PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship among clinical competence of diabetic diet education on standardized patients, self-efficacy, communication skill, learning satisfaction, and professional values of nursing students. METHODS: The present study was a descriptive research. The participants were 144 junior nursing students in a university. The clinical competence on diabetic diet education was assessed by trained evaluators when nursing students performed diabetic diet education using the standardized patients. The students' self-efficacy, communication skill, professional values, and learning satisfaction were measured by themselves using the questionnaires. RESULTS: The clinical competence on diabetic diet education showed positive correlations with communication skill and learning satisfaction, while the competence was not correlated to self-efficacy and professional values. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that clinical competence on diabetic diet education may be more related to communication skills and learning satisfaction than self-efficacy and professional values. Promoting communication skills and learning satisfaction using a standardized patient may increase nursing students' competence on diabetic diet education.
Clinical Competence ; Diet, Diabetic ; Humans ; Learning ; Mental Competency ; Students, Nursing ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Purpose: The current study investigated how clinical microbiology courses are conducted at the undergraduate nursing level in South Korea to identify the perceptions of clinical nurses regarding their knowledge and the clinical importance of microbiology and further assess their educational needs. Methods: Curricula presented on the websites of 202 undergraduate nursing institutions were reviewed. In addition, a survey assessing the knowledge and importance of clinical microbiology perceived by nurses was conducted online. A total of 150 nurses participated in the survey. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients, t-tests, analysis of variance, Borich Needs Assessment Model, and Locus for Focus Model. Results: The results indicated that 90% of undergraduate nursing institutions offer clinical microbiology courses under various subject names. The perceived knowledge and importance of clinical microbiology were correlated; however, knowledge was consistently lower than the perceived importance of clinical biology among nurses. The structure and proliferation of novel viruses ranked highest in the educational needs of nurses based on both the Borich Needs Assessment Model and Locus for Focus Model. Conclusion Based on the findings, this study suggests educational opportunities for clinical microbiology in hospital settings to reduce discrepancies between knowledge and the importance of clinical microbiology faced by nurses.

Purpose: s: Sepsis is a critical condition in which nurses should detect clinical manifestations and provide early intervention to prevent unwanted serious conditions in the patients. The initial occurrence and management of sepsis take place in general units, but there is a lack of knowledge in nurses. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a case-based sepsis education program and compare the case-based education program with and without smartphone applications. Methods: A quasi-experimental pre-testpost-test design with a control group was used. We provided a case-based education program with and without smartphone applications to the nurses and tested the effects of the program on knowledge, the accuracy of sepsis assessment, and self-efficacy as outcome variables. A total of 60 nurses in general units participated. To test differences in knowledge, the accuracy of sepsis assessment, and self-efficacy regarding sepsis between the groups over time, a mixed-design ANCOVA was used for parametric analysis, and generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used for nonparametric analysis. Results: There were significant differences in knowledge, the accuracy of sepsis assessment, and self-efficacy between the groups and within the groups over time. The intervention groups treated with the case-based education program showed improved outcome variables compared to the control group. There was no difference between case-based education with the smartphone application or without the application. Conclusions The case-based education improved knowledge, the accuracy of sepsis assessment, and self-efficacy in the care of sepsis by nurses working in the general wards. The results suggest that the case-based education program for nurses was effective and eventually improved patient health outcomes.

PURPOSE: The population of metabolic syndrome is increasing in Korea. The prevalence is related to lifestyle, such as lack of physical activity and irregular diet. Most patients with metabolic syndrome know that lifestyle intervention is important to managing the condition. However, they do not always follow the intervention for various reasons, including lack of knowledge on how to change their lifestyle and lack of accessibility to that knowledge. The purpose of this study was to test the web-based health promotion program we developed. METHODS: Fifty-six adult workers from eight areas of business were recruited. They all had a confirmed metabolic syndrome diagnosis after being registered at a university hospital for annual health checkups. Twenty-nine workers were assigned to the experimental group, and the others were assigned to the control group. The web-based program was applied to the experimental group as an intervention for 8 weeks.Waist circumference, fasting blood glucose, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and blood pressure were measured before and after the program. Data were analyzed using chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and t test. RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences between the two groups in waist circumference and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (t = -4.43, p < .001; t = 2.22, p = .031, respectively). Of the 29 participants, 13 (44.83%) in the intervention group had less than two indices for metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that a web-based program is useful for patients with metabolic syndrome to improve physiologic parameters related to metabolic syndrome. The web-based program may be easily applicable to community as well as clinical setting.
Adult ; Blood Glucose/metabolism ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; *Health Behavior ; Health Promotion/*methods/standards ; Humans ; *Internet ; *Life Style ; Lipoproteins, HDL/blood ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome X/*rehabilitation ; Middle Aged ; Triglycerides/blood ; Waist Circumference ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the subjects' health status according to the needs of visiting health and the function of the family in home care nursing. SAMPLE AND METHOD: The data collection period was from 07/01/04 to 10/31/04 and the subjects were 488 of those above 60 years of age staying at home or living alone who registered at a visiting health service of public health center at an urban area in Korea. This survey was carried out by visiting health nurses and participation was agreed on by the elderly people. RESULTS: The extent of the subjects' total health status to the general characteristics had differences according to the age, sex, monthly income, perceived health status, known functional disorder, and yes-or-no for disease. At all health status domains, visiting health need care in the group I was very lower than one in II, III, or IV groups. Also the severe dysfunctional family was lower than lightly dysfunctional family and normal functional family in all health status domains. CONCLUSION: Nurses must provide their characteristics considered nursing intervention for the elderly who have high visiting health needs and severe dysfunctional family with vulnerable health care.
Aged ; *Community Health Nursing ; Family/psychology ; Female ; *Health Services for the Aged ; Health Status ; *Home Care Services ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Needs Assessment ; *Vulnerable Populations

