Predictors of everyday functional impairment in older patients with schizophrenia: A cross-sectional study

ObjectiveThis study investigates the prevalence of everyday functional impairment among older adults with schizophrenia and builds a predictive model of functional decline.MethodsA total of 113 hospitalized older patients enrolled in this study. Functional impairment is defined according to the Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ). Patients who scored <9 could function independently daily, while those who scored ≥9 had problems in everyday functional activities. Data collected include sociodemographic characteristics, depressive symptoms, social support, and physical comorbidities, which were classified according to the eight anatomical systems of the human body.ResultsThe sample comprised 75% female participants with a mean age of 63.74 ± 7.42 years old. A total of 33.6% had a functional impairment, while cognitive impairment was present in 63.7%. Independent participants had better urinary system and respiratory system health (P < 0.05). After adjusting for the potential confounders of age, disease course, physical comorbidities, psychiatric symptoms, the ability to independently carry out daily activities, and cognitive function, we found that impaired everyday function is associated with poor cognition, depressive symptoms, first admission, psychiatric symptoms (especially positive symptoms), ADL, and respiratory and urinary system diseases.ConclusionEveryday functional capacity is predicted by disease course, admission time, cognition, depressive symptoms, severity of psychosis, ability to carry out daily activities, and respiratory and urinary system health status. Urinary system diseases contribute significantly to the prediction of impaired function. Future studies should focus on health status, drug use, and everyday functional recovery in older patients with schizophrenia

Factors influencing the level of insight and treatment attitude: a cross-sectional study of 141 elderly patients of major depression in Guangzhou, China

ObjectiveTo explore the insight, treatment attitude, and related influencing factors of hospitalized elderly patients suffering from major depression.MethodsA total of 141 hospitalized elderly patients with depression were selected as the research objects. Insight was evaluated by the total score of the Insight and Treatment Attitude questionnaire (ITAQ). The data collected included sociodemographic characteristics, psychiatric symptoms, delirium status, social functioning, social support, suicide risk, and cognitive function.ResultsThe sample included 74.5% of female patients, and the mean age was 67.53 (sd=7.19) years. The influencing factors of inpatients with depression included alcohol consumption, length of hospitalization, admission types, and the main caregivers (P<0.05). The various factors were further analyzed by linear regression, revealing that the insight and treatment attitude of elderly depressed hospitalized patients were mainly related to the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) (β= 0.225, 95% CI 0.055–0.395, P=0.01), dependent on a caregiver (β=-5.810, 95% CI -8.086~-3.535, P<0.001), the type of admission (involuntary admission) (β=-3.365, 95% CI -5.448~-1.283, P=0.002), Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) (β=-0.156, 95% CI -0.303~-0.010, P=0.037), and length of stay (≤28 days) (β=2.272, 95% CI 0.055~-4.489, P=0.045).ConclusionThe level of insight was affected by cognitive function, involuntary admission, dependent on a caregiver, social function and length of stay. Future studies should focus on cognitive function recovery, observation of admission mode, and self-care ability in elderly patients with depression

Developing accounting standards on the basis of a conceptual framework by the Chinese government

Contradictory to some existing theories, the Chinese government has been developing accounting standards on the basis of a conceptual framework (CF) titled Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises (ASBE). This article evaluates the role of the ASBE and explores the potential benefits and risks of and the reasons for the adoption of a government-controlled and CF-based approach. We argue that a CF can play an important role even if accounting standard-setting is controlled by the government; however, the ASBE provides an insufficient basis for developing accounting standards

Political Ideology and Accounting Regulation in China

This paper analyzes the relationship between political ideology and accounting change covering the transition from Maoism to Dengism in China. Under Mao, the ideological principles of class struggle primacy, central planning, and public ownership were mobilized to construct a class view of accounting according to which Western accounting concepts were prohibited because they were considered a tool of capitalist exploitation. Under Deng, the new ideological principles of economic development primacy, marketization, and mixed-ownership paved the way for a different view of accounting to emerge. Accounting was re-presented as a science and a neutral technology with no national boundaries, and the adoption of what were deemed Western accounting concepts, such as conservatism, was encouraged. In both eras, accounting was construed as a malleable object shaped by the force of the dominant political discourse. We show how in each era political ideology created a context that was rendered more or less compatible with the adoption of particular accounting concepts