Biomedical subjects

Li-Hua Lo

Publications and source records attributed to Li-Hua Lo.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Process of self-identity transformation in women with autistic adolescent.

The purpose of this study was to understand the self-identity transformation in women with adolescent autistic children. In this study, in-depth interviews were used to collect data. Eight mothers were recruited who had autistic children aged 13-21 and who were those children's primary caregivers. Each mother was interviewed from one to four times. Four themes emerged through these mothers rethinking their connection with others during middle age. These included (1) relationships revisited; (2) self-awareness inspiration; (3) reconnection constructed; and (4) new self-identity formed. Results are hoped to provide valuable information for health professionals to understand how mothers of autistic adolescents connect with others and with their self-identity during middle age.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2006

[A pilot study: gastric motility and nausea/vomiting in two leukemia children receiving chemotherapy].

The purpose of the study was to identify the association between chemotherapy-induced nausea/vomiting and changes to the electrogastrogram (EGG) of two children suffering from leukemia. After receiving written consent/assent, the children, both with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), were recruited. One of the subjects, a ten year-old boy, was given 1.1 gm Cytarabine (intravenous infusion for six hours per day) for three days and Tropisetron 5 mg intravenous infusion for 24 hours. The other subject, an eight year-old girl, received the induction phase of TPOG 93HR chemotherapy, which included Epirubicin, Vincristin, L-asparaginase, and Prednisolone and Tropisetron 5 mg on Day 1. The EGG recordings of both patients were recorded for a total of 42 hours by cutaneous electrogastrography over a seven day period. This included two-hour and four-hour readings taken before and immediately following the administration of chemotherapy each day. The position, movements, and activities of the children while on the EGG were recorded on digital video. Four episodes of nausea and vomiting were detected during this period. Pre- and post-nausea and vomiting during the EGG were analyzed using spectrum analysis after the deletion of motion artifacts. The findings of this study indicated that two episodes of nausea were 5.3-10.3% bradygastria and 2.1-10.3% tachygastria, with 85.8% and 100% normal gastric slow waves detected by EGG during the pre-vomiting period. Tachygastria was present in 3.4% and 12.2% of the post-vomiting period of each episode. The association of artifacts with position, movement, and activities must be considered during data collection.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

PubMed2006

[Therapeutic play].

Atraumatic care is one of the important principles in pediatric nursing. Immature cognitive development, however, and limited coping ability exacerbate tension when children are ill and require hospitalization. Therapeutic play has been demonstrated as an effective nursing intervention. Through therapeutic play, children can acquire opportunities to express themselves and deal with stress related to health experiences. Also, nurses can gain insights into children's cognition, perception, and needs. This paper introduces concepts of therapeutic play. We hope that nurses will be able to incorporate it into pediatric nursing practice and provide care as atraumatically as possible.

Child↗

PubMed2005

[Exploring the changes of the lived experience among siblings of children with cancer].

Few nursing studies in the past two decades have focused on siblings of children with cancer. Taking care of a hospitalized child with cancer, parents might neglect other children at home. Nursing providers need more information related to siblings and their psychosocial adaptation when one of their children is diagnosed with cancer and undergoing a variety of treatment protocols. The purpose of this study was to explore the changes in the experiences of preschool and school age siblings of children with cancer. A phenomenological study was conducted at a teaching hospital in southern Taiwan. Three children aged between five and nine years old who were siblings of a hospitalized cancer patient were approached in 2003-2004. Their families were also interviewed. Data included in-depth, formal and informal interviews, process recordings, drawings by the children, and a diary of reflections kept by the first author. Interviews lasted between 30 and 90 minutes. The qualitative data analysis method devised by Miles and Huberman (1994) was used. The findings indicated that there were three different changes in experience: Changes in psychological status, i.e., increase in worry about life, anxiety about the disease, and negative self-concepts; Changes in family interaction, i.e., relationship with mother, relationship with father, relationship with other siblings; Changes in social relationship, i.e., hunger for companions, changing recreation. Siblings do experience changes in their lives and may experience mal-adaptation. Nursing providers need to be aware of these changes and identify the health needs among caregivers and siblings of children with cancer. The findings of this study may be helpful to clinical nurses seeking to understand the needs of siblings of children with cancer.

