Search

Background: Recent research has focused on the potential benefits of physical activity in occupational settings in addition to leisure time. However, occupational physical activity (OPA) differs substantially for occupations that require heavy and repetitive physical work, such as nursing. We explored associations between leisure time and OPA and health outcomes in working nurses and midwives. Methods: Nurses who were enrolled in the Fit For the Future study (New South Wales, Australia) and who completed physical activity questionnaires (n = 4343) were classified according to high (HO) or low (LO) occupational and high (HL) or low (LL) leisure-time physical activity (LTPA): HO performed walking/heavy labor most/all of the time at work; HL met the guidelines of 150 minutes per week moderate to vigorous LTPA, creating 4 categories: HOLL, HOHL, LOHL, and LOLL. Results: HL predicted better self-rated health (unstandardized B = 0.51, 95% confidence interval, 0.44 to 0.57) and lower likelihood of ≥3 sick days in the past 12 months (OR: 0.71, 95% confidence interval, 0.61 to 0.83), whereas HO predicted higher likelihood of ≥3 sick days (OR: 1.17, 95% confidence interval, 1.01 to 1.35), adjusting for all variables. Conclusions: OPA may not confer the same health benefits as LTPA for nurses. Health-promoting interventions should emphasize the importance of achieving adequate moderate to vigorous LTPA for all, including those undertaking substantial OPA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of educational interventions and the relative effect of intervention duration on secondary prevention health behaviours in adults with coronary heart disease. Background: Patient education can reduce disease progression and improve outcomes. However, there is a lack of knowledge of its efficacy and the relative impact of education duration on health behaviour change in this population. Design: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Methods: Seven electronic databases and grey literature were searched from Inception to July 2021. The review followed the PRISMA guidelines. This meta‐analysis was analysed in Comprehensive Meta‐Analysis version 3 software. Outcomes considered were disease knowledge and health behavioural outcomes. Data were pooled together with random‐effects models using the inverse‐variance method. The effect of education duration (<3 vs. ≥3 months) was examined by meta‐regressions. Results: In summary, 73 studies were included with a total of participants (n = 24,985) aged mean of 60.5 ± 5.7 years and mostly male (72.5%). Patient education improved all behaviours including disease knowledge at <6 and 6–12 months follow‐up, the likelihood of quitting smoking at <6, and 6–12 months, medication adherence at <6 and 6–12 months; physical activity and exercise participation at <6 and 6–12 months and healthy dietary behaviours, at <6 and 6–12 months. Furthermore, education programmes with a longer duration (≥3 months) improved disease knowledge and physical activity more than shorter programmes. Conclusion: Patient education for secondary prevention, in various delivery modes and intensities, improves multiple self‐reported health behaviours in patients with coronary heart disease. Relevance to clinical practice: This study assessed the effectiveness of secondary prevention education and demonstrated improvements in all outcomes in this population. Longer duration programmes were more effective in improving disease knowledge and physical activity in the long term. These findings can assist the cardiac programmes' design, particularly in ensuring sufficient intervention duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on how illness perception mediates the relationship between disease severity and health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), including the impact of illness perception on HRQL, the role of psychological stress and disease severity.

Aims: This study aimed to determine the sensitivity and specificity of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the Canadian Stroke Network (CSN) brief (5 min) screen composed of three items of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), in acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients during hospital admission, relative to the full MoCA and potential alternative combinations of other items. Methods and results: Participants were consecutively recruited during ACS admission and administered the MoCA before discharge. The three NINDS–CSN screen items were extracted, collated and compared to the full MoCA. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were created to determine the sensitivity, specificity, and appropriate cut-off scores of the screens. The mean age of the sample (n = 81) was 63.49 [standard deviation (SD) 10.85] years and 49.4% screened positive for cognitive impairment. The NINDS–CSN mean score was 9.22 (SD 2.09 of the potential range 0–12). Area under the ROC (AUC) indicated high accuracy levels for screening for cognitive impairment (AUC = 0.89, P < 0.01, 95% confidence interval 0.82, 0.96) with none of the alternative combination screens performing better on both sensitivity and specificity. A cut-off score of ≤10 on the NINDS–CSN protocol provided 83% sensitivity and 80% specificity for classifying cognitive impairment. Conclusion: The NINDS–CSN protocol presents an accurate, feasible screen for cognitive impairment in patients following ACS for use at the bedside and potentially also for telephone screens. Diagnostic accuracy should be confirmed using a neurocognitive battery. Graphical Abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]