To examine the association between health literacy, level of disease knowledge, and adherence behavior among patients with type 2 diabetes. A cross-sectional survey study of 1059 Mandarin- and Taiwanese-speaking patients aged 20 years or older with type 2 diabetes was conducted. The demographic profiles of the sample strata were determined by analyzing the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Database. Participants were enrolled and completed questionnaires between April and November of 2015. The patients were assessed using a self-developed questionnaire with high internal consistency (KR-20 = .84). Construct validity was supported by Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Respondents scored lowest in diet-related knowledge. Health literacy and diabetes knowledge were significantly greater when patients cared for themselves with additional caretaker assistance. Patient age, gender, and educational attainment were associated with adherence behavior. This study conducted a nation-wide survey of patients with diabetes and the results showed that respondents possessed fairly strong diabetes-specific health literacy and knowledge. However, health literacy shouldn’t be assessed as an isolated concept. Instead, it should be assessed in conjunction with adherence behavior.

Background: Currently, the determinants of anxiety and its related factors in the general population affected by COVID-19 are poorly understood. We examined the effects of spirituality, knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) on anxiety regarding COVID-19. Methods: Online cross-sectional data (n = 1082) covered 17 provinces. The assessment included the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, and the KAP-COVID-19 questionnaire. Results: Multiple linear regression revealed that individuals who had low levels of spirituality had increased anxiety compared to those with higher levels of spirituality. Individuals had correct knowledge of early symptoms and supportive treatment (K3), and that individuals with chronic diseases and those who were obese or elderly were more likely to be severe cases (K4). However, participants who chose incorrect concerns about there being no need for children and young adults to take measures to prevent COVID-19 (K9) had significantly lower anxiety compared to those who responded with the correct choice. Participants who disagreed about whether society would win the battle against COVID-19 (A1) and successfully control it (A2) were associated with higher anxiety. Those with the practice of attending crowded places (P1) had significantly higher anxiety. Conclusions: Spirituality, knowledge, attitudes, and practice were significantly correlated with anxiety regarding COVID-19 in the general population.

The number of migrant workers in Taiwan increases annually. The majority is from Indonesia and most of them are female caregivers. This study aims to determine the access to health services and the associated factors among Indonesian female domestic workers in Taiwan. In this cross-sectional study, data were collected from February to May 2019, using a structured questionnaire. Subsequently, multiple logistic regression was used to examine the association between socio-demographic factors and health service access. Two hundred and eighty-four domestic migrant workers were interviewed. Eighty-five percent of the respondents declared sickness at work, but only 48.8% seek health care services. Factors associated with health service access were marital status, income, and the availability of an attendant to accompany the migrant workers to the healthcare facilities. Language barrier and time flexibility were the main obstacles. Further research and an effective health service policy are needed for the domestic migrant workers to better access health care services.

The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ) has been recommended to validate illness perception. Nevertheless, this measurement has yet to be validated with an assessment of the construct and convergent validities and reliability in Indonesia. Our study aimed to psychometrically test the 8-item B-IPQ among Indonesians with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Data included 294 patients with T2DM with stratified multistage clustering. The 36-item Short Form Survey, 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, and fasting blood glucose (FBG) were used to examine convergence and divergence. The validity analysis included the construct and convergent validities with significant person correlations. Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability (CR), and average variance extracted (AVE) were used to assess reliability. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses indicated a multidimensional structure, including cognitive with a five-item structure and emotional illness representation with a three-item structure, with an acceptable goodness of model fit. The tool revealed good internal consistency for the cognitive, emotional, and overall domains and was positively moderately correlated with FBG, stress, anxiety, and depression but negatively correlated with the overall quality of life and mental and physical component scores. Findings provide empirical evidence that the Bahasa version of the B-IPQ showed adequate internal consistency, exploratory and confirmatory, and thus is valid and reliable for illness perception assessments among Indonesians with T2DM.

Background The popularity of the “bring your own device (BYOD)” concept has grown in recent years, and its application has extended to the healthcare field. Objective This study was aimed at examining nurses’ acceptance of a BYOD-supported system after a 9-month implementation period. Methods We used the technology acceptance model to develop and validate a structured questionnaire as a research tool. All nurses (N=18) responsible for the BYOD-supported wards during the study period were included in our study. A 5-point Likert scale was used to assess the degree of disagreement and agreement. Statistical analysis was performed in SPSS version 24.0. Results The questionnaire was determined to be reliable and well-constructed, on the basis of the item-level content validity index and Cronbach's alpha values above 0.95 and 0.87, respectively. The mean constant values for all items were above 3.95, thus suggesting that nurses had a positive attitude toward the BYOD-supported system, driven by the characteristics of the tasks involved. Conclusions We successfully developed a BYOD-supported system. Our study results suggested that nursing staff satisfaction with BYOD-supported systems could be effectively increased by providing practical functionalities and reducing clinical burden. Hospitals could benefit from the insights generated by this study when implementing similar systems.

Purpose: The previous studies of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) have not focused on the impacts of diabetes mellitus. We conducted a retrospective study to explore the difference between EPTB patients with and without diabetes. Methods: The EPTB patients receiving initial treatments from Taipei Medical University Hospital between January 2003 and March 2008 were recruited. They were divided into with-diabetes (WD) group or non-diabetes (ND) group according to coexistence of diabetes mellitus or not, respectively. All characteristics of these two groups were compared. Results: Seventy-five patients were enrolled into our study. Fifteen patients and 60 patients were recruited into WD and ND groups, respectively. The basic characteristics and tuberculosis sites of the two groups were compared. The prevalence of hypertension (66.7% vs. 38.3%, p=0.048) and chronic liver diseases (33.3% vs. 3.3%, p=0.003) in WD group were higher than in ND group. The incidence of tuberculous peritonitis in WD group was higher than in ND group (26.7% vs. 6.7%, p=0.046). The odds ratio of tuberculous peritonitis for WD group was 5 091 (95% CI 1.103–23.493, p=0.037). The random glucose level (10.9±5.8 vs. 6.8±1.6 mmol/L, p=0.025), the fasting glucose level (8.6±4.4 vs. 5.6±0.9 mmol/L, p=0.038), and the hemoglobin A1c level (7.4±1.1 vs. 5.6±0.4%, p=0.037) were higher in WD group than in ND group. The total bilirubin level was higher in WD group than in ND group (18.4±6.2 vs. 13±7.2 μmol/L, p=0.042). Presenting symptoms and other laboratory data were not different statistically between these two groups. Conclusions: This is the first study about the impacts of diabetes on EPTB. The prevalence of hypertension and chronic liver diseases, the incidence of tuberculous peritonitis, and the total bilirubin level were higher in EPTB patients with diabetes than those without diabetes.