PURPOSE: This study was to examine the impact of spiritual health and fatigue on the depression among breast cancer patients. The research design was descriptive study. METHODS: Data were collected through three structured questionnaires: the 'Spiritual Health Scale', developed by Highfield, 'Fatigue Scale' developed and revised by Piper, 'Depression Scale' developed by Zung. The participants of this study were 161 breast cancer patients of both in-patient and out-patient units from two general hospitals in B metropolitan city. The data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, Scheffe's test, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and Stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS: Participants with higher depression had lower scores for spiritual health (r= -.71, p<.001) and higher scores for fatigue (r=.57, p<.001). The factors seen as contributing to depression were spiritual health, fatigue and cancer insurance. These variables were explained 57.4% of the variance in depression. spiritual health were explained 50.5%. CONCLUSION: The depression of breast cancer patients can be reduced if spiritual health is impoved and fatigue is decreased. Therefore, we suggest developing nursing intervention program that leads to improve spiritual health and decrease fatigue of breast cancer patients for reducing depression.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Depression* ; Fatigue* ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Insurance ; Nursing ; Outpatients ; Piper ; Research Design ; Spirituality ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: This study was to investigate relationships among distress, family support, and health promotion behavior in breast cancer survivors. The research design was a descriptive study. METHODS: Data were collected through three structured questionnaires: the 'Distress' by Distress management version 1 (National Comprehensive Cancer Network, NCCN), 'Family support' developed by Cobb, and Health promotion behavior developed by Walker, Sechrist and Pender. The subjects were 213 breast cancer survivors from two general hospitals in B metropolitan city from July. 15 to August 15 2013. The data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0, specifically descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Scheffe test, and Pearson's correlation coefficients were used. RESULTS: The mean score of distress was 3.91+/-2.59. 50.2% of the subjects reported a distress score of 4 or more. Among these, the most common problems were emotions. Moderate family support and health promotion behavior. Distress showed negative correlations with Family support (r = - .34, p<.001), and health promotion behavior (r= - .23, p=.002). Family support showed positive correlations with health promotion behavior (r=.43, p<.001). CONCLUSION: The health promotion behavior of breast cancer survivors can be improved if family support is improved and distress is decreased. Therefore, a nursing intervention program that leads to improving family support and decreasing the distress of breast cancer survivors is needed to improve health promotion behavior.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Health Promotion* ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Nursing ; Research Design ; Survivors* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of uncertainty and uncertainty appraisal on quality of life (QoL) among prostate cancer patients after prostatectomy. METHODS: A descriptive correlational study was conducted with 117 participants at a hospital in S city from October 1 to December 31, 2016. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression using the IBM SPSS/WIN 21.0 program. RESULTS: According to a multiple regression model of the factors affecting QoL among prostate cancer patients after the operation, 61% of variance (F=13.92, p<.001) was explained by metastasis, recurrence, monthly income, uncertainty, uncertainty danger appraisal, and uncertainty opportunity appraisal. And the most influential factor in the QoL was uncertainty danger appraisal (β=-.37, p<.001). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that QoL was influenced by uncertainty, uncertainty appraisal and personal characteristics. Prostate cancer patients following prostatectomy should be provided with tailored training to improve their uncertainty opportunity appraisal. Also the educational program for reducing their uncertainty should be developed and provided to patients.
Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prostate* ; Prostatectomy* ; Prostatic Neoplasms* ; Quality of Life* ; Recurrence ; Uncertainty*

This study aimed to investigate the analgesic effect of substance P (SP) in an animal model of neuropathic pain. An experimental model of neuropathic pain, the chronic constriction injury (CCI) model, was established using ICR mice. An intravenous (i.v.) injection of SP (1 nmole/kg) was administered to the mice to examine the analgesic effects of systemic SP on neuropathic pain. Behavioral testing and immunostaining was performed following treatment of the CCI model with SP. SP attenuated mechanical allodynia in a time-dependent manner, beginning at 1 h following administration, peaking at 1 day post-injection, and decaying by 3 days post-injection. The second injection of SP also increased the threshold of mechanical allodynia, with the effects peaking on day 1 and decaying by day 3. A reduction in phospho-ERK and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) accompanied the attenuation of mechanical allodynia. We have shown for the first time that i.v. administration of substance P attenuated mechanical allodynia in the maintenance phase of neuropathic pain using von Frey’s test, and simultaneously reduced levels of phospho-ERK and GFAP, which are representative biochemical markers of neuropathic pain. Importantly, glial cells in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord (L4–L5) of SP-treated CCI mice, expressed the anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-10, which was not seen in vehicle saline-treated mice. Thus, i.v. administration of substance P may be beneficial for improving the treatment of patients with neuropathic pain, since it decreases the activity of nociceptive factors and increases the expression of anti-nociceptive factors.
Administration, Intravenous* ; Animals ; Behavior Rating Scale ; Biomarkers ; Constriction ; Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein ; Humans ; Hyperalgesia* ; Interleukin-10 ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Models, Animal ; Models, Theoretical ; Neuralgia ; Neuroglia ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Cord Dorsal Horn ; Substance P*

BACKGROUND: Current dilemma working with surgically-induced OA (osteoarthritis) model include inconsistent pathological state due to various influence from surrounding tissues. On the contrary, biochemical induction of OA using collagenase II has several advantageous points in a sense that it does not involve surgery to induce model and the extent of induced cartilage degeneration is almost uniform. However, concerns still exists because biochemical OA model induce abrupt destruction of cartilage tissues through enzymatic digestion in a short period of time, and this might accompany systemic inflammatory response, which is rather a trait of RA (rheumatoid arthritis) than being a trait of OA. METHODS: To clear the concern about the systemic inflammatory response that might be caused by abrupt destruction of cartilage tissue, OA was induced to only one leg of an animal and the other leg was examined to confirm the presence of systemic degenerative effect. RESULTS: Although the cartilage tissues were rapidly degenerated during short period of time upon biochemical induction of OA, they did not accompanied with RA-like process based on the histology data showing degeneration of articular cartilage occurred only in the collagenase-injected knee joint. Scoring evaluation data indicated that the cartilage tissues in non-induced joint remained intact. Neutrophil count transiently increase between day 8 and day 16, and there were no significant change in other complete blood count profile showing a characteristics of OA disease. CONCLUSION: These study shows that biochemically induced cartilage degeneration truly represented uniform and reliable OA state.
Animals* ; Blood Cell Count ; Cartilage ; Cartilage, Articular ; Clothing ; Collagenases* ; Digestion ; Inflammation ; Joints ; Knee Joint ; Leg ; Models, Animal* ; Neutrophils ; Osteoarthritis* ; Regeneration