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Este artículo tiene como objetivo elaborar una reflexión hacia aquellos elementos que actuaron como recursos espirituales en el proceso de formación de San Juan de Dios como enfermero y elaborar una serie de aportaciones actuales para reforzar el sentido de coherencia de las enfermeras post pandemia. Se utilizó la metodología historiográfica aplicada a historia de la enfermería para la reconstrucción de la memoria profesional, tomando como referencia y ejemplo la figura de San Juan de Dios y se recogieron los elementos siguiendo la herramienta de valoración espiritual FICA. Los textos muestran a Juan de Dios con un sentido de coherencia interna que se hizo posible a través de los recursos psico-espirituales de la época. Éstos facilitaron encontrar y desarrollar la vocación propia y la motivación para desarrollarla y alcanzar la autorrealización. La propuesta es contemplar en la profesionalización enfermera un cuidado por paraklesis, que implica presencia personal, actitud dialogal y palabra sapiencial, luminosa y alentadora siguiendo el modelo de San Juan de Dios, y su relación con el modelo de valoración espiritual FICA.
Objetivo: Evaluar cualitativamente la experiencia de pacientes con esclerosis múltiple (PEM) y cuidadores familiares (CFPEM) vinculados al programa de esclerosis múltiple del Hospital Universitario Nacional de Colombia (PrEM-HUNC), durante la formación y consolidación de una comunidad compasiva (CC), para la inclusión social y promoción de calidad de vida. Materiales y Método: estudio cualitativo interpretativo, con entrevistas a profundidad a nueve colaboradores. Con el método de análisis de espiral de Creswell y Poth, emergieron cuatro categorías y un tema. Resultados: el tema “Un nido comunitario de crecimiento y transformación” señala el proceso de conformación de la CC como una experiencia que posibilitó cambios de significados en torno a la enfermedad, la situación personal y familiar; revela un proceso de descubrimiento y aprendizaje de conformación de diferentes relaciones y roles. Conclusiones: La CC es una opción para construcción de redes de apoyo, fortalecimiento de las capacidades personales y familiares, una forma para hacer frente a los diferentes impactos y retos que implica vivir con esclerosis múltiple, se constituye en una alternativa para la promoción de la calidad de vida y la inclusión social.
La relación de la pérdida significativa de un ser querido y el alcoholismo ha minimizado las implicaciones sobre mecanismos de afrontamientos para generar conductas saludables. Este artículo se basa en entrevistas semiestructuradas a profundidad en hombres de entre 30 y 70 años, con más de 10 años en Alcohólicos Anónimos del Estado de Tamaulipas, México. El objetivo fue reflexionar sobre los significados de la pérdida significativa de un ser querido y el alcoholismo. En la búsqueda del significado, se explica que un factor que lleva al alcoholismo no es una sola pérdida significativa de personas queridas, sino un cúmulo también de pérdidas materiales y no materiales, se reflejaron recursos limitados para afrontar las pérdidas, la relación entre la pérdida significativa con el alcoholismo fue mediado por dos principales aspectos, las creencias sobre los efectos que produce el consumo de alcohol como formas de escapar de la realidad y las influencia de la familia al inicio del consumo de alcohol. Por otra parte, la presencia de lo espiritual, la conciencia y las emociones que experimentan durante su proceso de duelo y alcoholismo, los llevó a identificar el problema de la adicción, que permitió influir en el proceso de rehabilitación.
Este estudio tiene como objetivo comprender las prácticas de los cuidadores indígenas en contexto de cambio cultural. Parte de la idea de la necesidad de construir bases etnográficas que sirvan de insumos para la implementación de los enfoques de salud intercultural y enfermería transcultural, así como parte de la evidencia que facilite las prácticas de salud, a partir de descripciones competentes que ayuden a comprender la diversidad cultural de las poblaciones humanas. El abordaje metodológico se realizó desde la investigación cualitativa, con enfoque etnográfico, combinando revisión documental y entrevistas semiestructuradas a 44 personas. Se identificaron códigos, agrupados en subcategorías y categorías. Se encontraron varios tipos de cuidadores, de los cuales, se consideraron relevantes el médico tradicional y la partera. Sus prácticas se basan en saberes de la dimensión material y espiritual, entre las que se destaca el uso de plantas medicinales, rezo, interpretación de los sueños y ceremonias colectivas. Además, su labor depende del reconocimiento social, estatus del cuidador y rol en la organización social. Los modelos interculturales deben tener en cuenta a los cuidadores, en el marco de estrategias basadas en el diálogo de saberes y la participación.
