Institutional Place Identity and Life Adaptation among Elderly People in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Many elderly people in Taiwan move to institutional care due to disability or insufficient family resources. This study aimed to understand the place identity and life adaptation of institutional residents and their influencing factors, and to explore the correlation between these two. METHODS: This study adopted a cross-sectional survey method. A total of 120 cases were collected with structured questionnaires, and SPSS 22.0 software package was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The place identity was the highest in the sense of belonging, while the sense of participation was the worst; adaptation to life was the best in terms of care management, and the worst in terms of adaptation to life and assistive devices. The length of stay in the institution, daily activities, and the number of chronic diseases were significantly different from place identity, and the number of chronic diseases was significantly different from life adaptation. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study can be used as a reference for institutions to improve the quality of care. It is suggested that institutions can organize more activities to promote interaction and participation among residents, to strengthen their local identity and life adaptation.

Associations of parental and peer cross-substance use with 12-17-year-old adolescents' problematic alcohol use: A parent-child dyadic gender analysis.

BACKGROUND: Adolescent alcohol use was found to be influenced by parental and peer alcohol use. Drinking behaviors also differed by gender. However, previous studies mainly focused on adolescents' substance use in relation to the same substance use among their salient others. Hence, this study investigated the cross-substance relationships of alcohol and tobacco use of parents and peers with adolescents' problematic alcohol use, separately by gender. METHODS: Data were derived from 4445 adolescents aged 12-17 years from the 2014 National Survey of Substance Use, a nationally representative survey in Taiwan. Problematic alcohol use was assessed using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Multivariate multinomial logistic regression was used, stratified by gender. RESULTS: For males, maternal (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.73) and peer (aOR = 2.57) alcohol use was related to social drinking (AUDIT < 2); paternal (aOR = 3.58), maternal (aOR = 2.18), peer alcohol use (aOR = 5.37), and their own tobacco use (aOR = 4.72) were related to problem drinking (AUDIT ≥ 2). For females, maternal (aOR = 2.26) and peer (aOR = 2.84) alcohol use was related to social drinking; maternal (aOR = 2.35) and peer tobacco use (aOR = 3.48), and paternal (aOR = 4.56) and peer alcohol use (aOR = 3.36) were linked to problem drinking. CONCLUSIONS: Both male and female adolescents' alcohol use was associated with their peer alcohol use, and gender differences were found in relation to their parental and peer substance use. Specifically, the parental role-modeling of smoking was only significant in mother-daughter dyads. These findings could inform multifaceted adolescent alcohol prevention programs, tailoring for males and females and also targeting their parental and peer substance use.

Effects of Andrographolide on Intracellular pH Regulation, Cellular Migration, and Apoptosis in Human Cervical Cancer Cells †.

Cancer cells have been characterized with alkaline intracellular pH (pHi) values (≥7.2) to enable cancer proliferation, migration, and progression. The aim of the present study was to explore the concentration-dependent effects of Andrographolide, an active diterpenoid compound of herb Andrographis paniculata, on Na+/H+ exchanger isoform 1 (NHE1), cellular migration and apoptosis in human cervical cancer cells (HeLa). The pHi was detected by microspectrofluorometry method, and intracellular acidification was induced by NH4Cl prepulse technique. Viability and protein expression were determined by MTT (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay and Western blot, respectively. Human normal endocervical cells (End1), ectocervical cells (Ect1), and HeLa were bought commercially. The resting pHi value of HeLa (≈7.47) was significantly higher than that of End1 and Ect1 (≈7.30), and shifted from alkaline to acidic following acid/base impacts. In HEPES (4-(2-Hydroxyethyl)piperazine-1-ethanesulfonic acid | N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)piperazine-N'-(2-ethanesulfonic acid) -buffered superfusate, NHE1 and V-ATPase co-existed functionally for acid extrusion in HeLa, while only NHE1 existed functionally in End/Ect1. Andrographolide (3-1000 µM) concentration-dependently inhibited NHE1 activity. Cell-migration and expressions of NHE1, V-ATPase, PARP (poly-ADP-ribose-polymerase), pro-Caspase-3, and Bcl-2 were significantly reduced by pretreating with Andrographolide (≥100 µM) for 24-48 h in HeLa. Andrographolide inhibited cell viability of End1-cells/Ect1 and HeLa (≥100 and ≥30 µM, respectively). The present findings implicate the promising clinical applications of Andrographolide on cervical cancer treatment.

