PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of new graduate nurses in personal life and in clinical setting during their first year. METHODS: Eleven new graduate nurses were interviewed and the data were analyzed using the Giorgi's phenomenological method. RESULTS: The main results of this research were negative experiences such as poor nursing skills, inability to enjoy personal life, physical exhaustion and health problems, and uncertainty of nursing values. On the other hand, there were some positive aspects on their minds: adjustmental/developmental needs, sense of responsibility, receptive capability, and proficiency with their work. They gradually found themselves being endured and changing to adapt. CONCLUSION: Transition from students to staff nurses is a very stressful experience for new graduate nurses. It may negatively affect their personal lives as well. However they tried to keep themselves positive to overcome their difficulties. It is necessary for them to be given time, a systematic program, and a supportive environment to adapt.
Hand ; Humans ; Qualitative Research ; Uncertainty

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to understand the meaning and essence of happiness by exploring and describing career nurses' lived experiences. METHODS: Qualitative research was used in this study. Hospital nurses who had 3~5 years of experience in the clinical setting were interviewed and the data were analysed using Giorgi's phenomenological method. RESULTS: Six main meanings and seventeen themes emerged. The six main meanings were as follows: self-confidence as a professional nurse, passion for self-realization, feeling of satisfaction in performance of nursing care, being grateful for working environment, emotional intimacy in interpersonal relationships, and taking delight and pleasure in leisure life. CONCLUSION: The results of this study provide deep understanding of happiness as positive experiences that increase job satisfaction and aid retention to the nursing profession. These results can be used in the development of effective strategies to improve and expand nurses' happiness.
Happiness* ; Job Satisfaction ; Leisure Activities ; Nursing ; Nursing Care ; Pleasure ; Qualitative Research

PURPOSE: This exploratory study was to identify the use of complementary and alternative medicine(CAM) in women with breast cancer and to analyze which factor influence CAM use. METHODS: 114 patients with breast cancer were identified and approached. The instrument used to gather data were the common types, main reasons and effects as well as stress, mood states and fatigue. RESULTS: 42.7% of all participants reported the use of CAM. The most common types of CAM used were Phellinus linteus, elm tree, and vitamin C. The main reasons for CAM use were to boost the immune system and to prevent recurrence. Prayer, massage, Shitake mushroom, and Ganoderma lucidum were, identified as being more effective than others. 93.6% of the respondents informed their physicians of their use of CAM. Logistic regression analysis determined that stress, mood states, and duration after diagnosis were factors significantly associated with CAM use. CONCLUSION: CAM use is increasing among patients with breast cancer. Health care professionals are in the main position to identify what treatments patients are using and implement CAM therapies that can be helpful to relieve patient symptoms related to treatment and psychological distress.
Agaricales ; Ascorbic Acid ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Complementary Therapies* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diagnosis ; Fatigue ; Female ; Humans ; Immune System ; Logistic Models ; Massage ; Recurrence ; Reishi ; Religion ; Ulmus

PURPOSE: This study was to identify predictors of quality of life in breast cancer patients. Physical and pscyhological factors like stress, mood, and fatigue with sociodemographic factors like education, income, job and stage of disease were used to predict quality of life. METHODS: One hundred eleven patients with breast cancer participated in this study? The functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast(FACT-B) was used to assess quality of life. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 46.7 years. The FACT-B mean score was 89.89 (SD:17.31) Education, income, job and stage of disease were significantly associated with QOL. In a regression analysis, mood, income, and fatigue were significant predictors for QOL: where as, stress was not significant. Among the subscales of QOL, physical well-being, functional well-being, emotional well-being, and the breast cancer subscale were included as predictors of QOL CONCLUSION: Physical and psychological factors were strong predictors of QOL. These results demonstrate the need for interventions to improve QOL in breast cancer survivors.
Adaptation, Psychological ; Adult ; Aged ; Breast Neoplasms/*psychology/therapy ; Female ; Health Status Indicators ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Personal Satisfaction ; Predictive Value of Tests ; *Quality of Life ; Sickness Impact Profile

