Effectiveness of interactive discussion group in suicide risk assessment among general nurses in Taiwan: a randomized controlled trial.

The evidence of suicide prevention training for nurses is scarce. Strategies to enhance general nurses' ability in suicide risk assessment are critical to develop effective training programs in general medical settings. This study was aimed to examine the effectiveness of an interactive discussion group in a suicide prevention training program for general nurses. In this randomized study with two groups of pre-post study design, the sample was recruited from the Medical, Surgical, and Emergency/Intensive Care Sectors of a 2000-bed general hospital via stratified randomization. Among the 111 nurses, 57 participants randomly assigned to the control group received a two-hour baseline suicide gatekeeper lecture, and 54 participants assigning to the experimental group received an additional five-hour group discussion about suicide risk assessment skills. Using a case vignette, the nurses discussed and assessed suicide risk factors specified in a 10-item Chinese SAD PERSONS Scale during a group discussion intervention. The findings revealed that the nurses achieved significant and consistent improvements of risk identification and assessment after the intervention without influencing their mental health status for assessing suicide risks. The result suggested an effective approach of interactive group discussion for facilitating critical thinking and learning suicide risk assessment skills among general nurses.

[Challenges and strategies for nursing education in Taiwan from a public health needs perspective].

An increasingly elderly population and prevalence of chronic health problems have transformed the healthcare landscape in Taiwan and necessitated a shift in the focus of healthcare toward chronic rather than acute illnesses. This is a challenge to the domestic healthcare system, which was initially designed to address and cure primarily acute illness. Traditional nursing education and training programs are no longer adequate to meet current population healthcare needs. The first part of this article highlights the challenges posed by changing healthcare needs, e.g., the rise in prevalence of age-related chronic conditions and the increased acuity of hospitalized patients. Such developments are making new demands and expectations of nurses in terms of education, skills and roles. The second part of this article explores the weaknesses of current nursing education. Recommendations for the future include: making high school graduation a minimum requirement for entering nursing college and university programs, restructuring the nursing master's education program to prepare advanced nurse practitioners, redesigning curriculum content, and teaching approaches based on public healthcare needs. Upgrading clinical competencies and increasing nursing school faculty numbers are issues of the most immediate priority.

Occupational health nursing practice, education, and research in Taiwan.

This article describes occupational health nursing practice, education, research, and future perspectives in Taiwan. It also provides a brief overview of major occupational health and safety problems, laws and regulations, and organizations in Taiwan.

[The analysis and recommendation of the institutional respite care policy in Taiwan].

As the functionally impaired disabled elderly and the long-term care population has grown, concern about the physical, psychological and social demands facing primary caregivers has increased. An institutional respite care policy was adopted in Taiwan in 1998, but the rate of utilization of institutional care remains low. This article investigates the formative background, related circumstances and problems of respite care policy. The three dimensions of structure, process and outcome form the main framework for policy analysis. "Structure," includes demand and resources. "Process," includes health policy planning procedure, health administration and service delivery processes. "Outcome," covers service utilization, satisfaction, caregiver's well-being and care-receiver's institutionalization rate. In accordance with the results of the analysis the researchers propose recommendations about policy, practice, education and research, in the hope that these will be considered in relation to future modification and execution of respite care policy, in order to provide respite for suffering caregivers, and to carry out the ideal of aging in place.