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Aims and objectives: This study's purpose was to identify the correlates of sleep quality in older adults with chronic disease. Background: Sleep quality is a common problem in older adults that may be affected by physical and mental status. Design: A cross‐sectional correlational design was employed. Methods: The study was conducted between July 2019 and April 2020 in a teaching hospital of southern Taiwan. The Geriatric Depression Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Numerical Rating Scale were used to assess depression, sleep quality and physical pain respectively. Results: Of the 120 older adults (age >65 years) with chronic disease, the average Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score was 5.67. A total of 45.8% subjects had sleep disturbance. Older adults who were living with a partner and those who urinated at night were significantly more likely to report sleep disturbance. The presence of sleep disturbance was associated with greater levels of depression and higher levels of physical pain. Conclusion: Living with a partner, nocturia, physical pain and depression were associated with the presence of sleep disturbance in older adults with chronic disease. Relevance to clinical practice: The results of this study can help healthcare providers understand the factors associated with sleep disturbance in older adults with chronic disease, thereby facilitating the early resolution of sleep disturbance issues in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The conventional written tests and professional assessment have limitation in fair judgement of clinical competence. Because the examiners may not have total objectivity and may lack standardization throughout the assessment process. We sought to design a valid method of competence assessment in medical and nursing specialties. This work was aimed to develop an Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) to evaluate novice nursing practitioners' clinical competency, work stress, professional confidence, and career satisfaction. Methods: A Quasi-experimental study (pre-post). Fifty-five novice nursing practitioners received the OSCE three-months following their graduation, which consisted of four stations: history taking, physical examination, problem-directed management, interpersonal communication, and the required techniques of related procedures. The examiners had to complete an assessment checklist, and the participants had to complete a pre-post questionnaire (modified from a Nursing Competency Questionnaire, a Stress scale, and Satisfaction with Learning scale). Results: Among the novice nursing practitioners, 41 of them (74.5 %) passed the exam with a mean score of 61.38 ± 8.34. There was a significantly higher passing rate among nurses who were working in medical-surgical wards (85.7 %) and the intensive care unit-emergency department (77.8 %) compared to novice nursing practitioners working in other units. All the novice nursing practitioners at Station A had poor performance in assessing patients with a fever. OSCE performance was more associated with educational attainment and work unit, rather than the gender. Finally, the participants showed statistically significant increases in their clinical competency, confidence in their professional competence, satisfaction with the clinical practice, and decreased work stress after the OSCE. Conclusions: We found that the OSCE process had a positive educational effect, in providing a meaningful and accurate assessment of the competence of novice nursing practitioners. An appropriate OSCE program is vital for novice nursing practitioners, educators, and administrators. The effective application of OSCEs can help novice nursing practitioners gain confidence in their clinical skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Informed consent is essential for the ethical conduct of clinical research and is a culturally sensitive issue. But, a measurable Chinese version of the scale to evaluate the informed consent process has not yet been explored in the existing literature. Research objectives: This study aimed to develop and psychometrically test the Chinese version of the Informed Consent Process Scale. Research design: Back-translation was conducted to develop the Chinese version of the questionnaire. A cross-sectional survey was administered, after which an exploratory factor analysis was conducted. Participants: We recruited a total of 375 participants who had experience in signing an informed consent form within the previous 3 years in Taiwan. Ethical considerations: This study was approved by two Institutional Review Boards and the autonomy of the participants was respected. Findings: The Chinese version of the Informed Consent Process Scale is composed of three factors with 23 items showing evidence of acceptable reliability and validity. Three major factors were extracted and labeled: Factor 1 – 'Understanding of the research', Factor 2 – 'Trust and confidence' and Factor 3 – 'Doubt and uncertainty'. The three factors accounted for is 52.954 of the total variance with Cronbach's α of.917. Discussion and conclusion: The finding corroborates previous studies showing that participants had too little understanding on the informed consent forms they signed and implied the need to clarify the critical points in clinical research. The psychometric results indicated good internal consistency and validity for this newly constructed instrument, and it was found worthy of conducting further testing and application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ensuring the delivery of quality care and patient safety requires that nurses improve their self-reflection and insight as well as their critical thinking. To understand the factors that influence self-reflection, insight, and critical thinking, more evidence-based research is needed. