Mental health literacy (MHL) plays an important role in public health. Improving MHL can promote mental health at the individual and public levels. To date, no published studies have assessed the effectiveness of MHL curriculum interventions among undergraduate public health students. The participants in this study were undergraduate public health students (n = 48) who were enrolled in an 18-week MHL curriculum for 100 min per week. MHL was assessed using the Mental Health Literacy Scale for Healthcare Students. A paired sample t-test was performed to examine the immediate and delayed effects of the MHL curriculum. The total MHL score significantly improved, and a moderate effect size was found directly after the intervention and six weeks later. There were significant differences in the recognition of mental illness (p < 0.01), help-seeking efficacy (p < 0.05), and help-seeking attitude (p < 0.05) in the five components of MHL between pre- and post-test. Furthermore, significant improvements were obtained for the maintenance of positive mental health (p < 0.05) and reduction of mental illness stigma (p < 0.001) between the pre-test and follow-up. Our findings provide evidence for the development and implementation of an MHL curriculum for public health education.

Alcohol consumption is a significant public health issue worldwide. The rat model and epidemiological studies have both reported conflicting results about the effects of alcohol on the kidneys. We aimed to explore the relationships between alcohol consumption and chronic kidney disease. Data from the National Health Interview Survey, the National Health Insurance research database, and the National Deaths Dataset were used. Standardized in-person interviews were executed in 2001, 2005, and 2009 to obtain the demographic characteristics of study population. The participants were followed up until 2013. The primary outcome was new-onset chronic kidney disease. We analyzed 45,200 adults older than 18 years (50.8% men and 49.2% women), and the overall mean (SD) age was 42.73 (16.64) years. During the 8.5 (3.5) years of follow-up, new-onset chronic kidney disease was recognized in 1535 (5.5%), 292 (2.7%), and 317 (4.9%) non-drinking, social-drinking, and regular-drinking participants, respectively. The participants who were social and regular drinkers had a significantly decreased risk of chronic kidney disease incidence (social drinking: adjusted hazard ratio (HR), 0.85; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.74–0.97; p = 0.018; regular-drinking: AHR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.74–0.98; p = 0.024), with baseline demographics and comorbidities adjusted. In conclusion, social and regular drinkers had decreased risk of chronic kidney disease when compared with non-drinkers.

Emotion is a compelling factor in the retention and job satisfaction of professionals, and the impacts of emotional feelings and reactions have become an indispensable issue in the nursing workforce. Drawing on the cognitive theory of emotions, this study bridges the research gap to investigate the relationships among emotional blackmail, emotional intelligence, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions of nurses. A cross-sectional design was used to collect data from a sample of 374 full-time nurses in Northern Taiwan. Hypotheses were tested and analyzed by means of SPSS 22, structural equation modeling (SEM), and PROCESS v3.3. The results revealed the direct relationships between emotional blackmail, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions, and job satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between emotional blackmail and turnover intentions. However, there is no statistical support that emotional intelligence moderates the relationships between emotional blackmail and job satisfaction and turnover intentions. Healthcare organizations must take the initiative and form strategies that will help balance nurses’ work stresses. These strategies should aim to reduce unnecessary demands from supervisors, patients, and co-workers, as well as in the socio-emotional domain.

OBJECTIVES: Diarrheal disease continues to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. We investigated how anomalies in monthly average temperature, precipitation, and surface water storage (SWS) impacted bacterial, and viral diarrhea morbidity in Taiwan between 2004 and 2015.METHODS: A multivariate analysis using negative binomial generalized estimating equations was employed to quantify age-specific and cause-specific cases of diarrhea associated with anomalies in temperature, precipitation, and SWS.RESULTS: Temperature anomalies were associated with an elevated rate of all-cause infectious diarrhea at a lag of 2 months, with the highest risk observed in the under-5 age group (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.03, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01 to 1.07). Anomalies in SWS were associated with increased viral diarrhea rates, with the highest risk observed in the under-5 age group at a 2-month lag (IRR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.14 to 1.42) and a lesser effect at a 1-month lag (IRR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.31). Furthermore, cause-specific diarrheal diseases were significantly affected by extreme weather events in Taiwan. Both extremely cold and hot conditions were associated with an increased risk of all-cause infectious diarrhea regardless of age, with IRRs ranging from 1.03 (95% CI, 1.02 to 1.12) to 1.18 (95% CI, 1.16 to 1.40).CONCLUSIONS: The risk of all-cause infectious diarrhea was significantly associated with average temperature anomalies in the population aged under 5 years. Viral diarrhea was significantly associated with anomalies in SWS. Therefore, we recommend strategic planning and early warning systems as major solutions to improve resilience against climate change.