PURPOSE: The present study aimed at developing an integrative stage model of smoking cessation behavior by combining highly predictable constructs extracted from previously verified health behavior models. The fitness of the hypothetical model was also tested. METHODS: The study participants were 214 Chinese students studying in Korea, presenting high smoking rates. Perceived severity, benefit, barrier, self-efficacy, and social support were measured using the modified AttitudeseSocial InfluenceseSelf Efficacy Questionnaire. Demographic and smoking-related characteristics were also evaluated. RESULTS: Results showed that the hypothetical model provides a good fit. Significant psychosocial predictors of smoking cessation stage were perceived benefit (p = .050), barrier (p = .003), and social support (p = .003). Among demographic and smoking-related characteristics, gender (p = .030), duration of smoking (p = .010), and previous smoking cessation experience (p = .020) were found to influence smoking cessation stage. In addition, gender, age, number of cigarettes smoked, previous smoking cessation experience, smoking-related symptoms, and smoking cessation education needs were found to influence psychosocial constructs significantly. CONCLUSION: The significant psychosocial predictors and demographic and smoking-related characteristics defined in the present study appear to be potent and promising predictors of smoking cessation behavior stages for a cohort of Chinese students studying in Korea.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Cohort Studies ; Education ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Korea* ; Psychology ; Smoke* ; Smoking Cessation* ; Smoking* ; Tobacco Products ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Purpose: This study aimed to identify changes in sub-areas of empathy over the 4 years from admission to graduation of nursing college students. Methods: This descriptive survey study was conducted using a longitudinal cohort design. The participants in this study were 158 South Korean nursing students attending a university in Chungcheongbuk Province or Gyeonggi Province, all of whom passed the certification evaluation for the 4-year nursing educational institute. Data from 126 participants were analyzed. The level of empathy was measured five times from March 2012 to December 2015. Empathy was identified using a multi-dimensional measurement tool consisting of four sub-constructs of cognitive and emotional aspects: (1) perspective taking, (2) fantasy, (3) empathic concern, and (4) personal distress. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25 to provide descriptive statistics of the participants’ general characteristics and empathy level and to perform repeated-measures analysis of variance for the sub-constructs empathy. Results: Perspective taking (F=13.08, p<.001) and personal distress (F=5.24, p=.001), but not fantasy or empathic concern, showed significant differences over time. Conclusion Cognitive empathy (perspective taking) and emotional empathy (personal distress) improved. Intervention programs should be developed to maintain and strengthen changes in empathy in nursing education.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop and compare the prediction model for suicide attempts by Korean adolescents using logistic regression and decision tree analysis. Methods: This study utilized secondary data drawn from the 2019 Youth Health Risk Behavior web-based survey. A total of 20 items were selected as the explanatory variables (5 of sociodemographic characteristics, 10 of health-related behaviors, and 5 of psychosocial characteristics). For data analysis, descriptive statistics and logistic regression with complex samples and decision tree analysis were performed using IBM SPSS ver. 25.0 and Stata ver. 16.0. Results: A total of 1,731 participants (3.0%) out of 57,303 responded that they had attempted suicide. The most significant predictors of suicide attempts as determined using the logistic regression model were experience of sadness and hopelessness, substance abuse, and violent victimization. Girls who have experience of sadness and hopelessness, and experience of substance abuse have been identified as the most vulnerable group in suicide attempts in the decision tree model. Conclusion Experiences of sadness and hopelessness, experiences of substance abuse, and experiences of violent victimization are the common major predictors of suicide attempts in both logistic regression and decision tree models, and the predict rates of both models were similar. We suggest to provide programs considering combination of high-risk predictors for adolescents to prevent suicide attempt.

Ophthalmic complications after tooth extraction are rare but discomforting events. This paper reports the rare complications of a 20-year-old male patient who presented with transient blurring of vision after surgical extraction of several teeth under general anesthesia. Additional diagnostic tests were performed to discern the reason for the pseudomyopia. A literature review was carried out by searching for articles published from 1936 to 2019 using the keywords “dental,” “ophthalmic,” “complication,” “blurring of vision,” and “accommodation disturbance” in PubMed. Only six patients with detailed ophthalmic symptoms similar to those of our patient have been reported. If blurred vision or a myopic shift in refraction is present, pseudomyopia should be suspected, and cycloplegic refraction is essential for diagnosis. The condition improves spontaneously.