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine whether professional qualifications (i.e. age, years of job experience, and position on the clinical ladder) would affect self-reflection and critical thinking in the experienced registered nurses (RNs) group. Methods: This quantitative and correlational study included 597 RNs (297 novice nurses and 300 experienced nurses), recruited from one medical center hospital in central Taiwan, as participants. Data were collected on self-reflection and critical thinking, using the Chinese-version of the Self-Reflection and Insight Scale and the Taiwan Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory. A structural equation modeling approach was used to examine the relationships among variables. Findings: The results showed a non-significant mean difference in self-reflection with insight scores between the two groups. Experienced RNs had a significantly higher mean score for critical thinking. Further analysis of the data of experienced nurses revealed that self-reflection with insight significantly affected critical thinking (β = 0.24, t = 4.141, p <.001). Qualifications also affected self-reflection with insight (β = 0.11, t = 1.808, p >.05) and critical thinking (β = 0.18, t = 3.143, p <.001). The correlation between qualifications and self-reflection with insight, however, was non-significant. Discussion: Nurses who perceived that they had greater self-reflection and insight reported more critical thinking in clinical care practice. Nurses' qualifications had more of an effect on critical thinking than on self-reflection and insight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of caring behaviours on critical thinking and to examine whether self‐reflection mediates the effect of caring on critical thinking. We also tested whether caring behaviours moderated the relationship between self‐reflection and critical thinking. Methods: For this descriptive, correlational, cross‐sectional study, we recruited 293 fifth‐year nursing students from a junior college in southern Taiwan. Data were collected in 2014 on critical thinking, caring behaviours and self‐reflection with insight using the Taiwan Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory, a Chinese version of the Caring Assessment Report Evaluation Q‐sort, and a Chinese version of the Self‐Reflection and Insight Scale, respectively. Relationships among variables were analysed by structural equation modelling, with the partial least squares method and Sobel test. Results: The results showed that caring behaviours significantly positively affected critical thinking (β = 0.56, t = 12.37, p < 0.001) and self‐reflection with insight (β = 0.54, t = 11.99, p < 0.001). Self‐reflection and insight significantly positively affected critical thinking (β = 0.34, t = 6.48, p < 0.001). Further, self‐reflection and insight mediated the relationship between caring behaviours and critical thinking. Caring behaviours did not, however, moderate the relationship between self‐reflection (β = 0.001, t = 0.021, p > 0.05) and critical thinking. Conclusion: Caring behaviours directly affect self‐reflection with insight and critical thinking. In addition, caring behaviours also indirectly affect critical thinking through self‐reflection and insight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to evaluate the psychometric properties, reliability, and validity of the Chinese-version Glover-Nilsson Smoking Behavioral Questionnaire (GN-SBQ-C) and assess the behavioral nicotine dependence among community-dwelling adult smokers in Taiwan. Method: The methods used were survey design, administration, and validation. A total of 202 adult smokers completed a survey to assess behavioral dependence, nicotine dependence, depression, social support, and demographic and smoking characteristics. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, internal consistency reliability, t test, exploratory factor analysis, independent t test, and Pearson product moment correlation. Results: The results showed that (1) the GN-SBQ-C has good internal consistency reliability and stability (2-week test-retest reliability); (2) the extracted one factor explained 41.80 % of the variance, indicating construct validity; (3) the scale has acceptable concurrent validity, with significant positive correlation between the GN-SBQ-C and nicotine dependence, depression, and time smoking and negative correlation between the GN-SBQ-C and age and exercise habit; and (4) the instrument has discriminant validity, supported by significant differences between those with high and low-to-moderate nicotine dependence, smokers greater than 43 years old and those 43 years old and younger, and those who smoked 10 years or less and those smoking more than 10 years. Conclusion: The 11-item GN-SBQ-C has satisfactory psychometric properties when applied in a sample of Taiwanese adult smokers. The scale is feasible and valid to use to assess smoking behavioral dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study determined the in-use effects of dry-fast and traditional hand-washing surgical scrubs among operating room staff members. This is a static group comparison study with purposive sampling. A total of 156 staff members were recruited in an operating room in a medical center located in southern Taiwan. The participants were divided into traditional and dry-fast hand-washing groups. Microbial counts were measured right after the two groups finished surgical scrubbing and at the completion of surgery. The results showed that the use of dry-fast antisepsis has a better persistent effect ( P = 0.001), more nurses chose dry-fast antisepsis than surgeons ( P = 0.012), and the post-operation number of colonies for nurses was significantly higher than that for surgeons ( P = 0.003). Operating room nurses are long-term and frequent users of antibacterial agents, and their