PURPOSE: The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the workplace bullying experience of Korean nurses. METHODS: Participants were twenty current or former hospital nurses who had experienced workplace bullying. Data were collected through focus group and individual in-depth interviews from February to May, 2015. Theoretical sampling method was applied to the point of theoretical saturation. Transcribed interview contents were analyzed using Corbin and Strauss's grounded theory method. RESULTS: A total of 110 concepts, 48 sub-categories, and 17 categories were identified through the open coding process. As a result of axial coding based on the paradigm model, the central phenomenon of nurses' workplace bullying experience was revealed as 'teaching that has become bullying', and the core category was extracted as 'surviving in love-hate teaching' consisting of a four-step process: confronting reality, trial and error, relationship formation, and settlement. The relationship formation was considered to be the key phase to proceed to the positive settlement phase, and the participants utilized various strategies such as having an open mind, developing human relationships, understanding each other in this phase. CONCLUSION: The in-depth understanding of the workplace bullying experience has highlighted the importance of effective communication for cultivating desirable human relationships between nurses.
Bullying* ; Clinical Coding ; Focus Groups ; Humans ; Interpersonal Relations

PURPOSE: This research aimed to investigate the effects of a cognitive rehearsal program (CRP) on workplace bullying among nurses. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was performed. Participants were 40 nurses working in different university hospitals in B city, South Korea. The experimental group was provided with a 20-hour CRP comprising scenarios on bullying situations, standard communication, and role-playing. To evaluate effects of the CRP, we measured interpersonal relationships, workplace bullying, symptom experience, and turnover intention at preand post-intervention. Follow-up effect was measured in the experimental group only at 4 weeks after the intervention. RESULTS: After the intervention, there were significant differences in interpersonal relationships (F=6.21, p=.022) and turnover intention (F=5.55, p=.024) between experimental and wait-list groups. However, there was no significant difference in workplace bullying or symptom experience between the 2 groups. The beneficial effects on interpersonal relationships and turnover intention lasted at least up to 4 weeks after CRP. CONCLUSION: The CRP for workplace bullying improves interpersonal relationships and decreases turnover intention. So it can be utilized as one of the personal coping strategies to reduce the the turnover among nurses. Further studies on the effects of unit- or hospital-based CRP and on the long-term effects of CRP are necessary.
Bullying* ; Cognitive Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Intention* ; Korea ; Role Playing

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to build and test a model outlining the factors related to workplace bullying among nurses. The hypothesized model included authentic leadership and a relationship-oriented organizational culture as influencing factors, symptom experience and turnover intention as consequences, and positive psychological capital as a mediator of workplace bullying among nurses. METHODS: We obtained structured questionnaire data from 301 nurses working at hospitals in South Korea. Based on these data, the developed model was verified via a structural equation modeling analysis using SPSS and AMOS program. RESULTS: The fit indices of the hypothesized model satisfied recommended levels; χ2 = 397.58 (p < .001), normed χ2 (χ2/df) = 1.82, RMR = .05, TLI = .93, CFI = .94, RMSEA = .05. A relationship-oriented organizational culture had a direct effect on workplace bullying (β = −.48, p < .001). Furthermore, workplace bullying had a direct effect on symptom experience (β = .36, p < .001), and this relationship was mediated by positive psychological capital (β = .15, p = .003). Workplace bullying also had an indirect effect on turnover intention (β = .20, p = .007). Finally, symptom experience had a direct effect on turnover intention (β = .31, p = .002). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that workplace bullying among nurses may be prevented by constructing a relationship-oriented organizational culture, as long as employees have sufficient positive psychological capital. In this regard, workplace bullying among nurses should be addressed using a comprehensive strategy that considers both individual and organizational factors.
Bullying* ; Intention ; Korea ; Leadership ; Organizational Culture ; Personnel Turnover

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived work environment and workplace bullying among Korean intensive care units (ICU) nurses. METHODS: This is a descriptive survey research, with 134 ICU nurses from five hospitals in Korea. The work environment was measured by the Korean Nursing Work Environment Scale. Workplace bullying was measured with the Korean version of the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised. RESULTS: ICU nurses reported moderate satisfaction with their work environment, with perception of the basic work system receiving the highest scores. A total of 94.0% of ICU nurses have experienced at least one negative act within the past 6 months, and the prevalence of bullying was 17.2% according to operational bullying criteria. The ICU nurses reported that they experienced more work-related bullying than other types of bullying. Significant negative correlations between the nursing work environment and workplace bullying were found. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that the better the nursing work environment, the less workplace bullying nurses will experience. Further research needs to be done to identify factors that influence bullying in the nurses and to develop an intervention that prevents workplace bullying.
Bullying* ; Intensive Care Units* ; Korea ; Nursing ; Prevalence

