BACKGROUND: This study aimed at assessing the knowledge of the general public about novel influenza and the extent of preventive measures undertaken when information on novel influenza and its preventive measures was extensively broadcasted during the novel influenza outbreak. METHODS: Between September 21 and October 31, self-report questionnaires were distributed to 1,200 persons. The completed questionnaires were collected from 1,025 persons. The collected data was used to determine the frequency and percentage as well as to conduct analyses such as t-test, ANOVA, and logistic regression by using SPSS WIN 12.0. RESULTS: The knowledge on novel influenza and the performance of preventive measures were scored at 6.58 and 5.10, respectively, on a scale of 12. This finding suggested that the knowledge on novel influenza and the performance of preventive measures were low. The significant factors influencing the participants' knowledge on novel influenza were age and the experience of watching relevant educational programs on television, whereas the factors influencing the performance of preventive measures were academic career, working status, and the experience of watching relevant educational programs on television. Between knowledge and implementation of preventive measures, there was positive correlation at low level (r=0.112, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, this study demonstrated that factors influencing the knowledge on and the performance of preventive measures against a disease should be considered when developing prevention strategies, such as broadcast of educational programs on television, against influenza or similar infectious diseases during an outbreak.
Communicable Diseases ; Humans ; Influenza, Human ; Logistic Models ; Pandemics ; Television ; Surveys and Questionnaires

No abstract available.
Animals ; Horns* ; Nevus, Sebaceous of Jadassohn*

PURPOSE: Effective transitional care is needed to improve the quality of life in older adult patients with chronic illness and avoid discontinuity of care and adverse events. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the key features, broader implications, and the utility of Meleis' transition theory intended for the transitional care of older adults with chronic illnesses. We present the role of nurse in the context of transitional care and propose future directions to increase the quality of nursing care. METHODS: The online databases Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, MEDLINE, and Science Direct were searched for relevant literature published since 1970 along with textbooks regarding nursing theory. RESULTS: An evaluation of the usefulness of transition theory based on transitional care in older adult patients with chronic illnesses is provided. Healthy transition should be the expected standard of nursing care for older adults across all healthcare settings. CONCLUSION: Nurses need to contribute to the development of transitional care for vulnerable populations; however, transition theory needs to be enhanced through additional theoretical work and repeated evaluations of the applicability in areas of transitional care.
Aged ; Chronic Disease ; Databases, Factual ; Education, Nursing ; Humans ; Models, Theoretical ; Nurse's Role ; *Quality of Life ; *Transitional Care

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between work-family conflict, social support, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment which are closely linked to staff turnover from the perspective of married hospital nurses. METHOD: A survey was conducted using self-report structured questionnaire from 220 married nurses. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, correlation and multiple linear regression with SPSS Win 17.0 program. RESULTS: Job satisfaction, social support, work-family conflict and age were strong predictors of organizational commitment. These variables explained 46.5% of the variance of the organizational commitment. Higher levels of organizational commitment were associated with greater job satisfaction and social support. Nurse with lower levels of work-family conflict and older age reported a high level of organizational commitment. CONCLUSION: These results show that improving job satisfaction has the best effect on enhancing nurses' organizational commitment. Also supportive relationships, reduction of work-family conflict and older age were significantly correlated with organizational commitment. Organizations should design more family- friendly policies and provide opportunities for career development to health professionals to induce organizational commitment.
Health Occupations ; Job Satisfaction ; Linear Models ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Statistics as Topic

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe nurses' recognition of, and practice level in management of general nosocomial infections, and methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) infections. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were collected on June, 2003 from 190 nurses in one university affiliated hospital located in Suwon. RESULTS: The mean score for nurses' recognition of general nosocomial infection control was 3.57, MRSA control was 3.54, and VRE control was 3.86. The mean score on practice for control of general nosocomial infection was 3.19, for MRSA control, 3.20, and for VRE control, 3.63. There were statistically significant relationships between the recognition level and practice level for general nosocomial, MRSA, and VRE infection control. According to the general characteristics of the nurses, the mean scores for both recognition and practice were higher for those nurses who had had infection control education, for those who had worked longer in nursing, and for those who worked in the ICU. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that appropriate hospital infection control programs should be developed through continuous education and practice to improve nurses' level of the practice in general infection control, and especially in MRSA and VRE infection control.
Cross Infection* ; Education ; Gyeonggi-do ; Infection Control* ; Methicillin Resistance ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus* ; Nursing ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Vancomycin ; Vancomycin Resistance

