PURPOSE: The study was done to investigate effects of a horticultural therapy program on self-efficacy, stress response, and psychiatric symptoms in patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: The research design was a quasi-experimental research with a nonequivalent control group non-synchronized pre-posttest. The participants were recruited from patients with schizophrenia admitted to 1 mental hospital located in D City. The research was carried out from August 3 to September 25, 2012. To test the effects of the horticultural therapy program, the participants were divided into two groups, an experimental group (29) and a control group (26). The horticulture therapy was provided to the experiment group for 60 minutes/session twice a week, for 8 weeks. Data were analyzed using Fisher's exact probability test, χ2-test, and t-test with the SPSS/WIN 12.0 program. RESULTS: After attending the horticultural therapy program, the first hypothesis was verified as the score for self-efficacy in the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group (t=2.12, p=.039). The 3rd hypothesis was verified as the score for PANSS in the experimental group was significantly lower than the control group (t=-5.20, p<.001). CONCLUSION: These results indicate that the horticultural therapy program enhanced self-efficacy and lessened psychiatric symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.
Horticultural Therapy* ; Hospitals, Psychiatric ; Humans ; Research Design ; Schizophrenia*

This study was undertaken to identify medical staffs perception about nutrition care and dietitian's role in hospitals. Questionnaires were sent to 874 medical staffa at 50 general hospials size over 100 beds, located in Seoul and Pusan, A total of 649(74.3%) of medical staffs returned questionnaries from 47 general hospitals. The results of this study can be summarized as follows. 1. 89.6% if educak stffs responded that they required the help of the dietitian when the patients needed the nutrition acre and also most of them(87.0%) held positive perceptions abuot the necessity of the nutrition support team. 2. When the medical staffs prescribed the special diet of the patients' nutrition care, 90.0% of them preferred that diet would be order after consulting with dietitian. 3. Half of the medical staffs(52.1%) responded that they were scarced of the knowledge about the clinical mutrition and then 66.4% of them recognized the need of nutrition education at the medical school. 4. The medical staffs responded that dietitian must have the knowledge abuot food, nutrition and medical science(52.5%) and the competence of discussion with medical staffs about nutrition the patients(30.8%).
Busan ; Diet ; Education ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Medical Staff ; Mental Competency ; Nutritionists ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Schools, Medical ; Seoul

This study was conducted to identify dietitians' position and role by assessing the present condition on management of human resources in contracted foodservice management company. Questionnaires were distributed to 79 contracted companies (eight large-size, 48 mid-size, 23 small-size companies) from March to May in 2002. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSSwin (version 8.0). The data were analyzed in group comparisons using frequencies and percentage for every item in the questionnaires, x2-test, and oneway ANOVA. About eighty-five percent of contracted foodservice companies employed the new dietitians as full time employees, and seventy-five percent of them were promoted the dietitians by evaluation after a given period of time. As a starting payment for university graduates, large-size companies payed an average of 16,260,000 won/year, which was significantly higher (p<0.01) than those of mid-sized (11,320,000 won/year) and small-sized companies (11,620,000 won/year). The mean lengths of dietitians' service were 33.5 months in large-size companies, 26.5 months in mid-sized companies, 26.0 months in small-sized companies. It was less than 3 years in all companies (avg. 26.9 months). Fifty-four companies (68.4%) employed dietitians in each foodservice contract, whereas 25 companies didn't employ dietitians. The ratios of dietitians out of employees in each department of the companies were 42.6% in the department of contracted foodservice management, 19.9% in the department of menu development, 18.1% in the department of food safety, 8.7% in the department of distribution and purchase, 4.2% in the department of business, and 3.9% in the department of customer satisfaction. The dietitians' positions were directors in two companies (2.5%), general managers in two companies (2.5%), deputy managers in seven companies (8.9%), managers in twenty-nine companies (36.7%), assistant managers/chief clerks in twenty-four companies (30.4%), and chiefs in twenty-five companies (31.6%). The frequencies of training for dietitians were 6.2 times/year for the food safety training, 5.8 times/year for the cooking training, 4.8 times/year for nutrition-related training, and 4.7 times/year for service training.
Commerce ; Cooking ; Food Safety ; Humans* ; Nutritionists* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