Child↗

PubMed2003

Are nurses prepared to manage cancer pain? A national survey of nurses' knowledge about pain control in Taiwan.

Nurses play a crucial role in cancer pain control, but little is known about how well-prepared nurses are to manage cancer pain in Taiwan. The purpose of this study was to examine the level of knowledge about pain management among Taiwanese nurses with different background characteristics and to determine the predictor(s) of nurses' pain management knowledge. Nurse subjects were recruited by a cross-sectional nationwide survey with stratified sampling from nine hospitals distributed in the four major geographic regions of Taiwan. The Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes Survey-Taiwanese version (NKAS-T) and a background information form were used to collect the data. Of 1900 surveys distributed, 1797 valid questionnaires (94.5%) were analyzed. The average correct response rate was 50.5%, with rates ranging from 7-86% for each survey question. Results from stepwise regression showed that nurses with higher mean correct answer scores had BS or higher degrees, had received pain education at professional conferences, had more prior hours of pain education, had longer clinical care experiences, and always worked with cancer patients. Nurses who worked in intensive care units, however, had significantly lower mean correct scores. The results strongly suggest an urgent need to strengthen pain education in Taiwan. The results also provide the direction for developing pain education.

Data Collection↗

PubMed2003

Quality of life among primary caregivers of Taiwanese children with brain tumor.

This study evaluated the quality of life among primary caregivers of Taiwanese children with brain tumors and examined the factors associated with their quality of life. Data were obtained from the Impact of Childhood Cancer on the Chinese Family survey conducted by the Taiwan Childhood Cancer Foundation in 2001. This analysis included 30 families. Quality of life among primary caregivers was measured by the World Health Organization Questionnaire on Quality of Life: BREF-Taiwan version. Quality-of-life scores for various subgroups were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test or the Kruskal-Wallis test. The scores in the physical health and psychological domains for caregivers of children with brain tumors were lower than the norm scores for healthy adults. Caregivers of boys had higher scores in social relationships. Caregivers of children within 5 years of the brain tumor diagnosis had higher scores in the physical health domain. The child's treatment stage was associated with caregiver scores in the physical health and psychological domains. The caregiver's psychological domain was negatively affected by a low education level. The health status of caregivers was positively associated with their quality of life in physical health, psychological status, social relationships, and environment domains. The lower quality of life among caregivers indicates the need for promoting an awareness in healthcare providers of the impact that having a child with brain tumor has on the quality of life. Family-centered interventions are implicated. Healthcare providers should elicit information regarding the caregiver's perceived physical health and intervene early. This may help to improve the quality of life among caregivers of children with brain tumors.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Examining test-retest reliability: an intra-class correlation approach.

BACKGROUND: There are limitations of inter-class correlation (usually, the Pearson's product-moment correlation) in evaluating reliability of an instrument. An intra-class correlation approach would be appropriate to examine the test-retest reliability of an instrument. OBJECTIVES: To introduce an intra-class correlation approach to examine the test-retest reliability of an instrument. METHOD: The method of constructing an intra-class correlation coefficient was presented. RESULTS: The instrument with visual analog scales to measure the perceived competence to practice breast self-examination and perceived barriers to breast self-examination was tested. The intra-class correlation coefficient was 0.640. CONCLUSION: The intra-class correlation is an alternative to test the reliability of an instrument and it is more sensitive to the detection of systematic error.

Breast Self-Examination↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A model for testing the relationship of nursing care and patient outcomes.

Studying patient outcomes alone may not provide enough information to determine the associated factors that must be improved when the desired patient outcomes are not achieved. The purpose of this correlational study was to investigate the effects of perceived quality of nursing care and coordination of care on patients' comfort, satisfaction, and length of hospital stay. The overall model-data fit was good according to four indices: the chi-square value, goodness of fit index, adjusted goodness of fit index, and the Steigers root square error of approximation. The proposed model, effects of care quality on patient outcomes, was tested. The relationship between quality of nursing care and the proposed outcomes was tested. The results provide important information to the nursing profession and policymakers in meeting patient care needs.

Adult↗