Birth ball for pregnant women in labour research protocol: a multi-centre randomised controlled trial.

Background: Birth ball is one of the non-pharmacologic pain relief methods to help mothers cope with the labouring process. A randomised controlled trial (RCT) is conducted to evaluate the effectiveness, safety and harm of birth ball use by pregnant women in labour compared to treatment as usual group.

Methods: A prospective multi-centre randomised controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted in Obstetrics and Gynaecological units of five public hospitals in Hong Kong, China.

Effects of therapeutic play on children undergoing cast-removal procedures: a randomised controlled trial.

Objectives: To examine (1) the effectiveness of therapeutic play in reducing anxiety and negative emotional manifestations among children undergoing cast-removal procedures and (2) the satisfaction of parents and cast technicians with cast-removal procedures.

Design: A randomised controlled trial.

Setting: An orthopaedic outpatient department of a regional teaching hospital in Hong Kong.

Measuring Oral Mucositis of Pediatric Patients with Cancer: A Psychometric Evaluation of Chinese Version of the Oral Mucositis Daily Questionnaire.

Objective: Oral mucositis is a frequent clinical condition that has been shown to affect pediatric cancer patients. Oral Mucositis Daily Questionnaire (OMDQ) is one of the few available patient-reported outcome measures to assess the extent and impact of oral mucositis. The objectives of the study were to translate the Mouth and Throat Soreness-Related Questions of the OMDQ into Chinese (OMDQ MTS-Ch) for children and adolescents aged 6-18 years receiving chemotherapy and to evaluate its psychometric properties.

Self-Care Strategies among Chinese Adolescent Girls with Dysmenorrhea: A Qualitative Study.

Little is known about how Chinese adolescent girls manage dysmenorrhea. This study aims to explore self-care strategies among Chinese adolescent girls with dysmenorrhea. The study uses a mixed methods design with two phases: a cross-sectional survey in phase I and semistructured interviews in phase II.

The effect of a self-efficacy-based educational programme on maternal breast feeding self-efficacy, breast feeding duration and exclusive breast feeding rates: A longitudinal study.

Background: breast feeding has a number of well-documented benefits. Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate an effective approach to increase the breast feeding rate, duration and exclusive breast feeding rate, in which maternal breast feeding self-efficacy was determined as one of the major contributors. Although numerous breast feeding educational programmes have been developed to enhance maternal breastfeeding self-efficacy, results on the effectiveness of these programmes remain inconclusive.

Examining Self-Care Behaviors and Their Associated Factors Among Adolescent Girls With Dysmenorrhea: An Application of Orem's Self-Care Deficit Nursing Theory.

Purpose: To test a hypothesized model that examines the relationship between selected basic conditioning factors, self-care agency, and self-care behaviors among adolescent girls with dysmenorrhea using Orem's self-care deficit nursing theory as a framework.

Design: This was a predictive correlational study conducted with a total of 531 secondary school girls.

Methods: Self-care agency, self-care behaviors, and 11 variables that have been theoretically or empirically justified in previous studies as relevant to basic conditioning factors were selected and collected by means of structured questionnaires.

Impact of oral mucositis on short-term clinical outcomes in paediatric and adolescent patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the burden of the peak severity of oral mucositis and severity over time on selected clinical outcomes in paediatric and adolescent patients receiving chemotherapy.

Patients And Methods: A multicentre study enrolled 140 patients between the ages of 6 and 18 years, who had been treated with chemotherapy and completed the self-report Mouth and Throat Soreness-related questions of the Oral Mucositis Daily Questionnaire for 14 days. Clinical data were collected from patients' medical records during the first 14 days after starting chemotherapy.

Translation and validation of the Chinese-Cantonese version of the Adolescent Dysmenorrhic Self-Care Scale in Hong Kong adolescent girls.

Aims And Objectives: To translate and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese-Cantonese version of the Adolescent Dysmenorrhic Self-Care Scale.

Background: Adolescent girls prefer engaging in self-care activities for dysmenorrhoea. The Adolescent Dysmenorrhic Self-Care Scale is a reliable and valid scale for measuring the self-care behaviour of adolescent girls with dysmenorrhoea.

Promoting self-reflection in clinical practice among Chinese nursing undergraduates in Hong Kong.

This study evaluated the effect of a structured education programme on improving the self-reflection skills of Chinese nursing undergraduates in managing clinical situations. Johns' Structured Reflection Model was used as a framework for the development of the education programme. Thirty-eight nursing undergraduates attended a 3-hour interactive workshop on reflective skills and were encouraged to practise the skills learned under the guidance of a nurse instructor during their 4-week clinical practicum.

Effect of early ambulation after transfemoral cardiac catheterization in Hong Kong: a single-blinded randomized controlled trial.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of early ambulation after cardiac catheterization (CC) on patients' back pain, puncture site pain, vascular complications, urinary discomfort, general well-being perception and satisfaction level.

Methods: This study was a randomized single-blinded controlled trial. Overall, 137 participants were randomly assigned to experimental (63 participants) or control (74 participants) group according to a computer generated random list.

Professional nursing values among baccalaureate nursing students in Hong Kong.

The development of a nursing code of professional conduct is to guide nurses to make appropriate clinical decision, in particular when facing ethical dilemma. It is of paramount importance that nurse educators understand baccalaureate nursing students' perceptions of the importance of the code of professional conduct and the level of difficulties in implementing this code while preparing them for future practicing nurses. The Code of Professional Conduct in Hong Kong has been developed to guide nursing practice for over two decades.

Perception of hospital learning environment: a survey of Hong Kong nursing students.

The last two decades have seen widespread changes to nurse education but the clinical field remains an essential and invaluable resource in preparing students for the reality of their professional role, supporting the integration of theory and practice, and linking the 'knowing what' to do with the 'knowing how' to deliver care. The clinical learning environment represents a vital element of nurse education that needs to be measurable and warrants further investigation. This survey study examined Hong Kong nursing students' perception of the social climate of the clinical learning environment.

The Chinese version of the multidimensional health locus of control scale form C in pregnancy.

Objective: The concept of locus of control (LOC) is an important psychological dimension within health research. The current study sought to establish the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale Form C (C-MHLC-C) on the third trimester of pregnancy to assess the potential usefulness of this measure within this clinical population.

Methods: Internal consistency and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on C-MHLC-C data from 292 women on the third trimester of pregnancy.

Psychometric properties of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) in Chinese women during pregnancy and in the postnatal period.

The GHQ-12 is a widely used instrument designed to screen for psychological disturbance (defined as the inability to carry out normal psychological functions and/or the emergence of new distressing phenomena), in a wide variety of clinical groups. The Chinese version of the GHQ-12 is widely used in Hong Kong to screen women during pregnancy and in the postnatal period. The underlying factor structure of the GHQ-12 has been extensively investigated and there is strong evidence to suggest that the instrument is multi-dimensional.

Hong Kong nursing students' perception of the clinical environment: a questionnaire survey.

Clinical practice is a vital component of the nursing curriculum yet it takes place in a complex social context. This survey examined Hong Kong nursing students' perception of the social climate of the clinical learning environment. The targeted subjects were all Years 2-4 pre-registration nursing students at the school of nursing of a major University in Hong Kong.