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

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has been the gold standard for symptomatic gall stones for the last 20 years. The spillage of stones is reported in up to one-third of all LCs but clinical squeals caused by dropped gallstones are uncommon. We recently observed a patient with late abdominal wall abscess formation as a result of dropped gall stones after LC, who in the end, underwent open surgery because the medical therapy including antibiotics and percutaneous catheter drainage was not fully effective.
Abdominal Wall ; Abscess ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Catheters ; Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic ; Drainage ; Gallstones ; Humans

PURPOSE: This study was done to identify the relationship of malnutrition, social network and health-related quality of life and to investigate the main factors influencing health-related quality of life in elders. METHODS: The research design was a descriptive survey design using a convenience sampling. Data were collected by self-report questionnaires from 196 elders. Data analysis was done using SPSS 18.0 pc+ program for descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS: The average score for health related quality of life was 3.33 (SD=0.86). Differences in health-related quality of life were statistically significant according to age, gender, occupation, presence of spouse, monthly income, source of income, economic status, medicine, and existence of chronic disease. Health-related quality of life was significantly correlated with malnutrition and social network. Major factors affecting health related quality of life for elders were malnutrition, occupation, age, social network, and economic status which explained 52.0% of the variance in health related quality of life. CONCLUSION: Findings provide a basis for developing nursing interventions to improve health-related quality of life. Future studies are needed a wide variety of variables that might influence health-related quality of life in elders.
Aged ; Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Malnutrition ; Occupations ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Research Design ; Spouses ; Statistics as Topic

BACKGROUND: Although atopic dermatitis (AD) is a very common disease, there is no specific diagnostic or prognostic marker for it. Minor clinical features and a few laboratory findings can be used as ancillary diagnostic criteria and reflect the present state of AD, but cannot predict the disease severity. OBJECTIVE: We performed this study to find out if there is any correlation among minor clinical features, laboratory findings such as blood eosinophil count and serum IgE levels, and the severity of AD. METHODS: One hundred patients with AD were involved in the study. They were divided into two groups by the age of 12 years; group 1(< or = 12-year-old, n=47) represented childhood AD and group 2 (> or = 12-year-old, n=53) represented adolescence and adult AD. Subsequently, the severity of AD was assessed by the SCORAD index, and then all the patients were classified into 3 subgroups; mild, moderate and severe groups. They were evaluated for 28 minor clinical features of AD. In addition, blood samples were measured for blood eosinophil count and serum IgE levels. RESULTS: The pattern of minor clinical features correlated significantly with the disease severity was quite different between the two groups, except ventral wrist eczema and eyelid eczema. Blood eosinophil count and serum IgE levels increased significantly as the SCORAD index increased. While perifollicular accentuation was a significant minor clinical feature that correlated with blood eosinophil count in the both groups, there were no minor features showing statistically significant correlation with serum IgE levels. In group 1, keratosis pilaris and infragluteal eczema appeared more frequently as all 3 variables such as the SCORAD index, blood eosinophil count and serum IgE levels, increased simultaneously. However, no minor clinical features which correlated significantly with all variables were observed in group 2. CONCLUSION: We concluded that minor clinical features such as keratosis pilaris and infragluteal eczema reflect the disease severity and can be used as an anticipating sign of severe disease, especially in childhood AD.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Eczema ; Eosinophils ; Eyelids ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Keratosis ; Wrist

Streptococcus Gallolyticus subspecies pasteurianus is a biotype II/2 of Streptococcus bovis. Although there is a clear correlation between Streptococcus bovis bacteremia and the risk of developing colon cancer, the relationship between Streptococcus gallolyticus subspecies pasteurianus bacteremia and colon cancer is not clear. We report a 53-year-old female who initially presented with fever and low back pain. Streptococcus gallolyticus subspecies pasteurianus was isolated in blood cultures, so we performed a colonoscopy and discovered colon cancer.
Bacteremia* ; Colon* ; Colonic Neoplasms* ; Colonoscopy ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Low Back Pain ; Middle Aged ; Streptococcus bovis ; Streptococcus*