Promoting workplace retention during global crises: An international survey of the preventive role of psychological support among victims of social discrimination in long-term care facilities.

This international cross-sectional survey examined the potential role of organizational psychological support in mitigating the association between experiencing social discrimination against long-term care (LTC) facilities' healthcare professionals (HCPs) and their intention to stay in the current workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants included a convenience sample of 2,143 HCPs (nurses [21.5 %], nurse aids or residential care workers [40.1 %], social workers [12.1 %], and others [26.4 %]) working at 223 LTC facilities in 13 countries/regions. About 37.5 % of the participants reported experiencing social discrimination, and the percentage ranged from 15.3 % to 77.9 % across countries/regions. Controlling for socio-demographic and work-related variables, experiencing social discrimination was significantly associated with a lower intention to stay, whereas receiving psychological support showed a statistically significant positive association (p-value=0.015 and <0.001, respectively). The interaction term between social discrimination and psychological support showed a statistically significant positive association with the intention to stay, indicating a moderating role of the psychological support.

Long-term care facilities' response to the COVID-19 pandemic: An international, cross-sectional survey.

AIMS: To (i) assess the adherence of long-term care (LTC) facilities to the COVID-19 prevention and control recommendations, (ii) identify predictors of this adherence and (iii) examine the association between the adherence level and the impact of the pandemic on selected unfavourable conditions. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. METHODS: Managers (n = 212) and staff (n = 2143) of LTC facilities (n = 223) in 13 countries/regions (Brazil, Egypt, England, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Thailand and Turkey) evaluated the adherence of LTC facilities to COVID-19 prevention and control recommendations and the impact of the pandemic on unfavourable conditions related to staff, residents and residents' families. The characteristics of participants and LTC facilities were also gathered. Data were collected from April to October 2021. The study was reported following the STROBE guidelines. RESULTS: The adherence was significantly higher among facilities with more pre-pandemic in-service education on infection control and easier access to information early in the pandemic. Residents' feelings of loneliness and feeling down were the most affected conditions by the pandemic. More psychological support to residents was associated with fewer residents' aggressive behaviours, and more psychological support to staff was associated with less work-life imbalance. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-pandemic preparedness significantly shaped LTC facilities' response to the pandemic. Adequate psychological support to residents and staff might help mitigate the negative impacts of infection outbreaks. IMPACT: This is the first study to comprehensively examine the adherence of LTC facilities to COVID-19 prevention and control recommendations. The results demonstrated that the adherence level was significantly related to pre-pandemic preparedness and that adequate psychological support to staff and residents was significantly associated with less negative impacts of the pandemic on LTC facilities' staff and residents. The results would help LTC facilities prepare for and respond to future infection outbreaks. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No Patient or Public Contribution.

Effectiveness of home-based palliative care programmes for older people and their family caregivers in Thailand.

BACKGROUND: People in Thailand receiving palliative care at home can have complex needs and this means that the family caregiver can have a high burden of care. AIM: To assess the impact of a nursing care activities for a home-based palliative care programme (NHBPC) on the care burden among family caregivers and the care quality in older people at the palliative care stage. METHODS: This quasi-experimental repeated measure study was used to investigate the effects of the nursing care activities for a NHBPC programme. RESULTS: The mean caregiving burden and care quality scores in the experimental and control groups at post-test and 2-weeks follow-up showed significant differences (p<.05). In addition, improvement was not seen in the control group. CONCLUSION: The NHBPC programme significantly improved caregiving burden and quality of care in Thai older people and their family caregiver. This confirms that the NHBPC programme plays a crucial role in helping them to improve quality of life.

The Development of a Rapid Health Impact Assessment Model for Songkhla Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Policy in Southern Thailand.

