PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of the family caregivers using a nursing home for their elderly family members. METHOD: Participants for this study were 1 man and 9 women caregivers. Data was collected through in-depth interviews from October, 2005 to April, 2006 and analyzed using Strauss and Corbin's grounded theory methodology. RESULTS: "Finding a way to live together" emerged as a core category and it reflected expanding consciousness allowing them to see each other in a more positive view. The basic social process of "finding a way to live together" includes 3 phases: 1) recognizing the problems, 2) finding solutions to the problems, and 3) accepting the changes in their surrounding. Lack of privacy, family troubles, extreme distress, and unavailable caregivers are reflected in the process of recognizing the problems. The process of finding solutions was making a decision, obtaining family agreement, choosing the best nursing home, and enduring the financial burden. Possible outcomes of the last phase include recovering peace of mind and continuing conflict. CONCLUSION: Findings from this study offer suggestions for developing a strategy to help not only the elderly but also the family caregivers.
Adult ; Aged ; Caregivers/*psychology ; Decision Making ; Family/*psychology ; Family Relations ; Female ; Homes for the Aged ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nursing Homes ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Stress, Psychological

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare psychosocial adjustment in children aged 4-11 years with cancer between on and off treatment. METHOD: The data was collected from parents of children with cancer through interviews with structured questionnaire at the pediatric outpatient department and inpatient ward of one university hospital located in Seoul. The instrument were the Child Behavior Check List(CBCL) developed by Achenbach(1991) and revised to standardize for Korean children by Oh et al(1997). RESULT: Total behavior problem score for children on treatment was greater than the score off treatment but there was no significant difference. Children on treatment reported higher levels of depression/anxiety, withdrawal, internalizing scores than children off treatment. Social competence score of children off treatment was greater than the score on treatment and the difference of school performance score of children between on and off treatment was not significant. The scores on the withdrawal, somatic complaints, social immaturity, internalizing scales in the cancer group including both on and off treatment was greater than normative findings in the general population. The scores on the school competence of children off treatment were lower than the norms for healthy children. CONCLUSION: Findings from this study support the importance of nursing interventions to facilitate the adjustment of children with cancer both on and off therapy.
Child Behavior ; Child* ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Mental Competency ; Nursing ; Outpatients ; Parents ; Seoul ; Weights and Measures ; Child Health ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe health problems and psychosocial adaptation in children with cancer and to determine the relationship between these two variables. METHOD: The data were collected from parents of 61 children with cancer, aged 4-11 years at one university hospital in Seoul. The instruments for this study were the Korea Child Behavior Check List (KCBCL) and a physical symptom checklist developed by the researchers. RESULT: The major health problems were coughing, sleeping disturbances, fatigue and weakness. The total behavior problem score for children in the cancer group was higher than the score for those in the norm group. The scores on the scales for withdrawal, somatic complaints, social immaturity, and internalizing problems were higher in the children with cancer compared to normative findings. Scores on social and school competence in the cancer group were lower than the norms for healthy children. The relationship between health problems and psychosocial adaptation was significant in the subscales of withdrawal, anxiety/depression, internalizing problems and social involvement in the off therapy group. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the various areas that need further study in caring for children with cancer.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influencing factors on externalized and internalized problem behaviors among high school students. METHODS: The subjects for this study were 707 students in two high schools in K province. The data were collected during the period from October to November, 2014 by use of questionnaires. The instruments used were the Korean Youth Self-report, Daily Hassles Questionnaire, State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, and Ego Resiliency Scale. The data were analyzed using SPSS. RESULTS: Significant predictors to explain externalized problem behaviors comprised anger-out, anger-in, anger-control, relation with parents, daily stress, and religion. It was found that these factors explained 46% of externalized problem behavior. Ego resiliency, anger-in, daily stress, gender, relation with parent, and anger-out were significant predictors to explain internalized problem behaviors. It was found that these factors explained 45% of internalized problem behaviors. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the influencing factors on problem behaviors differ from externalized and internalized problem behaviors. So these findings will provide the basic data to develop a program that is differentiated by problem behavior type.
