Purpose: This study aims to analyze the financial performance research trends in medical institutions and to suggest the necessity and future research direction for financial management from the perspective of nursing organizations. Methods: Financial performance research in medical institutions was extracted by combining the keywords ‘finance’, ‘nursing’, ‘medical’, and ‘hospital’ in three domestic and foreign online databases. 55 studies were finally extracted. Results: Of the 55 studies selected, 41.8% have been published after 2010, and 79.6% have been published in Korea. 83.6% of the studies used financial statements, and 74.5% used the financial ratio. Among the studies on the use of financial statements, 40 balance sheets and 41 profit and loss statements were used. Conclusion There were some limitations in deriving implications for financial performance management at the level of nursing organization. When establishing strategies for future financial performance improvement, it is recommended to prioritize nursing cost optimization and profitability enhancement at the nursing organization level.

Objective: To overcome the limited effectiveness of standard case management services, the Seoul Intensive Case Management program (S-ICM) for patients with serious mental illnesses was introduced in 2017. This study aimed to evaluate its effectiveness in reducing the length of hospital stay. Methods: Monitoring data from April 2019 to March 2020 were retrieved from the Seoul Mental Health Welfare Center. A total of 759 participants with serious mental illnesses were included. The average length of admission per month was compared between the pre-ICM (previous year) and during-ICM periods. For post-ICM observation subgroup, average length of admission per month was compared between pre-ICM, during-ICM, and post-ICM periods. To determine the relative contributions of risk factors for during-ICM and post-ICM admission, multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: The average admission stay for pre-ICM period was significantly longer than that for during-ICM period (1.47 vs. 0.26 days). Among the predictors for during-ICM admission, pre-ICM psychiatric admission was the most important risk factor, followed by medical aid beneficiary and suicidal behavior. In the subgroup analysis of the post-ICM observation period, the pre-ICM, during-ICM, and post-ICM average admission stays were 1.45, 0.29, and 0.57 days/month, respectively. There was a significant difference in the average length of stay between the pre-ICM and during-ICM periods and between the pre-ICM and post-ICM periods. Post-ICM admission risks included pre-ICM admission, S-ICM duration <3 months, and chronic unstable symptoms. Conclusion The results suggest that the S-ICM effectively reduces psychiatric hospitalization duration, at least over a short-term period.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify nursing students’ experience with the Nursing Management Practicum based on the service design concept to provide a basis for an ideal subject design. Methods: This study was a qualitative research that analyzed the experience of students and their clinical instructors based on the blueprint of Nursing Management Practicum. Focus group interviews were conducted with 13 graduates from two nursing schools and 11 clinical instructors from three hospitals. Results: The students went through six stages during the practicum. They met clinical instructors during the ward orientation and learning activities in wards and met school instructors during the general orientation and conference. The students perceived the learning activities and teaching from the clinical instructors in wards as the most important practicum factors. Conclusion This study provided information which helped us to understand nursing students’ experience with the Nursing Management Practicum as the time passed by. This information can be used to improve students’ experience with the practicum and convert the subject into a more learner-centered education.

Purpose: This study conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify trends in nursing ethics education research for Korean nursing students and nurses. Methods: The data search was conducted in July 2020; domestic and foreign academic journals were targeted for the search. A combination of search terms was entered into major databases, and the year of publishing was limited to the last 10 years (2010~2020). Results: The systematic review analyzed 25 experimental and 13 non-experimental studies, and education methods included lectures, discussions, role play, film-use classes related to nursing ethics, action learning, and case-based learning. The meta-analysis of 12 studies revealed that ethical education has significant differences in effect size of biomedical ethics, critical thinking, moral judgment, and moral sensitivity. A subgroup analysis of education methods showed that in addition to traditional lecture and discussion education methods, there were significant differences in the effect size of sense of biomedical ethics between the following two methods: lecture and discussion including additional methods and lecture and discussion only. Conclusion Ethics education for nursing students and nurses has been found to be effective in improving ethics-related competencies, and various teaching methods other than lectures and discussions must be utilized.

Purpose: This study was to identify how a nursing management practicum was operated during the COVID-19 pandemic in Korea. Methods: This study surveyed instructors teaching the nursing management practicum with a questionnaire covering five domains and 42 items. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. Results: The practicum was performed mainly by mixed methods (40.8% and 38.5%), in hospitals only (30.8% and 60.4%), online only (19.8% and 1.1%) in 2020 and 2021, respectively. The mixed methods were most frequently used for instructor teaching and conferences (43.9% and 58.3%). and the average teaching time per week was 9.40 and 8.69 hours per week, respectively. Taking charge in one to three core nursing skill items, 87.8% and 90.1% of the respondents each year performed face to face evaluation for the skills. Four to six out of 12 POs were covered by 58.2% and 54.9% of the participants, respectively, in 2020 and 2021. The greatest difficulty under the pandemic was securing students’ hospital assignments. Conclusion The nursing management practicum needs to adopt various digital technologies, and create new education models including hybrid ones combining both contact and untact methods to improve the educational effect for the post COVID-19 era.