BACKGROUND: Rapid Health Impact Assessment (Rapid HIA) for Special Economic Zone (SEZ) has not been undertaken in Thailand. We aimed to develop a Rapid HIA model for policymaking by using Songkhla SEZ as a study model. METHODS: Four-stage of the research and development based on HIA process were used: 1) drafting the model using literature reviews and focus group discussions, 2) collecting additional information from 24 stakeholders, and conducting an in-depth interview with six informants, 3) verifying the model by drawing agreements on the model from 17 related agencies and experts, and 4) confirming the validity of the final model using seven experts. The study were conducted from Jan 2018 to Feb 2019. Content analysis and constant comparison were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: A four-step assessment model was obtained. They included public screening, scoping, assessing, and reviewing and influencing. Public screening is deduced from a meeting with organizations and related personnel. Public scoping is an outcome of literature reviewing and meeting with stakeholders and academics. The assessment step focuses on secondary data from related agencies and a participatory workshop with stakeholders and academics. Finally, a meeting with stakeholders and academics, including internet broadcasting, is the reviewing and influencing process. CONCLUSION: This Rapid HIA model was specifically developed for SEZ policy. Reviewing and influencing steps were combined, whereas the monitoring and evaluation step was removed for further operations. This model depends on the official appointment of the steering committee. HIA practitioners should be experienced academics from higher educational institutions.

Policy Literacy, Barriers, and Gender Impact on Accessibility to Healthcare Services under Compulsory Migrant Health Insurance among Myanmar Migrant Workers in Thailand.

Accessibility to health service and experience of healthcare are important factors for public health policymaking. The current study aimed to describe the status of accessibility and barriers to getting care as well as policy literacy among Myanmar migrant workers and ultimately to identify the predictors of accessibility to healthcare services among this population through Thailand's Compulsory Migrant Health Insurance (CMHI). A cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from 240 Myanmar migrant workers who were 18 years or older, resided in Songkhla Province, and had Compulsory Migrant Health Insurance. The instrument was a set of questionnaires consisting of a Personal Data Form, Policy Literacy Questionnaire, Barriers to Get Care Questionnaire, and Accessibility to Healthcare Services Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze data. The majority of participants had a high level of policy literacy (36.3%), barriers to get care (34.2%), and accessibility to health care services (35.8%). Policy literacy (ß = 0.35, p < 0.001), barriers to get care (ß = -0.32, p < 0.001), and gender (p < 0.001) were significant predictors of accessibility to healthcare services and could explain 43.2% of the total variance. To increase the accessibility to healthcare services among migrant workers with Compulsory Migrant Health Insurance, public health policymakers are recommended to cooperate more with healthcare staff and the workers' employers to enhance the distribution of information about the health insurance to decrease barriers to get care.

Exploring caregivers' perspectives on improving care for older people at the end of life in Thailand.

BACKGROUND: Older people in Thailand receive general medical and social care at the end of life, and many rarely access palliative services. In light of this, improving the quality of care for the ageing population relies on addressing the needs of family caregivers, who provide the majority of care in a home setting. Understanding caregivers' perspectives when caring for a friend or relative will help to improve the quality of care that they provide. AIM: To explore caregivers' perspectives on improving care for older people in Thailand in the palliative stage. METHODS: A qualitative study using in-depth interviews and observation of 10 older people in the palliative stage and their caregivers was undertaken. Data were analysed using content analysis. FINDINGS: Data analysis revealed three themes: caregivers cared to repay the older person's previous kindness, caregivers cared and changed their caregiving behaviour to minimise the older person's perception of being abandoned or being a burden, and to follow Thai ancestral traditions, so that the older person could die peacefully. CONCLUSION: This study provides specific instructions for those who provide care for older Thai people in the palliative stage. Finding ways to address caregivers' perspectives on improving care quality could enhance the experience of care recipients.

