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Background Financial incentive is increasingly used as a mean to promote preventive care utilization (PCU), but the current Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme (EHCVS) in Hong Kong is ineffective for encouraging PCU. Objective To explore the older people's barriers to PCU and their views on financial incentive, including EHCVS, for improving private PCU. Design and setting Focus-group discussions were conducted in community elderly centres located in five districts of Hong Kong. Participants Community-dwelling older people aged 60 years or above. Results Lack of understanding about preventive care and low awareness of the need for preventive care were key factors for the low motivation for PCU. Uncertainty over the level of service fee charged and concerns over service quality hindered the choice of using the private service providers under the current EHCVS. Financial incentives specific for preventive care services were thought to be cues to actions and guides for service promotion. However, some flexibility in service coverage and a set time limit of the financial incentives were preferred to accommodate individual needs. Conclusions Apart from promoting knowledge of preventive care, official monitoring for service fee and quality is important for empowering older people to choose private service providers for preventive care. Financial incentives for preventive care services should be more specific to cue service promotion and uptake of preventive care while maintaining flexibility to accommodate individual needs. Patient or public contribution Participants were recruited using purposive sampling with the coordination of community elderly centres. Data were analysed using thematic coding.

Herein, norbornyl (NB), a bulky annular nonconjugated spacer, is melded into π systems to construct two groups of ladder-type room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) luminogens. The effect of the NB on π-π interactions, packing modes and RTP performance is explored systematically. The experimental and computational results demonstrate the versatility of NB in reducing π-π distances and synergistically intensifying the intermolecular interactions, which not only induces intersystem crossing from S1 to Tn but also diminishes the nonradiative decay of triplet excitons. Impressively, 1800-fold phosphorescence lifetime enhancement is achieved in comparison with the reference compounds without NB. The molecular packing and RTP performance can be further modulated by the length of the backbones and terminal end-groups. It is quite peculiar that NB-annulated phthalic acid exhibits reversible photochromism in the solid state, likely due to the formation of persistent radical pairs. Our study paves an ingenious avenue towards enhancing intermolecular interactions and provides significant implications for a better comprehensive understanding of the origin of their RTP and the inherent photophysical mechanism.

Mechanoluminescence (ML) and room-temperature photophosphorescence (RTP) were achieved in polymorphisms of a triphenylamine derivative with ortho-substitution. This molecular packing-dependent emission afforded crucial information to deeply understand the intrinsic mechanism of different emission forms and the possible packing-function relationship. With the incorporation of solid-state 13 C NMR spectra of single crystals, as well as the analysis of crystal structures, the preferred packing modes for ML and/or RTP were investigated in detail, which can guide the reasonable design of organic molecules with special light-emission properties.

Background The 15q11‐q13 region contains three breakpoints (BP1 to BP3), and copy number variations often occur in the region. Aims 15q11‐q13 microdeletion and microduplication are usually associated with Prader‐Willi and Angelman syndromes, respectively. It is not yet clear to what extent microdeletion and microduplication affect the physical health of the fetus and the child. In this study, we examined seven fetuses ranging in gestational age from 15 to 27 weeks. Materials & Methods Detailed prenatal screening and laboratory examinations were performed, while karyotype analysis and chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) of the amniotic fluid and umbilical cord blood were applied for genetic analysis. Results CMA analysis showed that four fetuses harbored a microdeletion and one fetus showed a microduplication at 15q11.2 BP1‐BP2, two fetuses had a microdeletion at 15q11‐q13 BP2‐BP3, and one fetus had an additional microdeletion at 16p13.11. Discussion There is no clear standard for the clinical diagnosis of 15q11‐q13 microdeletion and microduplication, some of them have clinical phenotypes or are clinically affected. Conclusion Therefore, parents of such fetuses should be informed of the possibility of microdeletions or microduplications to mitigate the psychological burden, and medical consultation and assistance should be provided when communicating the results of the mid‐gestation screening., All seven fetal cases in this report have 15q11‐q13 microdeletions and microduplications of different sizes, but not all of them have clinical phenotypes or are clinically affected.

Objective The decisional conflict scale (DCS) measures the perception of uncertainty in choosing options, factors contributing to decision conflict and effective decision making. This study examined the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the DCS in Hong Kong Chinese women deciding breast cancer (BC) surgery. Method A Chinese version of the 16-item DCS was administered to 471 women awaiting initial consultation for BC diagnosis. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) assessed the factor structure. Internal consistency, and convergent and discriminant validities of the factor structure were assessed. Results CFA revealed the original factor structure of the DCS showed poor fit to this sample. Exploratory factor analysis revealed an alternative three-factor structure, Informed and Values Clarity, Uncertainty and Effective Decision and Support, was optimal. Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.51 to 0.87. Correlations between decision-making difficulties and satisfaction with medical consultation demonstrated acceptable convergent validity. Construct validity was supported by correlations between decision regret and psychological distress. Discriminant validity was supported by differentiation between delaying and non-delaying decision-makers. Conclusions The three-factor DCS-14 is a valid and practical measure for assessing decisional conflict in deciding BC surgery. It shows good potential for use in assessing decision satisfaction for women diagnosed with BC.

Human H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) infection is associated with intimate exposure to live poultry. Perceptions of risk can modify behaviors, influencing actual exposure. However, greater hazard is not necessarily followed by perception of greater risk and more precautionary behavior because self-serving cognitive biases modulate precautionary and hazardous behaviors. We examined risk perception associated with avian influenza. A total of 1,550 face-to-face within-household interviews and 1,760 telephone interviews were derived to study avian influenza risk perception and live poultry use in Guangzhou and Hong Kong, respectively. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests assessed bivariate associations and risk distributions, respectively, and fully adjusted multivariate logistic models determined independent risk associations. Relative to Hong Kong, perceived "generalized" risk from buying live poultry (GZ, 58%, 95% confidence interval 55-60% vs. HK, 41%, 39-43%; chi(2)= 86.95, df = 1, p < 0.001) and perceived self/family risk from buying (z =-2.092, p = 0.036) were higher in Guangzhou. Higher perceived "generalized" risk was associated with not buying live poultry (OR = 0.65, 0.49-0.85), consistent with the pattern seen in Hong Kong, while perceived higher self/family risk was associated with buying ("likely/very likely/certain" OR = 1.74, 1.18-2.59); no such association was seen in Hong Kong. Multivariate adjustment indicated older age was associated with buying live poultry in Guangzhou (OR = 2.91, 1.36-6.25). Guangzhou respondents perceived greater risk relative to Hong Kong. Buying live poultry was associated with perceptions of less "generalized" risk but more self/family risk. Higher generalized risk was associated with fewer live poultry purchases, suggesting generalized risk may be a useful indicator of precautionary HPAI risk behavior.