PURPOSE: To identify factors influencing women's intention to take hormone replacement therapy(HRT). METHOD: A cross-sectional survey design was utilized. A total of 116 married women aged 40 to 60 were recruited from women's groups in communities. They completed a structured questionnaire containing demographic characteristics, Orientation to Life Questionnaire, Menopausal Symptom Checklist, Health Belief of Korean Adult, Sexrole Idea of Kim, Dong-il, chronic illnesses, and a single item measuring marital satisfaction. RESULT: Thirteen percents of the women were currently taking HRT and 28.4% had intention to take HRT. Education, sense of coherence, and sex role attitude were related to women's susceptibility to menopause. Hysterectomy status and the level of sense of coherence explained women's perception of seriousness regarding menopause. In addition, chronic health conditions accounted for the variances of benefits and barriers to HRT. Factors influencing women's intention to take HRT were education, menopausal symptoms, and perceived benefits of HRT. CONCLUSION: Women's chronic health conditions, psychosocial characteristics as well as menopausal discomforts were associated with women's choice regarding HRT. Other factors related to decision making process of women's health seeking behaviors need to be explored.
Adult ; Checklist ; Chronic Disease ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Decision Making ; Education ; Female ; Gender Identity ; Hormone Replacement Therapy* ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Intention* ; Menopause ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Sense of Coherence ; Women's Health

PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore changes in symptom distress and functional status in gynecologic cancer patients during the entire treatment cycles of chemotherapy. METHODS: A prospective and longitudinal study with repeated measures was designed. Symptom Distress Scale and Karnofsky Performance Status Index were included in a daily log developed for self-administration. A total of 39 patients with a mean age of 48.4 years participated. RESULTS: The levels of symptom distress and functional status changed significantly over the six cycles. Symptom distress kept increasing until its peak at the fourth cycle, while the functional status scored lowest at the first cycle, then it improved as the cycle repeated. In each cycle, symptom distress was marked higher during the first 6 days accompanying poor functional status. However, both changes did not recover completely until the end of each cycle. CONCLUSION: Nursing assessment and intervention need to be provided based on these changing patterns to help cancer patients cope and adjust successfully during the long treatment period. Further studies are needed to examine the impact of the major symptoms on psychological responses, quality of life, and outcomes of the cancer treatments.
Drug Therapy* ; Humans ; Karnofsky Performance Status ; Longitudinal Studies* ; Nursing Assessment ; Prospective Studies ; Quality of Life

The central concept of the Salutogenic Model is sense of coherence, which is defined as a global orientation that expresses the extent to which one has a feeling of confidence that one's internal and external environments are comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful. Sense of coherence is proposed as a determinant of positive health consequences and successful coping. The purpose of this article is to review Antonovsky's Salutogenic Model, the concept of sense of coherence, and its central components and sources. For conceptual clarity, sense of coherence is compared and contrasted with the concept of hardiness. The empirical research findings are integrated to better understand sense of coherence and to enhance future implications for nursing researching and practice.
Empirical Research ; Nursing Research ; Sense of Coherence*

PURPOSE: This study aimed to identify differences in contraception behavior and related factors between unmarried female and male. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey design with a convenient sampling was used. From Seoul, 107 women and 96 men were recruited. A structured questionnaire was self-administered from July 14, 2008 to September 2, 2008. RESULTS: The average ages of women and men were 26.9 and 27.8 years old, respectively. Fifty-six percent of women and 85.4% of men have experienced sexual intercourse. There were no differences between female and male in attitude toward contraception, subjective norm, and contraception behavior, while female had higher score of self-efficacy for contraception (p=.02) and intention of contraception (p=.02). There was positive correlation with subjective norm (r=.22, p<.05), self-efficacy (r=.53, p<.01) in male and attitude (r=.32, p<.05), self-efficacy (r=49, p<.01) in female. According to the result of multiple regression, the significant factor of contraception behavior was self-efficacy for both female (beta=.49, p=.00) and male (beta=.53, p=.00). CONCLUSION: To improve contraception behavior for unmarried female and male, it is necessary to develop proper sex education program to enhance self-efficacy for contraception. Adjusted education program by this result will contribute to increase sexual health for female and male.
Coitus ; Contraception ; Contraception Behavior ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Intention ; Male ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Reproductive Health ; Self Efficacy ; Sex Education ; Single Person

PURPOSE: This study aimed to identify related factors of prenatal depression by stress-vulnerability and stress-coping models for pregnant women. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey design with a convenience sampling was used. A total of 107 pregnant women who visited a general hospital in a metropolitan city were recruited from August to October, 2013. A structured questionnaire included the Korean version of Beck Depression Inventory II, and the instruments measuring Self-Esteem, Marital Satisfaction, Pregnancy Stress, Stressful Life Events, and Coping. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, Parson's correlation analysis, and stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS: The mean score of prenatal depression was 11.95+/-6.2, then showing 19.6% with mild depression, 15.0% with moderate depression, and 0.9% with severe depression on BDI II scale. Prenatal depression had positive correlation with pregnancy stress (r=.55, p<.01), stressful life events (r=.26, p<.01) and negative correlation with self-esteem (r=-.38, p<.01), marital satisfaction (r=-.40, p<.01), and coping (r=-.21, p<.05). Factors of pregnancy stress, self-esteem, stressful life events, and planned pregnancy explained 38% of the total variance of prenatal depression. CONCLUSION: These findings show that health providers need to assess prenatal depression and to control the influencing factors.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Depression* ; Family Planning Services ; Female ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Prenatal Care ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to test and validate a model to predict contraception behavior in unmarried men and women. METHODS: Data were collected from a questionnaire survey of 180 unmarried men and 186 unmarried women 20 years of age or over who had sexual relationships in the past 6 months. Participants were from Seoul, Kyunggi, Daegu, and Busan and data collection was done from February 19 to April 16, 2013. RESULTS: Model fit indices for the hypotheoretical model fitted to the recommended levels. Out of 15 paths, 11 were statistically significant in both. Predictors of contraception behavior in unmarried men and women were intention to use contraception and self-efficacy for contraception. Exposure to sexual content was directly significant to the intention in men only. Self-efficacy for contraception was affected by perceived threat of pregnancy and gender role attitude. In women, the two predictors were also significant except for the effect of exposure to sexual contents. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that an intervention program which increases self-efficacy in unmarried men and women contributes to effective contraception behavior. In addition, proper sexual education programs using positive aspect of mass media can help develop active participation for contraception behavior.
Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Contraception Behavior/*psychology ; Female ; Gender Identity ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Male ; *Models, Theoretical ; Questionnaires ; Republic of Korea ; Self Efficacy ; Single Person/*psychology

