Factors associated with continuing education needs in medication administration among school nurses.

AIM: To investigate the continuing education requirements and factors influencing school nurses' needs in relation to medication administration on school campuses. DESIGN: A total of 391 school nurses working in K-12 schools in Taiwan were invited to participate in an online questionnaire survey. METHODS: This cross-sectional study employed a probability proportionate to size technique along with a random sampling method. Data were collected from February to April 2023. RESULTS: School nurses reported a significant demand for continuing education and perceived moderate levels of stress and government support related to medication administration. Among the various dimensions, the highest demand was observed for 'definition of campus medication errors' and 'regulations for campus medical orders.' Moreover, the 'identifying drug interactions' and 'adverse drug effects and referrals' dimensions were identified as the most stressful aspects. Notably, perceived stress emerged as the sole predictive factor for continuing education demand, accounting for 16.1% of the variance. CONCLUSIONS: The study found that there was a significant demand for and moderate stress related to continuing education among school nurses. Therefore, it is crucial for the government and school nursing organizations to develop targeted programs focusing on medication administration. These initiatives should be designed to enhance nurses' capabilities and reduce their stress, thereby ensuring safe medication administration on campuses. IMPACT: Continuing education enables school nurses to acquire up-to-date knowledge and improve the workflow in their practice. This study highlights a strong need for education in medication administration with a focus on 'campus medication error definitions' and 'campus medical order regulations.' The government and relevant school nursing organizations should prioritize the development and implementation of continuing education programs to decrease the school nurses' stress related to medication administration. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution. REPORTING METHOD: This study adhered to the relevant cross-sectional EQUATOR STROBE guidelines.

Competence and Stress of Medication Administration Practices for School Nurses in K-12 Taiwan Schools.

We investigated school nurses' experiences, perceived government support, school nurses' acceptance of responsibility for medication administration, perceived stress, and perceived competence of medication administration and analyzed factors associated with perceived competence. In this cross-sectional study, from February to April 2023, we conducted an online survey of 269 school nurses serving at K-12 schools in Taiwan. The results revealed that although 71% of the participants had prior experience with medication administration, they reported low competence and high stress in areas such as drug interactions, adverse drug effects, and referrals. The school nurses' disagreement with responsibilities for medication administration emerged as the only factor to be significantly associated with perceived medication administration competence, accounting for 22.8% of the variance. We recommend implementing continuing training programs to provide school nurses with up-to-date medication information. Additionally, the development of practice guidelines is suggested as a means of enhancing nurses' competence and reducing their stress levels for the administration of medications.

Depression in nursing home residents and its correlation with meaning of family involvement and depression of family.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between depression in older nursing home residents and family caregivers' (FCGs) depressive status and reasons for involvement with residents. DESIGN: This study employed a cross-sectional design. SETTING: Eight nursing homes in northern Taiwan. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 139 older resident-FCG pairs were recruited. MEASUREMENTS: Depression was measured with the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form for nursing home residents and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-Short Form for family members. Depression and demographic data were collected with face-to-face interviews. The meaning ascribed to caregivers' nursing home visits was calibrated using the Family Meaning of Nursing-Home Visits scale. Multiple logistic regression was used to understand the factors related to residents' depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Depressive symptoms were present in 58.3% of the nursing home residents (n = 81). Depressive status of family members (Chi-square = 1.46, p = 0.23) or family's visiting frequency (Chi-square = 1.64, p = 0.44) did not differ between residents with or without depressive symptoms. Factors associated with an increased risk of residents having depressive symptoms were age, self-perceived health status, and having a caregiver motivated to visit to assuage their guilt. CONCLUSIONS: Visiting a family member to assuage their guilt was the only caregiver variable associated with depressive symptoms for nursing home residents. This finding suggests that developing interventions to improve personal relationships between nursing home residents and family members might facilitate the emotional support of caregivers and psychological support for older nursing home residents in Taiwan.

Construction and evaluation of a 360 degrees panoramic video on the physical examination of nursing students.

