No abstract available.
Kidney Transplantation* ; Quality of Life*

No abstract available.
Biofeedback, Psychology* ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone* ; Hypertension* ; Muscle Relaxation*

This study was done to analyze research trends and to suggest future directions for nursing research on the quality of life (QL) in Korea. The purposes of this study were to describe systematically 10 years of QL nursing, and to identify patterns of tools and significant variables on studies of QL. This article reviewed 71 nursing researches on QL between 1987 and 1996, by examining them according to the period of publication, research for a degree or not, research design, type of subjects, data collection methods, measurement instruments and range of reliabilities, type of nursing intervention, and association of QL and related variables. The findings of the analysis can be summarized as follows: 1. The number of studies related to QL increased from 1987 to 1994. But they have decreased since 1995. 48 of them(67.6%) identified surveys and correlational studies. 2. In all the titles of the studies, there were 7 types of concepts, including QL, quality satisfaction, life satisfaction, and well-being. Among them, QL was the most often used. 3. The subjects of 21 studies were healthy people. In 49 studies, patients had various illnesses. The majority of the patients were hemodialysis patients and cancer patients. Questionnaires were used for data collection in 58 studies. 56 studies were done for the thesis of a degree, while those in the remaining studies were not for degrees. 4. The research designs were various, except in the thesis for a doctorate. There were many more experimental studies(57.1%) done in the thesis for a doctorate. 5. The types of intervention were categorized as exercise(6), supportive care(3), reminiscence (2), relaxation(1), music(1), and hospice care(1). 6. As measurement tools, 14 types of tools relating to QL were used. 11 of them were composed of multiple dimensions. Among them, the QL Scale by You-Ja Ro(1988) was the most widely used in the studies. In the following, the Life Satisfaction Index by Jin Yun(1982), the Quality of life Scale of National Conference of Cancer nursing (1983), and the Life Satisfaction Index by Wood, Wylie and Sheafor(1969) were used. The reliabilities of the QL Scale were reported in 63 studies, and the Cronbach's alpha coefficients were over 0.7 in 60 cases. The quality of life scales included five dimensions; such as physical, psychological, social, economical, and spiritual dimensions. 7. There were two categories of factors influencing the quality of life: First, factors that cannot be changed by nursing intervention were; age, educational level, gender, marital status, income, employment status, occupation, number of family members, religion, and illness history. Second, factors that can be changed by nursing intervention were; physical activity, health status, the presence of complications, support, self-esteem, stress, self-efficacy, activities of daily life, physical strength, satifaction with life, and anxiety. Types of nursing intervention used to improve quality of life were; therapies in relaxation, exericse, reminiscence, and family support, social support, and hospice care. On the basis of the above findings, the following recommendations were made: 1. Further studies on the quality of life instruments of analysis are needed to provide an understanding of dimensions of life in detail. 2. A Meta-analysis needs to be conducted to identify intervention effects on the quality of life. 3. A tool development study is needed to measure the quality of life appropriately in different illnesses 4. More replicated analysis studies of QL are needed to prove the effect of variables on the QL.
Anxiety ; Data Collection ; Employment ; Hospice Care ; Hospices ; Humans ; Korea* ; Marital Status ; Motor Activity ; Nursing Research* ; Nursing* ; Occupations ; Oncology Nursing ; Publications ; Quality of Life* ; Relaxation ; Renal Dialysis ; Research Design ; Weights and Measures ; Wood ; Surveys and Questionnaires