requirement of skin protection is higher. The dry-fast technique has the advantage of being less irritating to the skin and less time consuming; therefore, brush-free and dry-fast antisepsis is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients who are unable to return to work after completing treatment might face financial loss and reduced self-esteem. The aim of this study was to identify factors influencing a return to work in HNC cancer patients in the first 6 months after treatment. This cross-sectional study examined HNC patients who completed treatment from the outpatient radiation department of a single cancer center in northern Taiwan. Patients were assessed according to psychological distress, patient-perceived health status, barriers to returning to work, and facilitators of returning to work. Of the 106 HNC patients surveyed, 54.7% successfully returned to work. Barriers to returning to work included poor self-perception of health, greater psychological distress, and age ≥50 years. Patients who had higher psychological distress, returned to work after start of the pandemic, or received reconstruction surgery were less likely to experience a positive environment facilitating a return to work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Anxiety and fatigue adversely affect women's postpartum recovery, but few effective non-pharmacological interventions are known to relieve these two common and unpleasant symptoms. Objectives To examine the efficacy of an auricular acupressure intervention provided during early postpartum in reducing anxiety, fatigue levels, cortisol levels, blood pressure, and heart rate. Design A single-blind, randomised controlled trial. Setting A 40-bed postpartum unit. Participants Women who underwent caesarean section were randomly allocated to two groups: intervention (auricular pressure, n = 40), and control (usual care, n = 40). Methods The intervention group received auricular acupressure on the shenmen acupoint twice a day (9 AM and 5 PM), and the control group received usual postpartum care. Serum cortisol levels were assessed by immunochemiluminescence, with blood pressure and heart rate assessed by electric sphygmomanometer. Anxiety and fatigue symptoms were assessed using the State Anxiety subscale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Fatigue Continuum Form, respectively. Results Of the 76 women who completed the study, those who received auricular acupressure had significantly lower mean cortisol levels (mean difference = 4 μg/dl, p < 0.05), heart rate (mean difference = 9.2 beats/min, p < 0.001), anxiety symptoms (mean difference = 3.8, p < 0.01), and fatigue symptoms (mean difference = 7.1, p < 0.01) than women in the control group at 5 days postpartum. Conclusions Auricular acupressure is an effective non-pharmacological method for reducing cortisol levels, heart rate, anxiety, and fatigue in early postpartum after caesarean section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to assess patients' levels of belief, benefits and barriers toward physical activity, and to identify factors associated with physical activity performance in patients with type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The study was carried out using cross-sectional correlation design. Subjects from the endocrinology and metabolism outpatient departments of a teaching hospital in northern Taiwan were recruited by consecutive sampling. A total of 149 patients with type II DM were recruited. More physical activity was associated with stronger physical activity beliefs, including recovery self-efficacy, action and coping planning, and maintenance self-efficacy, which explained 40.9% of variance in physical activity performance. Patient-centered physical activity programs (resistance exercise, daily walking, or Tai Chi exercise) can reduce patients' barriers toward performing physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives To (i) investigate the characteristics of health-related quality of life and satisfaction with case management and (ii) to identify factors associated with health-related quality of life in cancer survivors. Background The level of health-related quality of life can reflect treatment efficacy and satisfaction with cancer care. Design A cross-sectional study design was adopted. Methods Subjects from the outpatient setting of a cancer centre in northern Taiwan were recruited by consecutive sampling. A set of questionnaires were employed, including a background information form, case management service satisfaction survey ( CMSS) and The European Quality of Life Scale ( EQ-5D). Descriptive statistics were used to examine levels of health-related quality of life and satisfaction with case management. Pearson's correlation was used to identify relationships between treatment characteristics, satisfaction with case management and health-related quality of life. Multiple stepwise regression was used to identify factors associated with health-related quality of life. Results A total of 252 cancer patients were recruited. The three lowest scores for items of health-related quality of life were mobility, self-care and usual activities. Cancer survivors with higher mobility, less pain and discomfort, and lower anxiety and depression were more likely to have better health-related quality of life. Conclusion Mobility, pain and discomfort, and anxiety and depression are important predictive factors of high health-related quality of life in cancer survivors. Relevance to clinical practice In clinical care, patients' physical mobility, pain and discomfort, and anxiety and depression are important indicators of health-related quality of life. Case managers should include self-care and symptom management into survivorship care plans to improve health-related quality of life during survival after treatment concludes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]