PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the self-image of adolescents with cancer. METHOD: This study was a descriptive study. The participants in the study were 75 adolescents recruited from four medical centers in Seoul and all were receiving cancer therapy. Korean Offer Self-Image Questionnaire was used and data were analyzed using the SPSS program. RESULT & CONCLUSIONS: The self-image of adolescents with cancer exists within the average range, but all groups of adolescents with cancer had a more positive self-image than Korean reference groups. The reason why adolescents with cancer showed a relatively positive self-image despite their painful experiences, is because they developed new value systems and view point through their experiences and learning to cope with their situation. This research revealed that relapse affects the self-image of adolescents and therefore it is important to note that adolescents with relapses need more intensive interventions to maintain their positive self-image. In order to help with their coping process, further research on the factors that affect self-image in adolescents with cancer is also needed.
Adolescent* ; Humans ; Learning ; Recurrence ; Self Concept ; Seoul ; Child Health ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe health problems and psychosocial adaptation in children with cancer and to determine the relationship between these two variables. METHOD: The data were collected from parents of 61 children with cancer, aged 4-11 years at one university hospital in Seoul. The instruments for this study were the Korea Child Behavior Check List (KCBCL) and a physical symptom checklist developed by the researchers. RESULT: The major health problems were coughing, sleeping disturbances, fatigue and weakness. The total behavior problem score for children in the cancer group was higher than the score for those in the norm group. The scores on the scales for withdrawal, somatic complaints, social immaturity, and internalizing problems were higher in the children with cancer compared to normative findings. Scores on social and school competence in the cancer group were lower than the norms for healthy children. The relationship between health problems and psychosocial adaptation was significant in the subscales of withdrawal, anxiety/depression, internalizing problems and social involvement in the off therapy group. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the various areas that need further study in caring for children with cancer.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to test the reliability and validity of Family Burden Questionnaire. METHOD: The subjects were 156 caregivers of children with acute or chronic disease. To test the reliability, internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha coefficient was analyzed, and factor analysis, known-group technique, and concurrent validity were utilized for validity test. RESULT: Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the tool was .89. Six factors were identified and explained 58.7% of the total variance. Through analysis using known-group technique, the difference of family burden between acute and chronic disease groups was statistically significant(t= -4.09, p <.001). Correlations with mood state, other family burden score by Family Burden Interview Schedule, quality of life, and health symptoms were also relatively high and statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Family Burden Questionnaire showed a relatively high validity and reliability to measure the burden of caregivers caring patients with various chronic conditions in Korea. For the further study, it may be reconsidered to identify the factor structure of the Family Burden Questionnaire with the various subjects from different age groups.
Appointments and Schedules ; Caregivers ; Child ; Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Korea ; Quality of Life ; Reproducibility of Results* ; Child Health ; Surveys and Questionnaires

This study was conducted to identify the attributes constituting Korean social support and to validate the results of the previous study 'Search for the meaning of social support in Korean Society.' The informants were 41 Korean middle-aged women in three cities : Seoul, Dagjun and Daeku. The data were collected through indepth interviews using the interview guide from Jun. 1994 to Jun. 1995. The interview guide was developed in the simulated situations of 'Stroke attack' which expected to be in need of social support. The women were asked to answer what they felt and the appropriated terms representing the situations. Data analysis were conducted by content analysis. consequently, the Koran social support pyramid was modified as follows ; Support is the apex of the pyramid. The four sides of the pyramid are made up of 'Jung'(Bound by ties of affection, regard or shared common experience, Connectedness), Do-oom(both emotional and material help), Mi-dum(Faith or belief in) and Sa-Rang(Love). The base of the pyramid is 'yun'(the basic network of relationships in Korean culture) that connote the meaning of Eunhae(Benevolence), Euimu(duty, responsibility) and Dori(obligation).
Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged* ; Seoul ; Statistics as Topic

