Dip Raj Thapa

BACKGROUND Digital technology in health and social care can improve the well-being of people with long-term health conditions, but prior research has identified factors that hinder its adoption, particularly accessibility issues and challenges to its integration into everyday life. It is therefore important to fully understand both the facilitators and hindrances to the adoption of such technology. OBJECTIVE To explore the facilitators and hindrances to the adoption of digital technology in the everyday lives of adults with long-term health conditions. METHODS This scoping review systematically mapped relevant research following the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews). Thematic analysis was used to critically analyze the identified articles. RESULTS Forty-six articles were selected that examined 5,018 adults aged 18 and over. Six themes were identified: personal characteristics and preconditions; perceived usefulness in everyday life; design and technical functionality; support and guidance; human interaction; and integrity and trustworthiness. CONCLUSIONS The findings are discussed in relation to the key constructs of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT): performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions. Digital technologies support the daily lives of adults with long-term health conditions, but several challenges remain, including functionality that is not adapted to specific diseases or ages and a perceived lack of human interaction. Thus, digital technology is not a one-size-fits-all solution but should be an adaptable tool that accommodates individual preferences and contexts and that complements in-person human interactions.

Aim: This study described healthcare professionals' experiences of tasks that contribute to job satisfaction. Design: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted. Methods: Data were collected through a survey questionnaire with an open‐ended question on job satisfaction. 5464 healthcare professionals responded to the questionnaire. Data were analysed through manifest qualitative content analysis. Results: The theme ‘Enhancing healthcare professionals' job satisfaction through coherence, manageability, and meaningfulness’ emerged with the following five categories: Enhancing person‐centred care, Enhancing education, mentorship, and patient communication, Enhancing active participation in organisational development and transformation, Enhancing multi‐professional teamwork and collaborative care, and Enhancing rewards and support. Conclusion: This study emphasises that job satisfaction among healthcare professionals depends on meaningful caring activities, a supportive work environment, and workplace resources. These factors boost resilience, reduce stress, and improve retention and patient care. A resource‐based, salutogenic approach promotes both professional and personal well‐being, fostering healthier, more effective healthcare environments. Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in Nepal. As CVD risks can develop early in life, a life course approach for non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention is needed. Due to its potentially acceptable delivery mode, digital health education could be a promising way forward to increase adolescents’ CVD knowledge. The purpose of this study was to explore adolescents’ CVD perceptions and their perceptions and preparedness for digital cardiovascular health education through mobile games. Twelve focus group discussions were conducted with adolescents, Grades 8–10, from two public and four private Nepalese schools. A qualitative study with a deductive thematic analysis was performed, guided by the health belief model (HBM) and the technology acceptance model (TAM). The analysis resulted in 6 themes and 13 sub-themes concerning perceptions of CVD and 5 themes and 10 sub-themes on perceptions and preparedness for digital cardiovascular health education through mobile games. The adolescents viewed CVD as a serious disease with consequences. A healthy diet and physical activity were important for prevention. Benefits were the positive impacts of a heart-healthy lifestyle. Barriers were the temptation of consuming unhealthy food, lack of healthy food environments, time and motivation. The adolescents also stressed their own ability to prevent CVD. Digital cardiovascular health education through mobile games was desirable. Constraints were accessibility and technical issues, parental allowance, available time and whether the game was engrossing enough. The adolescents perceived CVD as serious, with benefits and barriers connected to its prevention. Digital cardiovascular health education through mobile games was viewed positively but not without constraints for successful implementation.

Background Sense of coherence (SOC) is a core concept of salutogenesis which relates to individuals’ overall life orientation. Stronger SOC associates with better coping strategies, better health, and better quality of life. Although the SOC-questionnaire is validated in many cultures and languages, it has not, to date, been applied in Nepal. Objective To determine and evaluate women’s SOC before and after a health education intervention. Method This study was conducted as a part of the Heart-health Associated Research, Dissemination, and Intervention in the Community in the semi-urban Jhaukhel- Duwakot Health Demographic Surveillance Site in Nepal. Jhaukhel and Duwakot were selected as the control and intervention areas, respectively. Participants were women with children aged 1-7 years. Eight hundred and fifty-seven women before and 1,268 women after the health education intervention participated in the study. The statistical analysis was carried out with chi-square tests and one-way uni-variate ANOVA. Result Women’s total SOC mean values at baseline were 51.1-57.4 and at follow up 54.4-54.9 in the intervention and control area, respectively. At baseline, SOC was significantly weaker in the intervention area compared to the control area (p < 0.001). At follow-up three months later, SOC was significantly stronger in the intervention area than in the control area (p < 0.001). Conclusion Nepalese women had weaker SOC than women in high-income countries, but comparable to neighboring country India with similar cultural features. Empowerment of women through community participation and health education strengthened SOC. The SOC-13-questionnaire in its Nepali version is recommended to be further evaluated.