This study aims at providing more qualitative care in family nursing practice. It is designed to analyze the degree of quality of life(QL) among families of the patients. The subjects consisted of 79 families of hospital hospice patients and 74 families of home-based hospice patients. The ages of the subjects were 17-74 years, at five university hospitals in Seoul, Inchon, and Kyung Gi Province, and one clinic in Chunchon. The data were collected from September, 1996 to August, 1997. The instrument used for the study was the Quality of Life Scale(QLS), which was composed of six factors, developed by Ro. You Ja, The analysis was done using t-test, ANOVA, Scheffe test, and Stepwise multiple regression. The results were as follows : 1. There were no statistically significant differences between the families of hospital hospice patients and the families of home-based hospice patients ; however, the mean score of the families of hospital hospice patients was higher than that of the families of home-based hospice patients. The scores on QLS ranged from 75 to 224 with a mean score of 140.58 in the families of hospital hospice patients. In the families of home-based hospice patients, the scores ranged from 79 to 214, showing a mean score of 135.25. Among six factors of QLS, family relationships showed the highest score in the families of hospital patients. Self-esteem and relationship with the neighborhood were significantly higher in the families of hospital hospice patients than the families of home-based hospice patients(t= 2.69, P= 0.008 ; t= 2.04, p= 0.043). 2. In the families of hospital hospice patients, QL had significant relationship with family member's age (F= 2.52, P=0.029), marital status (F= 3.57, P = 0.018), economic state(F= 6.07, P= 0.004), and education level(F =3.77, P=0.014), In the families of home based hospice patients, QL had significant relationship with marital status(F=2.53, P=0.049), education level(F= 4.35, P=0.007), occupation(F=3.93, P=0.002), and patient's age(F=2.73, P=0.020). 3. Economic status accounted for 17% of QL, and diagnosis accounted for an additional 7% of QL in the families of hospital hospice patients by means of stepwise multiple regression analysis, In the families of home-based hospice patients, relationships with patient accounted for 12% of QL. The findings showed that self-esteem and relationship with the neighborhood were significantly higher in the families of hospital hospice patients than the families of homed-based hospice patients and family relationships showed the highest value in QL. These finding should be considered in nursing practice.
Diagnosis ; Education ; Family Nursing ; Family Relations ; Gangwon-do ; Hospices* ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Incheon ; Marital Status ; Nursing ; Quality of Life* ; Residence Characteristics ; Seoul

This study was designed to verify the effect of aromatherapy on menstrual cramps and dysmenorrhea by a quasi experiment (nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design), from March to October, 2000. The subjects of this experiment consisted of 45 college women with menstrual cramps and dysmenorrhea. They were randomized by 25 for the experimental group and 20 for the control group. Their mean age was 20.6 years, mean menstrual period 28.7 days, mean menstrual cramps(VAS) 7.25, mean dysmenorrhea (Dysmenorrhea Scale) was 27.34. As treatment, aromatherapy was to give effleurrage of the abdomen with lavender, clary sage and rose as aroma oil, almond oil as carrier oil. For the control group, abdominal massage was given with only almond oil. Data collection included menstrual cramps, dysmenorrhea, the change of symptoms(low abdominal pain, lumbago, headache, nausea, fatigue, edema). Menstrual cramps, dysmenorrhea and general, menstrual characteristics of subjects were measured the first day of the pre menstrual period before treatment (pre-test), menstrual cramps, dysmenorrhea, the change of symptoms were measured the first and second day of post menstrual period after treatment (posttest). Data were analyzed by t-test, X2-test, repeated measures ANOVA, Cronbach's alpha with SAS Program. The results of this study was as follows; 1. Menstrual cramps was significantly lower in the experimental group(p = .001). 2. Dysmenorrhea was significantly lower in the experimental group(p = .027). 3.Less women in the experimental group complained about the six symptoms than women in the control group after treatment on the first day of the menstrual period(p <0.05, p <0.01) In conclusion, these findings indicate that aromatherapy with lavender, clary sage, and rose could be effective to decrease menstrual cramps, and dysmenorrhea. So, aromatherapy could be applied to women suffering with menstrual cramps, dysmenorrhea periodically as an nursing intervention.
Abdomen ; Abdominal Pain ; Aromatherapy* ; Data Collection ; Dysmenorrhea* ; Fatigue ; Female ; Headache ; Humans ; Lavandula ; Low Back Pain ; Massage ; Muscle Cramp* ; Nausea ; Nursing ; Prunus dulcis

