The purpose of this study was to examine cognitive functions, depression, and life satisfaction among the elderly receiving visiting nursing services.

The subjects of this study consisted of 221 elderly individuals who were receiving visiting nursing services from public health center located in Gyeonggi-do. The Mini-mental State Examination Korea version (MMSE-K), Geriatric Depression Scale-short form-Korea version (GDS-K), and Life Satisfaction Scale were utilized to determine cognitive functions, depression, and life satisfaction. Collected data was analyzed by the SPSS PC Win 12.0 program.

The prevalence of cognitive impairment (MMSE-K≤24) was 86.4%, and the proportion of severe depression (GDS-K≥10) was 22.6%. Older age, lower education, and low income were associated with cognitive impairment, and low education, no religion, and low income were associated with depression. Cognitive function negatively correlated with depression. Life satisfaction level was fairly low and was not associated with any variables.

The high prevalence of cognitive impairment and low life satisfaction status were determined among low-income elderly who were registered at a visiting health care center. Thus, in the future at visiting health care services, efficient and various programs for the elderly should be tried, to improve cognitive functions and reduce depression. Additionally, consistent evaluation studies for those programs will be required.

This study was to determine whether the Sun-style 24 forms of Tai Chi exercise improve pain, stiffness, disability, knee joint motion, mobility, balance or falling.

Forty-six community-dwelling elderly subjects (mean age, 75.46±6.28) voluntarily participated in an intervention group of either 24 forms of Sun-style Tai Chi for 60 min, 2 times per week for 12 weeks or a control group. A on-equivalent pretest-posttest design was used. Independent t-test and ANCOVA were used to examine group differences by using SPSS12.0.

The experimental group had significantly less pain (F=7.60, p=.008) and stiffness (t=-3.19, p=.003) than the control group. Also there were significant improvements in knee joint motion on the right knee (t=2.44, p=.019), left knee (t=2.30, p=.026), rising time (F=8.03, p=.07), balance on the left single leg test (t=2.20, p=.033), and fear of falling (t=-2.33, p=.024) in the Tai Chi exercise group. No significant group differences were found in disability and falls efficacy.

The Sun-style 24 forms Tai Chi exercise is effective in decreasing pain, stiffness, fear of falling and it improves balance, rising time, and knee joint motion. We suggest a continuing long term intervention to decrease disability and increase efficacy concerning falls.

The purpose of this paper was to examine the relationship between type D personality and cardiovascular disease, and to suggest future research directions.

A literature search was conducted from the following nine databases: 1) MEDLINE, 2) CINAHL, 3) Pubmed Unrestricted, 4) PsycINFO, 5) KISS, 6) RICHIS, 7) RISS4U, and 8) Nanet. The combinations of the words, "type D personality", "personality", "heart", "cardiovascular", and "coronary" were used for keyword searches to find relevant articles. Twenty eight studies were identified.

Type D personality has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality in patients with established cardiovascular disease. Type D patients are also at increased risk for impaired quality of life, and seem to benefit less from medical and invasive treatment.

There is substantial evidence for a relationship between type D personality and clinical outcomes related to cardiovascular disease. Randomized clinical trials are needed to further evaluate the value of controlling type D personality to improve survival and reduce morbidity in patients with cardiovascular disease. Accumulating evidence from this analysis indicates the urgent need to adopt a personality approach in order to optimize the identification of patients at risk for stress related cardiac events.

This study investigated various factors relatied to wandering behavior of Korean elders with dementia (KED).

A sample of 160 ambulatory residents with dementia from 14 long term care facilities was used to examine demographic, individual, cognitive, physical health, and environmental characteristics by comparing wanderers (N=108) to nonwanders (N=52). Subjects were evaluated by Korean versions of the Mini-mental State Exam (K-MMSE), the Physical and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (K-PIADL), and the Revised Algase Wandering Scale Nursing Home version (KRAWS-NH) along its six dimensions. Demographic and environmental data were also obtained. Independent sample t-tests, Chi-square test, Fisher's Exact tests, and ANCOVAs were used to examine differences between wanderers and nonwanders.

