PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to examine the relationships among activities of daily living, self-efficiency, nursing home care quality and nursing home adaptation, and to identify the influencing factors of nursing home adaptation in nursing home residents. METHODS: The study employed a descriptive correlational design. The data were collected from 148 older adults without dementia by interview from six nursing homes in three cities from February 1, 2008 to February 28, 2008. RESULTS: Levels of nursing home adaptation in older adult residents were different by type of decision maker of nursing home admission, reason of nursing home admission, type of payment and length of nursing home stay. The nursing home adaptation was significantly correlated with self-efficiency and nursing home care quality. The strongest predictor of nursing home adaptation was type of decision maker of nursing home admission followed by the self-efficiency. CONCLUSION: The study suggested that during the decision making period of nursing home admission, older adults should have enough time and careful considerations of their families to decide by themselves in positive ways. Nursing home staff should be able to identify reasons of nursing home admission and demands or expectations of older adults and their families.
Activities of Daily Living ; *Adaptation, Psychological ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Attitude of Health Personnel ; Demography ; Family/psychology ; Female ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; *Nursing Homes/organization & administration ; *Patient Admission ; Self Efficacy

BACKGROUND: Reducing skin contamination rate and improving the positive rate in blood culture is essential for the correct diagnosis and management of sepsis. Chlorhexidine-alcohol was compared with povidone-iodine for the efficiency of disinfection. Positive rates were compared between the collection of 10 mL and 20 mL of blood per sample. METHODS: The study population included adult patients > or = 18 years old requested for blood culture in the Emergency Department. Povidone-iodine (10%) was used for antiseptic skin preparation from March to June 2011, and 0.5% chlorhexidine-alcohol from July to October 2011. The standard for blood collection was 10 mL in the first period and 20 mL in the second period. The dedicated phlebotomists had been educated on the optimal skin preparation and sample collection. RESULTS: After 10% povidone-iodine application, 31 of 2,755 samples (1.1%) were considered to be contaminated; whereas, a total of 60 of 3,064 samples (2.0%) were contaminated (P=0.011) after application of 0.5% chlorhexidine-alcohol. The positive rate of blood culture was 12.5% (345/2,755) in the first period versus 17.1% (524/3,064) in the second period (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Both disinfectants appeared acceptable for skin preparation for blood culture collection, although chlorhexidine-alcohol had a higher contamination rate than povidone-iodine. The positive rate of blood culture was in accordance with the amount of sample collected. Continuous education and monitoring are needed for the proper collection and management of blood culture.
Adult ; Antisepsis ; Blood Volume ; Disinfectants ; Disinfection ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Povidone-Iodine ; Sepsis ; Skin

BACKGROUND: Previous antibiotic exposure may inhibit the growth of microorganisms in blood culture bottles. The authors investigated the frequency of previous antibiotic usage and analyzed the relationships among antibiotic usage, microbiological culture results and mortality of sepsis patients. METHODS: From April to May 2011, all blood cultures requested from inpatients were analyzed according to the admitted ward and antibiotic prescription records. The BacT/Alert 3D system (bioMerieux Inc.) was used with a standard bottle (SA, SN) for blood culture. RESULTS: Of 900 inpatients, 48% had been receiving antimicrobial agents when blood cultures were ordered. This group had a significantly higher mortality rate (36.2%) compared to the patients who had not received antibiotics (11.1%). Gram-negative rod bacteremia (37.1%) and candidemia (100%) resulted in a significantly higher mortality rate compared to Gram-positive cocci bacteremia (16.4%). In the analysis of 21 cases resulting in death, 15 (71.4%) patients died before or on the date when blood culture results were reported. CONCLUSION: Patients who receive antibiotics prior to blood collection may be at a higher risk for mortality. In the present study, Gram-negative rod bacteremia and candidemia cases showed a rapid progression of sepsis as indicated by Gram staining and thus should be regarded seriously.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Anti-Infective Agents ; Bacteremia ; Candidemia ; Gram-Positive Cocci ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Prescriptions ; Sepsis ; Sydnones

PURPOSE: This study was done to determine whether muscle strength training programs have an impact on improving symptoms of urinary incontinence (UI) and physical function among elderly women with UI who reside in long-term care facilities. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was conducted. Participants had to be over 65 years, score over 15 score on the mini-mental state examination, and be able to walk alone or with an assistant. Seventy residents were randomly allocated to either the training group (n=35) or control group (n=35). The program consisted of 50 minutes, twice a week for 8 weeks, and included Kegel's exercise, Thera-band training and indoor walking. Main outcomes were UI symptoms, peak vaginal pressure and physical functions measured with timed up and go test (TUG), one leg standing test (OLST), activities of daily living (ADL) and grip strength. Changes in outcome measurements were calculated from baseline to 4 weeks and to 8 weeks using repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS: There were significant differences in peak vaginal pressure (p<.001), TUG (p<.001), OLST (p=.012) and grip strength (p<.001) in the interaction between groups and time. CONCLUSION: Future studies are suggested to confirm the effect of muscle strength training in long-term care facilities where elderly women with UI reside.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Hand Strength ; Humans ; Long-Term Care ; Muscle Strength/*physiology ; Resistance Training ; Urinary Incontinence/pathology/*therapy ; Vagina/physiology ; Walking