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to compare home care nursing intervention activities analyzed by the Nursing Intervention Classification (NIC) system for hospice and general patients. METHOD: For the descriptive survey study, data was collected by reviewing charts of 151 hospice patients and 421 general patients who registered in the department of home health care nursing at K Hospital. RESULTS: According to the NIC system application, there were 2380 total nursing interventions used for the hospice patients and 8725 for the general home care patients. For both sets of patients (hospice vs. general), the most frequently used nursing intervention in level 1 was the Physiological: Complex domain (40.13 vs. 31.06 percent), followed by the Safety domain; in level 2, the Risk Management class (28.4 vs. 27.70 percent), followed by Tissue Perfusion Management; and in level 3, Vital Sign Monitoring (6.18 vs. 4.84 percent), followed by Health Screening. CONCLUSION: The study showed that there was a lack of specialized hospice nursing interventions such as emotional, family and spiritual support, and care for dying hospice patients.
Classification ; Home Care Services* ; Home Health Nursing ; Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing ; Hospices* ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Nursing* ; Perfusion ; Risk Management ; Vital Signs

This study was to compare changes in health behaviors, motivational factors, cardiovascular risk factors, and functional status (SIP) after implementing the 6-month motivation-enhancing program to institutionalized elderly women. METHODS: Sixty-four elderly women participated. Face to face interviews with blood sampling and anthropometric assessment were conducted at the pretest, 10 weeks and 6 months during the program. RESULTS: 1. The program participants showed significantly better health behaviors over 6 months. The mean motivational level was also significantly improved, especially for perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and emotional salience. 2. The mean of cardiovascular risk factors for the participants was 21.8 at the level of low to moderate risk. After completing the program, total risk score was significantly decreased to 18.7 at 10 weeks, and further to 17.7 at 6 months. A significant reduction was also found in HDL and LDL-cholesterol levels, blood pressure, obesity, inactivity, and stress. 3. The functional status (SIP) was 11% at the baseline and significantly changed in positive direction at 10 weeks (M=9.3) and at 6 month (M=6.3). The significant improvement was also found in physical and psychosocial dimensions and sleep/rest dimension. CONCLUSION: The motivation enhancing program was effective to reduce cardiovascular risks and to improve the functional status of institutionalized elderly women by motivating them to perform better health behaviors.
Aged* ; Blood Pressure ; Female ; Health Behavior* ; Humans ; Motivation ; Obesity ; Risk Factors*

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of depression, discomfort, spirituality, physical care, and opioid use on pain with terminally ill cancer patients residing in hospice units. The convenient sample of this study consisted of 41 terminally ill cancer patients at three hospice units in university affiliated hospitals. Patients were interviewed with structured questionnaires three times at predetermined intervals: admission to the hospice unit (Time 1), one week later (Time 2), and two weeks later (Time 3). The data was collected from January 1998 to January 1999 and was analyzed using ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multivariate multiple regression. The results of this study were as follows: 1. The mean age of the participants was approximately 55 years old. In terms of diagnosis, lung cancer showed the highest frequency (19.5%), followed by stomach cancer and rectal cancer (17.1%). The motive of seeking hospice unit admission was control (72. 2%), followed by spiritual care (50%), and symptom relief (38.9%). 2. Regarding the type of pain felt, the highest pain frequency the participants experienced was deep pain (55%), followed by multiple pain (25%), intestinal pain (10%), then superficial (5%) and neurogenic pain (5%). For the level of pain measured by VAS, there was no significant difference among the three time points; Time 1 (5.04 +/-2.21), Time 2 (4.82+/-2.58) and Time 3(4.73+/-2.51). 3. There was significant change seen in spirituality and physical care in each time interval. Namely, the longer the length of admission at the hospice unit, the higher the importance of spirituality (p=0.0001) and the more the physical care the participants received (p=0.01). The opioid use at the three time points showed the following frequencies : Time 1 (75.6%), Time 2 (85.4%) and Time 3 (75.6%). 4. Regarding factors influencing pain, the pain level was significantly affected by the depression level (p <0.01) and the opioid use (p <0.1). These results were the most significant at the two time points (Time 1 and Time 2). At Time 3 (two weeks later), the pain level was significantly affected by the depression level (p <0.05) and the amount of physical care the participants received (p <0.1). In conclusion, the terminally ill cancer patients had moderate pain, were generally depressed, and were treated with opioid analgesics. As approaching death, the patients received more physical care due to increased physical symptoms experienced and they had a higher perception of the importance of spirituality. Thus, health care professionals need to provide continuous care for each of them to die comfortably physically, psycho- logically, and spiritually.
Analgesics, Opioid ; Delivery of Health Care ; Depression ; Diagnosis ; Hospices* ; Humans ; Logic ; Lung Neoplasms ; Middle Aged ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Rectal Neoplasms ; Spirituality ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Terminally Ill*

