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  1. Lee YK, Praveena KA, Woo YL, Ng CJ
    Asia Pac J Oncol Nurs, 2020 10 15;8(1):40-45.
    PMID: 33426188 DOI: 10.4103/apjon.apjon_38_20
    Objective: Ovarian cancer is one of the most common cancers among Malaysian women with high recurrence. Patients with recurrence are prone to emotional distress and are forced to cope with poor prognosis. This study aimed to explore the coping strategies employed by women with recurrent ovarian cancer in Malaysia, a developing multicultural country in Asia.

    Methods: This was a qualitative study with patients diagnosed with recurrent ovarian cancer and receiving chemotherapy at a hospital gynecologic day-care unit. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with patients to explore how they coped with recurrence of ovarian cancer. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically.

    Results: The participants' (n = 10) age range was 52-84 years, the three most common ethnic backgrounds were represented (Malay, Chinese, and Indian), and most of the patients were well educated. All patients were on chemotherapy. Six coping strategies were identified: (1) maintaining a mindset of hopefulness, (2) avoidance of information, (3) accepting their condition, (4) seeking spiritual help, (5) relying on family for support, and (6) coping with financial costs.

    Conclusions: Coping strategies employed during ovarian cancer recurrence in this setting were rarely based on the accurate information appraisal, but rather on the individual emotion and personal beliefs.

  2. Chua GP
    Asia Pac J Oncol Nurs, 2020 06 08;7(3):259-265.
    PMID: 32642497 DOI: 10.4103/apjon.apjon_13_20
    Singapore, a young nation like many developed countries, faced a shortage of nurses. Attempts to resolve the workforce shortage through the employment of foreign nurses started in the mid-1980s. Over the years, workforce recruitment from traditional sources nearby, namely Malaysia and Philippines, has expanded to include nurses from countries such as People Republic of China, India, and Myanmar. Attempts have also been made to train, recruit, and retain local nurses such as improving working conditions and remunerations, raising the profile of nursing, improving career recognition and progression, and encouraging nonpracticing nurses back to the workforce. However, the institutions' and the government's attempts to ameliorate the nursing shortage were met with limited success. Even with the recruitment of foreign nurses, the shortage of workforce persists. The shortage is compounded by the three major health-care challenges confronting Singapore: (1) rapid growth in population; (2) rapid aging of the population; and (3) increasing burden of chronic diseases. As the population continues to grow and as more of the population ages, as life expectancy increases and the burden of chronic diseases increases, not only will the demand for nurses continue, but the intensity and the nursing care they require will also increase. This article describes the challenges confronting the practice of nursing in Singapore and their implications. Although these challenges are daunting, they offer nursing the unprecedented opportunities to shape health-care delivery systems and increase nursing influences everywhere across settings and along the delivery continuum.
  3. Wong SP, Tan SM, Danaee M, Muhamad K, Jamal M, Islahudin F, et al.
    Asia Pac J Oncol Nurs, 2023 Feb;10(2):100180.
    PMID: 36880090 DOI: 10.1016/j.apjon.2022.100180
    OBJECTIVE: Mucositis is one of the most feared side effects of cancer treatment. Psychometric analysis of a patient self-assessment score, the oral mucositis daily questionnaire in Malay (OMDQ-Mal) and its construct validity by means of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is lacking. This research aimed to test the validity and reliability of OMDQ-Mal.

    METHODS: A total of 114 autologous stem-cell transplantation patients aged ≥ 18 years old at a national hematology center in Malaysia from April 2019 to December 2020 completed OMDQ-Mal concurrently with physician scores. Internal consistency and reproducibility were determined by Cronbach alpha and intraclass correlation coefficient, respectively. Correlations with physician scores were determined by Spearman correlation. Discriminative validity and construct validity were determined by Mann-Whitney U and CFA, respectively.