Chronic alcoholism is considered a common cause of malnutrition. Especially, micronutrient deficiency may playa critical role in the incidence of alcoholic liver diseases. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of folate deficiency and ethanol consumption on cholesterol metabolism and the antioxidative system in rats. Plasma concentration of total cholesterol was increased by ethanol administration in folate-fed rats. HDL-cholesterol tended to be higher in the folate-fed group, but it was not significant. The plasma and hepatic levels of malondialdehyde were increased after chronic ethanol feeding, but dietary folate depressed the plasma malondialdehyde content of rats. Ethanol or folate feeding did not significantly change alcohol dehydrogenase activity. But folate feeding increased catalase activity in ethanol-fed rats. There was no significant change in superoxide dismutase activity among the experimental groups. Glutathione peroxidase activity tended to decrease by chronic ethanol feeding, but dietary folate did not affectthe glutathione peroxidase activity of chronic ethanol-fed rats. Glutathionine-S-transferase activity was not affected by ethanol feeding or folate deficiency. The plasma and hepatic levels of retinol decreased after chronic ethanol feeding. The hepatic level of retinol significantly decreased in ethanol-fed rats by folate deficiency. The plasma level of alpha-tocopherol tended to be low in the folate deficient group with ethanol feeding, but there was no difference among the experimental groups in the hepatic level of alpha-tocopherol. These results demonstrate that chronic ethanol consumption changes the plasma cholesterol metabolism and antioxidative system of rats, and optimal folate feeding in ethanol-fed rats exerts protective effects to some extent.
Alcohol Dehydrogenase ; Alcoholism ; alpha-Tocopherol ; Animals ; Catalase ; Cholesterol* ; Ethanol ; Folic Acid* ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; Incidence ; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic ; Malnutrition ; Malondialdehyde ; Metabolism ; Micronutrients ; Plasma* ; Rats* ; Superoxide Dismutase ; Vitamin A

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the influence of uncertainty-related factors on the health behavior of individuals with coronary artery disease (CAD) based on Mishel’s uncertainty in illness theory (UIT). Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study and path analysis to investigate uncertainty and factors related to health behavior. The study participants were 228 CAD patients who visited the outpatient cardiology department between September 2020 and June 2021. We used SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 25.0 software to analyze the data. Results: The final model demonstrated a good fit with the data. Eleven of the twelve paths were significant. Uncertainty positively affected danger and negatively affected self-efficacy and opportunity. Danger had a positive effect on perceived risk. Opportunity positively affected social support, self-efficacy, perceived benefit and intention, whereas it negatively affected perceived risk. Social support, self-efficacy, perceived benefit and intention had a positive effect on health behavior. We found that perceived benefit and intention had the most significant direct effects, whereas self-efficacy indirectly affected the relationship between uncertainty and health behavior. Conclusion The path model is suitable for predicting the health behavior of CAD patients who experience uncertainty. When patients experience uncertainty, interventions to increase their self-efficacy are required first. Additionally, we need to develop programs that quickly shift to appraisal uncertainty as an opportunity, increase perceived benefits of health behavior, and improve intentions.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to reveal the epidemiologic characteristics of the outbreak of gastroenteritis caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Thompson in Busan Metropolitan City and to identify points for improvement to prevent of food-borne disease outbreak. METHODS: This was a case-control study. The control group comprised asymptomatic students in the same classes of the cases. The presence or absence of symptoms, ingestion of each food provided by school meal service, and commonly ingested foods in addition to those foods in meal service were investigated. Moreover, specimens collected from rectal swab, preserved foods, and environmental surface were tested. RESULTS: Of the 6,092 subjects, 1,111 (1,083 students, 22 school personnel, and 6 foodservice employees) were included in the case group; this corresponded to an 18.4% attack rate. Symptoms included diarrhea (n=1,051, 94.6%), abdominal pain (n=931, 83.8%), febrile sensation (n=502, 45.2%), and vomiting (n=275, 24.8%). The epidemic curves of each 10 schools were unimodal. Investigation of food intake showed a significantly high odds ratio for chocolate cake in 5 out of the 10 schools. Laboratory test detected Salmonella enterica serovar Thompson both in rectal swab specimens of 9 schools and in collected preserved chocolate cakes of 9 schools. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis test result showed that Salmonella enterica seorvar Thompson isolated from human and foods were the same. CONCLUSIONS: The source of infection for the Salmonella enterica serovar Thompson outbreak in the 10 schools of Busan Metropolitan City is chocolate cake. Traceback investigation for origin of contaminated food in food-borne disease outbreak and safety control during food production should be more enhanced.
Abdominal Pain ; Busan ; Cacao ; Case-Control Studies ; Diarrhea ; Eating ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field ; Food, Preserved ; Foodborne Diseases ; Gastroenteritis ; Humans ; Korea ; Meals ; Odds Ratio ; Salmonella enterica ; Salmonella Infections ; Salmonella ; Sensation ; Serogroup ; Vomiting

