PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of knowledge, attitude and compliance with standard precautions and to identify predicting factors of compliance with standard precautions in ICU and ER nurses. METHODS: The participants were 228 ICU and ER nurses working in one of three university hospitals and one general hospital. Collected data included general characteristics, features related to infection risk, and knowledge, attitude and compliance with standard precautions. For the final analysis, 218 questionnaires were used. RESULTS: Within the previous one year, 103 (47.3%) nurses experienced pricking injury from syringe needles or other sharp materials, 111 (50.9%) nurses reported exposure to patients' blood and body fluid. In general, the scores for knowledge, attitude and compliance were all high. Compliance scores for nurses in intensive care units were significantly higher than those of nurses in emergency. There were significant correlations of knowledge, attitude, and compliance with standard precautions. Attitude and work place were significant factors predicting compliance with standard precautions. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that to increase nurse's compliance with standard precautions, continuous efforts to enhance positive attitudes and at the same time, improve work environments and use individualized approaches based on the work units are needed.
Body Fluids ; Compliance ; Emergencies ; Hospitals, General ; Hospitals, University ; Hypogonadism ; Critical Care ; Intensive Care Units ; Mitochondrial Diseases ; Needles ; Ophthalmoplegia ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Syringes ; Workplace

PURPOSE: This study was done to examine the effects of aroma hand massage on stress response and sleep in hospitalized elderly patients. METHODS: A non-equivalent pre-and post-test design was used. Sixty-six hospitalized patients were recruited using a convenience sampling method and assigned to the experimental (n=34) or the control group (n=32). For the experiment, bergamot, lavender, and roman camomile oil were mixed in 2:1:1 ratio to provide aroma hand massage to both hands of each patient in the experimental group for 5 minutes per hand, for 3 days. Post-test data collection was conducted three days after completion of the hand massage. RESULTS: The experimental group had significantly lower stress score (t=-2.648, p=.010, and anxiety scores (t=-4.166, p=.000), and higher sleep measurement scores (t=2.328, p=.023) than those in the control group. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that short-term application of aroma hand massage for hospitalized elderly patients has a positive effect on hospitalization stress, anxiety, and sleep. Therefore, aroma hand massage should be applied as a nursing intervention to reduce stress response and enhance sleep in elderly hospitalized patients.
Aged ; Anxiety ; Aromatherapy ; Chamaemelum ; Data Collection ; Hand ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Lavandula ; Massage

PURPOSE: Purpose of this retrospective study was to investigate cognitive function, physical function, and problematic behaviors of elders who attended dementia daycare centers, and to identify reasons why they stopped using the center. METHODS: Participants were 176 elders, 60 years or over, attending one of four dementia daycare centers in Incheon. Data were collected from center documents. RESULTS: Mean age was 80.5 years. When admitted to the centers mean scores for the mini-mental status examination, activity of daily living, and instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) were 12.31, 9.53, and 25.09 respectively. Participants received day care service for an average of 17.98 months. The reasons for leaving the center were worsening dementia and health (40.2%), and problematic behaviors (20.1%). CONCLUSION: Results show that elders began to use day care services when their cognitive function and IADL had declined considerably. As the ultimate goal of dementia daycare service is to delay the worsening of cognitive capability and decreases in activities daily living, the effect of the service can be maximized when the service is provided as early as possible in the course of progressively severe dementia. Active promotion should be exerted in the community to encourage early use of this service.
Day Care, Medical ; Dementia* ; Incheon ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to identify the factors, which predict care burden perceived by caregivers of elders with dementia. METHODS: The participants in this descriptive survey were 92 caregivers who used one of six daycare centers located in Incheon. The data were collected by questionnaires composed of items on general characteristics of the elders and caregivers, care burden, caregiver fatigue, and functional status of the elders. RESULTS: General characteristics of the elders associated with care burden were age, gender, religion, and the presence of a spouse. Features of caregivers related to care burden were education, relationship with elderly, amount of rest, intention to care, monthly family income, and perceived family economic status. There were significant correlations among care burden, fatigue of caregiver and functional status of the elders. In stepwised multiple regression analysis, significant influencing factors were identified as caregiver fatigue, functional status of the elders, intention to care, relationship with the elders, amount of rest and elder's gender. Those variables explained 46% of variance of care burden. CONCLUSION: Functional status of elders and amount of rest were significant predictors and are supported by other previous studies. Future interventions for caregivers need to be focused on the slowing down of functional status of elders and increasing of number and length of caregiver's rest periods.
Aged ; Caregivers ; Dementia ; Dependency (Psychology) ; Fatigue ; Humans ; Intention ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Spouses

