Researchers have rarely explored menopausal experience in the context of the totality of women's lives, subsequently making the picture of menopause incomplete, discrete and fragmented. Respecting the totality of women's lives, this study addressed how a vulnerable group of women-low income Korean immigrant women-experience menopause within a context of multiple transitions. This is a cross- sectional study using methodological triangulation. A sample of 119 first-generation Korean immigrant women aged 40 to 60 years, who were in low-income jobs, was recruited using convenience sampling methods. From the total sample, 21 peri- or post- menopausal women were recruited for in-depth interviews following the collection of the survey data. Questionnaires, short interviews, and in- depth interviews were used to collect data. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Thematic analysis was used to interpret interview data. The findings indicate that menopause was given the lowest priority amidst women's multiple and demanding roles within a gendered multiple transitional (immigration, work and menopause) context. The lack of language clarity to describe women's experience, cultural background, inadequate knowledge, and lack of social supports made menopause hidden, invisible, and inaudible. Conclusions and implications for nursing practice are guided by the goal of understanding women's experiences and meanings of menopause and supporting women through reflecting these experiences into their health care.
Delivery of Health Care ; Emigrants and Immigrants* ; Female ; Humans ; Menopause* ; Nursing ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to measure the workload of home visit care activities and their relative values. This study examined also factors that affect the workload of home visit care activities. METHODS: The participants of this study were 126 homehelpers of 50 home visit care agencies at the 2nd Longterm Care Insurance Demonstration Project. The workload of home visit care activities was divided into total work and four dimensions ; physical efforts, mental efforts, stress and time. Home visit care activities consisted of four categories with 24 items. We used magnitude estimation method to measure their relative values of the four dimensions. The participants answered the relative values of each activities based on the reference service. We used the activity for supporting their elderly's evacuation as the reference service. RESULTS: Most of the respondents were over 40 years old female. They consumed most their time supporting elderly's going out. They consumed their highest physical, mental efforts, and stress for activities of coping with emergency situation. The Pearson correlation coefficients showed significant relationships between workload and each dimensions. This study showed that all four dimensions are statistically significant predictors of workload of home visit care activities. Also, we found that the home-helper's career affects the workload of home visit care activities. CONCLUSIONS: The workload of home visit care activities could be explained by physical efforts, mental efforts, stress and time.
Adult ; Female ; Geriatric Nursing/*organization & administration ; Home Care Services ; *House Calls ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Workload

PURPOSE: To explore the current trends in theoretical works related to transcultural nursing through an integrated literature review. METHODS: The literature on theoretical works related to transcultural nursing during the past 10 years was searched through multiple databases and reviewed to determine themes reflecting the current trends in theoretical works related to transcultural nursing. RESULTS: Through the review and analysis process, four themes reflecting the current trends in theoretical works related to transcultural nursing were found: (a) purposes of exploring, defining and clarifying, and reflecting; (b) various theorizing methods; (c) multiple sources of theorizing; and (d) clear linkages to nursing practice and research. CONCLUSION: Continuous efforts need to be made to further develop the theoretical works related to transcultural nursing to reflect changes in this ever-changing nursing world.
Nursing ; Nursing Research ; Nursing Theory ; Transcultural Nursing*

PURPOSE: Recent advances in computer and mobile technologies have brought increasing usages of IT technology in nursing research across nursing fields. Despite the increasing usages, there has been little discussion on methodological issues involved in nursing research using IT technology. This is a discussion paper to identify methodological issues in IT technology-based nursing research.METHODS: An analysis was done using content analysis on research team meeting minutes and research team members' research diaries in a clinical trial that tested the efficacy of a technology-based intervention. First, several major categories of IT technology-based nursing research are concisely summarized. Then, the method that was used for this analysis is presented.RESULTS: The findings are presented as themes reflecting methodological issues in IT technology-based research: (a) difficulties in recruitment due to necessary technology literacy; (b) facilitating recruitment through allowing the use of multiple languages; (c) participants' preferences for specific IT technology; (d) efforts needed to ensure technological security; (e) participants' preferences for design; and (f) necessary considerations on timing.CONCLUSION: Finally, future directions for nursing research using IT technology are proposed based on the identified issues.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analyse researches on nursing intervention for elderly health promotion. METHOD: A literature review of 38 researches was carried out using guidelines developed by the present researchers. RESULT: The research papers studied in this research were theses written for doctoral or master's degree and published between 1994 to 2004. These researches applied nursing intervention for health promotion of elders and used experimental study design. The average period of nursing intervention was about 9 weeks and the average frequency was three times per week. As for major characteristics of subject groups, most of them were over 65 years old (76.3%) and resided in community (65.8%), and each group consisted of 10 to 29 elders. The dependent variables used in these studies included physiological variables (blood pressure, blood cholesterol level, pulmonary function, fasting blood sugar, blood cortisol level, body mass etc.), psychologic variables (depression, quality of life, life satisfaction, loneliness, anxiety etc.), cognitive variables (perceived benefits, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, self-concept, subjective health status etc.), activities of daily livings, health promotion behavior, pain, risks of fall, and variables related to Trans Theoretical Model. The majority of these studies (78.9%) applied exercise programs for health promotion including exercise motivating programs (15.8%). CONCLUSION: We suggest that more various nursing interventions must be applied to promote elders' health and to take care of their chronic diseases.
Aged* ; Anxiety ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Cholesterol ; Chronic Disease ; Fasting ; Health Promotion* ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone ; Loneliness ; Models, Theoretical ; Nursing* ; Quality of Life

