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The use of single-item measures of self-rated mental health (SRMH) has been increasingly valued in epidemiologic research. However, little is known about the reliability and mental health correlates of SRMH in Chinese populations. This study examined the reliability and mental health correlates of SRMH in three Chinese samples. We analyzed data collected from two convenience samples of Chinese adults from Hong Kong and/or Taiwan (Sample 1: N = 205; Sample 2: N = 377), and a random sample of Taiwan psychiatric inpatients (Sample 3: N = 100). Our results showed that the single-item measure of SRMH had moderate to good test–retest reliability (intraclass correlation [ICC] = 0.75) in Sample 1 and acceptable reliability between the self-report and interviewer-administered versions (ICC = 0.58) in Sample 3. It had a high positive correlation with self-esteem and a moderately high negative correlation with depression. It also had a consistently negative correlation with borderline personality disorder symptoms and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. The SRMH score was also associated with psychiatric service usage. These findings contribute to the body of knowledge regarding the use of a single-item measure of SRMH to assess overall self-perceived mental health in Chinese communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to explore nurses' care experiences for COVID-19 patients during the pandemic in Taiwan. The qualitative approach of phenomenography was used. Thirty-four nurses were recruited from two assigned hospitals in which COVID-19 patients were treated in Taiwan from July to May 2021. The method of data collection in the study involved a semi-structured interview and drawing. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Phenomenographic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. Four categories of description of experiences of caring for COVID-19 patients were identified: facing uncountable stresses from all sides, strict implementation of infection control interventions to provide safe care, confronting ethical dilemmas and making difficult decisions, and reflecting on the meaning of care in nursing. Professional accountability was the core theme found to represent the central meaning of nurses caring for COVID-19 patients. Nurses were under enormous stress while caring for COVID-19 patients during the pandemic and were negatively affected physically, psychologically, and socially. Professional accountability in caring for COVID-19 patients can be enhanced through adequate support from nursing managers and by in-service training designed to update knowledge and skills related to infection control intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With the globalization of medical services on the rise, Asia has ascended to a destination of choice for its high-quality medical services at very reasonable rates. Monitoring the quality of the international medical industry is vital to maintain service demand. The experiences of healthcare personnel (HCP) involved in international medical services (IMS) regarding the provision of services to international cancer patients have not yet been discussed. This study aimed to explore oncology HCP experiences of IMS quality in caring for international cancer patients in Taiwan. Methods: Descriptive phenomenological method and were analyzed through Colaizzi's seven-step approach. In this study, 19 respondents were collected data by using in-depth semi-structured interviews. An average interview lasted approximately 45 min. Results: Four major themes were identified from the interviews: patient selection, psycho-oncology care, predicaments, and promoting suggestions. Additionally, thirteen subthemes emerged, including necessary selection of patients, reasons for unwillingness to enroll international patients, helpless patients, emotional distress, care with warmth, insufficient manpower, an unfair reward mechanism, poor hardware equipment, the predicaments of oncology care, various publicity strategies, one-on-one service model, design of a designated area, and reasonable benefit distribution. Conclusions: This study explored oncology HCP experiences of IMS quality in caring for international cancer patients, with implications for hospitals in developing high-quality IMS. Due to the fact that IMS is a global trend, HCPs, administrators, and policy-makers are advised to improve the quality of IMS in the oncology department, which has been the least studied field in IMS quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To develop and test a mobile application that supports the disease self‐management of adolescents with type 1 diabetes during their transition to early adulthood. Design: A sequential mixed‐methods design was employed. Methods: The application content was designed according to previously identified care needs and expectations, followed by application development on the Android operating system. From the outpatient clinic of the Department of Paediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism at a medical centre in northern Taiwan, 35 individuals aged between 16–25 years participated in application testing. Results: The overall median score of the QUIS was 4–5, most of the 25% quartile was 4–5, and all of the 75% quartile was 5, indicating adequate user interaction satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have proven that reflexology has been used as a complementary medical treatment. Therefore, the government has started to plan an examination system for reflexology personnel to ensure the quality of service. Reflexologists work long hours, have heavy workloads, and perform poses that do not conform to human factors, which often cause musculoskeletal fatigue. The purpose of this study is to understand the musculoskeletal pain conditions of reflexologists, the psychological empowerment status, and the perceptions of complementary medicine therapy. The data for this study were obtained in two ways: (1) 59 practitioners were surveyed by using a face-to-face questionnaire and (2) a semi-structured interview was carried out for 10 