The complex relationships among social support, experienced stigma, psychological distress, and quality of life (QOL) among tuberculosis (TB) patients are insufficiently understood. The purpose of this study was to explore the interrelationships among social support, experienced stigma, psychological distress, and QOL and to examine whether experienced stigma and psychological distress play a mediating role. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between November 2020 and March 2021 in Dalian, Liaoning Province, Northeast China. Data were obtained from 473 TB patients using a structured questionnaire. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the hypothetical model. The research model provided a good fit to the measured data. All research hypotheses were supported: (1) social support, experienced stigma and psychological distress were associated with QOL; (2) experienced stigma fully mediated the effect of social support on psychological distress; (3) psychological distress fully mediated the effect of experienced stigma on QOL; and (4) experienced stigma and psychological distress were sequential mediators between social support and QOL. This study elucidated the pathways linking social support, experienced stigma, and psychological distress to QOL and provides an empirical basis for improving the QOL of TB patients.

Background Psychological distress, a major comorbidities of tuberculosis (TB) patients, has posed a serious threat to the progress being made in global TB programs by affecting treatment adherence and health outcomes. However, the magnitude and associated factors of psychological distress have not been fully studied in China. The aim of the current study was to assess the prevalence of psychological distress in TB patients and to further determine the effects of socio-demographic characteristics, health-related variables, substance use status, social support, and experienced stigma on psychological distress. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among TB patients attending three medical institutions in Dalian, Liaoning Province, Northeast China from November 2020 to March 2021. A structured questionnaire was developed to collect data on patients’ socio-demographic characteristics, health-related information, substance use status, psychological distress, family function, doctor-patient relationship, policy support, experienced stigma and so on. The binary logistics regression model was used to determine the associated factors of psychological distress. Results A total of 473 TB patients were enrolled in this study, and the prevalence of psychological distress was 64.1%. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that patients with a middle school education level or above (OR: 0.521, 95%CI: 0.279–0.974), no adverse drug reactions (OR: 0.476, 95%CI: 0.268–0.846), and regular physical exercise (OR: 0.528, 95%CI: 0.281–0.993) were more likely to stay away from psychological distress. However, patients who had a high economic burden (OR: 1.697, 95%CI: 1.014–2.840), diabetes (OR: 2.165, 95%CI: 1.025–4.573), self-rated illness severe (OR: 3.169, 95%CI: 1.081–9.285), perceived poor resistance (OR: 2.065, 95%CI: 1.118–3.815), severe family dysfunction (OR: 4.001, 95%CI: 1.158–13.823), perceived need for strengthen psychological counseling (OR: 4.837, 95%CI: 2.833–8.258), and a high experienced stigma (OR: 3.253, 95%CI: 1.966–5.384) tended to have a psychological distress. Conclusions The study found that the proportion of psychological distress among TB patients was high in Northeast China, and it was influenced by a variety of factors. Effective interventions to reduce psychological distress in TB patients urgently need to be developed, and greater attention should be given to patients with risk factors.

This study was conducted to investigate (1) the association between solid fuel use for cooking and cognitive function; (2) the moderating effects of gender and residential area on cognitive scores among solid fuel users; and (3) the effects of solid fuel use on cognitive decline among different gender and age subgroups in 2011–2018. A total of 5140 Chinese middle-aged and elderly participants were successfully followed for 7 years (2011–2018). Solid fuel use was self-reported as using solid fuel for cooking at home, and cognitive function was assessed by 4 parts: episodic memory, time orientation, numerical ability and picture drawing. After adjusting for covariates, solid fuel users had lower cognitive scores, and the moderation effects of gender and residence on cognitive function were significant among the solid fuel users. In addition, compared with the group of clean fuel users, solid fuel users had a faster decline rate of cognitive function among the subgroups of female and elderly people.

Purpose: Despite increasing literature on the association between treatment delay and outcomes, cut-off point (1 month or median) selection in almost all studies for treatment delay is too subjective. This study explored more scientific cut-off points of treatment delay for poor treatment outcomes and death at the clinical level. Patients and Methods: A total of 18,100 newly confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) cases in Dalian, China were used in the final analysis. A 3-knotted restricted cubic spline (RCS) fitted for Cox proportional hazard regression models is used to analyse the effects of cut-off points of treatment delay on incident poor treatment outcomes. To explore the moderating effects of age, gender and diabetes, we added the interaction terms of these moderating variables and treatment delay to Cox proportional hazard regression models. Results:The median time of treatment initiation was 30 days (IQR: 14-59 days). The risk of incident poor treatment outcomes increased when the time was greater than cut-off point 1 (53 days; adjusted HR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.00-1.60) of treatment delay, and the risk of incident death events increased when the time was greater than cut-off point 2 (103 days; adjusted HR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.00-2.44) of delay. In addition, treatment delay was associated with an increased risk of incident poor treatment outcomes and death, and older age, male sex, and diabetes may increase the risk of treatment delay for poor outcomes. Conclusion:This study is the first to identify scientific cut-off points of treatment delay for poor treatment outcomes and death, and this method of exploration should be popularized. In addition, the knowledge of tuberculosis must be spread to every adult. Moreover, the tuberculosis diagnosis level of community level health workers should be enhanced.

PurposeNurses are at high risk for workplace violence, which can lead to psychological problems. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between workplace violence, self-efficacy, and PTSD, and to further explore whether self-efficacy mediates the relationship between workplace violence and PTSD among Chinese nurses.Materials and methodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted in Liaoning Province, China in 2020. A total of 1,017 valid questionnaires were returned. Each questionnaire included the Workplace Violence Scale, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Scale (PTSS-10), and demographics information. A hierarchical multiple regression approach was used to explore the mediating role of self-efficacy in the relationship between workplace violence and PTSD. The mediation model was then tested by the PROCESS macro in SPSS.ResultsA total of 1,017 nurses were included in this study, and the average score of PTSD among Chinese nurses was 26.85 ± 13.13 (mean ± SD). After further adjustment for control variables, workplace violence was positively associated with PTSD, explaining 13% of the variance. High self-efficacy was associated with low PTSD, explaining 18% of the variance. Self-efficacy partially mediated the role of workplace violence and PTSD.ConclusionThe high scores of PTSD among Chinese nurses demand widespread attention. Workplace violence is an important predictor of PTSD in nurses. Self-efficacy is a significant factor in improving PTSD in nurses and mediates the relationship between workplace violence and PTSD. Measures and strategies to improve self-efficacy may mitigate the effects of workplace violence on PTSD in nurses.