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to establish a structural model explaining the factors affecting advanced beginner-stage nurses' intention to continue employment. This model was designed to provide basic data for improving the intention to continue employment among advanced beginner-stage nurses and to efficiently manage nurses as human resources. Methods: In order to construct a hypothetical model, latent factors affecting nurses' intention to continue employment were identified through systematic review and meta-analysis. As a result of systematic review, hypothetical model was constructed with nursing professionalism, calling, work environment, positive psychological capital, and job satisfaction. Structural equation modeling was then conducted through SPSS 25.0, AMOS 22.0, and Mplus 6.12 statistics programs. Results: First, none of the pathways affected by nursing professionalism were statistically significant. Second, the final structural model showed fit very well based on the fit indices RMSEA=.062, SRMR=.052, RMR=.048, CFI=0.95, and TLI=0.94. Conclusion This study’s results identified that job satisfaction, calling, work environment, and positive psychological capital affected advanced beginner-stage nurses' intention to continue employment. Among these, job satisfaction was the most powerful variable influencing the decision to continue employment for advanced beginner-stage nurses.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate the current situation of clinical alarms in intensive care unit (ICU), nurses' recognition of and fatigue in relation to clinical alarms, and obstacles in alarm management. METHODS: Subjects were ICU nurses and devices from 48 critically ill patient cases. Data were collected through direct observation of alarm occurrence and questionnaires that were completed by the ICU nurses. The observation time unit was one hour block. One bed out of 56 ICU beds was randomly assigned to each observation time unit. RESULTS: Overall 2,184 clinical alarms were counted for 48 hours of observation, and 45.5 clinical alarms occurred per hour per subject. Of these, 1,394 alarms (63.8%) were categorized as false alarms. The alarm fatigue score was 24.3 +/- 4.0 out of 35. The highest scoring item was "always get bothered due to clinical alarms". The highest scoring item in obstacles was "frequent false alarms, which lead to reduced attention or response to alarms". CONCLUSIONS: Nurses reported that they felt some fatigue due to clinical alarms, and false alarms were also obstacles to proper management. An appropriate hospital policy should be developed to reduce false alarms and nurses' alarm fatigue.
Clinical Alarms* ; Critical Care* ; Critical Illness ; Fatigue* ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that affect quality of life in elderly people with dementia. METHODS: The participants for this descriptive correlational study were 97 elderly patients with dementia who were attending a daycare center or were being cared for at home. Data were collected from the participants using the Mini-Mental Status Examination-Dementia Scale, the Geriatric Depression Scale (Short Form), Activity of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) Scale. RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences in quality of life of elders with dementia according to mobility, using dementia day-care center, and cohabitation. In multiple regression analysis, depression, activity of daily of living, using dementia day-care centers and cohabitation were significant predictors of quality of life and the four variables explained 60% of the variance in quality of life. CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that to enhance the quality of life for elders with dementia, depression needs to be decreased and regular use of daycare service recommended. Further, various programs enhancing physical ability need to be developed and used with these elders.
Activities of Daily Living ; Aged* ; Dementia* ; Depression ; Humans ; Quality of Life*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify differences between intake and output balance and body weight changes and to identify factors related to differences in critically ill patients. METHODS: The participants for this descriptive correlational study were 65 medical surgical ICU patients. The data were collected from patient medical records. RESULTS: Mean age of the patients was 63.80 years (+/-15.21). Body weight changes for 48 hours averaged 281.54g (+/-2210.48). I&O balance for 48 hours corrected for insensible loss averaged 398.1mL. Differences ranged from 45mL to 7,535mL. In the distribution of absolute difference between body weight change and intake and output balance, only 40% of the patients were within less than 1,000mL. Factors relating to accurate measure of intake and output were ventilation methods, respiration patterns, and edema status. CONCLUSION: Although mean values of weight change and I&O balance for all patients were very close, the range of differences was very wide indicating that, for many patients, intake and output is not an appropriate indicator of body fluid balance. Therefore, because of the frequency fever and/or hyperventilation, nurses need to use caution when using intake and output balance only to estimate current body fluid status for critically ill patients.
Body Fluids ; Body Weight ; Body Weight Changes ; Critical Illness ; Edema ; Fever ; Humans ; Hyperventilation ; Critical Care ; Intensive Care Units ; Respiration ; Ventilation ; Water-Electrolyte Balance

