Long-term hemodialysis(HD) patients manifest various signs of protein and caloric malnutrition due to poor intake of nutrients and other causes. Poor nutritional status increases the mortality and morbidity rates in HD patients. Thus, mataintnance of adequate nutritional status has been a major task in taking care of patients receiving HD. This study was to evaluate the nutritional status of HD patients and to clarify the degree of nutritional deficit based on usual dietary intake, anthropometric and biochemical indicators. Sixty HD patients comprised a HD group, while the control group consisted of 60 healthy adults whose age and sex matched those of the HD group. Nutritional status was evaluated by dietary intake using instant nutritional scale, anthropometric measures, serum protein concentrations and the number of lymphocytes. The data were analyzed by using Chi-square test and unpaired t-test. The results are as follows. 1. Regarding usual dietary intake of HD group : 1) Estimated caloric intake was significantly lower than the recommended daily allowance(RDA) and among them, 35% were taking calories less than 85% of the RDA. 2) Estimated protein intake was significantly higher than the RDA and among them 40% were taking protein more than 115% of the RDA. 3) Estimated fat intake was lower than the RDA. 4) Vitamin A, B, B1, B2, C and niacin in take was lower than the RDA respectively. 5) Estimated ferrous intake was within the normal limit the RDA while estimated calcium intake was higher than the RDA. 6) Both caloric and protein intake were higher for the 10 patients who had been under continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis than for the patients under HD from the beginning. 2. Regarding anthropometric measures : 1) Body mass index(BMI), midarm circumference(MAC), and triceps skinfolds thickness(TSF) were lower in the HD group than in the control group. 2) Among HD group, 47.1% were within the normal limit of BMI, while 86.7% were within the same limit in the control group. 3) Among HD group, 35.0% were within the normal limit of MAC, while 83.3% were within the same limit I the control group. 4) Among HD group, only 8.3% were normal, 30.3% were mild deficit status of FSF, while 50% were normal and 48.3% were mild deficit status in the control group. 3. Regarding biochemical laboratory tests 1) Albumin, transferring concentrations and the number of lymphocytes were lower in HD group than in the control group. 2) Among HD group, 98.3% were within the normal limit of albumin concentration and all were within the same limit in the control group. 3) Among HD group, only 11.7% were within the normal limit of transferring concentration, while 81.7% were within the same limit in the control group. 4) Among HD group, 25% were within the normal limit, while 93.3% were within the same limit in the control group. The above findings suggest that HD patients were in nutritional deficit status. Adequate diet therapy and periodical evaluation of the nutritional status in HD patients ar needed. Accordingly, it turned out that anthropometric measures were very reliable parameters and easy to use to evaluate nutritional status. So nurses are encouraged to adopt anthropometric measures to examine nutritional deficit status of HD patients.
Adult ; Calcium ; Diet Therapy ; Energy Intake ; Humans ; Lymphocytes ; Malnutrition ; Mortality ; Niacin ; Nutritional Status ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory ; Renal Dialysis* ; Vitamin A

This study was conducted to explore the nurse's perception of technological development and professional self-concept. The research subjects were 560 clinical nurses in Korea, who worked the general hospitals in Seoul, Kyeonggi, and the Kangwon province. Data sampling was done for the month, of December. 1997. The research tool consisted of 82 items questionnaires which were demographic data, TIQ, PSCNI. The research findings were as follows: 1. Nurses perceived the technological development as slightly positive (Mean =48.8). Also, nurses saw that the fastest developing technological nursing unit was the cardiac care unit, while the lowest technological developing nursing unit was the psychiatric unit. 2. The view of technological development was found to be significantly different according to religion (P=.0109), marital status (P=.0431), and the practical setting (P=.0048). Professional self concept was significantly different according to age (P=.0001), religion (P=.0001), education (P=.0007), marital status (P=.0000), career (P=.0001), and position (P=.0000). 3. The relationship between a nurse's perception of technological development and professional self-concept was highly correlated(r=.26, P=.0001). In the results of the multiple regression, the factors influencing professional self-concept were career, the nurse's perception of technological development,the level of technological development in nursing unit, and education. All these parameters showed the explaining power of 15.4% of the professional self-concept. In conclusion, nurses recognized the technological development was related to the professional self-concept. This study shed light on the meaning of technological development and vision of the nursing profession. Inservice education program should be developed to help the adaptability to technological development and conduct the qualitative research to explore the world of technological development which the nurses are experiencing in nursing.
Education ; Gangwon-do ; Gyeonggi-do ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Korea ; Marital Status ; Nursing ; Qualitative Research ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Research Subjects ; Self Concept ; Seoul

