The transition challenges faced by new graduate nurses in their first year of professional experience

Though nurses form the largest group of healthcare professionals in most of the healthcare systems, the transition from an academic to a real-world setting is characterized by high stress and reality shock, which contributes to a high turnover rate during the first year of practice. This qualitative study aimed to illustrate the transition experience of new graduate nurses and to identify the factors affecting their adaptation processes. Registered nurses who had completed university nursing training program and possessed about a year of professional nursing experience in Hong Kong were recruited for semi-structured, face-to-face individual interviews. The data was saturated after 14 new graduate nurses had been interviewed. The participants experienced complicated perceptions with fluctuating feelings ranging from frustration to a sense of accomplishment during the transition period. Four interrelated human and work related factors were illuminated to influence their adaptation to transition: 1) professional accountability and competency, 2) personal adaptation attitude and ability, 3) interpersonal relationships with colleagues and 4) institutional/workplace support and orientation. The findings demonstrated a close link between perceptions and the interrelated factors affecting transition experiences and adaptation processes. Education and healthcare institutions should provide more training and support in the promotion of emotional well-being, the improvement of professional knowledge and skills, and in-service adaptation enhancement programs before and during the transition. Further comprehensive studies with longitudinal designs are recommended to explore the perceptions of new graduate nurses. Keyword

Psycho-behavioural responses of the general population to COVID-19 after mass vaccination: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Previous studies have examined public psycho-behavioural responses in the early stages of the epidemic, little is known after mass vaccination has been implemented. This study aimed to investigate the public's behavioural (adoption of COVID-19 precautionary measures) and psychological (depression, anxiety and stress) responses to COVID-19 and their relationships after the launch of the territory-wide vaccination programme in Hong Kong. Methods A cross-sectional survey study using anonymous online or face-to-face questionnaires was conducted between June 2021 and September 2021. A convenience sample of Hong Kong Chinese residents aged ⩾18 years were recruited online by referrals and from a university-run community vaccination centre. Results A total of 1893 valid questionnaires were received. The results showed that Hong Kong residents have high levels of adoption of precautionary measures and low levels of depression, anxiety and stress after the mass vaccination. Hierarchical regression analysis identified that in the fully adjusted model, the adoption of precautionary measures was a consistent protective factor (β ranged −1.51 to −1.67, p < 0.001) for depression, anxiety and stress amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions This study offers new information on the public's psycho-behavioural responses to the pandemic, as well as insights into public health planning after introducing the mass vaccination

Aerosol scattering effects on water vapor retrievals over the Los Angeles Basin

In this study, we propose a novel approach to describe the scattering effects of atmospheric aerosols in a complex urban environment using water vapor (H_2O) slant column measurements in the near infrared. This approach is demonstrated using measurements from the California Laboratory for Atmospheric Remote Sensing Fourier Transform Spectrometer on the top of Mt. Wilson, California, and a two-stream-exact single scattering (2S-ESS) radiative transfer (RT) model. From the spectral measurements, we retrieve H_2O slant column density (SCD) using 15 different absorption bands between 4000 and 8000 cm^(−1). Due to the wavelength dependence of aerosol scattering, large variations in H_2O SCD retrievals are observed as a function of wavelength. Moreover, the variations are found to be correlated with aerosol optical depths (AODs) measured at the AERONET-Caltech station. Simulation results from the RT model reproduce this correlation and show that the aerosol scattering effect is the primary contributor to the variations in the wavelength dependence of the H_2O SCD retrievals. A significant linear correlation is also found between variations in H_2O SCD retrievals from different bands and corresponding AOD data; this correlation is associated with the asymmetry parameter, which is a first-order measure of the aerosol scattering phase function. The evidence from both measurements and simulations suggests that wavelength-dependent aerosol scattering effects can be derived using H_2O retrievals from multiple bands. This understanding of aerosol scattering effects on H_2O retrievals suggests a promising way to quantify the effect of aerosol scattering on greenhouse gas retrievals and could potentially contribute towards reducing biases in greenhouse gas retrievals from space

