric of global cultures, shaped by multireligious, multicultural, and multilingual exchanges, encourages cross-cultural involvement and interchange among many groups. This diversity encourages shared appreciation and the pursuit of universal human goals, thereby promoting harmonious interactions. The Indian Christian women religious, specifically, embody such a dynamic, as their vocational duties frequently involve movement and subsequent integration into multiple contexts of culture, fostering cross-border interactions and exchanges. This qualitative research examines the transcultural encounters of Christian women religious from Karnataka, India, who frequently move within the country as well as overseas, in fulfillment of their pastoral responsibilities. Utilizing the transcultural framework, the study employs dialogical narrative analysis approach to identify the voices of Christian women religious situated in the in-depth interviews with six Roman Catholic nuns and Protestant women priests. The findings demonstrate how the Christian women religious actively negotiate their cultural identities, adopt coping mechanisms, and integrate into the society at large. The study reveals the transformational effects of cross-cultural contacts in multicultural, multilingual, and multireligious settings, allowing for a deeper understanding of the intricate intersection between culture, mobility, and identity. It divulges how mobility further contributes to the negotiation of cultural identities and fosters transculturality, highlighting how adaptable and dynamic cultural identities are when relocation occurs. Full article

Background: Stunting remains a major public health issue globally and in Indonesia, often linked to inadequate complementary feeding, cultural practices, and limited family empowerment. Objective: This study aimed to develop and evaluate a family empowerment model based on transcultural care theory to improve quality and prevent stunting among children aged 6–24 months. Methods: A cross-sectional explanatory survey was conducted among 324 mother–child pairs from 11 primary healthcare centers in Kediri, East Java. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire covering demographic, educational, technological, economic, and cultural factors, as well as family empowerment and quality. Structural Equation Modeling with Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) was applied for hypothesis testing and model development. Results: The model showed moderate explanatory power (R² = 0.223 for family empowerment; R² = 0.115 for complementary feeding quality). Demographic, educational, technological, economic, and cultural factors significantly influenced family empowerment (p < 0.05), which in turn had a strong positive effect on quality (β = 0.340, p < 0.001). Family empowerment mediated the relationship between these factors and quality. Key contributors included knowledge, technology access, income level, and cultural practices. Conclusions: The proposed transcultural care-based family empowerment model effectively improves quality. Strengthening health education, supporting community health volunteers, and integrating culturally sensitive practices, such as encouraging paternal involvement and shared meals, should be prioritized in stunting prevention programs. The model may be adapted for use in similar community settings to enhance program effectiveness. Full article

Background/Objectives: This study aimed to translate the Foot Function Index Revised Short Form (FFI RSF-Sp) into Spanish, perform a transcultural adaptation, and validate the resulting questionnaire on foot and ankle function. The revised instrument, derived from the original version of the FFI, incorporates additional subscales on ankle stiffness and overall quality of life that help produce a more comprehensive assessment and overcome some limitations. Methods: The final sample consisted of 306 participants from Malaga and Seville (Spain), all aged over 18 years and native Spanish speakers. These participants also completed the FAAM-Sp and VASFA-Sp validated questionnaires. The measurement properties of FFI RSF-Sp were evaluated in accordance with the Consensus-Based Standards for the Selection of Health Status Measurements Instruments (COSMIN) recommendations. Results: Factor analysis confirmed the existence of a five-factor structure, explaining 67.6% of the total variance, with an RMSEA of 0.0785 and a Tucker–Lewis index of 0.874. Internal consistency was excellent, with an overall Cronbach’s alpha of 0.963 and subscale values ranging from 0.776 to 0.886. Furthermore, moderate to strong correlations were obtained with the VASFA-Sp (r = −0.651) and FAAM ADL (r = −0.737, p < 0.001), and the obtained area under the curve value was 0.806 (p < 0.001), confirming the discriminatory capacity of the instrument. Conclusions: The FFI RSF-Sp is a valid, reliable, and sensitive instrument for assessing foot and ankle function in a Spanish-speaking population. The incorporation of additional dimensions improves the understanding of dysfunction, and the robust psychometric indicators of this questionnaire make it appropriate for use in clinical and research settings, facilitating the detection of functional alterations and enhancing treatment follow up. Full article