Integrating participatory ergonomic management in non-weight-bearing exercise and progressive resistance exercise on self-care and functional ability in aged farmers with knee osteoarthritis: a clustered randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Ergonomic hazards are the most important cause of knee osteoarthritis (OA) in aged para rubber farmers. Ergonomic management comprising improvement of working conditions and muscle-strengthening exercise has been well documented in terms of workers' health benefit. However, those interventions were not adequate to sustain the advantage. Few studies have demonstrated the effect of integrating participatory ergonomic management (PEM) in non-weight-bearing exercise (NWE) and progressive resistance exercise (PRE), and none has focused on aged para rubber farmers with knee OA. PURPOSE: This study investigated the effect of PEM-NWE, PEM-PRE, and standard treatment (ST) on self-care and functional ability in the aged population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A single-blinded, clustered randomized controlled trial was carried out. Participants (n=75) from three different communities in southern Thailand were randomly assigned to PEM-NWE, PEM-PRE, and ST. Self-care and functional ability (pain, stiffness, and physical function) were examined at baseline (B), during the intervention at Week 5 (W5), and after its completion at Week 9 (W9). Mean comparison of those outcomes over time was made using Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs). RESULTS: Compared to the standard treatment, the means of both groups, PEM-NWE and PEM-PRE, were significantly increased in self-care and functional ability. However, no significant difference between PEM-NWE and PEM-PRE was found. CONCLUSION: Either or both interventions should be incorporated into nursing practice in order to promote occupational health and enhance quality of work life for Thai aged farmers. Further study on their cost-effectiveness is highly recommended.

The effect of a community-based spiritual life review program on Indonesian elders' resilience

Objective: This quasi-experimental, pre-/post-test study aimed to examine the effect of a community-based spiritual life review program on the resilience of elders residing in a disaster-prone area. Method: Fifty-two participants who met the inclusion criteria were recruited from three villages in the Kutaraja sub-district in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The participants were randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group. The participants' names were listed and then randomly selected by a random number generator. The experimental group underwent a community-based spiritual life review program, which included a review of their spiritual lives, the appreciation of feelings, affirmation by the religious leader, a reevaluation of their lives, and a reconstruction of their lives to recognize their memories and present feelings. Results: The elderly resilience scores were evaluated four weeks after the program was implemented. The control group received the same program after the study was finished. The participants in the experimental group significantly improved their resilience levels after completing the program (p < .05). There was a slight increase in the resilience scores from the pre-test to the post-test in the experimental group compared with the control group (p < .05). Conclusions: Future studies should add implementation sessions and avoid photos that would induce participants' traumatic memories or experiences during the spiritual life review

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Supportive Communication to Facilitate Chinese Patients' Adaptation to a Permanent Colostomy: A Qualitative Case Study Approach.

This study, which is a part of action research, aims to explore how supportive communication can impact individuals' adaptation to a permanent colostomy in a Chinese cultural context. Two Chinese rectal cancer patients with complexity and difficulty in living with a permanent colostomy were selected using a qualitative case study approach. The researcher (H.T.) interacted with the participants along their journey from the preoperative period until the third postoperative month after discharge via face-to-face or telephone interviews. Content analysis was applied. Supportive communication was characterized by "communication as a supportive tool," which consisted of 4 elements: respect, description, empathy, and empowerment. The nursing strategies included (1) developing a collaborative relationship with patients and families; (2) understanding patients' concerns and problems; (3) discussing potential solutions; (4) encouraging patients to take action; (5) bringing out emotional expression; (6) normalizing negative emotions; and (7) protecting hope. The findings of this study informed that supportive communication is a valuable tool for nurses to provide informational and emotional support to Chinese patients in order to enhance their adaptation to living with a permanent colostomy. Developing an operational manual to enhance supportive communication for patients with colostomy is suggested.

Taking good care of myself: a qualitative study on self-care behavior among Chinese persons with a permanent colostomy.

In Chinese culture, as a possible consequence of Confucianism, caring for the sick is considered a moral obligation of family members, while self-care is only the basis of fulfilling filial piety. This qualitative study aims to explore the self-care behavior among persons with a permanent colostomy in a Chinese cultural context of emphasizing the role of family caregiving. Data from in-depth interviews with seven Chinese adults at a university hospital in southwest China were analyzed using content analysis. Informants' self-care behavior was characterized by "taking good care of myself," which underlined individuals' efforts to manage colostomy-related impacts involving: (i) taking care of my colostomy with a proper degree of independence; (ii) taking care of my life by dealing with limitations; (iii) taking care of my mood in a positive way. Findings revealed that informants' self-care behavior was linked to their Confucian beliefs in family obligations, and also influenced by a happy-go-lucky outlook of life, a likely product of Taoism. The information is useful for nurses to design a culturally appropriate care plan to improve self-care behavior and proper family caregiving.