Are nursing students in Hong Kong wellprepared for urinary incontinence care?

—Background:  Urinary incontinence is a common disorder that affects men and women of all ages. An effective management of urinary incontinence requires adequate knowledge and positive attitudes from health care professionals. Nursing students who share similar care tasks with qualified nurses should have adequate knowledge to provide quality continence care. There is little evidence to inform the knowledge and attitudes toward urinary incontinence among nursing students in Hong Kong. The purpose of this study was to examine nursing students’ urinary incontinence knowledge and attitude. Methods: A crosssectional survey was conducted in February 2017. A sample of 392 nursing students from 5 different educational institutions in Hong Kong was recruited. Two validated questionnaires, the Urinary Incontinence Knowledge Scale (UIKS) and Urinary Incontinence Attitude Scale (UIAS) were used to measure knowledge and attitudes towards urinary incontinence respectively. Results: Overall urinary incontinence knowledge was moderate (73.3%, mean 22.0/30, SD 4.4) and attitudes concerning urinary incontinence were generally positive (69.3%, mean 41.6/60, SD 4.5). There was a weak correlation between urinary incontinence knowledge and attitudes (r = 0.175, p = 0.001). A high level of interest in learning more about urinary incontinence was reported (71.2%). Conclusions: Hong Kong nursing students had moderate level of knowledge and positive attitude towards urinary incontinence. This study suggests that nursing students in Hong Kong are not well prepared to provide urinary incontinence care. There is still a need to examine the urinary incontinence course content within the nursing programme in Hong Kong

The Specific Characteristics of Childhood Obesity and the Effective Strategies to Combat Childhood Obesity in Hong Kong: A Short Review

Childhood obesity is a serious public health problem all around the world. The problem also currently exists in Hong Kong. Unhealthy lifestyle behavior may be one of key factors contributing to childhood obesity. The review revealed the specific characteristics of childhood obesity and the effective strategies in prevention of childhood obesity in Hong Kong context. Hong Kong is a metropolitan city which is interwoven eastern and western culture. The historical reasons and the complex political issues lead to overcrowded of people living in a small place. The environmental factors and the lifestyle pattern are the crucial causes contributing to childhood obesity. Parents have significant influence in shaping lifestyle behavior of children. While Chinese culture, informal childcare and more energy-dense food consumptions are the specific factors affecting children in lifestyle behavior as shown in the previous studies. The finding of the present review paper is expected to realize root causes of the prevalence of childhood obesity. On the other hand, many studies regarding to the treatment of childhood obesity were also reviewed. It was found that fewer studies were conducted to provide the combined intervention to combat childhood obesity. Generally, parental education was not the focus of childhood obesity intervention programs and parent-oriented approach was not commonly adopted in these programs. While limited childhood obesity intervention programs have been conducted in Hong Kong, it is recommended to conduct an appropriate program for children specifically in Hong Kong context. The design of preventive strategies should take into consideration of these specific characteristics in Hong Kong to reverse the increased prevalence of childhood obesity

Associations among stressors, perceived stress, and psychological distress in nursing students: a mixed methods longitudinal study of a Hong Kong sample

BackgroundNursing students are at risk for high-stress levels and psychological distress. Limited longitudinal studies have been conducted examining factors associated with stress levels and psychological distress of nursing students in their course of study.PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine the levels of stress and corresponding stressors, particularly those predicting psychological distress, among nursing students over their 5 years of study.MethodsA longitudinal design, using questionnaires and focus group interviews of a single cohort of nursing students in Hong Kong and following them over their 5 years of training. The Stressors in Nursing Students Scale-Chinese version and the Chinese version of General Health Questionnaire-12 were used to assess stress levels and psychological distress, respectively.ResultsNinety-seven participants completed the questionnaires 5 times. Quantitative findings revealed that the overall stress levels of the nursing students increased over 5 years (from mean = 3.08 to 3.33), with the highest levels in the second wave (mean = 3.33). Nursing students experienced higher stress during years 2 (p = 0.006) and 4 (p = 0.037). Psychological distress was the highest in year 3 (sum score = 18.47) (p = 0.002) but declined from year 4 (p < 0.001). Thematic analysis revealed that academic performance issues, coping challenges, unfavorable learning environments, relationships were identified as the stressors. However, nursing students also used positive coping strategies to pursue success and seek support.ConclusionThis study suggests that the year of study is a significant predictor of stress levels among nursing students, especially during the first and senior years due to heavy academic workload. Psychological distress was observed among nursing students, and those who worked more part-time jobs tended to report higher levels of distress. The junior year was associated with higher levels of distress related to financial and time-related stress, while academic and personal problems were more prevalent during the senior year