PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the perceptions of patients with atrial fibrillation regarding the disease, to reveal their feelings, thoughts and wishes, and to investigate their perspectives and coping behaviors towards their condition. METHODS: Phenomenological methodology was used. The study population consisted of a total of 225 patients treated by the cardiology department of a university hospital, while the study sample consisted of 32 patients who met the inclusion criteria. A semistructured interview addressed perceptions of patients with atrial fibrillation regarding the disease. Data were collected by asking the participants the three questions on the In-depth Individual Interview Form. Data were analyzed using the continuous comparative method of Colaizzi. RESULTS: In the study sample, 50.0% of participants were female, 69.0% were married, and the mean age was 66.90 years (+/- 7.90 years). As a result of the content analysis, four main themes and 15 subthemes were identified: patient's mental status regarding the disease, patient's social status regarding the disease, patient's physical condition regarding the disease, and disease management and coping with the disease. The study found that individuals with atrial fibrillation faced major limitations in their daily living activities and social lives due to the disease symptoms and warfarin use. CONCLUSIONS: Patients need to be provided with relevant individual training and counselling so that they lead more satisfactory lives. In addition, appropriate health appointment and monitoring systems should be developed for patients to reduce the problems associated with frequent follow-up appointments.
Activities of Daily Living/*psychology ; *Adaptation, Psychological ; Aged ; Atrial Fibrillation/*psychology ; Attitude to Health ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Patients/*psychology ; Quality of Life/*psychology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Turkey

Adaptation, Psychological ; Humans ; Interdisciplinary Communication ; Male ; Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne ; therapy ; Patients ; psychology ; Singapore

PURPOSE: Despite the ready availability of pneumococcal vaccine, vaccination rates are quite low in South Korea. This study was designed to assess perceptions and awareness about pneumococcal vaccines among subjects at risk and find strategies to increases vaccine coverage rates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross sectional, community-based survey was conducted to assess perceptions about the pneumococcal vaccine at a local public health center. In a tertiary hospital, an outpatient-based pneumococcal vaccine campaign was carried out for the elderly and individuals with chronic co-morbidities from May to July of 2007. RESULTS: Based on the survey, only 7.6% were ever informed about pneumococcal vaccination. The coverage rates of the pneumococcal vaccine before and after the hospital campaign showed an increased annual rate from 3.39% to 5.91%. The most common reason for vaccination was "doctor's advice" (53.3%). As for the reasons for not receiving vaccination, about 75% of high risk patients were not aware of the pneumococcal vaccine, which was the most important barrier to vaccination. Negative clinician's attitude was the second most common cause of non-vaccination. CONCLUSION: Annual outpatient-based campaigns early in the influenza season may improve pneumococcal vaccine coverage rates. Doctor's advice was the most important encouraging factor for vaccination.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; *Ambulatory Care ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Immunization Programs ; Male ; Patients/*psychology ; Physicians/*psychology ; *Pneumococcal Vaccines ; Republic of Korea ; Vaccination/*psychology

OBJECTIVETo study the emotional and depressive differences between severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients whose occupations were doctor/nurse and others.

METHODSDuring the three months when SARS was explosive in 2003, 524 questionnaires were collected from Xuanwu Hospital, You'an Hospital, Xiaotangshan Hospital, Renmin Hospital and Ditan Hospital in Beijing. There were 109 questionnaires finished by patients as doctors/nurses themselves. For a background matching, 109 questionnaires were also finished by the others.

RESULTSFrom 218 questionnaires, we found that the score on emotional condition (46.6204 +/- 8.4408 vs. 41.6789 +/- 8.612 95, P < 0.001) of SARS patients whose jobs were doctor/nurse was higher than the other groups on while the score of SARS patients whose jobs were doctor/nurse was lower than the other groups (37.7615 +/- 9.026 61 vs. 41.2844 +/- 9.655 25, P = 0.006) regarding depressive condition. The scores of emotional and depressive condition were all correlated with the factor as "I can not master my future".

CONCLUSIONDoctors/nurses having SARS had less emotional and depressive conditions than the others, which might due to the difference in medical knowledge, working condition and the route of infection, suggesting that psychological intervention in the post-SARS period called for attention.