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify relations among the parenting stress, maternal sensitivity to infant cues, parenting environment of first-time mothers. METHOD: The participants were 194 first-time mothers of babies aged 1-6 months who visited well-baby clinics in 5 hospitals. The data were collected from April 15 to June 15, 2003. RESULTS: The parenting stress level was moderate with a mean score of 2.4(range 1-5). The parent domain and parent-child relationship domain of the parenting stress scale were significantly correlated with maternal sensitivity to infant feeding cues (r=-.178, p<.05; r=-.197, p<.01). Parenting stress was significantly correlated with childrearing environment(r=-2.19, p<.01). Parenting stress and childrearing environment were significantly different according to the educational level of the mothers and their prenatal care. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing interventions to reduce parenting stress in first-time mothers are needed to improve maternal sensitivity to infant cues and childrearing environment which foster infant development.
Child ; Child Development ; Child Rearing* ; Child* ; Cues* ; Humans ; Infant* ; Mothers* ; Nursing ; Parent-Child Relations ; Parenting* ; Parents* ; Prenatal Care ; Child Health

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors influencing parenting stress in primiparas. METHOD: The participants in this study were 198 primiparas of infants aged 1-6 months who visited well baby clinics in 5 hospitals. The data were collected from April 15 to June 15, 2003. RESULTS: The mean score for parenting stress was 2.4 of a possible 5 and thus considered average. The score for parenting stress was significantly correlated with the level of maternal perception of the infant and the level of social support. The score for parenting stress was significantly different according to the education level of the primiparas and prenatal management. For the primiparas, social support(20%) and maternal perception of the infant(9%) were significant predictors explaining parenting stress. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing interventions to improve maternal perception of the infant and increase social support should be provided for primiparas in order to reduce parenting stress.
Education ; Humans ; Infant ; Nursing ; Parenting* ; Parents* ; Child Health

PURPOSE: This cross-sectional study was designed to explore the relationship among social support, experienced stressful life events and health behaviors of Korean undergraduate students, and validate the mediator effect of social support. METHOD: One thousand four hundred fifty-three undergraduate students were randomly selected from five universities located in the middle area of Korea. RESULT: The health behaviors of Korean undergraduates tend to have unhealthy patterns. In the case of the students living without family, experiencing more stressful life events and perceiving lower social support, health behaviors are poor. The relationship between perceived social supports, the frequency of the experienced stressful life events and the score of health behavior patterns is statistically significant. After controlling the effect of social support, the correlation coefficient between the frequency of experienced stressful life events and the score of health behavior patterns was slightly lower. The score of health behaviors between the group with an extremely high score of social support and the group with an extremely low score were statistically significantly different. CONCLUSION: Future studies need to be pursued to develop various strategies such as a health education programs and counseling programs for health maintenance and health promotion of undergraduates.
Counseling ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Health Behavior* ; Health Education ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Korea

This meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects of the supportive nursing intervention and analyze its components in 14 studies carried out from Jan. 1980 to Jun. 1997. The supportive nursing intervention studies divided into three types according to the components of conceptual definitons.; (1)supportive nursing behavior, (2)social support, and (3)combination of social support and supportive nursing behavior. The various terms referred to the supportive nursing intervention didn't have the clear differentiating conceptual and operational definitions and the logical relationship among them. The effects of supportive nursing intervention were measured by the 23 dependent variables using self-report and the 5 dependent variables using physiological indices. The dependent variables were measured more than two were role behavior compliance, anxiety, depression, health belief, knowledge about the disease, helplessness and stressful behavior response. The average effects of the supportive nursing intervention ranged from 0.218 to 2.745 for the d index. The three variables of them, which were anxiety, depression and stressful behavior response, were homogeneous statistically by homogeniety test. Results of the meta- analysis indicated that the supportive nursing intervention had moderate to large effects on anxiety(d=0.41), depression (d=0.66) and stressful behavior response (d=0.86).
Anxiety ; Compliance ; Depression ; Intervention Studies ; Logic ; Nursing ; Child Health

