To examine the trajectories, core characteristics, and maintenance factors of social avoidance in patients with breast cancer during the first postoperative year.
Longitudinal, explanatory sequential mixed-method design.
This longitudinal study enrolled 176 postoperative breast cancer patients, conducting six follow-up assessments over 1 year. Latent class growth analysis was employed to identify heterogeneous trajectories of social avoidance behaviour, with multivariate logistic regression subsequently analyzing predictive factors. Building on these quantitative findings, semi-structured in-depth interviews were administered to target individuals identified through the analysis. Phenomenological methods were then utilized to elucidate core manifestations and maintenance factors of social avoidance.
Among the 176 enrolled breast cancer patients, 138 completed all six follow-up assessments. Latent class growth analysis identified two distinct subgroups with significant differences in social avoidance trajectories: ‘persistent high social avoidance’ and ‘persistent low social avoidance group’. Logistic regression revealed melancholic temperament as an independent risk factor for ‘persistent high social avoidance group’, while choleric temperament demonstrated protective effects. Phenomenological analysis of qualitative data systematically identified four core themes: (1) affective manifestations, (2) behavioural patterns, (3) psychological drivers, and (4) environmental determinants of social avoidance.
This study revealed heterogeneous dynamic trajectories of social avoidance behaviour in breast cancer patients, with core manifestations encompassing both affective and behavioural dimensions, sustained by multiple factors of personality, psychology, and environment.
This mixed-methods study systematically examined the developmental trajectories, core manifestations, and sustaining factors of social avoidance behaviour in breast cancer patients. The results provide robust evidence to inform precision screening for social avoidance risk, early prevention initiatives, and tailored intervention strategies in clinical nursing practice.
Journal article reporting standards for mixed-methods research.
No patient or public contribution.
Death preparedness is an important prerequisite for improving the quality of life and the quality of death in advanced cancer patients. However, research on the level of death preparedness in patients is insufficient, and there is little understanding of the current status and influencing factors of death preparedness in advanced cancer patients.
This study aims to assess the current status of death preparedness and its influencing factors in advanced cancer patients.
Based on the PRECEDE-PROCEED model, a structured survey questionnaire was designed to collect data on personal factors (such as gender, age and residence area), interpersonal factors (such as social support, caregiver readiness and healthcare worker readiness) and social factors (such as care resources, policy support and information supply). Through multiple linear regression and BP neural network analysis, the study explores the impact and significance of these influencing factors on death preparedness in advanced cancer patients.
A total of 930 valid questionnaires were collected in this study. The death preparedness score in advanced cancer patients was 72.18 ± 22.82, indicating a moderate level, with the highest score being the ‘reflexive care’ dimension and the lowest score being the ‘hospice programme’ dimension. Multivariate analysis revealed that meaning in life and social support were the most significant predictors of death preparedness in advanced cancer patients. In addition, personal factors such as dignity, household income and coping style, also played an important role. Interpersonal factors like social support, as well as social factors such as care resources and policy support, also had an impact on patients' death preparedness to some extent.
Death preparedness in advanced cancer patients is generally at a moderate level, and death preparedness is influenced by a combination of personal factors, interpersonal factors and social factors.
This study is based on the PRECEDE-PROCEED model to comprehensively explore the influencing factors of death preparedness in advanced cancer patients. It provides theoretical support for improving life services for advanced cancer patients. It offers valuable practical experience and insights for societal attention and reform in end-of-life care.
No Patient or Public Contributions were included in this paper.
To investigate diabetes family involvement, including supportive and nonsupportive family behaviours in China, and explore the relationships among opposite forms of family involvement, diabetes self-management and glycaemic control.
A cross-sectional study.
Type 2 diabetes patients were recruited from hospitals in Nanjing, Shanghai and Jinan, and communities across China, between April 2023 and August 2023. A total of 1648 patients completed questionnaires regarding diabetes family involvement, diabetes self-management, perceived glycaemic control and patient characteristics. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 26.0 and PROCESS macro.
The mean scores for supportive and nonsupportive family behaviours were 19.14 out of 40 and 12.47 out of 30, respectively, resulting in an overall family involvement score of 6.67. Overall family involvement, especially supportive family behaviours, was positively related to diabetes self-management and perceived glycaemic control, whereas nonsupportive family behaviours were not. Diabetes self-management partially mediated the relationships between both overall family involvement and supportive family behaviours with perceived glycaemic control.
