PURPOSE: Cardiovascular risk factor modification is important for patients with coronary artery disease to prevent poor progression of the disease. Without an understanding and an awareness of risk factors, patients with coronary artery disease are not able to reduce their risk by the lifestyle modification. The aims of this study were to assess patient's awareness of risk factors and to identify predictors of awareness of risk factors. METHODS: A descriptive correlational study using a cross-sectional survey method was performed. The sites of the study were three hospitals in Seoul, Korea. The sample consisted of 214 subjects. The awareness of risk factors and other subjects' characteristics were measured by a questionnaire developed for this study. RESULTS: A range of subjects (gender: 72.0%; hyperlipidemia: 51.9%; hypertension: 40.7%; obese: 37.4%; age: 35.5%; smoking: 22.4%; diabetes: 19.2%; family history: 18.2%) were not able to accurately identify the risk factors. Among predictors, gender (beta=-.17) and diabetics (beta=-.25) had statistically significant influences on awareness of risk factors. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight the lack of awareness of risk factors for coronary artery disease. The findings have important implications for nursing practice in terms of guiding educational strategies for the modification of risk factors for coronary heart disease.
Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Style ; Risk Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore clinical nurse's reported conflict experience toward end-of-life medical decision making. METHODS: Data were collected by in-depth interviews with eight nurses from three different wards of university hospital in D city of Korea. Conventional qualitative analysis was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Results were three major themes and twelve categories from the analysis. The three major themes were prioritization of treatment, non-disclosure of diagnosis, and hierarchical and power relations. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that shared decision making in end of life among patient, family members, physician, and nurse may contribute to improve end-of-life care performance as well as dignified dying of patient in end of life.
Decision Making ; Humans ; Korea

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore health-related experiences of the foreign wives. METHODS: A qualitative research design was used to understand the health-related experiences of foreign wives. Ten informants were interviewed from December 2007 to December 2009. RESULTS: The health related life experiences of foreign wives were analyzed within a self development process; Choice and struggle, Change and opportunity, and Settlement and expectation. The theme of choice and struggle includes physical and emotional stress in the initial stage of marriage. The second process of change and opportunity focused on the coping strategies of the women having power after knowledge acquisition from the multicultural family support center. The last theme was health and happiness from the women' perspectives. CONCLUSION: This study has emphasized the health condition of the foreign wives. Since foreign wives are members of Korean society, health care professionals need to design health services to meet their needs.
Delivery of Health Care ; Emigrants and Immigrants ; Female ; Happiness ; Health Services ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Change Events ; Marriage ; Qualitative Research ; Spouses ; Stress, Psychological

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the under-reporting rate and related factors after blood and body fluid (BBF) exposure among hospital employees. METHODS: Fifteen hundred employees were conveniently sampled from ten university and acute care hospitals. The survey questionnaire consisted of 37 items. Data were collected from September 10 to November 30, 2008. RESULTS: The survey response rate was 88.7%. The 47.9% (638/1,331) of hospital employees were exposed to BBF and the mean number of exposure was 4.7+/-5.942 within the previous year. Under-reporting rate after BBF exposure was 69.4% (443/638). By multi-variate logistic regression analysis, the exposure number, exposure type, infectious disease and hospital were independently related to the under-reporting of BBF among hospital employees. CONCLUSION: The Under-reporting Rate After Being Exposed To Blood And Body Fluids Was Relatively High. To Address This Problem, Educational Programs Are Needed To Decrease The Under-reporting Rate For Healthcare Workers. Further, It Might Be Helpful If Other Factors Related To Under-reporting Be Investigated In Future Studies.
Blood-Borne Pathogens ; Body Fluids ; Communicable Diseases ; Delivery of Health Care ; Logistic Models ; Occupational Exposure ; Risk Management

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to examine the degrees of depression and activities of daily living (ADLs), and to identify factors that predict depression in elderly patients. METHODS: The sample was149 patients (80% female; mean age 79.1) from three geriatric hospitals located in small cities and who agreed to participate in the study. Data were collected by staff nurses involved in direct patient care from October to September 2009. The level of depression was measured on a daily basis for seven days using a 13-item scale. Patients' ADLs was measured using a modified 10-item Bathel ADLs scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS/WIN 17.0. RESULTS: Mean depression score was 10.05+/-4.77 out of 26 points and about 27% was assessed as depressed with more than 13 points. Multiple regression analysis showed that low educational level, absence of spouse and fewer family visits predict depression. In addition, low ADLs and sleep disturbance predict depression. CONCLUSION: Nursing care providers need to be concerned about ADLs of older patients and should develop nursing activity programs to increase their in-hospital physical activities. It is also important care for older patients' sleep and encourages family visits to decrease their depression.
Activities of Daily Living ; Aged ; Depression ; Humans ; Motor Activity ; Nursing Care ; Patient Care ; Spouses