Wanderers were significantly (p<.05) older and had more limitations in K-PADL and K-IADL. The degree of overall wandering and certain features of wandering were significantly different (p<.05) by total number of residents in the facility, type of bedroom (i.e., "Ondol"), and color of bedroom and living-room walls (i.e., sky blue).

Findings of this study may be useful in understanding wandering behavior of KEDs and thus developing more culturally specific management strategies.

The purpose of this study was to compare 1% chlorhexidine-gluconate/61% ethanol (CHG/Ethanol) emollient and 7.5% povidone-iodine (PVI) scrub for antimicrobial,residual effect, and skin condition.

CHG/Ethanol emollient hand hygiene was performed waterless, and brushless by operating doctors and nurses (N=20). PVI hand washing was performed with water and a brush (N=20) for 5 min. The subjects were asked to press their left hand in hand-shaped agar before a surgical scrub, immediately after a surgical scrub and after the operation. The amount of isolated microorganisms were calculated by counting the number of divided areas(1×1 cm, 160 cell) which were culture positive in the hand culture plate. The skin condition was evaluated.

The antimicrobial count of CHG/Ethanol emollient and PVI immediately post surgical scrub was 0.0 vs. 4.1 (p>.05), and after the operation was 0.1 vs. 37.8 (p>.05)respectively. The Residual effect of CHG/Ethanol emollient immediately post surgical scrub and after the operation were 0.0 vs. 0.1 (p>.05), and PVI were 4.1 vs. 37.8 (p>.05)respectively. The skin condition and satisfaction of CHG/Ethanol emollient was higher than PVI (p<.05).

The antimicrobial effect between CHG/Ethanol emollient and PVI were the same. Considering skin condition, satisfaction and allergic reaction CHG/Ethanol emollient for surgical scrub is recommended in Korea.

The purpose of this study was to develop a balanced scorecard (BSC) for performance measurement of a Korean hospital nursing organization and to evaluate the validity and reliability of performance measurement indicators.

Two hundred fifty-nine nurses in a Korean hospital participated in a survey questionnaire that included 29-item performance evaluation indicators developed by investigators of this study based on the Kaplan and Norton's BSC (1992). Cronbach's alpha was used to test the reliability of the BSC. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis with a structure equation model (SEM) was applied to assess the construct validity of the BSC.

Cronbach's alpha of 29 items was .948. Factor analysis of the BSC showed 5 principal components (eigen value >1.0) which explained 62.7% of the total variance, and it included a new one, community service. The SEM analysis results showed that 5 components were significant for the hospital BSC tool.

High degree of reliability and validity of this BSC suggests that it may be used for performance measurements of a Korean hospital nursing organization. Future studies may consider including a balanced number of nurse managers and staff nurses in the study. Further data analysis on the relationships among factors is recommended.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between eating disorders and parent-adolescent communication in middle school students.

There were 267 adolescents taken as participants from two middle schools in rural areas. Data were collected from June to July 2005, using the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 questionnaire (23 items) and Parent-Adolescent Communication Inventory (10 items for open family communication, 10 items for problem in family communication). The SPSS Win version 12.0 was used for descriptive analysis, t-test, and partial correlation coefficient.

The mean score on the eating disorder was 2.74 (range: 1-6). Meanwhile, the mean scores on the parentadolescent communication was 3.37 (range: 1-5). There were significant differences in eating disorders according to gender, age, negative perception of the participant's body weight, family's perception of obesity, diet experiences, and BMI. Eating disorders showed a significant negative correlation with parent-adolescent communication.

In this study, there was a significant negative correlation between eating disorders and parent-adolescent communication. In order to prevent an eating disorder, education and training to enhance communication skills should be provided to adolescents and their parents as well.

