Effects of helping relationships on health-promoting lifestyles among patients with chronic kidney disease: A randomized controlled trial

The Impact of mHealth-Based Continuous Care on Disease Knowledge, Treatment Compliance, and Serum Uric Acid Levels in Chinese Patients With Gout: Randomized Controlled Trial

Background

In patients with gout, suboptimal management refers to a lack of disease knowledge, low treatment compliance, and inadequate control of serum uric acid (SUA) levels. Several studies have shown that continuous care is recommended for disease management in patients with gout. However, in China, the continuous care model commonly used for patients with gout requires significant labor and time costs, and its efficiency and coverage remain low. Mobile health (mHealth) may be able to address these issues.

Objective

This study aimed to explore the impact of mHealth-based continuous care on improving gout knowledge and treatment compliance and reducing SUA levels.

Methods

This study was a single-center, single-blind, and parallel-group randomized controlled trial. Participants were recruited at the West China Hospital of Sichuan University in Chengdu, China, between February 2021 and July 2021 and were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. The intervention group received continuous care via an mHealth app, which includes modules for health records, 24 weeks of gout-related health education materials, and interactive support. The control group received routine continuous care, including face-to-face health education, paper-based health education materials consistent with the content for the intervention group, and telephone consultations initiated by the patient. Follow-up was conducted at 6 months. Participants' gout knowledge levels and treatment compliance were measured at baseline and the 12th and 24th weeks, and participants' SUA levels were measured at baseline and the 24th week. The intention-to-treat principle and a generalized estimating equation model were used to test the effect of the intervention.

Results

Overall, 258 potential participants underwent eligibility assessments, and 120 were recruited and randomized into the intervention (n=60, 50%) and control (n=60, 50%) groups. Of the 120 participants, 93 (77.5%) completed the 24-week study. The 2 groups had no significant differences in sociodemographic or clinical characteristics, and the baseline measurements were comparable (all P>.05). Compared with the control group, the intervention group exhibited a significant improvement in gout knowledge levels over time (β=0.617, 95% CI 0.104-1.129; P=.02 and β=1.300, 95% CI 0.669-1.931; P<.001 at the 12th and 24th weeks, respectively). There was no significant difference in treatment adherence between the 2 groups at the 12th week (β=1.667, 95% CI -3.283 to 6.617; P=.51), while a statistical difference was observed at the 24th week (β=6.287, 95% CI 1.357-11.216; P=.01). At the 24th week, SUA levels in both the intervention and control groups were below baseline, but there was no significant difference in SUA changes between the 2 groups (P=.43).

Conclusions

Continuous care based on the mHealth app improved knowledge levels and treatment compliance among patients with gout. We suggest incorporating this intervention modality into standard continuous care for patients with gout.

Role of a Qualified Physician and Health Behavior in Effective Treatment of Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy

Objectives: This research investigated the impact of having a qualified physician on improving disease awareness and effective treatment for cervical spondylotic myelopathy. Previous studies have observed that patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy are less satisfied with their treatment and medical facilities. This study hence aimed to investigate the role of a qualified physician and the moderating influence of health behavior between disease awareness and effective treatment for cervical spondylotic myelopathy. Methods: The primary data was collected from 144 cervical spondylotic myelopathy patients admitted in Meram Medical Faculty Hospital. A questionnaire on 5-point Likert scale was developed, whose items were checked for validity and reliability. The study adopted a cross- sectional approach, by conducting a normality test, correlation measurement of all variables like disease awareness, qualified physician and health behavior, and a regression analysis to explore the impact of independent variables on the dependent variable, and to test the hypotheses of the study. Results: The results of this research revealed that patients of cervical spondylotic myelopathy would get effective treatment when their health behavior is positive and when they have an awareness of the critical health situation. Conclusion: This research contributed a framework significantly to the research gap. It demonstrated the extraordinary practical and theoretical implications related to cervical spondylotic myelopathy. Future directions are also recommended by highlighting the limitations of this research, in order to continue to contribute to the effective treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy patients.

A 12-week personalised physical activity and dietary protein intervention for older adults undergoing peritoneal dialysis: A feasibility study

This single-arm observational study explored the feasibility and efficacy of a 12-week personalised physical activity and dietary protein intervention programme for older adults undergoing peritoneal dialysis. Older adults undergoing peritoneal dialysis received eight individualised nutrition and physical activity advice sessions provided by trained nurses. Protein intake and physical activity were regarded as primary outcomes. All data were collected at baseline and at week 12. The enrolment rate was 78.4%. Twenty-nine patients participated in the study. Of these, 86.2% (25/29) completed the intervention. There was a significant increase in protein intake (t = -4.453, P< 0.001) and physical activity levels (Z = -2.929, P = 0.004). Of the participants, 56.0% achieved the targeted protein goal, and 41.4% met the physical activity goal. The timed up-and-go performance (t = 4.135, P = 0.001) increased after intervention. Trained nurses can successfully implement personalised diet and physical activity advice, and achieve promising patient outcomes.

Discussion on the Purchase Factors and the User Demands of Electric Scooters from the Perspective of Consumers’ Life Style—A Case Study on Gogoro

With the development and popularization of the concept of a sustainable environment, the green energy industry represented by electric scooters has entered a vigorous development period. However, consumers are reluctant to buy electric scooters, resulting in low sales, which is limiting the development of the electric scooter industry. Therefore, from the perspective of different consumer life styles, this study explored the impact on the purchasing decisions and user demands, so as to inform design strategy for the development of a sustainable electric scooter industry. This study adopted the methods of expert interview and questionnaire survey, used the self-made consumer life style and electric scooter product attribute scale as the research tool, and carried out quantitative analysis with the help of statistical software. It showed that compared with consumers’ awareness of environmental protection, product performance is the key factor that attracts consumers to buy electric scooters, More than consumers’ awareness of environmental protection, our study showed that product performance is the primary determinate of a consumers’s decision to purchase electric scooters. The consumer of the electric scooter can be categorized into three life style groups: “brand-conscious group”, “environmental and cost saving group” and “trendy adventurers group”. Outside of the “environmental and cost savings” group, the least important attribute that drive purchasing decisions was environmental sustainability. This can also inform more effective governmental policies and education to promote greater environmental protection. Each life style consumer group prioritizes different product attributes; therefore, electric scooter manufacturers should view each group as distinct market segments and draw up different product design and marketing strategies.