PURPOSE: This study was to provide baseline data to arrange systematic management for the infectious waste. METHODS: This data was collected by self-reported questionnaires from a total of 419 subjects, ie nurses, nurse's aides and laboratory technicians working at a university hospital located in G city. The collected data were analyzed by t-test or ANOVA, Tukey test, Pearson's correlation, and multiple regression analysis using SPSS/WIN 12.0. RESULTS: The knowledge of the infectious waste was statistically significant in type of staff and level of education. Attitude was statistically significant in type of staff, age group, level of education, working period, and marital status. And also the practice of the subject was statistically significant in type of staff, age group, education level, the working periods, and marital status. There was positive association between attitude and practice(r=.63, p< 001). By means of multiple stepwise regression analysis, total variance explained by the attitude towards infectious wastes, single employee, and the working periods less than ten years was 44% of the practice of infectious wastes. CONCLUSION: An educational program focusing on strategy to change employee's attitude can be effective for building a well-organized management system.
Humans ; Laboratory Personnel ; Marital Status ; Nurses' Aides ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of adequacy and job performance of the nurse assistants' nursing job as evaluated by registered nurses and nurse assistants in geriatric hospitals, and by caregivers from the same hospitals. METHODS: Participants included 62 registered nurses, 57 nurse assistants, and 64 patient caregivers who completed a measurement scale on the job of nurse assistants. Data collection was conducted from October to December, 2015. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and one-way ANOVA by IBM SPSS/WIN program version 21.0. RESULTS: There were significant differences by items in perception of adequacy of nurse assistants' nursing job of among the three groups. There was also a significant difference in perception of the nurse assistants' job performance among the three groups. CONCLUSION: For nurse assistants in geriatric hospitals, the Ministry of Health and Welfare needs to develop an appropriate job practice guideline. In addition, there should be periodic courses of retraining and continuing education for nurse assistants.
Caregivers* ; Data Collection ; Education, Continuing ; Humans ; Nurses' Aides ; Nurses* ; Nursing* ; Work Performance*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate empathy ability, communication, and nursing performance among registered nurses (RN) and nursing assistants (NA) in long-term care hospitals. METHODS: Participants were 155 nursing personnel (RN 80 and AN 75) who worked in 8 long-term care hospitals in G city and J Province. Data collection was conducted from July 6 to August 6, 2016. Descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, and stepwise multiple regression were used with SPSS/WIN program version 23.0 for data analysis. RESULTS: Nursing performance of RN was significantly influenced by communication ability (β=.88, p<.001) and university graduation (β=.25, p=.025). Nursing performance of NA was influential by communication ability (β=.77, p<.001) and marriage (β=.42, p=.018). CONCLUSION: Findings show that communication ability of RN and NA is important in nursing performance. Therefore, there is a need to develop programs to improve communication ability and validate the effectiveness of the programs in improving nursing performance of nursing personnel working at long-term care hospitals.
Communication* ; Data Collection ; Empathy* ; Humans ; Long-Term Care* ; Marriage ; Nurses' Aides ; Nurses* ; Nursing* ; Statistics as Topic ; Task Performance and Analysis

Since the introduction of Western concept of nursing to Korea in late 1880s, Korean nursing practice has evolved into Korean culture. The purpose of this study was to explore and identify similarities and differences in hospital nursing practice between Korea and the United States using the grounded theory method. The data were gathered from 15 Korean nurses working in U.S. hospitals using semi-structured, in-depth interview method. Major similarities in nursing practice between Korea and U.S. existed in the 7 domains the Benner indicated in 1984. The nursing administration system was also similar in both countries. On the other hand, differences existed in how nurses execute these domains of nursing practice. These are the roles of nurses, nurse aides and family members, and the interpersonal relationships, and problem presentation and problem-solving strategies. American family members rarely participated in the patient's bedside nursing care, while Korean family members actively participated. American nurse aide participated in direct patient care, while Korean nurse aides did not. Also Korean nurses were participated more in administering and managing the patient's diagnostic and treatment modalities, while American nurses focused on the needs and demands of the patient. In terms of interpersonal relationships, American patients were more self-centered and demanding than Korean. American nurses focused more on the right of individuals while Korean nurses were more oriented to harmony with the coworkers. With inferiors and superiors, American members were more egalitarian, while Koreans tended to be hierarchical. In ways of suggesting problems, American nurses tended to pick out the problems more frequently than Korean nurses did. As to ways to solve the problems, American nurses relied heavily on explicit verbal explanations, while Korean nurses relied more on bodily action and behaviors. The results of this comparative study contribute to nursing by adding knowledge on the theory of culture care by describing the similarities and differences in nursing practice between Korea and the United States.