Diabetes family involvement was suboptimal. Overall family involvement, especially supportive family behaviours, could not only directly improve glycaemic control but also indirectly enhance it through promoting diabetes self-management.
The findings highlight the importance of promoting supportive family involvement and patient self-management in diabetes management.
This study endorses the necessity for healthcare professionals to integrate the family unit into diabetes management and implement interventions at the family unit level, to address the neglect of families in current interventions. It also advocates for promoting supportive family involvement rather than all family involvement in future interventions. Promoting supportive family involvement and patient self-management can better improve patients' glycaemic control and alleviate the burden on medical and social systems.
This study adheres to the STROBE guideline of reporting.
No Patient or Public Contribution.
To examine the relationship among leadership, clinical teaching competencies, and structural empowerment of nursing clinical instructors in China.
A cross-sectional study.
A total of 152 nurses who come from three Grade A tertiary hospitals located in Beijing, Kunming, and Liaoning Province, China, completed an online questionnaire that included general information, clinical teaching information, the Conditions of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire-II, nurse leadership, and structural empowerment. SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 26.0 were used for normality test, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and structural equation model.
The study revealed that nurse leadership (r = 0.402) and structural empowerment (r = 0.568) both positively correlated with clinical teaching competencies. Specifically, the level of nurse leadership exhibited a low but direct positive effect on these competencies (β = 0.22), while the level of structural empowerment demonstrated a moderate direct positive effect (β = 0.56).
Enhancing nurse leadership and structural empowerment positively influence the clinical teaching competencies of nursing instructors.
Constructing a structural equation model to describe the relationship between leadership, structural empowerment, and teaching ability can provide the most intuitive direction for future research, so as to better improve the teaching ability of clinical nursing teachers.
No patient or public contribution.
The aim of this study was to innovatively utilise the BERTopic model for topic modelling in order to comprehensively identify and understand the factors contributing to bed falls.
Retrospective study.
The study collected 241 reports of bed fall accidents recorded by nurses from Peking University Third Hospital Nursing Department from 2014 to 2024. Among them, 102 reports met the inclusion and exclusion criteria.
This study follows the Minimum Information for Medical AI Reporting (MINIMAR). It collected patient bed fall reports from Peking University Third Hospital between 2014 and June 2024, preprocessed the texts, utilised the BERTopic library in Python for topic modelling, and manually aggregated secondary topics by combining visualisation results and professional knowledge.
We utilised cluster bar charts to visually display the distribution of the 22 secondary topics and further consolidated them into five core topics through the use of a topic distribution diagram and a topic similarity matrix diagram. These topics were related to patient factors, ward equipment and surroundings factors, medication risk factors, caregiver factors, and nursing practice factors. The study highlights the environment's specificity in bed falls, especially bedside safety and patient-bed rail interaction.
The innovation of this study lies in the successful utilisation of BERTopic technology to identify topics of risk factors for bed falls through alternative data sources, providing a scientific basis for formulating preventive measures. The findings aim to optimise nursing processes, improve ward environments and enhance educational training, ultimately reducing patient bed falls and enhancing medical safety, nursing quality and patient experience.
This study not only helps nurses identify risk factors for patient bed falls, but also provides important guidance for developing effective prevention strategies.
No patient or public contribution applied.
To investigate the status of social isolation among middle-aged and elderly breast cancer patients and identify its influencing factors. Additionally, to explore the mediating role of self-perception of aging between frailty and social isolation, as well as the moderating effect of menopausal symptoms.
A cross-sectional study guided by the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology.
This study was conducted on middle-aged and elderly breast cancer patients from September 2022 to February 2023 in Guangzhou, China. Related data were assessed by structural questionnaires. Correlation analysis and regression analysis were performed by SPSS 26.0 while PROCESS macro v4.0 was used to test the moderated mediation model.
Breast cancer patients aged 45–82 years experienced moderate social isolation. It was influenced by educational level, residence, menopause symptoms, self-perception of aging, and frailty. The moderated mediation model involving self-perception of aging and menopausal symptoms for explaining how frailty causes social isolation was supported. The mediating role of self-perception of aging gradually strengthens as menopausal symptoms become severe.
Social isolation resulting from frailty in middle-aged and elderly breast cancer patients is mediated by self-perception of aging, with menopausal symptoms amplifying this effect. Interventions focused on improving self-perception of aging and managing menopausal symptoms may help reduce social isolation by mitigating the impact of frailty.
This study highlights the importance of addressing frailty, self-perception of aging, and menopausal symptoms in clinical nursing practice, which may help reduce social isolation among breast cancer patients.
