Prevalence of and factors associated with anaemia in women of reproductive age in Bangladesh, Maldives and Nepal: Evidence from nationally-representative survey data.

BACKGROUND: Anaemia is a significant public health problem in most South-Asian countries, causing increased maternal and child mortality and morbidity. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of and factors associated with anaemia in women of reproductive age in Bangladesh, Maldives, and Nepal. METHODS: We used the nationally-representative Demographic and Health Surveys Program data collected from women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in 2011 in Bangladesh (n = 5678), 2016 in Maldives (n = 6837), and 2016 in Nepal (n = 6419). Anaemia was categorized as mild (haemoglobin [Hb] of 10.0-10.9 g/dL for pregnant women and 11.0-11.9 g/dL for non-pregnant women), moderate (Hb of 7.0-9.9 g/dL for pregnant women and 8.0-10.9 g/dL for non-pregnant women), and severe (Hb <7.0 g/dL for pregnant women and <8.0 g/dL for non-pregnant women). Multinomial logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with anaemia. RESULTS: The prevalence of anaemia was 41.8% in Bangladesh, 58.5% in Maldives, and 40.6% in Nepal. In Bangladesh, postpartum amenorrhoeic, non-educated, and pregnant women were more likely to have moderate/severe anaemia compared to women who were menopausal, had secondary education, and were not pregnant, respectively. In Maldives, residence in urban areas, underweight, having undergone female sterilization, current pregnancy, and menstruation in the last six weeks were associated with increased odds of moderate/severe anaemia. In Nepal, factors associated with increased odds of moderate/severe anaemia were having undergone female sterilization and current pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Anaemia remains a significant public health issue among 15-49-year-old women in Bangladesh, Maldives, and Nepal, which requires urgent attention. Effective policies and programmes for the control and prevention of anaemia should take into account the unique factors associated with anaemia identified in each country. In all three countries, strategies for the prevention and control of anaemia should particularly focus on women who are pregnant, underweight, or have undergone sterilization.

Wearable activity trackers and health awareness: Nursing implications.

PURPOSE: Wearable devices are commonly used to measure physical activity. However, it remains unclear the effect of wearing these devices on health awareness. Our aim was to provide evidence related to wearing physical activity trackers and health awareness. METHODS: A quantitative comparison study design was used comparing participants who wore physical activity tracking devices (n = 108) and those who did not (n = 112). A paper-based Physical Health Knowledge survey designed for the purpose of this research was used for data collection in 2018. RESULTS: A difference between participants who wore physical activity tracking devices and those that did not was identified in relation to activity levels and physical health awareness. Wearable devices are suggested as an opportunity for nurses to engage people in physical activity with the potential to improve their health awareness. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses are well placed in the healthcare landscape to work with patients who own an activity tracker device concerning increasing activity self-monitoring. This information the patient has from the device can also form the basis of health discussions between nurses and the people in their care.

Psychometric evaluation of the English version 14-item resilience scale (RS) in an Australian outpatient population of men with prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: Human resilience refers to the processes of positive adaptation and development in the context of perceived significant threats to an individual's life or function. This paper analyses the psychometric properties and performance of the English version 14-item Resilience Scale (RS) in an Australian outpatient sample of men (n = 209) with advanced prostate cancer receiving androgen deprivation therapy. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used to collect data from a purposive sample of men. The instrument's psychometric properties were rated against established criteria for reliability (internal consistency), construct validity (instrument dimensionality) and variability (floor and ceiling effect). Exploratory and confirmatory factor-analyses were performed. RESULTS: The English version 14-item RS demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha = 0.91). A greater than 15% ceiling effect suggested limited data variability. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that items in the instrument measured primarily as a single factor with a good model of fit (RMSEA = 0.059; TLI = 0. 950, CFI = 0.962). CONCLUSION: The English version 14-item RS had satisfactory psychometric properties to capture the concept of resilience in an Australian outpatient sample of men with advanced prostate cancer, with some questions regarding detection of variability for ceiling effect. Further psychometric evaluation of the instrument in other adult clinical settings is recommended.