This study examined burdens of primary family carcgivcrs of paticnto with cerebrovascular accidents (CVA) along with related factors. In addition, their needs for support group intervention were assessed to develop a support group to reduce the burdens of caregiving. Eighty-one primary family caregivers of patients with CVAs at a general hospital in Seoul participated in this study . The patients with CVAs aged from 26 to 83 years with mean age of 63 years. About 90% of the patients had some paralysis and 56.6% suffered speech problems. Fifty-eight percent of the primary family caregivers were spouses of the patients and 80.2% were women. Primary family caregivers' burdens were assessed by the Burden Scale originally devel oped by Zarit (1980) and Novak & Geust(1989) and modified by Jang (1995) for use in Korea. The instrument consists of six subscales time-dependent burden, developmental burden, physical burden, emotional burden, social burden, and financiaI burden. The results were as follows : 1. The average of burden score was 91.7, indicating moderate to severe level of burden. The time-dependent burden was scored highest followed by physical, developmental, social, financial, and emotional burdens. 2. of the characteristics of patients, age, gender, and severity of the disease were found to be associated with the level of burden. Of the characteristics of primary family caregivers, age and educational level were significantly related to the level of burden. Time of care since the CVA and the quality of relationship between a patient and a caregiver prior to the stroke were significant situational factors affecting the level of burden. 3. The need for support group intervention for the caregivero was very high (95.1%). The earcgivcrs of patients who had a CVA for the first time showed higher levels of need compared to those of patients who had a CVA more than once. The caregivers indicated a support group held once a month near home or hospital would be welcomed. In addition, they replied that a group composed of 9 to 10 caregivers and guided by health care professionals (e.g., physicians and nurses) would be most desirable. More than 85% of the earegivers identified the areas that they wanted intervention in as follows : knowledge, skills, and resources to care for a patient with a CVA. the counsel of health care professionals, share of their experiences with those who have similar situations, stress management skills, and methods to overcome emotional isolation due to the great responsibility for a patient. Given the results, support group is expected to be an effective way to reduce the burdens of primary family caregivers of patients with CVAs. As a follow up It is necessary to examine the effect of support group intervention on the patient's recovery and rehabilitation.
Caregivers* ; Delivery of Health Care ; Female ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Korea ; Paralysis ; Rehabilitation ; Self-Help Groups* ; Seoul ; Spouses ; Stroke*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of the day care service for the elderly and family with the stroke. METHOD: Data were collected from September 2002 to March 2003 by self report questionnaires and interview. 50 elderlies and families(Gr I) who used day care center were compared with 51 elderlies and families (Gr II) who didn't used. The data were analyzed using independent sample t test and chi square test. RESULT: The general characteristics, stressors, and situational variables related to outcome variables were homogeneous between two groups. The caregiver burden(t=-2.287, p=.024) score in the Gr I was significantly lower than in the Gr II. However there was no evidence of an effect day care center attendance on the depression of the elderly, the relationship between elderly and caregiver, and the family functioning. CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that day care service was effective in reducing the caregiver burden of the elderly, however more day care service programs(elderly health management, rehabilitation...)will be added.
Aged* ; Caregivers ; Day Care, Medical* ; Depression ; Humans ; Methods ; Respite Care ; Self Report ; Stroke*

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare the predictors of physical activity between urban and rural dwelling Korean older adults. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey. A self-report questionnaire or face to face interviews were used to collect data from 336 older adults (urban: 129, rural: 207) who visited public health centers or welfare centers in 2008. RESULTS: About half of the participants (urban: 50.4%, rural: 47.3%) were classified as the minimally active group. Cognitive function (odds ratio [OR]=1.106, p=.004) and loneliness (OR=0.965, p=.044) were predicting factors for physical activity in rural elderly. Age (OR=0.326, p=.037), gender (OR=2.841, p=.021) and depression (OR=0.799, p<.001) were significant factors predicting physical activity in urban elders. CONCLUSION: These findings provide information that is relevant in designing interventions to enhance physical activity in older adults. There is a need to develop effective mutifaceted physical activity interventions that include reducing psychological barriers such as depression, loneliness.
Activities of Daily Living ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cognition ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Depression/etiology ; *Exercise ; Female ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Loneliness ; Male ; Motor Activity ; Questionnaires ; Republic of Korea ; Rural Population ; Sex Factors ; Urban Population

