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This paper applies an active life course approach to the context of self-financed Associate's degree (AD) education in Hong Kong to explore the agency and precarities of youth navigating the transitional spaces of education. Based on 40 in-depth interviews, group discussions, participant observation, diary studies and grounded theories, I describe AD students' loss of dignity, path dependency and experience of giving up on their dreams. I argue that these specific emotional/affective precarities are created by Hong Kong's education system together with societal norms and expectations regarding education. However, by using and reworking their affective relations with others, young people can subvert these precarities to plot a new life course, seek agency and find meaning through integrating chronopolitics and the practices of care. The paper enriches understanding of the geographies of educational and youth precarities, emotion/affect, chronopolitics and the life course approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: research in care home settings is often negatively focused, portraying life as sterile and devoid of meaningful experiences. Care homes have the potential to influence people's lives socially, physically and psychologically. It is important to understand what factors contribute to this.Objective: to conduct a systematic qualitative review of care home life and provide practical recommendations to enhance residents' quality of life.Methods: the following databases were searched: PsycINFO, Medline, Web of Science, EMBASE, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature. References from appropriate journals and individual articles were checked. Papers that fitted our selection criteria were selected. Two independent reviewers assessed methodological study quality. Thematic analysis and meta-ethnographic methods were adapted to synthesise findings.Results: thirty-one studies were identified. People in care homes voiced concerns about lack of autonomy and difficulty in forming appropriate relationships with others. Four key themes were identified: (i) acceptance and adaptation, (ii) connectedness with others, (iii) a homelike environment, (iv) caring practices.Conclusion: positive experiences in care homes can occur and are important for residents' quality of life. The review supports literature highlighting the need for relationship-centred approaches to care and emphasises the importance of understanding the resident's attitude towards living in care homes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the preliminary results of a study on the implementation of case management in the community psychiatric nursing service (CPNS). The purpose of the study is to compare the outcome of case management service with the conventional practice of CPNS in the care of chronic schizophrenic clients. The impact of case management service on clients' clinical status, functional level and satisfaction was measured. A matched, pre-post, case-control group design was used to compare case management and conventional care groups. A specific case management model based on the practice at Carondelet Saint Mary's Hospital and Health Centre in Tucson has been developed to care for the schizophrenic clients in the community. Subjects in the experimental group were cared for by CPNs using this case management model. Subjects in the control group were cared for by CPNs based on current practices in the CPNS. Pre- and post-measures were taken upon recruitment and at 5 months later. Findings showed that the experimental group had better outcome in terms of their mental status and functional level when compared with the control group. They were generally more satisfied with the service. When comparing case managers' role with that of conventional CPNs, case managers performed more in areas such as assessment, liaison, case discussion and life skills training. This study demonstrates that this particular model of case management can be effective in caring for clients with long-term mental health problems in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study validated a Perceived Campus Caring Scale with 1,520 university students. Using factor analysis, seven factors namely, Faculty Support, Nonfaculty Support, Peer Relationship, Sense of Detachment, Sense of Belonging, Caring Attitude, and Campus Involvement, are identified with high reliability, validity, and close correlation with the Satisfaction With Life Scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on Spaniol and Jung's stress and coping framework (1993), this study examined the difficulties and stresses experienced by carers with relatives suffering from schizophrenia in Hong Kong. The impact of these difficulties and stresses and of mastery as a coping resource on carers' mental health was also explored. Results show that carers experience most difficulties and stresses related to the management of negative symptoms such as refusal to perform household duties and neglect of personal hygiene, and less to handling positive symptoms such as bizarre behaviours and thoughts. It is also revealed that perceptions of stress associated with difficulties in the care of relatives with schizophrenia accounts for poorer mental health among carers. Lastly, carers with a stronger sense of mastery have better mental health. Cultural issues such as 'family shame and face saving', 'family obligations and reciprocal expectations', 'external orientation to personal control' and 'the Confucian work ethics' are put forward as explanations for these findings. Suggestions on culturally sensitive practices are made.

Twenty-nine family caregivers of terminally ill cancer patients in Hong Kong were asked about their perceived difficulty in managing caregiver tasks. Results showed that the level of difficulty in handling the three main aspects of tasks, that is the direct care, intrapersonal tasks, and interpersonal ties, were similar (chi2 = 0.71, P > 0.05). The individual tasks identified as extremely difficult included compensation for personal time (31%), updating knowledge of reimbursement mechanism (20.7%), and emotionally accepting the likelihood of a progressive downward course of illness (17.2%). Mann-Whitney tests indicated that caregivers who had a shorter duration of caregiving experience perceived significantly greater difficulty in direct care (P < 0.05), intrapersonal tasks (P < 0.05), and overall tasks (P < 0.05). These findings indicate the need for the provision of counselling and educational support for these caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over a 4-month period, 218 Chinese patients with advanced cancer were admitted to a palliative care unit in Hong Kong. Ninety-five (44%) of them had pain. Of these 95, 70 (mean age 61.7 years) were evaluated with the visual analogue scale (VAS) and the numerical rating scale (NRS). Forty-two per cent of the 70 patients were illiterate. Eighty-three per cent had metastases. Eighty-seven per cent had pain due to the disease process. Forty-nine per cent had more than one pain, 54% had moderate pain and 20% had severe pain. The most common primary tumour was lung cancer. NRS scores strongly correlated with corresponding VAS scores, suggesting that NRS can routinely be used for pain intensity assessment in the Chinese. The study also showed that 64% of these patients with pain had moderate to severe disabilities in the basic activity of daily living, although there was no correlation between the severity of pain and the severity of disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]