PURPOSE: This study was performed to compare nursing students' attitudes toward death among South Korea, Japan and Indonesia, and to confirm the need for death education in nursing. METHODS: A total of 294 nursing students completed a questionnaire titled as the Death Attitude Profile-Revised (Wong, Recker, Gesser. 1994). Participating students were from two nursing schools in South Korea, two in Japan and one in Indonesia. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics including, chi2-test, ANOVA and multiple comparison analysis. RESULTS: The total mean score of the DAP-R for the three countries combined was 3.84+/-0.73. By country, the mean was the highest for Indonesian students (4.32+/-0.71), followed by Korean (3.75+/-0.57) and Japanese (3.56+/-0.70) respectively. In relation to subcategories, Indonesian students showed the highest mean score for death avoidance (3.67+/-1.38) and approach acceptance (5.37+/-1.00). Korean students marked the highest (5.51+/-0.91) in neutral acceptance and Japanese students scored the best (3.63+/-1.46) in escape acceptance. Nursing students who had an experience of caring terminally ill patients tended to be affirmative in approach acceptance (P=0.047). There were significant differences in each of the four subcategories except fear of death among the three countries (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: The above results indicate it is necessary to develop education programs based on each country's social and cultural background to help nursing students form desirable attitudes toward death.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Humans ; Indonesia ; Japan ; Republic of Korea ; Schools, Nursing ; Students, Nursing ; Terminally Ill ; United Nations

PURPOSE: This study was done to evaluate the effects of a short-term life review on spiritual well-being, depression, and anxiety in patients with terminal cancer. METHODS: The study used a pre posttest quasi experimental design with a nonequivalent control group. Measurement instruments included the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual scale (FACIT-Sp12) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Participants were 32 patients with terminal cancer who were receiving chemotherapy or palliative care at hospitals or at home. Eighteen patients were assigned to the experimental group and 14 to the control group. A sixty minute short-term life review session was held twice a week as the intervention with the experimental group. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant increase in spiritual well-being in the experimental group compared to the control group. There were also significant decreases in depression and anxiety in the experimental group compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that a short-term life review can be used as a nursing intervention for enhancing the spiritual well-being of patients with terminal cancer.
Aged ; *Anxiety ; Chronic Disease ; *Depression ; Female ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms/*psychology ; Palliative Care ; *Spirituality ; Terminally Ill

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the effects of mindful meditation and yoga on reducing burnout and stress in care workers who assist elderly individuals. Knowing how to reduce burnout is important because that of care workers is associated with the quality of client care, worker productivity, and job turnover.Patients and Methods: The participants included 44 care workers who worked for elderly care facilities in rural Fukuoka. They were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups: control, yoga, or mindfulness. In the yoga intervention group, a certified yoga instructor taught a 60-minute yoga session each week for six weeks. In the mindfulness group, an experienced medical doctor instructed a mindful meditation program for the same length. Participants were asked to complete the Japanese Burnout Scale (JBS), and the research team collected the level of α-amylase in saliva using NIPRO: T-110-N pre- and post-interventions.Results: MANOVA was performed with each intervention (control, yoga, mindfulness) as the independent variable on the three subscales of the JBS (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal achievement) and a biomarker of stress level (α-amylase). The results indicated a significant main effect of interventions, and a follow-up ANOVA showed a significant effect of interventions on emotional exhaustion and personal achievement.Conclusion: The results indicate that practicing mindful meditation or yoga for 60 minutes once a week for six weeks can reduce care workers’ burnout. This study was notable because the biomarker of stress also improved. It is strongly recommended and encouraged that institutions caring for the elderly population provide mindful meditation or yoga intervention to reduce burnout, which benefits not only care workers but also their clients.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to examine the association of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke with dental caries among preschool children. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke was assessed in terms of urinary cotinine concentrations and pack-years of exposure to smoking by parents and other family members at home. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 405 preschool children aged 3-6 years from two preschools in Japan in 2006. Information on the smoking habits of family members living with the child was obtained from parent-administered questionnaires. Dental examination was conducted to assess dental caries, that is, decayed and/or filled teeth. Urinary cotinine levels were measured using first-void morning urine samples. RESULTS: Overall, 31.1% of the children had dental caries, and 29.5% had decayed teeth. Exposure to current maternal and paternal smoking was positively associated with the presence of dental caries after controlling for covariates. More than three pack-years of exposure to maternal smoking and more than five pack-years of exposure to smoking by all family members were significantly associated with the presence of dental caries as compared with no exposure (odds ratio [OR] = 5.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.17-14.22, P for trend < 0.001 and OR = 2.00, 95% CI = 1.12-3.58, P for trend = 0.004, respectively). These exposure variables were similarly associated with the presence of decayed teeth (OR = 2.92, 95% CI = 1.23-6.96, P for trend = 0.01 and OR = 1.75, 95% CI = 0.96-3.20, P for trend = 0.03, respectively). As compared with lowest tertile of the urinary cotinine level, the highest tertile of the urinary cotinine level was significantly associated with the presence of dental caries as well as decayed teeth; the ORs for the highest vs. lowest tertile of urinary cotinine levels were 3.10 (95% CI = 1.71-5.63, P for trend = 0.012) and 2.02 (95% CI = 1.10-3.70, P for trend = 0.10), respectively. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that exposure to tobacco smoke may have a dose-dependent influence on the development of caries.
Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cotinine ; urine ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dental Caries ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Japan ; epidemiology ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Maternal Exposure ; adverse effects ; Parents ; Paternal Exposure ; adverse effects ; Risk Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Tobacco Smoke Pollution ; adverse effects ; Tobacco Smoking ; adverse effects ; epidemiology