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the Health Empowerment Scale (K-HES). METHODS: This was a methodological study, which included translation, pilot study, main study and expert verification. The K-HES was translated and modified based on the Diabetes Empowerment Scale-Short Form. Where diabetes was mentioned in the original tool, the K-HES expanded the items to cover all kinds of health conditions that affected health empowerment. Expert-verification, pilot-test and main study were conducted among 175 Korean elderly. RESULTS: The K-HES had an acceptable internal consistency with a Cronbach's alpha of .80. Construct validity was tested using item analysis and convergent validity. Item analysis demonstrated that all of the corrected item to total correlation coefficients possessed good internal consistency (alpha > .60) except for item 1 (.32) and item 6 (.19). Convergent validity was supported by significant correlations between the total scores of the K-HES and the Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale (Pearson's coefficient = .60). Content validity was supported by scale content validity index of .96 and item content validity index ranging from .96 to 1.0. CONCLUSION: The K-HES had acceptable validity and reliability. The brevity and ease of administration of the K-HES makes it a suitable tool for evaluating empowerment-based education programs targeted towards older populations.
Adult* ; Chronic Disease ; Education ; Humans ; Methods ; Pilot Projects ; Power (Psychology)* ; Reproducibility of Results*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the types of venous access devices (VAD) for cancer patients and investigate the factors related to the insertions of central venous catheter (CVC) in cancer patients. METHODS: The subjects were 379 cancer patients. A retrospective review of all patients who were discharged from a cancer unit from November 1st to 21st in 2008 was done using a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: A total of 82 CVC (21.6%) was inserted among 379 patients for administering anticancer therapy. There were statistically significant differences in age, length of stay (LOS), cumulative LOS, medical department, history of CVC insertion, cancer category, and albumin level between patients using peripheral intravenous (IV) catheters and CVC. In addition, factors influencing the use of CVC were LOS (odds ratio [OR]=0.286, confidence interval [CI]=1.043-1.124), history of CVC insertion (OR=3.920, CI=0.128-0.637), albumin level (OR=1.010, CI=1.879-8.179), cumulative LOS (OR=1.010, CI=1.001-1.018), and hematological diseases (OR=4.863, CI=2.162-10.925). CONCLUSION: We found that central venous catheterization for anticancer therapy was minimal even though CVC was safe and effective device for IV access. It is necessary to develop a strategy to use VADs efficiently and timely for cancer patients.
Catheterization, Central Venous ; Catheters ; Central Venous Catheters ; Hematologic Diseases ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Retrospective Studies

Core decompression is still widely used in avascular necrosis of the femoral head but the results are unpredictable and the indications are not settled yet. The reparative process of the decompressed femoral head is poorly understood. Seven cases in 5 patients were undertaken THRA following failed decompression and these were studied for the radiological and pathological changes of the core tracts. The lesions of failed cases were involved more than 1/3 of femoral head on MRI and all cases were stage II A or B. The extent of the necrotic area in MRI was enlarged with crack, sclerosis and sometimes gas collection. Depression of the subchondral plates were also observed. Capillary ingrowth or neovascularization was not found at all and there were only fibrosis, inflammatory response and foreign body reactions.
Capillaries ; Decompression* ; Depression ; Fibrosis ; Foreign Bodies ; Head* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Necrosis* ; Sclerosis