This study was surveyed to provide the information on current operational practices and issues of contract-managed foodservice companies. Questionnaires were distributed to 79 contract-managed foodservice companies (eight large-size, 48 mid-size, 23 small-size companies) from March to May in 2002. The contract-managed foodservice companies provided averages of 269,184 (range 140,036~503,500), 14,837 (range 450~75,269), and 4,065 (range 930~8,050) meals daily from large, medium, and small-size companies, respectively. The companies managed to averages of 268.2 (160~619) foodservice contracts at large-size companies, 21.9 (5~63) contracts at mid-size companies, and 4.7 (1~10) contracts at small-size companies. The average numbers of dietitians were 298.6 (range 104~671) in large-size companies, 22.2(6~86) in mid-size companies, and 3.8(1~9) in small-size companies. The averages of sales were 156.5 billion at large-size companies, 6.7 billion at mid-size companies, and 1.7 billion at small-size companies in 2001. The contract was two types including management fee contract(5%), and profit and loss contract(95%). The cost ratios for office foodservice were 59.5% at food cost, 24.2% at labor cost, 6.3% at profit, and 10.1% at other cost. For hospital foodservice, the ratios were 54.0% at the food cost, 34.6% at labor cost, 3.0% at profit, and 11.8% at other cost. For high school foodservice, the ratios were 62.2% at the food cost, 21.5% at labor cost, 5.4% at profit, and 11.2% at other cost. When the contractors managed to the foodservice, the most important matters were the sanitation management and customer satisfaction. Also, the difficult problems were excess investment of equipments and low meal prices.
Commerce ; Fees and Charges ; Humans ; Investments ; Meals ; Nutritionists ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Republic of Korea* ; Sanitation

Purpose: This study aims to explore and deeply understand the essence of the nursing experiences of ward nurses who have cared for foreign inpatients. Methods: In this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 nurses at a tertiary hospital in Seoul from May 1 to June 30, 2023. The collected data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. Results: The nursing experiences of ward nurses caring for foreign inpatients yielded five theme clusters-"A welcome yet challenging encounter," "A journey to navigate language barriers," "New competencies needed to face unfamiliar cultures," "Exerting every possible effort," and "Discovering and embracing the value of coexistence"-along with 11 themes. Ward nurses found caring for foreign inpatients challenging due to cultural differences and language barriers, which often felt burdensome.Nonetheless, they accepted it as a necessary duty, handling additional tasks beyond basic care to support patient recovery. Despite communication challenges, they strived to provide the best care, demonstrating self-efficacy in respecting cultural differences, which fostered a sense of accomplishment and pride in their roles. Conclusion This study identified the complex emotions and challenges experienced by ward nurses caring for foreign inpatients and the process of overcoming these obstacles and building a sense of pride. These findings can serve as an important reference for understanding how ward nurses adapt to their roles in caring for foreign patients and provide foundational data for improving nursing environments to enhance the quality of care for foreign inpatients.

Purpose: This study aims to explore and deeply understand the essence of the nursing experiences of ward nurses who have cared for foreign inpatients. Methods: In this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 nurses at a tertiary hospital in Seoul from May 1 to June 30, 2023. The collected data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. Results: The nursing experiences of ward nurses caring for foreign inpatients yielded five theme clusters-"A welcome yet challenging encounter," "A journey to navigate language barriers," "New competencies needed to face unfamiliar cultures," "Exerting every possible effort," and "Discovering and embracing the value of coexistence"-along with 11 themes. Ward nurses found caring for foreign inpatients challenging due to cultural differences and language barriers, which often felt burdensome.Nonetheless, they accepted it as a necessary duty, handling additional tasks beyond basic care to support patient recovery. Despite communication challenges, they strived to provide the best care, demonstrating self-efficacy in respecting cultural differences, which fostered a sense of accomplishment and pride in their roles. Conclusion This study identified the complex emotions and challenges experienced by ward nurses caring for foreign inpatients and the process of overcoming these obstacles and building a sense of pride. These findings can serve as an important reference for understanding how ward nurses adapt to their roles in caring for foreign patients and provide foundational data for improving nursing environments to enhance the quality of care for foreign inpatients.

Purpose: This study aims to explore and deeply understand the essence of the nursing experiences of ward nurses who have cared for foreign inpatients. Methods: In this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 nurses at a tertiary hospital in Seoul from May 1 to June 30, 2023. The collected data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. Results: The nursing experiences of ward nurses caring for foreign inpatients yielded five theme clusters-"A welcome yet challenging encounter," "A journey to navigate language barriers," "New competencies needed to face unfamiliar cultures," "Exerting every possible effort," and "Discovering and embracing the value of coexistence"-along with 11 themes. Ward nurses found caring for foreign inpatients challenging due to cultural differences and language barriers, which often felt burdensome.Nonetheless, they accepted it as a necessary duty, handling additional tasks beyond basic care to support patient recovery. Despite communication challenges, they strived to provide the best care, demonstrating self-efficacy in respecting cultural differences, which fostered a sense of accomplishment and pride in their roles. Conclusion This study identified the complex emotions and challenges experienced by ward nurses caring for foreign inpatients and the process of overcoming these obstacles and building a sense of pride. These findings can serve as an important reference for understanding how ward nurses adapt to their roles in caring for foreign patients and provide foundational data for improving nursing environments to enhance the quality of care for foreign inpatients.

