Search

Aims: To examine the psychometrics and measurement invariance of the Short‐Form Health Literacy 12‐item questionnaire (HL‐SF12) among Vietnamese and Indonesian married immigrants. Design: A cross‐sectional survey design. Methods: In total, 1171 Vietnamese and Indonesian married immigrants were enrolled between September 2019 and December 2019. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to verify the structural validity of the suggested factor structure. The multiple‐group CFA (MGCFA) used a series of hierarchical nested‐in models as a measurement invariance test which confirmed the adequacy of the model fit at each stage. Results/Findings The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin coefficient was 0.898, and the Bartlett test of sphericity was statistically significant (χ2[66] = 1965.97, p < 0.01). According to a scree plot and Kaiser's criterion for eigenvalues of >1, the EFA explained 61.6% of the total variance and confirmed three theoretically supported factors of health care, disease prevention and health promotion. The 12 items showed factor loadings of >0.4 and four items were in each subscale. The CFA showed adequate structural validity, including a relative chi‐squared/degrees of freedom (X2/df) of 2.01, a comparative fit index (CFI) of 0.98 and a root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) of 0.04 (95% confidence interval [0.03, 0.05]) in married immigrants. For the measurement invariance, a change in the goodness‐of‐fit measures did not exceed 0.02 for the RMSEA or 0.01 for the CFI. The results indicated Cronbach's α values of 0.87 for the HL‐SF12 scale in Vietnamese and Indonesian combined samples (n = 1171). A t‐test showed that the HL‐SF12 and its three subscales were unable to significantly differentiate between Vietnamese and Indonesian groups (all p > 0.05). Conclusions: The HL‐SF12 scale showed acceptable theoretically supported structural validity, equivalent measurement invariance and reliable internal consistency among Vietnamese and Indonesian married immigrants. Measurements of immigrants' HL using the HL‐SF12 could be integrated into future immigrant health policies. Impact As the first study of the measurement invariance of the HL‐SF12 instrument among immigrants. Related factors of immigrants' HL can be further explored to increase immigrants' health and empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Poor oral health affects quality of life; oral health literacy studies are increasing as it plays an essential role in promoting oral health. However, little is known regarding the gender differences in oral health literacy and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among older adults. This study aimed to explore the gender differences in oral health literacy and OHRQoL among community-dwelling older adults in Taiwan. Methods: A cross-sectional study design with convenience sampling was undertaken to recruit participants at two community service centres. Data were collected using a structured survey consisted of the demographic characteristics, instrumental activities of daily living, nutrition assessment, oral health literacy and OHRQoL. The logistic regression was used to examine the gender differences in the relationship between oral health literacy and OHRQoL. Results: A total of 202 participants completed the survey. Of which 56.4% (n = 114) were female. Logistic regression analyses showed that after controlling for age, instrumental activities of daily living, nutrition, education level, and average monthly income, better oral health literacy was associated with better oral health quality of life (p = 0.006) in men. Conclusions: The relationship between oral health literacy and OHRQoL was only significant for men. No significant relationship between women's oral health literacy and their OHRQoL. However, good OHRQoL is an integral part of overall health, but it is affected by differences in oral health and the accessibility of healthcare services. We suggest that gender-specific oral health literacy education should be offered through community health-education programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to translate the Oral Health Literacy Adult Questionnaire into a Mandarin version (MOHL‐AQ) and to examine its psychometric properties. Methods: A methodological research using psychometric testing and evaluation of a translated instrument. A convenience sample of 402 participants from northern Taiwan were recruited for the validation of the MOHL‐AQ. Internal consistency reliability, split‐half reliability, inter‐rater reliability, face validity, content validity, and construct validity were evaluated. Results: The value of internal consistency and split‐half reliability of the MOHL‐AQ were 0.77 and 0.78, respectively. Content validity reported a high content validity index (CVI = 95%). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and parallel analysis (PA) were used to determine a unidimensional model and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to confirm the model. The indices of good fit model were achieved at GFI = 0.93, AGFI = 0.92, RMSEA = 0.04, CFI = 0.90, PGFI = 0.73, χ2/df = 1.86 (p <.001). Most of the item‐total correlations indicated adequate and acceptable convergent validity (r >.30). Conclusion: MOHL‐AQ demonstrates adequate psychometric properties for measuring the oral health literacy in Mandarin‐speaking population. Public health nurses can use MOHL‐AQ to assess oral health literacy in the community settings and further screen potential population with inadequate oral health literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study evaluated the Integrated Behavioral Model and examined oral self‐care behavior of community‐dwelling middle‐aged and older people. Design: A cross‐sectional design was used. Sample: Purposive sampling was employed to recruit middle and older age community‐dwelling individuals, with research locations in public health centers in northern Taiwan. Measurements: Structured questionnaires comprised: participant demographics, oral health literacy, oral self‐care attitude, self‐efficacy, intention, and behavior, and significant others' perceptions and beliefs as well as environmental constraints. The Model verification was evaluated by path analysis. Results: Two hundred and sixty‐three participants (N = 263) completed the