The effects of simulation-based education on undergraduate nursing students' competences: a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Education in nursing has noticed a positive effect of simulation-based education. There are many studies available on the effects of simulation-based education, but most of those involve a single institution, nonrandomized controlled trials, small sample sizes and subjective evaluations of the effects. The purpose of this multicenter randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the effects of high-fidelity simulation, computer-based simulation, high-fidelity simulation combined with computer-based simulation, and case study on undergraduate nursing students. METHODS: A total of 270 nursing students were recruited from five universities in China. Participants were randomly divided into four groups at each institution: the high-fidelity simulation group, the computer-based simulation group, the high-fidelity simulation combined with computer-based simulation group, and the case study group. Finally, 239 participants completed the intervention and evaluation, with 58, 67, 57, and 57 participants in each group. The data were collected at three stages: before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and three months after the intervention. RESULTS: The demographic data and baseline evaluation indices did not significantly differ among the four groups. A statistically significant difference was not observed between the four methods for improving knowledge, interprofessional collaboration, critical thinking, caring, or interest in learning. While skill improvement differed significantly among the different groups after the intervention (p = 0.020), after three months, no difference was observed (p = 0.139). The improvement in skill in the computer-based simulation group was significantly lower at the end of the intervention than that in the high-fidelity simulation group (p = 0.048) or the high-fidelity simulation combined with computer-based simulation group (p = 0.020). CONCLUSIONS: Nursing students benefit equally from four methods in cultivating their knowledge, interprofessional collaboration, critical thinking, caring, and interest in learning both immediately and over time. High-fidelity simulation and high-fidelity simulation combined with computer-based simulation improve skill more effectively than computer-based simulation in the short term. Nursing educators can select the most suitable teaching method to achieve the intended learning outcomes depending on the specific circumstances. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This clinical trial was registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (clinical trial number: ChiCTR2400084880, date of the registration: 27/05/2024).

Association of filial attitude, filial behavior and death literacy: implications for development of death system in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area of China.

BACKGROUND: Filial piety, as a major traditional norm in Chinese culture and in Chinese families, affects the attitudes and behaviors of adult children toward their parents and impacts their end-of-life decision-making and the quality of death of their parents. Death literacy is a novel concept aimed at promoting palliative care in the context of public health. AIMS: To understand attitudes and behaviors related to filial piety and to examine the role of death literacy in filial behaviors toward dying parents among residents in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area of China. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey that employed the convenient and snowball sampling methods was adopted. Filial Piety Representations at Parents' End of Life Scale and Death Literacy Index were used. RESULTS: This study identified a significant gap between the filial piety attitudes and behaviors of Chinese adult children. Gender, caregiving experience and death literacy were predictors of filial behaviors in an end-of-life context. CONCLUSION: Providing truth disclosure support, offering guidance to young adult children and caregivers of terminally ill fathers, and strengthening factual and community knowledge of death are necessary to enhance the reciprocal comfort of both adult children and dying parents in the context of Chinese filiality.

What we learnt from parents' death experience: A cross-sectional study of death literacy and parent's death quality among adult children in China.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims at investigating the current status of death literacy and parent's death quality among adult children in China. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to explore the associations between death literacy and parent's death quality and to provide evidence for developing public policies for improving the quality of death and end-of-life care for the population in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) of China. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was adopted. Participants who experienced their father's and/or mother's death were recruited from 5 cities in the GBA of China in 2022. The Good Death Inventory (GDI) and the Death Literacy Index (DLI) were used to investigate the perceived quality of death of the parents of the participants and the death literacy of the participants. RESULTS: A total of 511 participants were recruited. Participants with higher GDI scores were positively associated with DLI scores (p < 0.001). Adult children who had close relationships before their parents' death also had higher levels of DLI. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESULTS: This study investigated death literacy among bereaved adult children in China, filling a gap in the investigation of death literacy among Chinese residents. It found that parents' death experience can have a significant impact on the death literacy of adult children, which may affect their understanding and preparation for their own eventual death. Promotion of family discussion on death, development of community palliative care, and improving public death literacy are urgently needed in China.

Chinese version of Yoon Critical Thinking Disposition Instrument: validation using classical test theory and Rasch analysis.

