Hope, quality of life, and psychological distress in patients on peritoneal dialysis: A cross-sectional study.

Hope is a goal-directed thought that reflects the sense of control over uncertainties and can promote adjustment to chronic illness. This study aimed to assess the level of hope among patients on peritoneal dialysis and evaluate the association of hope with health-related quality of life and psychological distress. This cross-sectional study included 134 Chinese patients receiving peritoneal dialysis in Hong Kong. Patients' level of hope was assessed using the Adult Trait Hope Scale. Participants who were employed, had a higher income, and received automated peritoneal dialysis reported a higher hope score. Hope was found to have significant correlations with age and social support. A higher hope score was associated with better mental well-being and less severe depressive symptoms. Specific relationships between agency/pathway thinking and these outcomes were identified. The patient subgroups at risk for losing hope need to be identified and received early interventions to prevent adverse outcomes.

A Psychometric Evaluation of the Chinese Version of the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Heart Failure in Chinese Cancer Patients With Concurrent Heart Failure.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to translate the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Heart Failure (MDASI-HF), a specific instrument to assess symptoms in cancer patients with concurrent heart failure (HF), into Mandarin Chinese and to examine its psychometric properties in Chinese cancer patients. DESIGN: A translation and psychometric evaluation design was used. METHODS: The translation of the MDASI-HF into Mandarin Chinese followed Brislin's model with the four steps: translation, monolingual assessment, backward translation, and comparison. The Chinese version MDASI-HF was tested among 135 cancer patients with concurrent HF from a cancer hospital in Tianjin, China. Psychometric properties of content validity, internal consistency, test- retest reliability, concurrent validity, and sensitivity of the instrument were evaluated. FINDINGS: The Cronbach's α was .913 for the core items, .835 for the HF items, and .897 for the interference items. The test-retest reliability was satisfactory with intraclass coefficients > .9 and content validity index was .94. The Chinese version MDASI-HF was significantly correlated with the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance grade (correlation coefficients .456-.600) and the New York Heart Association classification (correlation coefficients .477-.631), indicating the established concurrent validity of the translated instrument. CONCLUSIONS: The Chinese version MDASI-HF is a valid and reliable instrument to assess the symptoms of Chinese cancer patients with concurrent HF. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Symptom assessment and management play important roles in cancer rehabilitation. The Chinese version MDASI-HF can assist appropriate and timely symptom assessment in cancer patients with concurrent HF and can promote communication between healthcare professionals and patients. On the basis of the assessment, the rehabilitation team could provide effective symptom management, evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, and improve patients' quality of life.

The nurse's role in managing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: an international survey.

BACKGROUND: Nurses play a substantial role in the prevention and management of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). OBJECTIVES: This study set out to describe nurses' roles in the prevention and management of CINV and to identify any gaps that exist across countries. METHODS: A self-reported survey was completed by 458 registered nurses who administered chemotherapy to cancer patients in Australia, China, Hong Kong, and 9 Latin American countries. RESULTS: More than one-third of participants regarded their own knowledge of CINV as fair to poor. Most participants (>65%) agreed that chemotherapy-induced nausea and chemotherapy-induced vomiting should be considered separately (79%), but only 35% were confident in their ability to manage chemotherapy-induced nausea (53%) or chemotherapy-induced vomiting (59%). Only one-fifth reported frequent use of a standardized CINV assessment tool and only a quarter used international clinical guidelines to manage CINV. CONCLUSIONS: Participants perceived their own knowledge of CINV management to be insufficient. They recognized the need to develop and use a standardized CINV assessment tool and the importance of adopting international guidelines to inform the management of CINV. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Findings indicate that international guidelines should be made available to nurses in clinically relevant and easily accessible formats, that a review of chemotherapy assessment tools should be undertaken to identify reliable and valid measures amenable to use in a clinical settings, and that a CINV risk screening tool should be developed as a prompt for nurses to enable timely identification of and intervention for patients at high risk of CINV.