Taiwanese Hospitals Research Articles

Clinical Utility and Performance of the Traditional Chinese Version of the 4-As Test for Delirium due to Traumatic Brain Injury.

Delirium is a common symptom following a traumatic brain injury that is often overlooked by healthcare professionals. Early detection of posttraumatic delirium is crucial to improving patient outcomes and quality of life. The 4As Test (4AT: alertness, attention, abbreviated mental test-4, and acute mental changes) is a brief and rapid tool for delirium assessment with acceptable reliability and validity. However, the 4AT has not yet been translated for use in the Taiwanese population. To translate the 4AT into Traditional Chinese (TC-4AT), assess its reliability and validity, and explore the clinical effects of delirium in patients with a traumatic brain injury. This prospective observational study was conducted at the neurosurgery wards of 2 Taiwanese hospitals. Patients who were aged 20 years or older, were diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, and had a Glasgow Coma Scale score between 13 and 15 were included. Interrater reliability was assessed, and validity was verified using criterion-related comparisons with the Short Confusion Assessment Method. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition criteria were employed to assess the sensitivity and specificity of the TC-4AT for screening posttraumatic brain injury delirium. A total of 100 patients with an average age of 67 years were enrolled, of whom 10% were diagnosed with delirium based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition criteria. The interrater reliability of the TC-4AT was 1.00. Patients with delirium tended to have a longer hospital stay than those without delirium (13 days vs. 7 days) although the difference was nonsignificant (P=0.28). In terms of criterion validity, patients diagnosed with delirium using the Short Confusion Assessment Method had a significantly higher score on the TC-4AT than those not diagnosed with delirium (P<0.001). The receiver operating characteristic curve indicated that the optimal cutoff point was 4, with sensitivity, specificity, and area under the characteristic curve of 0.90, 0.94, and 0.96, respectively. The TC-4AT is an accurate tool for delirium assessment that aids early detection and in informed decision-making in preventive care.

Abstract 4138420: Impact of the American Heart Association Get-With-The-Guidelines Heart Failure A.S.I.A. Program in Taiwanese hospitals

Introduction: The American Heart Association (AHA) Get With the Guidelines – Heart Failure program has been implemented for years in the United States with extensive literature supporting its benefits. In 2022, the AHA Heart Failure Adherence to Science Implementation in Asia (HF A.S.I.A.) powered by Get With The Guidelines program was first introduced in five Asian countries. Research Question: This study aims to explore the impact of this program's implementation in Taiwanese hospitals. Methods: Data were sourced from the Taiwan Society of Cardiology-HF-Registry 2020, a prospective registry that tracks HF cases from 27 hospitals in Taiwan between 2020 and 2024. Among these, four hospitals began participating in the HF A.S.I.A. program in January 2022. This study compared patients from hospitals that participated and did not participate in the HF A.S.I.A. program. Results: A total of 1,933 HF patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction ≤ 40% were included, comprising 460 participants from the HF A.S.I.A. program and 1,473 non-participants. The HF A.S.I.A. group was younger, had significantly lower systolic blood pressure, larger left ventricular diameter, and experienced more frequent prior hospitalizations for HF. However, there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of baseline heart rate, estimated glomerular filtration rate, blood potassium levels, and most comorbidities. During the study period, due to changes in payment policies, the use of angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI) decreased in the non-participant group, while the use of sodium glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) increased. Conversely, the use of ARNI in the HF A.S.I.A. group continued to rise in line with guideline recommendations and the usage of SGLT2i was higher than in the non-participant group. After adjustment, one-year lost to follow-up rate was significantly lower (3.0% vs. 5.6%, p =0.032) and all-cause mortality rate trended non-significantly lower (7.6% vs. 11.4%, p =0.096) among the HF A.S.I.A. group. Conclusion: Despite enrolling sicker patients, participation in HF A.S.I.A. program was associated with higher quality of HF care.

Initial Investigations into Physician Acceptance of Medical AI: Examining Trust, Resistance, Perceived Job Insecurity, and Usage Intentions.

This study evaluated physicians' attitudes towards medical AI across three Taiwanese hospitals, focusing on constructs of trust, resistance, job insecurity, and adoption willingness, with a survey based on the Dual-factor Model yielding 282 responses and a 94% response rate. Results showed positive trust in AI, low resistance and job insecurity concerns, and a high willingness to adopt AI, indicating a favorable view of AI as a supportive tool rather than a replacement. Key adoption factors were identified as regulatory standards, accuracy, workflow integration, and result clarity, providing valuable insights for future AI development in medicine.

