Ching Min Chen

A systematic review of the efficacy of non-pharmacological treatments for depression on glycaemic control in type 2 diabetics

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This paper reported a systematic review of three randomised controlled clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of non-pharmacological treatment of depression on glycaemic control in individuals with type 2 diabetes. BACKGROUND Depression is associated with poor adherence to self-care regimen in individuals with diabetes. A significant relationship between depression and poor glycaemic control has also been suggested. Hence, the management of depression becomes an important aspect of diabetes care. DESIGN Systematic review. METHODS Cochrane library, Pubmed, MEDLINE, EBM review, ProQuest Medical Bundle and SCOPUS databases were searched using the following medical subject headings or key words - depression, mood disorder, depressive symptoms, diabetes mellitus, glycaemic control, glycated haemoglobin, glucose, psychological therapy, psychotherapy, non-pharmacological therapy and cognitive behaviour therapy. The publication date was limited from 1996-2007. Studies were selected if they used a randomised controlled trial design, were written in English, used non-pharmacological treatments for treating depression, included individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus as participants and included depressive symptoms and glycaemic control (determined by haemoglobin A(1)C) as outcomes. RESULTS Non-pharmacological treatments of depression reduce depressive symptoms in diabetic patients. However, cognitive behaviour therapy did not improve glycaemic control. The treatment effect sizes for glycaemic control in the two collaborative-care programmes were also small. CONCLUSIONS The available evidence indicated that non-pharmacological treatment of depression had limited effect on glycaemic control in individuals with type 2 diabetes. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE The depression-focused interventions might not achieve optimal diabetes-related outcomes. The beneficial effect of psychological treatment for glycaemic control may be strengthened by employing treatments tailored to each individuals diabetes self-care needs in addition to depression management.

The Effects of Music as Therapy on the Overall Well-Being of Elderly Patients on Maintenance Hemodialysis

In this study, the authors explored the use of music during hemodialysis (HD) as a complementary therapy to improve overall well-being in elderly patients. The authors recruited a convenience sample of 88 patients on maintenance HD from a teaching hospital in northern Taiwan and randomly assigned them to either an experimental group (n = 44) or a control group (n = 44). In the first week, participants in the experimental group created their own music playlists. During the second week, these participants listened to music from their own playlists during each HD session (three times/week). The authors evaluated the effects of music as therapy by assessing its impact on perceived stressors and adverse reactions during HD (HD Adverse Reactions Self-Assessment Scale and HD Stressor Scale [HSS]) and measuring changes in physiological indices during the course of the music listening. After 1 week of the use of music as therapy during HD, the authors noted significant reductions in the frequency and severity of adverse reactions during dialysis and in scores on the HSS, p < .001. The authors also observed significantly decreased respiratory rate and significantly increased finger temperature and oxygen saturation, p < .001, during the same period. In conclusion, listening to music during HD may promote overall patient well-being. It may thus serve as a complementary form of therapy that facilitates care and delivery of adequate dialysis and thus improves overall patient well-being in the long run.

Early morning awakening and nonrestorative sleep are associated with increased minor non-fatal accidents during work and leisure time

BACKGROUND The relationship between a composite measure of insomnia and occupational or fatal accidents has been investigated previously; however, little is known regarding the effect of various insomnia symptoms on minor non-fatal accidents during work and leisure time. OBJECTIVE We investigated the predicting role of insomnia symptoms on minor non-fatal accidents during work and leisure time. METHODS Data from the 2005 Taiwan Social Development Trend Survey of 36,473 Taiwanese aged ≥18 years were analyzed in 2013. Insomnia symptoms, including difficulty in initiating sleep (DIS), difficulty in maintaining sleep (DMS), early morning awakening (EMA), and nonrestorative sleep (NRS) were investigated. A minor non-fatal accident was defined as any mishap such as forgetting to turn off the gas or faucets, accidental falls, and abrasions or cuts occurring during work and leisure time in the past month that do not require immediate medical attention. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess the odds ratios (ORs) and associated 95% confidence interval (CI) of minor non-fatal accidents (as a binary variable) for each insomnia symptom compared with those of people presenting no symptoms, while controlling for possible confounders. RESULTS EMA and NRS increased the odds of minor non-fatal accidents occurring during work and leisure time (adjusted OR=1.19, 95% CI=1.08-1.32 and adjusted OR=1.27, 95% CI=1.17-1.37, respectively). CONCLUSION EMA and NRS are two symptoms that are significantly associated with an increased likelihood of minor non-fatal accidents during work and leisure time after adjusting for of a range of covariates.

