The development of a nursing code of professional conduct is to guide nurses to make appropriate clinical decision, in particular when facing ethical dilemma. It is of paramount importance that nurse ...educators understand baccalaureate nursing students’ perceptions of the importance of the code of professional conduct and the level of difficulties in implementing this code while preparing them for future practicing nurses. The Code of Professional Conduct in Hong Kong has been developed to guide nursing practice for over two decades. Nevertheless, no study has examined Hong Kong baccalaureate nursing students’ perception about this professional code. The aim of this paper was to examine the perceptions of 263 baccalaureate nursing students about this professional code using a cross sectional survey design. The results indicated that most items in the professional code were rated as important and “provide safe and competent care” was rated as the most important one. A few areas that the students perceived as difficult to implement were discussed and future research was recommended. The significant differences identified among students from different years of study also highlighted areas for consideration in planning educational program to further equip students with the ability to deal with challenges in professional practice.
Aim. This paper reports an evaluation of the effects on knowledge, health beliefs and preventive behaviours of an osteoporosis educational programme for men.
Background. Osteoporosis is an ...increasing global health concern, and educational programmes have been identified as a crucial strategy in its prevention. However, the effectiveness of osteoporosis educational programmes has mainly been evaluated in women.
Methods. A randomized controlled trial was carried out to identify the effects of an osteoporosis educational programme for men. The study was conducted between September 2004 to February 2005, and 128 Hong Kong Chinese men were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group, with 64 in each group. The intervention group attended an osteoporosis educational programme. All participants completed pre‐ and post‐test self‐administered questionnaires: Osteoporosis Knowledge Test, Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale and Osteoporosis Self‐Efficacy Scale.
Results. The intervention group showed a statistically significant increase in both knowledge (P < 0·0005) and health beliefs (P = 0·007) about osteoporosis and preventive behaviours in comparison with the control group. However, the difference in self‐efficacy between the two groups was not statistically significant (P = 0·154).
Conclusions. An osteoporosis educational programme can increase men's knowledge levels and change their health beliefs about osteoporosis and preventive behaviours. This approach should be more widely used in nursing practice to promoting the adoption of osteoporosis prevention behaviours in men.
BACKGROUND Several molecular imaging strategies can identify bacterial infections in humans. PET affords the potential for sensitive infection detection deep within the body. Among PET-based ...approaches, antibiotic-based radiotracers, which often target key bacterial-specific enzymes, have considerable promise. One question for antibiotic radiotracers is whether antimicrobial resistance (AMR) reduces specific accumulation within bacteria, diminishing the predictive value of the diagnostic test.METHODS Using a PET radiotracer based on the antibiotic trimethoprim (TMP), 11C-TMP, we performed in vitro uptake studies in susceptible and drug-resistant bacterial strains and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) in selected strains to identify TMP resistance mechanisms. Next, we queried the NCBI database of annotated bacterial genomes for WT and resistant dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) genes. Finally, we initiated a first-in-human protocol of 11C-TMP in patients infected with both TMP-sensitive and TMP-resistant organisms to demonstrate the clinical feasibility of the tool.RESULTS We observed robust 11C-TMP uptake in our panel of TMP-sensitive and -resistant bacteria, noting relatively variable and decreased uptake in a few strains of P. aeruginosa and E. coli. WGS showed that the vast majority of clinically relevant bacteria harbor a WT copy of DHFR, targetable by 11C-TMP, and that despite the AMR, these strains should be “imageable.” Clinical imaging of patients with 11C-TMP demonstrated focal radiotracer uptake in areas of infectious lesions.CONCLUSION This work highlights an approach to imaging bacterial infection in patients, which could affect our understanding of bacterial pathogenesis as well as our ability to better diagnose infections and monitor response to therapy.TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03424525.FUNDING Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, NIH Office of the Director Early Independence Award (DP5-OD26386), and University of Pennsylvania NIH T32 Radiology Research Training Grant (5T32EB004311-12).
