No abstract available.
DNA*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of supportive nursing intervention on the anxiety and nursing satisfaction of mothers with children undergoing open-heart surgery. METHODS: The research design involved a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest non synchronized design. The subjects consisted of 43 mothers of children who were expected to undergo open heart surgery, and were divided into two groups; an experimental group of 22 and a control group of 21. The experiment was administered to the experimental group a total of four times, following supportive nursing intervention protocols. The research tools used were Spielberger's State Anxiety Inventory for anxiety and Park Jung-Eun's nursing satisfaction. The data were analyzed using the chi-square-test, and t-test with SPSS/WIN 12.0 program. RESULTS: Hypothes 1, 'The experimental group who are given supportive nursing intervention will have a lower anxiety score than the control group' was supported(t=5.658, p=.000). Hypothesis 2, 'The experimental group who are given supportive nursing intervention will have a higher nursing satisfaction score than the control gropu wasl supported(t=-9.549, p=.000). CONCLUSION: The supportive nursing intervention protocol was effective in reducing anxiety and increasing the nursing satisfaction of mothers with children undergoing open-heart surgery.
Anxiety* ; Child* ; Humans ; Mothers* ; Nursing* ; Research Design ; Thoracic Surgery

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the key factors in nursing workforce management for pandemic response in general hospitals and long-term care hospitals and to analyze the relative importance of these factors. Methods: A validity test was conducted with experts to select four categories and 30 key factors related to nursing workforce management for pandemic response. Surveys were collected from 25 nursing managers in general hospitals and 21 nursing managers in long-term care hospitals, and the relative importance of the key factors was analyzed using the analytic hierarchy process method. Results: Differences were found between the two groups in the relative importance of nursing workforce management for pandemic response. Specifically, the highest-ranking category was “workforce recruitment and redeployment” for general hospitals, but “workforce support and protection” for long-term care hospitals. The most important factor regarding nursing workforce management was the “nurse-to-patient ratio” for both general and long-term care hospitals. Conclusion General and long-term care hospitals need to establish nursing workforce management strategies to effectively respond to pandemics with appropriate consideration of the relative importance and prioritization of key factors based on hospital characteristics.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the key factors in nursing workforce management for pandemic response in general hospitals and long-term care hospitals and to analyze the relative importance of these factors. Methods: A validity test was conducted with experts to select four categories and 30 key factors related to nursing workforce management for pandemic response. Surveys were collected from 25 nursing managers in general hospitals and 21 nursing managers in long-term care hospitals, and the relative importance of the key factors was analyzed using the analytic hierarchy process method. Results: Differences were found between the two groups in the relative importance of nursing workforce management for pandemic response. Specifically, the highest-ranking category was “workforce recruitment and redeployment” for general hospitals, but “workforce support and protection” for long-term care hospitals. The most important factor regarding nursing workforce management was the “nurse-to-patient ratio” for both general and long-term care hospitals. Conclusion General and long-term care hospitals need to establish nursing workforce management strategies to effectively respond to pandemics with appropriate consideration of the relative importance and prioritization of key factors based on hospital characteristics.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the key factors in nursing workforce management for pandemic response in general hospitals and long-term care hospitals and to analyze the relative importance of these factors. Methods: A validity test was conducted with experts to select four categories and 30 key factors related to nursing workforce management for pandemic response. Surveys were collected from 25 nursing managers in general hospitals and 21 nursing managers in long-term care hospitals, and the relative importance of the key factors was analyzed using the analytic hierarchy process method. Results: Differences were found between the two groups in the relative importance of nursing workforce management for pandemic response. Specifically, the highest-ranking category was “workforce recruitment and redeployment” for general hospitals, but “workforce support and protection” for long-term care hospitals. The most important factor regarding nursing workforce management was the “nurse-to-patient ratio” for both general and long-term care hospitals. Conclusion General and long-term care hospitals need to establish nursing workforce management strategies to effectively respond to pandemics with appropriate consideration of the relative importance and prioritization of key factors based on hospital characteristics.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the key factors in nursing workforce management for pandemic response in general hospitals and long-term care hospitals and to analyze the relative importance of these factors. Methods: A validity test was conducted with experts to select four categories and 30 key factors related to nursing workforce management for pandemic response. Surveys were collected from 25 nursing managers in general hospitals and 21 nursing managers in long-term care hospitals, and the relative importance of the key factors was analyzed using the analytic hierarchy process method. Results: Differences were found between the two groups in the relative importance of nursing workforce management for pandemic response. Specifically, the highest-ranking category was “workforce recruitment and redeployment” for general hospitals, but “workforce support and protection” for long-term care hospitals. The most important factor regarding nursing workforce management was the “nurse-to-patient ratio” for both general and long-term care hospitals. Conclusion General and long-term care hospitals need to establish nursing workforce management strategies to effectively respond to pandemics with appropriate consideration of the relative importance and prioritization of key factors based on hospital characteristics.