En esta investigación presentamos una aproximación al cambio de mentalidad respecto a la enfermedad mental propugnada desde las obras de psiquiatras del primer franquismo como Antonio Vallejo-Nágera o Juan José López Ibor. Sus ideas, publicaciones e investigaciones ofrecieron al régimen la posibilidad de modificar las listas de internos e internas de las instituciones psiquiátricas del momento, cuyas camas comenzaron a ser ocupadas por personas procedentes de las cárceles, los hospitales militares o las calles, con el fin de someterlas a tratamientos y medicaciones para modificar unos comportamientos y actitudes señaladas por el saber psiquiátrico franquista como apartadas de lo “correcto” y “normal”.
Introducción: Los jóvenes universitarios están expuestos a cambios y transiciones que marcarán su salud en la adultez. Sus decisiones se traducen en comportamientos que pueden ser saludables o no, y dependen del significado de salud que se construye de conocimientos adquiridos, tradiciones o costumbres culturales. Objetivo: Comprender la influencia que tiene la cultura universitaria en la construcción del significado y prácticas de salud en estudiantes de pregrado de una sede, en una universidad privada en Colombia. Metodología: Estudio cualitativo, tipo etnografía. Participaron 15 estudiantes, 11 profesores y profesionales de Bienestar Universitario. Se aplicó una entrevista semiestructurada virtual, se procesaron los datos, y se sometieron a auditoría. Resultados: El significado de salud responde a una perspectiva individual y biopsicosocial; existe una fuerte influencia del entorno cercano y universitario en la significación y las prácticas de salud. Los hallazgos tienen similitud con otros estudios del ámbito internacional. Conclusiones: Se logró comprender la alta importancia que se da a la salud, entendiéndola principalmente como ausencia de enfermedad, reflejada en creencias, valores y prácticas. Se proponen unos retos, necesarios enfrentar, para hacer a las universidades promotoras del concepto amplio y renovado de la salud.
In society, people live in a social reality where multiculturalism is an increasingly relevant and prevalent topic in their contexts. Facing this, caring for multicultural patients in an emergency service or intensive care unit setting requires a high level of cultural competence due to the complexity, vulnerability of the patient, rapid changes in hemodynamic status, involvement of the family, their informational needs.
To map the strategies for nursing care of critically ill multicultural patients.
A Scoping Review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute's recommendations, with the research question: What are the strategies for nursing care of critically ill multicultural patients? The study was guided by PRISMA. The research was conducted through the EBSCOHost platform, SciELO, Portugal's Open Access Scientific Repository, the Virtual Health Library and a search in grey literature. This was achieved by combining the descriptors DECS/MESH: cultural competence; critical care; emergency room; intensive care; and natural words: cultural care; nurs* interventions; nurs* strategies; within the time frame from 2012 to 2024.
The study screening was performed by three independent reviewers through the reading of titles, abstracts and full texts, applying exclusion criteria. The study results were then subjected to content analysis, from which categories emerged.
The selected articles highlight various strategies that contribute to the improvement of nursing care for critically ill multicultural patients, focusing on care practice and cultural diversity training for both nurses and nursing students.
Nurses with cultural competence possess more knowledge and strategies to provide tailored care for multicultural critically ill patients, thereby enhancing the quality of care delivered and contributing to the humanization of healthcare.
Nurses need to have knowledge of existing strategies for caring for multicultural critically ill patients.
No direct patient or public contribution to the review.
Due to the high risks of postoperative complications brought on by gastric cancer, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as a commonly used therapy, has exerted its vital role in postoperative recovery care. In this sense, this meta-analysis was conducted to explore the related documents about TCM's impact on gastric cancer postoperative recovery. During the research, we explored a total of 1549 results from databases PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science (WoS). Thirty-two clinical randomized trials (RCTs) were then selected and analysed for this meta-analysis by using the software RevMan 5.4 (under PRISMA 2020 regulations), with a population of 3178 patients. Data prove that TCM therapy reduced the risks for postoperative complications exposure by an estimated average of 19% (95% CI). Among the complications, TCM therapy suppressed the risks of wound infection and incisional infections by 53% and 48% respectively. Meanwhile, the patient's wound healing duration exhibited a significant reduction compared to those without TCM treatment, with a difference at around 0.74 days (95% CI). TCM also exerted its potential to strengthen the patient's immune and health conditions, leading to a significantly promoted gastrointestinal function in the patients with a shorter duration to release first exhaustion and defecation compared to those with no TCM therapy. In addition, similar promoted phenomena also exist in those patients with TCM therapy in terms of their immunity and nutritional conditions. These facts all indicate a positive impact of TCM therapy in clinical applications.
