Treatment withdrawal experiences of women with breast cancer: A phenomenological study.

Aim: To obtain an in-depth understanding of the lived experiences, values, and beliefs of Taiwanese women with breast cancer who withdrew from cancer treatment.

Background: Fear of side effects, negative experiences and personal beliefs were identified as reasons for withdrawing from cancer treatments. Body-mind consciousness and body autonomy play a crucial role in cancer treatment decisions.

A modified cardiac triage strategy reduces door to ECG time in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction.

Timely performing electrocardiography (ECG) is crucial for early detection of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). For shortening door-to-ECG time, a chief complaint-based "cardiac triage" protocol comprising (1) raising alert among medical staff with bedside triage tags, and (2) immediate bedside ECG after focused history-taking was implemented at the emergency department (ED) in a single tertiary referral center. All patients diagnosed with STEMI visiting the ED between November 2017 and January 2020 were retrospectively reviewed to investigate the effectiveness of strategy before and after implantation.

A Decade of Changes in Family Caregivers' Preferences for Life-Sustaining Treatments for Terminally Ill Cancer Patients at End of Life in the Context of a Family-Oriented Society.

Context: Temporal changes in different family caregiver cohorts' preferences for life-sustaining treatments (LSTs) at end of life (EOL) have not been examined nor have the concept of whether caregivers' LST preferences represent a homogeneous or heterogeneous construct. Furthermore, LST preferences are frequently assessed from multiple treatments, making clinical applications difficult/infeasible.

Objectives: To identify parsimonious patterns and changes in the pattern of LST preferences for two independent cohorts of family caregivers for terminally ill Taiwanese cancer patients.

[A Delphi Method Survey of the Core Competences of Post-Acute-Care Nurses in Caring for Acute Stroke Patients].

Background: Post-acute care (PAC) service is becoming increasingly important in Taiwan as a core focus of government policies that are designed to ensure continuity of care.

Purpose: In order to improve PAC nursing education and quality of care, the present study applies a modified Delphi method to identify the core competences of nurses who provide PAC services to acute stroke patients.

Methods: We surveyed 18 experts in post-acute care and long-term care anonymously using a 29-question questionnaire in order to identify the essential professional skills that are required to perform PAC effectively.

Risk Factors and Coping Style Affect Health Outcomes in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes.

Objective: Most psychosocial interventions among individuals with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) target depressive symptoms (DSs) rather than causal antecedents that lead to DSs or affect health-related quality of life (HrQoL). This research investigated a conceptual model of the effects of risk factors and coping styles on HrQoL and DSs in patients with T2DM.

Method: A descriptive, correlational design was used with a convenience sample of 241 adults with T2DM aged ≥ 20 years recruited from a hospital metabolic outpatient department.

Single incision transumbilical laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass-our technique.

Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) is considered the gold standard procedure in bariatric surgery but requires 4-7 ports. We have reported the first single incision transumbilical Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (SITU-RYGB) in 2009 (Huang et al. Obes Surg 19:1711-1715, 2009).

Routine depression screening and diagnosing strategy for cancer inpatients.

Background: Clinical practice guidelines frequently recommend systematic screening for depression in cancer patients to improve recognition and prompt appropriate management. We aimed to screen major depressive disorder (MDD) in cancer inpatients using a structured tool and explore its applicability.

Methods: Cancer inpatients were routinely screened by nurses using the Taiwanese Depression Questionnaire (TDQ), and for those screened positive, this was followed by a non-mandated referral to a psychiatrist for clinical evaluation and diagnosis.

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banded plication: evolution of procedure and 2-year results.

Background: Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banded plication (LAGBP) is a new restrictive bariatric procedure combining adjustable banding and greater curvature plication of the stomach. This study aimed to report the evolution of this surgical technique and analyze the surgical results.

Methods: Eighty patients who underwent LAGBP were enrolled in this study.

Psychiatric disorders of patients seeking obesity treatment.

Background: Obese and overweight people have a higher risk of both chronic physical illness and mental illness. Obesity is reported to be positively associated with psychiatric disorders, especially in people who seek obesity treatment. At the same time, obesity treatment may be influenced by psychological factors or personality characteristics.

Exploring the association between nurse workload and nurse-sensitive patient safety outcome indicators.

Background: Nurses affect patient safety. Although studies have associated patient safety with nurse staffing levels, Taiwan's Department of Health does not yet support changing nurse workforce standards for medical institutions.

Purpose: This study was designed to gain insight into the workload of nurses employed at medical institutions and to determine the relationship between nurse workload and nurse-sensitive patient safety outcome indicators.

Depression, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and quality of life in Taiwanese adults from a cardiovascular department of a major hospital in Southern Taiwan.

Aims: To examine the relationships between depression, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and quality of life in Taiwanese adults from a cardiovascular department of a major hospital in Taiwan.

Background: Research suggests associations between depression, metabolic syndrome and quality of life. Despite this fact, few studies have investigated these relationships among Taiwanese.

[Nursing care for bariatric surgery patients].

The sedentary lifestyle, common to most modern societies, has turned obesity into an increasingly prevalent and universal problem. Obesity correlates positively with many diseases and health risk factors. Medical therapies currently used to treat obesity are generally limited in terms of long-term effectiveness.

Preliminary surgical results of single-incision transumbilical laparoscopic bariatric surgery.

Background: Recently, single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS) has been used for bariatric procedures, and this surgery is considered a type of minimally invasive surgery. When SILS is performed via the transumbilical route, the resultant abdominal wound is hidden and the cosmetic outcome is better. However, because of the small angle of manipulation and difficulty in liver traction, this technique is not used to perform complex bariatric surgery.

[Retrospective review and analysis of the results of taiwan nurses association nursing projects from 2004 to 2005].

Although a nursing project is one of the important N4 professional competence training courses in the clinical ladder system, little research on its effectiveness can be found. This study therefore aimed to analyze the demographics, hospital characteristics, scores, and pass rates for the Taiwan Nurses Association's 2004 to 2005 nursing projects and to compare the differences between them. The design was retrospective content analysis and the data sources were nursing project reviewer sheets from the years 2004 and 2005.

Effectiveness of a nurse-led management programme for paediatric asthma in Taiwan.

Aim: The aim of this study was to carry out a preliminary analysis of the impact of a government-sponsored disease management programme for paediatric asthma on economic outcomes and patient satisfaction.

Methods: Of the 398 patients who participated in the programme, 249 (62.56%) who had at least two medical care encounters with an ICD-9 code of 493 were classified as 'already diagnosed cases'; and 129 (34.