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

In the article, Methods of Hematoxylin and Erosin Image Information Acquisition and Optimization in Confocal Microscopy, there was a typographical error in the title.

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the factors that influence career withdrawal intention among dental hygienists. Methods: The subjects of this study were 448 dental hygienists working at dental offices in Daegu, Busan, and Ulsan. The contents of the survey were job fitness, job autonomy, career plateau, job challenge, growth opportunity, career satisfaction, career commitment, and career withdrawal intention. The collected data were analyzed using statistical methods such as frequency analysis, independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, structural model analysis, and bootstrapping using SPSS 18.0 and AMOS 21.0. Results: The groups with low career withdrawal intention were those who were over 30 years old, married, had a master’s degree or higher, and had more than 8 years of clinical experience. The group with low career withdrawal intention generally showed high job autonomy. It was found that job autonomy, growth opportunity, and career plateau indirectly affected career withdrawal intention by mediating career satisfaction and career commitment. The higher the job autonomy and growth opportunity, the lower the career withdrawal intention, and the higher the career plateau, the higher the career withdrawal intention. The factor that had a direct effect on career withdrawal intention was career commitment; the higher the career commitment, the lower the career withdrawal intention. Conclusions To reduce dental hygienists’ career withdrawal intention, we propose expanding their job autonomy within the legal scope, developing a career development model, and finding ways to improve their career commitment.

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the factors that influence career withdrawal intention among dental hygienists. Methods: The subjects of this study were 448 dental hygienists working at dental offices in Daegu, Busan, and Ulsan. The contents of the survey were job fitness, job autonomy, career plateau, job challenge, growth opportunity, career satisfaction, career commitment, and career withdrawal intention. The collected data were analyzed using statistical methods such as frequency analysis, independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, structural model analysis, and bootstrapping using SPSS 18.0 and AMOS 21.0. Results: The groups with low career withdrawal intention were those who were over 30 years old, married, had a master’s degree or higher, and had more than 8 years of clinical experience. The group with low career withdrawal intention generally showed high job autonomy. It was found that job autonomy, growth opportunity, and career plateau indirectly affected career withdrawal intention by mediating career satisfaction and career commitment. The higher the job autonomy and growth opportunity, the lower the career withdrawal intention, and the higher the career plateau, the higher the career withdrawal intention. The factor that had a direct effect on career withdrawal intention was career commitment; the higher the career commitment, the lower the career withdrawal intention. Conclusions To reduce dental hygienists’ career withdrawal intention, we propose expanding their job autonomy within the legal scope, developing a career development model, and finding ways to improve their career commitment.

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: 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

Drug-induced immune hemolytic anemia (DIIHA) is rare condition that is often very difficult to diagnose. For proper diagnosis of DIIHA, careful interpretation of laboratory findings as well as correlation between those findings with the patient's history is important. Therefore, the role of the laboratory physician is critical. DIIHA can be diagnosed using a stepwise approach, from suspicion of hemolytic anemia in the patient to confirmation of serologic tests. Prompt diagnosis is necessary since an essential part of DIIHA treatment is to cease drug administration, and many cases of hemolysis can be improved without further intervention. Furthermore, distinction between the mechanisms of DIIHA is important, as clinical manifestation, treatment options, and prognosis of the disease can differ according to the main mechanism involved in the process of hemolysis.
Anemia, Hemolytic* ; Diagnosis ; Hemolysis ; Humans ; Prognosis ; Serologic Tests

OBJECTIVES: To examine the effect of individual and area-level characteristics on the probability of public-private mix (PPM) support (PPM coverage) for tuberculosis (TB). METHODS: This study is a retrospective cohort design using TB reporting and treatment management data in Korea. We analyzed PPM coverage through multilevel logistic regression and empirical Bayesian estimation according to individual and area-level characteristics and their interaction. RESULTS: Patients aged 0-29 years, women, of Korean nationality, treated at a general hospital, a one-time reporting, urban areas, and the lowest deprivation index (DI) showed higher PPM coverage. Due to the cross-level interaction, PPM coverage in the urban areas (slope=-0.048, p<0.001) had a higher level but a steeper negative deprivation gradient than in rural areas (slope= -0.015, p<0.001). For a general hospital, the PPM coverage in urban is high but more significantly decreased than in rural areas with the higher DI (urban: slope=-0.047, p<0.001; rural: slope=-0.031, p<0.001). For clinics and hospitals, the effect of DI did not appear in urban areas, but in rural areas, the higher the DI, the higher the PPM coverage with a slope of 0.046 (p<0.001) and 0.063 (p<0.001), respectively. CONCLUSIONS The PPM program created a significant disparity in PPM coverage between urban-rural areas and type of healthcare provider according to DI. Considering the high risk of TB incidence in areas with higher DI, institutional improvement and program redesign are needed to improve accessibility and equity.

OBJECTIVES: In September 2023, an outbreak of food-borne disease occurred among students on a training ship docked in Busan. This was an epidemiological investigation with the aim of improving infection prevention activities and group meal service practices on board ships. METHODS: In this study, a case was defined as an individual who experienced diarrhea more than twice a day during their training period aboard the training ship. A total of 171 exposed individuals including 6 food handlers was well-defined; therefore, a retrospective cohort study was conducted. We administered a questionnaire and conducted laboratory tests including 38 rectal swab samples. Relative risk (95% confidence interval) for each food item was calculated. RESULTS: Of the 165 students and school staff members, 41 met the case definition, resulting in an attack rate of 24.8%; all cases were students. The shape of the epidemic curve was unimodal, with the peak from 00:00 to 06:00 on September 7, 2023. Clostridium perfringens was detected in 9 cases, and no other pathogens were found. Significant relative risk was shown in 11 different food items. CONCLUSIONS C. perfringens was the causative pathogen of this outbreak on the training ship. Due to the lack of preserved food samples, the exact source of infection could not be confirmed. Ships are not classified as collective dining facilities, leaving them in a management blind spot. Therefore, specialized guidelines, voluntary inspections by the operating entities, and continuous education for managers and staff are necessary.

OBJECTIVES: In September 2023, an outbreak of food-borne disease occurred among students on a training ship docked in Busan. This was an epidemiological investigation with the aim of improving infection prevention activities and group meal service practices on board ships. METHODS: In this study, a case was defined as an individual who experienced diarrhea more than twice a day during their training period aboard the training ship. A total of 171 exposed individuals including 6 food handlers was well-defined; therefore, a retrospective cohort study was conducted. We administered a questionnaire and conducted laboratory tests including 38 rectal swab samples. Relative risk (95% confidence interval) for each food item was calculated. RESULTS: Of the 165 students and school staff members, 41 met the case definition, resulting in an attack rate of 24.8%; all cases were students. The shape of the epidemic curve was unimodal, with the peak from 00:00 to 06:00 on September 7, 2023. Clostridium perfringens was detected in 9 cases, and no other pathogens were found. Significant relative risk was shown in 11 different food items. CONCLUSIONS C. perfringens was the causative pathogen of this outbreak on the training ship. Due to the lack of preserved food samples, the exact source of infection could not be confirmed. Ships are not classified as collective dining facilities, leaving them in a management blind spot. Therefore, specialized guidelines, voluntary inspections by the operating entities, and continuous education for managers and staff are necessary.