Adolescent* ; Anger ; Ego ; Humans ; Parents ; Problem Behavior* ; Stress, Psychological

Purpose: Nursing students are susceptible to medication safety incidents in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) related to a lack of communication experience. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of a NICU medication safety simulation (NMSS) focusing on communication clarity, patient hand-off confidence, and patient safety competency in senior-year nursing students. Methods: The study utilized a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. In total, 60 nursing students were assigned to two groups. The experimental group participated in the NMSS, which included three medication error scenarios. Pairs of students completed the scenarios together in 10 to 20 minutes. Data were analyzed using the chi-squared test, independent t test, and ANCOVA. Results: The experimental group showed significant improvements in communication clarity (p=.015), and patient safety competency (p<.001) compared to the control group. Using the pretest values as covariates, patient hand-off confidence scores significantly increased (p=.027). Conclusion Implementing the NMSS focusing on communication in the pediatric nursing curriculum helped students to communicate clearly and concisely about medication errors, and its use is recommended to promote patient safety competency in the NICU.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the mental health promotion program based on Positive Psychology for adolescents with problem behavior. METHODS: The study used a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Eligible participants were first grade students in two high schools in K Province. The inclusion criteria for the study were those with scores in the upper 15% on the Korean Youth Self-Report. A total of 74 participants were assigned to an 8-session program (n=38) or to a control (n=36) group. The outcome variables were psychological well-being, depression, and self-esteem. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in demographic variables or outcome variables, except self-esteem, between the two groups at the baseline. The experimental group had higher mean scores on psychological well-being and self-esteem and a lower mean score on depression. There were significant differences in psychological well-being (t=3.45, p=.001), self-esteem (F=5.45, p=.022), and depression (t=-2.80, p=.007) between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The mental health promotion program based on Positive Psychology was effective in decreasing depression as well as improving psychological well-being and self-esteem for adolescents with problem behavior. This study contributes to suggesting a framework for promoting mental health for high school students with problem behavior.
Adaptation, Psychological ; Adolescent* ; Depression ; Humans ; Mental Health* ; Problem Behavior* ; Program Evaluation ; Psychology* ; Self Concept

Drug-induced thrombocytopenia and purpura have boon developed by many various agents. Rifampin and Pyrazinamide have been known as bactericidal antituberculous drugs, but, the above side effects have been a problem. Especially, hematologic side effects art fatal to patients occasionally. Rifampin-induced thrombocytopenia and purpura have been well known, also, pyrazinamide-induced thrombocytopenia have been reported. A new quilonone agent Ciprofloxacin, has been commonly used in clinics now, but it's side effects are not known well. So, we report a case of a 23-year-old female with thrombocytopenia and purpura after taking Rifampin, Pyrazinamide, and Ciprofloxacin as antituberculous agents.
Ciprofloxacin* ; Female ; Humans ; Purpura* ; Pyrazinamide* ; Rifampin ; Thrombocytopenia* ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: Health illiteracy is a problem often unrecognized by health care providers. It influences medical costs and the health status of adults. The purposes of this study were to determine the level of health literacy in community-dwelling adults and to identify the factors influencing it. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Seoul, Gyeonggi and Chungcheong province. A total of 420 adults aged 18 or older were interviewed by trained nursing students between November 1 to December 30, 2011. Health literacy was measured using the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults. Data were analyzed using the PASW 18.0 program. RESULTS: The mean score of health literacy was 50.64+/-19.18. In the multiple linear regression analysis, health literacy was significantly associated with education (beta=0.17, P=0.001), alcohol use (beta=-0.12, P=0.010), and perceived health status (beta=0.11, P=0.029). These factors accounted for about 7% of health literacy. CONCLUSIONS: Health literacy is a very important public health issue. Our findings showed that educational level, alcohol use and perceived health status should be considered when assessing this issue in patients. Furthermore, the development of a standardized Korean assessment tool for health literacy and specified interventions for enhancing health literacy are needed to improve health outcomes.
