Professional knowledge creation in the hospital sector: a qualitative study in Taiwan.

This paper aims to develop a professional knowledge creation model for the hospital sector. For this purpose, we qualitatively explore the determinants and process of knowledge creation in the hospital sector. Drawing from organization theory, we develop a hospital's professional knowledge creation model and develop three propositions first. We further explore the theoretical model at organization level by case study in Taiwan. The findings suggest that the hospital's professional knowledge creation is influenced by knowledge stock, social ties and isomorphic pressures as propositions argued. However, hospitals' attempts to keep aligned with their highly institutionalized environments may pay more attention to both existing knowledge stock and the process of professional knowledge creation for their survival. Finally, it is hoped that the significances of this study will contribute to the development of hypotheses in the future quantitative study for building a generalized knowledge creation model for the hospital organization.

The effects of trust in physician on self-efficacy, adherence and diabetes outcomes.

Trust in physicians has been associated with a range of patient behaviors. However, previous research has not focused on the mechanisms by which trust affects health outcomes and mostly has made use of self-rated health. This study tested a theoretical model of variables influencing the relations of trust to both objective and self-rated health. We hypothesized that patients who trust their physicians more were likely to have stronger self-efficacy and outcome expectations. We expected this, in turn, to be associated with better treatment adherence and objective health outcomes. In addition, we hypothesized that highly trusting patients would be more likely to report better health status through enhanced self-efficacy. Data for this research came from a sample of 480 adult patients with type 2 diabetes in Taiwan. Patients completed measures of trust, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, adherence, and the SF-12 health survey. Objective outcomes, including body mass index, glycosylated hemoglobin, blood lipid, and diabetes-related complications, were assessed by follow-up chart review. The structural equation analyses which were implemented by LISREL VIII resulted in a proper solution that exhibited adequate fit. All hypothesized paths were statistically significant and in the predicted directions. The mediation roles of self-efficacy and outcome expectations were further confirmed by the results of structural equation modeling and bootstrap analyses. In the multivariate regression, although the relations of patient trust to blood lipid and self-rated health were confirmed, the direct link of trust to glycosylated hemoglobin was only significant in the bivariate model. This study clarifies the association of trust with different types of health outcomes and provides the empirical evidence that trust in physicians is associated with both self-rated health and therapeutic response. However, a more longitudinal study design is necessary to precisely determine both the strength and causality of these relationships.

What factors are associated with myopia in young adults? A survey study in Taiwan Military Conscripts.

PURPOSE: We investigated the independent impact of potential risk factors on myopia in young adults. METHODS: A survey study was conducted with male military conscripts aged 18 to 24 years between February 2010 and March 2011 in Taiwan. The participants were examined using non-cycloplegic autorefraction and biometry. The participants provided data about potential risk factors, including age, parental myopia, education, near work, outdoor activity, and urbanization. Myopia was defined as the mean spherical equivalent of the right eye of ≤ 0.5 diopters (D). RESULTS: Among 5145 eligible participants, 5048 (98.11%) had refraction and questionnaire data available; 2316 (45.88%) of these received axial length examination. The prevalence of myopia was 86.1% with a mean refractive error of -3.66 D (SD = 2.73) and an axial length of 25.40 mm (SD = 1.38). Older age, having myopic parents, higher education level, more time spent reading, nearer reading distance, less outdoor activity, and higher urbanization level were associated with myopia and longer axial length. More computer use was related to longer axial length. All risk factors associated with myopia also were predictors of high myopia (≤ -6.0 D), with the exception of outdoor activity. Finally, an interaction analysis showed shorter axial length was associated with more time spent outdoors only at high urbanization level. CONCLUSIONS: Older age, parental myopia, higher education level, more near work, less outdoor activity, and higher urbanization level were independent predictors of myopia. These data provided evidence to the multifactorial nature of myopia in young men in Taiwan.