Purpose: This study aims to explore and deeply understand the essence of the nursing experiences of ward nurses who have cared for foreign inpatients. Methods: In this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 nurses at a tertiary hospital in Seoul from May 1 to June 30, 2023. The collected data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. Results: The nursing experiences of ward nurses caring for foreign inpatients yielded five theme clusters-"A welcome yet challenging encounter," "A journey to navigate language barriers," "New competencies needed to face unfamiliar cultures," "Exerting every possible effort," and "Discovering and embracing the value of coexistence"-along with 11 themes. Ward nurses found caring for foreign inpatients challenging due to cultural differences and language barriers, which often felt burdensome.Nonetheless, they accepted it as a necessary duty, handling additional tasks beyond basic care to support patient recovery. Despite communication challenges, they strived to provide the best care, demonstrating self-efficacy in respecting cultural differences, which fostered a sense of accomplishment and pride in their roles. Conclusion This study identified the complex emotions and challenges experienced by ward nurses caring for foreign inpatients and the process of overcoming these obstacles and building a sense of pride. These findings can serve as an important reference for understanding how ward nurses adapt to their roles in caring for foreign patients and provide foundational data for improving nursing environments to enhance the quality of care for foreign inpatients.

BACKGROUND: There is controversy regarding whether COX-2 specific inhibitors are associated with elevation of blood pressure. We compared the effects of aspirin, indomethacin, and celecoxib for vascular reactivity induced by phenylephrine. We also tested the effects of indomethacin and NO donor on COX-1 and COX-2 protein expression, as well as nitrite production in culture medium of vascular smooth muscle cells. MATERILAS AND METHODS: In this experiment, we used the isometric tension study for vascular reactivity. After 45 minutes of pretreatment with aspirin, indomethacin, celecoxib, and phenylephrine induced contractions were tested. COX-1 and COX-2 protein expressions were analyzed by Western blot and nitrite production by the Griess reaction. RESULTS: Although celecoxib pretreatment caused enhanced arterial contraction, aspirin pretreatment induced more potent arterial contraction than celecoxib in the isometric tension study of rabbit femoral artery. COX-1 protein expression was unchanged by indomethacin, SNP and NOR-3; COX-2 protein expression was increased by the addition of indomethacin, SNP, and NOR-3. Especially, NOR-3, a NO donor, significantly increased COX-2 protein expression with unstimulated conditions as well as LPS stimulation. Induction of nitrite production was higher with NOR-3 treatment than SNP treatment with LPS stimulation. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that aspirin caused more potent vascular contraction than celecoxib and indomethacin. COX-2 expression in VSMC depended on the types of NO donor and LPS stimulation.
Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; Aspirin ; Blood Pressure ; Blotting, Western ; Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors* ; Femoral Artery ; Humans ; Indomethacin ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; Phenylephrine ; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases* ; Tissue Donors ; Celecoxib

We examined whether visual perception related to consumption norms could influence food consumption and satiety by using modified soup bowls with elevated bottoms. Twenty-six healthy women (BMI 19.9 kg/m2 Age 24 yr) participated in the study once a week for 2 weeks. The subjects were served beef shank soup in one of two soup bowls (180 g soup in the modified bowl or 250 g soup in the normal bowl). The results showed that subjects who ate from the modified soup bowl consumed less soup (135.3 kcal vs 180.0 kcal, P<0.001) and had lower total energy intake (390.6 kcal vs 438.1 kcal, P<0.01) than those who ate from the normal soup bowl. However, despite consuming fewer calories, satiety levels of those who ate from the modifed soup bowl were not significantly different from those using the normal soup bowl. In conclusion, these results indicate that the modified soup bowl which created a distorted visual perception ot the amount of soup in the bowl leads to decreased soup intake and total energy intake without altering satiety. The reduced amount of soup in the modified soup bowl may also implicitly suggest what might be interpreted as an appropriate amount to consume, and also in essence suggest reduced consumption norm.
Energy Intake ; Female ; Humans ; Visual Perception