Effects of a Nurse-Led Educational Intervention for Chinese Adult Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis: A Case-Control Study

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an individual nurse-led educational intervention for patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). This was a case-control study. The case group consisted of six individual educational sessions delivered by a nurse. A total of 40 patients with PsA joined in this study: the case group (n = 20) and the control group (n = 18). After a 6-week intervention, the case group had significantly better management for the severity of arthritis symptoms (p < 0.05), better psychological well-being and significant lower levels of anxiety (p < 0.05), and depression score (p < 0.01), and reported better improvement of physical and psychological domain of quality of life (QOL) (both p values < 0.05) than the control group. In conclusion, this nurse-led individual education intervention has statistically significant benefits for the management of clinical symptoms of arthritis and for psychological well-being and QOL in patients with PsA.

High HIV incidence epidemic among men who have sex with men in china: results from a multi-site cross-sectional study

Background:Recent upsurge of new HIV infections among men who have sex with men(MSM)is a major concern in China.Paucity of national-level information regarding the burden and predictors of this progressive epidemic of new infections called for a multi-centric,timely and comprehensive investigation.Methods:Mixed methods were used to recruit MSM from seven cities in China between 2012 and 2013.Recent and established HIV infections were estimated by Western Blot and BED HIV-1 capture enzyme immunoassay.Syphilis and herpes simplex virus-2(HSV-2)were also tested.Results:A total of 4496 eligible MSM were recruited.The majority was aged≤35 years(77.5%),migrants(60.3%),never married(69.8%),and played receptive role in anal sex(70.5%).The HIV prevalence was 9.9%,and 41.9%were recently infected,with sensitivity/specificity adjusted HIV incidence of 8.9(95%CI:7.6-10.2)/100 Person-Years.The prevalence of history HSV-2 and syphilis were 12.5%and 8.5%,respectively.Recent HIV infection was associated with having multiple male partners(aOR=1.4,95%CI 1.1-1.9),recreational drug use(aOR=2.2,95%CI 1.6-3.0),anal bleeding(aOR=2.1,95%CI 1.4-3.0),syphilis infection(aOR=2.8,95%CI 1.9-4.3)and history HSV-2 infection(aOR=2.3,95%CI 1.5-3.3).Conclusion:High rate of recent HIV infection is potentially resulting in progressive deterioration of the overall HIV epidemic among MSM in China.Targeted interventions to address high-risk MSM including those having multiple partners,history of recreational drug use and syphilis or HSV-2 infection seemed to be the need of the hour.