BACKGROUND: Despite the availability of a wide range of critical thinking instruments, there was no original design for nurses that has been translated into Chinese. However, only instruments designed specifically for the nursing discipline would be reliable. This study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and validate the Yoon Critical Thinking Disposition Instrument in the Chinese context. METHODS: A four-step translation process was implemented according to Word Health Organization guidelines, which included forward translation, expert panel review, backward translation, and pre-testing. Experts and nursing students participated in testing the validity and reliability of the Chinese version. RESULTS: The translation of the instrument went smoothly. According to a confirmatory factor analysis, there was an acceptable fit for the seven-factor model. Content validity indices ranged from 0.6 to 1 at item level, and 0.94 at scale level. In addition, there was extremely high internal consistency and test-retest reliability in the translated instrument. There was a good fit for the items with both person and item reliabilities greater than 0.6 and a separation index of 2.19, respectively. The item location was identified from the wright map as not covering person ability, but the scale did not have a gender-related differential item functioning. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, a critical thinking disposition instrument for nursing students was translated into Chinese for the first time. This translated instrument is a reliable tool with satisfactory validity and reliability. It could provide opportunities for building a cross-cultural understanding of critical thinking disposition.

The Death Literacy Index: translation, cultural adaptation, and validation of the Chinese version.

Objective: Applying public health approaches to address palliative care allows for a broader perspective. The Death Literacy Index (DLI) is a novel instrument designed to assess the knowledge and skills required to access, comprehend, and make informed decisions regarding end-of-life care. Translation of the DLI could strengthen the capacity to build desirable services and policies regarding dying and death. It could also help to identify the barriers to services and future advocacy efforts. Methods: The DLI was forward translated into Chinese and backward translated through two panels. Two rounds of cognitive interviews and a pilot test were conducted before the survey. A sample of 3,221 participants was recruited via an online survey in five cities in southern China (Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Jiangmen, Hong Kong and Macao) to evaluate the factor structure, validity and reliability of the translated DLI. Additionally, multi-group confirmatory factor analyses (MGCFA) were performed to examine measurement invariance across genders and the experiences of parental death. Results: Exploratory factor analysis showed a six-factor structure for the translated DLI, and confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the structure. The overall scale and subscales had high internal consistency and satisfactory validity. The results from MGCFA showed that death literacy was adequately invariant for different genders and experiences of parental death. Conclusion: The Chinese DLI is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring death literacy among people in southern China, and therefore can be used for both research and community practice.

The mediating effect of critical thinking between interest in learning and caring among nursing students: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have explored the influence of interest in learning on caring and critical thinking, as well as the relationship between caring and critical thinking. However, the mediating effect of critical thinking in interest learning and caring among nursing students has not been clarified. METHODS: Nursing students who enrolled for the 2021/2022 academic year in diploma, undergraduate, or graduate programs in five provinces of China (Guangdong, Sichuan, Jiangsu, Hunan and Macao). An online survey with a convenience sampling method was employed to collect data. The questionnaires were administered to 692 participants between January 20 and 26, 2022. Amos 26.0 was employed to establish the structural equation modelling and analyze the mediating effect of critical thinking on interest in learning and caring. RESULTS: The first regression equation showed that interest in learning significantly influenced caring (ß = 0.339, p <  0.001). The third regression equation showed that critical thinking significantly influenced caring (ß = 0.494, p <  0.001). The effect of interest in learning on caring was less in the third equation than in the first equation (ß = 0.154 vs ß = 0.339), which indicates partial mediation. Furthermore, interest in learning had an indirect positive effect (ß = 0.186, p <  0.001) on caring mediated by critical thinking, with 95% confidence interval of 0.142 to 0.233. CONCLUSIONS: Critical thinking was a significant mediator of the relationship between interest in learning and caring. It is suggested that nursing colleges and instructors should take into account students' interest in learning and critical thinking as potential intervention elements to enhance caring.