Background: Work-related health problems, such as work stress, fatigue, and burnout constitute a global challenge within the nursing profession. Work-related health among nurses is not yet a prioritized phenomenon in Nepal. Health-promoting approaches to maintaining and sustaining nurses’ health are therefore essential. The aim of this study was to explore and thereby gain a deeper understanding of how nurses in Nepal’s hospitals experience their everyday work, with a focus on promoting and sustaining their work-related health. Methods: A qualitative design with semi-structured individual interviews were used. Nineteen registered nurses working at hospitals in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, were individually interviewed between October 6 and December 5, 2018. Transcribed interviews were analyzed through thematic analysis. Results: Four main themes with belonging eight subthemes were constructed from the analysis: (1) “Sense of meaningfulness and belongingness in work culture” with subthemes; “Open environment” and “Sharing attitude and cooperating for the entire team” (2) “Support and rewards from the management team” with subthemes; “Lacking managerial support” and “Fair evaluation and job promotion opportunities”(3) “Workload and protection against work-related hazards” with subthemes; “Stressful and multitasking in workload” and “Lacking equipment for own health and caring”, and (4) “Motivation through opportunities and activities” with subthemes; “Employment benefits that motivate work”, and “Activities outside of work needed to recover”. These main themes and subthemes described nurses’ facilitators for and barriers to their work environment and health. Conclusion: Our study highlighted nurses’ experiences with facilitators and barriers to their work-related health. Nurses’ work-related health was positively affected by support from colleagues, managers, and the organization. Conversely, less support from managers, lack of equipment, and unfair judgment were barriers to nurses’ work-related health. This study adds new knowledge about nurses’ work-related health from the context of Nepal. Hospital organizations and nursing managers in similar cultural and healthcare settings can apply the results of our study to develop strategies to promote and sustain nurses’ health and prevent work-related illness.

Background: Nursing professionals exhibit high prevalence of stress-related health problems. Job demands and job resources are parallel drivers of health and well-being among employees. Better job resources associate with better job satisfaction, job motivation and engagement even when job demands are high. To date, there is limited research which explores the association between job demands, job resources and health outcomes among nursing professionals in the Swedish context. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate Swedish nursing professionals’ job demands and job resources in relation to health outcomes, with comparisons between the private and public healthcare sectors. The specific research questions were as follows: (1) Are there differences between private and public healthcare regarding job demands, job resources, and health outcomes? and (2) Are there prospective associations between job demands and job resources in relation to health outcomes? Methods: Data were drawn from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH) 2016 and 2018, including 520 nurses and 544 assistant nurses working in the private and public healthcare sectors from 2016 (baseline). Data were analyzed using binary logistic regression. Results: Nursing professionals reported higher threats, lower bullying, lower control, lower social support, and lower cohesion in the public healthcare units compared to the private healthcare units. The prospective analyses showed that job resources in terms of social support and rewards were associated with higher self-rated health and lower burnout. Cohesion was associated with higher self-rated health. Job demands in terms of psychological demands and job efforts were associated with lower self-rated health, higher burnout, and higher sickness absence, while emotional demands were associated with higher burnout. Conclusions: Nursing professionals’ job resources are deficient in public healthcare units. Job resources are associated with positive health outcomes, whereas job demands are associated with negative health outcomes, among nursing professionals. Strengthening job resources among nursing professionals in the private and public healthcare sectors can promote and sustain their work-related health.

Registered nurses and midwives are in short supply and have among the highest rates of sick leave in the global workforce. The aim of this study was therefore to explore and gain a deeper understanding of how nurses and midwives experience their everyday work, with a view toward promoting and sustaining their work-related health. Nine registered nurses and four registered midwives working in hospitals and community healthcare facilities in Sweden were interviewed. The interviews were analyzed using content analysis. This study is reported in accordance with COREQ. One main category emerged: ‘Quality of organizational and collegial support and opportunities to facilitate recovery, health, and patient care’. From this category, four generic categories describing the overall experiences of registered nurses and midwives could be discerned. Based on these results, it is recommended that employers adopt a systematic health-promotive approach to foster and maintain the workplace health of registered nurses and midwives.