PURPOSE: Experience of chest pain may be different in women from that of men and this discrepancy may cause misdiagnosis of angina contribute to mortality by this disease in women. The purpose of this study was to analyze the characteristics of chest pain and responses to the symptoms in women. METHOD: A content analysis was conducted with interviewed data obtained from women who underwent the treadmill test RESULT: Seven major categories were identified from this content analysis: attributes of chest pain; accompanied symptoms; precipitating factors; relief strategies; family support; communication with physicians; and effects of chest pain on their lives. Characteristics of pain were described as heaviness, tightness, heating sensation, tearing, and others. Duration and intensity of pain varied in a wide range. Radiating pain presented in 9 patients, and the locations of radiation were throat, neck, shoulder arm and fingers. Women tended not to respond actively to their chest pain, and didn't get appropriate support either from their family or from their physicians when they reported chest pain. CONCLUSION: Women express non-typical as well as typical patterns of pain when they experience chest pain. Clinicians have to consider the variability of symptoms when they assess women with suspicions of angina.
Angina Pectoris* ; Arm ; Chest Pain* ; Diagnostic Errors ; Exercise Test* ; Female ; Fingers ; Heating ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Male ; Mortality ; Neck ; Pharynx ; Precipitating Factors ; Sensation ; Shoulder ; Thorax*

PURPOSE: The exercise status in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, associations between exercise behavior and personal factors, and associations between exercise behavior and exercise-specific cognitions and their effects were assessed. METHOD: Four hundred thirty nine outpatients with rheumatoid arthritis were studied. The exercise status was measured by a single item. The intensity was multiplied by the frequency and duration of each exercise. The product of these intensity values for all exercises was defined as exercise behavior. Based on the Pender's revised health promotion model, exercise benefit, barrier, self-efficacy, enjoyment and social support were chosen as exercise specific cognitions and affect variables. Path analysis was used to identify the predictors of exercise behavior. Results: Compared to the duration before being diagnosed, the number of subjects who exercised regularly increased after being diagnosed. However over half of the subjects refrain from any sort of exercise and the type of exercise is very limited. Among the variables, exercise barrier, self-efficacy, and social support were found to be significant predictors of exercise behavior, and only previous exercise experience was found to be significant predictors of all behavior specific cognitions and affect variables. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that studies should explore exercise behaviors and strategies to emphasize the cognitive-motivational messages to promote exercise behaviors.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid* ; Exercise ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Outpatients

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare health habit, physical health status, and perceived health status between young Korean and Korean-Chinese women. METHODS: This study was conducted as a cross-sectional comparative survey. For this study, 114 Korean women were recruited in Seoul, South Korea and 64 Korean-Chinese women in Jilin Province, China through convenience sampling. RESULTS: A positive correlation was found between health habit and perceived health status. Perceived health status, WHR, body density, flexibility, and muscle endurance were significantly lower in Korean women than in Korean-Chinese ones. Knee flexion and ankle dorsal flexion was significantly higher in Korean women than in Korean-Chinese ones. CONCLUSION: Further investigation is required to compare the two different groups that share the same ethnicity and similar culture but were born into different countries. A study such as this may provide answers regarding the influence of migrated transition on health.
Ankle ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Knee ; Korea ; Pliability ; Seoul

No abstract available.
Clomiphene*

PURPOSE: This study examined the characteristics and service utilization of home nursing care beneficiaries under the Korean Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI). METHODS: We used assessment data and claim data of National Health Insurance Corporation from July to August 2008. Data were composed of subjects who were the beneficiaries of home nursing care. RESULTS: A total of 634 subjects were analyzed. Of the subjects, 57.1% were 75 years and over. The average score of nursing care need was only 0.71 and the percentage of those whose nursing care need score was zero was 58.0%. More than half of the subjects had partially dependent musculoskeletal conditions, and 75.5% had two or more comorbidities. A third of them usedonly home nursing care, and another third used both home nursing care and general home care at the same time. Those who needed sore care used the largest home nursing care benefits. CONCLUSION: Home nursing care of LTCI performs community-based healthcare services under LTCI. Throughout the past two years, however, it has not been active. Understanding the characteristics of its users is important in order to develop effective strategies for activating home nursing care.
Comorbidity ; Delivery of Health Care ; Home Care Services ; Home Nursing* ; Insurance, Long-Term Care* ; Long-Term Care* ; National Health Programs ; Nursing Care