PURPOSE: This study was designed to explore pain and self-care behaviors and identify related variables in patients with chronic arthritis. METHOD: One hundred fifty patients with arthritis were recruited from two university based arthritis centers according to selection criteria. Collected data were analyzed using the SAS program to analyze the responses to the structured questionnaires of the study. RESULT: Most of the participants expressed pain and the intensity of the pain was moderate. There were significant differences according to age, educational level, diagnosis, duration of illness, number of affected joint, and use of complementary therapy. Self-care behavior scores were moderately high. The highest practice was for "regular visits to the hospital", and the lowest for "applying physical therapy at home". The mean self-care behavior scores showed significant differences according to economic status and educational level. Pain scores showed no correlation with self-care behavior. CONCLUSION: Developing self-management programs for patients with chronic arthritis should focus on self-care skills which are applicable in the relief of pain and enhancement of knowledge. The skills are recommended not only for better health practices but also for enhancing the level of well-being and life satisfaction.
Arthritis* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Joints ; Patient Selection ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Self Care*

This survey was done to identify the self-esteem of nurses in Korea. Data was collected from 700 nurses in hospital setting. These data were collected by self-reporting questionnaire, Rosenberg's self-esteem scale, Professional self-concept of nurses instrument, from Dec. 1994 to Jan, 1995. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics with SAS program. The results of this study were as follows : 1. The mean of self-esteem was 30.74. 2. The correlation between self-esteem and PSCNI was slightly moderate(r=.5739) 3. The self-esteem of nurses was found to be significant by age(P=.0245), religion(P=.0004), position(P=.0186). This study suggested that we need to identify the factors influencing self-esteem and to design the program increasing self-esteem.
Korea ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The prognosis of maintenance hemodialysis(HD) patients is closely related to their nutritional status. It is important to develop and use of a reliable, useful and easy method of nutritional assessment scale for evaluation of nutritional status and progression of the patients. This study was initiated to evaluate the clinical usefulness of Instant Nutritional Assessment Scale(INAS) by cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. One hundred HD patients entered a continuing nutritional study and followed for 1 year. The results were as follow : 1. 23% of patients was normal to mild, 43% was moderate and 33% was severe deficit of nutritional status. 2. The mean INAS score of the patients was 8.00(S. D.=2.83), and there didn't reveal any differences in INAS score by general characteristics. The mean transferrin score was 1.98, which was the highest of 5 nutritional parameters of INAS. Only 7 patients had within normal range of transferrin concentration. 3. Within one year since this study was initiated, 10 patients died. Six of them were with severe deficit and one of them was normal to mild deficit groups. The death rate in severe deficit group was higher than that of normal to mild deficit group(P=.0640). 4. Occurrence of acute complication during HD in severe deficit group was higher than that of normal to mild deficit group(P=.001). 5. The number of consultation to the doctor and hospital admission in severe deficit group was higher than that of normal to mild deficit group(P=.0001). 6. INAS score was significantly correlated with occurrence of acute complications during HD and the number of consultation to the doctor. In conclusion, INAS based on the levels of body mass index, midarm circumference, triceps skinfold thickness, transferrin concentration and total lymphocyte count seems to be a reliable predictive nutritional index for prognosis. So nurses are encouraged to adopt INAS in care of the chronically ill patients. Recommendations for further research was suggested.
Body Mass Index ; Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Longitudinal Studies ; Lymphocyte Count ; Mortality ; Nutrition Assessment* ; Nutritional Status* ; Prognosis* ; Reference Values ; Renal Dialysis ; Skinfold Thickness ; Transferrin

Although healthy lifestyle have been proved as an effective way of improving higher well-beings for individuals, researches on health -promoting behaviors of minority elderly with a specific ethnic heritage have been sparsely tried. This study was designed to explore health-promoting lifestyle patterns of Korean immigrant elderly living in Seattle. USA and its relationships with two associated elderly were recruited from two senior centers and interviewed with a structured questionnaire. Data were collected from October 1998 to January 1999, and analyzed using SPSS program through which t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson Correlation Coefficients were tested. As the results, the mean HPLP score of the Korean immigrant elderly was 2.54 (SD =.36), showing significant differences by education (F=3.61, P=.016), economic status (F=3.01, P=.034), and current health status (F=3.69, P=.008). In self-esteem, two socioecomic variables showed statistical association with self-esteem; martial status (t= 2.47, P=.015) and living situation (F= 4.03, P= .021). The HPLP subscales that showed higher mean scores were nutrition (M=3.01, SD= .52) and interpersonal support (M= 2.65, SD= .47) while lower mean scores were detected in the domain of excercise (M= 1.92, SD= .74) and stress management (M= 2.26, SD= .47). Perceived health status revealed significant positive correlation with health-promoting lifestyle patterns (r= .19, P=.043) and self-esteem (r= .19, P= .043) and self-esteem (r= .32, P= .001) in the present study. It is concluded that engagement in health-promoting lifestyle patterns should be actively encouraged to enhance personal health of Korean immigrant elderly. Developing health promotion programs focused on exercise and stress management is also imperatively suggested not only for better health practices of Korean immigrant elderly population but also for enhancing their level of well-beings and life satisfaction.
Aged* ; Education ; Emigrants and Immigrants* ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Life Style* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Senior Centers