Background/Objectives: Fear of recurrence is one of the main issues affecting cancer patients after the completion of treatment. Despite the development of various assessment tools at the international level, there is a lack of validated questionnaires in Spanish. For this reason, the aim of this study is to conduct a transcultural adaptation and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Fear of Cancer Recurrence (FCR7) questionnaire. Methods: We carried out translation and transcultural adaptation of the FCR7 scale, content validity through expert review, and face validity with a pilot test in the first phase. In the second phase, construct validity was evaluated through confirmatory factor analysis and Rasch analysis, along with reliability (internal consistency), convergent–divergent validation, and known-groups validation in a sample of 315 individuals with a history of cancer. Descriptive and inferential analysis was performed using JAMOVI© v.2.3.24., confirmatory factor analysis with FACTOR© v.12.02.01x64 bits, and Rasch analysis with JMetrik© v.2.0. Results: Aiken’s coefficient exceeded 0.75 for all items, indicating acceptable face validity for the instrument. Two unidimensional models were obtained for the instrument, FCR7-SP and FCR6-SP, both showing acceptable fit values and adequate reliability (omega coefficient = 0.933 [95% CI: 0.922–0.944] and 0.942 [95% CI: 0.931–0.951], respectively). Conclusions: The Spanish version of the FCR7 is valid and reliable for assessing fear of cancer recurrence in the Spanish population, with two models available for its application (FCR7-SP and FCR6-SP). The availability of this tool will enable the evaluation of this phenomenon in clinical practice and a more effective approach to addressing its consequences. Full article

Background/Objectives: Climate change adversely affects some of the fundamental determinants of health, and children are the population group most vulnerable to exposure to environmental risk factors. The main objective of this study was to validate in the Portuguese context three scales to assess attitudes, knowledge, and skills on children’s environmental health. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was developed to translate, adapt, and validate the questionnaire consisting of the following three scales: Attitude Scale (SANS_2), knowledge scale (ChEHK-Q), and skills scale (ChEHS-Q). This was carried out in two phases: the translation and adaptation process and the validation process using classical measure theory and item response theory with undergraduate nursing students. Results: We obtained a valid and reliable questionnaire to measure children’s environmental health competence consisting of an attitude scale (α = 0.84), a knowledge scale (Infit = 0.98, Outfit = 0.97, item reliability = 0.98, and people reliability = 0.75), and a skills scale (Infit = 1.00, Outfit = 0.99, item reliability = 0.82, and people reliability = 0.88). The mean score on the attitude scale was 28.15 (5–35) ± 4.61; 14.92 (0–26) ± 4.51 on the knowledge scale; and 42.51 (24–60) ± 6.41 on the skills scale. Conclusions: We found that most Portuguese undergraduate nursing students have very good pro-environmental attitudes and good knowledge and skills in dealing with children’s environmental health. The questionnaire obtained in this study will be useful for comparative studies with other countries and for evaluating the effectiveness of educational interventions. Full article

Background: The communication skills of healthcare professionals directly impact patient interventions. Consequently, an improvement in healthcare quality indicators is observed. Objective: to adapt and validate the Interpersonal Communication Competence Scale (ICCS) in a Spanish university sample of health science students. Methods: A cross-sectional design was employed with a sample of 803 undergraduate students, utilizing the ICCS. Results: The structure and internal consistency of both the 30-item test and a short form version were analyzed. Additionally, factorial invariance, differential validity by gender, and the convergent and discriminant validity of the instrument were assessed. Benchmarks were also calculated. The complete scale, after removing five items, exhibited a total internal consistency of 0.721 and demonstrated a good fit to a hierarchical model with nine first-order factors and one second-order factor (GFI = 0.921, SRMR = 0.071). The 10-item short scale exhibited an internal consistency of 0.689 and fit a single-factor model (GFI = 0.977, SRMR = 0.059). Additionally, factorial invariance was established based on gender. Concerning convergent validity, the ICCS scales correlated with similar measures from the Social Skills Questionnaire and the Health Professional’s Communication Skills Scale. Regarding differential validity, significant differences were found only in self-disclosure, empathy, and immediacy, with higher scores in all three cases for women. Conclusions: The Spanish version of the ICCS demonstrates good psychometric properties and is a valid tool for assessing interpersonal communication competencies, both generally and specifically within health sciences. Additionally, the establishment of benchmarks in the ICCS will enable future evaluators to identify the position of their assessors relative to a university sample. Full article