Examining Soft and Hard Attributes of Health Care Service Quality and Their Impacts on Patient Satisfaction and Loyalty.

Many studies have confirmed the influences of various service quality dimensions on patient satisfaction and loyalty, but no existing theoretical model accounts for variation in how different types of patients evaluate service quality's soft and hard attributes. This research gap may cause problems for administrators needing to decide how to distribute resources appropriately across multiple departments. Therefore, this study establishes a theoretical model of the differences between inpatients' and outpatients' evaluations of hard and soft qualities and compares such evaluations' influences on patient satisfaction and loyalty. Also, to supplement statistical analysis and respond to scholars' calls for more mixed-methods studies of health care quality, this research incorporates analysis of online reviews to provide a holistic, close to real-time picture of patients' service experience perceptions. This study's survey sample comprised 292 inpatients and 137 outpatients from a Taiwanese hospital. We used partial least squares structural equation modeling to test the hypothetical model and importance-performance map analysis to identify factors that were significant to the service process but performed poorly. Finally, we used a text-mining technique to scrape 536 reviews posted on Google Maps, and Leximancer Portal to perform automated content and sentiment analyses on those data, as a means of mapping the critical concepts and themes that influenced patient experiences. This study's analyses support the ideas that both hard and soft qualities are critical dimensions of service quality, and that each has different influences on inpatients' and outpatients' satisfaction and loyalty. Specifically, the sampled inpatients strongly valued the hard qualities of the hospital but were not satisfied with it. On the other hand, soft qualities attracted outpatients' attention and influenced their satisfaction and loyalty. In addition, content analysis revealed that soft qualities were the main reason patients left comments, whether positive or negative. Waiting time emerged as another critical element in triggering patients' unfavorable reviews. Patient population type, whether inpatient or outpatient, has been found to impact perceptions of service quality within health care institutions. As such, health care administrators should be cognizant of this phenomenon and make informed and tailored decisions when addressing quality within their respective services. Emphasis on the development of both interpersonal and professional skills among health care personnel may prove beneficial in enhancing the patient experience and ultimately fostering positive online reviews.

Epidemiological trends in serotypes distribution and antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella from humans in Taiwan, 2004-2022

ObjectivesSalmonella, a zoonotic pathogen, significantly impacts global human health. Understanding its serotype distribution and antimicrobial resistance is crucial for effective control measures and medical interventions. MethodsWe collected Salmonella isolates and demographic data from Taiwanese hospitals between 2004 and 2022, analyzing their serotypes and antimicrobial susceptibility. ResultsAmong 40,595 isolates, salmonellosis predominated in children aged 0-4 (61.2%) years and among males (55.2%). Males also showed higher rates of extraintestinal infections (18.1% vs 16.0%, P <0.001), particularly, in the ≥65 years age group (52.4%). The top five serovars were S. Enteritidis (32.8%), S. Typhimurium (21.7%), S. Newport (6.2%), S. Stanley (4.7%), and S. Anatum (4.0%). Notably, S. Enteritidis prevalence increased from 23.9% (2004-2005) to 43.6% (2021-2022). Antimicrobial resistance was high, with a 51.6% multidrug resistance (MDR) rate. Disturbingly, MDR rates exceeded 90% in serovars Albany, Schwarzengrund, Choleraesuis, and Goldcoast. Resistance to key therapeutic agents, azithromycin, cefotaxime, and ciprofloxacin, exhibited concerning upward trends, and the surge in cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin resistance was closely linked to the emergence and spread of MDR S. Anatum and S. Goldcoast clones. ConclusionsPrioritizing control measures against S. Enteritidis and closely monitoring the prevalence and spread of MDR clones are imperative to mitigate Salmonella infections in Taiwan.

