Publications by authors named "Sophia Siu Chee Chan"

Article Synopsis
  • The study systematically reviewed how secondary smoking affects early childhood caries (ECC) in preschool children, focusing on children under 71 months old.
  • Out of 1243 publications, only 16 met the criteria for inclusion, leading to a meta-analysis showing that children exposed to secondary smoking have a significantly higher risk of developing caries.
  • The findings suggest a clear correlation between secondary smoking and ECC, but emphasize that further high-quality research is needed to strengthen these conclusions.
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Purpose: Using multipronged recruitment strategies is crucial for reaching diverse smokers, yet research specifically focusing on youths is lacking. This prospective study compared the characteristics and abstinence outcomes of youth smokers enrolled in a youth-centered cessation service by three different methods.

Methods: From December 2016 to February 2022, the Youth Quitline enrolled 1,197 smokers aged 10-25 (mean = 19.

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Background: Empathy and self-efficacy for smoking cessation counseling can be enhanced through smoking cessation training. Narrative videos and virtual reality (VR) games have been applied in medical education, but their application in smoking cessation training is limited and understudied.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of smokers' narrative videos and mini-VR games on nursing students' empathy towards smokers (State Empathy Scale), confidence in practicing empathy, self-efficacy in smoking cessation counseling, and learning satisfaction.

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Background: Very brief advice (VBA; ≤ 3 min) on quitting is practical and scalable during brief medical interactions with patients who smoke. This study aims to synthesize the effectiveness of VBA for smoking cessation and summarize the implementation strategies.

Methods: We searched randomized controlled trials aiming at tobacco abstinence and comparing VBA versus no smoking advice or no contact from Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PsycInfo databases, six Chinese databases, two trial registries ClinicalTrials.

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Primary health care (PHC) is the most effective way to improve people's health and well-being, and primary care services should act as the cornerstone of a resilient health system and the foundation of universal health coverage. To promote high quality development of PHC, an International Symposium on Quality Primary Health Care Development was held on December 4-5, 2023 in Beijing, China, and the participants have proposed and advocated the Beijing Initiative on Quality Primary Health Care Development. The Beijing Initiative calls on all countries to carry out and strengthen 11 actions: fulfill political commitment and accountability; achieve "health in all policies" through multisectoral coordination; establish sustainable financing; empower communities and individuals; provide community-based integrated care; promote the connection and integration of health services and social services through good governance; enhance training, allocation and motivation of health workforce, and medical education; expand application of traditional and alternative medicine for disease prevention and illness healing; empower PHC with digital technology; ensure access to medicinal products and appropriate technologies; and last, strengthen global partnership and international health cooperation.

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Introduction: Ecological momentary assessment (EMA)-based smoking cessation intervention may help personalize intervention for smokers who prefer to quit smoking unaided. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of EMA-based phone counseling and instant messaging for smoking cessation.

Methods/design: This is a two-arm, accessor-blinded, simple individual randomized controlled trial (allocation ratio 1:1).

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Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has influenced antimicrobial consumption and incidence of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). We aimed to study the epidemiology of MDROs before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong.

Methods: With the maintenance of infection control measures, we described the trend of MDRO infections, including methicillin-resistant (MRSA), carbapenem-resistant (CRA), and extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase-(ESBL)-producing Enterobacterales, in a healthcare region with 3100-bed before (1 January 2016 to 31 December 2019, period 1) and during COVID-19 (1 January 2020 to 30 September 2022, period 2), together with the antimicrobial consumption using piecewise Poisson regression.

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Objectives: To examine the trends in the prevalence of hardening indicators and hardened smokers in Hong Kong, where the low smoking prevalence has plateaued in the recent decade.

Methods: This is an analysis of repeated cross-sectional data from 9 territory-wide smoking cessation campaigns conducted annually from 2009 to 2018 (except 2011). Participants were 9837 biochemically verified daily cigarette smokers aged ≥18 years (18.

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Article Synopsis
  • ) The study explored health information-seeking behaviors (HISBs) among Hong Kong Chinese adults, focusing on traditional media and newer platforms like social networking sites (SNS) and instant messaging (IM).
  • ) It surveyed over 10,000 participants, revealing that factors like gender, education level, and physical activity influence HISBs, with older individuals exhibiting decreased engagement on most platforms.
  • ) Negative experiences, such as frustration and difficulty understanding information, were more common among those with lower educational attainment and income, and users of IM reported more challenges than those using traditional internet websites.
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Background: Convenient and quality family communication improves family functioning and well-being. Using mobile instant messaging (IM) for family communication is increasingly popular, but its association with family functioning and family well-being has not been reported.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the association of the use of family IM chat groups with family functioning and well-being, and the mediating effect of family communication quality among Chinese adults in Hong Kong.