IJEPA Gray Area for Health Policy and International Nurse Migration

Indonesia is recognized as a nurse exporting country, with policies that encourage nursing professionals to emigrate abroad. This includes the country’s adoption of international principles attempting to protect Indonesian nurses that emigrate as well as the country’s own participation in a bilateral trade and investment agreement, known as the Indonesia–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement that facilitates Indonesian nurse migration to Japan. Despite the potential trade and employment benefits from sending nurses abroad under the Indonesia–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, Indonesia itself is suffering from a crisis in nursing capacity and ensuring adequate healthcare access for its own populations. This represents a distinct challenge for Indonesia in appropriately balancing domestic health workforce needs, employment, and training opportunities for Indonesian nurses, and the need to acknowledge the rights of nurses to freely migrate abroad. Hence, this article reviews the complex operational and ethical issues associated with Indonesian health worker migration under the Indonesia–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement. It also introduces a policy proposal to improve performance of the Indonesia–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement and better align it with international principles focused on equitable health worker migration.

Polycystic ovary syndrome or hyperprolactinaemia: a study of mild hyperprolactinaemia

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and hyperprolactinaemia are both common causes of secondary amenorrhoea in reproductive women. The relationship between PCOS and hyperprolactinaemia has been reported with controversial results. To evaluate the clinical and laboratory features of women with mild hyperprolactinaemia and PCOS, we studied 474 Taiwan Chinese women: 101 had mild hyperprolactinaemia, 266 had PCOS and 107 were the control group. In this study, we found that 64% of the women with mild hyperprolactinaemia fulfilled the PCOS diagnostic criteria, regardless of their prolactin levels. Obese women with PCOS had significantly lower luteinising hormone (LH) and LH-to-FSH ratios than non-obese women with PCOS. Obese hyperprolactinaemic women had significantly lower follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), but higher LH-to-FSH ratios than the non-obese hyperprolactinaemic women. For women with PCOS, the BMIs were significantly negative with LH (γ = −0.253, p < 0.001), but not with FSH (γ = −0.061, p = 0.319). For the hyperprolactinaemic women, the BMIs were significantly negative with FSH (γ = −0.353, p < 0.001), but not with LH (γ = −0.021, p = 0.837). Although PCOS-related syndrome was very prevalent in women with hyperprolactinaemia, the patterns of disturbance in gonadotropin secretion were different between the PCOS and the hyperprolactinaemia patients.

Profile of elderly with multiple physician visits: Advocacy for tailored comprehensive geriatric assessment use in clinics

The rapid growth of the elderly population has given rise to the need for better geriatric care. The present study explored the common conditions of elderly outpatients with multiple physician visits in order to develop feasible clinical indicators that can be rapidly administered for the evaluation of geriatric syndromes in outpatient settings.

Effect of Continuity of Care on Quality of Life in Older Adults With Chronic Diseases: A Meta-Analysis

As the population ages, continuity of care (CoC) has increasingly become a particular important issue. Articles published from 1994 to 2014 were identified from electronic databases. Studies with randomized controlled design and elderly adults with chronic illness were included if Short Form-36 (SF-36) was used as an outcome indicator to evaluate the effect of CoC. Seven studies were included for analysis with the sum of 1,394 participants. The results showed that CoC intervention can significantly improve physical function, physical role function, general health, social function, and vitality of QoL for elderly people with chronic disease.

