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Credit transfer information systems in higher education are not well studied. This article demonstrates the prototype development of a cross-institutional credit transfer information system (CICIS) for community college transfer (i.e., vertical transfer) students in an Asian educational context. It exhibits credit transfer guidelines and past credit transfer records to enhance the transparency and sustainability of credit transfer information and to facilitate the transfer process of prospective community college transfer students. It also ensures the sustainability of credit transfer information and its application. The four-phase life cycle of the prototyping model was adopted to guide the study. In this paper, we report the first three phases of this development: (1) Users’ needs assessment and pre-prototyping groundwork, (2) prototype development, and (3) unforeseen circumstances and expert review. Challenges and difficulties throughout the whole process are documented and discussed. Based on this prototype development experience, a solid foundation of strategies for future engineering and enhancement of credit transfer information systems can be developed.

This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) towards coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among South Asians in Hong Kong and examined the factors that affect KAP towards COVID-19 in this population. This cross-sectional descriptive study recruited participants with assistance from South Asian community centres and organisations. A total of 352 participants completed questionnaires to assess their level of KAP towards COVID-19. The mean knowledge score was 5.38/10, indicating a relatively low knowledge level. The participants expressed certain misconceptions regarding the prevention of COVID-19 infection. They perceived a mild risk related to the disease, had positive attitudes regarding its prevention and often implemented recommended disease-preventive measures, such as maintaining social distance (88.1%) and wearing masks in public (94.3%). Participants who were male, had a secondary school education or lower and who perceived a lower risk of being infected and lower self-efficacy were less likely to implement preventive measures. Culturally and linguistically appropriate health education could be developed to increase the knowledge of South Asians, especially those with lower education levels, about COVID-19 and to encourage them to implement the necessary preventive measures.

Outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have affected populations worldwide. Our literature review summarises the studies reporting psychological issues among healthcare staff and infected patients in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan during these two outbreaks and the potential strategies for addressing these issues. Our review shows that patients and healthcare staff presented similar psychological symptoms, including anxiety, fear, distress, and depression, which may lead to stress-related complications such as insomnia. In patients, these psychological impairments can be contributed to by being quarantined, perceptions of threats to life, and uncertainty about health status. Quarantine is also a factor for distress among healthcare staff, together with their heavy workload, the fear that they and their families would become infected, witnessing their patients’ poor and deteriorating conditions, and the requirement to wear protective gear. Strategies that are needed to address these factors include providing counselling services, implementing mindfulness-based therapies and optimism interventions, and providing telecommunication facilities for patients to communicate with their families. Healthcare staff should also be provided with these services, together with appropriate and flexible work shift arrangements and morale boosting. These strategies would improve not only the mental well-being of patients and healthcare staff, but also the self-efficacy and competence of the staff to provide quality healthcare services.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major health problem in Asia. It has been reported that the Chinese are more susceptible to CRC than many other ethnic groups. Screening for CRC is a cost-effective prevention and control strategy; however, the screening rates among the Chinese are sub-optimal. We conducted a review to identify the factors associated with CRC screening participation among Chinese people. Twenty-two studies that examined the factors related to CRC screening behaviors among the Chinese were identified through five databases. Seven factors were consistently reported to influence CRC screening behaviors in at least one of the studies: socio-demographic characteristics (educational level, health insurance, and knowledge about CRC and its screening); psychological factors (perceived severity of CRC, susceptibility of having CRC, and barriers to screening); and contact with medical provider (physician recommendation). The evidence base for many of these relationships is quite limited. Furthermore, the associations of many factors, including age, gender, income, cancer worry/fear, and self-efficacy with CRC screening behaviors, were mixed or inconsistent across these studies, thereby indicating that more studies are needed in this area.