Enhancing care service utilization and reducing burden: the role of needs assessments for dementia caregivers in long-term care.

Background: Informal caregivers of people living with dementia often face significant physical and psychological burdens, which may limit their utilization of available support services. Needs assessments aim to identify these stressors and facilitate access to supportive resources. This study evaluates the effectiveness of needs assessments in enhancing service utilization and reducing the burden among informal caregivers of people living with dementia in central Taiwan.

Impulse oscillometry in patients with persistent post-COVID-19 symptoms: A retrospective study.

Introduction: Impaired lung function has been observed in patients following COVID-19 infection, with studies reporting persistent lung volume and diffusing capacity impairments. Some studies have demonstrated significantly higher small airway resistance in COVID-19 positive cases. This retrospective study aims to examine impulse oscillometry (IOS) data of patients with persistent symptoms after COVID-19 infection, focusing on the relationship between time and symptoms.

Meridian energy analysis may predict the prognosis of patients with advanced cancers receiving palliative care.

Background And Aim: A better understanding of irreversible prognoses in palliative care is crucial for improving patients' quality of life and their sense of dignity. We examined whether measurements of meridian electrical conductance can noninvasively and objectively predict survival time in a hospice patient population.

Experimental Procedure: This was a single-center cohort study.

Combining HAIC and Sorafenib as a Salvage Treatment for Patients with Treatment-Failed or Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Single-Center Experience.

Background: Hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) has been proven to be an effective treatment for advanced HCC. In this study, we present our single-center experience of implementing combined sorafenib and HAIC treatment for these patients and compare the treatment benefit with that of sorafenib alone.

Methods: This was a retrospective single-center study.

Endoscopic subserosal dissection for a GI stromal tumor.

Video 1Endoscopic subserosal dissection was carried out to remove the subepithelial tumors.

The outcomes of thoracoscopic decortication between fungal empyema and bacterial empyema.

Background: Fungal empyema is an uncommon disease and is associated with a high mortality rate. Surgical intervention is suggested in stage II and III empyema. However, there were no studies that reported the outcomes of surgery for fungal empyema.

Benefits and risks of low molecular weight heparin use on reproductive outcomes: A retrospective cohort study.

Objective: Low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) has been given to reproductive-age women with various indications. This study aims to assess the benefits and risks of such use.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data (n = 204) between Jan 2016 and May 2019.

Clinical Outcome of Intraoperative Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Monitoring during Thoracoscopic Esophagectomy and Mediastinal Lymph Node Dissection for Esophageal Cancer.

Mediastinal lymph dissection in esophagectomy for patients with esophageal cancer is important. The dissection of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) lymph nodes could cause RLN injury, vocal cord palsy, pneumonia, and respiratory failure. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the effects of intraoperative RLN monitoring in esophagectomy and mediastinal lymph node dissection in preventing RLN injury and vocal cord palsy.

Retrospective Evaluation of Discharge Planning Linked to a Long-Term Care 2.0 Project in a Medical Center.

Background: Although there are several studies on discharge planning and long-term care systems in individual programs, research on the connection between discharge planning and the usage of long-term care is scanty. This study aims to evaluate the nature of the association between discharge planning (DP) and long-term care (LTC) and whether the utilization of LTC services improved after being discharged.

Methods: This was a single-center retrospective medical record review study.

Important Factors Influencing Willingness to Participate in Advance Care Planning among Outpatients: A Pilot Study in Central Taiwan.

Advance care planning (ACP) and advance directives (ADs) ensure patient autonomy in end-of life care. The number of ADs made and followed in Taiwan is still lacking. This study aimed to determine the factors that influence the willingness to participate in ACP among outpatients in Taiwan.

Evaluating caregivers' service quality perceptions: impact-range performance and asymmetry analyses.

Background: This study aimed to analyze family caregivers' (FCs) dementia care service perceptions to identify the various attributes impacting FCs satisfaction and dissatisfaction.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional survey study using convenience sampling methods. A self-completion questionnaire was developed from the Service Quality scale and distributed using a convenience sampling method to family caregivers in community-based dementia care centers to determine their perceptions of service quality in dementia care.

Patterns of home- and community-based services in older adults with dementia: an analysis of the long-term care system in Taiwan.

Background: Understanding the specific characteristics of the patients with dementia is essential in developing services required to meet their needs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the patterns of use of home- and community-based services (HCBS) by patients with dementia and the factors influencing the utilisation of these services.

