PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to explore health behaviors, examine health behaviors in relation to demographic factors, and investigate the relationships between health risk behaviors (e.g., tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and sexual experience) among Korean adolescents. METHODS: The study used a cross-sectional descriptive relational design and a population-based data collection of 1,716 middle and high school Korean adolescents. The 72-item Korean Adolescent Health Behavior Scale was used for data collection, while descriptive statistics, t test and chi-square test were used in the data analyses. RESULTS: Females were doing better on weight control, hygiene, safety, and computer use than were males. Males were doing better on physical activity. Adolescents living in cities were more likely to be addicted to computer but were consuming alcohol and using tobacco less than adolescents in rural areas were. In addition, religion, grade level, and living area also made the adolescents' health behavior significantly different. CONCLUSION: As the result suggested, gender, religion, grade level, and region need to be considered when designing health promotion interventions among Korean adolescents.
Adolescent ; Alcohol Drinking/epidemiology ; Child ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Demography ; Female ; *Health Behavior ; Humans ; Male ; Questionnaires ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; *Risk-Taking ; Rural Health ; Sexual Behavior/statistics & numerical data ; Smoking/epidemiology ; Students ; Urban Health ; Young Adult

Background: The purpose of this descriptive study is to investigate nurses’ social support, health status, grit, and work-life balance and identify the factors affecting their work-life balance. Methods: The subjects in this study were 203 nurses working in a university hospital. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficients, independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Scheffe’s test, and multiple linear regression. Results: The study revealed significant relationships between work-life balance and social support (r=0.39, P<0.001), health status (r=0.69, P<0.001), and grit (r=0.36, P<0.001). Factors influencing work-life balance were health status (β=0.57), grit (β=0.17), social support (β=0.14), and work experience (β=-0.12). The explanatory power of the regression model was 51.2%, and the model was statistically significant (F=43.45, P<0.001). Conclusions This study suggests that it is necessary to include, in the intervention strategy for nurses’ work-life balance, methods to improve their health status, grit, and social support. A balanced work-life for nurses can help them satisfactorily perform professional services while managing the nursing organization stably and, ultimately, help them grow into professional nurses in the future.

Background: The purpose of this descriptive study is to investigate nurses’ social support, health status, grit, and work-life balance and identify the factors affecting their work-life balance. Methods: The subjects in this study were 203 nurses working in a university hospital. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficients, independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Scheffe’s test, and multiple linear regression. Results: The study revealed significant relationships between work-life balance and social support (r=0.39, P<0.001), health status (r=0.69, P<0.001), and grit (r=0.36, P<0.001). Factors influencing work-life balance were health status (β=0.57), grit (β=0.17), social support (β=0.14), and work experience (β=-0.12). The explanatory power of the regression model was 51.2%, and the model was statistically significant (F=43.45, P<0.001). Conclusions This study suggests that it is necessary to include, in the intervention strategy for nurses’ work-life balance, methods to improve their health status, grit, and social support. A balanced work-life for nurses can help them satisfactorily perform professional services while managing the nursing organization stably and, ultimately, help them grow into professional nurses in the future.

PURPOSE: Fundamental nursing is a major course in which student nurses learn core and basic theories and nursing skills needed to solve patients' nursing problems before students starts clinical practicum. METHODS: The 10 textbooks under review were selected as the most recent textbooks since 2013. As the first in a series of textbook review studies, we reviewed textbooks and procedure books on vital signs, body temperature regulation, and oxygenation, with a focus on differences in numbers, range, etc. RESULTS: The most significant difference in vital signs assessment was the normal range for body temperature, which could be different according to age group, measurement sites and measuring devices. For topics on body temperature regulation, there were variations in describing stages of fever, definition, and patterns across 10 textbooks. For the topic on the oxygenation, the normal oxygen saturation level, FiO2 and L/min compatibility across various oxygen supply devices, and unit compatibility of French vs milimeter for the selection of size of the suction catheter were not clear. CONCLUSION Textbooks can be more effective nursing education guidelines when they provide standardized information as to figures and terms for nursing skills.

BACKGROUND: School age is a time when students form habits of healthy behavior that affect their lifetime health. However, most previous studies were conducted on hand washing and brushing teeth and no studies included bathing in personal hygiene. We aim to improve knowledge and performance about hand washing, brushing teeth, and bathing in school age children. The study was based on the health belief model and ways to establish proper personal hygiene habits. METHODS: A non-equivalent control group, pretest-posttest design was used in this study. The educational content included hand hygiene, oral hygiene and bath hygiene. After the pre and post evaluation of the control group, the experimental group received the education and pre and post evaluation over five weeks. Then, the education program was provided to the control group. This study was conducted over ten weeks from April to June 2017. RESULTS: Knowledge on personal hygiene habits (F=8.41, P=0.006) and performance of personal hygiene habits (F=29.09, P < 0.001) were higher in the experimental group compared to the control group after controlling the covariates. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study show obvious difference between the experimental group and control group on knowledge and performance for personal hygiene habits. This result demonstrated that the program based on the health belief model was effective. It is necessary to develop other effective programs including hand washing, brushing teeth, and bathing to help students develop good personal hygiene habits.
Baths ; Child ; Education ; Hand Disinfection ; Hand Hygiene ; Humans ; Hygiene ; Oral Hygiene ; Tooth

BACKGROUND: School age is a time when students form habits of healthy behavior that affect their lifetime health. However, most previous studies were conducted on hand washing and brushing teeth and no studies included bathing in personal hygiene. We aim to improve knowledge and performance about hand washing, brushing teeth, and bathing in school age children. The study was based on the health belief model and ways to establish proper personal hygiene habits. METHODS: A non-equivalent control group, pretest-posttest design was used in this study. The educational content included hand hygiene, oral hygiene and bath hygiene. After the pre and post evaluation of the control group, the experimental group received the education and pre and post evaluation over five weeks. Then, the education program was provided to the control group. This study was conducted over ten weeks from April to June 2017. RESULTS: Knowledge on personal hygiene habits (F=8.41, P=0.006) and performance of personal hygiene habits (F=29.09, P < 0.001) were higher in the experimental group compared to the control group after controlling the covariates. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study show obvious difference between the experimental group and control group on knowledge and performance for personal hygiene habits. This result demonstrated that the program based on the health belief model was effective. It is necessary to develop other effective programs including hand washing, brushing teeth, and bathing to help students develop good personal hygiene habits.