    RESULTS: OMDQ-Mal demonstrated high internal consistency (α ​= ​0.874). Test-retest reliability between paired days were moderate to excellent (95% CI ​= ​0.676-0.953). Items in OMDQ-Mal had moderate to strong correlations with physician scores (ρ ​= ​0.503-0.721). Discriminative validity indicated that the scores of scales were significantly different between participants with severe and mild conditions. Construct validity results of loading factors 0.708-0.952; composite reliability 0.879-0.974; average variant extracted 0.710-0.841; and heterotrait-monotrait ratio 0.528 established the convergent and divergent validity.

    CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the OMDQ-Mal, which captured important quality of life responses, demonstrated adequate validity and reliability. This was supported by a two-component model CFA. The strong correlation of OMDQ-Mal with both physician scores indicated its potential as a comprehensive patient-reported outcome measure of mucositis of the entire alimentary tract.

  4. Tan CE, Admodisastro N, Lau SCD, Tan KA, Teh KH, Lee CC, et al.
    Asia Pac J Oncol Nurs, 2024 Feb;11(2):100363.
    PMID: 38304227 DOI: 10.1016/j.apjon.2023.100363
    OBJECTIVE: Malaysian parents of children diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma stand to benefit from a comprehensive Malay-language online resource, complementing existing caregiver education practices. This study aimed to develop and assess the efficacy of e-Hematological Oncology Parents Education (e-HOPE), an online caregiver education resource in Malay, designed to enhance the knowledge of parents with children diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma in Malaysia.

    METHODS: A user profile and topic list were established based on previous needs analysis studies. Content was developed for each identified topic. An expert panel assessed the content validity of both informational content and activity sections. Subsequently, the contents were presented via a learning management system to parents of children newly diagnosed with leukemia or lymphoma. Parents evaluated the quality of e-HOPE using the Website Evaluation Questionnaire (WEQ) after an 8-week period.

    RESULTS: The scale content validity index (S-CVI/Ave) achieved 0.996 for informational content and 0.991 for the activity section. Sixteen parents provided evaluations of e-HOPE after an 8-week usage period. Mean WEQ scores for various dimensions ranged from 4.23 for completeness to 4.88 for relevance.

    CONCLUSIONS: E-HOPE was meticulously designed and developed to offer Malaysian parents a Malay-language resource complementing current caregiver education practices. It exhibited strong content validity and received positive user ratings for quality. Further assessment is warranted to evaluate its effectiveness in supporting parents of children with leukemia or lymphoma. The resource is anticipated to enhance information accessibility and support for Malaysian parents facing hematological cancers in their children.

    TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.govNCT05455268.

  5. Namazinia M, Mazlum SR, Mohajer S, Lim Abdullah K, Salehian M
    Asia Pac J Oncol Nurs, 2024 Jan;11(1):100337.
    PMID: 38222968 DOI: 10.1016/j.apjon.2023.100337
    OBJETIVE: Chemotherapy is a prevalent cancer treatment, often accompanied by debilitating side effects such as nausea and vomiting. This study explores the potential effectiveness of laughter yoga, a combination of exercise and voluntary laughter, in alleviating chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

    METHODS: This two-group randomized clinical trial was conducted on 69 cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy at the Reza Chemotherapy and Oncology Center, Mashhad, Iran, in 2018. Patients were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. Both groups received routine self-care training, with the addition of four 20-min to 30-min laughter yoga sessions held immediately before one of their chemotherapy appointments for the intervention group only. Nausea and vomiting were assessed using the Morrow Assessment of Nausea and Emesis questionnaire at two stages, before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed with Chi-square, Independent-t, Mann-Whitney, Wilcoxon, and McNemar tests using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

    RESULTS: The mean age of patients in the intervention group was 49.0 ± 9.6 years, while in the control group, it was 45.2 ± 12.6 years. The intragroup comparison showed a statistically significant decrease in the severity and duration of nausea in the intervention group and a statistically significant increase in the severity and duration of nausea in the control group from pre-test to post-test (P 

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