Methods: We analysed a dataset of patients with dementia receiving long-term care at a medical centre.

Clinical features of tuberculosis and Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) -associated adverse effects in children: A 12-year study.

Purpose: To investigate the clinical feature of tuberculosis and BCG adverse effects in children and to examine whether delayed BCG vaccination changes the incidence of BCG osteomyelitis.

Methods: We analyzed patients younger than 18 years with tuberculosis or BCG-associated adverse effects from 2008 to 2019. We compared their clinical features, laboratory tests and outcomes.

Factors Affecting Patients' Acceptance of and Satisfaction with Cloud-Based Telehealth for Chronic Disease Management: A Case Study in the Workplace.

Objective: Understanding patients' acceptance of and satisfaction with telehealth use is important for workplace health promotion. In this study, we used a questionnaire to measure patients' usage behavior and satisfaction with cloud-based telehealth services in the workplace. We empirically investigated the factors that influence patients' usage and satisfaction based on data collected from 101 participants.

Exploring a Path Model of Cognitive Impairment, Functional Disability, and Incontinence Among Male Veteran Home Residents in Southern Taiwan.

Most studies focusing on only one directional effect among cognitive health, physical function, and incontinence may miss potential paths. This study aimed to determine the pathway by analyzing the bidirectional effects of exposure (X) on outcome (Y) and explore the mediating effect (M) between X and Y. Secondary data analyses were performed in this study.

Frailty is Associated with an Increased Risk of Major Adverse Outcomes in Elderly Patients Following Surgical Treatment of Hip Fracture.

We intended to explore the effect of level of frailty on, and relationship with, 1-, 3-, and 6-month postoperative emergency department visits, readmissions, and mortality. This is a prospective multicenter observational cohort study design. Patients aged 50 years or older treated for hip fracture (n = 245) were taken from Orthopedic wards in one medical center (n = 131) and one district hospital (n = 114) in Changhua County, Taiwan.

Dental treatment procedures for periodontal disease and the subsequent risk of ischaemic stroke: A retrospective population-based cohort study.

Aim: To investigate the association between specific dental therapy for periodontal disease and the risk of ischaemic stroke.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a population-based cohort study that used data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database 2005 for the period of 2000-2013. Our observations focused on patients with the diagnoses of gingivitis or periodontitis with and without specific treatment and subsequent incidence of ischaemic stroke.

The effect of disability and depression on cognitive function and screening factors.

Introduction: There is increasing evidence that subtle losses in cognitive function may be symptomatic of a transition to early dementia. The objectives of this study were to: 1) test the effect of depressive symptoms and/or disability on cognitive impairment, 2) explore the interaction between depression and disability and the association with cognitive impairment, and 3) evaluate risk factors of health assessment to discriminate between elderly people with or without cognitive impairment.

Material And Methods: The subjects were the community-dwellings aged 65 years and over who live in the sample city of southern Taiwan.

The longitudinal relationship between mental health disorders and chronic disease for older adults: a population-based study.

Objective: Although mental health disorders in older adults are common, their relationship with chronic disease and the influence of chronic disease on the development of mental health disorders over time is not well understood. This longitudinal study investigated the change in status of mental health disorders and chronic disease, as well as their interrelationships, over time.

Methods: Participants included community-dwelling older adults living in Taiwan, aged 65 years or older, who completed six waves of survey interviews.

Trajectories of disability and their relationship with health status and social service use.

Unlabelled: BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: This longitudinal study was conducted between 1994 and 2004 in a cohort of southern Taiwan community-living older residents. The study aims to explore the trajectories of disability and how these patterns differed between respondents who survived and those who died during data collection phases; this study also investigated how health status change and social service use predicted the different trajectories of disability.

Methods: Disability, chronic disease, depression, and social service usage data were collected over six waves.

Pre-surgical Geriatric Syndromes, Frailty, and Risks for Postoperative Delirium in Older Patients Undergoing Gastrointestinal Surgery: Prevalence and Red Flags.

Objective: We sought to identify and evaluate red flags for pre-surgical geriatric conditions (geriatric syndromes, frailty, and risks for postoperative delirium) in older patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery.

Methods: Older individuals (≥65 years) undergoing major elective gastrointestinal surgery from 2009 to 2012 were enrolled and assessed preoperatively.

Results: Participants (N=379; mean age=74.