Healthcare workers including physicians, nurses, medical technicians and administrative staff experience high levels of occupational stress as a result of heavy workloads, extended working hours and time-related pressure. The aims of this study were to investigate factors associated with work stress among hospital staff members and to evaluate their health-promoting lifestyle behaviors.

Health literacy has become an important health policy and health promotion agenda item in recent years. It had been seen as a means to reduce health disparities and a critical empowerment strategy to increase people’s control over their health. So far, most of health literacy studies mainly focus on adults with few studies investigating associations between child health literacy and health status. This study aimed to investigate the association between health literacy and body weight in Taiwan’s sixth grade school children. Using a population-based survey, 162,209 sixth grade (11–12 years old) school children were assessed. The response rate at school level was 83 %, with 70 % of all students completing the survey. The Taiwan child health literacy assessment tool was applied and information on sex, ethnicity, self-reported health, and health behaviors were also collected. BMI was used to classify the children as underweight, normal, overweight, or obese. A multinomial logit model with robust estimation was used to explore associations between health literacy and the body weight with an adjustment for covariates. The sample consisted of 48.9 % girls, 3.8 % were indigenous and the mean BMI was 19.55 (SD = 3.93). About 6 % of children self-reported bad or very bad health. The mean child health literacy score was 24.03 (SD = 6.12, scale range from 0 to 32). The overall proportion of obese children was 15.2 %. Children in the highest health literacy quartile were less likely to be obese (12.4 %) compared with the lowest quartile (17.4 %). After controlling for gender, ethnicity, self-rated health, and health behaviors, children with higher health literacy were less likely to be obese (Relative Risk Ratio (RRR) = 0.94, p < 0.001) and underweight (RRR = 0.83, p < 0.001). Those who did not have regular physical activity, or had sugar-sweetened beverage intake (RRR > 1.10, p < 0.0001) were more likely to report being overweight or obese. This study demonstrates strong links between health literacy and obesity, even after adjusting for key potential confounders, and provides new insights into potential intervention points in school education for obesity prevention. Systematic approaches to integrating a health literacy curriculum into schools may mitigate the growing burden of disease due to obesity.

Aims: To assess whether periconceptional exposure to glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists (GLP‐1 RAs) is associated with adverse outcomes in women with pregestational type 2 diabetes. Materials and Methods: We linked Taiwan's Birth Certificate Application and National Health Insurance claims (2013–2022) to assemble a nationwide cohort of singleton births to mothers (18–50 years) with pregestational diabetes. Exposure was any GLP‐1 RA dispensed during the 90 days before and after the last menstrual period; insulin without GLP‐1 RA was the active comparator. Outcomes were major congenital malformations, stillbirth, preterm birth (<37 weeks) and small for gestational age (SGA, <10th percentile). We used 1:4 propensity‐score matching and Poisson generalised estimating equation (GEE); sensitivity analyses required ≥2 prescriptions and restricted exposure to the first trimester. Results: We identified 3351 comparison pregnancies (GLP‐1 RA 160; insulin 3191); matching yielded 160 versus 606. Risk ratios (GLP‐1 RA vs. insulin) were malformations 0.64 (95% confidence interval 0.11–3.83), stillbirth 2.05 (0.82–5.13), preterm birth 1.09 (0.85–1.39) and SGA 0.86 (0.31–2.41). Sensitivity analyses were similar. Conclusions: Periconceptional GLP‐1 RA exposure was not associated with increased risks of malformations, stillbirth, preterm birth or SGA versus insulin use. These preliminary data require confirmation in larger agent‐specific studies; until then, intentional GLP‐1 RA use in planned pregnancy is not advised.

Early childhood caries (ECC) is a widespread chronic condition that significantly affect children's health and well-being. Although parental psychosocial factors are key to shaping children's oral health behaviours, few studies have examined the distinct influences of fathers' vs mothers' health beliefs. The Health Belief Model (HBM) - which examines health behaviours through perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy - provides a valuable framework for examining these dynamics. This study applied the HBM to investigate the associations between caregiver beliefs, behaviours, and ECC risk, with a focus on differences between fathers and mothers. We conducted a longitudinal analysis utilizing data from the Taipei Preschool Oral Health Screening Program (2017-2018), including children aged 3-5 years. Eligible participants had complete oral examination records and parental HBM-based questionnaires for 2 consecutive years. Children with incomplete questionnaires were excluded, yielding a final sample of 6902. Generalized estimating equations assessed associations between caregiver oral health beliefs, self-efficacy, perceived barriers, cues to action, behaviours, and ECC risk, stratified by caregiver type (father or mother). Higher parental education, better child oral health behaviours, lower perceived barriers, and greater self-efficacy were significantly correlated with reduced ECC risk. Conversely, higher cues to action were linked to increased ECC risk, indicating a reactive rather than preventive approach. Stratified analyses revealed differing patterns: among fathers, only education and oral health knowledge were significantly protective, whereas among mothers, child oral health behaviours, perceived barriers, and self-efficacy were also significant predictors. Parental psychosocial factors substantially influence ECC risk, with distinct roles for fathers and mothers. These findings highlight the importance of considering caregiver gender in future research and oral health intervention design. Family-centred, gender-specific interventions that address caregiver-specific beliefs and behaviours may improve ECC prevention strategies and help reduce oral health disparities in preschool-aged children.