Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a scale to measure professionalism of clinical nurses and evaluate the reliability and validity of the scale. Methods: DeVellis’s scale-development eight steps were applied.The initial items were developed through a literature review and discussion with investigators, and the content validity was verified by seven experts. The data were collected from 250 hospital nurses for exploratory factor analysis and 217 hospital nurses for confirmatory factor analysis. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were utilized to assess the construct validity. Cronbach’s ⍺ was used to test the internal consistency reliability. Results: The results of the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed that the scale comprised four factors: professional skill(eight items), sense of ethics (five items), knowledge-seeking activities (four items), and autonomy(three items). The four-factor structure was validated (x2 =600.85 p<.001, GFI=.88, CFI=.84, RMSEA=.07), and Cronbach’s ⍺ for the total scale was .84. Conclusion The study results showed satisfactory reliability and validity of the professionalism measurement scale for clinical nurses. This scale has potential as an appropriate instrument for measuring clinical nurse professionalism.

Propionibacterium acnes, a gram-positive, anaerobic, and aerotolerant bacterium that is found frequently in the skin as part of the human microbiome causes inflammatory acne, shoulder infection, and the contamination of medical devices. The study goals were the antibiotic resistant and molecular epidemiological characterization of the P. acnes isolates in Korea. A total of 22 P. acnes isolates originated from diverse patients were obtained from three National Culture Collections for Pathogens in South Korea. The hemolytic properties and minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of five antibiotics (tetracycline, doxycycline, clindamycin, erythromycin, and minocycline) were determined. Only one isolate showed high MIC values and resistance to all five antibiotics. Genotypic characterization was achieved by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) for eight loci (aroE, guaA, tly, camp2, atpD, gmk, lepA, and sodA) and repetitive-sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) analysis using the DiversiLab kit. MLST revealed four phylogroups that were type IA₁ (27.3%), type IA₂ (18.2%), type IB (13.6%), and type II (40.9%). Rep-PCR results demonstrated three clusters that were cluster I (39.1%), cluster II (45.5%), and cluster III (13.6%). The isolates of cluster I were part of phylogroup type IA (both IA₁ and IA₂), and the isolates of cluster II belonged to phylogroup type II. All isolates of phylogroup type IB were hemolytic and belonged to cluster III. The results of rep-PCR clustering analysis showed a good correlation with those of MLST phylogroups, suggesting that rep-PCR could be an alternative method to track P. acnes subtype lineages.
Acne Vulgaris ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Clindamycin ; Doxycycline ; Erythromycin ; Humans ; Korea ; Methods ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Microbiota ; Multilocus Sequence Typing* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Propionibacterium acnes* ; Propionibacterium* ; Shoulder ; Skin

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated quality of life in Korean juvenile inmates with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the impact of behavioral and emotional problems on quality of life. METHODS: In total, 200 inmates were evaluated using the Korean version of the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (K-MINI) and the Korean version of the Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Present and Lifetime (K-SADS-PL-K). We extracted the inmates with ADHD and evaluated their quality of life, behavioral problems, and emotional problems with the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) and the Korean Youth Self Report (K-YSR) scale. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were conducted. RESULTS: Among the 200 total inmates, 68 were diagnosed with ADHD by the K-SADS-PL-K. Most of the correlations between PedsQL scores and K-YSR items were significant. Multiple regression analysis showed that PedsQL could be predicted by affective problems (among the DSM-oriented scales of the K-YSR) and attention problems (among the syndrome scales of the K-YSR). CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that, among juvenile inmates with ADHD, quality of life was negatively correlated with most behavioral and emotional problems. Meanwhile, the significant influence of affective and attention problems on inmates' quality of life suggests the necessity of comprehensive treatments for this group.
Adolescent ; Affective Symptoms ; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity ; Humans ; Mood Disorders ; Problem Behavior ; Quality of Life ; Self Report ; Weights and Measures

The goal of this research was to determine the relationship between the stage of chronic periodontitis and the presence of six bacterial pathogens (Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans: AA, Fusobacterium nucleatum: FN, Porphyromonas gingivalis: PG, Prevotella intermedia: PI, Enterococcus faecalis: EF, and Parvimonas micra: PM). Forty-six chronic periodontitis patients visiting a dental hospital were included in this investigation. They were classified into four chronic periodontitis stages based on the sulcus bleeding index value and the probing depth. The tissue samples from the periodontal surgery were used for a direct PCR detection assay. A total of 49 samples from 46 patients were collected and classified into four chronic periodontitis groups (N: 6, P1: 13, P2: 18, P3: 12). The PCR assay showed that FN, PI, and PM were involved from the beginning of chronic periodontitis (P1), while AA and PG existed regardless of the disease stages. EF was strongly linked to the P3 stage of the disease. In order to assess the effect of dental treatments on patients with chronic periodontitis, EF should be a critical marker for P3 patients, while FN, PI, and PM would be good indicators for chronic periodontitis.
Chronic Periodontitis* ; Enterococcus faecalis ; Fusobacterium nucleatum ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Porphyromonas gingivalis ; Prevotella intermedia