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship among clinical competence of diabetic diet education on standardized patients, self-efficacy, communication skill, learning satisfaction, and professional values of nursing students. METHODS: The present study was a descriptive research. The participants were 144 junior nursing students in a university. The clinical competence on diabetic diet education was assessed by trained evaluators when nursing students performed diabetic diet education using the standardized patients. The students' self-efficacy, communication skill, professional values, and learning satisfaction were measured by themselves using the questionnaires. RESULTS: The clinical competence on diabetic diet education showed positive correlations with communication skill and learning satisfaction, while the competence was not correlated to self-efficacy and professional values. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that clinical competence on diabetic diet education may be more related to communication skills and learning satisfaction than self-efficacy and professional values. Promoting communication skills and learning satisfaction using a standardized patient may increase nursing students' competence on diabetic diet education.
Clinical Competence ; Diet, Diabetic ; Humans ; Learning ; Mental Competency ; Students, Nursing ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: This study was done to identify the relationship of trait anger, health state, physical symptoms. and general characteristics to physical symptoms and to identify factors affecting physical symptoms of elderly in urban areas. METHODS: The research design for this study was a descriptive survey design using a convenience sampling. Elders (n=276), who agreed to participate in this study completed a self-reporting questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and multiple regression. RESULTS: Study participants reported low trait anger (M=18.61), physical symptoms (M=7.15), and moderate health state (M=3.30). The 45.4% of variance in physical symptoms was significantly explained by emotional function health state (beta=-.284, p=.013), which is one of the sub-domain of the elderly health state, and trait anger (beta=3.841, p<.001). CONCLUSION: Findings of this study provide that the most important factors in explaining physical symptoms for the elders in Korea were emotional function health state and trait anger. Based on the findings of this study, further nursing practice and nursing research for the elders with physical symptoms should be focused on emotional support.
Aged ; Anger ; Humans ; Korea ; Nursing Research ; Research Design ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the training effectiveness and behavior towards the elderly of 180 caregiver trainees. METHODS: Data were collected from five caregiver training institutions located in G city. All subjects were surveyed about the training effectiveness and behavior towards the elderly by using the Training Effectiveness Scale and the Behavior towards the Elderly Scale. Data were analyzed by SPSS/WIN 12.0 program. RESULTS: The study subjects gained a training effectiveness score of 3.84 out of 5 points and a behavior towards the elderly score 3.40 out of 4 points. The training effectiveness differed significantly depending on subject's characteristics, intention to work as a caregiver, and hours of training. There were significant differences in behavior towards the elderly depending on their age and hours of training. The training effectiveness was significantly correlated with the level of behavior towards the elderly. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrated the necessity of developing a level of educational training that will help improve caregiver trainees' care by positively changing their behavior towards the elderly.
Aged ; Caregivers ; Humans ; Intention

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in the level of disease related knowledge, compliance of health behavior, and educational needs in relation to time (at discharge and 6 months after discharge) among patients underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: Data were collected from January 1, 2006 to September 30, 2006 and a total of 60 patients participated in the study. The survey was conducted in patients underwent PCI at the time of discharge right after discharge education was provided and at a follow up visit which was 6 months after discharge. RESULTS: The level of disease related knowledge (p<.001), the compliance of health behavior (p<.001), educational need (p=.496), the sub-item of sexual life (p<.001), follow up (p<.001), diet (p=.021), stress (p<.001) in compliance of health behavior, and the sub-item of specific character of disease in educational needs (p=.015) were significantly different between discharge and 6 months after discharge. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggested that further education should be provided to the patients underwent PCI regarding medication, smoking cessation, daily life and exercise at a time of 6 months after discharge in order to increase patient compliance of health behavior.
Compliance ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Diet ; Follow-Up Studies ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Patient Compliance ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Smoking Cessation

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify predictors on drinking problems of university students. METHODS: The participants were 359 students by convenience sampling in P city. Data were collected from October 15 to December 20, 2007 using drinking problems questionnaire, Global assessment of recent stress scale, CES-D and self-esteem scale. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS: There were positive correlations between stress and drinking problems, between depression and drinking problems. Also, there were negative correlations between stress and self-esteem, between depression and self-esteem. In stepwise multiple regression analysis, the most powerful predictor of drinking problems was depression. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that effective management of depression and stress can be considered when developing a prevention program of drinking problems for university students.
Depression ; Drinking ; Humans ; Surveys and Questionnaires