Search Results (154)

Introduction: With the emergence of the expert patient and the expansion of health literacy, the importance of planning and building health technologies aimed at teaching and training health professionals, especially nurses, due to their activities with patients in Primary Health Care, with the aim of meeting the real and constant demands of the expert patient, is evident. Methods: Methodological study with a quantitative approach. The course was constructed based on a scope review, scientific reference, and observational visits during the months of September 2021 and August 2022. For validation, an organized electronic form was used with general information about the research and items of the course constructed for later evaluation by the judges with the three-point Likert scale and with the application of the Delphi Technique between the months of September and October 2022; for the agreement of the judges, the Content Validation Coefficient > 0.8 was considered. Results: Based on the content selected in the scope review, the reference contribution, and the observational visits, the course was constructed. Nine judges participated in the validation stage in Delphi I with a total Content Validation Coefficient above 0.90 and with some suggestions for modifications and improvements pointed out by them. In Delphi II, six judges evaluated the course, resulting in a total Content Validation Coefficient of 0.99. Conclusions: The course developed was considered valid to support the training of Primary Health Care nurses in the formation of the expert patient, with a view to promoting patient autonomy in self-care management, optimizing Primary Health Care, and reducing unnecessary hospital admissions. Full article

Health literacy improves informal caregivers’ knowledge and ability to provide care. The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of a group-based intervention on the health literacy of informal caregivers of children with special health needs (SHNs). The intervention focuses on movement, hydrotherapy, walking, and relaxation, with three evaluation stages. Participants included 34 informal caregivers of children with SHNs, recruited at a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Service. We collected sociodemographic data of the participants and measured their health literacy through the short-form version of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q16). Around 70% of the participants were female, with a mean age of 41.06 ± 4.98 years, and nearly 85% were married or in a de facto union. About 26% were unemployed, and more than 65% had completed secondary education or higher. The mean scores of the HLS-EU-Q16 were statistically significantly higher throughout the intervention, with differences over the evaluation stages [F(2,56) = 75.55; p < 0.05]. A structured, dynamic, and group-based intervention plan showed improvements in the health literacy of the participants, with an increase in the percentage of participants with sufficient and excellent levels of health literacy at the end of the intervention. Full article

Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) is a well-established surgical intervention for the management of end-stage knee osteoarthritis. While the procedure is generally successful, postoperative rehabilitation remains a key determinant of long-term functional outcomes. Traditional rehabilitation protocols, particularly those requiring in-person clinical visits, often encounter limitations in accessibility, patient adherence, and personalization. In response, emerging sensor technologies have introduced innovative solutions to support and enhance recovery following TKA. This review provides a thematically organized synthesis of the current landscape and future directions of sensor-assisted rehabilitation in TKA. It examines four main categories of technologies: wearable sensors (e.g., IMUs, accelerometers, gyroscopes), smart implants, pressure-sensing systems, and mobile health (mHealth) platforms such as ReHub^® and BPMpathway. Evidence from recent randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews demonstrates their effectiveness in tracking mobility, monitoring range of motion (ROM), detecting gait anomalies, and delivering real-time feedback to both patients and clinicians. Despite these advances, several challenges persist, including measurement accuracy in unsupervised environments, the complexity of clinical data integration, and digital literacy gaps among older adults. Nevertheless, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), predictive analytics, and remote rehabilitation tools is driving a shift toward more adaptive and individualized care models. This paper concludes that sensor-enhanced rehabilitation is no longer a future aspiration but an active transition toward a smarter, more accessible, and patient-centered paradigm in recovery after TKA. Full article

