PURPOSE: This literature review was conducted to provide a summary of the findings from research on knowledge and attitudes about human papilloma virus (HPV) and HPV vaccination, and studies of its actual uptake among women in Asian countries. METHODS: The author searched the Pubmed, CINAHL, and KISS electronic databases to identify peer-reviewed articles published between 2006 and 2011. RESULTS: Seventeen peer-reviewed studies met the inclusion criteria (13 quantitative, 4 qualitative). Findings from seven Asian countries that measured female adult's knowledge of HPV related issues and attitudes toward HPV vaccination were reviewed. Low level of knowledge about HPV and its related conditions, willingness to be vaccinated, and low uptake of vaccines were identified across the studies. Cultural barriers and social stigmatization about HPV vaccination were also discussed. CONCLUSION: Findings from this review indicate that adult women in Asian countries are in urgent need of improving HPV related knowledge and its actual vaccination. Policy makers, health care providers, and public health educators should take into account the cultural barriers and attitudes toward HPV vaccination in the process of developing and implementing educational programs and interventions for adult women in Asian countries.
Administrative Personnel ; Adult ; Asia ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Electronics ; Electrons ; Female ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Papilloma ; Papillomavirus Vaccines ; Public Health ; Stereotyping ; Vaccination ; Vaccines ; Viruses

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the psychosocial responses and quality of life (QOL) among Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) patients and their caregivers in South Korea. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used. Purposive sample of 15 ALS patients and their 14 caregivers were recruited via Korean Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association (KALSA) website. Demographic characteristics, hopelessness, quality of life, physical function, and caregiver burden were measured. RESULTS: The mean period after being diagnosed with ALS was 57.73 months. The mean score of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis functional rating scale and quality of life was 21.33 (SD=11.97) and 5.70 (SD=1.23) respectively. The mean score of hopelessness was 11.87 (SD=4.72). The caregivers' mean score of McGill quality of life was 4.29 (SD=1.46), and the mean score of McGill quality of life-single item scale was 4.29 (SD=2.02). CONCLUSION: Since the cause of ALS has not been identified and cure is yet to be discovered, supportive care should be provided for not only quality of life but hope of patients. The findings may be used to develop knowledge based nursing intervention for patients diagnosed with ALS and their caregivers.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ; Caregivers ; Humans ; Quality of Life

PURPOSE: To identify the characteristics and health-care needs of high-risk pregnant women in maternal-fetal intensive care units (MFICU). METHODS: mixed-methods design was adopted. Data were collected from 78 high-risk pregnant women admitted to the MFICU. Qualitative data included ten participants' experiences with hospitalization and childbirth, which were analyzed using mixed content analysis. Quantitative data were analyzed using at-test and one-way ANOVA testing. RESULTS: The average score for pregnancy and childbirth health-care needs was 3.54 points. Average score by area was before-admission health care (3.70), health care of baby (3.67), health of childbirth (3.61), postpartum health (3.51), and pregnancy health care during hospitalization (3.48). Qualitative results showed diverse feelings and experiences of high-risk pregnant women and their need for health care, which was expressed in three themes and 11 sub-themes. CONCLUSION: Nurses should recognize high-risk mothers' feelings and needs for pregnancy and childbirth-focused health care to help patients accept their vulnerability and cope positively.
Critical Care* ; Delivery of Health Care ; Female ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units* ; Needs Assessment ; Parturition ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women* ; Prenatal Care

Background: Call center employees experience high levels of occupational stress and other mental health issues. This study aimed to examine the relationship between mental health status and health-promoting lifestyles among call center employees. Methods: A secondary data analysis from a descriptive cross-sectional study of 302 call center employees was conducted. Call center employees were asked to complete the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) and the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II (HPLP-II). Results: Participants’ overall DASS score was 23.87±13.98 out of 63. Among the six subscales of the HPLP-II, participants’ highest scores were for interpersonal relations, spiritual growth, and stress management, whereas physical activity had the lowest score. Participants with a severe level of mental health issues (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress) reported lower levels of health-promoting lifestyle behaviors, especially in the areas of physical activity, spiritual growth, interpersonal relationships, and stress management. Conclusions As call center service sectors increase in modern industries, so does the need to address the physical and mental health needs of its employees. Healthcare providers and organizations should closely and routinely monitor employee’s levels of depression, anxiety, and stress and develop organizational and health-related policies for the call center sector. Additionally, the development and implementation of health-related interventions to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors is critical for call center employees.