Los Angeles megacity: a high-resolution land–atmosphere modelling system for urban CO_2 emissions

Megacities are major sources of anthropogenic fossil fuel CO_2 (FFCO_2) emissions. The spatial extents of these large urban systems cover areas of 10000 km^2 or more with complex topography and changing landscapes. We present a high-resolution land–atmosphere modelling system for urban CO_2 emissions over the Los Angeles (LA) megacity area. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)-Chem model was coupled to a very high-resolution FFCO_2 emission product, Hestia-LA, to simulate atmospheric CO_2 concentrations across the LA megacity at spatial resolutions as fine as  ∼ 1 km. We evaluated multiple WRF configurations, selecting one that minimized errors in wind speed, wind direction, and boundary layer height as evaluated by its performance against meteorological data collected during the CalNex-LA campaign (May–June 2010). Our results show no significant difference between moderate-resolution (4 km) and high-resolution (1.3 km) simulations when evaluated against surface meteorological data, but the high-resolution configurations better resolved planetary boundary layer heights and vertical gradients in the horizontal mean winds. We coupled our WRF configuration with the Vulcan 2.2 (10 km resolution) and Hestia-LA (1.3 km resolution) fossil fuel CO_2 emission products to evaluate the impact of the spatial resolution of the CO_2 emission products and the meteorological transport model on the representation of spatiotemporal variability in simulated atmospheric CO_2 concentrations. We find that high spatial resolution in the fossil fuel CO_2 emissions is more important than in the atmospheric model to capture CO_2 concentration variability across the LA megacity. Finally, we present a novel approach that employs simultaneous correlations of the simulated atmospheric CO_2 fields to qualitatively evaluate the greenhouse gas measurement network over the LA megacity. Spatial correlations in the atmospheric CO_2 fields reflect the coverage of individual measurement sites when a statistically significant number of sites observe emissions from a specific source or location. We conclude that elevated atmospheric CO_2 concentrations over the LA megacity are composed of multiple fine-scale plumes rather than a single homogenous urban dome. Furthermore, we conclude that FFCO_2 emissions monitoring in the LA megacity requires FFCO_2 emissions modelling with  ∼ 1 km resolution because coarser-resolution emissions modelling tends to overestimate the observational constraints on the emissions estimates

Outcomes from elective colorectal cancer surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

This study aimed to describe the change in surgical practice and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mortality after surgical resection of colorectal cancer during the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Borderline personality disorder features and their relationship with trauma and dissociation in a sample of community health service users

Abstract Background Previous studies have indicated that borderline personality disorder (BPD) is closely associated with trauma and dissociation. Nevertheless, BPD is a heterogeneous condition, and not all people with BPD have severe dissociation. This study examined whether the relationship of BPD features with trauma and dissociation would remain significant after controlling for some general non-specific mental health distress. We also made the first attempt to explore which specific BPD features would be particularly associated with dissociation. Methods We analyzed survey data from a sample of community health service users in Hong Kong (N = 376). Hierarchical multiple regression and data-driven network analysis were used. Results The lifetime prevalence of DSM-5 BPD was 16.0% in our sample. Of participants who met criteria for BPD, 43.3% scored above cutoff on the dissociation measures, thus possibly having clinically significant dissociative symptoms. BPD features were associated with adulthood trauma and psychoform dissociation even after controlling for age, depression and self-esteem. Network analysis showed that some BPD features – including impulsivity, identity disturbance and suicidal/self-mutilation behaviors – were particularly associated with dissociation; other BPD features such as interpersonal-related problems had relatively weak to no connection with dissociation. Conclusions Our results suggested that some particular BPD features might be dissociative in nature, although further longitudinal research is required. We argue that a trauma-informed perspective should be employed when working with clients presenting with BPD features despite these features being commonly stigmatized. Further research on the intervention needs of the people with BPD who suffer from high levels of dissociation is required