Reliability and Validity of Four Step Tests in Older Adults With Dementia.

Objectives: To determine the test-retest and inter-rater reliability, concurrent and discriminative validity of the Four Square Step Test (FSST), the Choice Stepping Reaction Time Test (CSRTT), the Maximum Step Length Test (MSLT), and the Alternate Step Test (AST) in older adults with dementia.

Methods: Thirty-seven older adults with dementia who could walk independently for at least 10 m were recruited at community centers and day care centers for older adults. The participants completed the step tests conducted by two independent raters on three separate testing occasions within 3 weeks.

Assessment of the Psychometric Properties of the Mask Usability Scale: A Measure of the Perceived Usability of N95 Respirators Among Healthcare Students and Staff.

Aim: To test the reliability and construct validity of the Mask Usability Scale in healthcare students and staff.

Design: A methodological study involving repeated measures.

Methods: The study included two batches of participants: (1) 283 university nursing students and (2) 1753 participants composed of students (61%) and clinical staff (39%).

Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index: Test-Retest Reliability and Agreement in People With Stroke.

The cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) is superior to traditional methods of measuring arterial stiffness. However, its application in clinical practice has lagged behind the science. This study aimed to (1) examine its test-retest reliability and agreement between repeated measurements, (2) identify the correlation with fatigue and sleep quality, and (3) compare the CAVI values of the bilateral sides of people with stroke, and those of stroke survivors with and without fatigue.

Psychometric testing of the Chinese version of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health Measure of Participation and Activities Screener in people with stroke.

Background: Clinicians need a validated measure to assess the activity and participation of Chinese people with stroke.

Objectives: To culturally adapt and psychometrically test the Chinese (Cantonese) version of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Measure of Participation and Activities (C-IMPACT-S) in community-dwelling people with stroke.

Methods: We followed the standard translation procedures to culturally adapt the C-IMPACT-S.

Effects of non-pharmacological interventions on fatigue in people with stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Fatigue, a common problem following a stroke, can have negative effects on a person's daily life. There are no good interventions thus far for alleviating fatigue among those affected.

Objective: This review aimed to evaluate the effects of non-pharmacological interventions on fatigue among people with stroke.

Fatigue predicts level of community integration in people with stroke.

Background: The independent predictive power of fatigue for community integration has not been investigated, although there is an increasing amount of literature that recognizes the importance of fatigue in people with stroke.

Objectives: To examine the correlation between community integration and fatigue, walking endurance, and fear of falling; and to quantify the relative contribution of fatigue to community integration in people with stroke.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with 75 community-dwelling people with stroke.

Reliability and validity of the supine-to-stand test in people with stroke.

Objective: To investigate the psychometric properties of the supine-to-stand test in people with stroke.

Design: Cross-sectional design.

Subjects: Fifty-two people with stroke (mean (standard deviation) age 63.

The Effect of Aerobic Exercises on Arterial Stiffness in Older People: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background And Objectives: Aerobic exercise is a cost-effective intervention to improve arterial stiffness, but its effects on older people are unclear; this review aims to determine those effects.

Research Design And Methods: Five databases were searched for randomized controlled trials of aerobic exercises. Backward and forward citations and clinical trial registries were also reviewed.

Psychometric properties of Upper-body Dressing Scale in people with stroke.

Objectives: To investigate the psychometric properties of the Upper-Body Dressing Scale (UBDS), a tool for evaluating upper-body dressing performance in stroke patients.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Subjects: Seventy-six chronic stroke patients and 49 healthy older adults.

Psychometric Properties of the Chinese Version of the Oxford Participation and Activities Questionnaire in People with Stroke.

The Oxford Participation and Activities Questionnaire was developed for generic use in the assessment of participation and activity levels. However, it is not available in Chinese and has not been tested in the stroke population. The Oxford Participation and Activities Questionnaire was translated into Chinese and culturally adapted.

Assessing the level of perceived social support among community-dwelling stroke survivors using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support.

Social support has an important role in stroke rehabilitation. The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) is an instrument examining the adequacy of perceived social support. However, the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of MSPSS (MSPSS-C) have not been examined in Chinese people with stroke.

The effects of interventions to enhance cognitive and physical functions in older people with cognitive frailty: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Cognitive frailty is the co-existence of mild cognitive impairment and physical frailty that increases the risk of adverse health outcomes. The existing systematic reviews on cognitive frailty in the literature have focused only on identifying associated factors and adverse outcomes, and their relationship with frailty and cognition. This study aimed to examine the effects of interventions on cognitive functions, frailty, and physical functions and provide an overview of intervention components used in older people with cognitive frailty.