This study examined the effects of a nutrition education program on self-efficacy, diet behavior pattern and cardiovascular risk factors for patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Sixty-four CVD subjects (37 experimental, 27 control) were recruited from a cardiac center, at a university hospital located in D city, Korea. All subjects attended a first heart camp where pretest measures were performed, and a second heart camp at 6 months for the posttest measures. During the 6 month study period, the experimental group was required to attend five monthly nutrition education sessions, while the control group received only routine outpatient follow-ups. Data were analyzed by X²-test and independent t-test using the SPSSWIN 11.5 program.

Group comparisons revealed that the experimental group had significantly more improved self-efficacy, frequency of food selection, gustation of salt, systolic blood pressure, and serum total-cholesterol compared to the control group.

A nutrition education program may be effective in improving self-efficacy, diet behavior pattern and cardiovascular risk factors for patients with cardiovascular disease.

The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of doctoral dissertations in nursing science submitted since 2000.

Three-hundred and five dissertations of six schools of nursing published from 2000 to 2006 in Korea were analyzed with the categories of philosophy, method, body of knowledge, research design, and nursing domain.

In philosophy, 82% of all dissertations were identified as scientific realism, 15% were relativism, and 3% were practicism. Two-hundred and fifty dissertations (82%) were divided into a quantitative methodology and 55 dissertations (18%) were qualitative methodology. Specifically, 45% were experimental, 23% methodological, 13% survey and 17% qualitative designed researches. Prescriptive knowledge was created in 47% of dissertations, explanatory knowledge in 29%, and descriptive knowledge in 24%. Over 50% of all research was studied with a community-based population. In the nursing domain, dissertations of the practice domain were highest (48.2%).

Dissertations since 2000 were markedly different from the characteristics of the previous studies (1982-1999) in the increase of situation-related, prescriptive and community-based population studies. A picture of current nursing science identified in this study may provide a future guideline for the doctoral education for nursing.

The purpose of this study was to test the validity of a modified clinical performance examination (CPX) for preclinical students in nursing.

70 nursing students in their second semester of the junior year at C University participated in CPX. Scenarios and checklists were developed by our research team from September to October 2005. Six stations were organized. Evaluation included physical examination of a patient with lung cancer, education on usage of a metered dosage inhaler, and lobectomy postoperative care. Students were randomly assigned to a station

There was a difference in the CPX scores according to stations. The agreement of scoring between trained faculty members and SPs was more than moderate (r=.647). The correlation between the CPX score and the average grade in the previous semester and between the CPX score and the average grade of a paper and pen test of the pulmonary system of adults was low (r=.276; r=.048).

Traditional CPX is generally recommended, however, modified CPX is appropriate for preclinical students in the current Korean Nursing school setting if there are additional scoring systems to balance the testing level at each station.

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of urinary incontinence among nursing home residents and to identify the factors associated with this condition.

The data were collected from 618 subjects (146 males and 472 females; mean age 79.9±8.4 yr; range 65-102 yr) of 30 nursing homes in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do in this cross-sectional study. The data were analyzed by chi-square test, t-test, and multiple logistic regression by using the SPSS/PC ver 12.0 program.

The prevalence of UI was 64.7% (64.6% in women; 65.1% in men). After adjustment for each of the variables considered in this study, six potential factors were strongly associated with UI: activities of daily living, comorbidity, age, cognition, specialty of the facility, and a bladder training program.

Our finding suggests that it is necessary to develop a program for promotion of activities of daily living and to provide a bladder training program to prevent urinary incontinence among nursing home residents.

The purpose of this study was to identify exercise environments and social support associated with exercise behaviors in middle-aged women

Subjects were 207 women aged between 41 and 59 yr in an urban community. The research instruments utilized in this study were exercise stages, exercise environments, exercise partners and social support scale. Subjects were given a self-report questionnaire. Data was analyzed using the SPSS Win program.