PURPOSE: A structural equation model was analysed to explore the determinants of health behaviors of university students in Korea. METNOD: Nine hundred sixty nine university students were selected by random cluster sampling from five universities located in the central area of Korea. DATA COLLECTION: The data was collected by questionnaires about demographic characteristics, stressful life events, perceived social support, perceived health status and health behaviors. RESULTS: 1. Gender showed indirect effect on health behaviors. 2. Living together with(out) family had a direct effecton health behaviors: students living with family showed more positive health behaviors. 3. Stressful life events had an indirect effect on health behaviors via perceived health status;a higher score of stressful life events was the predictor for negative health behaviors. 4. A higher score of perceived health status predicted positive health behaviors. RECOMMENDATION: Each university should be encouraged to develop a health behavior control program and health promotion program for their own university students. It would be more effective to develop health programs separately according to the demographic or social characteristics of the students. It is also necessary for the Ministry of Education to reform the School Health Act and school health policy to strengthen a health promotion program for university students. In conclusion, following studies should identify and promote the validity and reliability of perceived health status and health behaviors measurements.
Adult ; Attitude to Health ; Female ; *Health Behavior ; Health Status ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Change Events ; Male ; Social Support ; *Students/psychology ; Universities

This study analyzed the services as operated by the Child Health Telephone Service Center. The Center is a toll free service operated as part of the community services of the Korean Academic Society of Child Health Nursing. The aim of the study was to describe the concerns of child caregivers regarding child health care as discussed during telephone counseling. Specific objectives were as follows: 1. To analyze the activities of the Center. 2. To describe the characteristics of caregivers who made phone calls for counseling services and also the characteristics of their children. 3. To analyze the content of the counseling sessions. 4. To analyze counseling content according to the characteristics of the caregivers and their children. Data used for the study were obtained from the counseling records for the period from Sept. to Dec. 1999, as kept by the three counselors at the Center. The total number of calls was 8,261 and that consisted of 15,150 questions. The total questions were merged into 13,236 by eliminating those questions which overlapped or were of similar content. The final 13,236 questions were used for the final analyses. Almost of the callers (98.4%) were mothers. Among them 89.6% were between 25 and 35 years of age. Geographical distribution of the callers covered the whole nation. The largest numbers who made the calls were from the Seoul metropolitan area (36%), followed by 28% from Kyung Gi Province, and 20% were from the Kyung Sang area. Among 8,261 callers, 72.8% were first users. Sex of the babies and children in question for counseling was about even for males and females and ages ranged from one month to six years. The largest group (62.5%) was the less than six month age group. The finalized 13,236 questions/problems were categorized into 11 problem areas. They were in order of frequency, physical problems, feedings and nutrient concerns, information on child rearing, growth and development, guidance on utilization of child care facilities, elimination problems, sleeping concerns, immunization related concerns, behavior problems, injury and accidents, and safety measures. The most frequent problems for counseling were physical signs and symptoms (27.3%), followed by feeding and nutrients, information on child rearing, and growth and development. Of physical problems, abnormal gastrointestinal signs and symptoms were the most frequent concern and skin problems were next at 25% and 23.3% respectively. Loose bowels, vomiting and constipation were the most frequent gastrointestinal problems. Atopic dermatitis had the highest frequency at 53.3% with diaper rash being the second highest among the skin problems. About 80% of the growth and developmental category were physical development concerns related to physiological, body growth, and motor and sensory development. This study constitutes the activity report for the first year of the Center. The findings correspond with literature reports on child health problems and parents educational needs. One recommendation from this study is that since the services of the Center are carried out only by telephone, the psychology of the counselees and the counselor relationship must be considered for better services.
Caregivers ; Child ; Child Care ; Child Rearing ; Child Health* ; Child* ; Constipation ; Counseling* ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Diaper Rash ; Female ; Growth and Development ; Humans ; Immunization ; Male ; Mothers ; Nursing ; Parents ; Psychology ; Seoul ; Skin ; Social Welfare ; Telephone* ; Vomiting