Cardiovascular risk profiling among South Asian adults in Hong Kong: a latent class analysis.

Background: South Asians living in urbanized settings are facing disproportionate cardiovascular burden largely attributable to modifiable risk factors. Given the rapid surge in South Asian population in Hong Kong, this study aims to identify and distinguish clusters of cardiovascular risk profiles among community-dwelling South Asian adults.

Methods: Between June 2022 and December 2023, 1181 South Asian adults were recruited through territory-wide outreach health assessments on lifestyle, psychological distress, obesity, clinical cardiovascular conditions, and sociodemographic factors.

Re-Engagement in Physical Activity Slows the Decline in Older Adults' Well-Being - A Longitudinal Study.

Physical activity is recommended for older adults; however, the benefits of previous active engagement in physical activity that can be sustained after one becomes inactive remain to be determined. This study investigated the longitudinal associations between physical activity engagement patterns and older adults' well-being. This population-based cohort study used data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study between 2015 and 2020.

Interventions to Reduce Loneliness Among Community-dwelling Older Adults: A Network Meta-analysis and Systematic Review.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions in reducing loneliness among community-dwelling older adults.

Design: A network meta-analysis (NMA) and systematic review.

Setting And Participants: Interventional studies were included if they contained original quantitative data on interventions to reduce loneliness among community-dwelling older adults.

Effect of a Nurse-Led Support Program Using Mobile Application Versus Nurse Phone Advice on Patients at Risk of Coronary Artery Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a major health problem of atherosclerotic cardiovascular (CV) disease and early intervention is regarded important. Given the proven effect of a lifestyle intervention with nursing telephone counselling and mHealth use in health care, yet the comparisons of both support are lacking, this study is proposed.

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the effects of a coronary artery disease (CAD) support program using a mobile application versus nurse phone advice on exercise amount and physical and psychological outcomes for clients at risk of CAD.

Lay health coaching intervention for older adults with chronic diseases: study protocol for a pragmatic randomised controlled trial.

Background: A large proportion of older adults suffer from chronic diseases. Health coaching is a promising intervention that enhances individuals' health knowledge and supports changes in health behaviours. Even though health professionals usually conduct health coaching interventions, lay health workers from different backgrounds account for a growing segment of health coaches over the years.

The associations of e-health perception and dementia knowledge with dementia public stigma in nursing students: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Preparing nursing students for dementia care, a prevalent cause of mortality, disability, and dependency among older people, is essential. Positive perceptions of e-health are believed to be associated with better knowledge, attitude, and skills among nurses across various care contexts. However, the relationship between e-health perception and nursing students' dementia knowledge and stigma remains underexplored.

Differences in intention to receive clinician-collected and self-collected samples for HPV DNA testing and its determinants between heterosexual males and females in Hong Kong, China: findings of a territory-wide household survey.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is prevalent among people who are sexually active. This study aimed to compare the levels of behavioral intention to receive free clinician-collected and self-collected samples for HPV DNA testing and its determinants between heterosexual males and females in Hong Kong, China.

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a territory-wide survey conducted in Hong Kong between May 2021 and March 2022.

The effect of dwelling size on the mental health and quality of life of female caregivers living in informal tiny homes in Hong Kong.

Background: Although the adverse impact of substandard informal housing has been widely documented, most studies concentrated on developing societies, thereby leaving informal housing in developed regions underexplored. This study examines Hong Kong, where limited dwelling size is a distinctive feature that characterises informal housing, to explore the impact of housing informality on mental health, with a particular focus on dwelling size. It centers on subdivided units (SDUs), which are tiny compartments partitioned from a large domestic quarter, to understand how housing informality and housing size affect the mental well-being of female caregivers, who typically bear the brunt of the housework.

Invitation strategy of vaginal HPV self-sampling to improve participation in cervical cancer screening: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling is recognized as a feasible option for enhancing screening for cervical cancer, particularly among hard-to-reach women. The magnitude of the effectiveness of screening participation under different invitation strategies was reported. This review seeks to compare the effectiveness of invitation strategies in increasing screening participation of HPV self-sampling across diverse study settings.

Public Preference for Off-Label Use of Drugs for Cancer Treatment and Relative Importance of Associated Adverse Events: A Discrete Choice Experiment and Best-Worst Scaling.

Background And Objective: Patients may get more treatment options with off-label use of drugs while exposed to unknown risks of adverse events. Little is known about the public or demand-side perspective on off-label drug use, which is important to understand how to use off-label treatment and devise financial assistance. This study aimed to quantify public preference for off-label cancer treatment outcomes, process, and costs, and perceived importance of associated adverse events.

The risk of hospitalization associated with hot nights and excess nighttime heat in a subtropical metropolis: a time-series study in Hong Kong, 2000-2019.

Background: Recent studies showed increased mortality risks after hot nights, but their effect on hospitalizations, especially in vulnerable populations, remains under-studied.

Methods: Daily hospitalization, meteorological (including hourly), and air pollution data were collected for the hot seasons (May-October) of 2000-19 in Hong Kong. We derived three hot-night metrics: HNday, daily minimum temperature ≥28 °C, the governmental definition of hot nights; HNe, hot night excess calculated by summing heat excess of hourly temperatures above 28 °C at night; and HNday, hot nights classified using the 90th percentile HNe (17.