Machine learning approaches for practical predicting outpatient near-future AECOPD based on nationwide electronic medical records

In this research, we aimed to harness machine learning to predict the imminent risk of acute exacerbation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) patients. Utilizing retrospective data from electronic medical records of two Taiwanese hospitals, we identified 26 critical features. To predict 3- and 6-month AECOPD occurrences, we deployed five distinct machine learning algorithms alongside ensemble learning. The 3-month risk prediction was best realized by the XGBoost model, achieving an AUC of 0.795, whereas the XGBoost was superior for the 6-month prediction with an AUC of 0.813. We conducted an explainability analysis and found that the episode of AECOPD, mMRC score, CAT score, respiratory rate, and the use of inhaled corticosteroids were the most impactful features. Notably, our approach surpassed predictions that relied solely on CAT or mMRC scores. Accordingly, we designed an interactive prediction system that provides physicians with a practical tool to predict near-term AECOPD risk in outpatients.

Work-related flow and its correlates among frontline nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ample evidence across non-healthcare fields highlights the role of work-related flow in enhancing resilience against work stress and work engagement. Understanding flow and its factors can support staff development and management. This study aimed to investigate the level of work-related flow and its associated factors among frontline nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional multicenter study included 336 nurses caring for COVID-19 patients between March and April 2022. Cluster random sampling was used to select 9 nurse groups from 29 Taiwanese hospitals specialized in COVID-19 care. A web survey link was shared on the selected nurses' social media. Hierarchical regression analyses examined predictor-outcome relationships, following the STROBE checklist for reporting findings. Among demographic characteristics, sex (β=-0.11; p=0.016) and living arrangement (β=-0.12; p=0.017) reached statistical significance in model 3. Social support from family, friends, and significant others, managerial position, and sufficiency of personal protective equipment showed significant associations with work-related flow (all β>0.12; p<0.05). The variables included in the final model accounted for 35% of the variance in work-related flow for COVID-19 patient care tasks. Flow experience is influenced by factors associated with demographics, work conditions, and social support. Nurse administrators should consider these factors when evaluating nurses' flow at work. Allocating care tasks to nurses based on their flow levels can be beneficial, particularly during healthcare crises. Ensuring a sufficient supply of personal protective equipment and offering social support to nurses are vital strategies for facilitating their flow experience in the workplace.

Validation of the Artificial Intelligence Prognostic Scoring System for Myelodysplastic Syndromes in chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia: A novel approach for improved risk stratification.

Chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML) is a rare haematological disorder characterized by monocytosis and dysplastic changes in myeloid cell lineages. Accurate risk stratification is essential for guiding treatment decisions and assessing prognosis. This study aimed to validate the Artificial Intelligence Prognostic Scoring System for Myelodysplastic Syndromes (AIPSS-MDS) in CMML and to assess its performance compared with traditional scores using data from a Spanish registry (n = 1343) and a Taiwanese hospital (n = 75). In the Spanish cohort, the AIPSS-MDS accurately predicted overall survival (OS) and leukaemia-free survival (LFS), outperforming the Revised-IPSS score. Similarly, in the Taiwanese cohort, the AIPSS-MDS demonstrated accurate predictions for OS and LFS, showing superiority over the IPSS score and performing better than the CPSS and molecular CPSS scores in differentiating patient outcomes. The consistent performance of the AIPSS-MDS across both cohorts highlights its generalizability. Its adoption as a valuable tool for personalized treatment decision-making in CMML enables clinicians to identify high-risk patients who may benefit from different therapeutic interventions. Future studies should explore the integration of genetic information into the AIPSS-MDS to further refine risk stratification in CMML and improve patient outcomes.

Early versus late diagnosis of LAMA2 congenital muscular dystrophy: a distinct consequence

BackgroundLaminin subunit alpha 2 (LAMA2)-related muscular dystrophy (LAMA2 MD) is caused by homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in LAMA2 (OMIM#156225), located on chromosome 6q22.Case presentationWe describe two patients with LAMA2 MD treated at a Taiwanese hospital. Both presented with gradual hypotonia starting in early infancy. A targeted muscular dystrophy/myopathy panel and whole-exome sequencing were used as diagnostic tools in both patients. In Patient 1, a maternally inherited variant (NM_000426.3:c.7525_7528dupCTCA/ p.Ser2510ThrfsTer3) and a paternally inherited variant (c.112 + 2 T > C) were revealed. In Patient 2, compound heterozygote mutations in LAMA2 were identified: 1) c.1583dupA(p.S529Efs*18) in exon 11, inherited paternally, and 2) c.A6931T:p.K2311X in exon 49, inherited maternally. The discovery of these four mutations enriches the genetic spectrum of LAMA2 MD.ConclusionsWe suggest that comprehensive genetic investigations be performed as early as possible in patients with suspected muscular dystrophy to provide appropriate treatment.