Aim. To examine the perceptions of the code of professional conduct among practising registered nurses in Hong Kong.
Background. A code of professional conduct is intended to guide nurses in their ...practice and to ensure congruence with nursing goals and objectives. Such a code for nurses in Hong Kong has been in effect for two decades but, to date, no study has examined the perceptions of it among practising nurses.
Design. A survey of 320 practising registered nurses working in a hospital cluster in Hong Kong (mean postregistration experience = 11·8 years).
Methods. A questionnaire developed to assess nurses’ perceptions of the Code of Professional Conduct devised by the Nursing Council of Hong Kong.
Results. Providing safe and competent care, practising in accordance with the law and maintaining agreed standards were ranked in order as the three most important aspects. Safeguarding informed decision‐making for patients who were mentally incapacitated or unable to speak for themselves, participating in continuing nursing education and raising objections to practices that compromise safe and appropriate care were considered the most challenging aspects to achieve in professional nursing practice.
Conclusions. To educate nurses to become more assertive in safeguarding patients’ rights and to encourage and support lifelong learning remains a major challenge in professional nursing practice. The profession and statutory bodies need to consider how best to enable practising nurses to address these issues.
Relevance to clinical practice. Examining the perceptions of practising nurses about the professional code is necessary to ensure that the profession is prepared to meet the ever‐changing demands and expectations of the public whom it claims to serve.
Few studies have examined functional limitations in Chinese elders with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The objective was to describe the functional limitations, respiratory status, and ...psychologic status of Chinese elders with COPD; to examine the relationships between functional limitations and selected variables including age, gender, duration of COPD, and hospital readmission history; and to identify the variables that predict functional limitations in Chinese elders with COPD.
A correlational predictive study was performed with a sample of 97 Chinese elders with COPD. The subjects were 65 years or older and recruited from two hospitals in Hong Kong. Data were individually collected on the day the individual was to be discharged from the hospital, by using the Barthel Index for functional limitations, forced expiratory volume in 1 second percent predicted for respiratory status, and General Health Questionnaire (28 items) for psychologic status. Information on age, gender, duration of COPD, and hospital readmission history were also identified from the medical record.
Functional limitations in Chinese elders with COPD were significantly correlated with poorer respiratory status and more depressive symptoms. Multiple regression analysis indicated that depressive symptoms were a significant predictor of functional limitations after controlling for the effect of respiratory status.
The results of this study demonstrate that depressive symptoms to some extent predict functional limitations in Chinese elders with COPD. Investigation of the effect of appropriate screening and interventions for depressive symptoms on preventing, delaying, or reducing functional limitations in this patient group is suggested.
Thymic Foxp3-expressing regulatory T cells are activated by peripheral self antigen to increase their suppressive function, and a fraction of these cells survive as memory Tregs (mTregs). Memory ...Tregs persist in non-lymphoid tissue after cessation of antigen expression and have enhanced capacity to suppress tissue-specific autoimmunity. Here, we show that murine mTregs express specific effector memory T cell markers and localize preferentially to hair follicles in skin. Memory Tregs express high levels of both IL-2Rα and IL-7Rα. Using a genetic deletion approach, we show that IL-2 is required to generate mTregs from naive CD4
+
T cell precursors
in vivo
. However, IL-2 is not required to maintain these cells in the skin and skin-draining lymph nodes. Conversely, IL-7 is essential for maintaining mTregs in skin in the steady state. These results elucidate the fundamental biology of mTregs and show that IL-7 plays an important role in their survival in skin.