Aucubin is an iridoid glycoside with a wide range of biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-algesic as well as anti-tumor activities. Recently, it has been shown that aucubin prevents neuronal death in the hippocampal CA1 region in rats with diabetic encephalopathy. In addition, it has protective effects on H2O2-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells. We have shown here that aucubin promotes neuronal differentiation and neurite outgrowth in neural stem cells cultured primarily from the rat embryonic hippocampus. We also investigated whether aucubin facilitates axonal elongation in the injured peripheral nervous system. Aucubin promoted lengthening and thickness of axons and re-myelination at 3 weeks after sciatic nerve injury. These results indicate that administration of aucubin improved nerve regeneration in the rat model of sciatic nerve injury, suggesting that aucubin may be a useful therapeutic compound for the human peripheral nervous system after various nerve injuries.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Axons* ; CA1 Region, Hippocampal ; Hippocampus ; Humans ; Models, Animal ; Nerve Regeneration ; Neural Stem Cells* ; Neurites* ; Neurons ; PC12 Cells ; Peripheral Nervous System ; Rats ; Regeneration* ; Sciatic Nerve*

PURPOSE: This study was carried out to predict the mortality rate for gastric cancer up to 2020 in Korea with forecasting model. METHODS: The trends of the age-adjusted mortality rate was calculated from 1983 to 2003 using the mortality data of the past 20 years in Korea, and projected up to the year of 2020 with log-linear models for each gender. The number of deaths from gastric cancer was calculated from the predicted mortality rate. RESULTS: Age-adjusted mortality rates for gastric cancer per 100,000 persons were 32.13 in 1983, 23.95 in 1990, and 15.99 in 2003 for women, and 70.37, 58.74, 41.04 for men, respectively. The expected age-adjusted mortality rates for gastric cancer were 16.50 in 2005, 14.27 in 2010, and 10.66 in 2020 for women, and 39.14, 33.83, 25.28 for men, respectively. In contrast to this decreasing trend, it is predicted that mortality rates for those aged 75 or over would increase steadily. The predicted number of deaths from gastric cancer was 6,519 for women and 13,743 for men in 2020. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that gastric cancer mortality rate would decrease continuously except for some aged groups. The declining trends in gastric cancer mortality are regarded as a result of lifestyle changes, improvements in screening methods and treatments. Strategies for aged groups should be developed in order to control increasing mortality rates.
Female ; Forecasting ; Humans ; Korea* ; Life Style ; Linear Models ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Mortality* ; Stomach Neoplasms*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to provide a basis for improvement and enhancement of nursing education by investigating learning outcomes that apply to fundamentals of nursing and teaching methods used in classes. METHODS: Data were collected from 111 professors of fundamentals of nursing who responded to the self-report questionnaire. Data were analyzed using chi-square test. RESULTS: For learning outcomes in fundamentals of nursing the most frequent number of outcomes was two (35.2%), or three (32.4%). For learning outcomes in fundamentals of nursing practicum, the most frequent number of outcomes was two (32.4%), or three (31.6%). In fundamental nursing classes, teaching methods used most frequently were lectures (98.2%) and videos (60.4%), and in practice classes, demonstration (98.2) and open laboratory (90.9%). Constructivist teaching methods that were utilized in fundamental nursing were team-based learning (19.8%) and case-based learning (19.8%), and for practice classes, objective structured clinical examination (29.7%). In the cross analysis, 28.8% of the nursing professor used the constructivist teaching methods in fundamental nursing and in practice classes. CONCLUSION: There is a need to continue to improve teaching methods for new nurse-educators and professors and to discuss learning outcomes of fundamental nursing.
Education ; Education, Nursing ; Learning* ; Lectures ; Nursing* ; Teaching*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research was to assess the methodological quality of non-randomized studies published in the Journal of Korean Fundamentals of Nursing. METHODS: A search of non-randomized studies assessing intervention effects was conducted among all articles published in the Journal of Korean Fundamentals of Nursing between 2011 and 2013. Articles were assessed for quality using the Methodological Index for Non Randomized Studies (MINORS). For each index item, the frequency and percentage of articles meeting the criteria were calculated, along with mean scores by research method, publication year, and research topic. RESULTS: A total of 22 studies were included. The mean score for studies without control groups was 11.75 (range 0-16), and for those with control groups, 19.27 (range 0-24). Results show that improvement is needed on several items: "endpoints appropriate to the aim of the study," "unbiased assessment of the study endpoint," "follow-up period appropriate to the aim of the study," "loss to follow up less than 5%," and "contemporary groups." CONCLUSION: Although the quality of articles published in the Journal of Korean Fundamentals of Nursing has consistently increased, more emphasis should be placed on using rigorous research methods.
Follow-Up Studies ; Clinical Trial ; Nursing* ; Publications