OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to elaborate on the process of developing, validating, and examining the Diabetic Care Self-Management Mobile Health Application (Diabetic Care).
METHODS: There are two phases conducted. The first phase is the process of developing and validating Diabetic Care. Intervention Mapping (IM) Framework was used to guide the process of developing Diabetic Care, while in assessing validity, guidance from Kassam-Adams et al. was used. A team of experts was appointed to validate the mobile app developed. Next, the usability of Diabetic Care was conducted among ten conveniently chosen patients with diabetes in a governmental primary care clinic.
RESULTS: The process of developing Diabetic Care was clearly explained. The Diabetic Care app showed a good I-CVI score (1.00) and general CVI score (1.00) after the expert team assessed. During the trial, two drawbacks were identified and explored to find solutions.
CONCLUSION: The Diabetic Care app is proven appropriate to be employed in the study. Even though there were two drawbacks encountered, however, possible solutions were able to be explored in addressing the issues. Further research should be conducted to examine the effectiveness of this mobile app in modifying foot care behavior and dietary behavior. Hence, it will assist in the translation of advanced technology in nursing care.
METHOD: A quasi-randomized controlled trial was conducted recruiting students from two different higher learning institutions in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. Students are selected after fulfilling the criteria such as body mass index (BMI) of ≥23kg/m2, no chronic diseases that may influence by exercise, no significant changes in body weight within two months and not taking any medications or supplements. One institution was purposely chosen as a simulation-based group and another one control group. In the simulation-based group, participants were given a booklet and CD to do aerobic and resistance exercise for a minimum of 25min per day, three times a week for 10 weeks. No exercise was given to the control group. Participants were measured with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), BMI, waist circumference (WC), body fat percentage before and after 10 weeks of simulation-based exercise.
RESULTS: A total of 52 (control: 25, simulation-based: 27) participants involved in the study. There was no baseline characteristics difference between the two groups (p>0.005). All 27 participants in the simulation-based group reported performing the exercise based on the recommendation. The retention rate at three months was 100%. No adverse events were reported throughout the study. Better outcomes (p<0.001) were reported among participants in the simulation-based group for BMI, WC and body fat percentage.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study indicate that the simulation-based exercise programme may be feasible for an overweight adult in higher learning institutes. As a feasibility study this is not powered to detect significant differences on the outcomes. However, participants reported positive views towards the recommended exercise with significant improvements in body mass index, body fat percentage and reduced the waist circumference.
METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted with convenience sampling employed across five different departments. The departments were a department of medical, surgical, orthopedics, emergency and rehabilitation. The samples were selected according to a minimum of two years of clinical experience without any history of low back surgery. An instrument consists of socio-demographic background, knowledge on body mechanics and Owestry Low Back Pain Disability Index Questionnaire was used in this study.
RESULTS: A total of 139 HCPs were recruited including medical officers, staff nurses, community health nurses, assistant medical officers, physiotherapists, and assistant nurses. A self-administered questionnaire pertaining to knowledge revealed that 73.4% of HCPs had inadequate knowledge of musculoskeletal body mechanics. Among all, 90.6% (minimal: 9.4%, moderate: 43.2%, severe: 42.4%, crippled: 5.0%) of HCPs showed moderate to crippled disability using Oswestry Disability Index classifications indicating the poor practice of body mechanics while working.
CONCLUSION: The findings of this study indicate that a lack of knowledge among healthcare professionals lead to the inadequate practice of preserving musculoskeletal health while carrying out duty in caring patients. It is suggested that enforcing and emphasizing health education for healthcare professionals is urgently needed towards reducing the risk of the musculoskeletal problem among healthcare professionals.
OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of this study was to explore the efficacy of internet-based mindfulness interventions on the physical symptoms of people living with cancer, where physical symptoms are defined as distressing somatic experiences (eg fatigue, insomnia, and pain) regardless of the underlying cause. The secondary aim was to investigate interventions for the quality of life (QoL).
METHODS: This study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Relevant articles were systematically searched using electronic databases, namely Scopus, Medline through PubMed, Cumulated Index in Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) through EBSCOhost, and Cochrane Central Database. Randomized controlled and pilot trials involving adults and/or older adults with cancer and using remote-based mindfulness interventions compared to usual care were included. The quality of the trials included in this study was assessed using the revised Cochrane risk of bias, version 2.0. This study estimated the standardized mean difference (SMD) and mean difference (MD) with 95% CI. The I2 test was used to identify potential causes of heterogeneity. Publication bias was assessed using contour-enhanced funnel plots and the Egger linear regression test to reveal a small study effect.
RESULTS: The initial search yielded 1985 records, of which 13 studies were ultimately included. After treatment, remote-based mindfulness significantly reduced fatigue (SMD -0.94; 95% CI: -1.56 to -0.33; P=.002), sleep disturbance (SMD -0.36; 95% CI: -0.60 to -0.12; P=.004), and improved physical function (SMD .25; 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.41; P=.002) compared to that observed before treatment. However, compared with usual care, remote-based mindfulness showed a statistically significant reduction only in sleep disturbance (SMD: -0.37; 95% CI: -0.58 to -0.16; P=.0006) after treatment. Moreover, remote-based mindfulness was not statistically significant in reducing pain both within and between groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Remote-based mindfulness shows promise in reducing sleep disturbances; however, its impact on fatigue, pain, and physical function may be limited.
METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive literature search through five databases, namely, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Wiley, and ProQuest to assess the efficacy of phytopharmaceuticals until July 12, 2022. We used the Cochrane RoB 2.0 for the quality assessment of the study.
RESULTS: Phytopharmaceuticals significantly improved patients' recovery rate (OR = 3.54; p < 0.00001) and reduced deaths (OR = 0.24; p < 0.0001) compared to the control group. Phytopharmaceuticals also performed as a protective factor for COVID-19 clinical symptoms, such as dyspnea (OR = 0.42; p < 0.05) and myalgia (OR = 0.31; p = 0.02) compared to the control group. However, there is no statistically significant effect on cough (OR = 0.76; p = 0.61) and fever (OR = 0.60; p < 0.20). The results were not affected by patients' covariates [hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular diseases (meta-regression p > 0.05)].
CONCLUSION: Herbal medicine has the potential as an adjuvant therapy in the management of COVID-19.