Exploring the care experiences of hemodialysis nurses: from the cultural sensitivity approach.

Background: Culturally sensitive care has been identified as a best-practice approach for improving health outcomes. Hemodialysis patients require culturally sensitive care because it involves totally changing their previous life. The purpose of this study was to explore the subjective experiences of hemodialysis nurses in providing culturally sensitive care to hemodialysis patients.

Challenges faced by community connectors: lessons learned from a Taiwan public health initiative.

Background: Effective solutions that meet the diverse community health needs of older adult populations are of critical importance. To address these needs, a nationwide community connector team-tasked with providing referral support to older adult populations and completing an asset mapping resource inventory initiative centered around the needs of older adult populations-was developed in Taiwan. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore community connectors' experiences and challenges.

Shared clinical decision-making experiences in nursing: a qualitative study.

Background: Shared decision making (SDM) is a patient-centered nursing concept that emphasizes the autonomy of patients. SDM is a co-operative process that involves information exchange and communication between medical staff and patients for making treatment decisions. In this study, we explored the experiences of clinical nursing staff participating in SDM.

The association between maternal exposure to outdoor air pollutants, inflammatory response, and birth weight in healthy women.

Increased maternal inflammatory response has been noted in women with pregnancies complicated by preterm birth and small-for-gestational age infants. However, the association between gestational exposure to air pollutants, maternal inflammatory response, and fetal growth remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the association between exposure to air pollutants during pregnancy and the concentration of inflammatory indicators in maternal and fetal circulations, as well as fetal growth.

[Challenges to the Nursing Practicum During the COVID-19 Pandemic].

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted first-line medical staff as well as nursing-student clinical practicum programs. How to cooperate with the government's pandemic-prevention policies and reduce the gap between education and clinical practice represent significant challenges. In this paper, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology (CCUST) is used as an example to show how schools in Taiwan have effectively adapted the fundamentals of nursing practicum programs to the current pandemic using e-learning, group discussions, case analysis, clinical skill practice, and clinical case simulation scenario exercises.

Mother-infant interaction quality and sense of parenting competence at six months postpartum for first-time mothers in Taiwan: a multiple time series design.

Background: For first-time mothers, not knowing how to interact with newborn infants increases anxiety and decreases the quality of the parent-infant interactions. A substantial lack of interactional knowledge can ultimately limit the adjustments necessary for a stable transition into motherhood. This study investigated how postpartum parenting education influenced first-time mothers' mother-infant interaction quality and parenting sense of competence.

High total volatile organic compounds pollution in a hospital dental department.

Bioaerosols produced by dental procedures may affect indoor air quality and cause infections in dental healthcare workers. To provide air quality data that can be used to protect dental healthcare workers, this study evaluated the air quality and its influencing factors in the dental department of the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan. The study was a cross-sectional study design.

The relationships among Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus exposure, exhaled nitric oxide, and exhaled breath condensate pH levels in atopic asthmatic children.

This study examined seasonal changes in indoor Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus 1 (Der p 1)/Blattella germanica 1 (Bla g 1) antigen concentrations in the homes of atopic asthmatic and atopic nonasthmatic children. Possible associations between environmental allergen exposure and levels of exhaled breath indices were also evaluated.A total of 38 atopic children were recruited for this cross-sectional study: 22 were asthmatic and 16 were nonasthmatic.

Detection of Common Respiratory Viruses and Mycoplasma pneumoniae in Patient-Occupied Rooms in Pediatric Wards.

Few studies have assessed viral contamination in the rooms of hospital wards. This cross-sectional study evaluated the air and objects in patient-occupied rooms in pediatric wards for the presence of common respiratory viruses and Mycoplasma pneumoniae.Air samplers were placed at a short (60-80 cm) and long (320 cm) distance from the head of the beds of 58 pediatric patients, who were subsequently confirmed to be infected with enterovirus (n = 17), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (n = 13), influenza A virus (n = 13), adenovirus (n = 9), or M pneumoniae (n = 6).

Aerosol distribution during open suctioning and long-term surveillance of air quality in a respiratory care center within a medical center.

Background: The investigation of hospital air quality has been conducted in wards, ICUs, operating theaters, and public areas. Few studies have assessed air quality in respiratory care centers (RCCs), especially in mechanically ventilated patients with open suctioning.

Methods: The RCC air quality indices (temperature, relative humidity, levels of CO2, total volatile organic compounds, particulate matter [PM], bacteria, and fungi) were monitored over 1 y.

Working conditions associated with ovarian cycle in a medical center nurses: a Taiwan study.

Aim: Decreased basal body temperature measurements predict ovulation with an accuracy of 74%. The anovulatory cycle exhibits an ovarian monophasic pattern. This study evaluated the relationship between ovarian cycle pattern and sociodemographic characteristics, menstrual history and work characteristics of nurses in a Taiwan medical center.

The associations between menstrual function and life style/working conditions among nurses in Taiwan.

This study was aimed at understanding the relationship among menstrual pattern, dysmenorrhea, life style and working conditions in nurses. The nurses were randomly selected from a medical center in Northern Taiwan. Each subject completed daily records including life and working conditions during the study period.