Purpose: This study developed a scale of nurses' stress and examined the validity and reliability of the scale. Methods: The scale was developed according to DeVellis' scale development procedure. Based on the Nursing Work Environment Stress model and the results of focus group interviews, 43 preliminary items were generated. A survey was conducted with 208 clinical nurses to test the psychometric properties of the scale. Both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were employed to figure out and confirm the scale's theoretical structure statistically. In addition, content, convergent, and discriminative validity were evaluated and Cronbach's ⍺ was calculated to test internal reliability. Results: The final scale consisted of 19 items and verified four-factor structures. The structure of the scale was confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis, and it showed moderate correlations with the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory and Korean Nurses Occupational Stress Scale. Cronbach's ⍺ was .87. Conclusion A scale of nurses' stress to nursing work was developed to embrace a wide range of nurses' psychological responses to nursing work based on the theoretical model.

Objectives: To conduct a comparative study of children’s health in South Korea versus North Korea focusing on air pollution. Methods: We used annual mortality rate, prevalence, and environmental indicators data from the World Bank and World Health Organizations (WHO). Trend analysis of the two Koreas was conducted to evaluate changes in health status over time. Spearman’s correlation analysis was used to find out the correlation between environmental indicators and children’s health status. Results: We found a distinct gap in children’s health status between the two Koreas. While North Korea reported a higher death rate of children than South Korea, both showed a decreasing trend with the gap narrowing from 2000 to 2017. The prevalence of overweight and obesity increased and that of thinness decreased in both Koreas. Except PM2.5 exposure, South Korea reported higher figures in most indicators of air pollutant emissions (South Korea, mean (SD)=28.3 (2.0); North Korea, mean (SD)=36.5 (2.8), P-value=0.002). Conclusion This study empirically discovered the gaps and patterns of children’s health between South Korea and North Korea. North Korean children experienced more severe health outcomes than children in South Korea. These findings imply that epigenetic modification caused by environmental stressors affect children’s health in the two Koreas despite similar genetic characteristics. Considering the gaps in children’s health between the two Koreas, more attention and resources need to be directed towards North Korea because the necessary commodities and services to improve children’s health are lacking in North Korea.

Purpose: This study developed an instrument to evaluate the health empowerment of North Korean women refugees and examined its validity and reliability. Methods: Through literature review and focused group interviews, 66 preliminary items with three constructs, including perceived control, perceived competence, and goal internalization were selected based on Menon’s psychological health empowerment model. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 239 North Korean women refugees in the community from August 31 to September 4, 2020. Content, construct, convergent, and discriminative validity were evaluated. Cronbach’s α was used to evaluate the reli-ability of scale. Results: The final instrument consisted of 31 items with three factors that were identified through confirmatory factor analysis. The convergent validity showed that the correlation coefficient was .52 (p < .001), which confirmed the validity of the developed measurement tool. Cronbach’s α for all the items was .94, and Cronbach's α for the factors was .76~.91. Conclusion This health empowerment scale has been developed to include aspects of health empowerment, provide a conceptual framework, and offer objective indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of a health education program.

Purpose: This study evaluated the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the Face Mask Use Scale (K-FMUS) among community-dwelling adults. Methods: The participants of the study were community-dwelling adults in Korea using face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. The English FMUS was translated into Korean using forward and backward translation procedures. The construct validity and reliability of the K-FMUS were evaluated using the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and the internal consistency reliability test. Results: The K-FMUS comprised 6 items divided into 2 factors. The variance of the factors was approximately 79.1%, which suggested that the scale indicated the effectiveness of face mask usage. The two factors were labeled as face mask use in society (4 items) and face mask use at home (2 items). Cronbach’s α value for the overall scale was .88. Conclusion The K-FMUS is a valid and reliable scale that can be used to measure face mask usage among community-dwelling adults in Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the actual situation of mask wearing by adults in the early stages of the coronavirus epidemic and to identify factors that influence the transition to mask wearing and establish a management plan for more effective infectious disease prevention. Methods: This study was a multinational study conducted in ten countries. Data collected in Korea were analyzed. Adults over the age of 18 in the Seoul and Gyeonggi areas were targeted, and data for 657 adults were analyzed. Results: The average score for mask-wearing compliance was 16.25, ranging from 0 to 24. There was a significant positive correlation between anxiety and depression, as well as anxiety and mask-wearing compliance. There was a significant negative correlation between depression and mask-wearing compliance. Multiple linear regression revealed that mask-wearing compliance was predicted by levels of the anxiety, depression, and education. These explanatory variables explaining the dependent variable mask-wearing compliance was 12%. Conclusion To identify and improve factors influencing mask-wearing compliance, general characteristics including educational background of participants were identified. Psychosocial factors such as anxiety and depression should also be considered. In addition, as the level of anxiety and depression will differ for each person, differentiated interventions according to psychological state should be provided.

