Xilin Li

The study aimed to explore the association between sleep duration, insomnia symptoms and the components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) among middle-aged and older adults. A cross-sectional study was conducted in five community health centers and physical check-up centers of two comprehensive hospitals in Guangdong. We recruited 1252 participants (658 female), aged 40–96 years and with a body mass index (BMI) of 16.26–35.56 kg/m². MetS was assessed based on the guidelines of the International Diabetes Federation. Self-reported sleep duration was evaluated by a simplified questionnaire. Compared with the participants who slept 6–8 h/day, those who slept shorter (8 h/day) periods of time with or without insomnia symptoms had significantly increased odds ratios (ORs) of high blood pressure (except for the SBP in model 2) and high triglycerides (TGs) in all models (p < 0.05), whereas the participants who slept longer (>8 h/day) or shorter (p < 0.05), but non-significant in those without insomnia symptoms. BMI is significant for insomnia symptoms but not for sleep duration. Our study indicated that the association of sleep duration with MetS components was partially associated with insomnia symptoms. These findings have significant implications to explore the appropriate sleep duration for adults.

Primiparous women usually experience various parenting problems after childbirth that have negative effects on the well-being of mothers and infants. Although e-Support technology could provide an innovative and easily accessible intervention approach, mobile-phone interventions remain limited for Chinese primiparous women. Therefore, a new mobile application (APP) called the “Internet-based Support Program” (“ISP”) was designed, incorporating the self-efficacy theory and the social-exchange theory for Chinese first-time mothers to improve their levels of maternal self-efficacy (MSE), social support, and satisfaction, as well as to reduce their postpartum depression symptoms. The research was conducted to develop and optimize the “ISP” APP for new mothers via a theory-, evidence-, and person-based approach. Five modules of “learning forum”, “communication forum”, “ask-the-expert forum”, “baby home forum”, and “reminder forum” were included in the APP to meet various parenting needs of first-time mothers; and its contents and functions were validated by the experts and primiparous women. The majority of participants gave positive feedback on the APP’s perceived ease of use and usefulness. The “ISP” APP was the first designed for Chinese primiparous women, and a multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted to measure its effectiveness on parenting outcomes.

(1) Background: China has the highest number of rural-to-urban floating women in the world, and the majority of them are of childbearing age. However, few studies have focused on maternal self-efficacy (MSE) for these women. This research aims to explore MSE and its influencing factors for primiparous women among the rural-to-urban floating population in China. (2) Methods: A quantitative longitudinal study was conducted, and primiparous women from the floating population were recruited in China. Face-to-face demographic questionnaires were collected from obstetric wards by the researchers, three days postpartum. The 6-week and 12-week questionnaires, including the Self-efficacy in Infant Care Scale (SICS), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and the Postpartum Social Support Scale (PSSS), were sent to participants by wechat or email to measure MSE, postnatal depression, and social support, respectively. The completed 6-week and completed 12-week questionnaires were returned to the researchers. (3) Results: The mean MSE scores at 6 and 12 weeks postpartum were 67.16 (SD = 14.35) and 68.71 (SD = 15.00). The variables of social support, postnatal depression, whether women attended parenting training, baby fussiness, baby health, maternal educational level, occupation, and family income affected MSE at the two time points. (4) Conclusions: Primiparous women among the rural-to-urban floating population had a low MSE level. As a vulnerable and special group, more attention should be paid to the negative parenting status of floating women by health workers and family members. Effective measures must be taken to improve the floating women’s accessibility to parenting training from health services to strengthen their social support and alleviate postpartum depression. Health professionals should be more concerned with floating women with relatively low MSE levels, such as new mothers with lower education, poor working and living conditions, unhealthy babies, and babies with fussy temperaments.