Case-Control Studies ; China ; Cross Infection ; prevention & control ; psychology ; Depression ; psychology ; Female ; Health Personnel ; psychology ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Patients ; psychology ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ; psychology ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: There is strong evidence for the efficacy of stroke unit (SU) care, which has become a common practice in other developed countries but is available only in a small number of centers in Korea. This late introduction of SU care in Korea can be at least partly attributed to doubts about its benefits on patient outcomes compared to general ward (GW) care in our routine practice. METHODS: Based on a prospective stroke registry, we identified 1,300 acute stroke patients hospitalized in either SUs (n=195) or GWs (n=1,105) from January 2004 to June 2008. Clinical outcomes such as fatality and disability rates were compared using propensity score matching in the total cohort. Additional statistical adjustments were performed using stepwise logistic regression analyses with the backward elimination method for potential confounders. RESULTS: The baseline characteristics did not differ significantly between patients admitted to SUs (n=195) and their matched controls (n=386). The 3-month dependency rate was 17.4% in SUs and 21.0% in GWs (p=0.31), and the case fatality rates were 1.5% and 8.0% (p<0.001), respectively. Adjusted odds ratios for SU care were 0.49 for dependency (95% confidence interval [CI]=0.22-1.08) and 0.17 for death (95% CI=0.04-0.83). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that SU care reduces fatality rates and improves functional outcomes, which indicates the need to implement more SUs in Korea.
Cohort Studies ; Dependency (Psychology) ; Developed Countries ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Odds Ratio ; Patients' Rooms ; Propensity Score ; Prospective Studies ; Stroke

The definition of a "good" psychiatrist has varied over the past decades due to changing roles of psychiatrists. Studies on the qualities of "good" psychiatrists have been completed in many countries. However, no such study has been undertaken in Korea. In Korea, recent growing interest in psychiatry demands the identification of qualities for a good psychiatrist. The purpose of this study was to define the qualities of a good psychiatrist in Korea, subsequently facilitating the improvement of psychiatric training programs. The questionnaire was based on a Singaporean survey with the permission from the original authors. Respondents were divided into patient group and psychiatrist group. The 40-item questionnaire contained items grouped into four themes: Professional, Personal Values, Academic Executive and Relationship. Of the four themes, both patient and psychiatrist groups considered Professional as the most important, whereas Academic Executive as the least important. The mean scores for all items of each theme in the patient group were higher than those in the psychiatrist group, reflecting higher expectations for good psychiatrist in the patient group. Patients emphasized Relationship more than psychiatrists did. It is concluded that a good psychiatrist in Korea can be defined as "a good communicator and listener with a professional manner, who respects confidentiality and has good doctor-patient relationships."
Adult ; Aged ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Female ; Humans ; Internship and Residency ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Patients/*psychology ; Physician-Patient Relations ; Physicians/*psychology ; Psychiatry/*classification ; Republic of Korea ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Translating

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop a tool for measuring the intra-operative caring as perceived by regional anesthesia patients. METHODS: A preliminary instrument with 54 questions, based on a literature review and semi-structured interviews with 11 regional anesthesia patients, was developed. A group of experts revised individual questions, and 34 questions were finally selected. This tool was tested with 137 regional anesthesia patients admitted to D university hospital in B city from August to October 2008. RESULTS: The validity and reliability of the tool were tested using factor analysis. After item analysis, one question with a correlation coefficient under .30 was discarded After performing factor analysis on the final 33 questions, 7 factors were identified; holistic needs fulfillment, consideration, protective environment, cautiousness, concern, information, physical comfort. The total variance shown in the test was 73.5%. A Cronbach alpha of 0.96 showed the reliability of the instrument. CONCLUSION: Results of this study indicate that the tool is statistically reliable and valid to measure the intraoperative caring perceived by regional anesthesia patients. This tool can be utilized usefully in assessing the effects of nursing interventions for regional anesthesia patients.
Adult ; Anesthesia, Conduction ; Female ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Intraoperative Care ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nursing Evaluation Research ; Nursing Staff, Hospital/psychology ; Patients/*psychology ; *Program Development ; Questionnaires

OBJECTIVETo quickly assess the psychological status of the wounded who were transferred in the earthquake and their family members, as to promoting the system of psychological crisis intervention.

METHODSThe triage assessment system was used to the 44 wounded and 37 family members, additionally, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) for related analysis were also administrated to verify the effectiveness of screening of the triage assessment system.

