Diana Tze-Fan Lee

Randomized controlled trial comparing treatment outcome of two compression bandaging systems and standard care without compression in patients with venous leg ulcers.

Background  In Hong Kong, at the time of the study, compression treatment was not considered usual care for venous leg ulcer patients.

An evaluation of a web-based diabetes education program designed to enhance self-management among patients living with diabetes

Diabetes is a global public health problem. Maintaining optimal glycemic control is critical for minimizing associated long-term complications and achieving better quality of life. Effective diabetes self-management education is one key component to enhance diabetes clients’ self-management capabilities. The research team established a “Caring for Yourself—Managing Your Diabetes” Web site, which contained 35 video clips about diabetes management. The aim of this study was to evaluate user satisfaction with the Web-based diabetes self-management education program. A convenience sample of 100 diabetes clients (mean age, 61.5 [SD, 10.7] years) was invited to view one of the video clips via a laptop computer. A modified version of the Computer-Aided Learning Evaluation Questionnaire and the End-User Computing Satisfaction Questionnaire was used to evaluate participants’ satisfaction with the program. The results indicate that participants were satisfied with the format, content, and accuracy of the Web-based diabetes education program. Some participants suggested adding different types of exercises that are specific to the needs of client groups and more explanation of diabetes medications. The results of this study support the use of computer-assisted learning as a promising method for delivering diabetes self-management education, which is satisfactory to diabetes clients.

The effect of a virtual ward program on emergency services utilization and quality of life in frail elderly patients after discharge: a pilot study.

Introduction Attendance at emergency departments and unplanned hospital readmissions are common for frail older patients after discharge from hospitals. A virtual ward service was piloted to deliver “hospital-at-home” services by community nurses and geriatricians to frail older patients immediately after their discharge from hospital to reduce emergency services utilization. Objectives This study examined the impacts of the virtual ward service on changes in the patients’ emergency attendance and medical readmissions, and their quality of life (QOL). Methods A matched-control quasi-experimental study was conducted at four hospitals, with three providing the virtual ward service (intervention) and one providing the usual community nursing care (control). Subjects in the intervention group were those who are at high risk of readmission and who are supported by home carers recruited from the three hospitals providing the virtual ward service. Matched control patients were those recruited from the hospital providing usual care. Outcome measures include emergency attendance and medical readmission in the past 90 days as identified from medical records, and patient-reported QOL as measured by the modified Quality-of-Life Concerns in the End of Life Questionnaire (Chinese version). Wilcoxon signed-rank tests compared the changes in the outcome variables between groups. Results A total of 39 patients in each of the two groups were recruited. The virtual ward group showed a greater significant reduction in the number of unplanned emergency hospital readmissions (−1.41±1.23 versus −0.77±1.31; P=0.049) and a significant improvement in their overall QOL (n=18; 0.60±0.56 versus 0.07±0.56; P=0.02), but there was no significant difference in the number of emergency attendances (−1.51±1.25 versus −1.08±1.48; P=0.29). Conclusion The study results support the effectiveness of the virtual ward service in reducing unplanned emergency medical readmissions and in improving the QOL in frail older patients after discharge.