Hand ; Humans ; Korea* ; Nurses' Aides ; Nursing Care ; Nursing* ; Patient Care ; United States

BACKGROUND/AIMS: There is a growing emphasis on quality management in endoscope reprocessing. Previous surveys conducted in 2002 and 2004 were not practitioner-oriented. Therefore, this survey is significant for being the first to target actual participants in endoscope reprocessing in Korea. METHODS: This survey comprised 33 self-filled questions, and was personally delivered to nurses and nursing auxiliaries in the endoscopy departments of eight hospitals belonging to the society. The anonymous responses were collected after 1 week either by post or in person by committee members. RESULTS: The survey included 100 participants. In the questionnaire addressing compliance rates with the reprocessing guideline, the majority (98.9%) had a high compliance rate compared to 27% of respondents in 2002 and 50% in 2004. The lowest rate of compliance with a reprocessing procedure was reported for transporting the contaminated endoscope in a sealed container. Automated endoscope reprocessors were available in all hospitals. Regarding reprocessing time, more than half of the subjects replied that reprocessing took more than 15 minutes (63.2%). CONCLUSIONS: The quality management of endoscope reprocessing has improved as since the previous survey. A national survey expanded to include primary clinics is required to determine the true current status of endoscope reprocessing.
Anonyms and Pseudonyms ; Committee Membership ; Compliance ; Endoscopes* ; Endoscopy ; Humans ; Korea ; Nurses' Aides ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to develop and apply a prevention program for needle-stick injuries among health care workers who have a high occupational risk of such injuries, and to analyze the effect of the program on the subjects' knowledge regarding such injuries and compliance with protocols, as well as the incidence of needle-stick injuries among subjects. METHODS: The subjects of this study were nurses (RNs) and nurse's aides (NAs) working at a university hospital in Daegu. The data were collected by conducting surveys and determining the incidence of needle-stick injuries during a 1-year period before the application of the program. The program consisted of preventive education on needle-stick injury, the use of standardized boxes to measure blood sugar test, and the use of intravenous catheters with safety needles. Six months after the intervention, surveys were conducted to analyze the incidence of needle-stick injuries. The data on knowledge and compliance related to needle-stick injuries before and after program application were analyzed using the paired t-test, and data on the incidence of injuries were analyzed using the chi-square test. RESULTS: The scores on knowledge (RN, P<0.001; NA, P=0.007) and compliance (RN, P<0.001; NA, P=0.038) were significantly higher after the intervention than before. However, the number of reports on the incidence of needle-stick injuries before and after the intervention were not significantly different (RN, P=0.691; NA, P=0.079). CONCLUSION: The prevention program for needle-stick injuries was effective in improving the knowledge and compliance related to needle-stick injuries among RNs and NAs, but the number of reports on the incidence of injuries showed no difference. Therefore, the prevention program must be reevaluated and further developed after continuously monitoring and analyzing it in a hospital setting in order to decrease the incidence of needle-stick injuries.
