PURPOSE: This study was designed to examine the effects of horticultural therapy program on state-anxiety, fatigue and quality of life (QoL) of among women cancer survivors. METHODS: Quasi-experimental study was used with a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Data were collected from February to June, 2009. Participants consisted of 40 women cancer survivors in community. The experimental group participated in horticultural therapy program once a week for 18 weeks. Data were analyzed with SPSS/WIN 18.0 program using chi2-test and t-test. RESULTS: There were significant differences between the two groups in state-anxiety and QoL. CONCLUSION: The results of this study support that horticultural therapy program was effective in decreasing state-anxiety and improving QoL among women cancer survivors.
Anxiety ; Fatigue ; Female ; Horticultural Therapy ; Humans ; Quality of Life ; Survivors

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors influencing suicidal ideation in older adults with osteoarthritis. METHODS: Data was collected by questionnaires using face-to-face interviews from 87 outpatients selected at a private hospital. The data was analyzed using SPSS/WIN 12.0. RESULTS: The mean scores of disability, depression and suicidal ideation were 58.5, 18.1 and 8.3 respectively. There were significant differences in suicidal ideation according to socio-demographic factors such as education, present job, marital status, residence with, economic status, difference in caregiver. Depression was a significant predictor of suicidal ideation (F=51.15, p<.001). CONCLUSION: Based on the findings of this study, to prevent suicidal ideation for older adults with osteoarthritis, nursing intervention program should include psychological care for depression as well as physical care for disability reduction.
Adult* ; Caregivers ; Depression ; Education ; Hospitals, Private ; Humans ; Marital Status ; Nursing ; Osteoarthritis* ; Outpatients ; Questionnaires ; Suicidal Ideation*

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 aim of this study was to identify historical backdrop leading to the introduction of the doctorate degree of nursing in Korea, and to explore trends of doctoral nursing education program. METHODS: The research design was a descriptive study adopting a historical approach. Documentation data were collected through web sites and mail survey. The semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 professors who were involved in the introduction of the doctorate degree of nursing. The outcomes of doctoral nursing education program were evaluated with a total of 1,153 dissertations' titles published from 1982 to 2007. RESULTS: First introduced in Korea in 1978, doctoral nursing education program had steadily increased totaling 21 doctoral program in 2007. This resulted in a rapid increase in the number of doctoral students, but the number of faculty and the quality were not as satisfactory as expected. Many doctoral program had the missions or goals that fostered nursing scholars, theorists, and researchers, a trend that seems set to continue. The majority of dissertations utilized the experimental design (39.9%), others were qualitative design (21.6%), and survey design (19.0%). CONCLUSION: Doctoral education that is the hallmark of nursing scholarship is further elaborated in terms of academic tradition of nursing school in Korea.
Education ; Education, Nursing* ; Fellowships and Scholarships ; History of Nursing ; Humans ; Korea ; Missions and Missionaries ; Nursing ; Postal Service ; Research Design ; Schools, Nursing ; Social Change

PURPOSE: This study examined breast cancer screening practice and health promoting behaviors and the predicting factors of breast cancer screening practice in Chinese women. METHODS: A correlational research design was used to recruit a convenience sample of 770 women living in four cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Xi'an) in China. Participants completed self-report questionnaire consisting of general characteristics, breast cancer screening, health promoting behaviors, perceived benefits and perceived barriers. RESULTS: The participants were mostly 36-55 years old (51.3%), married (86.8%), premenopause (77.7%), had children (83.4%), and breastfed (73%). About 60% of Chinese women participated in some type of breast cancer screening practices, among them only 60 (7.8%) women used mammography, ultrasonogram and breast self-examination. The main reason for doing breast cancer screening was "feeling necessary for the screening". About 36% of the participants reported they did not perform any of screening practices, because they "don't feel it necessary". The women who had breast cancer screening regularly reported better health promoting behavior and perceived benefits and less perceived barriers than those who did not (F = 10.45, p < .001). Logistic regression showed that model 1 (age, higher education, being employed) and model 2 (perceived benefits and health behaviors) were the significant predicting factors (p < .05), explaining 10-13.8% of variance in breast cancer screening practice. CONCLUSION: On the basis of these results, public education about importance of breast cancer screening and health promoting behavior should be strongly advocated by health professionals and mass media in China.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Breast Self-Examination ; Child ; China ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Health Occupations ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Mammography ; Mass Media ; Mass Screening ; Premenopause ; Research Design ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of the modified constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) for inpatient rehabilitation of the stroke patients. METHOD: Twenty-four patients admitted by subacute or chronic stroke were enrolled and divided into two groups, experimental and control groups. The experimental group (n=13) received the CIMT five days a week for 2 weeks. Less affected arm was restrained for 14 hours a day, practicing purposeful activities with more affected arm for 6 hours a day in group setting. The control group (n=11) received conventional occupational therapy for the same period. The outcome was measured by Fugl-Meyer MotorAssessment (FMA), Brunnstrom stage, Jebsen hand function test, grip strength, Box and Block test, nine hole peg test, Functional Independence Measure (FIM), and Motor Activity Log (MAL). RESULTS: The experimental group showed significantly higher improvements (p<0.05) in FMA, Brunnstorm stage, Jebsen hand function test, grip strength, Box and Block test, FIM, and MAL. CONCLUSION: Modified CIMT delivered in group setting is considered to be an effective treatment to improve functional use of the hemiparetic arm of stroke patients in inpatient setting.
Arm ; Hand ; Hand Strength ; Humans ; Inpatients* ; Motor Activity ; Occupational Therapy ; Paresis ; Rehabilitation ; Stroke*

