A prospective cohort study to investigate parental stress and child health in low-income Chinese families: protocol paper.

Introduction: Chronic stress has adverse effects on health. Adults and children from low-income families are subject to multiple sources of stress. Existing literature about economic hardship mostly focuses on either adults or children but not both.

Maternal mental quality of life mediates the associations between intimate partner abuse against mothers and their children's behaviours and quality of life in low-income Chinese families.

Purpose: To explore the association between maternal intimate partner abuse (IPA) and their children's health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and behavioural problem, and to establish a mediation model and investigate the mediating role of mothers' HRQOL on this association.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 197 mothers of 227 children (112 boys and 115 girls) from low-income Chinese families. The mothers were asked to complete the 5-item abuse assessment screen questionnaire for the presence of IPA, the Chinese (Hong Kong) version of 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) for their HRQOL and a structured socio-demographics questionnaire.

Development of a Health Empowerment Programme to improve the health of working poor families: protocol for a prospective cohort study in Hong Kong.

Introduction: People from working poor families are at high risk of poor health partly due to limited healthcare access. Health empowerment, a process by which people can gain greater control over the decisions affecting their lives and health through education and motivation, can be an effective way to enhance health, health-related quality of life (HRQOL), health awareness and health-seeking behaviours of these people. A new cohort study will be launched to explore the potential for a Health Empowerment Programme to enable these families by enhancing their health status and modifying their attitudes towards health-related issues.

Clinical management for patients admitted to a critical care unit with severe sepsis or septic shock.

Background: The Surviving Sepsis Campaign promotes the use of norepinephrine as the first-line inotropic support for patients presenting with severe sepsis or septic shock in cases of persistent hypotension, despite adequate fluid resuscitation. However, there is little published evidence on how much noradrenaline is administered to such patients when admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). The authors report the clinical management of this group of patients, with a special focus on the total amount and duration of norepinephrine infusion required.

Evaluating the effectiveness of personal resilience and enrichment programme (PREP) for HIV prevention among female sex workers: a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Female sex workers (FSWs) are often considered as the vector, if not reservoir, of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Building upon the existing evidence on the role of psychological health in sexual health, the aim of this protocol is to describe a trial investigating the effectiveness of the Personal Resilience and Enrichment Programme (PREP), a resilience-promoting intervention that targets at psychological well-being i.e.