AIM: The aim of this study was to construct and analyze the content validity and usability for a 360-degree panoramic video for physical examination. BACKGROUND: Acquiring techniques and ability on physical examination (PE) skill is often difficult. Immersion and simulation provide an opportunity for nursing students in the real situation focus on the PE techniques practice and to improve patient care. The combination of digital instructional materials and innovative teaching strategies is crucial to improving education. Therefore, effective and clear instruction of PE techniques that can enable students confidently to use their skills in clinical practice is an issue that nursing education must address. METHODS: This study used a descriptive research design and the technology acceptance model to create a 360-degree video to teach students to perform PE. Content validity and usability were analyzed by five nursing teachers and 53 nursing students who had completed a physical assessment course were invited to assess its usability. RESULTS: The results of the expert review indicated that the content validity of the video scored 0.98 in terms of content relevance, 0.95 in terms of convenience and 0.97 in terms of suitability, suggesting that the video was useful and appropriate for self-practicing. The experts' qualitative feedback indicated that the technical demonstrations in the video were clear and specific and that the video was easy to use. The video increased learning motivation and streamlined learning. The ability to change the video's perspective also increased learning interest. The results of a satisfaction survey were 8.94 points for perceived ease of use, 8.79 points for perceived usefulness, 8.56 points for user attitude toward the video and 9.02 points for continued intention to use the video, indicating that the participants were satisfied with the video. The participants' qualitative feedback indicated that each PE technique was clear and that the ability to change the video's perspective and zooming was useful and novel. CONCLUSIONS: The 360-degree panoramic videos were described as a positive learning method for physical examination of nursing students. It provides easy to use and useful to practice PE technique under realistic conditions. Among these outcomes, the 360-degree video can be learned best when teaching PE in nursing education. Accordingly, nursing educators should construct similar videos for the PE of other parts of the body as soon as possible, improve the videos convenience and usefulness and promote their ability to strengthen professional skills.

Finding a balance in family caregiving for people with dementia: A correlational longitudinal study.

AIMS: The "Finding a Balance Point" framework was used to explore the caregiving process over time for family caregivers of people with dementia in Taiwan. This study aimed to: (a) identify Taiwanese caregivers' different balance trajectories; (b) explore predictors of trajectory group membership; and (c) examine associations of different balance trajectories with caregiving outcomes. DESIGN: A correlational longitudinal design was used. METHODS: Data were collected from 200 family caregivers' self-completed questionnaires and they were followed over 2 years (June 2015-May 2017). Discrete balance trajectories were identified by group-based trajectory modelling. Predictors of trajectory group membership were identified from potential predictors of caregiving characteristics and caregiving factors using multivariate logistic regression. Associations of trajectory groups with caregiving outcomes (depressive symptoms and health-related quality of life) were explored using the generalized estimating equation. RESULTS: Balance trajectories best fit a two-group trajectory model (poor and good). Caregivers with a poor sense of balance between competing needs were more likely to have more depressive symptoms (b = 11.71, 95% CI [9.04, 14.38], p < .001), worse physical health (b = -6.22, 95% CI [-8.71, -3.74], p < .001), and worse mental health (b = -11.1, 95% CI [-13.58, -8.63], p < .001) than caregivers with a good sense of balance. Caregivers experiencing lower role strain (b = -1.45, SE = 0.48, p = .003) or higher predictability (b = 2.83, SE = 0.76, p < .001) were more likely to belong to the good-balance group. CONCLUSIONS: Caregivers with poor balance between competing needs are more likely to have worse caregiving outcomes. Role strain and predictability significantly predicted balance trajectory groups. Family caregivers with lower caregiving task difficulty and/or better knowledge of the care receiver were more likely to be in the good balance trajectory group. IMPACT: Our findings support the framework, "Finding a Balance Point," and clarify the family caregiving process for people with dementia. This framework could be used to tailor interventions for home care nurses to improve family caregivers' caregiving outcomes.