PURPOSE: Research related to social support in Korea has been hampered by paucity of measurement tools reflecting Korean culture. The aim of the study was to develop Korean social support questionnaire (KSSQ) based on the Korean social support pyramid and to test psychometric properties of the KSSQ. METHODS: The questionnaire was administered to 701 subjects and 658 college students. Psychometric analyses included factor analyses, expert validity, criterion-related validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. RESULTS: A principal components analysis support for construct validity, eliciting a three factor solution accounting for 65.46% of variance in scores. Concurrent and discriminant validity supported criterion-related validity. Internal consistency of reliability was support with Cronbach's alpha of .97-.98 for the entire scale. Test-retest reliability was .76. CONCLUSION: This initial testing of KSSQ to measure Korean social support demonstrates evidence of reliability and validity. Assessment of known-group validity and norm establishment of KSSQ are suggested to provide further sound psychometric properties and practical measurement tools.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Psychometrics ; *Questionnaires ; *Social Support ; Students/psychology ; Universities ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was: 1) To investigate health status(health behavior, health problem and cognition), depression and social support of elderly beneficiaries of the National Basic Livelihood Security System. 2) To identify the relationships among health status, depression and social support. METHODS: This descriptive study used a cross-sectional design. The study sample was a total of 883 elderly recipients supported from the National Basic Livelihood Security System. Quotas for sampling were designed and conducted nationwide throughout Korea. RESULTS: The mean age was 76.2 and the 79.6% of the sample were female. The scores for the health behavior, health problem, ADL, and cognition were 23.9, 4.4, 39.6 and 24.9, respectively. Additionally, the depression score was 19.8 and the social support score was 63.2. Gender, age, education, religion, marital status and monthly income were found as important variables in increasing health status and in decreasing depression among the elderly. Furthermore, depression showed a positive correlation with health problems, but showed negative correlations with health behavior, ADL, and cognition. The upper 25% of social support recipients suffered less depression than the lower 25% of the recipients. Subjects with more social supports had higher ADL scores and less health problem. CONCLUSION: These findings provide significant practical implications for nursing intervention, including social support for the elderly receiving assistance from the National Basic Livelihood Security System.
Activities of Daily Living ; Aged ; Cognition ; Depression ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Marital Status

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the quality of life and its predictors in low income Korean aged. METHODS: This was a predictive correlational study. An accessible sample from the population of people who were 65 and over and were supported by the basic livelihood security system was 1,040. Quota sampling with strata of state division in the nation was chosen. Quality of life and its predictors in the subjects were measured. RESULTS: The mean quality of life in the subjects was 47.0+/-10.7. Predictors of this study significantly explained 54.3% of the total variance of quality of life. Depression was the most significant predictor of quality of life. Health problems, district, social support, leisure activity, and health behavior had effects on quality of life. CONCLUSION: This finding indicates that quality of life in lower income Korean aged is different from other populations by economic status. Demographics, health status and social status were predictors of quality of life in the aged with a small income.
Activities of Daily Living ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Demography ; Depression ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Health Status ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; *Poverty ; Predictive Value of Tests ; *Quality of Life ; Social Welfare

OBJECTIVE: We intended to know how the cryoprotectant ethylene glycol (EG) would affect the outcome of the embryo development when used in slow freezing method. And to know if there is any difference in the outcome of frozen-thawed embryos according to freezing methods and the timing. METHODS: We used 5-6 weeks old ICR female mice and T6 containing 0.4% BSA for basic culture media. The embryos at the developmental stages of 1-cell, 8-cell and blastocyst were cryopreserved respectively by slow freezing method using EG, propylene glycol (PROH), and glycerol as a cryoprotectant. We also compared the results of slow freezing and vitrification methods with the same cryoprotectant, EG. And finally, we evaluated the quality of blastocysts by counting the cell numbers in each group. RESULTS: The post-thaw embryo development were better in EG group when they were frozen at 1-cell and blastocyst stage (P<0.05). Although there were no differences in the recovery rate, the survival rate in vitrification group was significantly higher (P<0.05). Post-thaw embryo development to morula and blastocyst were better in vitrification group when frozen at 1-cell embryo (P<0.05), not at 8-cell and blastocyst group. The cell counts of blastocyst derived from 1-cell stage frozen EG group were significantly increased than that of PROH-glycerol groups (P<0.05), however, there was no difference between the two freezing methods. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that EG may be advantageous comparing with the conventional cryoprotectants, PROH and glycerol in slow freezing method for mouse embryo cryopreservation. In terms of freezing method, vitrification is better than slow freezing.
Animals ; Blastocyst ; Cell Count ; Cryopreservation ; Culture Media ; Embryonic Development ; Embryonic Structures* ; Ethylene Glycol* ; Female ; Freezing* ; Glycerol ; Humans ; Mice* ; Morula ; Pregnancy ; Propylene Glycol ; Survival Rate ; Vitrification