Unveiling the future of COVID-19 patient care: groundbreaking prediction models for severe outcomes or mortality in hospitalized cases.

Previous studies have identified COVID-19 risk factors, such as age and chronic health conditions, linked to severe outcomes and mortality. However, accurately predicting severe illness in COVID-19 patients remains challenging, lacking precise methods. This study aimed to leverage clinical real-world data and multiple machine-learning algorithms to formulate innovative predictive models for assessing the risk of severe outcomes or mortality in hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Data were obtained from the Taipei Medical University Clinical Research Database (TMUCRD) including electronic health records from three Taiwanese hospitals in Taiwan. This study included patients admitted to the hospitals who received an initial diagnosis of COVID-19 between January 1, 2021, and May 31, 2022. The primary outcome was defined as the composite of severe infection, including ventilator use, intubation, ICU admission, and mortality. Secondary outcomes consisted of individual indicators. The dataset encompassed demographic data, health status, COVID-19 specifics, comorbidities, medications, and laboratory results. Two modes (full mode and simplified mode) are used; the former includes all features, and the latter only includes the 30 most important features selected based on the algorithm used by the best model in full mode. Seven machine learning was employed algorithms the performance of the models was evaluated using metrics such as the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. The study encompassed 22,192 eligible in-patients diagnosed with COVID-19. In the full mode, the model using the light gradient boosting machine algorithm achieved the highest AUROC value (0.939), with an accuracy of 85.5%, a sensitivity of 0.897, and a specificity of 0.853. Age, vaccination status, neutrophil count, sodium levels, and platelet count were significant features. In the simplified mode, the extreme gradient boosting algorithm yielded an AUROC of 0.935, an accuracy of 89.9%, a sensitivity of 0.843, and a specificity of 0.902. This study illustrates the feasibility of constructing precise predictive models for severe outcomes or mortality in COVID-19 patients by leveraging significant predictors and advanced machine learning. These findings can aid healthcare practitioners in proactively predicting and monitoring severe outcomes or mortality among hospitalized COVID-19 patients, improving treatment and resource allocation.

Management of complications of sutureless intrascleral intraocular lens fixation.

The purpose of the study was to report the complications of sutureless intrascleral (SIS) intraocular lens (IOL) fixation and its management. A multicenter, retrospective, consecutive interventional case series of patients with intra or postoperative complications after SIS IOL fixation during the technical learning curve of vitreoretinal surgeons from three Taiwanese referral hospitals. The used surgical techniques were the Scharioth technique for intrascleral tunnel fixation, Yamane technique (double-needle scleral fixation), and modified Yamane technique (double-needle flanged haptic scleral fixation). The IOL models and surgical instruments used as well as each patient's ocular characteristics and complication management were recorded. Of the eight included patients, the complications of 3 (37.5%) and 5 (62.5%) were noted intraoperatively and postoperatively, respectively. Haptic-related complications, including haptic breakage, slippage, and haptic disinsertion, occurred in six eyes. Other complications included uveitis-glaucoma-hyphema syndrome, retinal detachment, and IOL tilt. For the two patients with haptic slippage, repositioning was achieved using a modified cow-hitch technique that resulted in favorable IOL centration and restored visual acuity. Most complications surgeons encountered during their early exposure to SIS IOL fixation were haptic related. Surgeons should be aware of such complications to prevent and manage them during surgery. Our modified cow-hitch technique could be used to reposition IOLs with unilateral haptic slippage.

Developing seasonal z-number regression for waste-disposal forecasting in a Taiwanese hospital

This study develops a seasonal z-number regression (SZR) to forecast the daily generated amounts of clinical waste for recycling and related waste. The proposed SZR designs new z-number intervals based on least-squares support-vector regression and is combined with the seasonal-decomposition method. Z-numbers characterize the uncertainty of a variable using a fuzzy number and the associated reliability of this fuzzy number. Biogeography-based optimization is employed to select the parameters of the SZR model. In this study, SZR, long short-term memory, support-vector regression with a genetic algorithm, a generalized regression neural network, the autoregressive integrated moving average, and a recurrent neural network are applied to forecast the daily amounts of generated clinical waste for recycling and related waste. The empirical results indicate the following. First, the SZR model demonstrates better performance and robustness than the other approaches for the prediction of the daily amount of clinical waste for recycling and related waste. Second, the SZR model also exhibits superior performance compared to the other approaches with respect to different testing terms. The proposed SZR method can help experts in hospitals develop reasonable waste-disposal projects that can help waste-management systems effectively achieve operational reliability and economy.