Lifetime residential mobility history and self-rated health at midlife.

BACKGROUND: Little research focuses on the influence of lifetime residential mobility on health at midlife. We used a national survey of participant recall of residential mobility to assess this issue and explore the mediating and moderating effects of personal and environmental context. METHODS: In March 2010, we collected data from people in Taiwan aged 40 to 60 years. Based on the household registration system, data were collected using the population proportional-to-size sampling method and a computer-assisted telephone interview. A total of 2834 participants completed the interview. Based on the 3490 registered households, the overall response rate was 81.2%. RESULTS: The mean cumulative frequency of geographic relocation (CFGR) was 3.06 ± 2.78 times and ranged from 0 to 21. After carefully adjusting for the heterogeneity of demographic and socioeconomic propensity, total CFGR was significantly positively associated with negative self-rated mental (odds ratio [OR] and 95% CI for increase per time: 1.06, 1.02-1.16) and physical (OR and 95% CI for increase per time: 1.16, 1.05-1.26) health. Social network support lessened the impact of total CFGR on self-rated mental health. In addition to the primary effect, the interaction (residential environmental satisfaction × total CFGR) significantly moderated negative mental health and negative physical health. CONCLUSIONS: Lifetime residential mobility history independently influenced midlife health. Social network support and satisfaction with the residential environment in past and current living places further mediated or moderated midlife health. Findings from these different perspectives offer insights for future medical care projects and epidemiologic studies.

Pandemic influenza H1N1 vaccination intention: psychosocial determinants and implications from a national survey, Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Vaccination has been recommended as an effective way to protect people from severe illness during influenza pandemics; however, little is known about the acceptability and psychosocial determinants of intention to receive vaccination against pandemic influenza A/H1N1 (pH1N1). METHODS: A national computer-assisted telephone interview survey using random digit dialing was conducted during 28-30 October 2009 among residents of Taiwan aged ≥15 years. RESULTS: Of the 1079 participants interviewed, 70.1% reported intention to receive pH1N1 vaccination. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that participants who perceived pH1N1 in Taiwan to be much more severe than that in other countries [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.94; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.05-3.60], who agreed (AOR = 2.44; 95% CI = 1.30-4.58) or strongly agreed (AOR = 2.53; 95% CI = 1.38-4.65) that contracting pH1N1 would have a great impact on their daily life, who perceived pH1N1 vaccination to be very effective in preventing pH1N1 (AOR = 2.64; 95% CI = 1.61-4.33) and who considered receiving vaccination not very difficult (AOR = 8.97; 95% CI = 6.05-13.29) or not at all difficult (AOR = 30.72; 95% CI = 19.24-49.04) were more inclined towards getting vaccinated against pH1N1. CONCLUSION: These specific and modifiable health beliefs have practical implications for prevention and policy making, and highlight the importance of minimizing perceived barriers while convincing the public of the seriousness of the disease and effectiveness of vaccination when promoting vaccination programmes.

Avian influenza risk perception and preventive behavior among traditional market workers and shoppers in Taiwan: practical implications for prevention.

BACKGROUND: Avian influenza (AI) can be highly pathogenic and fatal. Preventive behavior such as handwashing and wearing face masks has been recommended. However, little is known about what psychosocial factors might influence people's decision to adopt such preventive behavior. This study aims to explore risk perception and other factors associated with handwashing and wearing face masks to prevent AI. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: An interviewer-administered survey was conducted among 352 traditional market workers and shoppers in Taiwan between December 2009 and January 2010. Factors associated with the recommended AI preventive behavior (i.e., when in a traditional market, wearing a face mask and also washing hands after any contact with poultry) included: having correct knowledge about the fatality rate of AI (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 4.18), knowing of severe cases of AI (AOR = 2.13), being informed of local AI outbreaks (AOR = 2.24), living in northeastern Taiwan (AOR = 6.01), having a senior high-school education (AOR = 3.33), and having a university or higher education (AOR = 6.86). Gender interactive effect was also found among participants with a senior high-school education, with males being less likely to engage in the recommended AI preventive behavior than their female counterparts (AOR = 0.34). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Specific information concerning AI risk perception was associated with the recommended AI preventive behavior. In particular, having correct knowledge about the fatality rate of AI and being informed of severe cases and local outbreaks of AI were linked to increased AI preventive behavior. These findings underscore the importance of transparency in dealing with epidemic information. These results also have practical implications for prevention and policy-making to more effectively promote the recommended AI preventive behavior in the public.