Patient experience and satisfaction with shared decision-making: A cross-sectional study among outpatients.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate how doctor-patient communication, trust in doctors impacted patients' experience and satisfaction in shared decision-making (SDM).

Methods: This study is based on the data from a cross-sectional survey (n = 12,401) conducted in 27 public specialist outpatient clinics in Hong Kong.

Results: The multivariable regression models revealed that doctors' better communication skills were associated with lower decision-making involvement (odd ratio, 0.

Risk Factors Associated With General and Abdominal Obesity Among South Asian Minorities in Hong Kong.

South Asians have become a sizable ethnic minority in Hong Kong with unique health and social needs often being overlooked. Elevated obesity risk among South Asians has been highlighted in high-income Western settings; however, relevant local evidence is scarce. This cross-sectional study aims to explore the obesity prevalence and related risk factors among South Asians in Hong Kong.

The influence of written medication reminder on patient experience among older adult patients: a repeat cross-sectional study.

Background: Older adult patients are particularly vulnerable to medication-related issues during the discharge process. To enhance medication discharge education and patient experience, a written medication reminder, incorporating crucial medication side effects and warning signs, was implemented in medicine wards. This study aimed to examine the influence of this reminder on patient experience and medication-taking behaviors among older adults in public healthcare settings.

Age Differences in Electronic Mental Health Literacy: Qualitative Study.

Background: Electronic mental health literacy (eMHL) is critical for accessing and effectively using digital mental health resources. However, there is a paucity of research on how eMHL varies across age groups.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate differences in eMHL among young, middle-aged, and older adults; provide insights into the needs, behaviors, and attitudes of different age groups in relation to digital mental health resources; and ultimately, inform the improvement of mental health services.

Implementing the information system for older adult patients post-discharge self-management: a qualitative study.

Background: Discharging older adult patients from the hospital poses risks due to their vulnerable conditions, complex instructions and limited health literacy. Insufficient information about medication side effects adds to patient concerns. To address this, a post-discharge information summary system was developed.

Outcomes and Hospital Service Use Among Patients With COPD in a Nurse- and Allied Health-Led Clinic.

Importance: Multidisciplinary disease management efforts enable the improvement in lung function among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but there is little evidence of its association with risks of adverse health outcomes and health care service use.

Objective: To examine the association between the use of a nurse- and allied health-led primary care clinic for respiratory patients, namely the Nurse and Allied Health Clinic-Respiratory Care (NAHC-Respiratory), and their risks of mortality and morbidity and health care service use.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This territory-wide, population-based, propensity-matched, retrospective cohort study used data from the electronic health records of all patients who used public health care services in Hong Kong, China, from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2019.

Coping strategies of internally displaced persons and the host community in a region of armed conflict: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Conflict leads to the displacement of people, making it more difficult for them to cope with increasing stress. In war-affected regions, people use different strategies to cope with their stress. This study examines the coping strategies of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and those in host communities in war zones.

Effects of virtual reality on anxiety and pain in adult patients undergoing wound-closure procedures: A pilot randomized controlled trial.

Background: In emergency departments, suturing is a typical procedure for closing lacerated wounds but is invasive and often causes anxiety and pain. Virtual reality (VR) intervention has been reported as a relaxing measure.

Objective: The study aims to examine the effects of VR intervention on anxiety, pain, physiological parameters, local anesthesia requirements and satisfaction in Chinese adult patients undergoing wound closure in emergency departments in Hong Kong.

Caregiver Employees' Mental Well-Being in Hong Kong.

Background: The rapidly aging global population has increased the demand for caregivers. Many caregivers simultaneously engage in paid employment, and the dual role makes the needs of caregiver employees conceivably more remarkable. However, there is a gap in the literature about the specific needs of caregiver employees.

Effectiveness of a self-determination theory-based smoking cessation intervention plus instant messaging via mobile application for smokers with cancer: Protocol for a pragmatic randomized controlled trial.

Background And Aims: Despite evidence that patients living with cancer who continue to smoke after diagnosis are at higher risk for all-cause mortality and reduced treatment efficacy, many cancer patients continue to smoke. This protocol is for a study to test the effectiveness of a self-determination theory-based intervention (quit immediately or progressively) plus instant messaging (WhatsApp or WeChat) to help smokers with cancer to quit smoking.

Design: This will be a multi-centre, two-arm (1:1), single-blind, pragmatic, individually randomized controlled trial.

Social Support, Resilience, and Mental Health Among Three High-Risk Groups in Hong Kong: A Mediation Analysis.

Objectives: To compare the prevalence of anxiety/depression, resilience, and social support among nurses, foreign domestic helpers (FDHs), and residents living in subdivided units (SDUs), and to examine their associations in these high-risk groups in Hong Kong during Omicron waves.

Methods: We recruited 1,014 nurses, 621 FDHs, and 651 SDU residents from December 2021 to May 2022 in this cross-sectional survey. The depression, anxiety, social support, and resilience levels were measured by the validated scales.