METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Kandy district using multistage sampling. A total of 999 older people were recruited, with a female preponderance. Data were collected using interviewer-administered questionnaires on demographic characteristics, depression, and physical activity. Anthropometric measurements including weight, height, mid-upper arm circumference, calf circumference, and HGS were recorded. Complex sample general linear model was used to examine the association between HGS and its associated factors.
RESULTS: The mean highest HGS of the study group was 12.56 kg (95% confidence interval: 11.94-13.19). Male older people had a higher HGS (17.02, 95% confidence interval: 15.55-18.49 kg) than females (10.59, 95% confidence interval: 10.12-11.06 kg). For both men and women, older age was associated with lower HGS, while mid-upper arm circumference was associated with better HGS. Diabetes mellitus, vegetarian diet, and alcohol consumption were associated with HGS for women only.
CONCLUSION: Men had a higher HGS compared with women. Age, mid-upper arm circumference, diabetes mellitus, vegetarian diet, and alcohol consumption were factors associated with HGS among community-dwelling older people in Kandy district, Sri Lanka. HGS can be used as a feasible strategy to improve health status of older people by community health nurses.
METHODS: A qualitative study with four focus-group discussions was conducted with 20 registered nurses from general wards in a Malaysian public hospital. Semi-structured interviews were used to elicit participants' opinions. NVivo 10 software was used for data management and content analysis was used to analyze the data.
RESULTS: Several participants used inconsistent methods to involve patients in bedside handovers and others did not involve the patients at all. The participants' interpretations of the concept of patient-centered care were ambiguous; they claimed that patient involvement during bedside handovers was impractical and, therefore, not reflective of patient-centered care. Some nurses' subjective views of patient involvement as impractical during bedside handovers were manifested in their deliberate exclusion of patients from the handover process.
CONCLUSIONS: Changes in patient involvement and nursing practices congruent with patient-centered care require that nurse educators in hospital settings reform nursing education to focus on fostering of communication skills needed to function in nurse-patient partnerships. Guidelines for patient involvement consistent with patient-centered values should be developed using ward nurses' subjective views and introduced to all registered nurses in practice.
METHODS: A qualitative case study was employed for this research. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted on WeChat. Participants were purposively sampled through snowball sampling in Hainan and Dalian, China. A total of 28 older adults aged 60-75 and six adult children were interviewed until data saturation was achieved, followed by a thematic analysis.
RESULTS: The expectations of smart nursing homes include: 1) quality of care supported by governments and societies; 2) smart technology applications; 3) the presence of a skilled healthcare professional team; 4) access to and scope of basic medical services; and 5) integration of medical services. The acceptability of smart nursing homes included factors such as stakeholders' perceived efficaciousness, usability, and collateral damages of using smart technologies, and the coping process of adoption was influenced by factors such as age, economic status, health status, education, and openness to smart technologies among older adults.
CONCLUSIONS: Chinese older adults and their family members have a positive perception of the smart nursing home model. The qualitative evidence regarding their expectations and acceptability of smart nursing homes contributes valuable insights for a wide range of stakeholders involved in the planning and implementation of smart nursing homes.
METHODS: This study was a two-arm parallel randomized controlled trial. Twenty-eight patients with coronary heart disease were randomly assigned to either the intervention group, receiving a 12-week technology-assisted intervention (n = 14), or the control group (n = 14), receiving usual care. Guided by the Health Belief Model, the intervention group received three center-based, supervised exercise training sessions, a fitness watch that served as a cue to action, six educational videos, and a weekly video call. The Self-efficacy for Exercise, exercise capacity, and Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II were assessed at baseline and immediately post-intervention (12-weeks).
RESULTS: Among the 28 patients who participated in this study, 85.7% completed the program, with a relatively low attrition rate (14.3%). The number of exercise training sessions accomplished by the participants in the intervention group was 51.27 ± 19.41 out of 60 sessions (85.5%) compared to 36.46 ± 23.05 (60.8%) in the control group. No cardiac adverse events or hospitalizations were reported throughout the study. Participants in the intervention group showed greater improvement in health-promoting behaviors when compared with the control group at 12 weeks. Within-group effects demonstrated improvement in exercise self-efficacy and exercise capacity among participants in the intervention group. A participant satisfaction survey conducted immediately post-intervention revealed that participants were "very satisfied" (23.1%) and "satisfied" (76.9%) with the technology-assisted intervention.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrated that technology-assisted intervention in a hybrid cardiac rehabilitation program was feasible and suggested to be beneficial in improving exercise self-efficacy, exercise capacity, and health promoting behavior among patients with coronary heart disease. A full-scale study is needed to determine its effectiveness in the long term.
TRIAL AND PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04862351. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04862351.