Impact of scenario validity and group size on learning outcomes in high-fidelity simulation: A systematics review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effects related to scenario validity and group size in high-fidelity simulation among undergraduate nursing students. DESIGN: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and quasi-experiment. DATA SOURCES: Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, Wangfang database, and Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure were searched from the start of each database to February 22, 2022. The references and citations lists were manually screened to find additional references. REVIEW METHODS: Screening and quality assessment of the retrieved studies were conducted independently by two authors. Discussions with a third author sorted out any discrepancies between the two authors. Using meta-analysis procedures based on a random-effect model, outcome data were synthesized and standard mean difference was computed with a 95 % confidence interval. RESULTS: Thirty-three studies were included. A total 4077 undergraduate nursing students were recruited, of which 2068 participated in experimental groups. High-fidelity simulation with scenario validity was better than high-fidelity simulation without scenario validity in cultivating undergraduate nursing students' knowledge (p = 0.03), and they were equivalent in improving students' skills (p = 0.75). Groups of six or fewer students in each high-fidelity simulation tend to be more effective at promoting knowledge (standard mean difference = 0.98) and skill (standard mean difference = 1.00), but the differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: High-fidelity simulation with scenario validity and with less than six students in each group can be more effective in cultivating knowledge and skills among undergraduate nursing students. For high-fidelity simulation to be as effective as possible, nursing instructors should ensure scenario validity and limit the number of students in each group to under six.

Prebriefing for high-fidelity simulation in nursing education: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Briefing, scenario development, and debriefing of high-fidelity simulation (HFS) have been widely discussed in the past, but less attention is given to prebriefing, and its role in learning outcomes. The prebriefing engages students and equips them with the knowledge and skills they need for a successful simulation. OBJECTIVES: To identify the effectiveness of prebriefing of HFS in Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students. DESIGN: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and quasi-experiment. DATA SOURCES: The Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, WANFANG, and CNKI were for randomized controlled and quasi-experimental studies published in English or Chinese up to June 26, 2022. REVIEW METHODS: Two authors independently screened the literature, extracted data and evaluated the quality of the included studies. The standardized mean difference with a 95 % confidence interval was used to facilitate direct comparisons between studies. All statistical tests were conducted with Review Manager 5.4 software. RESULTS: This meta-analysis included 17 randomized controlled studies and 25 quasi-experimental studies involving 4926 BSN students. No significant differences in knowledge (p = 0.58), skill (p = 0.67), satisfaction (p = 0.84), critical thinking (p = 0.56), caring (p = 0.11), learning interest (p = 0.85), and self-confidence (p = 0.21) between HFS with and without prebriefing were found in subgroup analyses. HFS with prebriefing generated larger effect for collaboration (0.82 vs 0.27, p = 0.004). CONCLUSION: HFS with prebriefing facilitates collaboration of BSN students more effectively, and it has an equivalent effect to HFS without prebriefing on fostering BSN students' knowledge, skills, critical thinking, caring, learning interest, and self-confidence.

Development and Validation of Filial Piety Representations at Parents' End of Life Scale.

Filial piety has a long historical standing in Chinese communities. However, the filial piety practices of adult children at the end of a parent's life are under-explored. This study aims to develop a measurement for filial piety representations of the adult children of Macao Chinese, whose parents are at the stage of end of life. By adopting a scale development and validation framework, a 19-item Filial Piety Representations at Parents' End of Life Scale (FPR-EoL) was formulated based on a Dual Filial Piety Model and literature, through procedures of item identification, panel review, cognitive interviews, and pre-test. The FPR-EoL was examined on 274 individuals. Factor analysis showed four factors in the scale; respect and comfort, acceptance of death, spending final days, and disclosing bad news. The Cronbach's alpha of FPR-EoL was 0.73, and the four factors were 0.73, 0.66, 0.58 and 0.77, respectively. Discriminant validity was examined between FPR-EoL, the Good Death Inventory (GDI) and the Filial Piety Scale (FPS). The results suggested that there were differences between the three scales. FPR-EoL is found to be a reliable, valid and novel measure of filial piety representations among Macao Chinese. It may be a potential tool to probe and achieve good death among older persons of Chinese ethnicity in clinical settings.

