PURPOSE: This study was to determine the current trend of nursing research as exploring both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and to provide the explicit direction to improve the quality of published papers. METHODS: Total of 366 articles published between 2004 and 2006 was reviewed using the criteria of analysis. RESULTS: There was more number of quantitative studies than qualitative studies. More studies were conducted with subjects who had health problems, and studies that targeted women and elderly population have been significantly increased. In quantitative methodology, utilization of experimental and quasi-experimental designs has been increased, however descriptive study was dominant as yet. In qualitative methodology, studies using grounded theory and phenomenology were frequently published. It was noted that theoretical framework and rational for sample size were rarely presented in quantitative study. Philosophical position and the process of preparation for study, which guided the research, were not clearly described in qualitative study. CONCLUSION: The findings of this review suggest that published studies have been improved and diversified, however, detailed and clear evaluation tool that assesses study process and method should be developed as a way to further improve the quality of published papers.
Bibliometrics ; Humans ; Korea ; Nursing Methodology Research/*standards ; *Periodicals as Topic ; Qualitative Research

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to explore problems of clinical nurse performance appraisal system. METHODS: This study employed a descriptive qualitative approach. The participants were purposively selected from clinical nurses working across all of the hospital units in a large metropolitan teaching hospital in Tehran, Iran in 2012. Data were collected using five focus group interviews, which were audio taped. The number of participants in each group ranged from 7 to 10. The semi-structured interviews were guided by a set of nondirective questions, and continued until the data reached saturation. Data were analyzed using framework analysis. RESULTS: Four major themes regarding the problems of clinical nurse performance appraisal system emerged from the analysis of textual data. These themes were contextual problems, problems related to performance appraisal structure, problems related to performance appraisal process and those related to performance appraisal results. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study reveal that the nurse performance appraisal system confronts with various problems. Some of these problems are related to organizational context while the others concerned structure, process and results of the performance appraisal system. In order to achieve high quality of patient care as the final goal of performance appraisal, changing and revision of this system is necessary.
Adult ; *Clinical Competence ; Employee Performance Appraisal/*standards ; Female ; Focus Groups ; Humans ; Iran ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nurse Clinicians/*standards ; *Nursing Methodology Research ; Nursing Staff, Hospital/*standards ; Qualitative Research

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine characteristics of nursing science and identify expected outcomes from baccalaureate graduates, and to develop accreditation standards and criteria reflecting the characteristics of the nursing profession. METHODS: A methodological research design was utilized in this study. Related literature reviews and the nursing education program goals and objectives of the 99 nursing schools in Korea were analyzed. A cross-sectional survey research design was utilized to test the validity of the developed characteristics of the nursing profession and their accreditation criteria and standards. The face validity was from the advisory committee and public committee hearing. RESULTS: The characteristics of nursing science were defined with five concepts including humanity, scientific knowledge, professionalism, therapeutic relationship, and facilitating well-being. The expected outcomes from graduates were identified as providing holistic nursing, critical thinking, establishing professionalism and leadership, construction of a therapeutic relationship, and skilled nursing practice. Finally6 standards and 14 criteria reflecting the unique characteristics of the nursing profession were developed for accreditation. These proposed accreditation standards and criteria are a challenge to promote the quality of nursing science.
Accreditation/organization & administration/*standards ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Curriculum/standards ; Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate/organization & administration/*standards ; Humans ; Nursing Methodology Research ; Organizational Objectives

PURPOSE: To compare perimenstrual (premenstrual, menstrual, postmenstrual) symptoms by concurrent reporting using the Women's Daily Health Diary (WDHD) and by retrospective reporting using the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MMDQ). METHODS: A prospective and retrospective study was conducted among 31 Korean women, aged 27 to 48 yrs, living in the USA. RESULTS: On the prospective report using the WDHD, the most severe complaints were fatigue or tiredness (1.48 +/-.98), sensation of weight gain (.88+/-98), increased appetite (.79+/-.96) in premenstrual phase, fatigue or tiredness (1.34+/-.85), backaches (1.06+/-.79), and bloating or swelling of the abdomen (.93+/-.86) during the menstrual phase. On the retrospective report using the MMDQ, the most severe complaints during the premenstrual phase were fatigue (2.2 6+/-1.65), irritability (2.06+/-1.48), and backaches (1.97+/-1.68) and during the menstrual phase backaches (2.35+/-1.62), fatigue (2.29+/-1.75), and cramps (2.23+/- 1.80). According to both measurements of PMS symptomology during the premenstrual and menstrual phases, the most frequently reported symptom was fatigue or tiredness. Highly rated symptoms on the MMDQ and on the WDHD were found to be similar. CONCLUSION: The WDHD was found to be suitable for daily prospective PMS assessment, which will be necessary for the screening and management of women with severe PMS.
Acculturation ; Adult ; Asian Americans/*ethnology ; Attitude to Health/ethnology ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Data Collection/*methods/standards ; Female ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Korea/ethnology ; Longitudinal Studies ; Medical Records/*standards ; Michigan ; Middle Aged ; Nursing Assessment/methods/standards ; Nursing Evaluation Research ; Nursing Methodology Research ; *Premenstrual Syndrome/diagnosis/ethnology ; Prospective Studies ; Questionnaires/*standards ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Severity of Illness Index