A culturally adapted screening tool for mental health and dietary quality is needed to address the significant challenges in mental health and suboptimal diets among college students. The purpose of this study was to validate the Food-Mood Questionnaire (FMQ), originally developed in English, among Arab college students. Students attending the University of Sharjah were invited to complete the questionnaire (n = 224). Two weeks later, participants completed the same questionnaire again. An exploratory factor analysis revealed three main factors: mental distress, prudent and Western diets. Cronbach’s α was 0.86, 0.72, and 0.531 for the three factors, respectively. The Intra-Class-Correlation (ICC) for the test–retest reliability ranged from 0.67 to 0.87 (p < 0.001). The findings of this study showed that the Arabic version of the FMQ is a valid and reliable tool and could be used to screen for the mental distress and dietary intake of college students in the Arab world. Full article

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a widely accepted educational approach in the United States, and its adoption is increasingly observed in Europe and other international contexts. This growing implementation necessitates the development of standardized criteria for consistent evaluation of UDL in educational settings. This study describes the methodology for translating and cross-culturally adapting the UDL Observation and Measurement Tool (UDL-OMT), originally developed by Basham et al., into French and Italian. It also reports the results of a pretest conducted to evaluate the adapted instruments. Preliminary results indicate a high degree of adaptability of UDL-OMT for use in the French- and Italian-speaking regions of Switzerland. These results are discussed in the context of the potential for wider dissemination and validation of the instrument in French- and Italian-speaking classrooms. Full article

Background/Objectives: Among the most important challenges associated with the gluten-free diet are the high costs and limited availability of gluten-free products, accompanied by the lower nutritional value of gluten-free products. The aim of the presented study was to assess gluten-free products’ availability and satisfaction in a Polish population of coeliac-disease patients and their caregivers. Methods: The study was conducted in a population of Polish female coeliac-disease patients and female family members/relatives of patients diagnosed with coeliac disease, being members of the Polish Coeliac Society and purchasing gluten-free products. A population of n = 819 was included in the studied group based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria (n = 547 of patients and n = 272 of family members/relatives of patients). The study was conducted as a part of an international project to assess the opinions of coeliac-disease patients about gluten-free products, as well as the availability and prices of gluten-free products in various countries, while an identical questionnaire was applied in all participating countries, with transcultural adaptation applied. Opinions concerning the availability of and satisfaction with gluten-free products were assessed based on a questionnaire of agreement with fixed statements about the accessibility, range and quality of gluten-free products in Poland, with a five-point Likert scale to declare the agreement. This was stratified by the following variables: age, place of residence, being diagnosed with coeliac disease, place of purchasing major grocery shopping, gluten-free products at least occasionally bought online, declared problem(s) with the availability and quality of gluten-free products. Results: While comparing the studied sub-groups, it may be stated that some of them were more satisfied than the other sub-groups with the gluten-free products, including their availability and quality; namely, older respondents were more satisfied than younger ones (p < 0.05), respondents living in small towns/villages were more satisfied than those living in big cities (p < 0.05), respondents undertaking major grocery shopping in hypermarkets were more satisfied than those not doing this (p < 0.05), and respondents not buying gluten-free products online were more satisfied than those undertaking this at least occasionally (p < 0.05). At the same time, respondents diagnosed with coeliac disease were more satisfied with the availability and less satisfied with the quality of gluten-free products, while respondents with diagnosed family members/relatives were less satisfied with the availability and more satisfied with the quality (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The group of female coeliac-disease patients and female family members/relatives of patients diagnosed with coeliac disease was highly diverse in terms of their satisfaction with gluten-free products’ availability and quality, whilst older respondents, respondents living in small towns/villages, respondents doing major grocery shopping in hypermarkets, and respondents not buying gluten-free products online were more satisfied. Respondents with family members/relatives diagnosed with coeliac disease declared serious efforts and sacrifice to purchase gluten-free products, which was associated with their higher satisfaction with quality and lower satisfaction with availability, while respondents diagnosed with coeliac disease chose easier options, resulting in their higher satisfaction with availability and lower satisfaction with quality. Full article