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to compare symptoms, medical therapies, and nursing interventions with terminal cancer patients during the last four weeks of their lives in a hospice unit and general units. METHOD: For the descriptive survey study, data were collected by reviewing the medical records of 243 patients who died of terminal cancer at K hospital in Seoul. The data was analyzed by using Chi-square test and t-test. RESULT: The study findings are summarized as follows: There were higher frequencies in physical symptoms of constipation, itching sensation, pain, sleeping disturbance, soreness and dysuria for those patients in the hospice unit than those patient in general units. All emotional symptoms were recorded significantly higher for those patients in the hospice unit than those in general units. Regarding the major medical interventions, pain management was used more significantly for those patients in the hospice unit, but antibiotic therapy and resuscitation were used more significantly for those patients in general units. CONCLUSION: The hospice unit provided more comprehensive nursing interventions including psychological, spiritual, and family cares as well as physiological care for terminal cancer patients. The facts showed that those patients who would need hospice care in general units should be referred to the hospice unit at an appropriate time.
Constipation ; Dysuria ; Hospice Care ; Hospices* ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Nursing* ; Pain Management ; Pruritus ; Resuscitation ; Sensation ; Seoul

This study was conducted to draw out prevalence and the risk factors of diabetes mellitus and impaired fasting glucose for adults,(age 30-69). The subjects were 2096 adults, who had regular health examinations between January and December of 1999 at K Hospital in Seoul. The data was analyzed using chi-square test, unpaired t-test and logistic regression. Diabetes Mellitus and impaired fasting glucose were diagnosed by ADA (American Diabetes Association, 1997) criteria. The results were as follows: 1. Mens' prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus was 7.9% and womens' prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus was 3.8%. Mens' prevalence of impaired fasting glucose was 10.4% and womens' prevalence of impaired fasting glucose was 6.5%. Prevalences of Diabetes Mellitus and impaired fasting glucose increased with age. 2. Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus and impaired fasting glucose of obese subjects (relative body weight>=162) was higher than that of overweight subjects (110<=relative body weight<=119) in men and women. 3. The diagnoses of Diabetes Mellitus and impaired fasting glucose increased with systolic blood pressure and triglyceride. 4. Significant factors associated with diabetes in the logistic regression best gut model were age, relative body weight, systolic blood pressure, triglyceride in men, and systolic blood pressure in women. In conclusion, as age, weight, systolic blood pressure and triglyceride get higher, Diabetes Mellitus and impaired fasting glucose prevalence also increases, porportionally.
Adult* ; Blood Pressure ; Body Weight ; Diabetes Mellitus* ; Diagnosis ; Fasting* ; Female ; Glucose* ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Overweight ; Prevalence* ; Risk Factors* ; Seoul ; Triglycerides