This review aims to provide an overview of the factors associated with adherence reported in existing literature on lifestyle modification programs for weight management among the adult population. An electronic search was performed using PubMed, Medline, PsycINFO and PsycARTICLE to identify studies that examined the factors of adherence to lifestyle modification programs with explicit definition of adherence indicators. We identified 19 studies published between 2004 and 2016. The most commonly used indicator of adherence was attrition, followed by attendance, self-monitoring and dietary adherence. A broad array of factors has been studied but only few studies exploring each factor. Limited evidence suggested older age, higher education, healthier eating and physical activity behaviours, higher stage of change at baseline and higher initial weight loss may predict better adherence. On the other hand, having depression, stress, strong body shape concern, more previous weight loss attempts and being unemployed may predict poor adherence. Inconsistent findings were obtained for self-efficacy, motivation and male gender. This review highlights the need for more rigorous studies to enhance our knowledge on factors related to adherence. Identification of the factors of adherence could provide important implication for program improvement, ultimately improving the effectiveness and the cost-effectiveness of lifestyle modification program.

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This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) towards coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among South Asians in Hong Kong and examined the factors that affect KAP towards COVID-19 in this population. This cross-sectional descriptive study recruited participants with assistance from South Asian community centres and organisations. A total of 352 participants completed questionnaires to assess their level of KAP towards COVID-19. The mean knowledge score was 5.38/10, indicating a relatively low knowledge level. The participants expressed certain misconceptions regarding the prevention of COVID-19 infection. They perceived a mild risk related to the disease, had positive attitudes regarding its prevention and often implemented recommended disease-preventive measures, such as maintaining social distance (88.1%) and wearing masks in public (94.3%). Participants who were male, had a secondary school education or lower and who perceived a lower risk of being infected and lower self-efficacy were less likely to implement preventive measures. Culturally and linguistically appropriate health education could be developed to increase the knowledge of South Asians, especially those with lower education levels, about COVID-19 and to encourage them to implement the necessary preventive measures.

Background: The professional quality of life of healthcare professionals in emergency departments may be compromised during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives: This study aims to examine professional quality of life and resilience as well as their relationships among emergency department healthcare professionals in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional design. Healthcare professionals (doctors and nurses) working in emergency departments in Hong Kong were recruited via snowball sampling. The Professional Quality of Life Scale, version 5, and the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale were used to assess their positive (compassion satisfaction) and negative (secondary traumatic stress and burnout) aspects of professional quality of life and self-reported resilience. Socio-demographics and work-related characteristics were also analysed. Results: A total of 106 participants provided valid responses. The results showed an overall moderate level of compassion satisfaction, secondary traumatic stress and burnout among emergency department healthcare professionals. The mean score of the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale was 23.8. Backward linear regression analyses revealed self-reported resilience was the only significant predictor of compassion satisfaction (regression coefficient B = 0.875; p < 0.001), secondary traumatic stress (B = −0.294, p < 0.001) and burnout (B = −0.670; p < 0.001), explaining 70.6%, 18.5% and 59.8% of total variance, respectively. Conclusion: Emergency department healthcare professionals in Hong Kong experienced an overall moderate level of professional quality of life during the COVID-19 outbreak. Those with a higher level of self-reported resilience had better compassion satisfaction and lower levels of secondary traumatic stress and burnout. The results support the importance of developing interventions that foster resilience among this group of emergency department healthcare professionals to combat COVID-19.

There is a paucity of research on factors influencing long-term adherence to lifestyle modification. We conducted a mixed-method study to explore the psychological factors of dietary and physical activity (PA) adherence among Chinese adults with overweight and obesity at 10 months after enrollment of a community-based lifestyle modification program in Hong Kong. We recruited Chinese adults newly enrolled in a culturally adapted lifestyle modification program and followed them for 10 months. For the quantitative study, primary outcomes were dietary and PA adherence scores while secondary outcomes included knowledge, self-efficacy, motivation and stage of change. For the qualitative study, data were collected using semi-structured interviews and observation. A total of 140 participants completed the 10-month follow-up. They reported moderate level of dietary adherence but low level of PA adherence at 10 months. Multivariable regression analyses revealed that greater improvement in nutrition knowledge and diet stage of change predicted higher dietary adherence while greater improvement in PA self-efficacy and PA stage of change predicted higher PA adherence. Qualitative data on 26 participants suggest that participants’ knowledge and self-efficacy but not motivation were enhanced during the program. The findings of this study enhanced our understanding on factors influencing long-term adherence to lifestyle changes.