毛利 将平

Introduction: Intake interview performance is a core competency in mental health occupational therapy education, but structured and reliable assessment tools for brief observed encounters remain limited. This cross-sectional study therefore developed a 16-item behaviourally anchored checklist/rubric for intake interviews and examined scoring reliability in a single OSCE-format standardised-patient station.Methods: Sixty third-year occupational therapy students from two Japanese universities completed one station using one of three standardised-patient scenarios. Two licensed occupational therapists independently rated performance across three domains (attitude, interview skills, evaluation). Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, inter-rater agreement using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs; absolute-agreement definition), and Bland–Altman analysis was used to quantify rater agreement and assess fixed or proportional bias in total scores.Results: Scenario-specific inter-rater agreement for the total score ranged from 0.761 to 0.929 across the three scenarios. Domain-level ICCs ranged from 0.584 to 0.892 for attitude, 0.510 to 0.825 for interview skills, and 0.794 to 0.979 for evaluation. Pooled descriptive summaries showed high internal consistency for all domains (Cronbach’s α = 0.850–0.887) and for total scores (α = 0.816–0.817). Bland–Altman analysis showed a small mean difference between raters (0.18) and 95% limits of agreement from –2.35 to 2.71.Discussion: This behaviourally anchored checklist/rubric showed high internal consistency and acceptable inter-rater agreement for scoring intake interview performance in a single-station context. By operationalising interpersonal competencies as observable behaviours, the instrument may support rater calibration and structured formative feedback, including in settings where multi-station OSCE examinations are not feasible.

Abstract Introduction Evaluating clinical competencies in mental health occupational therapy is hampered by the lack of standardized assessment tools. Intake interviews are particularly difficult to assess because of their interpersonal and observational nature. This study developed an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) for intake interviews in mental health occupational therapy education and examined its reliability. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 60 third-year occupational therapy students from two Japanese universities each completed one OSCE station using one of three standardized patient scenarios based on common psychiatric presentations. Performance was rated on a 16-item, behaviorally anchored scale across three domains (attitudes, skills, evaluation) by two occupational therapists. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, and inter-rater reliability using intraclass correlation coefficients; agreement on total scores was examined with Bland–Altman analysis. Results Internal consistency was high for all domains (Cronbach’s α = 0.850–0.887) and for the total scores (α = 0.816 and 0.817). Inter-rater reliability ranged from moderate to excellent across domains (ICC = 0.670–0.900) and was substantial for the total score (ICC = 0.854, p < 0.001). Bland–Altman analysis showed a small mean difference between raters and narrow 95% limits of agreement. Discussion This OSCE showed high internal consistency and acceptable inter-rater agreement in assessing complex competencies such as empathy and professionalism. By translating abstract interpersonal skills into observable behaviors, it may provide a practical framework for structured formative feedback. Further studies with larger and more diverse samples are needed to confirm its validity and applicability.

This study examined the relationship between alpha activity fluctuations in resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scores. A novel approach was introduced using second-order derivatives of the alpha envelope to identify potential functional biomarkers for depression and anxiety conditions. Two 30-s eyes-closed epochs of 64-channel EEG data were collected from open dataset of 113 college-aged participants with the BDI and STAI scores. Metrics including mean positive (Ap) and negative (An) second-order derivatives, the Ap-An ratio, root mean square (RMS), and peak frequency of the alpha envelope were extracted. Correlations between these EEG metrics and scores on the BDI and STAI were analyzed. BDI (Spearman's rank correlation, rs = 0.253-0.304,) and STAI (rs = 0.222-0.339) scores showed significant but weak positive correlations with the Ap-An ratio, in the left frontal regions ( P  < .05, FDR-corrected). No significant correlation was found between envelope amplitude and either score. The Ap-An ratio at the frontal, temporal, and central electrodes, and peak alpha frequency at the electrodes including the parietal and occipital regions, were significantly higher in participants with BDI scores above 10 compared to those with scores of 10 or below ( P  < .05, FDR, Mann-Whitney U test). These findings suggest that the second-order derivatives of alpha envelope may serve as functional biomarkers for psychiatric disorders, differently from the frequency and amplitude. Further research is needed to confirm whether these EEG features reflect regional neural activity, such as excitatory and inhibitory activities.