PURPOSE: This study was to examine the factors affecting prostate cancer screening behavior in Korean men using the health belief model (HBM). METHODS: It was a descriptive cross-sectional survey. A total of 121 participants answered questionnaires which included general characteristics, knowledge, and HBM variables related to prostate cancer and prostate cancer screening tests. RESULTS: Only 18 participants (14.9%) had had a prostate cancer screening test before. Participants who had had a prostate cancer screening test were more likely to perceive lower health status (odds ratio: 0.61 [95% confidence interval: 0.39, 0.93]), higher perceived sensitivity (odds ratio: 3.55 [95% confidence interval: 1.11, 11.36]), and higher self-efficacy (odds ratio: 5.77 [95% confidence interval: 1.51, 22.08]) than participants who had not had a test. CONCLUSION: We recommend developing an educational program which can increase the level of perceived sensitivity and self-efficacy to involve themselves in prostate cancer screening test actively.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Health Behavior ; Humans ; Male ; Mass Screening* ; Prostate* ; Prostatic Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop a scale to measure person-centered critical care nursing and verify its reliability and validity. METHODS: A total of 38 preliminary items on person-centered critical care nursing were selected using content validity analysis of and expert opinion on 72 candidate items derived through literature review and qualitative interviews. We conducted a questionnaire survey with 477 nurses who worked in intensive care units. The collected data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmative factor analysis (CFA) with SPSS and AMOS 24.0 program. RESULTS: EFA was performed with principal axis factor analysis and Varimax rotation. The 15 items in 4 factors that accounted for 50.8% of the total variance were identified by deleting the items that were not meet the condition that the commonality should be .30 or more and the factor loading over .40. We named the factors as compassion, individuality, respect, and comfort, respectively. The correlation coefficient between this scale and the Caring Perception Scale was r=.57 (p < .001), which determined concurrent validity. The item-total correlation values ranged from .39 to .63, and the internal consistency for the scale was Cronbach's α=.84. CONCLUSION: The reliability and validity of the 15 item person-centered critical care nursing scale were verified. It is expected that the use of this scale would expand person-centered care in critical care nursing.
Critical Care Nursing* ; Critical Care* ; Empathy ; Expert Testimony ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Individuality ; Intensive Care Units ; Patient-Centered Care ; Reproducibility of Results

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the differences in biomechanical parameters measured by gait analysis systems between healthy subjects and subjects with plantar fasciitis (PF), and to compare biomechanical parameters between ‘normal, barefooted’ gait and arch building gait in the participants. METHODS: The researchers evaluated 15 subjects (30 feet) with bilateral foot pain and 15 subjects (15 feet) with unilateral foot pain who had a clinical diagnosis of PF. Additionally, 17 subjects (34 feet) who had no heel pain were recruited. Subjects were excluded if they had a traumatic event, prior surgery or fractures of the lower limbs, a leg length discrepancy of 1 cm or greater, a body mass index greater than 35 kg/m2, or had musculoskeletal disorders. The participants were asked to walk with an arch building gait on a treadmill at 2.3 km/hr for 5 minutes. Various gait parameters were measured. RESULTS: With the arch building gait, the PF group proved that gait line length and single support line were significantly decreased, and lateral symmetry of the PF group was increased compared to that of the control group. The subjects with bilateral PF displayed significantly increased maximum pressure over the heel and the forefoot during arch building gait. In addition, the subjects with unilateral PF showed significantly increased maximum pressure over the forefoot with arch building gait. CONCLUSION: The researchers show that various biomechanical differences exist between healthy subjects and those with PF. Employing an arch building gait in patients with PF could be helpful in changing gait patterns to normal biomechanics.
Body Mass Index ; Diagnosis ; Fasciitis, Plantar* ; Foot ; Gait* ; Healthy Volunteers ; Heel ; Humans ; Leg ; Lower Extremity

OBJECTIVE: To assess the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the muscles for investigating the occurrence of asymmetry of the paraspinal (multifidus and erector spinae) and psoas muscles and its relation to the chronicity of unilateral lumbar radiculopathy using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted between January 2012 to December 2014. Sixty one patients with unilateral L5 radiculopathy were enrolled: 30 patients had a symptom duration less than 3 months (group A) and 31 patients had a symptom duration of 3 months or more (group B). Axial MRI measured the CSA of the paraspinal and psoas muscles at the middle between the lower margin of the upper vertebra and upper margin of the lower vertebra, and obtained the relative CSA (rCSA) which is the ratio of the CSA of muscles to that of the lower margin of L4 vertebra. RESULTS: There were no differences in the demographics between the two groups. In group B, rCSA of the erector spinae at the L4–5 level, and that of multifidus at the L4–5 and L5–S1 levels, were significantly smaller on the involved side as compared with the uninvolved side. In contrast, no significant muscle asymmetry was observed in group A. The rCSA of the psoas was not affected in either group. CONCLUSION: The atrophy of the multifidus and erector spinae ipsilateral to the lumbar radiculopathy was observed only in patients suffering from unilateral radiculopathy for 3 months or more.
Atrophy* ; Demography ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Muscles ; Muscular Atrophy ; Paraspinal Muscles* ; Psoas Muscles ; Radiculopathy* ; Retrospective Studies ; Spine