Improving home-like environments in long-term care units: an exploratory mixed-method study.

Although the number of older adults requiring care is rapidly increasing, nursing homes have long faced issues such as the absence of a home-like environment. This exploratory mixed-method study investigated how residents (n = 15) in a long-term care unit in South Korea perceive home-like features and privacy in their living spaces. The results indicated that most participants were satisfied with the homeliness and privacy of their environment, but some were unhappy with the level of privacy. Most participants had low scores on the Geriatric Depression Scale and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, indicating low levels of depression and sleep disorders. Sleep quality was affected by factors such as sensory environment, staff visits, and room temperature. Although participants appreciated social support and private rooms, they expressed a desire for larger rooms. Overall, this study provides preliminary insights into older adults' views on their living spaces in long-term care with implications for improving their quality of life.

[The Reliability and Validity of the Korean Version of the 5C Psychological Antecedents of Vaccination Scale].

PURPOSE: This study aimed to valuate the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the 5C Psychological Antecedents of Vaccination (K-5C) scale. METHODS: The English version of the 5C scale was translated into Korean, following the World Health Organization guidelines. Data were collected from 316 community-dwelling adults. Content validity was evaluated using the content validity index, while construct validity was evaluated through confirmatory factor analysis. Convergent validity was examined by assessing the correlation with vaccination attitude, and concurrent validity was evaluated by examining the association with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination status. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were also evaluated. RESULTS: Content validity results indicated an item-level content validity index ranging from .83 to 1, and scale-level content validity index, averaging method was .95. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the fit of the measurement model, comprising a five-factor structure with a 15-item questionnaire (RMSEA = .05, SRMR = .05, CFI = .97, TLI = .96). Convergent validity was acceptable with a significant correlation between each sub-scale of the 5C scale and vaccination attitude. In concurrent validity evaluation, confidence, constraints, and collective responsibility of the 5C scale were significant independent predictors of the current COVID-19 vaccination status. Cronbach's alpha for each subscale ranged from .78 to .88, and the intraclass correlation coefficient for each subscale ranged from .67 to .89. CONCLUSION: The Korean version of the 5C scale is a valid and reliable tool to assess the psychological antecedents of vaccination among Korean adults.

A Qualitative Study of Hospital Interior Environments during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Human beings have encountered different infectious diseases. However, there is not much validated data available on the physical environments of hospitals when responding to highly contagious viruses, such as COVID-19. This study was conducted to assess the physical environments of hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. There exists a need to analyze whether the physical environments of hospitals were conducive or obstructive to medical practice during the pandemic. A total of forty-six staff working in intensive care units, progressive care units, and emergency rooms were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview. Out of this group, fifteen staff members participated in the interview. They were asked to list the changes made to the hospital's physical environment during the pandemic, which included equipping the hospital environment for medical practice and protecting staff from becoming infected. They were also asked about desirable improvements that they believe could increase their productivity and ensure safety. The results indicated the difficulty in isolating COVID-19 patients and converting a single occupancy room into a double occupancy room. Isolating COVID-19 patients made it easier for staff to care for the patients, but it made them feel isolated and at the same time increased the walking distance. Signs indicating a COVID area helped them to prepare for medical practices ahead of time. Glass doors provided greater visibility and enabled them to monitor the patients. However, the dividers installed at nursing stations were obstructive. This study suggests that further research should be conducted once the pandemic is over.

Supportive or Hindering Physical Environments in Hospital Units Dealing With COVID-19 Patients.

PURPOSE: This project was designed to discover how hospital units with COVID-19 patients influenced staff's medical practices and health conditions. BACKGROUND: Although hospital environments have well-known associations with health outcomes, findings are limited in demonstrating the role of physical environments during a global pandemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted from three units in a university hospital and a total of 113 staff participated. They rated the impact of physical environments on staff members' medical practice and their health conditions before and mid-pandemic. They also specified physical changes, hindering and helpful features, and future improvements in open-ended questions. RESULTS: The perceived supportiveness of the physical environments on communication significantly dropped from before-pandemic to midpandemic, followed by mental health and feeling of connection and engagement. Separating COVID-19 patients helped staff workflow, but staff felt disconnected and had poor visibility. CONCLUSION: Based on painful lessons, interdisciplinary researchers, including healthcare professionals, designers, and administrators, should further collaborate to create supportive hospital environments.

Interior Environments in Long-Term Care Units From the Theory of Supportive Design.