PURPOSE: Professional nursing ethics is a living, dynamic set of standards for nurses'professional moral behavior. Furthermore, in daily clinical nursing training, nursing students are constantly confronted with decisionmaking that is moral in nature. The aim of this study was to identify the perceived ethical attitudes in the clinical training process of senior nursing students using Q-methodology to offer basic strategies for nursing ethics education and thereby improve patients'care. METHODS: Q-methodology provides a scientific method for identifying perception structures that exist within certain individuals or groups. Thirty-seven participants in a university rated 38 selected Q-statements on a scale of 1-9. The collected data were analyzed using pc-QUNAL software. RESULTS: Principal component analysis identified 3 types of ethical attitudes in nursing students in Korea. The categories were labeled Sacred-life, Science-realistic and Humane-life. Sacred-life individuals think that a life belongs to an absolute power (God), not a man, and a human life is a high and noble thing. Science-realistic individuals disagreed that allowing an induced abortion or embryo (human) duplication is unethical behavior that provokes a trend, which takes the value of a life lightly; most of them took a utilitarian position with respect to ethical decisions. Humane-life individuals exhibit a tendency toward human-centered thought with respect to ethical attitudes. CONCLUSION: This study will be of interest to educators of students of nursing and hospital nursing administrators. Also, the findings may provide the basis for the development of more appropriate strategies to improve nursing ethics education programs.
Adaptation, Psychological ; Analysis of Variance ; *Attitude of Health Personnel/ethnology ; Clinical Competence/standards ; Decision Making ; *Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate/ethics/standards ; *Ethics, Nursing/education ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humanism ; Humans ; Interprofessional Relations/ethics ; Korea ; Morals ; Needs Assessment ; Nursing Methodology Research/methods ; Patient Rights/ethics ; Philosophy, Nursing ; *Q-Sort ; Religion and Psychology ; Students, Nursing/*psychology ; Value of Life

PURPOSE: The primary purpose of this study was to reexamine underlying dimensions of attitudes toward the elderly held by undergraduate nursing students. A secondary purpose was to investigate characteristics of nursing students associated with attitudes toward elders. METHODS: A survey was performed using self-report questionnaire completed by nursing students from a total of 10 nursing schools or departments each selected randomly from one province of Korea. Students' responses (N=366) were analyzed using factor analysis, correlation coefficients, t-test, and ANOVA. RESULTS: Three attitudinal dimensions explaining 35.29% of the variance were extracted: vitality, generosity and flexibility. From a neutral point of 4.0 in the range of 1 to 7, only generosity (4.47) was evaluated positively, whereas vitality (3.31) and flexibility (2.91) were evaluated negatively. The mean scores of the vitality and generosity dimensions were significantly different by students' level of communication with the elderly, experience living with the elderly, and interest in elders or in issues related to elders. Interest in elders/elder issues was the only characteristic affecting significant mean score difference in flexibility. CONCLUSION: Educational process should increase students' exposure to healthy elderly to modify negative attitudes toward the elderly among nursing students.
Adolescent ; Adult ; *Aged ; Analysis of Variance ; *Attitude of Health Personnel ; Communication ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; *Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate/standards ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Female ; Geriatric Nursing/education ; *Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Negativism ; Nursing Education Research ; Nursing Methodology Research ; *Prejudice ; Questionnaires ; Residence Characteristics/statistics & numerical data ; Stereotyping ; Students, Nursing/*psychology

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to identify the role adaptation process experienced by head nurses. METHODS: Data were collected from 10 head nurses with in-depth interviews about their actual experiences. All the interviews were recorded and transcribed. The collected data were analyzed by the grounded theory methodology of Strauss and Corbin. RESULTS: The core category was identified as "weighing and balancing," and the role adaptation process was divided into six stages by time sequence: inquiring, approaching to others, bringing people into their fold, working with conviction, avoiding conflicts, and settling. CONCLUSION: The results of this study yield useful information for top mangers of nursing to identify, by stages, the demands of the head nurses in their role adaptation process. The findings of this study contributes to developing programs that facilitates the head nurses' role adaptation.
*Adaptation, Psychological ; Adult ; *Attitude of Health Personnel/ethnology ; Avoidance Learning ; Conflict (Psychology) ; Female ; *Hospitals, General/organization & administration ; Humans ; Interprofessional Relations ; Korea ; Leadership ; Models, Nursing ; Models, Psychological ; Needs Assessment ; Nurse Administrators/education/organization & administration/*psychology ; *Nurse's Role ; Nursing Methodology Research ; Nursing Staff, Hospital/organization & administration/psychology ; Nursing, Supervisory/organization & administration ; Philosophy, Nursing ; Power (Psychology) ; Professional Competence/standards ; Qualitative Research ; Questionnaires ; Self Efficacy

