An exploration of factors related to quality of life in Indonesian care workers in home-based care settings

Background Indonesians constituted 79% of foreign care workers for long-term care in Taiwan in 2015. Therefore, it is crucial to explore the effect of work stress and quality of life (QoL) on this population.Purpose This study aims to explore stress levels, social support requirements, and perceived QoL among Indonesian care workers (ICWs) who work in home care settings.Methods A cross-sectional design was used. Data were collected between 2014 and 2016 from a convenience sample of ICWs working in eastern Taiwan using a self-administered questionnaire that comprised the Stress Perception Scale (SPS), Social Support Scale (SSS), and World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief scale. One hundred fifty-seven valid questionnaires were collected. The response rate was 80.51%. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis.Results The results found that the average SPS of the sample was 70.50, with low QoL scores and requirements for more social support. In addition, significant and positive correlations were found between QoL and SPS, SSS, duration of patient care, and hours of care per week. Stepwise regression analysis showed that the most predictive variables for QoL were time spent caring, preservice training, psychological stress, and emotional support, which together accounted for 60.9% of the total variance.Conclusions/Implications for Practice This study facilitated understanding of the stress on ICWs and the impact of social support on their QoL. The findings suggest that new immigrants in Taiwan should be introduced to foreign care workers or nursing attendants. Moreover, long-term-care-related teachers should work with home care institutions or agencies to develop a teaching model for innovative care skills to relieve the perceived stress of ICWs

Fever Screening at Airports and Imported Dengue

Airport fever screening in Taiwan, July 2003–June 2004, identified 40 confirmed dengue cases. Results obtained by capture immunoglobulin (Ig) M and IgG enzyme-linked immunoassay, real time 1-step polymerase chain reaction, and virus isolation showed that 33 (82.5%) of 40 patients were viremic. Airport fever screening can thus quickly identify imported dengue cases

Adsorption and dissociation of water on Zr(0001) with density-functional theory studies

The adsorption and dissociation of isolated water molecule on Zr(0001) surface are theoretically investigated for the first time by using density-functional theory calculations. Two kinds of adsorption configurations with almost the same adsorption energy are identified as the locally stable states, i.e., the flat and upright configurations respectively. It is shown that the flat adsorption states on the top site are dominated by the 1$b_{1}$-$d$ band coupling, insensitive to the azimuthal orientation. The diffusion between adjacent top sites reveals that the water molecule is very mobile on the surface. For the upright configuration, we find that besides the contribution of the molecular orbitals 1$b_{1}$ and 3$a_{1}$, the surface$\rightarrow$water charge transfer occurring across the Fermi level also plays an important role. The dissociation of H$_{2}$O is found to be very facile, especially for the upright configuration, in good accordance with the attainable experimental results. The present results afford to provide a guiding line for deeply understanding the water-induced surface corrosion of zirconium.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure

Less Invasive Mitral Valve Surgery via Right Minithoracotomy

Background/PurposeCurrent trends in cardiac surgical intervention are moving toward less invasiveness, with smaller wound or sternum-sparing, less pump time or off-pump, and beating rather than arrested heart. Data on the efficacy and safety of these newer less invasive techniques, as well as their cosmetic results, are limited. This study analyzed the results of a sternum-sparing mitral valve operation.MethodsThirty patients with mitral valve diseases, including 20 who underwent mitral valve repair and 10 mitral valve replacement, were enrolled. Cardiopulmonary bypass was established via femoral cannu-lation, and blood cardioplegic arrest was induced by using a percutaneous, transthoracic cross-clamp. The main surgical wound was made over the lateral border of the right breast. Two additional small wounds were required for the transthoracic aortic clamp and the mitral retractor.ResultsThere was no operative mortality, and all patients had an uneventful recovery. Two patients underwent redo mitral surgery. Nine associated procedures were performed including tricuspid valve annulo-plasty in six patients, tricuspid valve replacement in two patients and atrial septal defect repair in one patient. The length of the main wound was between 5.8 and 7.8 cm (mean, 7.1 cm). The mean cardiopul-monary bypass time and cross-clamp time were 91.1 and 43.7 minutes, respectively. Although the length of stay was not significantly reduced compared with traditional median sternotomy, all patients had satisfactory results with good cosmesis.ConclusionSternum-sparing mitral valve surgery appears to be a safe and effective alternative to conventional mitral valve surgery; it is less invasive and provides superior cosmetic results for patients

Adsorption and diffusion of H2O molecule on the Be(0001) surface: A density-functional theory study

