[Reflections on nursing education in Taiwan and its prospects from the perspective of adult education].

Globalization, lifelong learning concepts and increasing numbers of adults in recurrent education programs all underscore the need for nursing education to train students in interpersonal, knowledge acquisition, task accomplishment and personal development skills applicable to both their work and everyday life. Today, our technology-driven world produces and rapidly disseminates vast amounts of information. So-called "academic knowledge" is no longer adequate to teach nurses how to perform routine nursing care duties. Therefore, recurrent education has taken a central role in nursing education. Grounded in adult education theory, this article discusses the current state of nursing education in Taiwan and proposes practical suggestions for the future. Such suggestions include: 1) a recurrent education curriculum should instill in students a commitment to lifelong learning; 2) learning through problem posing, instead of lectures, should be promoted in order to foster an interactive relationship between teacher and student that is characterized by critical thinking and active dialogue; 3) modern technology now permits information technology skills to become a core competency in nursing; and 4) nursing education should foster a global view in order to consider how to use the experience and knowledge of other countries' to enhance domestic nursing knowledge and practices.

The self-care strategies of girls with primary dysmenorrhea: a focus group study in Taiwan.

Dysmenorrhea is the most common gynaecological complaint and the leading cause of recurrent short-term school absenteeism among adolescent girls. To explore adolescent girls' self-care strategies for dysmenorrhea, we conducted four focus groups in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, with 23 female adolescents with primary dysmenorrhea. Thematic content analysis was used to explore and organize the data. The self-care strategies for dysmenorrhea reported by participants included reducing physical activity, modifying diet using herbal remedies or medication, applying complementary therapies, paying attention to symptom clusters of discomforts, and expressing emotions. This is the first study to describe the self-care strategies adopted by adolescent girls with dysmenorrhea in Asia. Data were analyzed in cultural contexts. Knowledge of beneficial food-related or herbal health practices can enable professionals to counsel this population more effectively.

Prediction of length of stay of first-ever ischemic stroke.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Accurate information about hospital resource utilization is necessary for management of healthcare service. The purpose of this study was to determine the demographic and clinical predictors of length of hospital stay (LOS) of acute care hospitalization for first-ever ischemic stroke patients. METHODS: A group of 330 patients who suffered from first-ever ischemic stroke and were consecutively admitted to a medical center in southern Taiwan were followed prospectively. Because our intention was to identify the major predictors of LOS from the information available at admission, we evaluated only those factors that could be assessed at the time of admission. Univariate analysis and multiple regression analysis were used to identify the main predictors of LOS. RESULTS: The median LOS was 7 days (mean, 11 days; range, 1 to 122 days). Among the prespecified demographic and clinical characteristics, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score at admission, the quadratic term of the initial NIHSS score, modified Barthel Index score at admission, small-vessel occlusion stroke, sex, and smoking were the main explanatory factors for LOS. In particular, for each 1-point increase in the total score of NIHSS, LOS increased approximately 1 day for patients with mild or moderate (score 0 to 15 points) neurological impairments, while LOS decreased approximately 1 day for patients with severe (score >15 points) neurological impairments. CONCLUSIONS: The severity of stroke, as rated by the total score on NIHSS, is an important factor that influences LOS after acute stroke hospitalization.