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to estimate the effects of a video low intensity exercise program provided during hemodialysis on fatigue, activity of daily living, positive psychological capital and blood pressure of patients being treated. METHODS: A non-equivalent control group pre-post test design was used. Participants were 85 hemodialysis patients assigned to either the experimental group (n=41) or the control group (n=44). The experimental group exercised for about 25 minutes 3 times a week for 8 weeks. Data analyses involved descriptive statistics, χ2 test, t-test, multiple regression and repeated measure ANOVA using SPSS/WIN 23.0. RESULTS: The exercise intervention significantly reduced post hemodialysis fatigue and significantly increased positive psychological capital. There was a significant interaction effect on time by group in blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure changes in the experimental group were stable but, changes in the control group tended to increase gradually. CONCLUSION: To reduce fatigue and increase positive psychological capital for hemodialysis patients, providing exercise during hemodialysis is recommended. Furthermore individualized exercise in terms of intensity, time, duration, etc should be developed and tested. Also, to reduce drastic blood pressure changes during hemodialysis, exercise should be provided.
Blood Pressure ; Evaluation Studies as Topic ; Fatigue ; Humans ; Renal Dialysis ; Statistics as Topic

Purpose: This study aimed to identify trends in changes of cognitive function, physical function, depression, and activities of daily living (ADL) among people with dementia who had used day care centers for at least 12 months, through the analysis of data collected from day care center records. Methods: The participants in this descriptive survey were 63 older people with dementia. Data were collected from two dementia day care centers located in Incheon city. General characteristics and disease related characteristics were analyzed in terms of the frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Correlations between major variables were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient. Cognitive function, depression, physical performance, and ADL were analyzed using the mean, standard deviation, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and Friedman test. Results: The mean age of the participants was 77.33±6.73 years (range, 58 to 91 years) when they began attending the centers. Cognitive function significantly increased at 3 months (18.63±5.06), 6 months (18.73±5.20), and 12 months (18.63±5.43) compared to baseline (17.41±4.77). Depression significantly decreased at 3 months(2.94±2.96), 6 months (3.13±3.14), and 12 months (2.81±3.27) compared to baseline (5.20±3.87). At 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months, the physical function score (respectively 10.19±2.90, 10.33±2.84, 10.11±2.55) increased significantly compared to baseline (9.13±3.01). ADLs decreased at 3 months (8.51±1.92), 6 months (8.67±2.12), and 12 months (8.89±2.19) compared to baseline (8.41±1.88). Conclusion Without receiving customized day care service for dementia, cognitive function and physical function will decline and depressive feelings will increase. Therefore, delaying cognitive decline, reducing depression, and improving physical function through the use of day care services, especially at an early stage are essential to strengthen and maintain aging in place.