The mediation of health-promoting lifestyle on self-perceived health status and quality of life among nurses: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundNurses with busy workloads lack the time to maintain health, leading to a decline in physical and mental health and quality of life. It is widely accepted that self-perception of health triggers health-promoting behaviors and impacts the quality of life; however, the relationship between these factors among nurses is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of a health-promoting lifestyle to mediate the relationship between self-perceived health and quality of life among nurses.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted in four regional Taiwanese teaching hospitals with over 500 beds. The survey used stratified random sampling of 600 nurses who had worked for more than six months. The Self-Perceived Health Questionnaire, the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale were used to measure nurses’ self-perceived health (SPH), health-promoting lifestyle (HPL), and quality of life (QoL). A Hayes PROCESS analysis and bootstrapping method were used for the mediation analysis.ResultsA total of 518 nurses’ data was included in the analysis. Nurses perceived their health status as less favorable than their colleagues, but frequently adopted health promotion behaviors. Nurses reported a moderate QoL. QoL and SPH were correlated (r = .33) and a high correlation between QoL and HPL (r = .64) was found. SPH and HPL both affect QoL (B = 0.077 and 0.070). SPH and HPL explained 42.6% of the variation in QoL. HPL played a partial mediation role.ConclusionsThe study confirmed that HPL has an important role in mediating nurses’ SPH and QoL. Nurse administrators are advised to encourage nurses to monitor their health status and provide health promotion mechanisms to improve their quality of life.

The impact of antiplatelet drugs on recurrent stroke in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage

BackgroundThe influence of antiplatelet drugs on the risk of hemorrhagic stroke and the reduction of ischemic stroke in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) remains unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the impact of antiplatelet therapy on the risk of recurrent stroke in ICH patients. MethodsThe study encompassed ICH survivors discharged from a central Taiwanese teaching hospital between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2019. Patient hospitalization and treatment data were retrieved from electronic medical records. The primary endpoint was re-hospitalization due to ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. Patients who continued antiplatelet drug use for over a month prior to stroke recurrence constituted the antiplatelet drug use group. Risk factors for recurrent hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes were evaluated using binary logistic regression. ResultsThe study incorporated 407 ICH patients, each monitored for 4 years post-stroke. Recurrent stroke incidence showed no significant disparity between hemorrhagic and ischemic strokes. Hemorrhagic stroke recurrence stood at 5.16 % (21/407), and ischemic stroke recurrence was 4.42 % (18/407). In the non-antiplatelet group, hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke rates were 5.48 % (20/365) and 3.56 % (13/365) respectively. In the antiplatelet group, the rates were 2.38 % (1/42) for hemorrhagic and 11.9 % (5/42) for ischemic stroke, with a significantly higher ischemic stroke rate (p = 0.03). Hypertension emerged as a risk factor for recurrent hemorrhagic stroke, while diabetes mellitus was identified as a risk factor for ischemic stroke. Antiplatelet drug use did not escalate the risk of recurrent ICH. ConclusionDiabetes mellitus and hypertension are risk factors for recurrent ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes respectively in ICH patients. Antiplatelet therapy does not appear to elevate the risk of recurrent hemorrhagic stroke in these patients.

