Chinese stroke survivors' perceptions of participation in exercise or sitting Tai Chi.

AIMS: Exercise promotes functional recovery among stroke survivors and is recommended to be commenced as soon as is feasible. However, little is known about stroke survivors' perception of participation in exercise or sitting Tai Chi, a more culturally appropriate and popular movement in China. To explore Chinese stroke survivors' perceptions of participation in exercise or sitting Tai Chi. METHODS AND RESULTS: Face-to-face semi-structured interviews and content analysis of transcripts were conducted with a purposive sample of 30 stroke survivors. The qualitative study explored perceptions of post-stroke participation in exercise or sitting Tai Chi. The consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research checklist was used to report findings. Perceived facilitators of exercise participation were healthcare professionals' encouragement and recommendations, family and peer support and survivors' motivation, intention, and self-perceived benefits. Perceived barriers were fear of falling, physical discomfort, and challenges in standing. Despite some reservations, most participants were willing to try sitting Tai Chi. CONCLUSIONS: Encouragement and support, motivation, and perceived benefits were important for exercise participation after stroke. With the premise that all medical and nursing students in China are trained in Tai Chi, for stroke survivors with no access to formal exercise programmes, sitting Tai Chi may offer an appropriate alternative.

Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Trunk Impairment Scale in people with a stroke.

BACKGROUND: The Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS) has been translated into Chinese, but the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the TIS (TIS-C) have not yet been established. We aimed to examine the reliability and validity of the TIS-C for assessing sitting balance among Chinese people with a stroke. METHODS: A descriptive, cross-sectional design was used. We recruited a convenience sample of 170 subacute stroke patients aged 18 years or over from the neurology departments of four traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in China. Patients completed the TIS-C, the Berg Balance Scale and the Modified Barthel Index. The psychometric properties of the TIS-C were examined to establish test-retest reliability, internal consistency, equivalence, and content, criterion, and construct validity. RESULTS: Intraclass correlation coefficients for inter-rater and intra-rater reliability ranged from 0.75 to 0.89 and from 0.90 to 0.97, respectively. The TIS-C Cronbach α was 0.86. The strong correlation between the total score of the TIS-C and the Berg Balance Scale (rs = 0.81, p < 0.001) or Modified Barthel Index (rs = 0.84, p < 0.001) suggested good concurrent and convergent validity, respectively. Known-group validity was supported by the significant difference (p < 0.001) in TIS-C scores between participants with mild and moderate stroke. CONCLUSIONS: The TIS-C is a valid and reliable tool for assessing static and dynamic sitting balance as well as coordination of trunk movement among stroke survivors with mild and moderate stroke.

The Influence of Confucianism on the Perceptions and Process of Caring Among Family Caregivers of Persons With Dementia: A Qualitative Study.

Introduction: Scant evidence reveals the influences of Confucianism on family caregiving in dementia. The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of Confucianism on the perceptions and process of caring among the Chinese family caregivers. Method: A qualitative study was conducted using semistructured interviews with 15 Chinese family caregivers of persons with dementia in three elderly care centers in Hong Kong. The interviews were audiotaped and transcribed, while a thematic analysis was performed to analyze the transcript at the latent level. Results: Three themes emerged from the interviews: (a) setting family as a top priority, (b) growth and development in families, and (c) enhancing family relationships. Discussion: Our findings provided insights into how Confucianism influences the experience of family caregivers in caring persons with dementia in Chinese communities. These findings help develop culturally adapted interventions to improve the support for family caregivers of persons with dementia.

The effects of sitting Tai Chi on physical and psychosocial health outcomes among individuals with impaired physical mobility.

