Respiratory Viral Infection Patterns in Hospitalised Children Before and After COVID-19 in Hong Kong.

Unlabelled: The study highlights the significant changes in respiratory virus epidemiology following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.

Method: In this single-centre retrospective study, the virological readouts of adenovirus (AdV), influenza virus A (IAV), influenza virus B (IBV), parainfluenza viruses (PIV) 1, 2, 3, 4, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and coupled enterovirus and rhinovirus (EV/RV) were extracted from the respiratory specimens of paediatric patients in Hong Kong from January 2015 to February 2024. The subjects were stratified into five age groups.

Healthcare professionals' experiences of delivering pain science education to adults from ethnically minoritised groups.

Background: Pain Science Education (PSE) seeks to increase patients understanding of their pain, to improve clinical outcomes. It has been primarily developed and tested within western cultures. There is a lack of research exploring its use with people from ethnically minoritised groups.

Associations between Histo-Blood Group Antigen Status in Mother-Infant Dyads and Infant Oral Rotavirus Vaccine Immunogenicity in rural Zimbabwe.

Introduction: Histo-blood group antigen (HBGA) phenotypes may contribute to poor oral rotavirus vaccine (RVV) immunogenicity, since rotavirus binds intestinal epithelial HBGA glycans, while maternal HBGA status shapes breastmilk composition, which influences the composition of the infant microbiome. We investigated associations between maternal/infant HBGA phenotypes and RVV immunogenicity in rural Zimbabwe.

Methods: We undertook salivary FUT2/FUT3 phenotyping in mother-infant pairs.

Screening and identification of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in criminal legal settings: A realist review.

Background: Screening for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) has been identified as a promising approach to improve recognition, understanding and effective response to the unique needs of those with FASD in criminal legal settings. However, to date, there has been limited synthesis of relevant screening tools, indicators, or implementation considerations in this context.

Aims: The present review aimed to synthesise evidence and develop a conceptual framework for understanding how, when, why, for whom and by whom FASD screening tools, items and/or indicators and characteristics serve to accurately identify people with FASD in criminal legal contexts, with consideration of individual and system needs relevant to effective implementation and response.

Development and validation of assessment tools for food allergy-related knowledge and management confidence.

Background: Given the life-threatening nature of food allergy (FA), it is important to assess the level of knowledge among families with food-allergic patients and their ability to cope with anaphylaxis. This study constructed a FA knowledge questionnaire (FAKQ) and confidence in FA management skills (CIFAMS) questionnaire to assess understanding and attitudes toward FA management in food-allergic families.

Methods: Items from literature review and expert panel showing ≥80% content validity index and semantic equivalence were selected for translation into Chinese.

Lower limb muscle strength and balance in older adults with a distal radius fracture: a systematic review.

Background: Distal radius fractures are common fractures in older adults and associated with increased risk of future functional decline and hip fracture. Whether lower limb muscle strength and balance are impaired in this patient population is uncertain. To help inform rehabilitation requirements, this systematic review aimed to compare lower limb muscle strength and balance between older adults with a distal radius fracture with matched controls, and to synthesise lower limb muscle strength and balance outcomes in older adults with a distal radius fracture.

Developing and validating a genre awareness questionnaire for writing scientific reports.

Current scholarship on language awareness focuses on learners' noticing of forms and functions of language. In writing scientific reports, learners need to be aware of the Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion (IMRD) genres. While scholarship explores students' language awareness in writing genres for scientific reports, there is a limited quantitative instrument for researchers to measure students' language awareness in these four genres of writing scientific articles.

Associations between Human Papillomavirus Status, Weight Change, and Survival of Oropharyngeal Cancer Patients.

This study examined associations between HPV status and weight change in oropharyngeal cancer (OPC). OPC patients receiving concurrent chemoradiotherapy in Toronto, Canada were included. Relationships were assessed between HPV status and weight loss grade (WLG, combining weight loss and current body mass index); weight change during treatment; and HPV status and WLG/weight change on overall (OS) and cancer-specific (CSS) survival.

