PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to identify the effect of aroma inhalation on stress responses (physical symptoms, levels of anxiety, perceived stresses)of nursing students. METHOD: This study was a quasi-experimental research using anon-equivalent pre-post design and was conducted from June 1 to June 5, 2002. The subjects consisted of 77 junior nursing students who were divided into 39 experimental group members and 38 control group members. A pretest and Post-test were conducted to measure body symptoms, the level of anxiety, and the level of perceived stress. In the experimental group, aromas were given using an aroma lamp, lavender, peppermint, rosemary and Clary-Sage. In the control group, the treatment was not administered. RESULT: As a result of administering aroma inhalation to nursing students, their physical symptoms decreased, their anxiety scores were low, and their perceived stress scores were low, showing that aroma inhalation could be a very effective stress management method. CONCLUSION: Nursing educators should play an important role in contributing to college students' physical and psychological health by helping enhance their recognition of stress management and effectively relieving their stress using essential oils.
*Aromatherapy ; Female ; Humans ; Stress, Psychological/*therapy ; Students, Nursing/*psychology

Asthma ; psychology ; therapy ; Humans ; Integrative Medicine ; Stress, Psychological

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine stress, coping, and immune response effects of a psychosocial intervention program based on the PNI model and Stress-Appraisal-Coping for Korean patients with breast cancer. METHODS: A nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used. The participants who had survived breast cancer and lived in Wonju city and the surrounding area were assigned to an intervention group (N=21) or a control group(N=18).We conducted a 12-week intervention, 2 hours a day weekly, and measured the variables at baseline, six and twelve weeks later. Dependent variables are: stress, anxiety-depression and anger, and immune response. RESULTS: Patients in the psychosocial intervention program reported significantly less stress perception (U=31.500, p=.023), more problem solving ability and less problem avoidance in coping (U=20.500, p= .013; U=29.500, p=.040), and less anxiety-depression (U=22.000, p=.023). No difference, however, was found in anger and immune responses between the two groups. Intervention effects were evident at week 6 and 12 for anxiety-depression, and at week 6 for problem avoidance in coping, the same time that NK cell counts and the T8 decreased. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested positive effects of a psychosocial intervention program. However, the results are inconclusive due to the small sample.
Stress, Psychological/etiology/*therapy ; *Social Support ; Middle Aged ; Humans ; Female ; Breast Neoplasms/*psychology ; Adult ; *Adaptation, Psychological

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a stress management program on mental health and coping behavior for children of alcoholics. METHOD: Data was collected from January to February, 2003. The subjects were 20 adolescents from 13 to 18 years old. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and t-test with the SAS program. RESULT: There were statistically significant differences in mental health, active coping, positive cognitive restructuring, and support-seeking for problem solving between the experimental group and the control group. CONCLUSION: The stress management program helped children of alcoholics by enhancing self-esteem, providing information about alcohol, and improving emotional and problem focused coping abilities. This eventually enhanced mental health.
Stress, Psychological/*therapy ; *Mental Health ; Male ; Humans ; Female ; Child of Impaired Parents/*psychology ; *Alcoholism ; Adolescent ; *Adaptation, Psychological

To discuss the etiology, pathogenesis, therapies and prescriptions of psycho-cardiological abnormality of patients with coronary heart disease. According to the advance in modern diagnosis and treatment, the authors believed that psycho-cardiological abnormality of patients with coronary heart disease is closely related with mental stresses, like anxiety, depression and insomnia. It is mostly caused by emotional injury and expressed in heart, liver, spleen and kidney. The pathogenesis is heart-liver hyperactivity, yin deficiency in heart and kidney, and insufficiency in heart and spleen. The full recognition of etiology and pathogenesis of psycho-cardiological abnormality of patients with coronary heart disease and the combined treatment of disease and syndromes are of great significance to reduce mental stress and other risk factors, prevent and treat coronary heart disease and improve prognosis.
Coronary Disease ; drug therapy ; psychology ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Stress, Psychological ; drug therapy ; etiology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the social mental state of drug addicts in a compulsive drug abuse treatment center; evaluate the effectiveness of integrated program for the prevention of abuse relapse and improvement of drug addicts' psychological health.

METHODSThe study subjects were addicts from the Wuhan Compulsive Drug Abuse Treatment Center between October 2003 and June 2004, who satisfied the inclusion criteria. A non-randomized control-intervention study design was adopted. Volunteers willing to take part in intervention were put into the intervention group with their full awareness and willingness to prevent drug abuse relapse. The control group was composed of the addicts who were willing to prevent relapse and to be followed up after their discharge.

RESULTSThe effectiveness of the integrated intervention program in promoting addicts' psychological health: before the intervention, the scores of Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), the positive and negative dimensionalities of Simple Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ) and Chinese Perceived Stress Scales (CPSS) had no significant differences between the intervention group and the control group. After the intervention, except that the SCSQ's positive dimensionality in the intervention group was significantly higher than that in the control group, other indices in the intervention group were lower. Before and after the intervention, the psychological health level in both the groups was lower than that in the normal population; there were significant differences between addicts and normal subjects in regards with all of the indices above.

CONCLUSIONDrug abuse was associated closely with addicts' social mental factors. The integrated intervention program can alleviate anxiety and stress, reduce co-morbid mental disorders and effectively improve their coping style. In conclusion, the program can promote addicts' psychological health significantly.