High-fidelity simulation duration and learning outcomes among undergraduate nursing students: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the effects of different lengths of the three key steps (prebriefing, simulation, and debriefing) of high-fidelity simulation (HFS) on the knowledge and skills of undergraduate nursing students. DESIGN: A systematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: A systematic search was conducted for Chinese and English publications from the Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and two Chinese databases (Wanfang and CNKI) up to November 24, 2021. REVIEW METHODS: Two independent raters screened the retrieved studies and extracted data based on a coding protocol from the studies that met the inclusion criteria. Data were synthesized using meta-analytic procedures based on a random-effect model and computing effect sizes by standard mean differences (SMD) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: Forty-four studies were included, and 23 studies were analyzed. High-fidelity simulation (HFS) with debriefing of 10 min or less (SMD = 1.18), simulation of 15-20 min (SMD = 1.43), and debriefing of 11-30 min (SMD = 1.19) showed larger effect sizes for knowledge, while HFS with debriefing of >10 min (SMD = 0.91), simulation of 15 min or less (SMD = 0.89), and over 30 min of debriefing cultivation (SMD = 0.84) showed larger effect sizes for skill. CONCLUSIONS: During the prebriefing, simulation, and debriefing, shorter sessions are more effective for improving knowledge in BSN students, whereas longer sessions are most effective for improving skills in BSN students. Nurse educators can schedule HFS to meet the expectations of learning outcomes based on the actual situation.

High-fidelity simulation in undergraduate nursing education: A meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the effectiveness of high-fidelity simulation (HFS) in undergraduate nursing education. DESIGN: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and quasi-experiment. DATA SOURCES: Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, WANFANG, and CNKI were searched for eligible articles published in English and Chinese until May 28, 2021. REVIEW METHODS: The Quality Appraisal Check-list for Quantitative Intervention Studies was applied to the quality evaluation. Standard mean differences (SMD) were pooled using a random effects model. The results of the individual and combined intervention effects estimation of was displayed in a forest plot, with weight, SMD, its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI), Z-test, p, I2. RESULTS: Thirty-eight studies were included and 37 were analyzed. High-fidelity simulation (HFS) revealed significantly larger effect sizes for knowledge (SMD = 0.89, 95% CI [0.54 to 1.23]), skill (SMD = 0.93, 95% CI [0.69 to 1.17]), collaboration (SMD = 0.52, 95% CI [0.26 to 0.78]), caring (SMD = 1.40, 95% CI [0.23 to 2.58]) and learning interest (SMD = 0.85, 95% CI [0.00 to 2.04]) when compared with other teaching methods. However, no significant difference between HFS and other teaching methods in critical thinking (SMD = 0.46, 95% CI [-1.12 to 1.58]), self-confidence (SMD = 0.22, 95% CI [-0.32 to 0.75]) and learning satisfaction (SMD = 0.58, 95% CI [-0.25 to 1.41]) was shown. CONCLUSIONS: High-fidelity simulation (HFS) can more effectively cultivate knowledge, skills, collaboration, caring, and learning interest of undergraduate nursing students. Since the effect of HFS is equivalent to other teaching methods in cultivating undergraduate nursing students' critical thinking, self-confidence and learning satisfaction, nursing educators can choose the most appropriate methods to achieve the intended learning outcomes according to the actual situation.

What Makes Chinese Adult Children Behave Differently during Parents' End of Life: A Discriminant Analysis of Macao Chinese.

The daily practice of filial piety (FP) is well prescribed under the traditional filial norms in the Chinese community. However, exploration of FP practices at the end of parents' lives is limited. The current study explored the FP representation and good death preferences of Macao Chinese. A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted and discriminant analysis was used to identify possible predictors of FP representation in the context of parents' end of life. Results showed that Macao Chinese were inclined to perform most of the filial duties in the last journey of their parents. Among 705 participants, 150 (21.3%) tended to practice authoritarian FP, and 555 (78.7%) tended to practice reciprocal FP. Age, education, religion, and good death preferences were identified as predictors of different FP representation groups. The findings could help clinicians to obtain a preliminary perception of FP representation of Chinese patients and to determine the appropriate approach for end-of-life care from a family perspective.

Effects of a self-management education program on self-efficacy in patients with COPD: a mixed-methods sequential explanatory designed study.