questionnaire survey. Results identified significant direct effects of the independent variables of oral health care literacy, intention of oral self‐care, and perception of environmental constraints on the dependent variable of oral self‐care behavior; and significant indirect effects on attitude of oral self‐care, perception of significant other beliefs, self‐efficacy of oral self‐care. Conclusion: Public health nurses work with the whole community and can potentially improve the oral self‐care behavior of middle‐aged and older adults by enhancing their oral health knowledge, maintaining their positive attitudes, assisting acceptance of recognition and support from others, increasing their ability to perform oral self‐care, reducing environmental constraints, and thereby enhancing their oral self‐care awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: To investigate the knowledge of and attitudes towards palliative care for advanced dementia and their associations with demographics among nursing staff, including nurses and nursing assistants, in long-term care settings. Background: Nursing facilities are places where persons with dementia die; therefore, providing quality end-of-life care to residents with advanced dementia is crucial. To date, little attention has been paid to palliative care practice for patients with advanced dementia. Design: A descriptive, cross-sectional, survey design was used. Methods: In total, a sample of 300 nurses (n = 125) and nursing assistants (n = 175) working in long-term care settings in Taiwan participated in this study. Two instruments were administered: demographic characteristics and responses to the Questionnaire of Palliative Care for Advanced Dementia. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression were used for data analysis. Results: Overall, the nurses and nursing assistants had moderate mean scores for both knowledge of and attitudes regarding palliative care for advanced dementia. Additionally, nursing staff who were nurses with greater work experience and those who had received palliative care and hospice training had greater knowledge of palliative care. In addition, nursing staff who had received dementia care training and who had worked in nursing homes had higher levels of positive attitudes towards palliative care. Conclusions: This study indicates the need to provide nurses and nursing assistants with more information about palliative care practice for people with advanced dementia. Particularly, providing education to those who are nursing assistants, who have less working experience, who have not received palliative and dementia care training, and who have not worked in nursing homes can improve overall nursing staff knowledge of and attitudes towards palliative care. Relevance to clinical practice: Continuing education in principles of palliative care for advanced dementia is necessary for currently practicing nursing staff and should be developed according to their educational background and needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-tech companies encounter intense competition in today's global economy. With rapid changes in working environments, high-tech employees must learn quickly and effectively to solve difficult problems and increase their productivity. Many large high-tech companies have recently implemented electronic learning (e-learning) for employee training. However, e-learning systems are expensive and often underutilised. Therefore, understanding the factors associated with acceptance to e-learning are of priority concern. By integrating locus of control, computer self-efficacy and technology acceptance model (TAM) into one model, this study examines the feasibility of the extended TAM to explain employee acceptance of e-learning systems. Data were collected from 223 employees at five high-tech companies located in the Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan. Analytical results indicate that locus of control had significant direct effects on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Computer self-efficacy had significant direct effects on perceived ease of use and behavioural intention to use. Overall, analytical results provide strong support for using the extended TAM to explain user acceptance of e-learning systems. The research and practical implications of findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Although there is a significant correlation between the degree of family support and clinical outcome, little research has focused on the effectiveness of family partnership intervention care (FPIC) for patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes. Objectives: This study aimed to compare FPIC with conventional care (CC) across a number of outcome measures in patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes. Design: The study was performed using a randomized controlled trial design. Participants: Patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes who were solely treated with oral antidiabetic agents and had at least two out of three hemoglobin A1C readings equal to or above 7% in the previous 12 months, were randomly assigned to the FPIC group (n =28) and to the CC group (n =28). Methods: Baseline and 6-month follow-up scores were compared using the following outcome measures: (1) hemoglobin A1C, (2) BMI, (3) lipid profile, (4) family supportive behaviours, (5), knowledge of and attitudes toward diabetes, and (6) diabetes self-care behaviours. Descriptive and non-parametric statistics were employed to compare differences in outcome measures between the groups. Results: There were no significant differences in the reduction of hemoglobin A1C levels (p =0.46), lipid profile values (p >0.05), and improvement of diabetes self-care behaviours (p =0.61) between the groups at 6 months post-intervention. However, there were significant differences in the scores of family supportive behaviours (p =0.031) and patients’ knowledge of and attitudes toward diabetes between the groups (p <0.05). Conclusion: These findings support the use of FPIC to enhance family supportive behaviours, and to improve patients’ knowledge of and attitudes toward diabetes. Thus, the study is of value in helping policy decision-makers to develop more effective diabetes control intervention programmes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]