The HAGOS (Hip and Groin Outcome Score) questionnaire is a valid and reliable measure of the self-assessment of symptoms, activity limitation, participation restriction, and quality of life (Qol) of subjects with hip and/or groin pain. The aims of this study are to translate and transculturally adapt the HAGOS into Italian (HAGOS-I) and to assess its internal consistency, validity, and reliability in physically active, young, and middle-aged subjects. The translation and transcultural adaptation of (HAGOS-I) was carried out according to international guidelines. Eight-one subjects (mean age 28.19) were included in this study. All the participants completed the HAGOS-I, the Lower Extremity Functional Scale (LEFS-I), the Oxford Hip Score (OHS-I), and the Short Form 36 Health Surveys (SF-36-I). The Cronbach’s α for the six HAGOS subscales ranged from 0.63 to 0.87. Statistically significant correlations were obtained between the six HAGOS-I subscales and the LEFS-I (rs = 0.44–0.68; p < 0.01). Only one HAGOS-I subscale (Participation in Physical Activities) did not reach statistical significance with the OHS-I, while the remaining five had a moderate correlation (rs = 0.40–0.60; p < 0.01). The test–retest reliability (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient) ranged from 0.57 to 0.86 for the six HAGOS-I subscales. The HAGOS-I is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used in clinical settings with young and middle-aged subjects with hip and/or groin pathologies. Full article

Childhood overweight and obesity is a worldwide problem and to treat it parents’ detection has to be improved. The MapMe Body Image Scales (BIS) are a visual tool developed to improve parental perception of child weight in the United Kingdon (UK) based on British growth reference criteria. The aim of this study was to make a transcultural adaptation and validation of the MapMe BIS in Spain based on International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cut offs A descriptive cross-sectional study was done. First, a translation and cultural adaptation was carried out. A total of 155 10–11-year-old children and their parents participated in this study. Children were measured to calculate their weight status, Body Mass Index (BMI), Body Fat Percentage (BFP) and Waist Circumference (WC), and their parents completed a purpose designed questionnaire about their perception and satisfaction of child’s body weight status using the adapted BIS. Test-retest reliability, criterion validity and concurrent validity of the adapted BIS were analyzed. This study shows that the adapted MapMe BIS has good psychometric properties and is a suitable visual scale to assess parental perception of weight status in 10 and 11-year-old children in Spain. Full article

Forest therapy is associated with several health advantages, such as stress reduction and improved psychological health. Mindfulness, an important component of forest therapy, is also associated with improved health outcomes. However, few studies have empirically evaluated mindfulness in forest therapy settings. This study translated the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI) in the context of forest therapy into Korean and then validated it. (1) Methods: This study included 352 individuals. Four other psychometric tools were administered to ensure criterion validity. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were implemented to determine the factor structure. Furthermore, item validity was assessed using item response theory. (2) Findings: A two-factor structure of the FMI, comprising acceptance and presence, was the most suitable. However, excluding item 13 enhanced the model fit (χ² [df] = 169.9 [64], comparative fit index = 0.93, Tucker-Lewis index = 0.92, root mean square error of approximation = 0.069). The FMI had satisfactory psychometric properties. (3) Conclusion: The FMI was translated into Korean and validated, serving as a valuable instrument for assessing mindfulness in the context of forest therapy. We identified that item 13 should be excluded. Our results demonstrate the potential effects of mindfulness on mental health in forest therapy. Full article