To analyse the differences between nurses with and without substance use disorders (SUDs) admitted to a specialised mental health programme.
Retrospective, observational study.
Specialised mental health treatment programme for nurses in Catalonia, Spain.
1091 nurses admitted to the programme from 2000 to 2021.
None.
Sociodemographic, occupational and clinical variables were analysed. Diagnoses followed Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, Text Revision criteria.
Most nurses admitted to the programme were women (88%, n=960) and came voluntarily (92.1%, n=1005). The mean age at admission was 45 (SD=10.4) years. The most common diagnoses were adjustment disorders (36.6%, n=399), unipolar mood disorders (25.8%, n=282), anxiety disorders (16.4%, n=179) and SUDs (13.8%, n=151). Only 19.2% (n=209) of the sample were hospitalised during their first treatment episode. After multivariate analysis, suffering from a SUD was significantly associated with being a man (OR=4.12; 95% CI 2.49 to 6.82), coming after a directed referral (OR=4.55; 95% CI 2.5 to 7.69), being on sick leave at admission (OR=2.21; 95% CI 1.42 to 3.45) and needing hospitalisation at the beginning of their treatment (OR=12.5; 95% CI 8.3 to 20).
Nurses with SUDs have greater resistance to voluntarily asking for help from specialised mental health treatment programmes and have greater clinical severity compared with those without addictions. SUDs are also more frequent among men. More actions are needed to help prevent and promote earlier help-seeking behaviours among nurses with this type of mental disorder.
Despite the high number of operations and surgical advancement, rehabilitation after rotator cuff repair has not progressed for over 20 years. The traditional cautious approach might be contributing to suboptimal outcomes. Our aim is to assess whether individualised (early) patient-directed rehabilitation results in less shoulder pain and disability at 12 weeks after surgical repair of full-thickness tears of the rotator cuff compared with current standard (delayed) rehabilitation.
The rehabilitation after rotator cuff repair (RaCeR 2) study is a pragmatic multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial with internal pilot phase. It has a parallel group design with 1:1 allocation ratio, full health economic evaluation and quintet recruitment intervention. Adults awaiting arthroscopic surgical repair of a full-thickness tear are eligible to participate. On completion of surgery, 638 participants will be randomised. The intervention (individualised early patient-directed rehabilitation) includes advice to the patient to remove their sling as soon as they feel able, gradually begin using their arm as they feel able and a specific exercise programme. Sling removal and movement is progressed by the patient over time according to agreed goals and within their own pain and tolerance. The comparator (standard rehabilitation) includes advice to the patient to wear the sling for at least 4 weeks and only to remove while eating, washing, dressing or performing specific exercises. Progression is according to specific timeframes rather than as the patient feels able. The primary outcome measure is the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index total score at 12-week postrandomisation. The trial timeline is 56 months in total, from September 2022.
To identify the nature, degree and contributing factors of workplace violence (WPV) incidents experienced by Australian nursing students during clinical placement.
Descriptive cross-sectional study.
Data were collected from 13 September to 25 November 2022. Eligible participants included all nursing students enrolled in nursing degrees at any Australian university who had completed at least one clinical placement. An adapted version of the WPV in the Health Sector Country Case Study survey was used.
A total of 381 nursing students across eight states of Australia completed the survey. More than half of the students had experienced an episode of WPV; patients were the most frequent perpetrators. Personal factors of patients, staff and students, organizational factors and cultural norms within the workplace supported acts of WPV.
Student nurses (SNs) most often experience violence from patients during direct care. Patient encounters are the core component of clinical placement. Education providers have a responsibility to effectively prepare students to be able to identify escalating situations and manage potentially violent situations. Registered nurses who supervise students during clinical placement require support to balance their clinical role with student supervision.
