[Relationships among job rotation perception and intention, job satisfaction and job performance: a study of Tainan area nurses].

BACKGROUND: There have been major changes to the medical care system and heightened standards for quality in the nursing profession in recent decades. Multifunctional capabilities are closely related to individual working attitudes, and work satisfaction directly affects group performance. Hospital administrators increasingly expect to utilize nursing staffs flexibly in terms of working hours and shift rotation assignments. This study addresses the need to provide appropriate educational training to nurses and effectively delegate and utilize human resources in order to help nurses adapt to the rapidly changing medical environment. PURPOSE: This study on nursing staff in Tainan area explored the relationships between job rotation, work performance and satisfaction. METHODS: We used a questionnaire sampling method to survey nurses working in the Tainan area of southern Taiwan. Subjects were volunteers and a total 228 valid questionnaires (99.13%) were returned out of a total 230 sent. RESULTS: Both job satisfaction and performance correlated positively with job rotation perception and intention; Job satisfaction and job performance were positively related; Job satisfaction was found to affect work performance via job rotation perception and intention. CONCLUSIONS: This study found the hospital nursing staff rotation plan to be an effective management method that facilitates social evolution to increase positive perceptions of work rotation. Nursing staffs thus become more accepting of new positions that may enhance job satisfaction.

The performance of risk scores and hemoglobin A1c to find undiagnosed diabetes with isolated postload hyperglycemia.

The aim of this study is to develop strategies to screen diabetic subjects with isolated postload hyperglycemia (IPH) in Chinese population. We included 1175 adult subjects who did not report diabetes were included. Diabetes was diagnosed by oral glucose tolerance tests. IPH was defined as fasting plasma glucose (FPG)<7 mmol/l and 2-hour post-load plasma glucose (2hPG) greater than 11.1 mmol/l. Using FPG criteria, only 59.8% of diabetic subjects were not identified, showing a poor agreement between FPG and 2hPG criteria (kappa 0.294). Age, FPG, total cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, body mass index, HbA1c and medication for hypertension were associated factors for IPH. Four scores were constructed using all these factors, age and blood test results, age and HbA1c, and data from non-invasive examinations, respectively. The area under the ROC curve were 0.9296(95%CI 0.8948-0.9643), 0.9111(95%CI 0.8713-0.9508), 0.8902(95%CI 0.8341-0.9646), 0.8924(95%CI 0.7835-0.8753), and 0.8654(95%CI 0.7963-0.9345) for score 1, 2, 3, 4, and HbA1c, respectively. The sensitivity of all four risk scores to detect IPH was better than that of impaired fasting glucose (IFG). The sensitivity and specificity of HbA1c at cutoff 6.2% for detecting IPH was also better than that of IFG. In conclusion, the risk scores and HbA1c are useful to identify subjects with undiagnosed IPH, with better performance than IFG.

Comparing the effects of light alcohol consumption on human response to auditory and visual stimuli.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of various levels of alcohol consumption on human response to auditory and visual stimuli in terms of reaction time, movement time, total reaction time, and error rate. Placebo level and three low-level alcohol doses were randomly assigned to 20 male university student volunteers. 30 min. after consuming the alcohol or placebo, participants responded to either auditory or visual stimuli. Total reaction time increased significantly at the mid-low dose of alcohol (0.3 g/kg). For alcohol doses less than .5 g/kg, the change in total reaction time was confined to reaction time, i.e., the processing time between onset of stimulus and onset of movement. Effects of alcohol were significantly more pronounced in the choice-type tests. Notably, the effects of alcohol on total reaction time and error rate were significant for auditory but not visual stimuli.

Assessing the reliability and validity of the Chinese Sexual Assault Symptom Scale (C-SASS): scale development and validation.

The purpose of this research is to establish and verify the psychometric and structural properties of the self-report Chinese Sexual Assault Symptom Scale (C-SASS) to assess the trauma experienced by Chinese victims of sexual assault. An earlier version of the C-SASS was constructed using a modified list of the same trauma symptoms administered to an American sample and used to develop and validate the Sexual Assault Symptom Scale II (SASS II). The rationale of this study is to revise the earlier version of the C-SASS, using a larger and more representative sample and more robust statistical analysis than in earlier research, to permit a more thorough examination of the instrument and further confirm the dimensions of sexual assault trauma in Chinese victims of rape. In this study, a sample of 418 victims from northern Taiwan was collected to confirm the reliability and validity of the C-SASS. Exploratory factor analysis yielded five common factors: Safety Fears, Self-Blame, Health Fears, Anger and Emotional Lability, and Fears About the Criminal Justice System. Further tests of the validity and composite reliability of the C-SASS were provided by the structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicated that the C-SASS was a brief, valid, and reliable instrument for assessing sexual assault trauma among Chinese victims in Taiwan. The scale can be used to evaluate victims in sexual assault treatment centers around Taiwan, as well as to capture the characteristics of sexual assault trauma among Chinese victims.