Using first-principles calculations, we systematically study the adsorption behavior of a single molecular H$_{2}$O on the Be(0001) surface. We find that the favored molecular adsorption site is the top site with an adsorption energy of about 0.3 eV, together with the detailed electronic structure analysis, suggesting a weak binding strength of the H$_{2}$O/Be(0001) surface. The adsorption interaction is mainly contributed by the overlapping between the $s$ and $p_{z}$ states of the top-layer Be atom and the molecular orbitals 1$b_{1}$ and 3$a_{1}$ of H$_{2}$O. The activation energy for H$_{2}$O diffusion on the surface is about 0.3 eV. Meanwhile, our study indicates that no dissociation state exists for the H$_{2}$O/Be(0001) surface.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Negotiating The Maze: Confronting Dysphagia Together With My Stroke-Afflicted Family Member

Aim: To generate a descriptive theory grounded in the responses of family caregivers caring for their family stroke survivors with dysphagia during hospitalization. Design and Method: A qualitative study employing the grounded theory method was used. Fifteen family caregivers participated in comprehensive interviews. The interview data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Findings: ‘Negotiating the maze: Confronting dysphagia with my stroke-afflicted family member’ was the core category guiding the care process for dysphagia family members among caregivers. After surviving stroke, the caregivers felt ‘more confusion less rejoicing’ as the antecedent condition. The following three interaction categories were identified: (1) ‘being overwhelmed by nasogastric (NG) tube issues’; (2) ‘searching for the right helper and information’; and (3) ‘food culture conflicts with the formula diet administered through the NG tube’. Additionally, ‘Maintaining positivity’ described the consequence of this process. Conclusions: This study highlights the critical perspective of family members who care for dysphagia stroke survivors in the hospital. Participants were under tremendous pressure during the disease treatment process. However, all attempted to maintain a positive attitude and treasured the chance to accompany their family members. Clinical Relevance: These findings can assist health professionals in charting the effects of dysphagia and in understanding the problems and needs according to the subjective perspectives of family caregivers. They can also provide a necessary foundation for comprehensive care interventions for family caregivers of stroke survivors with dysphagia

Evaluation of Intrarenal Blood Flow by Doppler Ultrasonography Immediately after Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy on Hydronephrotic Kidney

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is an effective and relatively noninvasive mode of treatment for urinary calculi. The aim of this study was to test whether therapeutic ESWL induces changes in renal parenchymatous blood flow and to evaluate shock wave side effects on the renal parenchyma. A total of 45 patients who underwent ESWL for ureteropelvic stone between January 2002 and July 2003 were included in this prospective study. Color Doppler sonography before and 30 minutes after ESWL showed no significant morphologic change. Resistive index (RI) was used to estimate renovascular resistance. The RI significantly increased in obstructed hydronephrotic kidneys. However, no significant change was observed in both treated and untreated kidneys before and after treatment. Hydronephrotic kidneys do not have a higher risk of post-ESWL renovascular resistance interference. The measurement of changes in RI with Doppler ultrasonography may provide useful information for clinical diagnosis of renal tubulointerstitial and vascular damage

Associations between walking parameters and subsequent sleep difficulty in older adults:a 2-year follow-up study

Purpose: This 2-year follow-up study aimed to examine the associations between total volume, frequency, duration, and speed of walking with subsequent sleep difficulty in older adults. Methods: A total of 800 older adults aged 65 years and over participated in the first survey in 2012 and 511 of them were followed 2 years later. The 5-item Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS-5) was used to measure sleep difficulty. Frequency, duration, and speed of outdoor walking were self-reported. Walking speed was assigned a metabolic equivalent value (MET) from 2.5 to 4.5. Total walking volume in MET-h/week was calculated as frequency × duration × speed. Negative binomial regressions were performed to examine the associations between volume and components of walking with subsequent sleep difficulty with covariates of age, sex, education, marital status, living arrangement, smoking, alcohol consumption, mental health, Charlson Index, exercise (excluding walking), and sleep difficulty at baseline. Results: Participants with low walking volume had a higher level of sleep difficulty 2 years later compared with those with high walking volume (incident rate ratios = 1.61, p = 0.004). When speed, frequency, and duration of walking were simultaneously entered into 1 model, only walking speed was significantly associated with subsequent sleep difficulty (after the model was adjusted for covariates and baseline sleep difficulty). Sensitivity analyses showed that walking duration emerged as a significant predictor among 3 walking parameters, with 2-year changes of sleep scores as dependent variable. Conclusion: Total amount of walking (especially faster walking and lasting for more than 20 min) is associated with less subsequent sleep difficulty after 2 years among older adults