Experiencing WPV can negatively impact relationships between students, healthcare professionals and care recipients. This results in personal distress, decreased job satisfaction and potentially the decision to leave the nursing profession.
What already is known: SNs are exposed to WPV during clinical placement.
What this paper adds: More than half the SNs in this study experienced violence inclusive of physical, verbal, racial and sexual harassment. Patients were the predominant perpetrators.
Implications for practice/policy: Interventions at individual and systemic levels are required to mitigate WPV.
This study is reported using the STROBE guidelines.
When children with head and neck cancer receive radiation therapy as part of their treatment, a considerable frequency of hypopituitarism has been recognised. However, in adults, it has been little studied and it is possible that patients may be inadvertently affected. The objective is to estimate the incidence of anterior pituitary dysfunction in adults undergoing radiotherapy for head and neck cancer.
A total of five databases will be used to perform the document search: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science (Core Collection), Ovid-MEDLINE and Embase. Cohort studies will be included without restriction by language or date. The main outcome will be the incidence of adenohypophyseal dysfunction for each axis: prolactin, growth hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, luteinising hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone. Incidence meta-analysis will be performed using the Freeman-Tukey double arcsine method. In addition, a random-effects model will be used along with a 95% CI. Subgroup analyses will be performed according to tumour location, radiation dose and endocrine assessment time. Meta-regression will be applied according to patient’s age and time elapsed until diagnosis.
Since this will be a systematic review of published data, no ethics committee approval is required. The results will be presented at conferences and finally published in a peer-reviewed journal.
CRD42021235163.
Commentary on: Chen A, Demaestri S, Schweiberger K, Sidani J, et al. Inclusion of non-English-speaking participants in pediatric health research: a review. JAMA Pediatr. 2023;177(1):81–88. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.3828.
In a review of inclusion of non-English speaking (NES) participants, 9% of research articles included NES participants, which may impact study generalisability. Research teams, research networks/databases, regulatory authorities and journals that disseminate study findings share responsibility for adequate inclusion of NES participants in research.
Non-English speakers (NES) and limited English proficiency (LEP) populations are growing.
To analyse the process of elaborating social representations about pressure injury preventive measures by the nursing team (nurses and nurse technicians) and how this process relates to preventive practices for hospitalized patients.
Qualitative study, with the application of the theory of social representations in its procedural methodological approach.
The study was carried out in an inpatient clinic of a public hospital in the state of Rondônia, Brazil. Totally, 28 nursing professionals in the medical clinic sectors who had worked directly with patient care for more than 6 months participated. The data were collected between July and September 2021 via in-depth interviews with the application of a semi-structured instrument. Analysis was carried out with the help of ALCESTE software, which performed a lexicographic analysis, and also via thematic analysis. The COREQ guided the presentation of the research report.
The social representations were developed based on the professionals' symbolic beliefs about the visibility/invisibility of the results of applying preventive care. These symbolic constructions mobilized positive and negative feelings among the nursing team, which guided the classification of prevention practices as being of greater or lesser priority among other care activities. There were favourable attitudes among professionals, which included applying prevention measures in their daily routines, and unfavourable attitudes of non-adherence to the institution's protocol for preventing pressure injuries.
The nursing team's perception of pressure injury prevention is influenced by symbolic, affective, values, and social dimensions. Non-adherence behaviours are attributed to the belief in the invisibility of prevention outcomes, resulting in a reluctance to implement preventive measures.
Understanding the subjective logic that explains the thinking and actions of the nursing team suggests the need to incorporate discussions on beliefs, values, sentiments, and attitudes of nursing professionals into educational programs on pressure injury prevention.
No public contribution.
Caesarean section rate is increasing and postoperative wound infection is a major health-threatening complication after caesarean section (CS). The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of Cefazolin at different time for post-caesarean delivery. The aim of this study was to compare the use of Cefazolin at different times on infections after CS. The time of antibiotic use in CS can be divided into two groups: before skin incision (SI) and after cord clamping (CC). In this study, 268 relevant articles were found in the database, and finally, 10 articles were analysed. This study included a total of 5256 cases of caesarean section. The data on wound infections, endometritis, urinary tract infections and fever were analysed. Perform an analysis of the data using RevMan 5.3. The results showed that cefazolin before SI reduced wound infection compared to after CC (odds ratio [OR], 0.51; 95% CI: 0.37–0.69; p < 0.0001). Cefazolin prophylactically used before SI reduce endometritis after CS compared to after CC (OR, 0.52; 95% CI: 0.35–0.77; p = 0.001). There was no significant difference in urinary tract infections after CS between cefazolin prophylactically used before SI and after CC (OR, 0.80; 95% CI: 0.50–11.28; p = 0.35). There was no significant difference in fever after CS between the prophylactic use of cefazolin before SI and after CC (OR, 0.60; 95% CI: 0.26–11.43; p = 0.225). Cefazolin before SI reduces wound infection and endometritis after CS.
