PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the influences of sleep quality and mood state on fatigue in primary brain tumor patients. METHODS: The participants were 118 patients with primary brain tumors between May 2015 and March 2016. Data were collected using questionnaires including individual and disease related characteristics, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Linear Analogue Self-Assessment scales, and The Fatigue Scale for Cancer Patients developed by Kim Kyeong-hee (2006). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression. RESULTS: Fatigue had significant correlations with sleep quality (r=.55, p<.001) and mood state (r=.74, p<.001). The influencing factors for fatigue were mood state (β=.46, p<.001) was the best predictor of fatigue, followed by age (β=.17, p=.049), and performance status (β=-.19, p=.011). CONCLUSION: The research findings show that understanding of psychological factors such as anxiety, depression, confusion, energy and anger should be given priority for fatigue management in primary brain tumor patients. This study provides base data for managing fatigue in patients with primary brain tumors, and is expected to contribute to the improvement of the health of patients with primary brain tumor.
Anger ; Anxiety ; Brain Neoplasms* ; Depression ; Fatigue* ; Humans ; Psychology ; Self-Assessment ; Weights and Measures

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effectiveness of hypnotic and musical relaxation therapy and psychological consultation for parents of children with cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) and to provide a scientific basis of clinical-psychological treatment options.

METHODSSixty-six subjects with children with CLP participated in this study. The subjects were randomly assigned to a test group (n = 33) and a control group (n = 33). The test group was treated with hypnotic and musical relaxation therapy; the control group were subjected to psychological consultation. Anxiety and depression states were evaluated by using a self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and a self-rating depression scale (SDS) before and after treatment was administered.

RESULTS1) The test group demonstrated a significant decrease in SAS and SDS scores (t = 2.855, P < 0.01; t = 2.777, P < 0.01). The control group showed a significant decrease in the SAS score (t = 1.831, P < 0.05) but failed to show a significant change in the depression score (t = 0.909, P > 0.05). 2) The test group yielded a higher percentage of remission indicated by the SDS scores than the control group (test group = 75.76%; control group = 60.61%; P < 0.05). The test group also displayed a higher percentage of remission indicated by the SAS scores than the control group (test group = 78.79%, test group = 69.70%; P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONHypnotic and musical relaxation therapy can more effectively reduce the scores of the anxiety and depression states of the parents of patients with cleft lip and/or palate than psychological consultation.

Anxiety ; psychology ; therapy ; Child ; Cleft Lip ; psychology ; Cleft Palate ; psychology ; Depression ; psychology ; therapy ; Humans ; Hypnosis ; Music ; Parents ; psychology ; Relaxation Therapy ; methods ; Self-Assessment

PURPOSE: This preliminary study is aimed at developing standardized tools for psycho-social assessment of patients in needs for hospice/palliative care. To accomplish the purpose, investigators examined effects of perceptions of social workers on the importance of psycho-social domains of assessment in hospice/palliative care settings. Moreover, investigators paid attention to variances of perceptions of social workers' along with types of institution and credentials of those family settings. METHODS: A form of questionnaire was first explored from an initial interview assessment of 10 government-certified hospice care providers and a literature review, second constructed with eight domains and 80 items, and sent by e-mail to 55 institutions and hospitals providing hospice/palliative cares in Korea. Lastly, a total of 31 agencies returned with a completed responses and consent form (56% response rate). SPSS program (version 18.0) was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Study found that social workers perceived patients' family background (m=4.53, 5-point scale) as the most important assessment domain, whereas economic conditions (4.06 point) the least important. Social workers' perception varied by credentials (i.e., license types, training, full-time position, types of care facility). CONCLUSION: Based upon study findings, investigators can conclude strong needs for developing a assessment tool that measures multiple domains (i.e., psychological, social and ecological aspects) of patients. A standardized assessment tool should be structured with 2 axis (center/core and expanded/peripheral) and tailored for institution type. Second, professional trainings must be provided by strengthening legal institutionalization and fostering qualified social workers with full responsibilities of hospice and palliative care patients.
Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Consent Forms ; Electronic Mail ; Foster Home Care ; Hospice Care ; Hospices* ; Humans ; Institutionalization ; Korea ; Licensure ; Palliative Care* ; Psychology ; Research Personnel ; Self-Assessment ; Social Workers* ; Statistics as Topic ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: Many physician assistant (PA) programs have recently integrated cultural competency into their curricula. However, there is little evidence of the longitudinal effectiveness of such curricula on culture competency. This study tested whether the amount of exposure to a cultural competency curriculum affected self-assessments of cultural awareness in two cohorts of students. METHODS: Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 students completed a cultural awareness survey at the beginning of the program and retook the survey at three intervals during the first year. RESULTS: Regression analyses confirmed a significant linear relationship (two-tailed 0.05) between the responses and the interval number on all questions for each cohort, with the exception of Question 8, on the ability to identify discrimination, for Cohort 2. CONCLUSION: Results from Cohort 2 replicated those from Cohort 1, suggesting that cultural awareness among PA students benefits from repeated exposure to lessons on cultural competency. Schools attempting to develop or expand cultural awareness among students should consider integrating cultural competency training throughout the PA curriculum.
Cohort Studies* ; Cultural Competency* ; Curriculum* ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Education, Medical ; Humans ; Longitudinal Studies* ; Physician Assistants* ; Self-Assessment ; United States*