AIM: This study was designed to examine how residents in long-term care (LTC) units perceive their living environment based on the theory of supportive design. BACKGROUND: Healthcare environments may cause a significant level of stress mainly due to patients' lack of familiarity with such environments and patients' poor health conditions. According to the theory, the healthcare environments providing a sense of control, social support, and positive distraction can promote wellness. This study was designed to learn how LTC residents perceive their current living environments. METHOD: This study collected data through qualitative interviews. A total of 48 residents living in two LTC units were asked the three interior environments they liked and they wanted to improve. Only the residents who lived in the current space for 1 month and communicate without any cognitive disabilities were able to participate. Most residents were female and lived in a private room. RESULTS: The participants' responses indicated the importance of perceived control, social support, and positive distraction in the environment. The most frequently mentioned interior environment that the residents liked was "window and view," followed by "pictures and photos" and "TV," while they wanted "bigger room and space," followed by "improved privacy" and "more options for food." In addition to the three elements, the participants considered other elements as important for them which can benefit the participants. CONCLUSION: More studies must be carried out to expand the theory, so that it can be applied to future studies with inclusive perspectives.

Ambient Scent as a Positive Distraction in Long-Term Care Units: Theory of Supportive Design.

AIM: This study was designed to explore the associations between an ambient scent environment and residents' wellness in long-term care facilities. BACKGROUND: The number of older adults living in an institutional setting has been steadily but slowly increasing. Because of a higher chance of having psychological disorders among people living in institutional settings than people living in noninstitutional settings, providing a supportive institutional setting is critical to enhance their wellness. The theory of supportive design suggests healthcare facilities can lower people's stress levels via three conditions (i.e., perceived control, social support, and positive distractions). METHOD: A single-blind and placebo-randomized controlled study investigated the impacts of ambient scent environment, as a positive distraction, on residents' depression levels. The recruited residents (N = 58) were randomly assigned into either the intervention group, which received a 1% dilution of lavender scent for 2 weeks nearby their bedside or the placebo group, which received a nonscent for 2 weeks. RESULTS: Their depression levels were measured by the Geriatric Depression Scale. Based on the t tests, both intervention and placebo groups had improvement in depression, indicating a placebo effect of lavender scent. Further regression analyses explored the interaction effects of built environments (e.g., building, distance to a ventilation system, and square footage). However, no statistically significant impact of the built environment was found. CONCLUSION: Despite a placebo effect of ambient scent environment and nonsignificant built environment on depression, this study has valuable implications of being a positive distraction during the healing process as developed by the Theory of Supportive design.

Nurses' Perception of Safety on Hospital Interior Environments and Infectious Diseases: An Exploratory Study.

Introduction: Healthcare environments consist of a variety of different fomites containing infectious agents. From the 2003 outbreaks of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome to the recent concerns about the Ebola and Zika viruses, interest in the role of healthcare environment fomites in spreading infectious diseases has increased. Because of a high risk of being exposed to infections, the goal of this study was to learn how hospital interior environments impact nurses' perceptions of safety about infectious diseases. Methods: Semistructured, in-depth interviews were conducted with six nurses at a public hospital. Results: The following three themes were identified: (1) perceptions of safety from infectious diseases were diverse among the participants; (2) various interior environments in hospital settings can prevent as well as promote the spreading of infectious diseases; and (3) the different perceptions influenced the ways participants developed their contrasting behaviors of treating interior environments to cope with their fears (e.g., how they open doors). Conclusion: The findings from this study contribute to the existing body of knowledge on designing hospital interior environments to better understand nurses' perception of infectious diseases.

3-D ordered mesoporous Cd(x)Zn(1-x)S ternary compound semiconductors with controlled band gap energy.

Ordered mesoporous Cd(x)Zn(1-x)S ternary compound semiconductors were prepared with a simple nano-casting method using 3-D cubic Ia3d meso-structured silica, KIT-6, as a hard-template with the easily available precursors of 3CdSO4 x 8H2O and ZnSO4 x 7H2O. Thermal reduction of impregnated precursors resulted in the crystalline networks within the mesopore of the silica template, then the ordered mesoporous Cd(x)Zn(1-x)S materials were obtained by etching the silica template with NaOH aqueous solution. The synthesized Cd(x)Zn(1-x)S materials exhibit high surface area, uniform pore size, single gyroidal tetragonal I41/a meso-structure, crystalline framework, and finely tuned band gap energies by controlled chemical composition.

Hydrophilicity-controlled ordered mesoporous carbon for lithium-sulfur batteries.

Ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) materials were synthesized from a mesoporous silica KIT-6 (3-D cubic la3d meso-structure) as the hard-template via a nano-replication method. Hydrophilic and hydrophobic OMC materials were prepared using different carbon precursors including sucrose (suc-OMC) and phenanthrene (phe-OMC) at different carbonization temperatures of 700 degrees C and 1100 degrees C, respectively. The OMC materials thus obtained exhibit high surface areas, uniform mesopore sizes and highly ordered meso-structure. To investigate the hydrophilicity effect of OMC materials on the performance of lithium-sulfur battery, we prepared the samples having different ratios of the suc-OMC to phe-OMC, which were 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 and 0:100. As a result, the mixed OMC materials (with ratios of 75:25, 50:50 and 25:75) exhibited better cycle performances, compared to those of the suc-OMC and phe-OMC.