To learn from two jurisdictions with mature genomics-informed nursing policy infrastructure—the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK)—to inform policy development for genomics-informed oncology nursing practice and education in Canada.
Comparative document and policy analysis drawing on the 3i + E framework.
We drew on the principles of a rapid review and identified academic literature, grey literature and nursing policy documents through a systematic search of two databases, a website search of national genomics nursing and oncology nursing organizations in the US and UK, and recommendations from subject matter experts on an international advisory committee. A total of 94 documents informed our analysis.
We found several types of policy documents guiding genomics-informed nursing practice and education in the US and UK. These included position statements, policy advocacy briefs, competencies, scope and standards of practice and education and curriculum frameworks. Examples of drivers that influenced policy development included nurses' values in aligning with evidence and meeting public expectations, strong nurse leaders, policy networks and shifting healthcare and policy landscapes.
Our analysis of nursing policy infrastructure in the US and UK provides a framework to guide policy recommendations to accelerate the integration of genomics into Canadian oncology nursing practice and education.
Findings can assist Canadian oncology nurses in developing nursing policy infrastructure that supports full participation in safe and equitable genomics-informed oncology nursing practice and education within an interprofessional context.
This study informs Canadian policy development for genomics-informed oncology nursing education and practice. The experiences of other countries demonstrate that change is incremental, and investment from strong advocates and collaborators can accelerate the integration of genomics into nursing. Though this research focuses on oncology nursing, it may also inform other nursing practice contexts influenced by genomics.
This article explored the publication impact of evidence-based healthcare terminology to determine usage and discuss options for low usage terms.
A plethora of terms describe the scholarship of evidence-based healthcare. Several terms are synonyms, creating redundancy and confusion. The abundance and overlap of terms may impede the discovery of evidence.
This discursive article explored and discussed publication impact of evidence-based healthcare terms.
Evidence-based healthcare terms were identified, and their 10-year (2013–2022) publication impact was assessed in the CINAHL and Medline databases. A card sort method was also used to identify terms with low usage.
A total of 18/32 terms were included in the review. The terms evidence-based practice, quality improvement, research and translational research were the most highly published terms. Publication data were presented yearly over a 10-year period. Most terms increased in publication use over time, except for three terms whose use decreased. Several terms related to translational research have multiple synonyms. It remains unknown whether these terms are interchangeable and possibly redundant, or if there are nuanced differences between terms.
We suggest a follow-up review in 3–5 years to identify publication trends to assess context and terms with continued low publication usage. Terms with persistent low usage should be considered for retirement in the reporting of scholarly activities. Additionally, terms with increasing publication trends should be treated as emerging terms that contribute to evidence-based healthcare terminology.
Confusion about the use of appropriate terminology may hinder progress in the scholarship of evidence-based healthcare. We encourage scholars to be aware of publication impact as it relates to the use of specific terminology and be purposeful in the selection of terms used in scholarly projects and publications.
International guidelines recommend that adults with peripheral artery disease (PAD) be prescribed antiplatelet, statin and antihypertensive medications. However, it is unclear how often people with PAD are underprescribed these drugs, which characteristics predict clinician underprescription of and patient non-adherence to guideline-recommended cardiovascular medications, and whether underprescription and non-adherence are associated with adverse health and health system outcomes.