Hypertensive emergencies: guidelines and best-practice recommendations.

Due to a variety of demographic and public health factors, the number of emergency department visits related to hypertensive emergencies has increased dramatically in recent decades, making it imperative that clinicians clearly understand the current treatment guidelines and definitions for the spectrum of hypertensive disease. This issue reviews current evidence on identifying and managing hypertensive emergencies and the differences between expert opinions on diagnosing and managing these emergencies. Clear protocols differentiating patients with hypertension from patients with hypertensive emergencies are needed to appropriately manage this patient population.

Experience of Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Qualitative Study of a Nurse-Led Clinic.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an extremely prevalent chronic inflammatory rheumatic disease. This study explores the experiences of patients with RA under nurse-led care, the roles that nurses play, and the outcomes achieved when applying the patient-centered care (PCC) approach. A purposive sample of 12 participants who had been diagnosed with RA for at least 1 year were recruited from a nurse-led rheumatology clinic.

Nurses' perceptions of the ISBAR handover protocol and its relationship to the quality of handover: A case study of bilingual nurses.

Introduction: Poor communication at handover may cause harm to the patient. Despite numerous studies promoting ISBAR as a communication tool for structured handover, nurses have varied levels of understanding of the ISBAR tool; this may lead to different perceptions. This paper aims to explore the structural relationships between factors relating to handover communication among nurses.

Using a simulation-based approach to promote structured and interactive nursing clinical handover: a pre- and post-evaluation pilot study in bilingual Hong Kong.

Effective clinical nursing handover involves the transfer of responsibility and accountability for patient care between nurses, leading to better patient safety and continuity of care. Nurses in bilingual contexts, such as Hong Kong - where nurses are trained in English but communicate in Cantonese - may find it challenging to deliver a safe clinical handover. This article reports a pilot study in which a simulation-based approach is being developed to enhance nursing handover with structured and interactive interactions, using handover protocols such as ISBAR (introduction, situation, background, assessment, recommendation and readback) and CARE-team (connect, ask, respond, empathise) protocols in a bilingual context.

An exploratory study of communication training for Chinese medicine practitioners in Hong Kong to integrate patients' conventional medical history.

Background: Despite Traditional Chinese medicine's (TCM) historical roles in Chinese society, few research has been investigated the nature of TCM practitioner-patient interactions. Improved communication skills among TCM practitioners will result higher-quality interactions and better clinical outcomes.

Methods: To investigate the changes in TCM practitioners' communication practices after communications training focused on promoting their awareness of integrating a patient's medical history from conventional medicine in TCM treatment, Eight registered Cantonese-speaking TCM practitioners in Hong Kong were randomly recruited from local clinics and randomised into control (n = 12) and experimental groups (n = 12), with a total of 24 consultations.

An ethnographic discourse approach to explore GP-counsellor communication in primary health care settings in Hong Kong.

This study aims to explore the nature of GP-counsellor interaction during discussions of patients' mental health issues in primary care services. An ethnographic discourse analysis of audio-recorded GP-counsellor conversations and the participating counsellor's reflective accounts. Two participating GPs and one counsellor were recruited from a private medical clinic in Hong Kong.

The active participation of elderly patients in traditional Chinese medicine consultations as means to creating a community of practice: A case study in Hong Kong.

Despite its historic role in Chinese society and its popularity with an elderly Chinese population, limited research has explored the discursive practices of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Our analysis of practitioner-patient interactions illustrated the reasons why TCM is widely welcomed by a specific patient group. This paper adopted the concept of Community of Practice (CoP) as a theoretical framework to document how patients interact with TCM practitioners to construct meaning through a process of participation and reification.

Suppression of influenza virus infection by rhinovirus interference - at the population, individual and cellular levels.

