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The differences of basic attributes, health promotion behaviors, and quality of life between elderly males and females in Taiwan were compared. Several scales were used to examine the gender differences and the factors associated with quality of life. Regression analysis revealed that gender, education level, depression level, and healthy diet were key factors influencing the overall quality of life. The education level of females was lower, and their depression level was higher; however, females had healthier diets. With regards to their satisfaction in the quality of life, elderly males scored higher than females in both the physical and psychological domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: To investigate the distribution and risk factors associated with undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnoea among hypertensive patients. Background: Obstructive sleep Apnoea has been deemed a cardinal risk factor affecting cardiovascular event, and the condition is still frequently overlooked clinically. The lack of advanced diagnosis often causes hypertensive patients with obstructive sleep apnoea to miss opportunities for preventing chronic diseases. Design: A cross‐sectional design. Methods: A total of 215 hypertensive participants were recruited from the cardiovascular outpatients of medical centre in northern and middle Taiwan. The Chinese version of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Chinese version of the Epworth Sleep Scale and a portable sleep monitoring device were used for data collection. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the factors affecting hypertensive patients with obstructive sleep apnoea, and a multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to examine the major influence factors for each obstructive sleep apnoea severity level. Results: 81.9% of the hypertensive participants were found having obstructive sleep apnoea. Concerning to the obstructive sleep apnoea severity, 50.0% of participants had mild obstructive sleep apnoea. After controlling the confounding variables, the supine position (odds ratio, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.01–1.07), SO2 (odds ratio, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.38–0.89) and oxygen desaturation index (odds ratio, 2.70; 95% CI, 1.18–6.18) were significantly associated with obstructive sleep apnoea. Furthermore, severe obstructive sleep apnoea was significantly correlated with gender (odds ratio, 0.04; 95% CI, 0.00–0.66), excessive daytime sleepiness (odds ratio, 20.27; 95% CI, 1.58–26.97) and oxygen desaturation index (odds ratio, 4.05; 95% CI, 1.86–8.81). Conclusions: Nearly 82% of the hypertensive participants were found having undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnoea, and 80% of them were mild or moderate severity. Oxygen desaturation index, SO2 and the supine position were found to be major predictors for obstructive sleep apnoea. Remarkably, oxygen desaturation index was the most significant predictor for mild, moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnoea. Relevance to clinical practice: Healthcare providers should enhance their sensitivities to hypertensive patients at a high risk for obstructive sleep apnoea by actively assessing common obstructive sleep apnoea symptoms and providing strategies to alleviate obstructive sleep apnoea symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives. To examine the psychometric properties of the Menopausal Symptoms Distress Affecting Sleep Quality Scale. Background. Sleep disturbances are an extensive and common problem among menopausal women. However, no unique and specific scale has yet been developed to detect the inductive symptoms distresses that cause poor sleep quality for menopausal women. Design. A cross-sectional design. Methods. The Menopausal Symptoms Distress Affecting Sleep Quality Scale was based on in-depth interviews with menopausal women and literature review. Convenience sampling was employed. One hundred and fifty three women participated in this study. Exploratory factor analysis, concurrent validity and contrasting group validity were used to examine the validity of the Menopausal Symptoms Distress Affecting Sleep Quality Scale. Cronbach's a was conducted to test the reliability. The accuracy of the scale was analysed with the receiver operating characteristic from MED CALC version 10.4.8.0 software. The scale's sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value were analysed to locate the best cut-off point. Results. One factor was generated by Exploratory factor analysis, and this factor explained 49-07% of total variance. In addition, the Menopausal Symptoms Distress Affecting Sleep Quality Scale had significant positive correlations with the Greene Climacteric Scale and the self-evaluation of menopausal symptoms scale. Cronbach's a of the Menopausal Symptoms Distress Affecting Sleep Quality Scale was 0-89. Moreover, the diagnostic accuracy probability of the scale's receiver operating characteristic curve was 0-85. The best cut-off point was three with a sensitivity of 76% and a specificity of 87%. Conclusions. The Menopausal Symptoms Distress Affecting Sleep Quality Scale had good reliability and validity, as well as refined indicators for assessing the tool's accuracy. Relevance to clinical Practice. The Menopausal Symptoms Distress Affecting Sleep Quality Scale is easy to use, can quickly detect the sleep conditions of menopausal women who suffer from menopausal symptom distress, and provide efficient nursing interventions to relieve menopausal symptom distresses, and then improve sleep quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Culture serves as an adhesive to bind the lives of people. There are no objective, useful tools to assess cultural competence and practice. In this study, we evaluated whether the cultural competence of nurses was strengthened through the Cultural Competence Cultivation Programme. Methods: A quasi-experimental research design was used to evaluate nurses working at a medical centre in Taiwan. They were randomly allocated into an experimental group (n = 47), which received the Cultural Competence Cultivation Programme, or a control group (n = 50), which did not receive the educational programme. After the intervention, learning efficacy of the participants was assessed using an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). The research data were statistically analysed on SPSS. Results: The average score of the experimental group was significantly higher in the 'communication ability and skill' category. Furthermore, OSCE scores and Standardised Patient Survey assessment and total scores were significantly and positively correlated. Conclusion: The findings of this study can serve as a reference for designing future clinical education programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]