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The self-weight of a reinforced concrete beam contributes to the permanent loads of a structure. This can be reduced by creating a longitudinal void along the beam so that it will not affect the performance of the beam. In addition, this process can reduce the amount of building cost. Therefore, a finite element model was developed in this study with the aid of a computer program, Ansys, to investigate the behavior of the hollow beam. The model was tested for reliability by comparing the predicted results with those obtained from the experiment in terms of the load-displacement responses, mechanical properties, and parametric responses. The result showed that the reliability of the model was questionable. The main cause of the non-reliability was the inaccurate prediction of the beam deflection by the model. The poor prediction of beam deflection led to significant variations of relevant mechanical properties including stiffness, deflection, and ductility. For beam deflection, only 1/3 of the specimens were correctly predicted with a reliability of 36% while the strength properties were discovered to have higher values as observed in the yield and the ultimate strengths with 73% and 64% respectively. However, both the model and experimental results showed the hollow beam was relatively effective when the diameter of the longitudinal void was 1/3 times the beam width and placed at the neutral axis. For the evaluation to improve the reliability, some revision including the properties of the materials, boundary conditions of the beam support, bonding conditions between different materials, and meshing shape and size suppose to be applied to the model.

A structured interview survey was conducted in a major city in Taiwan to explore and compare older and younger family primary caregivers' well being and their future caregiving plans for these adults with intellectual disability. The sample size was 315 caregivers who were 55 years or older and who cared for adults with intellectual disability and 472 similar caregivers who were under 55 years of age. The results indicated that the older caregivers compared with younger ones reported a lower quality of life, less family support, a more negative perception of having a family member with intellectual disability, and greater worries about the future care arrangements of the adult with intellectual disability. Statistical analysis showed that predisposing, enabling, and need factors influenced the caregivers' future caregiving options.

Background: No studies have ever been conducted concerning menstrual experiences among women with an intellectual disability in Taiwan. Materials and Methods: An in-depth interview was conducted at three public institutions and perceptions and experiences regarding menstruation were elicited from 55 women aged 21-65 years. Results: The participants knew about menstrual blood and could recognize the experiences of period pain and its link to femininity. The women's management of menstruation played a big part in their institutionalized life, where they had relatively limited choice and autonomy. Positive feelings towards the menstrual cycle were experienced by some participants; however, many had negative attitudes towards sexual activities or parenting, even though they knew the association between menstruation and pregnancy. Conclusions: Although these women's experiences of perimenstrual symptoms are quite similar to those of women without intellectual disability, their menstrual management, interpretations and attitudes to menses are influenced by their institutional life and by the society at large.

Background: The disability policy in Taiwan has traditionally emphasized residential care in large institutions and, more recently, medium-sized group homes. This paper compares the relative costs, services provided and outcomes between the traditional institutions, medium-sized group homes and new small-scale community living units that were launched in 2004 in Taiwan. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional analysis was used to investigate the three current residential service models. A total of 248 participants with intellectual disabilities were interviewed, including all residents from the existing 25 small residential units and purposively sampled respondents from the other two residential models. Results: Outcomes for the Taiwanese participants were consistent with the existing literature on deinstitutionalization from Western societies. Small homes provided better subjective and objective quality of life than both medium-sized community-based units and traditional institutions. Conclusion: Participants living in small residential homes experienced better outcomes at lower cost than persons living in medium-sized group homes or institutions.

Background: Taiwanese family carers of people with intellectual disabilities not only suffer from long-term stress but also need to cope with social difficulties. The aim of this study is to evaluate the quality of life (QOL) among family carers of people with intellectual disabilities. Materials and methods: A census interview survey was conducted in Hsin-Chu City in Taiwan and included the primary family caregivers of 792 adults with intellectual disability who were living with their families. The survey packet contained the WHOQOL-BREF Taiwan-version scale with four core domains and the activities of daily life/instrumental activities of daily life (ADL/IADL) scales. Results: The mean score for "physical" was highest and that for "environment" was lowest. The strongest predictors of caregivers QOL were the caregiver's health status, their family income and the level of severity of the intellectual disability of the adult. Conclusions: The results of the study support the need to expand services and individualize support to families of adults with intellectual disability living in family homes.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a symptom management program on self-care of medication side effects among AIDS/HIV-positive patients. Sixty-seven patients from a sexually transmitted disease control center, a medical center, and a Catholic AIDS support group in Taipei were randomly assigned to three groups: one-on-one teaching, group teaching, and a control group. All subjects in each teaching group attended a 60- or 90-minute program on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) side effect self-care education and skill training once per week for 3 weeks; subjects also underwent counseling by telephone. A medication side effect self-care knowledge questionnaire, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and unscheduled hospital visits were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the symptom management program. The results revealed there were significant differences in mean difference of knowledge and unscheduled hospital visits between baseline and posttesting at 3 months for symptom management in the two groups. The mean difference of the self-esteem scale was not significant between the two groups. In summary, the symptom management program effectively increased the ability of AIDS/HIV-positive patients to self-care for medication side effects. We recommend that this program be applied in the clinical nursing practice.