BACKGROUND: Impaired physical mobility, most often seen in people with neurological disorders (i.e., stroke and spinal cord injury survivors), musculoskeletal diseases or frailty, is a limitation in independent and purposeful physical movement of the body or one or more extremities. The physical restrictions result in negative consequences on an individual's physical and psychosocial functions. This proposal describes a systematic review protocol to determine the effectiveness and approaches of sitting Tai Chi intervention for individuals with impaired physical mobility. Our review would inform stakeholders' decisions in integrating this complementary therapy into current rehabilitation services. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental studies that compared an intervention group receiving sitting Tai Chi with a control group among adult participants with impaired physical mobility resulting from any health condition(s) will be included. Outcomes of interest will include physical and psychosocial health outcomes. The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, AMED, PsycINFO, SPORDiscus, PEDro, WanFang Data and China National Knowledge Infrastructure will be searched from their inception to January 2020. Additional searches will be performed to identify studies that are being refereed, to be published, unpublished or ongoing. Two reviewers will select the trials and extract data independently. The risk of bias of the included studies will be assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tools. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation will be used to assess evidence quality for each review outcome. Data synthesis will be performed using Review Manager 5.3. When a meta-analysis is possible, we will assess the heterogeneity across the studies by computing the I statistics. RESULTS: A high-quality synthesis of current evidence of sitting Tai Chi for impaired physical mobility will be stated from several aspect using subjective reports and objective measures of performance. CONCLUSION: This protocol will present the evidence of whether sitting Tai Chi is an effective intervention for impaired physical mobility. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD 42019142681.

A review of the psychosocial issues for nurses in male genitalia-related care.

AIM: This literature review aimed to highlight psychosocial issues for nurses in the practice of male genitalia-related care so as to guide the improvement of the teaching and practice of male genitalia-related care. BACKGROUND: Male genitalia-related care is common in hospitals and in the community. In several conditions, e.g. incontinence, postradiotherapy or following operation for cancer of genitalia, bladder, colon or rectum, patients will require male genitalia-related care. Patients who require male genitalia-related care may encounter psychosocial and/or sexual dysfunction. In the holistic approach to men's health, nurses are expected to meet patients' psychosocial and sexual needs, while the literature suggests that nurses' perceptions and attitudes in providing certain male genitalia-related care, e.g. genital hygiene, sexual counselling, are negative. METHOD: Systematic literature review. CONCLUSION: Issues surrounding male genitalia-related care for nurses are complicated and may be related to privacy, intimacy, sexuality, dirty work and emotional discomfort. Age, gender, race and social class could compound these issues. Relevance to clinical practice. Nurses' negative perceptions, responses and attitudes towards male genitalia-related care may exacerbate patients' conditions under which male genitalia-related care is required. Appropriate strategies should be developed to overcome these problems.

Attitudes of midwives towards perinatal bereavement in Hong Kong.

OBJECTIVE: to explore attitudes towards perinatal bereavement care among midwives working in Hong Kong through examination of relationships between attitudes towards bereavement support, need for bereavement education and appropriate hospital policy. DESIGN: a descriptive correlational survey. SETTING: the obstetric and gynaecology units at two hospitals. INSTRUMENT: a structured self-report questionnaire on attitudes towards perinatal bereavement support; required support and education needs for midwives on bereavement care. PARTICIPANTS: 154 out of 202 midwives (76.2% response rate) working at the two units. FINDINGS: two-step cluster analysis yielded two clusters. Cluster 1 consisted of 91 (59.1%) midwives and cluster 2 consisted of 63 (40.9%) midwives. Cluster 2 midwives were younger, had less obstetric and gynaecology experience, junior ranking and less post-qualification education than cluster 1 midwives. Cluster 1 midwives had additional personal grieving experiences and experience of caring for grieving parents. Attitudes towards bereavement care were positively correlated with educational needs (r(s)=0.55, p< 0.001) and hospital policy support (r(s)=0.50, p< 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Hong Kong midwives require increased bereavement care knowledge and experience, improved communication skills, and greater hospital and team member support. Findings may be used to improve support of midwives, to ensure sensitive bereavement care in perinatal settings and to reflect training needs in the midwifery education curricula. Study findings highlight the universality of grief for a lost baby, irrespective of cultural differences in approaching emotional topics. This study may help midwives internationally to gain a broader perspective in this area.