Determinants of nurses’ readiness for disaster response: A cross-sectional study

Reducing the impacts of disasters is imperative in these times when disasters continually threaten people's lives. Given that the readiness for disaster response of nurses are essential in mitigating damage, however, studies on the determinants of nurses' readiness for disaster response remain inconclusive and require further research, especially with various populations. This study therefore aimed to investigate factors associated with readiness for disaster response among Taiwanese hospital nurses. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 365 eligible and registered nurses at a medical centre in northern Taiwan. The Readiness for Disaster Responses Scale including four subscales: personal preparedness, self-protection, emergency response, and clinical management were used for assessment. Analyses were performed using multiple linear regression models. Our study results showed that the length of nursing work was positively associated with nurses' readiness for disaster responses (β = 0.28, p < .001). Nurses with a master's degree and working in intensive care units or emergency rooms had higher readiness for disaster responses (β = 0.13, p = .032; β = 0.14, p = .024) than those with a bachelor's degree and working in other units/specialties (i.e., outpatient department, operating rooms, etc.). Furthermore, nurses with previous disaster training were associated with greater readiness for disaster responses (β = 0.24, p < .001). This study findings indicate that the identified determinants of hospital nurses' readiness for disaster responses can be taken into consideration in the future recruiting of nurses for deployment to disaster response assistance and the designing of disaster training programmes specifically for nurses.

The Intra-Hospital Medical Dispute Burden and Capacities: A Nationwide Survey in Taiwan.

(1) Background: Medical disputes have long been resolved via lawsuits. Alternative dispute resolutions have been promoted for their benefits and win-win results. This study aims to investigate Taiwanese hospital medical dispute capacities and burdens. (2) Methods: This study used 2015 nationwide questionnaire data. The number and value of medical disputes that occurred in 2014 was examined to evaluate hospitals' capabilities. Poisson regressions were used to determine the impact of coping abilities on the incidence of disputes and the associated compensation. (3) Results: The response rate of the questionnaire was 90%. Hospital features associated with higher medical disputes incidence included those of a scale ≤ 100 or 200-499 and having a dispute-inform process of over 4 h. In contrast, hospitals whose compensation fund was solely based on medical liability insurance reported less medical dispute incidence. The features associated with higher compensation were lack of continuing training and having a dispute-inform process over 4 h. In contrast, hospitals with standard operating procedures for in-hospital mediation and solicitude paid lower compensation. (4) Conclusions: Hospitals with quicker response times experienced fewer medical disputes and paid lower compensation. Dispute coping skills, other than reaction time, were more visible in compensation bargaining, but were not significantly correlated with incidence.

Developing and Testing the Negative Mentoring Experience Questionnaire (NMEQ) for Nurses

Many nurse managers actively developed mentoring programs to shorten the acclimation period of new nurses in hospitals. The main aim was to develop a negative mentoring experience questionnaire (NMEQ) and test its validity and reliability. A cross-sectional study was employed. This study adopted questionnaire-survey method with new nurses of Taiwanese hospitals. In the main study, this study adopted reliability analysis, content, validity, construct validity and criterion-related validity analysis. 255 participants were collected, with 87.93% response rate. A total of 29 items of five-dimension scale of NMEQ were proposed: four nursing manager items, four institutional items, three other medical staff items, 12 mentor items, and six mentee items. Each dimension demonstrated a reliability of 0.72 to 0.96. Exploratory factor analysis and Confirmatory factor analysis results indicated that NMEQ had acceptable convergent and discriminate validity. Correlation analysis indicated this scale and mentoring function scale exhibited a significantly negative correlation ( p &lt; .05). NMEQ is reliable and valid for hospital nurses. It also can help clinical nursing managers to clarify the possible negative experiences and strengthen the adaptability and mental health of new staff nurses in mentoring programs. Nursing policy planners can use NMEQ to measure the negative experience of new nurses, monitor the performance of mentoring program, and further revise mentoring policies.

Shift work domains and their interactions with empty calorie food/beverage consumption: A 14-day intensive longitudinal study