The involvement of health-care professionals in tobacco-control activities is essential to prevent smoking-related morbidity and mortality. The purposes of this predictive correlational study were to examine tobacco-control activities and to identify the predictors of such activities of community health practitioners (CHPs). Of the 1,813 members of the Korean Association of CHP, 1,247 participated in this study. A mailed survey was conducted to collect data. The majority of CHPs supported tobacco-control policies and recognized tobacco-control activities as an important role for them. Only 44.3% of CHPs were confident in their knowledge and skills regarding tobacco-control activities, and only 30.8% had received professional tobacco-control education. While the majority of the CHPs "asked, advised, and assessed"their clients, only a small number "assisted or arranged". The tobacco-control activities of CHPs were predicted by their attitude toward it, age, experience of tobacco-control education, educational level, and general perception of the risk of smoking; these variables accounted 13.5% of variance in the tobacco-control activities of CHPs. These findings provide the basis for developing a continuing education program for CHPs. CHPs should be encouraged to integrate tobacco-control activities into their routine practice, and CHP education programs should be adjusted to increase the time spent on the tobacco-control intervention techniques.
Adult ; Aged ; Analysis of Variance ; *Attitude of Health Personnel ; Clinical Competence/standards ; Community Health Nursing/education/*organization & administration ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Education, Nursing, Continuing/standards ; Educational Status ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Korea ; Middle Aged ; Needs Assessment ; *Nurse's Role ; Nursing Methodology Research ; Nursing Staff/education/organization & administration/*psychology ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Questionnaires ; Regression Analysis ; Risk Factors ; Self Efficacy ; Smoking/*prevention & control ; Smoking Cessation

PURPOSE: This study examined the predictive factors enabling access to children's oral health care at the level of financial barriers, beliefs, and the provider. METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted with 320 immigrant mothers of low-income families regarding their use of oral health services for children aged four to eight years old. Access to oral health care was measured with frequency of planned dental visits, continuity of care, and age at first visit to dentist. RESULTS: The mother took her child to the dentist at a younger age if she received referrals to a dentist from pediatrician. Regular dental visits were significantly related to household income, provider availability on weekends, and insurance coverage. The extended clinic hours in the evenings, and the belief in the importance of the child's regular dentist visits increased the likelihood of continuing care. The mothers perceiving a cost burden for the child's dental care were also less likely to return to the dentist. CONCLUSION: The available care delivery system, coordinated medical care, and health beliefs were among important predictors of the health service use. The study findings suggest need for culturally competent dental health interventions to enhance access to oral health care among particularly vulnerable populations such as low-income children in Korean communities.
Adult ; Attitude to Health/*ethnology ; Chicago ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Clinical Competence/standards ; Continuity of Patient Care/standards ; Cultural Diversity ; Dental Care for Children/economics/*utilization ; Emigration and Immigration ; Female ; Focus Groups ; Health Care Surveys ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Health Services Accessibility/standards ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Hispanic Americans/education/*ethnology ; Humans ; Mexico/ethnology ; Mothers/education/*psychology ; Multivariate Analysis ; Nursing Methodology Research ; Poverty/economics/*ethnology ; Puerto Rico/ethnology ; Questionnaires

PURPOSE: Korean American women have twice the rate of cervical cancer than white women and demonstrate low rates in participation in cervical cancer screening. This study was to describe the perceptions about cervical cancer and factors related to cervical cancer screening among Korean American women. METHOD: Focus group methods. RESULT: Five themes emerged. First, knowledge about cervical cancer; misconceptions about cervical cancer, its causes, reproductive anatomy and the treatment Second, perceived meanings of having cervical cancer; most of the women felt that cervical cancer represented a loss of femininity and existential value of womanhood. Third, knowledge about cervical cancer screening ; regular medical check-ups were necessary for early detection and prevention of cervical cancer. Forth, experiences and perceived meanings of cervical cancer screening; the participants expressed their feelings; embarrassment, fear, shame and shyness. Fifth, practices of cervical cancer screening; various intervals in participating in cervical cancer screening. But they mentioned several deterrents, language, insurance, time constraint, embarrassment, fear of the screening results, misbelief about susceptibility, lack of health prevention behavior, and lack of information written in Korean. CONCLUSION: Results emphasize the critical need for culturally appropriate health education to encourage participation of Korean American women in cervical cancer screening.
Adult ; Aged ; *Asian Americans/education/ethnology/statistics & numerical data ; Communication Barriers ; Existentialism/psychology ; Fear/psychology ; Female ; Focus Groups ; Gender Identity ; *Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Korea/ethnology ; *Mass Screening/psychology/utilization ; Middle Aged ; Needs Assessment ; Nursing Methodology Research ; Patient Acceptance of Health Care/*ethnology/statistics & numerical data ; Patient Education as Topic/standards ; Qualitative Research ; Questionnaires ; Shame ; Shyness ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/*diagnosis/ethnology ; *Vaginal Smears/psychology/utilization ; Washington/epidemiology