We attempted to investigate the reason why the students got a worse grade in gross anatomy and the way how we can improve upon the teaching method since there were gaps between teaching and learning under recently changed integration curriculum. General characteristics of students and exploratory factors to testify the validity were compared between year 2011 and 2012. Students were asked to complete a short survey with a Likert scale. The results were as follows: although the percentage of acceptable items was similar between professors, professor C preferred questions with adequate item discrimination and inappropriate item difficulty whereas professor Y preferred adequate item discrimination and appropriate item difficulty with statistical significance (P<0.01). The survey revealed that 26.5% of total students gave up the exam on gross anatomy of professor Y irrespective of years. These results suggested that students were affected by the corrected item difficulty rather than item discrimination in order to obtain academic achievement. Therefore, professors in a team-teaching subject should reach a consensus on an item difficulty with proper teaching methods.
Consensus ; Curriculum ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Humans ; Learning ; Schools, Medical* ; Self-Assessment* ; Teaching

INTRODUCTIONDeliberate self-harm (DSH) is frequently seen in adolescents with a range of mental health problems. The prevalence and features of DSH vary among different countries and settings. This study examines the prevalence of self-harm in a sample of adolescents seen at a psychiatric outpatient clinic in Singapore.

METHODSInformation regarding self-harm, as well as its associated demographic and clinical risk factors, was extracted from the clinical records of 542 consecutive, new patients, aged 12-19 years, who presented between 2006 and 2010.

RESULTSDSH was reported in 23.6% of patients, and was positively associated with the female gender (odds ratio [OR] 4.54), mood disorders (OR 4.58), adjustment disorders (OR 3.41) and regular alcohol use (OR 4.80). However, there was no association with parental marital status, anxiety disorder, habitual smoking or family history of psychiatric illness.

CONCLUSIONDSH is a significant clinical problem that may be influenced by biological and clinical factors. Adolescents presenting with DSH should be examined for mood and alcohol use disorders.

Adolescent ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mental Health ; Odds Ratio ; Outpatients ; psychology ; statistics & numerical data ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Assessment ; Risk Factors ; Self-Injurious Behavior ; epidemiology ; psychology ; Singapore ; epidemiology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo assess the clinical efficacy of acupuncture and moxibustion on depression in view of the outcome indicators of the patient subjective reports.

METHODSOne hundred and sixty-three cases of depression being in compliance with the inclusive standards were randomized into a soothing-liver and regulating-mind group, an acupoint-shallow-puncturing group and a non-acupoint-shallow-puncturing group. In the soothing-liver and regulating-mind group, the conventional acupuncture was applied to the four-gate points [Hegu (LI 4) and Taichong (LR 3)], Baihui (GV 20) and Yintang (EX-HN 3), the direct moxibustion with moxa cone was applied to the four-flower points [Geshu (BL 17), Danshu (BL 19)]. Finally, the intradermal needling was used at Xinshu (BL 15) and Ganshu (BL 18). In the acupoint-shallow-puncturing group, the acupoints selected were same as those in the soothing-liver and regulating-mind group. But the needle insertion was shallower and the time of moxibustion was shorter. In the non-acupoint-shallow-puncturing group, the spots that were 10 mm lateral to those acupoints in the soothing-liver and regulating-mind group were selected. The operation was same as that in the acupoint-shallow-puncturing group. The treatment was given twice a week in three groups. Totally, 12 weeks of treatment were required. The score of symptom checklist 90 (SCL-90), the self-report symptom inventory was observed before treatment, 1 month and 3 months after treatment separately so as to assess the corresponding short-term, mid-term and long-term efficacies of the program of acupuncture and moxibustion for soothing the liver and regulating the mind.

RESULTSIn each time-point after treatment, for the scores of somatization, obsessive-compulsive symptom, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, paranoid ideation, psychoticism and the other 8 dimensionalities, in comparison between the soothing-liver and regulating-mind group and the non-acupoint-shallow-puncturing group, the differences were significant statistically (all P < 0.05). For the scores of depression, anxiety and hostility, in comparison between the soothing-liver and regulating-mind group and the acupoint-shallow-puncturing group, the differences were significant statistically (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONAcupuncture and moxibustion can improve the scores of SCL-90 scale for the patients with depression. The outcome indicators of the patient subjective reports can accurately assess the clinical efficacy.

