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Samantha M C Pang

Publications and source records attributed to Samantha M C Pang.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Assessing quality of life of patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the end of life.

Given the limitations of existing health-related quality-of-life (QOL) measures in capturing the end-of-life experience of patients with advanced chronic diseases, an empirically grounded instrument, the quality-of-life concerns in the end of life questionnaire (QOLC-E), was developed. Though it was built on the McGill quality of life questionnaire (MQOL), its sphere is more holistic and culturally specific for the Chinese patients in Hong Kong. One hundred and forty-nine patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or metastatic cancer completed the questionnaire. Seven factors (28 items) which emerged from the factor analysis were grouped into four positive (support, value of life, food-related concerns, and healthcare concerns) and four negative (physical discomfort, negative emotions, sense of alienation, and existential distress) subscales. Good internal consistency and concurrent validity were shown. The results also revealed that these two groups of patients had similar QOL concerns. The validity of applying QOLC-E as an outcome measure to evaluate the effectiveness of palliative and psychoexistential interventions has yet to be tested.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2004

An empirical analysis of the decision-making of limiting life-sustaining treatment for patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Hong Kong, China.

OBJECTIVES: To understand the prognostic and quality-of-life considerations surrounding life-sustaining treatment decisions for patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Hong Kong China. METHODS: A documentary review of 49 COPD patients and 19 patient case studies from the medical departments of 2 hospitals were undertaken to examine the practices of DNI decision-making (do not perform mechanical ventilation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation). Statistical, event, and thematic analyses were conducted to delineate the prognostic and quality-of-life factors that shaped the not for intubation and mechanical ventilation (DNI) decisions. RESULTS: Three major treatment-limiting decision-making patterns existed in practice: 1) Patient-initiated and shared decision-making with physician (n = 14); 2) Physician-initiated and shared decision-making with the patient/family members (n = 24); and 3) Physician-initiated DNI decision-making with patient family, but without patient participation due to mental incapacity (n = 11). Prognostic considerations include physiological parameters, performance status, concomitant diseases, therapeutic regimens, and the utilization of medical services. Three major themes were delineated regarding the way in which the patients evaluated their life quality in the context of DNI status. They are prognostic awareness, illness burdens, and existential concerns. DISCUSSION: A decision-making framework used by patients/families/physicians to limit life-sustaining treatments in patients with advanced COPD is delineated. Observations regarding how treatment limiting decision-making for patients with advanced chronic illnesses can be improved in Hong Kong are discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Towards a Chinese definition of nursing.

BACKGROUND: A theory of nursing derived from nurses' experience can reflect indigenous practice values, which in turn can act as a fertile source of ideas and inventiveness in developing a relevant knowledge base to inform practice. However, systematic study of how Chinese nurses articulate nursing in their everyday practice is lacking. AIM: The aim of this paper is to describe how Chinese nurses conceptualize the practice of nursing; and to arrive at a definition of nursing based on this common understanding. METHOD: A systematic inquiry using a modified version of Van Kaam's controlled explication was designed. In the prescientific phase, 254 written accounts of nurses' views on nursing as lived in their everyday practice were collected in eight Chinese cities. In the scientific phase, concept analysis based on Aristotle's notion of four causes was adopted to capture the richness of the phrases that explain the multi-dimensionality of Chinese nurses' concepts of nursing. This was followed by a survey of 1782 nurses to verify the findings. The most commonly held views were summarized and a Chinese definition of nursing was drafted. FINDINGS: Nursing in the Chinese sense means to understand the dynamic health status of a person, to verify health concerns dialectically, and to consider interventions with the goal of assisting the person to master the appropriate health knowledge and skills for the attainment of optimal well-being. The survey findings show that nursing has developed into a professional caring practice in China today. The definition has some similarities with those of Western nurses, but the underpinning epistemic concerns are grounded in the philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine and Eastern ideologies. CONCLUSION: The findings provide Chinese nurses with a definition of nursing articulated in their own language. The identification of qing, li, zhi, and xin as its epistemic concerns, and the articulation of the process of nursing as 'dialectical verification', provides a perspective for understanding nursing based on Eastern philosophies. The findings can enhance nurses' engagement in a cross-cultural dialogue to promote better understanding of nursing as it is practised in different parts of the world.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Evaluating the use of developmental action inquiry in constructing a problem-based learning curriculum for pre-registration nursing education in Hong Kong: a student perspective.

BACKGROUND: Developmental action inquiry (DAI) was chosen as the change strategy for introducing problem-based learning (PBL) in a pre-registration nursing programme. The central task was to transform the tutor and student participants to become collaborators in this curriculum reconstruction project. AIM: This paper expounds the way in which the action inquiry was constructed and in light of students' feedback analysis, the way in which PBL has made a difference in student learning was evaluated. DESIGN: Taking into consideration the change context and different group characteristics, the DAI was conducted in terms of two dynamically interlinked circles that formed partnerships between PBL core group members and tutors, and between tutors and students in coconstructing knowledge useful for PBL curriculum development. FINDINGS: The findings of the student evaluation questionnaire reveal that the majority of students felt PBL made a difference to their expectations of self, the student group and the teacher role in creating a facilitative environment to enhance learning. However, there was a significant difference among individual student group responses. The students' positive and negative PBL experience in self-learning, tutor-student interaction, and group-learning were identified as crucial factors contributing to these group variations. CONCLUSION: The evaluation findings show that a paradigm shift from teacher-centred to student-centred learning, from valuing self-learning to co-operative group-learning, and from theory-based to practice-based learning occurred among the students. DAI was found to be an effective change strategy for transforming participants to become collaborators in searching for useful knowledge and coconstructing the PBL learning context.

Attitude↗