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Vor der China International Import Expo (CIIE) im November 2021 führten wir eine Studie mit Geschäftsleuten aus Brasilien, Mexiko und Deutschland durch, die eine auf Verhandlungen mit Chinesen ausgerichtete Fortbildung angefragt hatten, um gut auf diese Messe vorbereitet zu sein. Um mehr über deren besonderen Bedürfnisse herauszufinden, verteilten wir einen Fragebogen vor dem Verhandlungstraining, in dem wir ihre Ansichten über Verhandlungen im Allgemeinen und ihre genauen Bedürfnisse in Bezug auf Verhandlungen mit chinesischen Geschäftsleuten erfragten. Unserer Analyse der 57 Rückantworten zufolge interessierten sich die befragten Geschäftsleute am meisten für die Entwicklung von Verhandlungsdenken, den Umgang mit vertragsbezogenen Themen und den Aufbau von Vertrauen und stabilen Geschäftsbeziehungen. Hinsichtlich der Verhandlungen mit chinesischen Geschäftsleuten legten die Teilnehmer einen besonderen Fokus auf das Erkennen von Entscheidungsträgern im chinesischen Verhandlungsteam, den Umgang mit rechtlichen Belangen in Verhandlungen und die typisch chinesischen moralischen Wertvorstellungen in Bezug auf das Geschäftsleben. In Kooperation mit dem Trainingsanbieter wurden unsere Studienergebnisse dazu verwendet, um das nachfolgende Training auf die Bedürfnisse der zukünftigen Teilnehmer zuzuschneiden. Um die Auswirkungen eines solchen modifizierten Trainings zu untersuchen, baten wir die ehemaligen Fortbildungsteilnehmer – nach der Gelegenheit, das Gelernte im realen Umfeld der CIIE anzuwenden – in einem zweiten Fragebogen verschiedene Aspekte ihres Trainings zu evaluieren und sich zu zukünftigen Fortbildungsinteressen zu äußern. Das äußerst positive Feedback der 49 Umfrageteilnehmer bestärkt unsere Annahme, dass die Inhalte von Verhandlungstrainings auf die Bedürfnisse der Teilnehmer zugeschnitten sein sollten und dass wir einen möglichen Weg aufgezeigt haben, wie solche Daten erhoben und evaluiert werden können.

State mental health authorities (SMHAs) in all U.S. states and territories administer the Mental Health Block Grant (MHBG) set-aside funding for first-episode psychosis. Funds support implementation of coordinated specialty care (CSC) programs. The authors investigated the relationship between the level of SMHA involvement with CSC programs and clinical outcomes of clients in these programs. As part of a mixed-methods study of 34 CSC programs, SMHAs from 21 states and one U.S. territory associated with the 34 CSC programs participated in a 1-hour interview (between November 2018 and May 2019) focused on SMHA involvement in administration of MHBG set-aside funds and the SMHA's ongoing relationship with funded CSC programs. SMHA involvement was rated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 indicating the highest involvement. Client outcome data were collected at the 34 study sites over an 18-month period. Multilevel random-effect modeling was used, controlling for response propensity (propensity score), client demographic variables, and program-level covariates (i.e., fidelity score, staff turnover rates, service area urbanicity, and number of clients enrolled). Clients in CSC programs with SMHAs that were the most involved (level 5) had significantly improved symptoms, social functioning, and role functioning, compared with clients in programs with which SMHAs were least involved (level 1). The findings suggest that increased SMHA involvement in CSC programs is relevant for positive client outcomes. Levels of first-episode psychosis funding doubled in 2021 and 2022, and it is important to identify how SMHAs affect the success of CSC programs and the individuals served. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cancer-related fatigue and its associated symptoms of sleep disorder and depression are prevalent in cancer survivors especially among breast, lung, and colorectal cancer survivors. While there is no gold standard for treating cancer-related fatigue currently, studies of mind-body exercises such as Qigong have reported promise in reducing symptoms. This study was designed to evaluate the feasibility and effect of Guolin Qigong on cancer-related fatigue and other symptoms in breast, lung and colorectal cancer survivors while exploring their perceptions and experiences of Guolin Qigong intervention., Methods: This is an open-label randomized controlled trial with 60 participants divided into 2 study groups in a 1:1 ratio. The intervention group will receive 12 weeks of Guolin Qigong intervention with a 4-week follow-up while control will receive usual care under waitlist. The primary outcome will be feasibility measured based on recruitment and retention rates, class attendance, home practice adherence, nature, and quantum of missing data as well as safety. The secondary subjective outcomes of fatigue, sleep quality and depression will be measured at Week-1 (baseline), Week-6 (mid-intervention), Week-12 (post-intervention), and Week-16 (4 weeks post-intervention) while an objective 24-hour urine cortisol will be measured at Week-1 (baseline) and Week-12 (post-intervention). We will conduct a semi-structured interview individually with participants within 3 months after Week-16 (4 weeks post-intervention) to obtain a more comprehensive view of practice adherence., Discussion: This is the first mixed-method study to investigate the feasibility and effect of Guolin Qigong on breast, lung, and colorectal cancer survivors to provide a comprehensive understanding of Guolin Qigong's intervention impact and participants' perspectives. The interdisciplinary collaboration between Western Medicine and Chinese Medicine expertise of this study ensures robust study design, enhanced participant care, rigorous data analysis, and meaningful interpretation of results. This innovative research contributes to the field of oncology and may guide future evidence-based mind-body interventions to improve cancer survivorship., Trial Registration: This study has been registered with ANZCTR (ACTRN12622000688785p), was approved by Medical Research Ethic Committee of University Malaya Medical Centre (MREC ID NO: 2022323-11092) and recognized by Western Sydney University Human Research Ethics Committee (RH15124)., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Background: Fatigue is a common source of distress for cancer survivors. The severity of cancer-related fatigue varies significantly, which may be due to individual differences in host factors., Aim: This cross-sectional study aims to explore how demographic, oncological, sociological, psychological, and stress-related hormones levels interact to influence the distinct experiences of fatigue (Cancer-related fatigue [CRF] occurrence and fatigue degree)., Methods: A cross-sectional study carried out at the oncology outpatient and ward department of Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences recruited 306 cancer patients between January 2021 to December 2021. General information, fatigue, psychological factors was evaluated by general information questionnaire, the Revised Piper's Fatigue Scale-Chinese Version (RPFS-CV), and the self-report Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Stress-related hormones were measured with chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay (Zhengzhou Antobio)., Results: 306 patients were included, 229 (74.8%) were diagnosed with CRF, including 94 (41.0%) with mild fatigue, 121 (52.8%) with moderate fatigue, and 14 (6.1%) with severe fatigue. Multivariate regression analysis showed that higher depression scores, aldosterone levels may increase the risk of CRF. Patients who are obese (Body mass index ≥ 28 kg/m 2 ) may help to reduce the risk of CRF. Other contributing factors for increased levels of fatigue ( p < 0.05) include being female, having anxiety, depression and high aldosterone levels., Conclusion: The research suggested that CRF was a common symptom in cancer survivors and pay attention to these influencing factors may help to better identify patients susceptible to fatigue and provide long-term, targeted interventions., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Gu, Xu, Zhu, Lam, Yi, Gong, Wang, Guo, Fu, Shi, Wang and Liu.)