This paper reports an evaluation of the effects on knowledge, health beliefs and preventive behaviours of an osteoporosis educational programme for men. Osteoporosis is an increasing global health ...concern, and educational programmes have been identified as a crucial strategy in its prevention. However, the effectiveness of osteoporosis educational programmes has mainly been evaluated in women. A randomized controlled trial was carried out to identify the effects of an osteoporosis educational programme for men. The study was conducted between September 2004 to February 2005, and 128 Hong Kong Chinese men were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group, with 64 in each group. The intervention group attended an osteoporosis educational programme. All participants completed pre- and post-test self-administered questionnaires: Osteoporosis Knowledge Test, Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale and Osteoporosis Self-Efficacy Scale. The intervention group showed a statistically significant increase in both knowledge (P < 0.0005) and health beliefs (P = 0.007) about osteoporosis and preventive behaviours in comparison with the control group. However, the difference in self-efficacy between the two groups was not statistically significant (P = 0.154). An osteoporosis educational programme can increase men's knowledge levels and change their health beliefs about osteoporosis and preventive behaviours. This approach should be more widely used in nursing practice to promoting the adoption of osteoporosis prevention behaviours in men.
Disposition towards critical thinking: a study of Chinese undergraduate nursing students
The purpose of this study was to explore empirically whether undergraduate nursing students at a selected ...university in Hong Kong display a disposition towards critical thinking. The California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory (CCTDI) was used to measure the key theoretical aspects of the overall dispositional dimension of critical thinking. A cross‐sectional descriptive design was used to examine 122 Chinese students who were completing their 1st, 2nd and 3rd year of a university baccalaureate nursing programme. In the majority of sub‐scales of CCTDI, students showed a negative disposition towards critical thinking. A one‐way ANOVA indicated that year 3 students scored significantly lower than their junior counterparts (P < 0·001). Pearson product moment correlation coefficient yielded a significant positive relationship between critical thinking dispositions and term grade point average (P < 0·05). Consistent with the findings of western studies, the students scored lowest on the truth‐seeking sub‐scale and highest on the inquisitiveness. Discussion of the findings with regard to nursing education, curriculum and research is delineated.
Objective There is increasing preclinical evidence indicating that metformin, a medication commonly used for type 2 diabetes mellitus, may protect against cancer. Motivated by this emerging evidence ...we asked 2 questions: (1) can metformin prevent ovarian cancer growth by altering metabolism and (2) will metformin increase sensitivity to chemotherapy. Study Design The effect of metformin in ovarian cancer was tested in vitro and with 2 different mouse models. In vitro, cell lines (n = 6) were treated with metformin (10-40 mmol/L) or phosphate-buffered saline solution and cellular proliferation and metabolic alterations (adenosine monophosphate–activated protein kinase activity, glycolysis, and lipid synthesis) were compared between the 2 groups. In mouse models, a prevention study was performed by treating mice with metformin (250 mg/kg/d intraperitoneally) or placebo for 2 weeks followed by intraperitoneal injection of the SKOV3ip1 human ovarian cancer cell line, and the mean number of tumor implants in each treatment group was compared. In a treatment study, the LSL-K- ras G12D /+ /PTEN floxP/floxP genetic mouse model of ovarian cancer was used. Mice were treated with placebo, paclitaxel (3 mg/kg/wk intraperitoneally for 7 weeks), metformin (100 mg/kg/d in water for 7 weeks), or paclitaxel plus metformin, and tumor volume was compared among treatment groups. Results In vitro, metformin decreased proliferation of ovarian cancer cell lines and induced cell cycle arrest, but not apoptosis. Further analysis showed that metformin altered several aspects of metabolism including adenosine monophosphate–activated protein kinase activity, glycolysis, and lipid synthesis. In the prevention mouse model, mice that were pretreated with metformin had 60% fewer tumor implants compared with controls ( P < .005). In the treatment study, mice that were treated with paclitaxel plus metformin had a 60% reduction in tumor weight compared with controls ( P = .02), which is a level of tumor reduction greater than that resulting from either paclitaxel or metformin alone. Conclusion Based on these results, we conclude that metformin alters metabolism in ovarian cancer cells, prevents tumor growth, and increases sensitivity to chemotherapy in vitro and in mouse models. These preclinical findings suggest that metformin warrants further investigation for use as an ovarian cancer therapeutic.
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