Knowledge, attitudes, practice and related factors of oral cancer prevention among public health nurses in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVES: Public health nurses (PHNs) in Taiwan act as individual/family-based primary care providers and as population-based community care providers. A little information is currently available on the ability of PHNs to prevent oral cancer. We surveyed knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of oral cancer prevention among PHNs. METHODS: This study recruited 400 PHNs through the Taiwan Public Health Center. A structured electronic questionnaire was used to collect PHNs' demographics and scale scores for oral cancer knowledge, attitudes and preventive behaviour. RESULTS: Providing PHNs with oral cancer prevention education, having the supervisor's support for preventive work and receiving in-service education would improve PHNs' knowledge, attitude and behaviour for oral cancer prevention. Attitude, oral cancer-related courses arranged by current employer (major factor), supervisor's support for work and having responsibility for oral cancer prevention were associated with the oral cancer preventive behaviour of PHNs, and explain 41.1% of total variance. CONCLUSIONS: We established a linear regression model for understanding the role of PHNs in the practice of preventing oral cancer. It may be useful for the government in improving school-based and in-service oral cancer prevention education programmes for PHNs as well as developing programmes for increasing public awareness and education of oral cancer prevention.

Development and validation of a Quality of Life Scale for elementary school students / Desarrollo y validadción de la Quality Life Scale para escolares de Educación Primaria

Emotional well-being affects the school performance of elementary school children. Quality of life (QoL) measurements are indicative of emotional well-being; however, the development of assessment tools suitable for measuring the QoL of elementary school children has received little attention and, therefore, the creation of reliable assessment tools for measuring QoL among this population is required. Method: We employed qualitative and quantitative research methods to develop and validate a QoL scale for elementary school children in Taiwan. We used cluster random sampling to recruit 711 fifth and sixth grade students, aged 10-12 years, from 14 elementary schools. Results: The scale comprised six factors (School function, Family function, Environmental life, Vitality for life, Learning ability, and Peer relationships) that explained 44% of the variance. The developed 21-item elementary school QoL (ESQoL) instrument had high internal consistency and satisfactory reliability and validity. Conclusions: The ESQoL instrument can facilitate the evaluation of factors associated with students’ emotional well-being. Additional studies using the ESQoL instrument are required to assess its applicability for evaluating relationships between QoL and school performance and other areas of student life (AU)

El bienestar emocional afecta el rendimiento escolar de los niños de Educación Primaria. Las mediciones de la calidad de vida (QoL) son indicativas del bienestar emocional. Sin embargo, el desarrollo de herramientas de evaluación adecuadas para medir la calidad de vida de niños de Educación Primaria ha recibido escasa atención y, por lo tanto, se requiere la creación de herramientas de evaluación confiables para medir la calidad de vida en esta población. Método: Se empleraron métodos de investigación cualitativa y cuantitativa para desarrollar y validar una escala de QoL para niños de Primaria en Taiwán. Se utilizó un muestreo aleatorio por grupos para reclutar a 711 estudiantes de Quinto y Sexto Grado, de 10 a 12 años, de 14 escuelas primarias. Resultados: La escala agrupa seis factores (Función escolar, Función familiar, Vida ambiental, Vitalidad para la vida, Capacidad de aprendizaje y Relaciones entre compañeros) que explican el 44% de la varianza. El instrumento de QoL (ESQoL) de 21 ítems tiene alta fiabilidad de consistencia interna y validez satisfactoria. Conclusiones: El instrumento ESQoL puede facilitar la evaluación de factores asociados con el bienestar emocional de los escolares. Se requieren estudios adicionales utilizando el instrumento ESQoL para evaluar su aplicabilidad en el análisis de las relaciones entre QoL y rendimiento escolar, y otras áreas del ámbito escolar (AU)

Development and validation of a Quality of Life Scale for elementary school students.

Emotional well-being affects the school performance of elementary school children. Quality of life (QoL) measurements are indicative of emotional well-being; however, the development of assessment tools suitable for measuring the QoL of elementary school children has received little attention and, therefore, the creation of reliable assessment tools for measuring QoL among this population is required. Method: We employed qualitative and quantitative research methods to develop and validate a QoL scale for elementary school children in Taiwan. We used cluster random sampling to recruit 711 fifth and sixth grade students, aged 10-12 years, from 14 elementary schools. Results: The scale comprised six factors (School function, Family function, Environmental life, Vitality for life, Learning ability, and Peer relationships) that explained 44% of the variance. The developed 21-item elementary school QoL (ESQoL) instrument had high internal consistency and satisfactory reliability and validity. Conclusions: The ESQoL instrument can facilitate the evaluation of factors associated with students' emotional well-being. Additional studies using the ESQoL instrument are required to assess its applicability for evaluating relationships between QoL and school performance and other areas of student life.