BACKGROUND: Mycobacterium tuberculosis is one of the most clinically significant infectious agents. Especially during mass outbreaks, accurate identification and monitoring are required. The proportion of Beijing family members is very high among infecting strains, and spoligotyping is not suitable for strain typing. Therefore, we studied the homogeneity of isolates using the mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units-variable number of tandem repeats (MIRU-VNTR) method and identified its utility for carrying out molecular epidemiologic analysis. METHODS: Eighty-one clinical M. tuberculosis isolates that had previously been analyzed by spoligotyping were used in this study. We used the 12 standard MIRU loci and further four exact tandem repeat (ETR) loci (ETR-A, -B, -C, and -F). Four strains each of randomly selected Beijing and Beijing-like families were subjected to IS6110- restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. RESULTS: All 81 samples showed amplification products of all VNTR loci, and all of them showed differences in at least one locus. The calculation of the Hunter-Gaston diversity index (HGDI) for MIRU-VNTR gave the value of 0.965. Discriminatory index in the six loci (MIRU-10, -16, -26, -31, -39, and ETR-F) were found to be highly discriminated (HGDI >0.6). Beijing and Beijing-like family isolates were discriminated into different MIRU-VNTR types. CONCLUSIONS: MIRU-VNTR analysis by using well-selected loci can be useful in discriminating the clinical M. tuberculosis isolates in areas where the Beijing family is predominant.
Bacterial Typing Techniques/*methods ; DNA, Bacterial/analysis ; Genotype ; Humans ; *Minisatellite Repeats ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis/*classification/genetics/isolation & purification ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Republic of Korea ; Tuberculosis/diagnosis/*microbiology

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the change in oral health-related quality of life among patients with head & neck cancer who received radiotherapy. METHODS: A total of 40 patients who were diagnosed as having head and neck cancer and scheduled to have radiotherapy were enrolled in this study; however, only 25 patients were included in the final analysis. Prior to radiotherapy, a dentist performed an oral examination to check for the presence of decayed and missing teeth, plaque, and determine the gingival index. Oral health-related quality of life was assessed using the OHIP-14 questionnaire. Eight weeks after starting radiotherapy, oral health-related quality of life was re-evaluated using the same questionnaire. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 60.20 (±7.29) years, and 22 (88.8%) of them were men. The majority of the participants were diagnosed as having squamous cell carcinoma (68.0%). The total OHIP-14 score was significantly decreased from 56.20 (±13.50) at baseline to 45.72 (±10.98) eight weeks after radiotherapy. In addition, according to subjective oral health at baseline, the observed change in the OHIP-14 score was significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: Oral health-related quality of life was significantly lowered after radiotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer.
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Dentists ; Diagnosis, Oral ; Head and Neck Neoplasms* ; Head* ; Humans ; Male ; Oral Health ; Periodontal Index ; Quality of Life* ; Radiotherapy* ; Tooth

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the antioxidant level, serum cholesterol and skin beta-carotene, of female elderly who had been living more then 10 months in institutions which offered either vegetarian or nonvegetarian diet. METHODS: Total of 110 female elderly, 56 from institution serving vegetarian diet and 54 from nonvegetarian diet, were recruited from institutions located in S and N city in Korea. beta-carotene level was measured on their palm using Pharmanex Biophotonic Scanner and annual health evaluation data was utilized for the analysis of serum cholesterol. RESULTS: The subjects on a vegetarian diet had a significantly higher level of phosphorus, carotene, and folic acid. The elderly who were living in an institution offering a vegetarian diet had a lower level of serum cholesterol and higher level of skin beta-carotene, compared to those living in an institution offering a non-vegetarian diet. CONCLUSION: This study reveals that a vegetarian diet is beneficial in increasing skin beta-carotene level, decreasing serum total cholesterol level. The skin beta-carotene measurement appear valuable as a bio-marker of antioxidant intake. Further study on antioxidant food and effective serving strategy for elderly are recommended.
Aged ; beta Carotene ; Carotenoids ; Cholesterol ; Diet ; Diet, Vegetarian ; Female ; Folic Acid ; Humans ; Korea ; Phosphorus ; Skin

PURPOSE: Recently, vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) have become one of the major nosocomial pathogens in Korea. However, there have been few studies on the epidemiology of VRE colonization among neonates. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of VRE colonization, risk factors for VRE, and how to control the spread of VRE infection in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Pusan National University Hospital (PNUH). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 192 neonates who were admitted to the NICU of PNUH from March 2006 to March 2007. Surveillance cultures from rectal swabs for detecting VRE were obtained weekly during the study period. We analyzed the prevalence of VRE and various risk factors. RESULTS: The rate of VRE colonization among NICU patients was 25% (48/192). Thirty five of these VRE colonized patients were transferred to the NICU from other local hospitals. Compared with the non-VRE group, the risk factors associated with VRE colonization were lower birth weight, congenital heart disease, applied mechanical ventilation, use of a central venous catheter, chest tubing, a history of surgery, and use of antibiotics. CONCLUSION: VRE colonization among patients admitted to the NICU is rapidly increasing. Monitoring and managing premature neonates from the beginning of the birth process, avoiding many invasive procedures, avoiding antibiotics such as vancomycin and third generation cephalosporin are important for preventing the emergence and spread of VRE colonization in the NICU.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Birth Weight ; Central Venous Catheters ; Colon ; Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Korea ; Medical Records ; Parturition ; Prevalence ; Respiration, Artificial ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Thorax ; Vancomycin ; Vancomycin Resistance