Amid structural changes driven by the greening and digital transformation of the maritime industry, the demand for career transitions of seafarers with onboard experience to shore-based positions—particularly ship superintendents—is steadily increasing. However, the current lack of a systematic education and career development framework to support such transitions poses a critical challenge for shipping companies seeking to secure sustainable human resources. The aim of this study was to develop a competency-based training program that facilitates the effective transition of seafarers to shore-based ship superintendent roles. We integrated a developing a curriculum (DACUM) analysis with competency-based job analysis to achieve this aim. The core competencies required for ship superintendent duties were identified through three expert consultations. In addition, social network analysis (SNA) was used to quantitatively assess the structure and priority of the training content. The analysis revealed that convergent competencies, such as digital technology literacy, responsiveness to environmental regulations, multicultural organizational management, and interpretation of global maritime regulations, are essential for a successful career shift. Based on these findings, a modular training curriculum comprising both common foundational courses and specialized advanced modules tailored to job categories was designed. The proposed curriculum integrated theoretical instruction, practical training, and reflective learning to enhance both applied understanding and onsite implementation capabilities. Furthermore, the concept of a Seafarer Success Support Platform was proposed to support a lifecycle-based career development pathway that enables rotational mobility between sea and shore positions. This digital learning platform was designed to offer personalized success pathways aligned with the career stages and competency needs of maritime personnel. Its cyclical structure, comprising career transition, competency development, field application, and performance evaluation, enables seamless career integration between shipboard- and shore-based roles. Therefore, the platform has the potential to evolve into a practical educational model that integrates training, career development, and policies. This study contributes to maritime human resource development by integrating the DACUM method with a competency-based framework and applying social network analysis (SNA) to quantitatively prioritize training content. It further proposes the Seafarer Success Support Platform as an innovative model to support structured career transitions from shipboard roles to shore-based supervisory positions. Full article

As mental health has gained prominence in recent years, elite ice hockey players have shared their experience of psychological problems, including adverse alcohol use, anxiety, depression, distress, eating disorders, and sleep disturbances. Mental health remains a sensitive issue for ice hockey players, as stigma, a strong hockey culture, lack of mental health literacy, and negative past experiences with seeking help constitute barriers to seeking support. This scoping review aims to identify the psychological factors contributing to elite ice hockey players’ well-being. After screening the titles and abstracts of three databases within a 2002–2025 timeframe, a total of 517 articles were retrieved. Seventeen articles targeting ice hockey athletes over 14 years of age competing at an elite level were selected. Three main categories emerged from the included studies: anxiety and depressive symptoms, motivational variables, and coping strategies at different career stages. Factors such as retirement, concussions, social support, parenting style, task-approach goals, and task-oriented behavior were influential components to the well-being and mental health of elite ice hockey players. Using the Lazarus and Folkman model, the identified psychological factors may help athletes and various actors surrounding them to better understand athletes’ well-being. Full article

Information asymmetry leads to farmers’ opportunistic behavior of disobeying pest control regulations in certified vegetable areas, but the improvement of farmers’ digital literacy has become an important means to break through the constrained dilemma of pest control information and change farmers’ pest control behaviors. Based on survey data from certified vegetable areas of Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia provinces in China, this study used Heckman two-stage model to analyze the impact of the improvement of farmers’ digital literacy on opportunistic behavior in pest control. The results are as follows. Firstly, the improvement of farmers’ digital literacy can restrain their opportunistic behavior in pest control. Secondly, the improvement of farmers’ digital literacy restrain their opportunistic behavior through three paths, namely, enhancing the awareness of obeying pest control regulations for certified vegetables, reducing the cost and risk of pest control in obeying the certification standards. Thirdly, the traceable certification label plays a positive moderating role in the process of improving digital literacy to restrain farmers’ opportunistic behavior. Accordingly, this study suggests strengthening the training of farmers’ digital literacy, promoting the digitalized traceability system for certified vegetables, establishing examination mechanisms for online pesticide purchases and logistics distribution, and imposing severe penalties for opportunistic behaviors. Full article

The implementation of new curricula presents significant challenges for teachers and necessitates the adaptation of their professional competencies. This study examines how the digital skills of Swiss teachers differ during and after the implementation of the Media and Information Literacy (MIL) modular curriculum. To achieve this, two independent samples totaling 617 teachers were surveyed at different stages of the reform. The analysis employed a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to identify differences in the four facets of MIL competence between the samples. The results indicate that MIL competencies did not improve uniformly. While no significant differences were found in the facets of ‘ICT knowledge and application’ and ‘media education knowledge and application’, significant differences were observed in the facets of ‘specialized didactics MIL’ and ‘interdisciplinary pedagogical and didactic knowledge’. The latter facet showed higher values after the reform, likely due to increased exposure to further training measures. These findings illustrate that teachers’ competencies can develop differently throughout a reform process, highlighting the importance of targeted professional development programs. The study provides valuable empirical findings for educational research and offers practical implications for the design of future reform processes. Full article

