Measurement of the Intolerance to Uncertainty in Osteopaths

Measurement and Evolution of the Intolerance to Uncertainty in Osteopaths and Osteopathic Students: a Longitudinal Study

Clinical reasoning is a challenging, complex, multi-dimensional, essentially introspective and poorly understood cognitive process, as well as a crucial skill for osteopaths and health professionals. It can be agreed that this includes diagnosing the patient's condition, making therapeutic decisions to improve that condition, and the practitioner's ability to assess the patient's prognosis. Individual clinical expertise is acquired through experience. Each healthcare professional develops their own approach to problem-solving and decision-making, influenced by factors such as personality, preferences, clinical perception, and professional practices. It is important to be aware that certain factors can influence their judgement and potentially affect the quality of their work. It is possible that certain factors may influence their judgement and potentially lead to errors in their decision-making, as they can be influenced by cognitive biases such as intolerance of uncertainty. Uncertainty intolerance is defined as a personal disposition characterised by negative beliefs about uncertainty and its consequences, coupled with an underlying apprehension about the unknown. Uncertainty affects the behaviour of individuals by creating a need for certainty, which in turn affects the clinical reasoning and decision-making of healthcare professionals.

The objective of this study is to assess the level of intolerance to uncertainty among osteopathic students and osteopaths using an online self-report questionnaire. A second questionnaire will be sent out six months after the first, allowing to assess individual changes in this intolerance over time. Furthermore, the impact of being a graduate, anxiety and the type of osteopath responding to the questionnaire will be examined. The final measure will be evaluated using a classification method called latent class analysis. This will be based on responses to questions about their relationship to evidence-based practice, dogmatism and their thoughts about the impact of osteopathic treatment.

The aim of this study is to carry out a psychometric validation of the intolerance to uncertainty questionnaire on a population of osteopaths.

Study Overview

• Status: Enrolling by invitation
• Conditions: Cognition of Osteopath

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 400

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• France
  • saint Herblain, France, 44800
    • IDHEO nantes

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Students are selected in three different fench schools of osteopathy, and osteopaths are selected from among former graduates of these schools.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Student in osteopathy (3rd, 4th or 5th year) or have a diploma in osteopathy
• Provide an informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients refusing to take part in the study.
• Pregnant women
• Patients under legal protection
• Patients who are protected adults or adults unable to express their consent.
• Withdrawal of consent to participate in the study

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
osteopath; Participants should be osteopaths or students in osteopathy. They need to understand french and give their consent before answering questionnaire.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Intolerance to uncertainty	Total score of the questionnaire: Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale in Health (IUS-12-H), consisting of 12 questions. Participants answer on a Likert scale ranging from "not at all characteristic of me" (1), "somewhat characteristic of me" (2), "somewhat characteristic of me" (3), "very characteristic of me" (4), and "very characteristic of me" (5). The score ranges from 12 (no intolerance of uncertainty) to 60 (great intolerance of uncertainty).	at enrollement

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Change in Intolerance to uncertainty	From enrollement to the second assessment, six mounth later.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Institut des Hautes Etudes Osteopathiques de Nantes
• Collaborators: ad hoc lab; CEESO paris; IOR B

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 15, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 15, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): May 31, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 18, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 18, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): November 19, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): November 21, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 19, 2024
• Last Verified: November 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: MICO

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: all IPD collected throughout the trial
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: From publication of the results to 5 years after this publication.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: By emailing the corresponding author with a research plan.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ANALYTIC_CODE

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No