The association of technology acceptance and physical activity on frailty in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

BACKGROUND: Physical activity was known to be the protective factor against frailty. Technology acceptance is associated with behavioural intention to technology usage. Technology has been effective in promoting healthy behaviour of physical activity. The purposes of this study were to examine the association between physical activity and technology acceptance with frailty and examine the moderation effect of technology acceptance on physical activity and frailty. We hypothesize that 1) physical activity and technology acceptance are associated with frailty, and 2) technology acceptance moderates the association of physical activity with frailty. METHODS: This study employed a cross-sectional design and was conducted in the community settings of Hong Kong in 2021. Eligible participants were old people aged ≥60 and were community-dwelling. Key variables included physical activity measured by Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity (RAPA), social network measured by Lubben Social Network Scale-Six items (LSNS-6); depressive symptoms measured by Patient Health Questionnaire-Nine items (PHQ-9), technology acceptance measured by Senior Technology Acceptance Model-14 items (STAM-14) and frailty measured by Fatigue, Resistance, Ambulation, Illnesses, & Loss of Weight scale (FRAIL). Ordinal logistic regression was employed to test the hypotheses. The moderation effect was examined by introducing an interaction term formed by the multiplication of an independent variable (i.e., physical activity) and a moderating variable (i.e., technology acceptance). RESULTS: This study recruited 380 eligible participants with a mean age of 66.5 years. Technology acceptance (Beta = - 0.031, p < 0.001, Pseudo-R2 = 0.087) and physical activity (Beta = - 0.182, p = 0.003, Pseudo-R2 = 0.027) were associated with frailty in the unadjusted models. Technology acceptance (Beta = - 0.066, p < 0.001) and physical activity (Beta = - 1.192, p < 0.001) were also associated with frailty in the fully adjusted model (Pseudo-R2 = 0.352). Interaction term formed by the multiplication of technology acceptance and physical activity (Beta = 0.012, p = 0.001) was associated with frailty. Physical activity was significantly associated with frailty in the lower technology acceptance subgroup (Beta = - 0.313, p = 0.002) in the subgroup analysis. However, in the subgroup of higher technology acceptance, the association of physical activity (Beta = 0.104, p = 408) on frailty became positive but not significant. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that physical activity and technology acceptance were associated with frailty, and technology acceptance moderated the association of physical activity with frailty. This study recommends engaging older adults in physical activity to combat frailty preferentially in those with a lower level of technology acceptance.

Development of generic student engagement scale in higher education: An application on healthcare students.

AIM: Student engagement is an important factor to the success of higher education. This study aimed to develop a Generic Student Engagement Scale (GSES) for face-to-face and online learning. DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional psychometric study. METHODS: We tested the psychometric properties of GSES in 451 students at the school of nursing and health studies undertaking online and face-to-face learning at a local university in Hong Kong between 2016 and 2018. RESULTS: Content validity, face validity and test-retest reliability of GSES were satisfactory. The 29-item GSES contains five factors "self-regulated learning," "cognitive strategy use," "experienced emotion," "teacher-student interaction," and "enjoyment of school life" with the good model fit. The GSES is a reliable and valid psychometric instrument to measure student engagement in face-to-face and online learning among undergraduates and higher diploma students. Our results implied that student engagement can be assessed in routine or research by using our instrument.

Adverse Event Disclosure Training for Nursing Students: Peer Role-Play and Simulated Patients.

Background Simulation has proven valuable in nursing communication training, but there are limited studies comparing the effectiveness of different training methods, especially in the area of adverse event disclosure (AED) training. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the impact of two training methods, peer role-play (PRP) and simulated patients (SP) on the self-efficacy and performance of nursing students in AED in a simulated environment. Methods Forty-four nursing students participated. Students' self-efficacy toward AED was assessed using the pre/post-test method. Also, students' performance was evaluated after the simulation encounter. Results It showed a significant difference in self-efficacy between the groups. However, no significant difference emerged between the groups in performance. Conclusion This study provides a basis for comparison of these two methods in patient communication training. Educators should consider their resources and expected learning outcomes in designing the emotionally draining adverse event disclosure training.