Prevention and treatment of oral mucositis among cancer patients in the hematology-oncology setting: a best practice implementation project.

Introduction: Oral mucositis refers to mucosal damage and occurs in the oral, pharyngeal, and laryngeal cavities. When patients with cancer get oral mucositis, the painful condition can cause difficulties in eating, drinking, and swallowing and may compromise the patient's nutritional status. It also may be drastically associated with infections, resulting in longer hospitalizations.

[The resilience and health status of primary caregivers of schizophrenia patients].

Background: Resilience has been shown to have a positive effect on health status. However, little research has been conducted on the impact of resilience on the health of primary caregivers of schizophrenia patients.

Purpose: This study investigated the correlations between resilience and the health status of caregivers of schizophrenia patients.

Truth-telling to patients' terminal illness: what makes oncology nurses act individually?

Purpose: Nurses encounter the challenge of truth-telling to patients' terminal illness (TTPTI) in their daily care activities, particularly for nurses working in the pervasive culture of family protectiveness and medical paternalism. This study aims to investigate oncology nurses' major responses to handling this issue and to explore what factors might explain oncology nurses' various actions.

Methods: A pilot quantitative study was designed to describe full-time nurses' (n = 70) truth-telling experiences at an oncology centre in Taipei.

[The family transition experience: family-centered hospitalization care of bipolar disorder patients].

Background: Differences in cognition and attitudes between bipolar disorder patients and their families frequently result in differences between the two in terms of opinions and perceptions on appropriate medical treatments and prognoses. Transforming patient-centered-care psychotherapy into an intervention that provides family-focused nursing, promotes interaction among family members, and changes communication styles may assist families to adapt and focus on pursuing the soundest medical treatment.

Purpose: This qualitative study explores the healing process of family transition in terms of family-centered care for bipolar disorder patients and nursing strategy intervention.

Self-state of nurses in caring for SARS survivors.

The aim of this study was to analyze nurses' experiences of role strain when taking care of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). We adopted an interpretive/ constructivist paradigm. Twenty-one nurses who had taken care of SARS patients were interviewed in focus groups.

[Ethical dilemmas in caring for patients with SARS].

This paper explored experiences caring for patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), with a focus on the suffering between the "private" and "professional" selves, in order to describe the psychological impact and ethical practice of SARS events as related to nursing professionals. Eight small group interviews were conducted with a total of twenty-one nurses with experience caring for SARS patients. Group interviews were audio-taped and transcribed for analysis.

A comparison of the cost-effectiveness of hospital-based home care with that of a conventional outpatient follow-up for patients with mental illness.

The purpose of this study was to compare the outcomes of a hospital-based home-care model with those of a conventional outpatient follow-up for mentally ill patients in Taiwan by means of cost-effectiveness analysis. The study design was a two group posthoc design. We interviewed 40 mentally ill patients who were followed up in the psychiatric outpatient department.