Acupuncture Therapy ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Depression ; psychology ; therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Moxibustion ; Self-Assessment ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo study the predictors of depression in patients with chronic prostatitis (CP).

METHODSWe enlisted 49 CP patients in this study, and evaluated their clinical symptoms with NIH-CPSI and IIEF-5, their depression symptoms with the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90), their trait-oriented coping styles with the Trait-Oriented Coping Styles Questionnaire (TCSQ), and their illness perceptions with the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R). We conducted Pearson correlation analysis on the correlation of depression with the clinical symptoms of the patients and used multivariate Logistic regression models to analyze the predictors of their depression.

RESULTSPain or discomfort, urination symptoms, impact of symptoms and total score in NIH showed a significant positive correlation with depression symptoms, but a negative correlation with erectile function (r = 0.32, 0.31, 0.35, 0.38, and -0.36, P<0.05). Besides, 43.4% of the depression symptoms in the CP patients could be explained by negative trait-oriented coping and disease impact factors (R2 = 0.434, adjusted R2 = 0.456, F = 14.853, P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONDepression symptoms are closely associated with clinical symptoms, and negative trait-oriented coping and disease impact factors are the main predictors of depression in CP patients.

Adaptation, Psychological ; Adult ; Chronic Disease ; Depression ; etiology ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prostatitis ; psychology ; Self-Assessment ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a mother/infant-toddler health program developed to enhance parenting knowledge, behavior and confidence in low income mothers and home environment. METHODS: A one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was used. Sixty-nine dyads of mothers and infant-toddlers (aged 0-36 months) were provided with weekly intervention for seven session. Each session consisted of three parts; first, educating to increase integrated knowledge related to the development of the infant/toddler including nutrition, first aid and home environment; second, counseling to share parenting experience among the mothers and to increase their nurturing confidence; third, playing with the infant/toddler to facilitate attachment-based parenting behavior for the mothers. RESULTS: Following the programs, there were significant increases in parenting knowledge on nutrition and first aid. A significant improvement was found in attachment-based parenting behavior, but not in home safety practice. Nurturing confidence was not significantly increased. The program led to more positive home environment for infant/toddler's health and development. CONCLUSION: The findings provide evidence for mother-infant/toddler health program to improve parenting knowledge, attachment-based parenting behavior and better home environment in low income mothers. Study of the long term effectiveness of this program is recommended for future research.
Adult ; Behavior ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; First Aid ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant Welfare ; Infant, Newborn ; Interviews as Topic ; Male ; Mothers/*psychology ; Nutrition Assessment ; Parenting/*psychology ; Poverty ; Program Development ; Program Evaluation ; Self Efficacy

AIMThe aim of this survey was to compare Chinese natives and foreign inhabitants in Chengdu, China, with respect to: (1) attitudes towards dental appearance, (2) subjective orthodontic treatment need, and (3) the main factors influencing orthodontic treatment need.

METHODOLOGYA total of 522 subjects, including 227 foreign inhabitants and 295 Chinese natives in Chengdu participated in the survey. A simple random sampling method was adopted and a face-to-face interview was conducted at some public sites using a questionnaire. Data was entered by two persons synchronously using Epidata 3.0, and SPSS 13.0 was used to analyze these data.

RESULTS89.0% of foreign inhabitants were satisfied with their teeth compared to only 46.8% of Chinese natives. Females were more dissatisfied with their teeth than males. Chinese natives put improving appearance as the top priority (55.9%) for seeking orthodontic treatment; however, in foreign inhabitants, the main reason for seeking treatment was to improve masticatory function (44.1%), followed by "to be pretty" (35.2%). The importance of well-aligned teeth and self-perception of psychosocial impact of malocclusion were the same two main factors influencing subjective orthodontic treatment need (P < 0.05) in foreign inhabitants and Chinese natives. Subjective orthodontic treatment need between the two target groups was significantly different (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION(1) It was very common that Chinese natives were dissatisfied with their dental appearance, and their subjective orthodontic treatment needs were high. (2) There were some differences in orthodontic treatment motives between the two target groups. (3) There were differences in subjective orthodontic treatment needs between foreign inhabitants and Chinese natives. However, the prominent influential factors were almost the same. There may be benefit to understanding subjective orthodontic needs of different races.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; psychology ; Attitude to Health ; ethnology ; China ; Culture ; Emigrants and Immigrants ; psychology ; Esthetics, Dental ; Female ; Humans ; Interpersonal Relations ; Male ; Malocclusion ; psychology ; Mastication ; physiology ; Middle Aged ; Motivation ; Needs Assessment ; Orthodontics, Corrective ; psychology ; Patient Acceptance of Health Care ; Personal Satisfaction ; Self Concept ; Sex Factors ; Young Adult