PURPOSE: Little is known about the dieting experiences of obese adolescent boys, as the majority of studies on obesity in children and adolescents have included only girls. This qualitative study was designed to explore the ways in which male middle school boys attach subjective meanings to their obese bodies, and experience dieting practices in their everyday lives. METHODS: Fifteen obese boys aged 14 to 16 were interviewed via in-depth, face-to-face interviews. All interview data were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Having a large build and increased strength that prevented bullying by peers had positive meanings participants attributed to their obese bodies. However, negative meanings existed as well, including feeling heavy and having no physical endurance, having a clammy and odorous body, and being bullied and vulnerable to disease. With respect to dieting experiences, multiple positive and negative subthemes were identified. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study show the intersection between adolescence and everyday life challenges for obese middle school boys in the Korean culture. Further, recommendations for healthcare professionals include a gender-specific approaches when intervening and planning programs for obese adolescents.
Adolescent ; Bullying ; Child ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diet* ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Obesity ; Odors ; Physical Endurance ; Qualitative Research ; Weight Loss

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to explore the meanings of Korean patients' experiences of being restrained in psychiatric wards. METHODS: Data were collected through in-depth individual interviews (N=6) and analyzed based on Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology. RESULTS: Four bodily themes of being restrained were evident: wounded body after being shocked, dented body with scarred dignity, powerless body, and reflexive body dealing with the chaotic mind. Meaning dimensions such as time, space, language, emotions, and perception were also applied and explained by the bodily themes. CONCLUSION: Psychiatric patients' bodies, under physical restraint, were not silent and simply belonging to the situation, rather were embodied as a part of their existential worlds. Based on the findings of this study, nurses can better hear and understand the bodily voices of being restrained when caring for patients in mental health settings.
Cicatrix ; Humans ; Mental Health ; Psychiatric Nursing ; Qualitative Research ; Reflex ; Restraint, Physical ; Shock ; Voice ; Wounds and Injuries

PURPOSE: The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how adolescent survivors of childhood cancer grieve the death of cancer peers. METHODS: Data were obtained from Korean adolescents with cancer between the ages of 13 and 18 (N=12) through semi-structured interviews (face-to-face, telephone, and Internet chatting), observations of the social dynamics of participants in self-help groups, and retrieval of personal Web journals. Based on the grounded theory methodology, data collection and analysis were conducted simultaneously, and constant comparative methods were used. Clarke's situational analysis was adopted, and this paper focused on presenting "how to" and "what we can learn" from this analytic strategy. RESULTS: Mapping examples were visualized using of three modes of maps. Adolescent cancer survivors coped with reminders of the "darkness" that ultimately featured their overall grief. Additionally, adolescents' encounters and avoidance of grief were triggered by introspection and interactions with family and friends. CONCLUSION: Situational analysis provided an efficient way to analyze the experiences of adolescent survivors of childhood cancer by systematizing possible information within the relational social contexts of the research phenomenon.
Adolescent* ; Data Collection ; Friends ; Grief ; Humans ; Internet ; Methods ; Qualitative Research ; Self-Help Groups ; Survivors* ; Telephone

PURPOSE: Smartphone overdependence in young adults is a growing issue, that requires a vigorous approach to manage its associated problems in the affected ones. This study was designed to suggest a detailed direction to help university students with smartphone overdependence, who would be internally motivated through satisfying their basic needs based on the self-determination theory (SDT). METHODS: The data were collected via face-to-face interviews with twenty program providers, who have managed the program for preventing and treating the smartphone overdependence. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. The data were analyzed using directed qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: One core category emerged from the findings: ‘Empowering motivation of autonomous actor of change associated with environmental context,’ which three generic categories and seven subcategories supported. Apart from the three basic needs in the SDT, autonomy, relatedness, and competence, no additional concepts were mentioned, but the participants complained about the practical difficulties of running programs with non-motivated students. CONCLUSION: Our study findings emphasize that research and clinical practice for young people with smartphone overdependence should focus more on developing detailed program contents synchronized with theoretical and conceptual guidance.
Behavior, Addictive ; Humans ; Mental Competency ; Motivation ; Qualitative Research ; Running ; Smartphone ; Young Adult

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 not yet has established its treatment, but convalescent plasma has been expected to increase survival rates as in the case with other emerging viral infections. We describe two cases of COVID-19 treated with convalescent plasma infusion. Both patients presented severe pneumonia with acute respiratory distress syndrome and showed a favorable outcome after the use of convalescent plasma in addition to systemic corticosteroid. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the use of convalescent plasma therapy for COVID-19 in Korea.