Background: Influenza virus (IV) and the rhinovirus (RV) are the two most common circulating respiratory viruses circulating. Natural viral interference has been suggested between them. The effect of such at the population level has been described in temperate region, while its effect at the individual and cellular levels warrants further validation.

Views of Hospital Nurses and Nursing Students on Nursing Engagement-Bridging the Gap Through Communication Courses.

Background: Communicative engagement plays a significant role for effective nurse-patient communication. In the existing college nursing communication training within and outside China, there is a difference between what students are taught and what they can apply in their clinical placements.

Aims: Using needs analysis, this mixed-methods study explored potential gaps between frontline hospital nurses' and college nursing students' perceptions of nurse-patient communicative engagement, and collated a list of effective engagement strategies for pedagogy.

The priorities, challenges, and scope of clinical communication teaching perceived by clinicians from different disciplines: a Hong Kong case study.

Background: In the absence of a well-rounded syllabus that emphasises both interpersonal and medical dimensions in clinical communication, medical students in the early stages of their career may find it challenging to effectively communicate with patients, especially when dealing with perceived priorities and challenges across different disciplines.

Methods: To explore the priorities, challenges, and scope of clinical communication teaching as perceived by clinicians from different clinical disciplines, we recruited nine medical educators, all experienced frontline clinicians, from eight disciplines across seven hospitals and two medical schools in Hong Kong. They were interviewed on their clinical communication teaching in the Hong Kong context, specifically its priorities, challenges, and scope.

An Exploratory Study of Cantonese Learning Strategies Amongst Non-Chinese English-Speaking Ethnic Minority University Students in Hong Kong.

This study investigates the strategies for learning Cantonese that are adopted by non-Chinese English-speaking ethnic minority (EM) university students in Hong Kong. The aim is to identify the challenges these students face in applying their strategies to learn Cantonese and to explore their learning experiences when implementing them. Drawing on questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews with 30 EM students at a university in Hong Kong, this study identifies these learners' strategies, elicits their views on the use of these strategies and examines their learning experiences.

Navigating communication between conventional medicine and traditional Chinese medicine: a case study of cancer patients in Hong Kong.

Background: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a growing phenomenon worldwide. Despite its historical role in Chinese society, however, few studies have explored the nature of communication among patients with cancer who receive TCM care in addition to conventional medicine. If TCM practitioners acquire adequate knowledge to understand the needs and communication issues for their patients with cancer, particularly those who are simultaneously receiving conventional medicine, this will lead to better quality of care and clinical outcomes, such as high patient satisfaction and treatment compliance.

Communication About Advance Directives and Advance Care Planning in an East Asian Cultural Context: A Systematic Review.

Problem Identification: In East Asian cultural contexts, advance directive (AD) and advance care planning (ACP) discussions are generally challenging given patients' unawareness of decision-making rights.

Literature Search: Selected databases were searched for articles published from January 2000 to December 2020.

Data Evaluation: 21 studies were included and appraised with Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Systematic Review Checklist.

Teaching end-of-life communication: priorities, challenges, scope-systematic review.

Background: Without a well-rounded syllabus to teach end-of-life (EOL) communication, medical providers find it challenging to enhance their patients' quality of life at the final stage of life.

Aim: The aim of this scoping review was to explore studies about the teaching of EOL communication and to detail how educators can approach the teaching of EOL communication.

Methods: A scoping review of both qualitative and quantitative studies was conducted according to the methodological framework of scoping review.

Clinical handover in a bilingual setting: interpretative phenomenological analysis to exploring translanguaging practices for effective communication among hospital staff.

Objective: To explore the linguistic features of translanguaging in bilingual handover practices and elicit the views of hospital staff on factors that hinder or facilitate effective handover practice in a bilingual environment.

Methods: 78 hospital staff were recruited from hospital wards and emergency departments of two Hong Kong hospitals. They were interviewed to determine their perceptions of their handover communication in a bilingual context, and their responses were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis.