Effects of Online Health Promotion Program to Improve the Health and Wellbeing of Healthcare Students: A Feasibility Study.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare students' health and wellbeing have been seriously affected worldwide. Research studies highlighted the need to establish health promotion strategies to improve them. METHODS: A mixed method feasibility with a randomized controlled trial study followed by qualitative focus-group interviews to evaluate the effect of a 24 h online health promotion program improving healthcare students' health and wellbeing was performed in mid-2022. The study also illustrated the program's effect, contents, and activity arrangements. Healthcare students from two large tertiary institutions were randomly assigned to intervention and waitlist-control groups. Outcomes were measured by self-completed online questionnaires at three-time points (baseline, week four, and week eight), and in-depth focus-group interviews followed. RESULTS: Among 70 enrolled and 60 eligible students, 54 completed the study, with a 10% attrition rate. Results demonstrated a significant difference between groups at week eight. Within the intervention group, there were significant differences were found from baseline to week eight for depression (p = 0.001), anxiety (p = 0.004), and stress (p < 0.001). The program also improved certain domains of personal wellbeing and quality of life. Qualitative findings further illustrated the program contents and activities' feasibility, acceptability, and suitability. Most participants welcomed the online mode's flexibility and convenience. They enjoyed diversified and complementary content and activities. They had increased self-awareness of health and wellbeing. Besides, mental health knowledge enables them to 'self-care' and help those in need in the future. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate the feasibility of performing full-scale research in the future and may provide more support for the students of higher education institutions.

The Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Hong Kong Nursing Students' Mental Health and Quality of Life.

Evidence shows that university students, especially healthcare students, experienced considerable health impacts during COVID-19. This study examined Hong Kong general nursing students' mental health and quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online questionnaire composed of personal demographics, the Fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S), the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale short version (DASS21), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) was used for data collection in early 2021. Among 380 respondents, 170 (45%) did not attend clinical practicum during the pandemic. Students who did not participate in clinical training scored lower in FCV-19S but higher in WHOQOL-BREF than those who participated (p = 0.001 or p < 0.001). FCV-19S and WHOQOL-BREF were negatively correlated (r = -0.623 to -0.446, p < 0.001). Slight negative correlations were found between the FCV-19S and DASS-21 scores. Although there were no significant differences in DASS21 (p = 0.294-0.931) between these two student groups, there was a considerably high prevalence rate of depression (57.1%), anxiety (47.6%), and stress (39.5%). Hong Kong nursing students, especially those who attended clinical practicum during the pandemic, experienced substantial emotional and quality of life implications. Local universities are recommended to organize appropriate interventions to prepare and support nursing students' wellbeing and health in coping with future disasters.

The Health Impacts and Life Challenges Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic on Hong Kong Chinese Women.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a massive global crisis. The adverse impacts on Asian women, including Hong Kong Chinese women, have been considerable. The pressure on Hong Kong women is immense due to cultural, social, familial, and personal responsibilities. This study aims to illustrate the health impacts and life challenges for Hong Kong Chinese Women during the pandemic. An interpretive phenomenological approach with purposive sampling was adopted. Semi-structured, face-to-face, in-depth interviews were conducted from August 2020 to January 2021. Twenty-five women participated in the interviews, lasting an average of 48 min. The transcribed interviews were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The core theme identified was "Perceived family caregiving as paramount self-obligation in times of the pandemic", in the context of the role of daughter, wife, or mother (or a combination). Three interconnected themes have been identified in individual, relational, and external contexts: deterioration of personal health, unfavorable to family relationships, and adaptation to social challenges. Eight subthemes have emerged related to health impacts and life challenges. The pandemic has increased women's perception of their caregiver roles in the family, but it has diminished their quality of life. The promotion of strategies and activities that could enhance women's physical, psychological, emotional and social quality of life is recommended.

The Effectiveness of Disaster Education for Undergraduate Nursing Students' Knowledge, Willingness, and Perceived Ability: An Evaluation Study.

As future healthcare professionals, nursing students should possess the appropriate knowledge, skills, and positive attitude to respond to public health emergencies or disasters worldwide. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a disaster management training course at improving Hong Kong nursing students' disaster knowledge, willingness, and perceived ability. A mixed-method design using a single group with pre- and post-intervention comparisons followed by qualitative focus group interviews, was conducted. A 45-h disaster management training course with theoretical and practical inputs was conducted. A total of 157 students participated in and completed the pre- and post-intervention questionnaires. Positive significant results in disaster knowledge (t(156) = -8.12, p < 0.01, d = -0.84) and perceived ability (t(156) = -7.95, p < 0.01, d = -0.72) were found, but no substantial change in willingness to respond to disasters was observed. The participants expressed various concerns regarding their willingness to respond, which can be summarized and grouped as (1) personal risk perceptions, (2) contextual factors of the disaster events, and (3) organizational support. Incorporating disaster training into the tertiary education curricula for basic nursing professionals' training could be a long-term strategy to prepare and expand the competent workforce for future disasters. Government or healthcare organizations are recommended to provide strategies and adequate support to alleviate nursing professionals' concerns and enhance their willingness.

The Psychological and Quality of Life Impacts on Women in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused a global health crisis. The adverse impacts on Asian women, including those in Hong Kong, are substantial. This cross-sectional online study examined the impacts of COVID-19 on Hong Kong women, including psychological effects, self-belief in coping, and quality of life, and was conducted over 4 weeks from July to August 2020. Females aged over 18, living in Hong Kong, and that could read Chinese, were included. Among 417 participants, 50.8% were aged below 50, 66.7% were married, 57.1% were caregivers, 61.4% had a family income of

Emergency nurses' perceptions regarding the risks appraisal of the threat of the emerging infectious disease situation in emergency departments.

Purpose: Emerging infectious diseases are considered as a pressing challenge to global public health. Throughout public health response to emerging infectious diseases, emergency nurses are situated at the forefront of the healthcare system. The present study has explored emergency nurses' perceptions regarding the risks appraisal of the threat of the emerging infectious disease situation in emergency department context.Methods: The present study used a qualitative descriptive approach. A purposive sampling method was employed to recruit emergency nurses who worked in public hospitals in Hong Kong. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to 24 emergency nurses. The data were interpreted using a thematic analysis strategy.Results: Five overarching themes emerged from the data: (1) the novelty of an emerging infectious disease, (2) the severity of an emerging infectious disease, (3) the proximity to an emerging infectious disease, (4) the complexity of an emerging infectious disease situation, and (5) the response levels towards an emerging infectious disease situation.Conclusion: It is anticipated that the information may help to predict the attitudes and behaviours of emergency nurses in future impending epidemic events, enhancing emergency nurses' preparedness towards in such situations.Abbreviations: EID: Emerging infectious disease; ED: Emergency department; SARS: Severe acute respiratory syndrome; MERS: Middle East respiratory syndrome; WHO: World Health Organization; RN: Registered nurse; APN: Advanced practice nurse; NO: Nursing officer.

Emergency Nurses' Perceptions of Providing End-of-Life Care in a Hong Kong Emergency Department: A Qualitative Study.

INTRODUCTION: Provision of end-of-life (EOL) care in the emergency department has improved globally in recent years and has a different scope of interventions than traditional emergency medicine. In 2010, a regional hospital established the first ED EOL service in Hong Kong. METHODS: The aim of this study was to understand emergency nurses' perceptions regarding the provision of EOL care in the emergency department. A qualitative approach was used with purposive sampling of 16 nurses who had experience in providing EOL care. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted from May to October, 2014. All the interviews were transcribed verbatim for content analysis. RESULTS: Four themes were identified: (1) doing good for the dying patients, (2) facilitating family engagement and involvement, (3) enhancing personal growth and professionalism, and (4) expressing ambiguity toward resource deployment. DISCUSSION: Provision of EOL care in the emergency department can enhance patients' last moment of life, facilitate the grief and bereavement process of families, and enhance the professional development of staff in emergency department. It is substantiated that EOL service in the emergency department enriches EOL care in the health care system. Findings from this study integrated the perspectives on ED EOL services from emergency nurses. The integration of EOL service in other emergency departments locally and worldwide is encouraged.