Blood Glucose ; Catheters ; Compliance ; Delivery of Health Care ; Humans ; Incidence ; Needles ; Needlestick Injuries ; Nurses' Aides ; Plant Extracts

PURPOSE: This study aimed to identify how an education program on palliative care affects nursing home caregivers' perception of hospice care and attitude towards terminally ill patient care. METHODS: This study was conducted using a nonequivalent control group with a pretest-posttest design. The participants were 101 certified care workers: 58 in the experimental group and 43 in the control. The experimental group completed the palliative care education program consisted of 20 hours of classroom training and 20 hours of clinical practicum. An ANCOVA was performed to compare the score changes to outcome variables. RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the experimental group showed significant pretest-posttest differences in both the perception of hospice care (F=21.09, P < 0.001) and attitude towards caring for terminally ill patients (F=13.28, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: These results indicate that the palliative care education program for caregivers is effective in preparing participants to provide hospice/palliative care service. Further study is warranted to explore the effects of this program on palliative caregivers' performance.
Attitude to Death ; Caregivers* ; Education* ; Hospice Care ; Hospices* ; Humans ; Nurses' Aides ; Nursing Homes ; Palliative Care* ; Patient Care ; Preceptorship ; Terminally Ill

STUDY DESIGN: Interventional research with a 6-month follow-up period. PURPOSE: We aimed to establish the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary workplace intervention on reduction of work-related low back pain (WRLBP), using ergonomic posture training coupled with an educational program based on social cognitive theory. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: WRLBP is a major occupational problem among healthcare workers, who are often required to lift heavy loads. Patient handling is a particular requirement of nurse aides, and has been reported as the main cause of chronic WRLBP. METHODS: We included 125 nursing assistants from two hospitals affiliated to Qom University of Medical Sciences from May to December 2015. There was an intervention hospital with a number of 63 nursing assistants who received four multidisciplinary educational sessions for 2 hours each plus ergonomic posture training over two days and a control hospital with a number of 62 nursing assistants who didn't receive educational intervention about low back pain. The outcomes of interest were reductions in WRLBP intensity and disability from baseline to the follow up at 6 months, which were measured using a visual analog scale and the Quebec Disability Scale. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The comparison tests showed significant change from baseline in reduction of WRLBP intensity following the multidisciplinary program, with scores of 5.01±1.97 to 3.42±2.53 after 6 months on the visual analog scale in the intervention group (p<0.001) and no significant change in control groups. There was no significant difference in the disability scores between the two groups (p=0.07). CONCLUSIONS: We showed that our multidisciplinary intervention could reduce the intensity of WRLBP among nurse aides, making them suitable for implementation in programs to improve WRLBP among nursing assistants working in hospitals.
Delivery of Health Care ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Iran* ; Low Back Pain* ; Moving and Lifting Patients ; Nurses' Aides ; Nursing* ; Posture ; Quebec ; Visual Analog Scale

BACKGROUND: Recently, the incidence of hepatitis A has increased in Korea and an outbreak among healthcare workers (HCWs) has also been reported. This study was performed to evaluate the seroepidemiology of hepatitis A among HCWs and their response to vaccination recommendation at a Korean hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HCWs aged 20-39 years were tested for IgG antibodies against hepatitis A virus (HAV) using ARCHITECT HAVAb-IgG (Abbott Diagnostics Division, Wiesbaden, Germany) during July, 2008. Vaccination was recommended for the seronegative HCWs. Data on age, sex, place of birth, number of siblings, number of children, travel history to endemic areas, occupations, and vaccination history were collected. Statistical analyses were conducted to identify variables related to HAV seropositivity. RESULTS: Among a total of 391 HCWs enrolled, 75 (19%) were males and 316 (81%) were females. The percentages of HCWs aged 20 to 24 years, 25 to 29 years, 30 to 34 years, and 35 to 39 years were 23%, 48%, 17%, and 12%, respectively. The study population comprised of physicians (11%), nurses (62%), nurse aides (5%), paramedical technicians (13%), and administrative staff (9%). Seropositivity for HAV significantly increased with age (P<0.05):1.1% for 20-24, 8.6% for 25-29, 35.8% for 30-34, and 60.9% for 35-39 years-of-age. Multivariate analysis revealed that HAV seroprevalence correlated significantly with age, HCWs born in the non-metropolitan areas, and having > or = 3 children (P<0.05). The types of work the HCWs do at the hospital were not significantly associated with HAV seropositivity in multivariate analyses. Of a total of 322 seronegative HCWs, 121 (38%) were not vaccinated in spite of recommendation. The reasons for non-compliance were lack of understanding on the necessity of vaccination (39%), lack of time (26%), expensive costs (16%), fear of injection (15%), and some other reasons including pregnancy (4%). CONCLUSIONS: Since the seropositivity for HAV is low, vaccination against Hepatitis A should be considered for all HCWs aged 20-39 years in Korea. Education on the necessity of vaccination is warranted to increase compliance.