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to reveal the epidemiologic characteristics of the outbreak of gastroenteritis caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Thompson in Busan Metropolitan City and to identify points for improvement to prevent of food-borne disease outbreak.METHODS: This was a case-control study. The control group comprised asymptomatic students in the same classes of the cases. The presence or absence of symptoms, ingestion of each food provided by school meal service, and commonly ingested foods in addition to those foods in meal service were investigated. Moreover, specimens collected from rectal swab, preserved foods, and environmental surface were tested.RESULTS: Of the 6,092 subjects, 1,111 (1,083 students, 22 school personnel, and 6 foodservice employees) were included in the case group; this corresponded to an 18.4% attack rate. Symptoms included diarrhea (n=1,051, 94.6%), abdominal pain (n=931, 83.8%), febrile sensation (n=502, 45.2%), and vomiting (n=275, 24.8%). The epidemic curves of each 10 schools were unimodal. Investigation of food intake showed a significantly high odds ratio for chocolate cake in 5 out of the 10 schools. Laboratory test detected Salmonella enterica serovar Thompson both in rectal swab specimens of 9 schools and in collected preserved chocolate cakes of 9 schools. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis test result showed that Salmonella enterica seorvar Thompson isolated from human and foods were the same.CONCLUSIONS: The source of infection for the Salmonella enterica serovar Thompson outbreak in the 10 schools of Busan Metropolitan City is chocolate cake. Traceback investigation for origin of contaminated food in food-borne disease outbreak and safety control during food production should be more enhanced.
Abdominal Pain ; Busan ; Cacao ; Case-Control Studies ; Diarrhea ; Eating ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field ; Food, Preserved ; Foodborne Diseases ; Gastroenteritis ; Humans ; Korea ; Meals ; Odds Ratio ; Salmonella enterica ; Salmonella Infections ; Salmonella ; Sensation ; Serogroup ; Vomiting

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to reveal the epidemiologic characteristics of the outbreak of gastroenteritis caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Thompson in Busan Metropolitan City and to identify points for improvement to prevent of food-borne disease outbreak. METHODS: This was a case-control study. The control group comprised asymptomatic students in the same classes of the cases. The presence or absence of symptoms, ingestion of each food provided by school meal service, and commonly ingested foods in addition to those foods in meal service were investigated. Moreover, specimens collected from rectal swab, preserved foods, and environmental surface were tested. RESULTS: Of the 6,092 subjects, 1,111 (1,083 students, 22 school personnel, and 6 foodservice employees) were included in the case group; this corresponded to an 18.4% attack rate. Symptoms included diarrhea (n=1,051, 94.6%), abdominal pain (n=931, 83.8%), febrile sensation (n=502, 45.2%), and vomiting (n=275, 24.8%). The epidemic curves of each 10 schools were unimodal. Investigation of food intake showed a significantly high odds ratio for chocolate cake in 5 out of the 10 schools. Laboratory test detected Salmonella enterica serovar Thompson both in rectal swab specimens of 9 schools and in collected preserved chocolate cakes of 9 schools. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis test result showed that Salmonella enterica seorvar Thompson isolated from human and foods were the same. CONCLUSIONS The source of infection for the Salmonella enterica serovar Thompson outbreak in the 10 schools of Busan Metropolitan City is chocolate cake. Traceback investigation for origin of contaminated food in food-borne disease outbreak and safety control during food production should be more enhanced.

As of April 18, 2020, there have been a total of 10,653 confirmed cases and 232 deaths due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Korea. The pathogen spread quickly, and the outbreak caused nationwide anxiety and shock. This study presented the anecdotal records that provided a detailed process of the multidisciplinary teamwork in mental health during the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. Psychosocial support is no less important than infection control during an epidemic, and collaboration and networking are at the core of disaster management. Thus, a multidisciplinary team of mental health professionals was immediately established and has collaborated effectively with its internal and external stakeholders for psychosocial support during the COVID-19 outbreak.