How much does trust really matter? A study of the longitudinal effects of trust and decision-making preferences on diabetic patient outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of trust on patient outcomes (satisfaction, HbA(1C), physical and mental health-related quality of life (HRQoL)) and to investigate the role of decision-making preferences in the trust-outcome relationship. METHODS: We conducted a one-year longitudinal analysis of 614 type 2 diabetic patients (mean age: 59.3 years; mean disease duration: 6.7 years). Patients' self-administered questionnaires and medical record were used for the research. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to investigate the relationship among variables during a 12-month follow-up. Further, we used latent growth modeling (LGM) to assess changes in health outcomes and to examine how these changes were related to trust. RESULTS: Regression analyses revealed that trust was positively related to glycemic control, physical HRQoL, and satisfaction at 12 months. Patients with higher decision-making preferences experienced a greater increase in subsequent satisfaction. The results of LGM showed that higher levels of trust were associated with greater increases in physical HRQoL. CONCLUSION: Trust contributes to improvements in health outcomes. The relationship between trust and satisfaction may be stronger among patients with higher decision-making preferences. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: For healthcare providers, efforts should be made to cultivate patients' trust and enhance their decision-making preferences to maximize satisfaction and improve outcomes.

Do patient autonomy preferences matter? Linking patient-centered care to patient-physician relationships and health outcomes.

As health care systems seek to provide patient-centered care as a cornerstone of quality, the link between patient-centeredness and patient outcomes is a concern. Past research reveals inconsistent findings regarding the impact of patient-centeredness on patient outcomes, and few studies have investigated the factors that moderate this relationship. Most studies have used self-rated outcomes on a cross-sectional basis, even though most patient care is inherently longitudinal. The current study extends past research by examining the theoretical and empirical relationships between patients' perceptions of autonomy support and autonomy preferences with regard to their health outcomes. We hypothesized that autonomy preferences moderate the positive relationships between perceived autonomy support and patient-physician relationships, and on self-rated and objective health outcomes such that the relationships are more positive when patient autonomy preferences are high. Data were collected 3 times over a one-year period from a sample of 614 patients with type 2 diabetes in Taiwan. The results revealed strong support for the hypothesized relationships between perceived autonomy support and patient trust, satisfaction, and mental health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after adjusting for baseline scores; however, the direct link between autonomy support and patients' glycemic control was not significant. Specifically, patients with high decisional preference experienced a greater increase in subsequent trust and satisfaction than patients with low decisional preference. Further, patients with high information preference had a higher level of satisfaction over time than patients with low information preference. In addition, it was found that perceived autonomy support improved both physical and mental HRQoL but only if combined with high levels of information preference. This study provides evidence of a contingency perspective of the relationship between patient autonomy support and outcomes. By recognizing the uniqueness of each patient's autonomy preferences, healthcare practitioners can increase the efficiency of patient-centered care and improve patient outcomes.

Trust but verify: the interactive effects of trust and autonomy preferences on health outcomes.

Patients' trust in their physicians improves their health outcomes because of better compliance, more disclosure, stronger placebo effect, and more physicians' trustworthy behaviors. Patients' autonomy may also impact on health outcomes and is increasingly being emphasized in health care. However, despite the critical role of trust and autonomy, patients that naïvely trust their physicians may become overly dependent and lack the motivation to participate in medical care. In this article, we argue that increased trust does not necessarily imply decreased autonomy. Furthermore, patients with high levels of trust and autonomy preferences are most likely to have the best health outcomes. We propose a framework for understanding simultaneous trust and autonomy preferences and for recognizing their interactive effects on health outcomes in the dynamic medical encounter. This framework argues that policy makers and health care providers should make efforts to foster not only patients' trust but also their preferences for autonomy and thus gain the best position for achieving health-related goals.

Linking patients' trust in physicians to health outcomes.

Trust in the patient-physician relationship has been widely discussed, but in-depth and systematic analyses are scarce. A model is proposed to explore the trust-outcomes relationship by identifying the mediating effects of compliance, patient disclosure, placebo effect and physician's caring behaviour. The consequences of patients' trust in physicians and the practical implications of trust to quality patient care are presented.