More than thirty years after its introduction as a modality of renal replacement therapy (RRT), peritoneal dialysis (PD) has now become an established form of RRT. There were 70,211 patients receiving RRT at the end of 2,012 in Korea, and PD accounted for 10.8% of them. The rate for PD patients per million population has grown by 24% during the past 10 years. In this paper, physiology of peritoneal dialysis, assessment of peritoneal membrane transport function, updated target of solute removal, and potential complications of peritoneal dialysis will be discussed.
Humans ; Korea ; Membranes ; Peritoneal Dialysis* ; Physiology ; Renal Replacement Therapy

More than thirty years after its introduction as a modality of renal replacement therapy (RRT), peritoneal dialysis (PD) has now become an established form of RRT. There were 70,211 patients receiving RRT at the end of 2,012 in Korea, and PD accounted for 10.8% of them. The rate for PD patients per million population has grown by 24% during the past 10 years. In this paper, physiology of peritoneal dialysis, assessment of peritoneal membrane transport function, updated target of solute removal, and potential complications of peritoneal dialysis will be discussed.
Humans ; Korea ; Membranes ; Peritoneal Dialysis* ; Physiology ; Renal Replacement Therapy

Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are ubiquitous membranous structures in all Gram-negative bacteria, including pathogens and non-pathogens. Gram-positive bacteria also release membrane-derived vesicles (MV). Originating from the cell envelope, OMVs are enriched with bacterial antigen molecules that conduct multiple functions as decoys to manipulate the host immune system. Besides, OMVs and their components play diverse roles in nutrient acquisition, biofilm formation, and resistance to antibiotics. Despite the diverse benefits ascribed to OMVs, many questions remain unanswered with regard to OMV biogenesis and cargo selectivity. In this report, we review the advantages of vesiculation in the context of all bacteria and then focus on additional benefits acquired by OMVs in pathogenic bacteria.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacteria ; Biofilms ; Gram-Negative Bacteria ; Gram-Positive Bacteria ; Immune System ; Membranes* ; Virulence* ; Organelle Biogenesis

BACKGROUND: Impairments of language function represent patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) from the early stage and as the disease progresses the damage spreads over a much broader range of cognition and communicative functions. And, performances of the naming tasks in AD patients may reveal the gradual deterioration of their naming ability. METHODS: In this study, naming ability was studied in patients with questionable AD (CDR 0.5, n=10), mild AD (CDR 1, n=10), moderate AD (CDR 2, n=10) and 10 healthy controls matched for age, gender and educational level using confrontation naming and naming by verbal definition tasks. The purpose of present study was 1) to investigate whether the confrontation naming and naming by verbal definition in Alzheimer's disease is different depending on the severity, 2) to examine the effects of the syllabic cue on the two naming ability for the errors questions. RESULTS: The results from this study are as follow: 1) The two naming performances of the all AD groups were lower than those of normal people and showed significant difference. 2) There were differences between the two naming tasks, significantly lower performance on confrontation naming task than naming by verbal definition. 3) The effects of syllabic cue decreased gradually as severity progressed. 4) The effects of syllabic cue were no significant differences between the two naming tasks. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that anomia in patients with AD is due to various impairment including to lexico-semantic system, visual processing, phonological processing and auditory comprehension.
Alzheimer Disease ; Anomia ; Cognition ; Comprehension ; Cues ; Humans

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors influencing personal disaster preparation and disaster nursing core competency among visiting nurses in public health centers. METHODS: A descriptive survey study was adopted. A convenience sample was taken from 277 subjects in three regions. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, correlation, Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression. RESULTS: The mean personal disaster preparation and disaster nursing core competency scores were 11.13 and 76.87, respectively. Personal disaster preparation was statistically significant by experience of disaster victims and disaster management guideline. Disaster nursing core competency was statistically significant by participation in future disaster recovery. As a result of multiple regression analysis, personal disaster preparation accounted for 14.9 of the variance by experience of disaster victims and disaster management guidelines; disaster nursing core competency accounted for 8.9 of the variance by perception of disaster nursing. CONCLUSION: Although visiting nurses are ill-prepared for disaster, global natural and man-made disasters can occur regardless of time and place. Disaster education and training should therefore be included in nurses' fundamental education.
Disaster Victims ; Disasters* ; Education ; Humans ; Nurses, Community Health* ; Nursing ; Public Health*

PURPOSE: During clinical placements, nursing students who come into close contact with patients and provide nursing interventions may be exposed to harmful pathogens. However, little is known about nursing students' experiences with standard precautions (SP) in clinical settings. METHODS: We conducted interviews with six focus groups of nursing students (n = 38) from two universities in South Korea. The focus group interviews each took 90e120 minutes and included 6e7 participants from two different universities. The meetings used semi-structured interview protocols. Qualitative content analysis was employed. RESULTS: Four themes and 9 subthemes were identified: (a) attitudes (knowledge deficit, sensitivity), (b) subjective norms (negative role models, classroom and in-field gaps, blind spots), (c) perceived behavioral control (psychological barriers, physical barriers, lack of information), and (d) intention (changes in compliance awareness). CONCLUSIONS: These focus groups revealed that many nursing students worked in vulnerable environments and risked pathogen exposure. Nursing students expressed the importance of SP but reported witnessing many instances of failure to comply with established measures. Several barriers were explored as reasons of SP noncompliance. By removing the barriers presented in this study, nursing students would be able to perform their duties in a safe clinical environment.
Focus Groups ; *Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Infection Control/*methods ; Interviews as Topic ; *Nursing Methodology Research ; Republic of Korea ; Students, Nursing/*psychology ; Universities