BACKGROUND: It is generally known that the principle treatment of obesity is life-style modification and behavior therapy for weight reduction. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of office-based education for weight control and behavior modification in overweight patients. METHODS: We selected 119 patients among the overweight or obese (BMI >or=23 kg/m2) patients who visited the Department of Family Medicine at Asan Medical Center. Life styles such as diet, exercise, smoking, and alcohol drinking were evaluated by self-questionnaire. Weight, height, body mass index, waist circumference, waist to hip ratio, and body fat were measured. The patients were divided randomly into two groups, the intervention (n=60) and the control (n=59) group. We educated the intervention group about the importance of weight reduction, life-style modification and provided specific guidelines. Two months later, we measured anthropometric variables and evaluated changes of behavior modification. RESULTS: After two months, 28 patients of the intervention group and 22 patients of the control group were followed up. At the follow-up time, the body weight and waist circumference decreased significantly in the intervention group compared with those of the control group. The exercise time increased significantly in the intervention group compared to the control group. The frequency of fatty meal ingestion decreased significantly in the intervention group. CONCLUSIONS: The office-based education for weight reduction in overweight or obese patients has contributed substantially in changing their life-style and reducing their waist circumference. As a result, we have found that patient education for behavior modification was essential part of comprehensive approach for weight control in overweight patients.
Adipose Tissue ; Alcohol Drinking ; Behavior Therapy* ; Body Height ; Body Weight ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Diet ; Eating ; Education ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Life Style ; Meals ; Obesity ; Overweight* ; Patient Education as Topic* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Waist Circumference ; Waist-Hip Ratio ; Weight Loss

BACKGROUND: Low high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) is one of the major risk factors for coronary heart disease. Using data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), we assessed trend of the prevalence of low HDL-C and the factors which are associated with low HDL-C in Korean men. METHODS: We analyzed three serial KNHANES data which were conducted in year 1998, 2001, and 2005. Among all survey participants, we included men aged 30-79 years with laboratory data. Low HDL-C was defined by serum HDL-C < 40 mg/dL. We used multiple logistic regression analysis to assess the association between low HDL-C and related factors. We investigated trend of the prevalence of low HDL-C and associated factors among Korean men. RESULTS: The prevalence of low HDL-C in Korean men was increasing from 26.3% (1998) to 38.8% (2001) and 45.9% (2005). Low HDL-C was associated with non-alcohol drinker, current smoking, sedentary physical activity, obesity and hypertriglyceridemia. The prevalence of current smoking decreased linearly. The prevalence of sedentary physical activity and hypertriglyceridemia increased from year 1998 to year 2001, but decreased from year 2001 to year 2005. However, the prevalence of non-alcohol drinker and obesity increased continuously. The patterns of the increasing prevalence of low HDL-C were compatible to the increasing prevalence of obesity according to age in Korean men. CONCLUSION: From year 1998 to year 2005, the prevalence of low HDL-C in Korean men has increased. Obesity and non-alcohol drinking might be contributing factors of increasing prevalence of low HDL-C in Korean men. Management of obesity is needed to prevent increasing the prevalence of low HDL-C among Korean men.
Aged ; Coronary Disease ; Drinking ; Humans ; Hypertriglyceridemia ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Motor Activity ; Nutrition Surveys ; Obesity ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking

BACKGROUND: Overweight in Korean adolescents has continuously increased over the past few years and it is recognized as a public health problem. We investigated the relationship between socioeconomic status and overweight in Korean adolescents. METHODS: The data was obtained from the 2007 Korean Youth's Risk Behavior Web-based Study. We included adolescents aged 12 to 18 yearswho were > or = 5th percentile of the BMI cut-off point based on the Korean child growth curve. Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between socioeconomic status and overweight. RESULTS: The adjusted odds ratios for overweight were 1.116 (95% confidence interval [CI],1.021 to 1.220), 1.390 (95% CI, 1.242 to 1.555) in girls having middle and low grade family affluence scale (FAS), respectively, compared in girls having high grade FAS (P < 0.05). However, in boys, there was no significant relationship between FAS and overweight. In both gender, perceived household economic status and parental education level were negatively related to overweight in adolescents (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Lower socioeconomic status increased the risk of overweight in Korean adolescents. Efforts to reduce socioeconomic disparities in adolescents should be initiated for overweight prevention.
Adolescent ; Aged ; Child ; Family Characteristics ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Odds Ratio ; Overweight ; Parents ; Public Health ; Risk-Taking ; Social Class ; Socioeconomic Factors

BACKGROUND: Korea's population is aging rapidly. Aged people who lead a solitary life are in a state of social isolation and face a greater risk of lower quality of life. The purpose of this study was to analyze the health behaviors and lifestyle patterns of aged people who lead a solitary life in Korea.METHODS: We analyzed 4,471 subjects (1,933 men and 2,538 women)-aged people aged 65 or above-based on data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VI (2013–2015). The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted with age, household income level, occupational status, and geographical region.RESULTS: Socioeconomic status was lower in aged people who lead a solitary life than in those living with family. The ORs for frequent eating out alone (OR=2.93; 95% CI 1.83–4.38), daily eating out alone (OR=2.40; 95% CI 1.25–4.60), smoking (OR=1.57; 95% CI 1.06–2.32), feeling sick or uncomfortable (OR=1.59; 95% CI 1.08–2.36), feeling depressed (OR=4.10; 95% CI 2.53–6.65), and suicide ideation (OR=2.06; 95% CI 1.21–3.51) were significantly higher in male subjects who lead a solitary life. The ORs for frequent eating out alone (OR=1.57; 95% CI 1.10–2.24) and inadequate sleep duration (OR=1.29; 95% CI 1.03–1.61) were significantly higher in female subjects who lead a solitary life.CONCLUSION: Aged people who lead a solitary life exhibited unhealthy behaviors and poor mental health. The elderly men who lead a solitary life faced higher risk of poor health than the women. Integrated management of lifestyle behaviors is required to improve the quality of health in aged people who lead a solitary life.
Aged ; Aging ; Eating ; Employment ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Style ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Mental Health ; Nutrition Surveys ; Nutritional Status ; Odds Ratio ; Quality of Life ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Social Class ; Social Isolation ; Suicide