practitioners. This study discovered the following: (1) Reflexology practitioners have musculoskeletal discomfort symptoms in body parts, including the left shoulder (25.4%), left hand or wrist (25.4%), lower back (25.4%), right shoulder (23.7%), left elbow or forearm (22%). (2) Reflexology practitioners are highly psychologically empowered to work. (3) The practitioners of foot therapy hold a positive attitude towards foot therapy and believe that foot therapy is a natural therapy, which is self-serving and can help others. (4) Most reflexologists support the government's desire to promote the reflexology examination system and are willing to help develop the policy. (5) The height of most reflexologist work chairs does not match the height of the guest's seat and is not ergonomic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of aromatherapy in relieving the stress of nursing staff working in different departments during COVID-19. A total of 26 nursing staff from Taiwan were recruited for this study. Bergamot essential oil was diffused for over a four-week period in four different hospital departments. We assessed heart rate variability indicators, Nurse Stress Checklist, and Copenhagen Burnout Inventory before and after the intervention. The results of the analysis showed that during a high workload period, aromatherapy had no significant effect on regulating physical stress. Subjective measurements showed a significant impact on work concern and personal fatigue. Moreover, there were large differences among the four departments; the aromatherapy treatment had a weak effect on those with a heavy workload, whereas those with a lighter workload showed a stronger effect. Finally, this study provides practical results about aromatherapy stress reduction applied during the pandemic on first-line medical staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aromatherapy is effective in treating pain; however, aromatherapy is not offered in formal nursing education in Taiwan. This study designed aromatherapy training courses for nurses using the flipped teaching approach and explored the effectiveness of the method, which can serve as a reference for future aromatherapy courses. Methods: A quasi-experimental design and convenience sampling were adopted. The participants were nurses who had been employed for over one year in two hospitals in Taiwan. Forty nurses were included in the experimental and control groups. The intervention of this study was performed in February 2020. Nurses in the control group received one hour of introduction to the use of aromatherapy in pain management. This class was delivered using the traditional teaching method, during which a researcher served as the lecturer. Nurses in the experimental group received a 2.5-h flipped teaching course on aromatherapy. Two weeks before classroom activities, the nurses in the experimental group watched a 30-min aromatherapy concept video on an e-learning teaching platform. Thereafter, the nurses participated in two hours of classroom teaching in both groups. The course design included group discussions, mind mapping, case discussion, practice with essential oils, and do-it-yourself essential oil preparation. Results: Pre- and post-test knowledge and self-efficacy in aromatherapy were assessed. There were no significant differences in the pre-test knowledge and self-efficacy scores between the two groups. The test was analyzed using a generalized estimating equation. Post-test knowledge and self-efficacy results showed that the change in scores in the experimental group was significantly better than that in the control group, indicating that flipped teaching improved the participants' knowledge and self-efficacy in aromatherapy. Conclusions: This study confirmed that flipped teaching was effective in helping nursing personnel learn aromatherapy. Implementation of aromatherapy by nurses in clinical practice and its impact on patient care should be further assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence-based care has become critical in raising the quality of medical facilities. The implementation of evidence-based practice helps medical practitioners make better clinical decisions. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate whether the innovative flipped teaching model could be as effective as the conventional teaching model in terms of knowledge, attitude, and practice and to confirm the continuous effect. Design: A quasi-experimental design using the flipped and conventional learning groups concurrently with repeat measurements was used. Setting: The setting was a 475-bed regional teaching hospital in Taiwan, from March to July 2020. Participants: The study included 114 licensed nurses who had worked longer than three months, with 57 participants each in two groups. Methods: The participants were assigned to two groups using a block randomization method. All participants completed questionnaires related to knowledge, attitude, and practice of EBP at four-time points: pre-test (T0) and immediately after intervention (T1), at month 1 (T2), and at month 3 (T3). Analysis of repeated generalized estimating equations was used. Results: The flipped and conventional learning groups had significant differences in knowledge, attitude, and practice at the T0 and T1 (p < 0.05). The flipped group was higher than the conventional group at T3 in the knowledge score (p = 0.001) and lower than the conventional group at T2 in the attitude score (p = 0.010). There were no significant differences between the two groups' practice scores at different time points. There were no significantly different score changes for knowledge, attitude, and practice (p > 0.05). The interaction term only at T3 vs. T0 in the knowledge score was slightly different (p = 0.049) in primary outcome. Conclusion: The intervention methods of both groups were effective. Flipped learning is more flexible and has more time for discussion, which nurses favor. Under the policy promoted in the hospital, EBP combined with the nursing advancement system was standardized, and conventional learning also improved the learning effect. [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]