Tourism learning resources refer to tourism attractions that carry learning content or stimulate learning behaviors for tourists, thereby determining the quality and effectiveness of tourists’ learning experiences. Actively developing tourism learning resources and manifesting tourism learning functions serves as an innovative practical path for cultivating new quality productivity in tourism and bears the contemporary mission of constructing a national lifelong learning system in the context of Chinese-style modernization. However, at the present stage, Chinese tourists, tourism enterprises, and government functional departments still lack a clear and systematic understanding of the connotations and characteristics of tourism learning resources. This knowledge gap restricts the depth and breadth of resource development. To address the identified gaps, this study begins by exploring the relationship between tourism and learning. Through a systematic literature review, it aims to develop a conceptual framework for tourism learning resources to promote lifelong learning and support sustainable tourism development. Taking this framework as a tool, this paper first explains the connotation and characteristics of tourism learning resources; secondly, classifies them into knowledge popularization, natural observation, skill experience, inspirational development, and cultural recreation types; thirdly, identifies their functional manifestations as acquiring experience, knowledge, skills, and wisdom; and finally, proposes development strategies for tourism learning resources. The most critical strategies identified are (1) enhancing tourism learning literacy, (2) optimizing learning-oriented products, and (3) constructing regionally integrated learning destinations. Full article

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains a significant global health challenge, with its advanced stages necessitating timely and comprehensive patient education, particularly regarding kidney replacement therapy (KRT). Early initiation of education is crucial, as it enhances patient understanding and supports shared decision-making with healthcare teams, ultimately leading to better health outcomes. Evidence demonstrates that CKD education not only increases disease-specific knowledge, but also confers multiple benefits, including reduced healthcare utilization, greater adoption of self-management, delayed KRT initiation, improved survival, higher adherence to therapies, and increased transplant evaluation. Despite these advantages, a disconnect persists between the educational content desired by patients and what is prioritized by healthcare professionals. Structured educational interventions have been shown to improve patients’ ability to make informed decisions about KRT, with studies indicating that after targeted education, the vast majority of patients can articulate their therapy preferences. Furthermore, national and international guidelines highlight the necessity of embedding patient education as a core component of CKD care to empower patients and improve the quality of life. However, challenges remain, including disparities in access, health literacy, and the consistency of educational delivery. There is currently no standardized approach on how to effectively educate CKD patients. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of all aspects of pre-dialysis education and best practices for advanced CKD patient education. Full article

Background/Objectives: Healthy diets and proper nutrition are fundamental for human survival. With economic development and rising incomes, the food consumption structure of rural residents in China has noticeably changed. However, substantial disparities still exist in the quality of food consumption between urban and rural areas, and the dietary structure of rural populations remains imbalanced. Methods: This study uses 2020 China Rural Revitalization Survey (CRRS) samples of rural residents for analysis since it asked residents questions about their digital literacy and food consumption. A total of 2827 valid rural resident samples were finally obtained, and the participants had a mean age of 54.844 years. This study employs the ordinary least squares (OLS) model and the two-stage least squares (2SLS) method to examine the impact of digital literacy on the food consumption structure of rural households and its underlying mechanisms. Results: Based on the regression analyses, digital literacy significantly improves the food consumption structure of rural residents (p < 0.05). Heterogeneity analysis shows that at the regional level, digital literacy has a stronger impact on the food consumption structure of rural residents in southern China (β = −153.255, p < 0.05); at the individual level, its impact is more pronounced among rural residents with lower educational attainment (β = −427.506, p < 0.01) and among middle-aged and elderly populations (β = −212.705, p < 0.05). The mechanism analysis reveals that digital literacy can enhance the food consumption structure of rural residents by increasing their awareness of dietary health and food safety. Conclusions: These findings highlight the necessity of integrating the optimization of food consumption structures with enhancements in digital literacy into policy-making and provides valuable insights for developing policies aimed at improving the nutritional health of rural residents. Full article

Recent research in the area of physical literacy has revealed that the early years are a period that has not been well studied. Our research team designed a deductive review with the aim of investigating how preschool children’s physical literacy manifests across affective, physical, cognitive and social domains. The review includes scientific publications from the last four years, which investigate the elements of physical literacy in preschool children: motivation, confidence, motor competence, knowledge, understanding and use of physical activity. The characteristics of the elements were systematised into four domains, affective, physical, cognitive and social, as engagement in physical activities. Results. The majority of the articles explained physical literacy behaviours in 4- to 5-year-old children. The physical domain was most frequently described, mainly including the three basic motor skills of postural stability, object control, and locomotion, as well as physical qualities of movement. The second most frequently described domain was the social domain of the application of physical activities in preschool stages, including the types and amounts of physical activity used in both organised and leisure time. Conclusions. Physical literacy of preschool children is a purposefully organised and guided process, during which a child is given the opportunity to try and apply age-appropriate movement skills, without being limited by the child’s gender, parental attitudes, sporting choices, or the traditions of sport culture. Full article

