[Crises of trust].

Extensive media coverage is warning of a crisis of trust that has emerged as a serious issue in our society. This article explores the meaning of "crisis," concepts of crisis management, mechanisms for building trust, and the underlying significance of trust and distrust. Evidence is adduced to testify to the erosion of trust and factors in our society that reflect the potential for crises of trust.

Constructing and testing a model of trustworthiness, trust behavior and organizational identification.

This study, in which staff nurses in Taiwan participated, was aimed to construct a model for relationships among trustworthiness, trust behavior and organizational identification. One hundred and ninety five anonymously completed questionnaires were collected. Superiors' trustworthiness, staff nurses' trust behavior, and organizational identification were identified as latent variables to which the following indicators were to be applied: integrity, benevolence, ability, communication, consistency, compliance, sharing, teamwork, subordination, membership, loyalty and similarity.

Using SERVQUAL to evaluate quality disconfirmation of nursing service in Taiwan.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of disconfirmation of the perceived quality of nursing services, and its relationship to patient's satisfaction, intent to return, and intent to recommend to others. The service dimensions were tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy, which were adopted from the Gap model of Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1985). A total of 186 subjects was tested by a modified SERVQUAL (service quality) instrument.

SARS: Key factors in crisis management.

This study was conducted at a single hospital selected in Taipei during the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak from March to July, 2003 in Taiwan. During this period of time, 104 SARS patients were admitted to the hospital. There were no negative reports related to the selected hospital despite its being located right in the center of an area struck by the epidemic.

[A primary exploration of nursing practicum during epidemics of major contagious diseases].

The purpose of this article was to investigate the issues related to nursing students' clinical practicum when severe contagious diseases occur. Based on the concept that patient-benefit must come first, the authors suggested that nursing students should remain on duty even if there were an outbreak of a severe contagious disease. The authors also discussed relevant issues in terms of professional roles and the safety of the learning environment.