Aged ; Antibodies ; Child ; Compliance ; Delivery of Health Care ; Female ; Hepatitis ; Hepatitis A ; Hepatitis A virus ; Humans ; Hypogonadism ; Immunoglobulin G ; Incidence ; Korea ; Male ; Mitochondrial Diseases ; Multivariate Analysis ; Nurses' Aides ; Occupations ; Ophthalmoplegia ; Pregnancy ; Residence Characteristics ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Siblings ; Vaccination

BACKGROUND: Recently, the incidence of hepatitis A has increased in Korea and an outbreak among healthcare workers (HCWs) has also been reported. This study was performed to evaluate the seroepidemiology of hepatitis A among HCWs and their response to vaccination recommendation at a Korean hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HCWs aged 20-39 years were tested for IgG antibodies against hepatitis A virus (HAV) using ARCHITECT HAVAb-IgG (Abbott Diagnostics Division, Wiesbaden, Germany) during July, 2008. Vaccination was recommended for the seronegative HCWs. Data on age, sex, place of birth, number of siblings, number of children, travel history to endemic areas, occupations, and vaccination history were collected. Statistical analyses were conducted to identify variables related to HAV seropositivity. RESULTS: Among a total of 391 HCWs enrolled, 75 (19%) were males and 316 (81%) were females. The percentages of HCWs aged 20 to 24 years, 25 to 29 years, 30 to 34 years, and 35 to 39 years were 23%, 48%, 17%, and 12%, respectively. The study population comprised of physicians (11%), nurses (62%), nurse aides (5%), paramedical technicians (13%), and administrative staff (9%). Seropositivity for HAV significantly increased with age (P<0.05):1.1% for 20-24, 8.6% for 25-29, 35.8% for 30-34, and 60.9% for 35-39 years-of-age. Multivariate analysis revealed that HAV seroprevalence correlated significantly with age, HCWs born in the non-metropolitan areas, and having > or = 3 children (P<0.05). The types of work the HCWs do at the hospital were not significantly associated with HAV seropositivity in multivariate analyses. Of a total of 322 seronegative HCWs, 121 (38%) were not vaccinated in spite of recommendation. The reasons for non-compliance were lack of understanding on the necessity of vaccination (39%), lack of time (26%), expensive costs (16%), fear of injection (15%), and some other reasons including pregnancy (4%). CONCLUSIONS: Since the seropositivity for HAV is low, vaccination against Hepatitis A should be considered for all HCWs aged 20-39 years in Korea. Education on the necessity of vaccination is warranted to increase compliance.
Aged ; Antibodies ; Child ; Compliance ; Delivery of Health Care ; Female ; Hepatitis ; Hepatitis A ; Hepatitis A virus ; Humans ; Hypogonadism ; Immunoglobulin G ; Incidence ; Korea ; Male ; Mitochondrial Diseases ; Multivariate Analysis ; Nurses' Aides ; Occupations ; Ophthalmoplegia ; Pregnancy ; Residence Characteristics ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Siblings ; Vaccination