PURPOSE: To study the thickness of gluteal subcutaneous fat (SCF) and propose an adequate length for needle for gluteal intramuscular injections based on computed tomography (CT) measurements. METHODS: The thickness of gluteal SCF were measured and studied for 568 patients who visited a tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea between January 2007 and February 2009 for routine health screening and who had abdominopelvic CT. RESULTS: The average thickness of gluteal SCF was 15.92+/-4.08 mm in males and 24.90+/-5.47 mm in females. The thickness of gluteal SCF differed significantly according to gender. The gluteal SCF thickness was greater than 20.4 mm for 54 (12.3%) of the 440 male patients and 99 (77.3%) of the 128 female patients. CONCLUSION: The most common syringe needle used for gluteal intramuscular injections in Korea is a 23 G, 25.4 mm-needle. The SCF thickness must be less than 20.4 mm in order to reach the dorsogluteal muscles to a depth of at least 5 mm if this 25.4 mm needle is used. In many patients, especially in female patients, the 25.4 mm needles will result in improper intramuscular injections with the injection being into the SCF. Therefore an appropriate needle should be selected by considering the gender and SCF thickness of patients receiving gluteal intramuscular injections.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Buttocks ; Female ; Humans ; *Injections, Intramuscular ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Needles ; Republic of Korea ; Sex Factors ; *Skinfold Thickness ; Subcutaneous Fat/*radiography ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

PURPOSE: To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the 39-item Parkinson's disease questionnaire (PDQ-39). METHODS: Cross-cultural adaptation was performed according to the international guidelines: forward and backward translation, focus group meeting, and a field test. With Korean consensus translation produced, validation was assessed by evaluating reliability and validity. Ninety-three outpatients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and 89 healthy aged controls were recruited. Internal consistency reliability was assessed by Cronbach's alpha. Validity was assessed by Spearman correlation analysis, t test, factor analysis, and analysis of variance with Duncan's multiple range tests. RESULTS: In the PD group, mean age was 65.13 +/- 9.84 years, and mean duration of PD was 42.41 +/- 37.01 months. Ceiling and floor effects ranged 1.1%-2.2% and 1.1%-15.1%, respectively. Cronbach's alpha of eight dimensions ranged from .70 to .97. All dimensions were correlated with each other, except for the stigma dimension. PD patients had significantly lower quality of life than healthy aged controls did, except for the bodily discomfort dimension. Eight dimensions of Korean PDQ-39 loaded on one factor. PD patients with a Modified Hoehn and Yarh Staging score of 4 had the worst quality of life. The relationships among the eight dimensions of Koran PDQ-39 and the Modified Hoehn and Yarh Staging is fair to good, except for the stigma and social support dimension. CONCLUSION: The Korean PDQ-39 was proved to be reliable and valid. Our results suggest that Korean PDQ-39 could be used in clinical research to assess and evaluate the disease process and its impacts on health-related quality of life in Korean PD patients.
Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Health Status ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Parkinson Disease/*psychology ; Psychometrics/*standards ; Quality of Life ; Questionnaires/*standards ; Reproducibility of Results ; Republic of Korea ; Translations

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to assess optimal needle length for gluteal intramuscular injections (IM) via simple skinfold thickness (SFT). METHODS: For this study, 190 healthy adults were recruited and grouped into eight groups according to gender and body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2). The Korean Society for the Study of Obesity criteria defines a BMI under 20 as underweight, 20.1-22.9 as normal, 23-24.9 as overweight and over 25 as obese. For each participant, the SFT of dorsoguteal (DG) and ventrogluteal (VG) sites were measured using a caliper. Subcutaneous tissue thickness was acquired through ultrasonic images. RESULTS: For men in the overweight and obese groups at the DG site, for the obese group at the VG site, and for women in the normal weight, overweight and obese groups at both sites, the mean subcutaneous tissue thickness exceeded 1.84 cm, the minimal length for a 1 inch needle used for IM. At the DG site, optimal intramuscular needle length (OINL) was 1.4 times in women and 1.0 times in men compared to SFT. At the VG site, OINL was 1.3 times in women and 0.9 times in men compared to SFT. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that SFT is a reliable index to determine optimal needle length with minimal effort prior to IM.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Body Mass Index ; Equipment Design ; Female ; Humans ; Injections, Intramuscular/*instrumentation ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Needles ; Republic of Korea ; Sex Factors ; *Skinfold Thickness ; Subcutaneous Fat/ultrasonography

PURPOSE: This study was done to identify the risk factors associated with falls among patients with Parkinson's Disease(PD). METHOD: A retrospective study design was used through the collection of physiological and physical health, and psychosocial functions. RESULTS: Of the 100 participants, fifty-nine(59%) reported one or more falls and seventy-one(71%) reported one or more near-falls. Anaverage 34.7 falls and 150.3 near-falls were reported in the previous year per person. Stage of PD, foot problems, balance, fear of falling, and activities of daily living were significantly associated with an increased risk of falls. CONCLUSION: The findings confirm the high risk of falling in PD patients. Also these results have implications for developing fall prevention programs for PD patients.
*Accidental Falls/prevention & control ; Activities of Daily Living ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Parkinson Disease/*complications/physiopathology ; Postural Balance ; Risk Factors