We will search MEDLINE, EMBASE and Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews from 2006 onwards. Two investigators will independently review abstracts and full-text studies. We will include studies that enrolled adults and reported the incidence and/or prevalence of clinician underprescription of or patient non-adherence to guideline-recommended cardiovascular medications among people with PAD; adjusted risk factors for underprescription of/non-adherence to these medications; and adjusted associations between underprescription/non-adherence to these medications and outcomes. Outcomes will include mortality, major adverse cardiac and limb events (including revascularisation procedures and amputations), other reported morbidities, healthcare resource use and costs. Two investigators will independently extract data and evaluate study risk of bias. We will calculate summary estimates of the incidence and prevalence of clinician underprescription/patient non-adherence across studies. We will also conduct subgroup meta-analyses and meta-regression to determine if estimates vary by country, characteristics of the patients and treating clinicians, population-based versus non-population-based design, and study risks of bias. Finally, we will calculate pooled adjusted risk factors for underprescription/non-adherence and adjusted associations between underprescription/non-adherence and outcomes. We will use Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation to determine estimate certainty.
Ethics approval is not required as we are studying published data. This systematic review will synthesise existing evidence regarding clinician underprescription of and patient non-adherence to guideline-recommended cardiovascular medications in adults with PAD. Results will be used to identify evidence-care gaps and inform where interventions may be required to improve clinician prescribing and patient adherence to prescribed medications.
CRD42022362801.
Time is a fundamental component of acute stroke and transient ischaemic attack (TIA) care, thus minimising prehospital delays is a crucial part of the stroke chain of survival. COVID-19 restrictions were introduced in Ireland in response to the pandemic, which resulted in major societal changes. However, current research on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on prehospital care for stroke/TIA is limited to early COVID-19 waves. Thus, we aimed to investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on ambulance time intervals and suspected stroke/TIA call volume for adults with suspected stroke and TIA in Ireland, from 2018 to 2021.
We conducted a secondary data analysis with a quasi-experimental design.
We used data from the National Ambulance Service in Ireland. We defined the COVID-19 period as ‘1 March 2020–31 December 2021’ and the pre-COVID-19 period ‘1 January 2018–29 February 2020’.
We compared five ambulance time intervals: ‘allocation performance’, ‘mobilisation performance’, ‘response time’, ‘on scene time’ and ‘conveyance time’ between the two periods using descriptive and regression analyses. We also compared call volume for suspected stroke/TIA between the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods using interrupted time series analysis.
We included all suspected stroke/TIA cases ≥18 years who called the National Ambulance Service from 2018 to 2021.
40 004 cases were included: 19 826 in the pre-COVID-19 period and 19 731 in the COVID-19 period. All ambulance time intervals increased during the pandemic period compared with pre-COVID-19 (p
A ’shock' like a pandemic has a negative impact on the prehospital phase of care for time-sensitive conditions like stroke/TIA. System evaluation and public awareness campaigns are required to ensure maintenance of prehospital stroke pathways amidst future healthcare crises. Thus, this research is relevant to routine and extraordinary prehospital service planning.
Social isolation may affect diabetes self-management. This study aimed to explore the relations between social isolation and glycaemic control in patients with diabetes and to explore lifestyle differences among individuals with different levels of social isolation.
The relevant data of 665 people previously diagnosed with diabetes included in the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study from 2011 to 2015 were extracted and analysed. The study included patient general information, blood glucose, lipids, glycosylated haemoglobin, social isolation index, health-related lifestyle factors and diabetes-related factors. Differences in metabolic abnormalities and modifiable lifestyles were compared among patients with varying levels of social isolation.
Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that among men aged 45–64 years, the high social isolation group had significantly higher glycosylated haemoglobin levels compared with the low isolation group (7.29±1.81 vs 6.59±1.63, p=0.026). A positive correlation was observed between social isolation and blood glucose (β=14.16; 95% CI 2.75 to 25.57; p=0.015) and glycosylated haemoglobin (β=0.35; 95% CI 0.10 to 0.60; p=0.006), indicating that higher social isolation was associated with higher fasting blood glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin levels. However, no significant associations were observed in other age groups. Notably, men aged 45–65 years with high social isolation had higher depression rates (44.10% vs 24.60%, p=0.024), lower engagement in moderate exercise (5.70% vs 23.50%, p=0.019) and shorter 10-minute walks (17.10% vs 36.80%, p=0.027). Differences in other health-related and diabetes-related factors were not statistically significant.
Middle-aged men with diabetes with higher social isolation tend to have higher blood glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin levels. This subset of patients requires targeted attention to provide social support from family and friends for improved glycaemic control. If necessary, education on diabetes should be made available to family members and friends.
FreshRSS 