Postpartum maternal health care is a neglected aspect of women's health care. This neglect is evident in the limited national health objectives and data related to maternal health. Missed opportunities for enhancing the health care of postpartum women occur in the scope of routine postpartum care. Differing perceptions of maternal needs between nurses and new mothers also contribute to inadequate health care. Therefore, collecting national data on postpartum maternal morbidity, reforming postpartum care policies, providing holistic and flexible maternal health care, encouraging family support and involvement in support groups, and initiating educational programs are recommended. Further research is needed on issues related to postpartum maternal health.

Background Smartphones can optimize the opportunities for interactions between nursing home residents and their families. However, the effectiveness of smartphone-based videoconferencing programs in enhancing emotional status and quality of life has not been explored. The purpose of this study was to evaluate of the effect of a smartphone-based videoconferencing program on nursing home residents’ feelings of loneliness, depressive symptoms and quality of life. Methods This study used a quasi-experimental research design. Older residents from seven nursing homes in Taiwan participated in this study. Nursing homes (NH) were randomly selected as sites for either the intervention group (5 NH) or the control group (2 NH); NH residents who met the inclusion criteria were invited to participate. The intervention group was comprised of 32 participants; the control group was comprised of 30 participants. The intervention group interacted with their family members once a week for 6 months using a smartphone and a “LINE” application (app). Data were collected with self-report instruments: subjective feelings of loneliness, using the University of California Los Angeles Loneliness Scale; depressive symptoms, using the Geriatric Depression Scale; and quality of life using the SF-36. Data were collected at four time points (baseline, and at 1-month, 3-months and 6-months from baseline). Data were analysed using the generalized estimating equation approach. Results After the intervention, as compared to those in the control group, participants in interventional group had significant decreases in baseline loneliness scores at 1 months (β = − 3.41, p < 0.001), 3 months (β = − 5.96, p < 0.001), and 6 months (β = − 7.50, p < 0.001), and improvements in physical role (β = 36.49, p = 0.01), vitality (β = 13.11, p < 0.001) and pain scores (β = 16.71, p = 0.01) at 6 months. However, changes in mean depression scores did not significantly differ between groups. Conclusions Smartphone-based videoconferencing effectively improved residents’ feelings of loneliness, and physiological health, vitality and pain, but not depressive symptoms. Future investigations might evaluate the effectiveness of other media-based technologies in nursing homes as well as their effectiveness within and between different age cohorts.

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This longitudinal research study aimed to develop a pregraduation clinical training program for nursing students before graduation and evaluate its effect on students' self-perceived clinical competence, clinical stress, and intention to leave current job. A sample of 198 students returned the questionnaires before and after the program. They were followed up at 3, 6, and 12 months after graduation. Results showed that posttest clinical competence was significantly higher than pretest competence, positively related to clinical competence at 3 and 12 months, and negatively related to clinical stress at 3 months. The clinical competence at 3 months was positively related to clinical competence at 6 and 12 months, and clinical competence at 6 months was related to intention to leave at 12 months. Intention to leave at 6 months was positively related to intention to leave at 3 and 12 months. Clinical stress at 3 months was positively related to clinical stress at 6 and 12 months, but not related to intention to leave at any time points. The training program improved students' clinical competence. The stressful time that was correlated with new graduate nurses' intention to leave their job was between the sixth and twelfth months after employment.

Background: Although researchers have evaluated nurse competence in past studies, few have focused on the competence levels of nursing students immediately prior to graduation. Additionally, many of the competence scales were not supported with strong evidence of reliability or validity. The purpose of this study was to develop and test the psychometric properties of the Clinical Competence Questionnaire (CCQ) that measures the perceived clinical competence of upcoming baccalaureate nursing graduates. Methods:The Clinical Competence Questionnaire was developed based on Patricia Benner's "From Novice to Expert" model. This developed instrument was evaluated in a cross-sectional study. A total of 340 baccalaureate students in their final semester of a 2-year RN-to-BSN program in Taiwan completed and returned the questionnaire. Out of the 340 students, data from 293 students who did not have work experience were used to test reliability and validity of the scale. The instrument was tested for content, construct, and criterion-related validity.Results: The Cronbach's alpha for the entire CCQ was .98. Content and known-groups validity were confirmed. Principal component analysis showed a high degree of explanation of competence and revealed four components of competence: nursing professional behaviors, core nursing skills, general performance, and advanced nursing skills. Conclusion:The results from our study indicate the CCQ demonstrates good reliability and validity for measuring the perceived clinical competence of upcoming baccalaureate nursing graduates. The CCQ is also a useful tool and is easy to administer for the self-assessment of nursing clinical competence. Study limitations and further recommendations for nursing are discussed.

To motivate nurses' positive organisational behaviours and to address their diverse needs, hospital administrators are encouraged to understand nurses' work-climate perceptions and to address nurses' varied demographic factors.

Preterm birth (PTB; spontaneous delivery prior to 37 weeks gestation) affects one out of eight infants born in the United States and is the most common cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Although the pathogenesis of PTB is multifactorial, a growing body of literature supports the hypothesis that one cause of PTB is inflammation in pregnancy. Investigators have implicated mediators of inflammation, most notably proinflammatory cytokines, as being associated with and perhaps a playing a causal role in the pathogenesis of preterm labor and adverse early fetal outcomes. Though researchers have pursued the association of cytokines with preterm labor and subsequent early adverse fetal outcomes as a line of research, there has been little integration of diverse findings across studies. This systematic review appraises the empirical evidence from human studies for the association of levels of cytokines in blood with preterm labor and adverse early fetal outcome to examine the current state of the science in this important area of biobehavioral research. The most consistent finding is that increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines, particularly interleukin (IL) 6, IL-beta1, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), are associated with PTB as compared to levels found at term birth. However, there have been relatively few studies and results have not been consistent. Therefore, further research is needed to elucidate the association of these inflammatory mediators with adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Nurse graduates are leaving their first employment at an alarming rate. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between job stress, job satisfaction and related factors over time among these nurses. This study applied a longitudinal design with three follow-ups after nurse graduates' first employment began. Using convenience sampling, participants were 206 new graduates from a university. The Work Environment Nursing Satisfaction Survey and the Clinical Stress Scale were used in this study. Results indicated that job stress remained moderate across three time points. Participants working 12 h shifts exhibited less job stress. Job satisfaction significantly increased in the twelfth month. Participants working 12 h shifts had a higher degree of job satisfaction. Job stress was negatively correlated with job satisfaction. The 12 h work shifts were related to job stress and job satisfaction. These results implied that health-care administrators need to provide longer orientation periods and flexible shift schedules for new graduate nurses to adapt to their work environment.