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Problematic smartphone use (PSU) has been associated with screen time in general, but little is known about the effect of different screen-based activities. We examined the associations of self-reported time spent on overall and specific screen-based activities with PSU and its addictive symptoms in Hong Kong Chinese adults. We analyzed data from 562 smartphone owners (56.

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Introduction: Evidence-based smoking cessation treatments are effective but underutilised, accentuating the need for novel approaches to increase use. This trial investigates the effects of active referral combined with a financial incentive to use smoking cessation services on smoking abstinence among community smokers.

Methods And Analysis: This ongoing study is a two-arm, assessor-blinded, pragmatic, cluster randomised controlled trial with follow-ups at 1, 2, 3 and 6 months after randomisation.

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Background: Electronic devices (eDevices) may have positive or negative influences on family communication and well-being depending on how they are used.

Objective: We examined eDevice use during family time and its association with the quality of family communication and well-being in Hong Kong Chinese adults.

Methods: In 2017, a probability-based 2-stage random sampling landline telephone survey collected data on eDevice use in daily life and during family time (eg, family dinner) and the presence of rules banning eDevice use during family dinner.

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Background: Hong Kong has a high rate of electronic device (e-device; computer, smartphone, and tablet) use. However, little is known about the associations of the duration of e-device use before and after sleep with psychological symptoms.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the associations of the duration of e-device use before and after sleep with psychological distress.

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Background And Aims: Proactive brief cessation advice by a lay counsellor combined with a referral to a smoking cessation service (active referral) is effective in increasing service use and quitting in community smokers. We compared the effect of two modified approaches to referrals on the cessation outcomes in community smokers.

Design: Three-arm cluster-randomized trial.

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Problematic smartphone use (PSU) has been associated with anxiety and depression, but few explored its mental well-being correlates that could co-occur with or be independent of mental symptoms. We studied the associations of PSU with anxiety, depression, and mental well-being in Hong Kong Chinese adults in a probability-based survey ( = 4054; 55.0% females; mean age ± SD 48.

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Importance: Clinicians have an opportunity to provide smoking cessation interventions to smokers who present to emergency departments (EDs). The effectiveness of a brief intervention based on self-determination theory for smoking cessation is uncertain.

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of a brief intervention based on self-determination theory for smoking cessation (immediate or progressive) among Chinese smokers presenting at EDs in Hong Kong.

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Aims And Objectives: This study mapped the quitting patterns (trajectories) of Hong Kong Chinese women smokers who had received counselling via a quitline service and examined factors correlated with different trajectories.

Background: Quitting smoking is always a gradual and progressive process. However, most existing studies on smoking cessation have adopted a cross-sectional approach to conduct evaluation.

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Background And Aims: Few studies have investigated the effects of problematic smartphone use (PSU) in the family context. We studied the association of PSU as a predictor with family well-being and the potential mediating role of family communication in Hong Kong Chinese adults.

Methods: We analyzed data of 5,063 randomly selected adults [mean age () = 48.

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: To examine the association of sleep duration and insomnia symptoms with happiness. : A random sample of 1691 Chinese adult (mean age 54 ± 20.1, male 51%) were interviewed in a population-based telephone survey.

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Purpose: To evaluate the reliability and validity of the 7-item Chinese Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (SWEMWBS) in Hong Kong Chinese.

Methods: Under "A Jockey Club Initiative for a Harmonious Society" project, a random telephone survey was conducted in 2017 on 1331 Hong Kong Chinese residents aged ≥ 18. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to test the factorial validity.

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Background: Advances in mobile communication technologies provide a promising avenue for the delivery of tobacco dependence treatment. Although mobile instant messaging (IM) apps (eg, WhatsApp, Facebook messenger, and WeChat) are an inexpensive and widely used communication tool, evidence on its use for promoting health behavior, including smoking cessation, is scarce.

Objective: This study aims to explore the perception of using mobile IM as a modality to deliver a proposed chat intervention for smoking cessation in community smokers in Hong Kong, where the proportion of smartphone use is among the highest in the world.

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Background: Youth smoking continues to be a significant global public health concern. To ensure healthier lives for youths, healthcare professionals need to increase awareness among the youth of the health risks and addictive nature of smoking, strengthen their ability to resist negative peer influence and curiosity, and help those who smoked to quit. The Smoke-free Teens Programme was launched in 2012 to equip youngsters with up-to-date information about smoking and global trends in tobacco control and to encourage them to play a pioneering role in tobacco control.

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Background: Females are less willing than males to seek help from smoking cessation services; the present study examined how the use of these services by females could be enhanced by training young female ambassadors to deliver a brief intervention.

Methods: We collaborated with the Hong Kong Girl Guides Association. Fifty of the association's Girl Guides served as smoking cessation and reduction ambassadors to deliver a brief intervention to at least two female smokers.

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Background: Novel approaches to engage community smokers in smoking cessation are needed as smokers typically lack motivation to quit or use evidence-based tobacco dependence treatment. Mobile instant messaging apps (e.g.

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