Purpose: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had significant physical and psychological impacts on registered nurses (RNs). This study aimed to identify long COVID symptoms and their associated factors specifically among RNs. Methods: This descriptive correlational study’s sample comprised 189 nurses (31.57±5.98 years, 93.7% female) in Korea. Self-reported long COVID symptoms were assessed using the COVID-19 Yorkshire Rehabilitation Scale. Data were collected from December 31, 2022, to January 13, 2023, using the online survey method and were analyzed using independent t-test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation, and a multiple linear regression analysis with the IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0 program. Results: A total of 179 participants (94.7%) experienced one or more long COVID symptoms. The most prevalent symptoms were weakness (77.8%), fatigue (68.3%), breathlessness (67.7%), cough/throat sensitivity/voice change (50.3%), and sleep problems (50.3%). The factors related to long COVID symptoms were marital status, type of institution, working time, acute COVID-19 symptoms, and vaccination status. The quarantine period (β=.26, p<.001) and the nursing workforce after COVID-19 (β=-.17, p=.018) were significantly associated with long COVID symptoms (Adjusted R2=.33). Conclusion Providing comprehensive recognition is necessary for the understanding of long COVID symptoms and their associated factors among nurses and could promote a long COVID symptom management education program targeted at nurses. Moreover, it could facilitate effective nursing care and education plans for long COVID patients.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors influencing regular exercise of the elderly in discriminating regular exercise and non - regular exercise groups. METHOD: The subjects of this study were 167 elderly over the age of 60, living in a rural city in Korea. The data was collected by interview and self report questionnaire in 1999. The Cronbach 's alpha of scales used this study were .66 ~.97. RESULT: 1. There were significant differences in doing regular exercise between the perceived importance of the health(p=021), the perceived health status(p=.050), the perceived need of the exercise(p=000), the perceived importance of the exercise(p= .000), the intent of participation in the exercise program(p=.000), IADL score(p= .022), the perceived benefits of exercise (p=.000), the emotion of exercise(p=.000), HPLP(p=.000), the self efficacy(p=.001), the perceived benefits of health promoting behaviors(p= .011), the perceived barriers of the health promoting behaviors(p=.002), and the Internal locus of control(p=.021) of the elderly. 2. Variables which showed significance for discriminating regular exercise of the elderly in this study were the perceived need of the exercise(p=.000) and the perceived benefits of the exercise(p=.000). By using the combination of these variables, the possibility of proper prediction for predicting regular exercise group was 84.8 %, non - regular exercise group was 93.9%, and total Hit ratio was 89.4%. CONCLUSION: To improve exercise behavior in older adults, health care providers should focus of developing interventions to strengthen the perceived benefits, the perceived needs of the exercise.
Adult ; Aged* ; Discriminant Analysis ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Korea ; Self Report ; Weights and Measures ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to construct and test a structural equation model of self-management of liver transplant recipients based on self-determination theory. METHODS: Participants were 275 outpatients who received liver transplantation. A structured self-report questionnaire was used to assess health care providers' autonomy support, transplant-related characteristics, illness consequence perception, autonomy, competence, family relatedness, depression and self-management. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS/WIN 24.0 and AMOS 24.0 program. RESULTS: The modified model showed a good fitness with the data: GFI=.96, RMSEA=.06, CFI=.96, NFI=.93, TLI=.93, PGFI=.43, PNFI=.49. The health care providers' autonomy support, competence, family relatedness and depression were factors with a direct influence on the self-management of liver transplant recipients. The health care providers' autonomy support and illness consequence perception had an indirect influence through competence, family relatedness and depression. However, the transplant-related characteristics and autonomy did not have a significant effect on self-management. This model explained 59.4% of the variance in self-management. CONCLUSION: The result suggests that continuous education must be done to promote the competence of liver transplant recipients and to encourage the patient to positively perceive their current health condition with a view that enhances one's self-management. Additionally, the liver transplant recipients should be screened for depression, which would affect self-management. Most of all, health care providers, who have the most influence on self-management, should improve therapeutic communication and try to form a therapeutic relationship with the liver transplant recipients.
Chronic Disease ; Delivery of Health Care ; Depression ; Education ; Health Behavior ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Liver Transplantation ; Liver* ; Mental Competency ; Outpatients ; Self Care* ; Transplant Recipients*

PURPOSE: Increasing numbers of Koreans have immigrated to the United States since the late 1960s. The first generation of Korean immigrants or their parents become old and institutionalized in American nursing home setting. Although the Korean elders would experience many cultural differences in the nursing home, no study to date has investigated their everyday lives on how they live through their later lives within a different cultural environment from their own. METHODS: Using ethnographic methodology, the purpose of this paper was to illustrate Korean residents' experiences and daily lives in a nursing home located in an east coastal city in the U.S. Participant observation, filed notes, semi-structured interviews were utilized by means of data collection. Eighteen Korean residents were observed, and five of them and two nurses participated in informal qualitative interviews. RESULTS: The overriding theme from the findings is "thrown in a different world." Three sub-themes include "constant struggles in making themselves understood", "dealing with culturally inappropriate nursing care," and "maintaining their own ways of life". CONCLUSIONS: The discovered themes reflect culturally isolated lives of the participants and open a venue for designing a culturally congruent nursing care for Korean elders living in the U.S. nursing homes.
Aged* ; Anthropology, Cultural ; Data Collection ; Emigrants and Immigrants ; Humans ; Nursing Care ; Nursing Homes* ; Nursing* ; Parents ; United States