Purpose: To determine psychometric properties of the Caring Behaviors Inventory-24 (CBI-24) among Korean clinical nurses. Methods: A methodological design was used. Data were collected from 408 clinical nurses. Construct validity analysis was performed, including factorial, convergent, and discriminant validity. Internal consistency was tested by Cronbach’s ⍺ coefficients, inter-item correlation, and corrected item-total correlation. Results: Exploratory factor analysis produced three factors: ‘empathy and supporting’, ‘knowledge and skills’, and ‘providing comfort’. In confirmatory factor analysis results, model fit indices were acceptable (x2/df=3.50, RMR=.05, RMSEA=.08, CFI=.90). The values obtained for the AVE ranged from .53 to .68, and for the CR ranged from .53 to .68. Convergent validity coefficients were noticeably greater in magnitude than discriminant validity coefficients: .53 (AVE1 value) and .68 (AVE2 value)≥.45 (r122 value) and .68 (AVE2 value) and .63 (AVE3 value)≥.61 (r232 value). Internal consistency (Cronbach’s ⍺) of CBI-K was .95. Conclusion The CBI-K was shown to have acceptable construct validity and good internal consistency. Study findings imply that CBI-K could be a useful instrument for clinical administrators and nursing researchers to assess caring behaviors among Korean clinical nurses. Utilization of CBI-K might contribute to the building of empirical knowledge and the understanding of caring behaviors from nurses’ perspectives.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of oral cryotherapy on oral mucositis, reactive oxygen series, inflammatory cytokines, and oral comfort in patients undergoing chemotherapy for gynecologic cancers. METHODS: Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n=25, receiving oral cryotherapy during chemotherapy) and the control group (n=25, receiving the usual care consisting of 0.9% normal saline gargles three times before meals). Oral mucositis was assessed using the oral assessment guide, while oral comfort was assessed using the oral perception guide. Reactive oxygen series was measured as total oxidant stress, and the level of two inflammatory markers, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), were examined. The data were analyzed using t-test, chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, Mann-Whitney U-test, and repeated measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the oral mucositis score, reactive oxygen series score, TNF-α level, and oral comfort score between the two groups, and there were significant changes over time and in the group-by-time interactions. There was a significant difference in the IL-6 score between the two groups, but there were no significant changes over time or in the group-by-time interactions. CONCLUSION The study results revealed that oral cryotherapy was more effective than the usual care regime of normal saline gargles for reducing oral mucositis, reactive oxygen series, and inflammatory cytokines and for improving oral comfort in gynecologic cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships among menopausal symptoms, functional status, and distress and to identify factors influencing distress in premenopausal breast cancer patients who had been on endocrine therapy. METHODS: A descriptive correlational study was conducted. Data were collected using questionnaires from 140 patients with breast cancer undergoing endocrine therapy at a general hospital. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Tukey HSD test, Pearson's correlation analysis and hierarchical regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean scores for menopausal symptom, functional status, and distress were 19.65±7.86, 2.67±0.33 and 3.69±2.19, respectively. The menopausal symptoms and distress were positively correlated (r=.76, p<.001). The menopausal symptoms and functional status (r=−.43, p<.001) and functional status and distress (r=−.31, p<.001) were negatively correlated. The most influential factor for distress was menopausal symptoms (β=.79, p<.001). CONCLUSION: Based on the findings of this study, developing nursing intervention programs focusing on decreasing menopausal symptoms and distress are recommended.
Activities of Daily Living ; Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal ; Breast Neoplasms ; Breast ; Female ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Menopause ; Nursing ; Stress, Psychological

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of oral cryotherapy on oral mucositis, reactive oxygen series, inflammatory cytokines, and oral comfort in patients undergoing chemotherapy for gynecologic cancers. METHODS: Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n=25, receiving oral cryotherapy during chemotherapy) and the control group (n=25, receiving the usual care consisting of 0.9% normal saline gargles three times before meals). Oral mucositis was assessed using the oral assessment guide, while oral comfort was assessed using the oral perception guide. Reactive oxygen series was measured as total oxidant stress, and the level of two inflammatory markers, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), were examined. The data were analyzed using t-test, chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, Mann-Whitney U-test, and repeated measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the oral mucositis score, reactive oxygen series score, TNF-α level, and oral comfort score between the two groups, and there were significant changes over time and in the group-by-time interactions. There was a significant difference in the IL-6 score between the two groups, but there were no significant changes over time or in the group-by-time interactions. CONCLUSION: The study results revealed that oral cryotherapy was more effective than the usual care regime of normal saline gargles for reducing oral mucositis, reactive oxygen series, and inflammatory cytokines and for improving oral comfort in gynecologic cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Cryotherapy ; Cytokines ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Interleukin-6 ; Mucositis ; Oxygen ; Stomatitis ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to identify the relationships among perceived parental bonding, illness perception, and anxiety and to determine the influences of perceived parental bonding and illness perception on anxiety in adult patients with congenital heart diseases. METHODS: In this study a descriptive correlational design with survey method was utilized. The participants were 143 adult patients with congenital heart disease being cared for in the cardiology out-patient clinic of A medical center. Data were collected using the Parental Bonding Instrument, Illness Perception Questionnaire Revised Scale, and Cardiac Anxiety Questionnaire Scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis, and hierarchial regression analyses. RESULTS: There showed significant positive relationships of anxiety with maternal overprotection, consequences, and personal control respectively. Among predictors, maternal overprotection (β=.45), consequence (β=.26), and personal control (β=-.03) had statistically significant influence on anxiety. CONCLUSION: Nursing interventions to decrease maternal overprotection and negative consequence, and to enhance personal control are essential to decrease the anxiety of adult patients with congenital heart diseases.
Adult* ; Anxiety* ; Cardiology ; Family Relations ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; Heart Diseases* ; Heart* ; Humans ; Nursing ; Outpatients ; Parents* ; Surveys and Questionnaires