Background/objectivesShift work has been linked to unhealthy eating behaviors such as imbalanced diet, or increased empty calorie food/beverage consumption. However, most research has focused on the impact of shift timing. The concept of shift work is complex, and it contains several domains such as shift timing, intensity, and speed. Previous studies have suggested that greater shift intensity and quicker shift speed may contribute to adverse health effects. However, evidence regarding associations between other domains of shift work and empty calorie food/beverage consumption has been relatively lacking. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate how other shift work domains related to empty calorie food/beverage consumption and whether different shift work domains interacted to influence the intake of foods or beverages. DesignA 14-day intensive longitudinal study employing ecological momentary assessment. Settings and participantsEighty registered nurses working in 24 accredited Taiwanese hospitals (i.e., 9 medical centers, 12 regional hospitals, and 3 district hospitals) were recruited. MethodsDuring the study period, a convenience sample of 77 participants completed 2444 momentary surveys about empty calorie food/beverage consumption on a smartphone. Three shift work domains (shift timing, intensity, and speed) were evaluated based on registry-based work schedules. To study how these shift work domains influenced empty calorie food/beverage consumption, we employed three-level mixed-effects regression models for data analyses. ResultsFindings suggested that greater night shift intensity increased the likelihood of sugar-sweetened beverage intake (odds ratio = 1.64, 95% confidence interval [1.01, 2.68]). The impacts of work shift intensity and shift timing on sugar-sweetened beverage consumption varied by shift speed. Among participants assigned a schedule with either medium or rapid shift speed, higher work shift intensity was associated with a higher probability of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. Compared to day shifts, those who were assigned a quicker shift speed on evening shifts were more likely to consume sugar-sweetened beverages. However, associations between night shift intensity and sugar-sweetened beverage intake did not change by shift speed. Furthermore, shift intensity and shift timing did not interact to affect empty calorie food/beverage consumption. ConclusionsThis study demonstrated assignments of shift schedules (i.e., high night shift intensity, more changes in shift timings) might influence workers' consumption of empty calorie foods/beverages. Therefore, identifying and mitigating hazardous shift schedules may help to improve shift workers' eating behaviors and benefit their overall health.

Institutional Variance in Mortality after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Acute Myocardial Infarction in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.

Although there have been studies that compared outcomes of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) across countries, little focus has been placed on institutional variance of outcomes. The aim of the present study was to compare institutional variance in mortality following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for AMI and factors explaining this variance across different health systems. Data on inpatients who underwent PCI for AMI in 2016 were obtained from the National Health Insurance Data Sharing Service in Korea, the Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC) Study Group Database in Japan, and the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) in Taiwan. Multilevel analyses with inpatient mortality as the outcome and the hierarchical structure of patients nested within hospitals were conducted, adjusting for common patient-level and hospital-level variables. We compared the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the proportion of variance explained by hospital-level characteristics across the three health systems. There were 17 351 patients from 160 Korean hospitals, 29 804 patients from 660 Japanese hospitals, and 10 863 patients from 104 Taiwanese hospitals included in the analysis. Inpatient mortality rates were 6.3%, 7.3%, and 6.0% in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, respectively. After adjusting for patient and hospital characteristics, Taiwan had the lowest variation in mortality (ICC, 1.8%), followed by Korea (2.2%) and then Japan (4.5%). The measured hospital characteristics explained 38%, 19%, and 9% of the institutional variance in Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, respectively. Korea, Japan, and Taiwan had similarly uniform outcomes across hospitals for patients undergoing PCI for AMI. However, Japan had a relatively large institutional variance in mortality and a lower proportion of variation explainable by hospital characteristics, compared with Korea and Taiwan.

Impact of Weekend Effect on Short- and Long-Term Survival of Patients Undergoing Esophagectomy for Cancer: A Population-Based, Inverse Probability of Treatment-Weighted Analysis.

We examined the impact of the weekend effect on the survival outcomes of patients undergoing elective esophagectomy for cancer. This was a retrospective analysis of a nationwide, health administrative dataset that included all patients (n = 3235) who had undergone elective esophagectomy for cancer in Taiwanese hospitals between 2008 and 2015. Patients were categorized according to the day of surgery (weekday group: surgical procedures starting Monday through Friday, n = 3148; weekend group: surgical procedures starting on Saturday or Sunday, n = 87). Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) using the propensity score was used to account for selection bias due to baseline differences. After IPTW, patients undergoing esophagectomy on weekends had a higher 90-days mortality rate compared with those undergoing surgery on a weekday (10.5% vs. 5.5%, respectively, P < 0.001). After controlling for potential confounders, weekend surgery was identified as an independent adverse predictor of 2-years, overall survival [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.38, P < 0.001]. Importantly, inferior weekend outcomes were especially evident in certain subgroups, including patients aged > 60 years (HR = 1.61, P < 0.001), as well as those with a high burden of comorbidities (HR = 1.32, P < 0.001), advanced tumor stage (HR = 1.50, P < 0.001), histological diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma (HR = 1.20, P < 0.001), and treated with minimally invasive esophagectomy (HR = 1.26, P < 0.001). Elective esophagectomy for cancer during weekends has an adverse impact on short- and long-term survival.