RESULTSOf the 79 wounded and their families in the triage assessment system, the score of emotion in the wounded group was (3.07 +/- 1.38), the score of cognition was (2.34 +/- 1.39), the score of behavior was (2.71 +/- 1.47), and the total score was (8.12 +/- 3.69); the score of emotion in the family group was (2.51 +/- 1.27), the score of cognition was (1.57 +/- 0.85), the score of behavior was (1.71 +/- 1.02), and the total score was (5.80 +/- 2.61). There were significant differences in the family and the wounded group in cognition, behavior and the total (t(cognition) = 2.853, P = 0.006; t(behavior) = 3.366, P = 0.001; t(total) = 3.116, P = 0.003). Both the depression and anxiety symptoms in the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) were 11.48 +/- 7.62, 9.23 +/- 5.64, and 8.49 +/- 4.87, 9.38 +/- 7.05, respectively. In the emotion, cognition, behavior and total scores of the triage assessment system related to higher with HAMD and HAMA were r(emotion-HAMD) = 0.393, P = 0.001; r(emotion-HAMA) = 0.443, P = 0.000; r(cognition-HAMD) = 0.434, P = 0.000; r(cognition-HAMA) = 0.240, P = 0.037; r(behavior-HAMD) = 0.529, P = 0.000; r(behavior-HAMA) = 0.256, P = 0.026; r(total-HAMD) = 0.517, P = 0.000; r(total-HAMA) = 0.369, P = 0.001.

CONCLUSIONThe triage assessment system should be the reliable method for an assessment featured by a rapid, accurate and simple one in screening and monitoring.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; China ; Disasters ; Earthquakes ; Family ; psychology ; Humans ; Mental Health ; Middle Aged ; Models, Psychological ; Transportation of Patients ; Triage ; Wounds and Injuries ; psychology

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop and preliminarily evaluate the reliability and validity of the Symptom-Management Self-Efficacy ScaleeBreast Cancer (SMSES-BC) related to chemotherapy. METHODS: The study included three stages. This paper presents the results of stage 2 and stage 3. In total, 34 items in the SMSES-BC were found during stage 1 from qualitative findings, a literature review, and expert suggestions; the 34 items were used for the psychometric properties test. Test-retest reliability and Cronbach alpha were assessed in the first sample, which included 45 participants for the pilot test (stage 2). The second sample, which included 152 patients, was used to assess the construct validity and concurrent validity (stage 3). RESULTS: The pilot test results revealed a test-retest reliability of .73 (p < .001) and Cronbach alpha coefficient of .96 for the total scale. Three factors (managing chemotherapy-related symptoms, acquiring problem solving, and managing emotional and interpersonal disturbances) were identified from exploratory factor analysis. Correlation coefficient r was .40 (p < .001), which supported the association between SMSES-BC and the General Self-Efficacy Scale for concurrent validity. CONCLUSIONS: The study results demonstrate acceptable reliability and validity for the SMSES-BC that was developed for measuring symptom-management self-efficacy related to chemotherapy for patients with breast cancer. This study suggests further research to validate the construct of the SMSES-BC.
Adult ; Aged ; Antineoplastic Agents/*therapeutic use ; Breast Neoplasms/*drug therapy/*psychology ; Drug Therapy/*psychology ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Patients/*psychology ; Pilot Projects ; Psychometrics ; Reproducibility of Results ; Self Care/*psychology ; Self Efficacy ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Taiwan

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the intensive care unit (ICU) experiences of cardiovascular surgery (CS) patients and to define the associations between their ICU experiences and related factors. METHODS: The study used a descriptive design. In total, 106 CS patients were interviewed at least 24 hours after discharge from an ICU in an educational research hospital in Ankara, Turkey between January and July 2012. Data were collected using the Intensive Care Experience Scale (ICES), a sociodemographic and clinical characteristics data form and two open-ended questions inquiring about smells and light. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS 15.0. RESULTS: The patients were moderately aware of their ICU environments, partly recalled their ICU experiences, highly recollected frightening experiences, and expressed good satisfaction with care. Age, education, marital status, and pain were associated with ICU experiences. Patients who sensed smell had higher scores of frightening experiences than those who did not. Patients who were annoyed with excessive light reported less satisfaction with care than those who were not. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that measuring the patients' characteristics and environmental factors may be beneficial for healthcare teams to improve the recovery of CS patients in the ICU.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cardiovascular Surgical Procedures/*psychology ; Critical Care/*psychology ; Female ; Humans ; Light ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Patient Satisfaction/*statistics & numerical data ; Patients/*psychology ; Smell ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Turkey