The effects of respiratory training for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients: a randomised clinical trial.

Aims And Objectives: To assess the effects of respiratory training on lung function, activity tolerance and quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: For patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary rehabilitation can increase activity tolerance and improve their psychological state by relieving dyspnoea and promoting their quality of life.

Design: A randomised clinical trial was conducted in a local hospital.

Influences of shift work on fatigue among nurses.

Aim: To compare the symptoms of fatigue and physiological indices in nurses who work during the day with nurses who work in shifts.

Method: One-hundred and seven nurses were recruited and asked to assess their symptoms of fatigue before their work commenced and after it finished.

Results: Using logistic regression analysis adjusted for covariates, it was found that nurses who work in shifts were more fatigued than nurses who work during the day (odds ratio = 2.

How family support affects physical activity (PA) among middle-aged and elderly people before and after they suffer from chronic diseases.

The more support elderly people have from their family, the less likely they are to suffer from chronic diseases. The objective of this study is to investigate how family support affects the PA middle-aged and elderly people engage in before and after they suffer from chronic diseases. We interviewed 428 middle-aged and elderly people using a structured questionnaire to measure their aerobic PA.

The Chinese version of the Facts on Aging Quiz scale: reliability and validity assessment.

Background: The use of health care services by older adults is increasing with the aging of the population. It is therefore essential that health care workers are current in their knowledge about gerontology; thus, educational programs regarding the care of elders are essential. Chinese-language assessments to measure knowledge about gerontology and aging and attitudes toward older adults are lacking.

Influences of Psychological Well-being, Quality of Caregiver-patient Relationship, and Family Support on the Health of Family Caregivers for Cancer Patients in Taiwan.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the influences of psychological well-being, quality of caregiver-patient relationship, and family support on the health of family caregivers for cancer patients in a Taiwanese hospital.

Methods: A cross-sectional, correlational design was used. A sample of 91 family caregivers of hospitalized cancer patients completed the Caregiver Reaction Assessment and Psychological Well-Being Scale.

Cigarette smoking and cognitive impairment: a 10-year cohort study in Taiwan.

The relationship between cigarette smoking and cognitive impairment is not a simple one. Some studies have demonstrated that cigarette smoking is a risk factor for cognitive impairment in the elderly, whereas other studies have shown cigarette smoking to be protective against dementia. This study aims to explore the relationship between cigarette smoking and cognitive impairment in elderly persons without dementia, during a 10-year period.

Evaluating outcomes of Taiwan's first gerontology certification program.

The elderly population will approach 20% within the next 20 years. This enhances the need for skilled and experienced health care providers. There is a critical need to strengthen gerontology curricula to prepare health-related professionals for a graying population.

An intervention program to promote health-related physical fitness in nurses.

Aims: To assess the effects of exercise intervention on nurses' health-related physical fitness.

Background: Regular exercise that includes gymnastics or aerobics has a positive effect on fitness. In Taiwan, there are not much data which assess the effects of exercise intervention on nurses' health-related physical fitness.

Post- to pre-overnight sleep systolic blood pressures are associated with sleep respiratory disturbance, pro-inflammatory state and metabolic situation in patients with sleep-disordered breathing.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to investigate whether changes in post- to pre-overnight sleep systolic blood pressure (SSBP) are associated with sleep respiratory disturbance, pro-inflammatory state, and metabolic situation in patients with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB).

Methods: Anthropometry, sleep polysomnography, biochemical markers, and pre- and post-overnight sleep BP were measured from 263 SDB patients. All SDB patients were further subgrouped into MORNING SURGE (% changes from post- to pre-overnight SSBP >+1SD of this cohort), MORNING DROP (% changes <-1SD), CONSTANT HIGH (% changes within+/-1SD, averaged SSBP>130mmHg) and CONSTANT LOW (% changes within+/-1SD, averaged SSBP<130mmHg).