Adult* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Education ; Gyeonggi-do ; Health Literacy* ; Health Personnel ; Health Status ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Literacy ; Primary Prevention ; Public Health ; Seoul ; Students, Nursing

BACKGROUND: The usage of appropriate disinfectants is essential for infection control in a hospital. Inadequate use of disinfectants is the cause of human or environmental toxicity and is a waste of cost. The objective of this study was to describe the status of the usage of disinfectants in Korean hospitals. METHOD: One hundred and eighty three hospitals of over 300 beds were investigated by a questionnaire distributed by mall. Data collection was done on November 1999. The questionnaire was made by the Association of Infection Control Nurses in Korea, based on references and protocols of the Korean Society of Nosocomial Infection Control. Numerical and percentage data were analyzed by SPSS. RESULTS: The collection rate of the questionnaire was 43.7% (80/300). Thirty five hospitals (46.7%) had an official process in selecting disinfectants in their hospitals. Regarding skin antiseptics, 10% povidone iodine and 70% alcohol were commonly used in skin preparation for intravenous catheterization or pre-operative skin disinfection, For disinfection of mucosal membranes such as mouth and periurethral area, 3% boric acid solution or 3% H202 were used. Most of the hospitals decontaminated contaminated medical instruments manually with dodecyl diamino ethyl glycine (20.8%). glutaraldehyde (15.6%). quaternary ammonium compounds (13.8%), virkon (12.3%) and sodium hypochlorites (11.7%). Glutaraldehyde and virkon were frequently used for disinfection of endoscopes. Sodium hypochlorites (48.9%) and quaternary ammonium compounds (19.8%) were the most commonly used environmental disinfectants. Some noticeable problems in disinfectants were as follows. First, for mouth care, many hospitals (41.7%) over-used boric acid, which has cumulative toxicity for humans. Second, many hospitals had an incorrect protocol of disinfecting endoscopes. Third, for environmental decontamination and instrument cleaning, some hospitals used high level disinfectants such as glutaraldehyde, which is too costly and provides unnecessary safety problems. Fourth, after patient discharge, many hospitals did not use disinfectants at all. Considering the specific Korean medical environment of high incidence of multi-drug resistant microorganisms, use of disinfectants for discharged environments may be warranted. CONCLUSION: This study included only hospitals of over 300 beds, which has a limitation in representing the status of disinfectants usage in a country. However, significant problems from misunderstanding the basic principles of disinfectants and misusages of disinfectants were observed in this investigation. These observations will provide useful information for designing a guideline for the appropriate uses and for efficient education of disinfectants, and also for planning a national control program for proper disinfectants usage in this country.
Anti-Infective Agents, Local ; Catheterization ; Catheters ; Cross Infection ; Data Collection ; Decontamination ; Disinfectants* ; Disinfection ; Education ; Endoscopes ; Glutaral ; Glycine ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infection Control ; Korea* ; Membranes ; Mouth ; Patient Discharge ; Povidone-Iodine ; Quaternary Ammonium Compounds ; Skin ; Sodium ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: To investigate the usefulness of the serum Creatine kinase(CK), especially brain typical creatine kinase(CK-BB) as an indicator of brain damage extent, mortality and long term nurologic sequelae, the study was done. METHODS: CK and CK isoenzyme activites were measured at 6-10 hours after birth in 160 asphyxiated newborn infants who admitted in Eulji General Hospital from August 1990 to July 1994. Infants were followed up for 1 years after birth to evaluate survival and neurologic outcome. RESULTS: 1) There was low correlation between CK-BB and 5 minute Apgar score(r=0.245, p=0.0026). 2) There was intermediate correlation between CK-BB and Lactic dehydrogenase (LDH)(r=0.470, p<0.0001). 3) Infants who died within 24 hours after birth had significantly higher CK-BB activity(144.9+/-98.5U/L) than survivors(82.2+/-159U/L), (p=0.0160). Infants who died within 72 hours after birth had significantly higher CK-BB activity(130.2+/-108.4U/L) than survivors(80.5+/-161.1U/L), (p=0.0209) 4) Infants who died within 24 hours after birth had significantly higher CK-BB%(23.4+/-17.4%) than survivors(9.6+/-11.9%), (p=0.0042). Infants who died within 72 hours after birth had significantly higher CK-BB%(20.0+/-15.4%) than survivors(9.3+/-11.8%), (p= 0.0027). Infants who died within 28 days after birth had significantly higher CK-BB% (12.7+/-13.4%) than survivors(9.7+/-12.3%), (p=0.0500). 5) In the cases of neonatal seizure in 24-48 hours after birth, CK-BB was higher than in the cases of no seizure or seizure in 48 hours after birth. 6) CK-BB was well correlated to the grade of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. 7) CK-BB, CK-BB% and 5 minute Apgar score showed similar positive and negative predictive values for survival rate, abnormal findings of imaging studies and neurologic outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: CK-BB is a good predictive value for the death within 24 and 72 hours after birth and the neonatal seizure in 24-48 hours after birth. CK-BB% is a good predictive value of the death within 24, 72 hours and 28 days after birth. CK-BB, CK-BB% and 5 minute Apgar score showed similar predictivity for neurologic outcomes during 1 years after birth.
Apgar Score ; Asphyxia* ; Brain ; Creatine Kinase* ; Creatine* ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Isoenzymes* ; Mortality ; Oxidoreductases ; Parturition ; Seizures ; Survival Rate