PURPOSE: This study is a descriptive study to analyze the relationship between the cognitive function, body image and pain, and the influencing factors on the daily life performance of brain injured patients. METHODS: The study subjects were 119 inpatients with brain injury who gave informed consent. The activities of daily living (ADLs), cognitive function, pain and body image were measured by Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI), K-MMSE (Mini-Mental State Examination), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Semantic Differential Method (SDM), respectively. RESULTS: ADLs was significantly associated with body image, cognitive function, and pain. Multiple regression analysis showed that paralysis, consciousness, cognitive function, and pain were significant factors influencing ADLs. Overall, approximately 48% of total variability in the ADLs could be explained by the 4 variables (R²=.477, p<.001). CONCLUSION: To improve ADLs of brain injury patients, a deeper understanding of paralysis, consciousness, cognitive function, and pain of patients is required and active nursing invention should be conducted.
Activities of Daily Living* ; Body Image* ; Brain Injuries* ; Brain* ; Cognition* ; Consciousness ; Humans ; Informed Consent ; Inpatients ; Inventions ; Methods ; Nursing ; Paralysis ; Semantic Differential ; Visual Analog Scale

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the needs of case management between Medical aid beneficiaries with simple and multiple chronic diseases (SCD vs MCD). METHODS: The study employed secondary analysis method using a cross-sectional data from 2009 case management service enrollees. Data on 35,862 beneficiaries who have chronic disease(s) were used in the description of chronic disease characteristics, and data on 20,392 beneficiaries, excluding those who have depression and/or disabilities, were used to compare the group differences. RESULTS: Mean age was 68.8+/-11.63 years, and 73.3% were females. MCD group showed an older age, had more women than SCD group. Self-care ability and appropriateness of health care utilization were significantly different between the groups, but there was no difference in health-related quality of life. In subscales, there were significant differences in general health status, depression, symptom management, healthy lifestyle, hygiene and vaccination, and appropriateness of health utilization. CONCLUSION: Different characteristics between patients with simple and multiple chronic diseases indicate that different case management approaches are required for these groups. The study results could be used as a basis for the development of case management model tailored to the characteristics and needs of medical-aid beneficiaries.
Case Management* ; Chronic Disease* ; Delivery of Health Care ; Depression ; Female ; Humans ; Hygiene ; Life Style ; Quality of Life ; Self Care ; Vaccination

PURPOSE: This study was to determine the current trend of nursing research as exploring both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and to provide the explicit direction to improve the quality of published papers. METHODS: Total of 366 articles published between 2004 and 2006 was reviewed using the criteria of analysis. RESULTS: There was more number of quantitative studies than qualitative studies. More studies were conducted with subjects who had health problems, and studies that targeted women and elderly population have been significantly increased. In quantitative methodology, utilization of experimental and quasi-experimental designs has been increased, however descriptive study was dominant as yet. In qualitative methodology, studies using grounded theory and phenomenology were frequently published. It was noted that theoretical framework and rational for sample size were rarely presented in quantitative study. Philosophical position and the process of preparation for study, which guided the research, were not clearly described in qualitative study. CONCLUSION: The findings of this review suggest that published studies have been improved and diversified, however, detailed and clear evaluation tool that assesses study process and method should be developed as a way to further improve the quality of published papers.
Bibliometrics ; Humans ; Korea ; Nursing Methodology Research/*standards ; *Periodicals as Topic ; Qualitative Research

Background: In Korea, the Korean Community-based Noncommunicable Disease Prevention and Control Program (KCNPC) was implemented in 2012 for the management of patients with chronic diseases. Nineteen primary care clinics, public health centers, and education and consulting centers (ECCs) participated in the implementation of this program. This study assessed the effectiveness of this chronic disease control model by comparing mortality rate and the incidence of complications between patients participating in the KCNPC program and a control group. Methods: Using data from the National Health Insurance Service and data from hypertension and diabetes patients registered with 19 ECCs between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2012, hypertension and diabetes patients who had been treated at a clinic were selected. The final analysis included 252,900 patients, with the intervention group and control group having 126,450 patients each. Survival for the two groups was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method. Complications were analyzed using the Cox proportional hazards model. Results: The 5-year survival rate in the intervention group (0.88) was higher than that in the control group (0.86). Cox proportional hazards analysis showed that the intervention group had lower risk for mortality (0.84; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.82–0.86) compared to the control group. Hospitalization due to complications and the proportional risk of hospitalization were also lower in the intervention group. Conclusion The KCNPC model for prevention and control of chronic disease in Korea was found to be effective for hypertension and diabetes patients. Therefore, the KCNPC will be necessary to strengthen the capabilities of local communities, primary medical institutions, and individuals for prevention and control of chronic disease. Expanding the efficient prevention and control policies of the KCNPC to a nationwide scale may be effective as has been demonstrated through limited implementation in some regions.