BACKGROUND: Self-management education programs (SMEPs) are potentially effective in the symptomatic management of COPD. Little is presently known about the effectiveness of these programs in Chinese COPD patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a specifically designed SMEP on levels of self-efficacy in Chinese patients with COPD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Based on the Medical Research Council framework for evaluating complex interventions, an exploratory phase randomized controlled trial was employed to examine the effects of an SMEP. Self-efficacy was the primary outcome using the COPD Self-efficacy Scale, measured at baseline and 6 months after the program. Qualitative data were sequentially collected from these patients via three focus groups to supplement the quantitative findings. RESULTS: The experimental group displayed significant improvement in their general self-efficacy (Z =-2.44, P=0.015) and specifically in confronting 1) physical exertion (Z =-2.57, P=0.01), 2) weather/environment effects (Z =-2.63, P<0.001) and 3) intense emotions (Z =-2.54, P=0.01). Three themes emerged from the focus groups: greater disease control, improved psychosocial well-being and perceived incapability and individuality. The connection of the quantitative and qualitative data demonstrated that individual perceptual constancy of patients could be a determining factor modulating the effectiveness of this type of intervention. CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the potential putative benefits of an SMEP in Chinese patients with COPD. Further attention should be given to cultural considerations when developing this type of intervention in Chinese populations with COPD and other chronic diseases.

Factors contributing to neonatal mortality rates in Macao: evidence from 1957-2006 data.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the neonatal mortality rate (NMR) and demographic changes, economic instability, and health resource availability in Macao. A retrospective design was used, where yearly data from Macao were collected for the period of 1957-2006. The NMR was the dependent variable and the demographic factors, socioeconomic status, and health resources were the three main explanatory variables. The results showed that higher unemployment rates, higher levels of educated women, and a greater supply of nurses are associated with a lower NMR. The results also indicated that socioeconomically disadvantaged groups are at a significantly higher risk of neonatal mortality. In contrast, increasing the number of nurses in health care significantly reduces the risk of neonatal mortality. Further international evidence suggested that greater efforts should be directed towards removing the barriers that impede access to health-care services and increasing preventive care for disadvantaged populations, particularly during economic downturns.

Socioeconomic instability and the availability of health resources: their effects on infant mortality rates in Macau from 1957-2006.

AIM: To investigate the effects of socioeconomic instability and the availability of health resources on infant mortality rate. BACKGROUND: In 1960, the infant mortality rate was 46.3 infants per 1000 live births in Macau but by 2006 it had declined to 2.7 infants per 1000 live births. DESIGN: A retrospective design collecting yearly data for the Macau covering the period from 1957-2006. The infant mortality rate was the dependent variable and demographics, socioeconomic status and health resources are three main explanatory variables to determine the mortality rate. METHODS: Regression modelling. RESULTS: Results show that higher birth (Beta = 0.029, p = 0.004) and unemployment rates (Beta = -0.120, p = 0.036) and more public expenditure on health (Beta = -0.282, p < 0.001) were significantly more likely to reduce the infant mortality rate. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the socioeconomically disadvantaged are at a significantly higher risk for infant mortality. In contrast, more public expenditure on health resources significantly reduces the risk for infant mortality. This study provides further international evidence that suggests that improving aspects of the healthcare system may be one way to compensate for the negative effects of social inequalities on health outcomes. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The implication of these results is that more effort, particularly during economic downturns, should be put into removing the barriers that impede access to healthcare services and increasing preventive care for the population that currently has less access to health care in communities where there is a scarcity of medical resources. In addition, efforts should be made to expand and improve the coverage of prenatal and infant healthcare programmes to alleviate regional differences in the use of health care and improve the overall health status of infants in Macau.

Nursing management of medication errors.

Medication error is the most common and consistent type of error occurring in hospitals. This article attempts to explore the ethical issues relating to the nursing management of medication errors in clinical areas in Macau, China. A qualitative approach was adopted. Seven registered nurses who were involved in medication errors were recruited for in-depth interviews. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using content analysis. Regarding the management of patients, the nurses acknowledged the mistakes but did not disclose the incidents to patients and relatives. Concerning management of the nurses involved by senior staff, most participants experienced fairness, comfort and understanding during the process of reporting and investigation. The ethical issues relating to the incidents were discussed, particularly in the Chinese context. There is a need for further study relating to the disclosure of medication incidents to patients and some suggestions were made.