ANTECEDENTES/OBJETIVO: El bienestar emocional afecta el rendimiento escolar de los niños de Educación Primaria. Las mediciones de la calidad de vida (QoL) son indicativas del bienestar emocional. Sin embargo, el desarrollo de herramientas de evaluación adecuadas para medir la calidad de vida de niños de Educación Primaria ha recibido escasa atención y, por lo tanto, se requiere la creación de herramientas de evaluación confiables para medir la calidad de vida en esta población. Método: Se empleraron métodos de investigación cualitativa y cuantitativa para desarrollar y validar una escala de QoL para niños de Primaria en Taiwán. Se utilizó un muestreo aleatorio por grupos para reclutar a 711 estudiantes de Quinto y Sexto Grado, de 10 a 12 años, de 14 escuelas primarias. Resultados: La escala agrupa seis factores (Función escolar, Función familiar, Vida ambiental, Vitalidad para la vida, Capacidad de aprendizaje y Relaciones entre compañeros) que explican el 44% de la varianza. El instrumento de QoL (ESQoL) de 21 ítems tiene alta fiabilidad de consistencia interna y validez satisfactoria. Conclusiones: El instrumento ESQoL puede facilitar la evaluación de factores asociados con el bienestar emocional de los escolares. Se requieren estudios adicionales utilizando el instrumento ESQoL para evaluar su aplicabilidad en el análisis de las relaciones entre QoL y rendimiento escolar, y otras áreas del ámbito escolar.

Applying the technology acceptance model to explore public health nurses' intentions towards web-based learning: a cross-sectional questionnaire survey.

BACKGROUND: In the era of the knowledge economy, public health nurses (PHNs) need to update their knowledge to ensure quality of care. In pre-implementation stage, policy makers and educators should understand PHNs' behavioural intentions (BI) toward web-based learning because it is the most important determinant of actual behaviour. OBJECTIVES: To understand PHNs' BI toward web-based learning and further to identify the factors influencing PHNs' BI based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) in pre-implementation stage. DESIGN: A nationwide-based cross-sectional research design was used in this study. SETTING: Three hundred and sixty-nine health centres in Taiwan. PARTICIPANTS: A randomly selected sample, 202 PHNs participated in this study. METHODS: Data were collected by mailing in a questionnaire. RESULTS: The majority of PHNs (91.6%, n=185) showed an affirmative BI toward web-based learning. PHNs rated moderate values of perceived usefulness (U), perceived ease of use (EOU) and attitude toward web-based learning (A). Multiple regression analyses indicated that only U revealed a significantly direct influence on BI. U and EOU had significantly direct relationships with A; however, no significant relationship existed between A and BI. Additionally, EOU and an individual's computer competence revealed significant relationships with U; Internet access at the workplace revealed a significant relationship with EOU. CONCLUSION: In the pre-implementation stage, PHNs perceived a high likelihood of adopting web-based learning as their way of continuing education. In pre-implementation stage, perceived usefulness is the most important factor for BI instead of the attitude. Perceived EOU, an individual's computer competency, and Internet access at workplaces revealed indirect effects on BI. Therefore, increasing U, EOU, computer competence, and Internet access at workplace will be helpful in increasing PHNs' BI. Moreover, we suggest that future studies should focus on clarifying problems in different stages of implementation to build a more complete understanding of implementing web-based learning.

[Case management for school students with chronic disease: the current situation and future direction].

This paper aims to investigate the importance of management of chronic illness in schools epidemiological data. By examining the current state of such management, we found that school nurses, family members, mentors and school administrators lack sufficient knowledge to conduct effective case management for students with chronic diseases. This paper seeks to indicate principles for the conduct of case management of chronic disease in Taiwan. Incorporating practices, regulations, information systems, policy, and evaluation systems, recommendations are made with the hope that a well-planned system of case management of chronic disease can be established in schools to further enhance the quality of health care and life generally for school children.