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to have an in-depth understanding of delivery room nurses'experiences of caring for stillborn babies and their parents. METHODS: After obtaining approval from the Institutional Review Board, data were collected from March 1 to August 30, 2016. A total of six nurses participated in the study. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted and the data subsequently analyzed. RESULTS: Using thematic analysis, six themes were defined and refined: Emotional distress as a result of encountering stillborn babies; Caring for the deceased baby; Concerns for the mother's pain; Consideration for the father; Conflicts between accepting and dismissing parents' requests; and Strong mindset for the stillborn babies and their parents. CONCLUSION: The results showed that the nurses' experiences of caring for stillborn babies and their parents might be a difficult and lonely process. However, it could also be a process of attaining maturity by finding meaning and value in one's work. It would be helpful for the delivery room nurses to share examples of effective communication, train through simulation, and learn useful strategies that each nurse can use.
Delivery Rooms* ; Ethics Committees, Research ; Fathers ; Humans ; Parents* ; Qualitative Research ; Stillbirth

PURPOSE: The study was to develop an instrument to measure grandmothering stress for Korean day-care grandmothers and to test the validity and reliability of the instrument. METHOD: The items of the instrument were based on a literature review and secondary data. After content validity tests and a pilot test, 20 items were developed. In order to test the reliability and validity of the scale, data were collected from 126 grandmothers. RESULT: After a factor analysis, five factors and 15 items were selected. These explained 67.2% of the total variance. The first domain was termed 'Health problems', and explained 18.1% of the total variance, and the second domain of 'Possibility of role substitution' explained 13.8%. The third and the fourth domains were 'Relations with adult children' and 'Grandchildren's characteristics' explaining 12.5% and 12.1%, respectively. The last domain explained 10.8% of the total variance with the theme 'Restriction of social life'. After accomplishing the reliability analysis, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was determined to be .75. CONCLUSIONS: This initial step in the development of a Grandmothering Stress Index is valuable to reflect the subject of Grandmothering stress in senior citizens in Korea. Future study should to refine the constitution of the instrument.
Adult ; Constitution and Bylaws ; Humans ; Korea ; Parenting ; Reproducibility of Results

PURPOSE: The study was to compare the factors of life satisfaction between grandmothers parenting and not parenting their grandchildren. METHODS: A descriptive design with a convenience sampling was used for this study. From communities in S and U city, 85 parenting grandmothers (PG) and 103 non-parenting grandmothers (NPG) were recruited. The PG were those grandmothers who cared for preschooler grandchildren for their daughter or daughter-in-law who was employed. RESULTS: The demographics of the two groups were similar, however the value of grandparenting was significantly higher in the PG than the NPG (t=4.56, p<.001). In the PG, strong and significant correlations were found among the value of grandparenting, health status, quality of relations with adult children, and life satisfaction. However, demographics were more related to health status and life satisfaction in the NPG. The value of grandparenting, health status, and quality of grandmother-adult children relations were found to be significant factors of life satisfaction (F=20.75, p<.001) explaining 42% of the variances. In the NPG, only health status was a significant factor (F=50.66, p<.001) explaining 33% of the variances. CONCLUSION: This study shows that grandmothers' perceptions of grandparenting and family relationships need to be incorporated into the lifestyle in order to support parenting grandmothers' life satisfaction while grandmothers' health is the common concern of elderly women's life satisfaction.
Adult Children ; Aged ; Child ; Demography ; Family Relations ; Humans ; Life Style ; Nuclear Family ; Parenting ; Parents

PURPOSE: To provide accurate information on induced labor and find strategies to enhance women's childbirth satisfaction. METHODS: Participants were pregnant women expected to have normal vaginal delivery. A total of 113 women with induced labor and 61 women with spontaneous labor were surveyed. Data were collected using a questionnaire and electronic medical records. RESULTS: The following variables related to labor progress showed significant differences between the induced labor group and the spontaneous labor group: length of the first stage of labor in primigravidas, use of analgesic, incidence of uterine hyperstimulation, incidence of fetal distress, and medical treatment for the expectant mother. Delivery type and the incidence of postpartum complications showed significant difference between the two groups. Induced labor women's childbirth satisfaction was mainly affected by the process of labor whereas spontaneous labor women's childbirth satisfaction was affected by the outcome of childbirth. CONCLUSION: Medical staff should have accurate information on the risk of induced labor and the benefits of a natural delivery. Moreover, medical staff should provide necessary information and environment for women to participate in the decision-making process.
Electronic Health Records ; Female ; Fetal Distress ; Humans ; Incidence ; Labor, Induced ; Medical Staff ; Mothers ; Parturition* ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women