Search

To examine temporal trends in stillbirth and its associated risk factors in Taiwan. This was a population-based cohort study. Data were extracted from the Birth Certificate Application database. Singleton births at 28 or more gestational weeks were included. A total of 1,536,796 births, including 3741 stillbirths, were analyzed from January 2006 to December 2013. The stillbirth rate was 2.4 per 1000 births and there was no change in the stillbirth rate during the study period. The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for stillbirth was 1.28 for maternal age between 35 and 40 years and 1.79 for maternal age ≥ 41 years, with 21–34 years as the reference. The risk for stillbirth increased in single women (aOR, 2.4), female baby (aOR, 1.08), small for gestational age (aOR, 6.34) and large for gestational age (aOR, 1.52) infants, and women with hypertension (aOR, 3.78), diabetes mellitus (aOR, 2.04), anemia (aOR, 1.65), and oligohydramnios or polyhydramnios (aOR, 2.46).Women with heart disease and maternal age ≤ 20 years had no significant association with stillbirth after adjusting for various risk factors. Although the rate of stillbirth was stable during the study period, the incidence of risk factors associated with stillbirth, such as advanced maternal age, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and anemia, had increased over time. Understanding about the risk factors might change protocols and allow for earlier detection of problems and prevention of stillbirths. Prevention or management of risk factors should be undertaken to reduce stillbirth rate.

Aims To identify key factors influencing institutional nurses' self-perceived competencies in spiritual care. Background In the past decade, interest in spiritual care has been increasing; however, in long-term care facilities, limited knowledge is available about nurses' competencies in spiritual care. Methods The cross-sectional study was conducted with 202 nurses in 11 long-term care facilities. Data were collected in a survey using the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale, the Nurse Spiritual Care Therapeutics Scale, the Spiritual Care Competence Scale and demographic questions. Data were analysed using stepwise linear regression. Results Study findings revealed that nurses' perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care, frequency of spiritual care provision and self-satisfaction with the spiritual care given all significantly predicted overall spiritual care competence, which together explain 58% of the total variance. Conclusions Improving nurses' perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care and encouraging the performance of spiritual care may be an effective pathway to enhance the spiritual care competence of institutional nurses. Implications for nursing management Additional continuing education on spiritual care topics and the establishment of clear guidance and support from institutional administrators are required to enable nurses to deal with spiritual issues as they arise and improve the quality of holistic care.

Background Older adults in residential settings frequently suffer from functional decline, mental illness, and social isolation, which make them more vulnerable to spiritual distress. However, empirical evidence of the interrelationships between physiopsychosocial variables and spiritual well-being are still lacking, limiting the application of the biopsychosocial–spiritual model in institutional healthcare practice. Aims To explain the mechanisms by which these variables are linked, this cross-sectional study tested a causal model of predictors of spiritual well-being among 377 institutionalized older adults with disability using a structural equation modeling approach. Methods The primary variables in the hypothesized model were measured using the Barthel Index for functional ability, the Geriatric Depression Scale-short form for depression, the Personal Resources Questionnaire 85-Part 2 for perceived social support, and the Spiritual Well-Being Scale for spiritual well-being. Results The model fit indices suggest that the hypothesized model had a reasonably adequate model fit (χ2 = 12.18, df = 6, p = .07, goodness-of-fitness index [GFI] = 0.99, adjusted GIF index [AGFI] = 0.93, nonnormed fit index [NFI] = 0.99, comparative fit index [CFI] = 0.99). In this study, perceived social support and depression directly affected spiritual well-being, and functional ability indirectly affected spiritual well-being via perceived social support or depression. In addition, functional ability influenced perceived social support directly, which in turn influenced depression and ultimately influenced spiritual well-being. Discussion This study results confirm the effect of physiopsychosocial factors on institutionalized older adults’ spiritual well-being. However, the presence and level of functional disability do not necessarily influence spiritual well-being in late life unless it is disruptive to social relationships and is thus bound to lead to low perceived social support and the onset of depression. Linking Evidence to Action The findings address the fact that the practice of spirituality is multidimensional and multileveled. Psychosocial interventions for institutionalized elders with disabilities should focus on increasing nurse-patient interaction and providing access to meaningful social activities to improve mental health and spiritual well-being.