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze whether patients with lung cancer have a higher susceptibility of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), severe presentation, and higher mortality than those without lung cancer. Materials and Methods: A nationwide cohort of confirmed COVID-19 (n=8,070) between January 1, 2020, and May 30, 2020, and a 1:15 age-, sex-, and residence-matched cohort (n=121,050) were constructed. A nested case-control study was performed to compare the proportion of patients with lung cancer between the COVID-19 cohort and the matched cohort. Results: The proportion of patients with lung cancer was significantly higher in the COVID-19 cohort (0.5% [37/8,070]) than in the matched cohort (0.3% [325/121,050]) (p=0.002). The adjusted odds ratio [OR] of having lung cancer was significantly higher in the COVID-19 cohort than in the matched cohort (adjusted OR, 1.51; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05 to 2.10). Among patients in the COVID-19 cohort, compared to patients without lung cancer, those with lung cancer were more likely to have severe COVID-19 (54.1% vs. 13.2%, p < 0.001), including mortality (18.9% vs. 2.8%, p < 0.001). The adjusted OR for the occurrence of severe COVID-19 in patients with lung cancer relative to those without lung cancer was 2.24 (95% CI, 1.08 to 4.74). Conclusion The risk of COVID-19 occurrence and severe presentation, including mortality, may be higher in patients with lung cancer than in those without lung cancer.

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze whether patients with lung cancer have a higher susceptibility of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), severe presentation, and higher mortality than those without lung cancer. Materials and Methods: A nationwide cohort of confirmed COVID-19 (n=8,070) between January 1, 2020, and May 30, 2020, and a 1:15 age-, sex-, and residence-matched cohort (n=121,050) were constructed. A nested case-control study was performed to compare the proportion of patients with lung cancer between the COVID-19 cohort and the matched cohort. Results: The proportion of patients with lung cancer was significantly higher in the COVID-19 cohort (0.5% [37/8,070]) than in the matched cohort (0.3% [325/121,050]) (p=0.002). The adjusted odds ratio [OR] of having lung cancer was significantly higher in the COVID-19 cohort than in the matched cohort (adjusted OR, 1.51; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05 to 2.10). Among patients in the COVID-19 cohort, compared to patients without lung cancer, those with lung cancer were more likely to have severe COVID-19 (54.1% vs. 13.2%, p < 0.001), including mortality (18.9% vs. 2.8%, p < 0.001). The adjusted OR for the occurrence of severe COVID-19 in patients with lung cancer relative to those without lung cancer was 2.24 (95% CI, 1.08 to 4.74). Conclusion The risk of COVID-19 occurrence and severe presentation, including mortality, may be higher in patients with lung cancer than in those without lung cancer.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressive fibrosing interstitial pneumonia, which presents with a progressive worsening dyspnea, and thus a poor outcome. The members of the Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases as well as the participating members of the Korea Interstitial Lung Disease Study Group drafted this clinical practice guideline for IPF management. This guideline includes a wide range of topics, including the epidemiology, pathogenesis, risk factors, clinical features, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and acute exacerbation of IPF in Korea. Additionally, we suggested the PICO for the use of pirfenidone and nintendanib and for lung transplantation for the treatment of patients with IPF through a systemic literature review using experts' help in conducting a meta-analysis. We recommend this guideline to physicians, other health care professionals, and government personnel in Korea, to facilitate the treatment of patients with IPF.
Delivery of Health Care ; Diagnosis ; Disease Management ; Dyspnea ; Epidemiology ; Humans ; Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis ; Korea ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial ; Lung Transplantation ; Prognosis ; Risk Factors ; Tuberculosis

PURPOSE: This study was done to estimate supply and demand for nursing workforce to provide community-based primary healthcare in the North Korean region to cost-efficiently narrow the health gap between the two Koreas in case of a Korean reunification. METHODS: To understand the nursing education system and current state of nursing workforce in North Korea, the authors interviewed six North Korean defectors who had worked as nurses in North Korea. Based on the interview results and literature review, the supply and demand for the primary healthcare nursing workforce that would be needed after Korean reunification were estimated RESULTS: Currently, a total of 2,100 to 2,700 North Korean nurses were estimated to have graduated from nursing schools with a 2 year curriculum or completed 6-month military nurse training courses every year. The projected number of nurses in demand to provide primary health care ranged from 84,160 to 105,200 and the shortage would be between 31,586 and 52,626. CONCLUSION: An active utilization of the North Korean nursing workforce to improve the health of North Koreans after reunification will be the best way to reduce the reunification cost which will be inflicted mainly on South Korea.
Curriculum ; Democratic People's Republic of Korea ; Education, Nursing ; Humans ; Korea ; Military Personnel ; Nursing ; Primary Health Care ; Schools, Nursing