Patients contributed by completing the questionnaire, ensuring the accuracy and completeness of the information with assistance from the research team.
To clarify the concept of life space in community-dwelling older adults to provide a clear and standardised conceptual basis for further research.
Rogers' evolutionary approach was used to identify surrogate terms, related terms, attributes, antecedents and consequences.
Literature from 1936 to 2025 was searched from PubMed, CINAHL, ProQuest, Cochrane databases, Scopus, Web of Science and CNKI.
A total of 46 articles were included for further analysis and synthesis. The attributes of life space in community-dwelling older adults were dynamic variability, multidimensionality and interaction between intrinsic abilities and external environmental demands. Antecedents were classified into four categories, namely, individual, physical, psychological and social factors. Life space can bring positive consequences, promoting walking, assessing the risk of falling, predicting cognitive decline, facilitating rehabilitation and improving quality of life, as well as negative consequences, causing diminished subjective well-being, heightened loneliness, increased risks of hospital readmission and mortality.
Life space, as a spatial indicator of a person's range of mobility, reflects older adults' physical range of motion, the frequency of activity, their need for assistance and the level of social participation. Older adults with adequate life space in the community are more likely to engage in outdoor activities. In contrast, restricted life space can lead to adverse outcomes.
Surrogate terms, related terms, attributes, antecedents and consequences identified by the concept analysis approach will contribute to a greater understanding of life space. These analytical findings establish an essential conceptual framework for future research while offering evidence-based theoretical guidance to improve life space in community-dwelling older adults, ultimately enhancing health outcomes and quality of life.
No patient or public contribution.
More than 12% of women worldwide are affected by polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), whose symptoms are similar to those of puberty, often leading to delayed diagnosis and missing the opportunity for early intervention. This not only puts PCOS women under physical and mental stress but also reduces their trust in doctors and makes them dissatisfied with the healthcare they receive, which in turn affects their quality of life. Therefore, to improve the doctor-patient relationship and promote health, it is essential to investigate and understand the healthcare experiences that women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) receive.
To explore the experiences of women with PCOS when they receive healthcare.
Qualitative systematic review.
Data were collected and screened using the systematic review management system Covidence, based on the established inclusion criteria. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Checklist was used for critical appraisal, and thematic analysis was used for data analysis.
The databases searched included CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Scopus. The search was limited to studies published in English between 2002 and May 2024.
Seven studies were selected for final inclusion. Three themes were identified: (1) responsive care from healthcare practitioners, (2) managing polycystic ovarian syndrome, and (3) polycystic ovary syndrome and its impact on self-image.
The development of a multidisciplinary PCOS clinic, the establishment of online support groups, and the creation of comprehensive patient-centered treatment plans are vital to enhancing the health outcomes of women with PCOS.
Multidisciplinary PCOS clinics, online support groups, and comprehensive patient-centered treatment plans can improve health outcomes for women with PCOS.
The EQUATOR guidelines for PRISMA have been utilised.
No patient or public contribution.
This study aimed to examine the level of vicarious posttraumatic growth among intensive care unit nurses in China and explore the mediating role of death coping ability in the relationship between moral resilience and vicarious posttraumatic growth.
A multicentre, cross-sectional study was conducted in accordance with the STROBE guidelines.
Between January and March 2025, a questionnaire survey was conducted among 666 intensive care unit nurses from nine tertiary Grade A hospitals across five provinces in China. Participants completed three standardised instruments: the Rushton Moral Resilience Scale, the Coping with Death Scale–Short Version, and the Vicarious Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. We used IBM SPSS 27.0 for descriptive statistics, univariate analyses, and correlation analyses, and employed AMOS 27.0 to perform structural equation modelling for testing mediation effects.
Intensive care unit nurses demonstrated a moderate level of vicarious posttraumatic growth. Moral resilience was positively associated with both death coping ability and vicarious posttraumatic growth. Death coping ability was found to play a partial mediating role in the relationship between moral resilience and vicarious posttraumatic growth.
Moral resilience and death coping ability are key factors associated with vicarious posttraumatic growth among intensive care unit nurses. Nurses with stronger moral resilience are more likely to cope constructively with death-related stress, which may support psychological growth in trauma-intensive environments.
This study highlights the need to enhance intensive care unit nurses' moral and emotional capacities through ethics education, emotional coping training, and institutional support strategies. Strengthening these competencies may foster professional development and mental wellbeing in critical care settings.