BACKGROUND: Accurate and rapid identification of pathogens is one of the most important tasks of the clinical microbiology laboratory, and, in cases of rare pathogens, the identification is difficult and time-consuming upon the use of conventional methods alone. Herein, we will report our molecular work involving the identification of bacteria and fungi. METHODS: Sixty bacterial isolates had been collected from November 2004 to May 2007, and 15 fungal isolates had been collected from September 2005 to May 2007. Species identifications were performed using sequence analyses of the 16S rRNA region of bacteria and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of fungi. The data were compared with those of GenBank (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) or EMBL (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/embl/). RESULTS: Sixty bacterial isolates included: 23 isolates with genus information (group 1), 17 isolates (group 2) that were too fastidious for genus or species identification, 16 isolates (group 3) with results from identification kits having low confidence, and 4 isolates (group 4) with odd antibiograms according to the species. In 58 of 60 isolates, identification of the genus or species could be obtained using molecular genetic methods. Thirty-eight isolates (63%) and 20 (33%) of 58 isolates could be identified at the species and genus levels, repectively. Among the total of 15 fungal isolates, 11 (73%) and 4 (27%) isolates were identified at the species and genus levels, respectively. CONCLUSION: 16S rRNA and ITS sequencing analyses are very useful for identifying the species or genus of a pathogenic microorganism in the clinical microbiology laboratory.
Bacteria ; Base Sequence ; Databases, Nucleic Acid ; Fungi ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Molecular Biology ; Sequence Analysis

Economic evaluations in the healthcare are used to assess economic efficiency of pharmaceuticals and medical interventions such as diagnoses and medical procedures. This study introduces the main concepts of economic evaluation across its key steps: planning, outcome and cost calculation, modeling, cost-effectiveness results, uncertainty analysis, and decision-making. When planning an economic evaluation, we determine the study population, intervention, comparators, perspectives, time horizon, discount rates, and type of economic evaluation. In healthcare economic evaluations, outcomes include changes in mortality, the survival rate, life years, and quality-adjusted life years, while costs include medical, non-medical, and productivity costs. Model-based economic evaluations, including decision tree and Markov models, are mainly used to calculate the total costs and total effects. In cost-effectiveness or costutility analyses, cost-effectiveness is evaluated using the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, which is the additional cost per one additional unit of effectiveness gained by an intervention compared with a comparator. All outcomes have uncertainties owing to limited evidence, diverse methodologies, and unexplained variation. Thus, researchers should review these uncertainties and confirm their robustness. We hope to contribute to the establishment and dissemination of economic evaluation methodologies that reflect Korean clinical and research environment and ultimately improve the rationality of healthcare policies.

PURPOSE: This study was done to analyze the job of clinical research coordinators (CRCs). METHODS: Through the "developing a curriculum (DACUM)" workshop, the definition of CRCs' role was described and CRCs' duties and tasks were identified. Finally, the developed duties and tasks were validated for importance, difficulty, and frequency. RESULTS: A CRC is defined as the one who coordinates and performs tasks related to clinical research/trials among investigators, participants, and sponsors according to the Good Clinical Practice at institutions conducting clinical trials. Twelve duties and 78 tasks were identified on the DACUM chart which represented the importance, difficulty, and frequency of tasks represented as A, B, and C respectively. Based on determinant coefficient (DC) of the task, the highest ranked task was confirming the eligibility of participants for research (DC=8.03) and the lowest was inventory management for clinical study materials (3.95). CONCLUSION: In this study, the job of a CRC was analyzed through the DACUM process and it was found that CRCs were doing various duties and tasks. Based on these results, it is suggested that it is necessary to develop CRC education programs considering the career ladder of CRCs.
Biomedical Research ; Curriculum ; Humans ; *Job Description ; Research Personnel/*standards ; Task Performance and Analysis

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in Korea; it is the second most common cancer in men and the third most common in women. The incidence rate in Korea has continuously increased since 1999 when the National Cancer Registry statistics began. Currently; there are several screening modalities; that have been recommended by expert societies, including fecal occult blood test, colonoscopy, computed tomographic colonography The annual fecal immunochemical test (FIT) has been used in adults aged 50 and older as part of the National Cancer Screening Program in Korea since 2004. Although several study results from regional or national colorectal cancer screening programs in other countries have been reported, the National Cancer Screening Program in Korea has not yet been evaluated with evidence-based methods. Herein report the consensus statements on the National Screening Guideline for colorectal cancer developed by a multi-society expert committee in Korea, as follows: 1) We recommend annual or biennial FIT for screening for colorectal cancer in asymptomatic adults, beginning at 45 years of age and continuing until 80 years (recommendation B). 2) There is no evidence for the risks or benefits of FIT in adults older than 80 years (recommendation I). 3) Selective use of colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening is recommended, taking into consideration individual preference and the risk of colorectal cancer (recommendation C). 4) There is no evidence for the risks or benefits of double-contrast barium enema for colorectal cancer screening in asymptomatic adults (recommendation I). 5) There is no evidence for the risks or benefits of computed tomographic colonography for colorectal cancer screening in asymptomatic adults (recommendation I).
Adult ; Barium ; Colonography, Computed Tomographic ; Colonoscopy ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Consensus ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Enema ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Male ; Mass Screening* ; Occult Blood