chuang l.-l., lin l.-c., cheng p.-j., chen c.-h., wu s.-c. & chang c.-l. (2012) Effects of a relaxation training programme on immediate and prolonged stress responses in women with preterm labour. Journal of Advanced Nursing68(1), 170–180. Abstract Aim. This paper is a report of an experimental study of the effects of relaxation-training programme on immediate and prolonged stress responses in women with preterm labour. Background. Hospitalized pregnant women with preterm labour experience developmental and situational stress. However, few studies have been performed on stress management in such women. Methods. An experimental pretest and repeated post-test design was used to compare the outcomes for two groups in northern Taiwan from December 2008, to May 2010. A total of 129 women were randomly assigned to an experimental (n = 68) or control (n = 61) group. The experimental group participants were instructed to listen daily to a 13-minute relaxation programme. Measurements involved the stress visual analogue scale, finger temperatures, State Trait Anxiety Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale and Pregnancy-related Anxiety. Two-way analysis of variance and hierarchical linear modelling were used to analyse the group differences. Results. Compared with those in the control group, participants in the experimental group showed immediate improvements in the stress visual analogue scale scores and finger temperatures. The State Trait Anxiety Inventory-State subscale score for the experimental group was significantly lower than that for the control group (P = 0·03). However, no statistically significant differences for the Perceived Stress Scale and Pregnancy-related Anxiety scores were found between the experimental group and the control group. Conclusions. The relaxation-training programme could improve the stress responses of women with preterm labour.

To examine adherence to relaxation guided imagery in women experiencing preterm labor as well as predictors influencing adherence.This study used a longitudinal follow-up approach. Each of the 57 participating women received a mini-MP3 player containing a 13-minute relaxation guided imagery audio program that they were instructed to follow daily until giving birth. Follow-up interviews were conducted weekly. A generalized estimating equation was used to predict adherence.The total adherence rate was 58%. Higher adherence was predicted by the presence of at least a college degree (p=0.006), greater perceived stress (p=0.006), a higher risk of preterm delivery (p0.001), and greater relaxation effects (p=0.028). Older maternal age was associated with lower adherence (p=0.001). In addition, adherence decreased significantly over time (p0.001). Adherence was not related to marital status, employment, parity, the baseline level of anxiety, or hospitalization.Pregnant women with a high risk for preterm birth and greater perceived stress showed higher adherence to relaxation guided imagery. For women with a lower adherence to relaxation guided imagery, health care professionals may consider individual preferences regarding relaxation techniques.

Simple and friendly operation panel, intelligent algorithm, high performance control and driving circuit and precision and reliable plant are the necessary conditions for music playing robot design. In this paper, a hierarchical control structure, host controller (PC) and local controller (FPGA), is proposed to implement the anthropomorphic piano robot control with parallel controlling of two hands and ten fingers. In order to simplify the programming on the host controller and increase the performance of the whole system, the actuators of the hands (linear motors) and fingers (servo motors) are controlled and driving by local controllers, the FPGA-based controllers. The host PC is in charge of to integrate and encode the music codes of playing music to command the robot via the local controller, namely FPGA controller or distributed control module. The host controller is programmed with an intelligent algorithm to generate the music control code and an interactive man-machine interface. Giving a music score, the intelligent algorithm will generate a series of optimum positions commands for the hands and fingers of the piano robot to play the piano. The series of optimum positions commands are programmed with crashing protection and minimum movement for the hands and fingers to anthropomorphize the robot. After the codes receiving, the local controller will quick decode the commanding such as the position of two hands, opening angle of ten fingers and key rapping of ten fingers to control the driving circuits of actuators of the hands and fingers.

Background Prenatal maternal stress is associated with adverse birth outcomes. Few studies have been published on the effectiveness of relaxation techniques focusing on women with preterm labour. Objects The object of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a relaxation training program on pregnancy outcomes in women experiencing preterm labour. Design A single-blinded, controlled clinical trial was used. Settings The study was conducted in two hospitals. Both of the study hospitals located in northern Taiwan are also large teaching hospitals and share the same treatment protocols of preterm labour. Participants Inclusion criteria were being pregnant and diagnosed with preterm labour, singleton, hospitalized at time of entry into the study, at gestation between 20 and 34 weeks, and having a cervical dilatation of less than 3cm. Exclusion criteria were if they had one or any combination of the following: antepartum hemorrhage, infection, hypertension, gestational diabetes mellitus, or immunologic disease. Methods The experimental group ( n =68) participants received a mini mp3 player containing a 13-min relaxation audio program, which they were instructed to follow daily, while the control group ( n =59) received only routine prenatal care. Pregnancy outcomes were obtained from medical charts after each woman gave birth. Results Survival analysis demonstrated that the experimental group had a significant pregnancy prolongation compared to the control group ( p =0.048). Participants receiving the relaxation training program had a significant lower proportion of extreme preterm birth, a higher rate of not being admitted to a NICU, and a lower rate of stay days within 30 days when compared with the control group. No significant differences were found on pregnancy outcomes in terms of the rate of preterm birth, low birth weight, Apgar score at 1 and 5min, mode of birth, and perinatal mortality between the two groups. Conclusions Relaxation training for women with preterm labour is effective in delaying of delivery and enhancing positive pregnancy outcomes. This relaxation intervention is cost-effective, noninvasive, and easily applicable in women with preterm labour.