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationships between Moral Sensitivity, Empathy and Perceived Ethical Climate for nurses working in national mental hospitals and to provide basic data for the development of interventions that enhance Moral Sensitivity and help psychiatric hospital nurses in Ethical Decision-making. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 182 psychiatric nurses working in the national mental hospitals. Data were collected through self-report questionnaires which included the Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire (MSQ), Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and Hospital Ethical Climate Survey (HECS). RESULTS: The mean score for MSQ was 5.19, for IRI, 2.49, and for HECS, 3.73. There was a significant positive correlation between moral sensitivity and empathy (r=.24, p=.001), between moral sensitivity and perceived ethical climate (r=.17, p= .025) and between empathy and perceived ethical climate (r=.17, p=.025). CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that moral sensitivity can be enhanced by improving empathy, a personal factor, and ethical climate, an organization factor. Further identification of the relationship between moral sensitivity and personal and organizational factors will be useful in the development of interventions to enhance moral sensitivity of nurses working in psychiatric wards.
Climate* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Empathy* ; Hospitals, Psychiatric* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Animals ; Rats*

Gastric cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related death in the world. A growing body of evidence indicates that inflammation is closely associated with the initiation, progression, and metastasis of many tumors, including those of gastric cancer. In addition, approximately 60% of the world's population is colonized by Helicobacter pylori, which accounts for more than 50% of gastric cancers. While the role of inflammation in intestinal and colonic cancers is relatively well defined, its role in stomach neoplasia is still unclear because of the limited access of pathogens to the acidic environment and the technical difficulties isolating and characterizing immune cells in the stomach, especially in animal models. In this review, we will provide recent updates addressing how inflammation is involved in gastric malignancies, and what immune characteristics regulate the pathogenesis of stomach cancer. Also, we will discuss potential therapeutics that target the immune system for the efficient treatment of gastric cancer.
Adaptive Immunity/*immunology ; B-Lymphocytes/immunology ; Cytokines/immunology ; Gastritis/immunology ; Helicobacter Infections/immunology ; Helicobacter pylori/immunology ; Humans ; Immunity, Innate/*immunology ; Immunotherapy/methods ; Receptors, Cytokine/immunology ; Stomach Neoplasms/diagnosis/*immunology/therapy ; T-Lymphocytes/immunology ; Tumor Microenvironment/*immunology

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the levels of customer orientation in nurses whose work experience was between 1 and 5 years and to examine factors associated with customer orientation and nursing productivity. METHODS: For this descriptive correlational study, nurses (N=164) were recruited from a University Hospital in B city, from November 1 to 23, 2012. Questionnaires included measures of customer orientation, nursing productivity, organizational commitment, job stress, and turnover intention. Data were analysed with the SPSS/WIN 18.0 program using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient, and stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 25 years, 96% were single, and 54.9% had a bachelor degree. Organizational commitment (beta=.387) and job stress (beta=.280) significantly explained the variance in customer orientation (R2=15.8). Customer orientation (beta=.479), education level (beta=.196), and turnover intention (beta=-.184) significantly explained the variance in nursing productivity (R2=35.3). Customer orientation was the most important factor in explaining the variance in the nursing productivity. CONCLUSION: This study highlighted the relationship between customer orientation and nursing productivity. Improving the customer orientation could result in increasing nursing productivity. Future managerial intervention to improve customer orientation is warranted.
Education ; Efficiency* ; Efficiency, Organizational ; Intention ; Nursing* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVE: Seoul City has implemented the Safe Pharmacy in 2013. This study aimed to ascertain the success factors of the smoking cessation service of the Safe Pharmacy. METHODS: The data for the smoking cessation registration cards were obtained from the pharmacies which participated in 2014 Safe Pharmacy. The sample included 289 smokers in 6 districts who participated at least one sessions of smoking cessation service. the service included both behavioral intervention and nicotine replacement therapy. In order to identify the effectiveness of the smoking cessation service, logistic regression analysis was used. The dependent variable was the success of quitting smoking at the 4th week. The independent variables included age, sex, employment, chronic disease, district, smoking amount, registration path, supporters for quitting smoking and number of service sessions. RESULTS: Fifty eight point eight percent of the sample successfully quit smoking at the 4th week. Unemployment, higher smoking amount, and less service sessions were negatively related to the success of quitting smoking. There were differences in the success rate across districts. Age, sex, chronic disease, registration path, and anti-smoking supporters were not related to the success rate. CONCLUSION: Pharmacy can be an effective community resource for smoking cessation. Factors that could increase the effectiveness of smoking cessation service of the Safe Pharmacy and possible ways to enhance the participation of pharmacies in smoking cessation services were also discussed.
Chronic Disease ; Employment ; Logistic Models ; Nicotine ; Pharmaceutical Services ; Pharmacies ; Pharmacy* ; Seoul ; Smoke* ; Smoking Cessation* ; Smoking* ; Unemployment

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify degrees of mood states, perceived health status, social support, and health promoting behavior, and to explore factors influencing health promoting behavior in postpartum women who were at Sanhujoriwon. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey design was used. Data were collected using questionnaires from 197 postpartum women who were at Sanhujoriwon from May 28 to June 18, 2015. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation analyses, and a multiple linear regression. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 31.8 years. About a half (47.2%) participants had a plan to receive 2 weeks of Sanhujoriwon care service. The mean health promoting behavior score was 123.5 ranged from 72 to 171. The health promoting behavior was explained by perceived health status (β=.25) and social support (β=.24). These factors accounted for 14% of the health promoting behavior. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study reveal an important role of perceived health status, social support in health promoting behavior of postpartum women at Sanhujoriwon.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Health Behavior ; Linear Models ; Postnatal Care ; Postpartum Period*