Background: Nutrition literacy, defined as “the skills to comprehend and implement nutrition information into everyday practice”, is a new area of study. Preschool teachers affect children’s perception of nutrition and health and contribute to their nutrition literacy skills. Objective: This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the level of nutrition literacy (NLS-Gr) of preschool teachers. Methods: The research included two stages of cluster sampling in a sample of kindergarten teachers in Greece (Rhodes Island). Nutrition literacy was assessed with the NLS-Gr, the Greek version of the NLS, and adherence to a Mediterranean diet with the MedDiet score. Results: The mean NLS-Gr score was 25.87 (SD ± 2.2) and is considered adequate. The correct answers range from 65.1% to 100%. The MedDiet score was calculated at 33.94 (SD ± 3.8), and no correlation was found between the MedDiet score and the NLS-Gr. The NLS-Gr score of kindergarten teachers was adequate, higher than that of previous research on different populations. Conclusions: The study concluded that adherence to the Mediterranean diet requires improvement, and food waste needs to be reduced. Educators should be empowered through targeted educational interventions to improve their dietary habits and, therefore, enhance students’ health and nutritional behaviors. Further research is needed to contribute to formulating nutrition strategies and policies in kindergarten. Full article

This study applies the technology hype cycle model to explore the interplay between political communication and digital technology from the mid-1990s to the present. It identifies four stages that reflect the hype cycle’s trajectory: initial optimism about the Internet’s democratic potential, subsequent disillusionment as limitations surfaced, renewed enthusiasm with the emergence of social media, and a current measured understanding of associated risks. The evolution of the digital political landscape is elucidated by synthesizing scholarly literature and documented historical accounts to trace key innovations and their impact on integrating the Internet and social media into political communication strategies. The findings highlight the critical need for enhanced media literacy and careful evaluation of technologies to uphold democratic ideals. This research contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive perspective on the dynamic relationships between politics, communication, and emerging digital platforms, offering valuable insights for both practitioners and scholars. Full article

As the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) reshapes society, digital leadership in education becomes crucial. This study explores teachers’ perspectives on high school principals’ digital leadership competencies in Oyo State, Nigeria, a region grappling with the digital divide. This offers a counterpoint to research in high-income countries. Using a quantitative, descriptive research design, 381 teachers across three senatorial districts were selected via multi-stage sampling. The study addressed one research question and tested two hypotheses. Data were collected using the High Schools’ Digital Leadership Standards Questionnaire (HSDLSQ). The reliability coefficients ranged from α = 0.85 to 0.91 across five domains: visionary leadership, digital learning culture, professional development, systemic improvement, and digital citizenship. Descriptive statistics (percentages, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (independent t-test) were used for analysis at a 0.05 significance level. The findings revealed that high school leaders possess the skills to meet the ISTE-A digital leadership standards set by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Female leaders exhibited slightly higher digital skills than males, though gender was insignificant in meeting the ISTE-A standards overall. The study underscores the importance of digital leadership in school management, offering practical implications for leadership practices, policy decisions, and future research. Although the ISTE-A standards are met, the emphasis on systemic improvement highlights how Nigerian principals adapt strategies to local resource constraints, differing from high-tech education systems. Recommendations include promoting the ISTE-A standards among school leaders, investing in digital leadership training, fostering digital literacy, and supporting adaptability to technological changes to advance digital transformation in education. Full article

Background/Objectives: Dementia is a growing public health issue, especially in rapidly aging societies like Taiwan, where nearly 10% of adults over 65 show signs of cognitive decline. Given that mild cognitive impairment (MCI) serves as a critical stage for early intervention, this study examined the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a virtual reality (VR)-based dementia prevention program, specifically designed based on self-regulated learning (SRL) principles to enhance dementia knowledge, health literacy, and self-efficacy among older adults with MCI. Methods: A pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted with 60 older adults aged 65 and above with MCI. Participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental group, which received a VR-based dementia prevention program, or a comparison group, which received routine paper-based educational materials. Results: The experimental group demonstrated significant improvements in overall dementia knowledge and all subdomains. Significant gains were also observed in critical health literacy and self-efficacy, though no significant changes were found in overall health literacy. Conclusions: The preliminary findings suggest that the SRL-informed VR program showed initial effectiveness in enhancing dementia knowledge, critical health literacy, and self-efficacy among older adults with MCI, highlighting its potential as an innovative approach to dementia prevention education. Full article