Adaptation, Psychological ; Adult ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mental Health ; Program Evaluation ; Stress, Psychological ; Substance-Related Disorders ; psychology ; therapy

PURPOSE: This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of progressive muscle relaxation training using biofeedback on perceived stress, stress response, immune response and climacteric symptoms. METHOD: This was a crossover, pre-post test design. The study subjects are 36 middle-aged women who were selected at 2 public health centers. The independent variable was Biofeedback training for 4 weeks, twice a week and home training for 4 weeks. Dependent variables were perceived stress, stress response, immune response, and climacteric symptoms measured with Hildtch's scale (1996). RESULT: Progressive muscle relaxation training using biofeedback was not effective in reducing perceived stress, but it was shown to be effective in reducing physiological stress responses such as pulse rate and EMG. Though blood pressure and skin conductance were repeatedly down, and skin temperature slowly increased, there were no statistically significant differences. Progressive muscle relaxation training using biofeedback was not effective in reducing serum cortisol, enhancing immune responses, or decreasing climacteric symptoms. CONCLUSION: The findings point to a pressing need for further, well-controlled and designed research with consideration in selection of subjects and instruments, frequency of measurements, the sampling method, and intervention modalities.
Adult ; *Biofeedback, Psychology ; *Climacteric ; Female ; Humans ; *Immunity, Cellular ; Middle Aged ; Muscle Relaxation ; Stress, Psychological/physiopathology/*therapy

PURPOSE: This study was to determine the effects of abdominal breathing training using biofeedback on stress, immune response, and quality of life. METHOD: The study design was a nonequivalent control group pretest- posttest, quasi-experimental design. Twenty-five breast cancer patients who had completed adjuvant chemotherapy were enrolled. The experimental group(n=12) was provided with abdominal breathing training using biofeedback once a week for 4 weeks. State anxiety, cancer physical symptoms, serum cortisol, T cell subsets(T3, T4, T8), NK cell and quality of life were measured both before and after the intervention. RESULT: Though state anxiety, cancer physical symptoms, and serum cortisol were reduced after 4 weeks of abdominal breathing training using biofeedback, there was no statistical significance. It showed, however, improvement in quality of life (p=.02), and T3(p=.04). CONCLUSION: Abdominal breathing training using biofeedback improves quality of life in breast cancer patients after a mastectomy. However, the mechanism of this beneficial effect and stress response requires further investigation with special consideration in subject selection and frequency of measurement. Nurses should consider this strategy as a standard nursing intervention for people living with cancer.
*T-Lymphocyte Subsets ; Stress, Psychological/psychology/therapy ; *Quality of Life ; Middle Aged ; Mastectomy/*psychology/rehabilitation ; Hydrocortisone/blood ; Humans ; Female ; *Breathing Exercises ; Breast Neoplasms/immunology/*psychology/surgery ; *Biofeedback (Psychology) ; Adult

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop a socioculturally-appropriate psychosocial intervention program for Korean patients with breast cancer and test its effects on stress, anxiety, depression, and coping strategies. METHODS: One group pretest and posttest design was used to test the effects of the intervention. A post-intervention interview was conducted to refine the nature of the intervention. A convenience sample of 10 breast cancer survivors was recruited from the outpatients clinics. Psychosocial intervention was developed to provide the health education, stress management, coping skill training and support weekly(90min) for 6 weeks. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in stress scores following the intervention(Z= -2.388, p=0.017). However, no significant changes were noted in the use of problem-focused and emotion-focused coping strategies, nor in the changes of anxiety and depression levels. Content analysis of interview data revealed six clusters; changes in perception, changes in problem solving approaches, changes in anger management, changes in life pattern, social support and reduction of perceived stress. CONCLUSIONS: Based on quantitative and qualitative data, we recommend the refinements of the intervention in the following areas for future studies: 1) duration, activities, and progression of psychosocial intervention; 2) research design and sample size; and 3) measurements.
*Adaptation, Psychological ; Adult ; Breast Neoplasms/*psychology ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Middle Aged ; *Patient Education as Topic ; Pilot Projects ; *Social Support ; Stress, Psychological/*therapy ; Survivors/*psychology

PURPOSE: This study was designed to examine the effect of asthma management education program applied to allergic asthma patients receiving immunotherapy due to house dust mite on their stress and compliance with health care regimens. METHODS: A quasi experimental design with non-equivalent control group and non-synchronized design was used. The subjects of this study were 61 patients who were receiving immunotherapy at intervals of a week after their symptoms were diagnosed as house dust mite allergic asthma at the pulmonary department of a university hospital in Seoul. They were divided into an experimental group of 29 patients who received asthma management education and a control group of 32 patients. The asthma management education program was composed of group education (once) and reinforcement education (three times) with environmental therapy and immunotherapy to house dust mite. RESULTS: Stress significantly decreased in the experimental group compared to that in the control group. Compliance with health care regimens significantly increased in the experimental group compared to that in the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that the asthma management education program is effective for the management of stress and the improvement of compliance in patients with allergic asthma to house dust mite.
Stress, Psychological/etiology/*prevention & control ; Pyroglyphidae/*immunology ; *Patient Education ; *Patient Compliance ; Male ; Korea ; Humans ; Female ; Asthma/etiology/psychology/*therapy ; Adult