Monitoring the implementation of the WHO Global Code of Practice on the international recruitment of health personnel: the case of Indonesia

Background Indonesia has become one of the international nurse migration players that has supported the Code that was endorsed by the World Health Assembly, year 2010. In reference to the Code, the Minister of Health (MoH) as designated by the national authority, issued the regulation on the management of Indonesian nurses’ migration. This study aimed to monitor the implementation of the Code on state policy changing in facilitating nurse migration. Go to: Materials and methods Qualitative and quantitative data were collected in order to understand the impact of the Code on Indonesian nurse migration. A triangulation approach was achieved through semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, and records review of nurses’ migration in the last two years. Go to: Results The Global Code of Practice contributed to shape the migration policy at the national level. This regulation provided a shift change of migration policy, which can be conducted by a country that had an agreement with Indonesia or a country that had a law on migrant protection. Acknowledging the importance of the Code, the MoH translated the Code into Indonesian, and disseminated the material to multiple stakeholders. By the spirit of this Code, Indonesia received financial and technical cooperation and agreement with Japan on the improvement of nursing capacity. The challenge faced by the MoH was a need for strong regulation which could accommodate the relevant players to coordinate on the national level, notably for the MoH, National Board for The Placement and Protection of Indonesia Manpower, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and private recruiters. Quantitative data showed that there was a significant flow of nurse migration, especially on nurses’ movement before and after the code was adopted. Nurse migration was increased four-fold between 2010 (567 nurses) to 2012 (2512 nurses) compared to three years before the Code was adopted. Indonesia’s government should carefully assess the flow of migration as the country has suffered a shortage of nurses. Lack of HRH information system and no integrated national HRH observatory hinder the policy maker to promote a strategic approach in nurse migration. Go to: Conclusions The Code has been utilized by the Ministry of Health to manage migration. This guideline at the least provides direction that may be used where appropriate in the formulation and implementation of nurse migration. A stronger regulation which not only ties the MoH, but also other stakeholders in health migrant placement needs to be established. Further, strengthening HRH information system and research on the impact of migration on Indonesia’s health system must be conducted soon.

Long term care nursing competence and related factors among Taiwanese nurses: A national survey for those who completed the LTC training course

Abstract The aim of this study was to explore Taiwanese nurses’ LTC competence and to examine its relationship with their LTC‐related knowledge, care intention, and practical experience. The total sampling was selected from nurses who participated in a 2013 LTC course offered by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Participants in this study (n = 122) voluntarily provided email addresses and responded to an online survey. A self‐developed scale with acceptable reliability and validity was used for data collection. Findings from this study showed median high levels of LTC nursing competence, which was found to be positively correlated with LTC knowledge, care intention, practical experience, continuing education, and marital status. The study revealed that through on‐the‐job training, nurses’ LTC knowledge, care intention, practical experience and nursing competence can be improved, which will benefit the quality of care for LTC clients. HighlightsThis paper addresses an essential gap in the scope of nursing competence in providing long term care services.Providing empirical perception of the evidence in nurses competence in LTC.The long term care nursing competence was correlated with LTC‐related knowledge, care intention, and practical experience.The importance of pursuing continuing education and enhanced intention to improve competence through on‐job training will be recommended.

Lived experience of Indonesian nurses in Japan: A phenomenological study.

AIM The movement of Indonesian nurses via a bilateral agreement with Japan has led to a substantial number of migrants to work as nurses in that nations healthcare system. The purpose of this research was to develop a deeper understanding of the meaningful experiences of Indonesian nurses while working in Japanese hospitals. METHODS In this phenomenological study, sampling was purposive and was based on information shared by five Indonesian nurses. The data were collected in interviews; the analysis was thematic. RESULTS Six key themes were identified: (i) seeking better than before; (ii) communication challenges; (iii) the nursing examination as a culmination; (iv) differences in nursing practice; (v) cultural differences; and (vi) the benefits of living in developed country. Among these challenges, communication as the basis of shared meaning and understanding was viewed as a complex issue, by both patients and coworkers. CONCLUSION The results of this study call for further intervention in supporting Indonesian nurses living in Japan in their struggle with the issue of communication. The emphasis on language acquisition for personal and professional objectives, and the bridging of cultural differences as well, should be considered in an international context.