A Home-Based Dyadic Music-with-Movement Intervention for People with Dementia and Caregivers: A Hybrid Type 2 Cluster-Randomized Effectiveness-Implementation Design.

Background: Integrating evidence-based music-with-movement into routine practices for people with dementia requires effective implementation strategies. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the clinical efficacy of the intervention and to examine the effectiveness of the implementation strategies in promoting home-based adoption.

Methods: This was a cluster randomized controlled trial adopting a clinical effectiveness-implementation hybrid design.

The effects of involvement in training and volunteering with families of people with dementia on the knowledge and attitudes of volunteers towards dementia.

Background: Volunteers have been a valuable resource in supporting people with dementia and their caregivers in the community. However, factors such as misconceptions, negative attitudes towards dementia, and a lack of motivation might impact the quality of volunteer care. The present paper aims to examine the effect of training and service provision on the knowledge and attitudes of volunteers towards dementia and the association between knowledge and attitudes with the levels of motivation to volunteer.

Decision-making preferences on end-of-life care for older people: Exploration and comparison of Japan, the Hong Kong SAR and South Korea in East Asia.

Aims And Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine and compare decision-making preferences on end-of-life care for older people in Japan, the Hong Kong SAR and South Korea.

Background: Cultural values and beliefs influence decision-making on end-of-life care.

Design: A cross-sectional design was adopted.

Psychometric properties testing of a Cantonese version of the Life-Space Assessment in people with stroke.

The Life-Space Assessment (LSA) advances measurements of mobility by determining the extent of the spatial area in which a person moves in real life. Yet there is no Cantonese version of the LSA. This study aimed to translate and culturally adapt the LSA into Cantonese (C-LSA) and examine its psychometric properties in people with stroke.

Contribution of sleep quality to fatigue following a stroke: a cross-sectional study.

Background: The prevalence of fatigue and sleep disturbances is high in stroke populations. Sleep quality can be targeted by interventions to alleviate fatigue following a stroke. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of fatigue and poor sleep quality, and to quantify the contribution of sleep quality to fatigue following a stroke, in chronic (≥1 year) stroke survivors.

Testing the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Neurological Fatigue Index-Stroke.

Objective: To test the psychometric properties of a Chinese version of the Neurological Fatigue Index-Stroke (C-NFI-Stroke) in stroke survivors.

Design: This was a validation study. Cross-cultural adaptation of the scale was conducted according to standard guidelines.

Ultraviolet radiation transmission of soft disposable contact lenses and ISO 18369: claims and compliance.

Clinical Relevance: This study was carried out to provide advice to eye care practitioners on those soft disposable contact lenses that comply with the Class 1 or Class 2 requirements of the international standard ISO 18369 for ultraviolet radiation protection.

Background: This study was carried out to provide advice to eye care practitioners on those soft disposable contact lenses that comply with the Class 1 or Class 2 requirements of the international standard ISO 18369 for ultraviolet radiation (UVR) protection and to validate any claims made. It is intended to be used when a patient needs or requests UVR protection.

Current understanding and therapeutic management of contact lens associated sterile corneal infiltrates and microbial keratitis.

Contact lenses are widely prescribed in clinical practice with multiple applications and advantages. However, contact lenses can be associated with various complications which range from innocuous to severe. Clinicians thus not only need to possess the ability to prescribe the most appropriate contact lenses for each individual patient but also be able to recognise and manage any associated complications.

Factors associated with frailty transition at different follow-up intervals: A scoping review.

Frailty is a dynamic process. Identifying the factors associated with frailty transition may increase the opportunities for success in interventions for frailty. This scoping review, following Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework, aimed to identify the factors associated with frailty transition and the rate of frailty transition among community-dwelling older people.

Factors Associated With Improving or Worsening the State of Frailty: A Secondary Data Analysis of a 5-Year Longitudinal Study.

Purpose: This study aims to examine the frailty transition patterns of older adults recruited from both community and residential care settings within a 5-year period, and to identify the physical and psychosocial factors associated with the transitions.

Design: This study is a secondary data analysis of a longitudinal study for tracking the change of health status of older adults 60 years of age or older. Participants who had undergone at least two assessments during 2013-2017 were selected for analysis.

Targeted-Sequencing Workflows for Comprehensive Drug Resistance Profiling of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Cultures Using Two Commercial Sequencing Platforms: Comparison of Analytical and Diagnostic Performance, Turnaround Time, and Cost.

Background: The emergence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with complex drug resistance profiles necessitates a rapid and comprehensive drug susceptibility test for guidance of patient treatment. We developed two targeted-sequencing workflows based on Illumina MiSeq and Nanopore MinION for the prediction of drug resistance in M. tuberculosis toward 12 antibiotics.