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A Dust explosion that injured 499 patients occurred on June 27, 2015 in Taiwan. This tragedy inundated hospitals across northern Taiwan with an unprecedented number of burn patients. It caused extreme pressure and challenges for nurses. The purpose of this study is to investigate factors associated with nurses' work stress, resilience, and professional quality of life in caring for dust exposure patients. A cross-sectional survey data was collected from nurses in caring for dust explosion patients. A total of 83 nurses in burn unit, plastic surgery ward, and reconstructive microsurgery unit returned valid data for analysis. Structured questionnaires included demographic inventory, Nurse Stress Checklist, Connor Davidson Resilience Scale, and Professional Quality of Life Scale version 5. The study results showed that work stress deteriorated the professional quality of life, while resilience was a protective factor. Significant positive relationships were observed between work stress, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. Results of hierarchical regression analysis indicated that resilience helps to ease the deterioration effect of secondary traumatic stress. Results confirm the importance of both work stress and resilience in explaining aspects of professional quality of life. More importantly, resilience was shown as a significant variable impacting level of secondary trauma stress. Intervention in promoting resilience should be targeted in order to reduce secondary trauma among nurses after facing disastrous mass causality incidents.

Backgrounds: Gynaecological cancer survivors may develop lower limb lymphoedema after surgery, which negatively impacts quality of life. The purposes of this study were (1) to assess the levels of symptom distress, depression, body image, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL); (2) to recognize factors associated with HRQoL related in gynaecologic cancer survivors with lower limb lymphoedema. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with convenience sampling of gynaecologic cancer survivors with lower limb lymphoedema. Gynaecologic cancer survivors were assessed for symptom distress, depression, body image, and HRQoL. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to recognize the factors associated with HRQoL. Independent-samples t-test was used to compare symptom distress, depression, body image, and HRQoL by grade of lymphoedema. Results: The most common distressing symptoms of lower limb lymphoedema were lower extremity oedema, lower extremity tightness, and lower extremity stiffness. Worse HRQoL was associated with more symptom distress, less satisfaction with body image, a high grade of lymphoedema, and a longer duration of lower limb lymphoedema. These factors explained 76.5% of the variance in HRQoL. Gynaecologic cancer survivors with late grade lymphoedema experienced lower HRQoL and higher levels of symptom distress, depression, and greater dissatisfaction with body image than those who had early grade lymphoedema. Conclusions: Symptom distress had the strongest association with overall HRQoL and with all individual domains of HRQoL, except mental function. These results suggest that educating gynaecologic cancer survivors to assess lower limb lymphoedema-related problems, providing symptom management, and guiding survivors in physical activity to relieve lower extremity discomfort can improve HRQoL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taiwan had the second highest number globally of end-stage renal disease patients undergoing treatment in 2018. A meta-analysis of Chen et al. (2021) showed the incidence and mortality rates of COVID-19 were 7.7% and 22.4%, respectively. Few studies have explored the effects of patients' self-participation and perceptions of hemodialysis on their quality of life. This study aimed to explore the factors related to hemodialysis patients' quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study was a descriptive correlational study. Patients were recruited (n = 298) from the hemodialysis unit of a medical center in northern Taiwan. Variables included patients' sociodemographic, psychological, spiritual, and clinical characteristics (i.e., perceived health level, comorbidities, hemodialysis duration, weekly frequency, transportation, and accompaniment during hemodialysis), perceptions of hemodialysis, self-participation in hemodialysis, and health-related quality of life (KDQOL-36 scale). Data were analyzed using descriptive and bivariate and multivariate linear regression. Multivariate linear regression, after adjusting for covariates, showed that anxiety, self-perceived health status, two vs. four comorbidities, and self-participation in hemodialysis were significantly associated with quality of life. The overall model was significant and accounted for 52.2% (R2 = 0.522) of the variance in quality of life during hemodialysis (adjusted R2 = 0.480). In conclusion, the quality of life of hemodialysis patients with mild, moderate, or severe anxiety was poorer, whereas that of patients with fewer comorbidities, higher self-perceived health status, and higher self-participation in hemodialysis was better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which examines the adaptation of probation period of employment on the aboriginal nursing student graduates in health care institutions in Taiwan. It mentions the confidence and influences felt by these student graduates in their job which incited them to engage with leisure and social activities to cope with their stresses following the probation period. It also notes their willingness to seek for solutions when facing difficulties during their employment.