The subjects were in the stages of precontemplation (3.4%), contemplation (25.1%), preparation (40.6%), action (5.8%), and maintenance (25.1%). Subjects who engaged in regular exercise were 30.9%. The mean score of the exercise environment was 6.34. The mean score of social support was 21.28, and 65.7% of subjects had exercise partners. The score of the exercise environment was significantly associated with the exercise stage (p=.01). The number of exercise partners of regular exercise groups was significantly greater than that of non-regular exercise groups (p=.00). The score of social support of regular exercise groups was significantly greater than that of non-regular exercise groups (p=.00). The score of social support was significantly associated with the exercise stage (p=.00).

Exercise environments and social support need to be considered in planning exercise programs to improve exercise behavior among middle-aged women.

The purpose of this study was to analyze attitudes toward a successful life of students majoring in nursing science.

The Q-methodology which provides a method of analyzing the subjectivity of each items was used. The 32 selected Q-statements from each of 36 subjects were classified into a shape of normal distribution using a 9 point scale. The collected data was analyzed using a QUANL PC program.

Four types of successful life attitudes for research subjects in nursing science were identified. Type I is purpose achievement type, Type II is calling fullness type, Type III is balance maintenance type, and Type IV is happiness eagerness type.

The results of the study indicate that different approaches to nursing professional education programs are recommended based on the four types of successful life attitudes.

This study aimed to identify the associated factors of the perceived health status of the elderly in Korea and to provide basic data for developing nursing interventions for the elderly's health management.

This study used a descriptive correlational research design. The subjects of this study were 335 elderly people over 60 yr living in an urban city. Data were collected through personal interviews using questionnaires from September 2006 to March 2007. Empirical indicators of perceived health status were measured by SF-36, nutritional screening initiative (NSI), activities of daily living (ADL) Index, and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) scale. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, and hierarchical regression.

The mean age of the subjects was 72.8 and 57.0% of subjects were female. 41.5% of variance in physical health was explained by nutrition, ADL, IADL, and the number of years attending school. Among them the most important factor was ADL. 13.2% of variance in mental health was explained by the number of family, nutrition, and IADL. Among them the most important factor was nutrition.

It is necessary to develop supportive interventions for improving the perceived health status of elderly people by considering the most important factors shown in this study.

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of meridian massage on menopausal symptoms and Shin-Hur in middle-aged menopausal women.

The research design was a nonequivalent control group pre-post experimental design. The subjects of the study were middle-aged women who had had no menstruation in the last 12 months after the last menstrual bleeding. Cards of invitation on bulletin boards of several apartments were placed to recruit the subjects. The cards of invitation included: purpose of the study, eligibility criteria, method and period. Eighteen women in the experimental group and 16 women in the control group were conveniently assigned, respectively. The experimental group received 20 min meridian massage 3 times per week for 4 weeks. The menopausal symptoms and Shin-hur were measured and compared between the two groups before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed with the SPSS program by Fisher's exact test, Wilcoxon Sign Rank test, Mann Whitney U-test and Spearman's rank correlation.

The experimental group showed a significant decrease of menopausal symptoms (U=77.00, p=.020) and Shin-Hur (U=76.00, p=.017). There was a significantly positive correlation between menopausal symptoms and Shin-Hur (r=.497, p=.003).

Meridian massage was effective in improving menopausal symptoms and Shin-Hur in middle-aged menopausal women. Thus it can be useful as a nursing intervention for menopausal women.

The purpose of this study was to understand the meanings and nature of living in the world among cancer patients. The present study adopted a hermeneutic phenomenological method which was developed by van Manen.

The participants for this study were 5 men and 6 women, who were over the age of 20 with admission or a follow up visit in the medical or surgical department. Data were collected by using in-depth interviews and observations from February to September, 2007. The contents of the interviews were tape-recorded with the consent of the subject.

The essential themes that fit into the context of the 4 existential grounds of body, time, space and other people were: a body that cannot be restored, a body that endures and lives, waiting in uncertainty, a valued calculation for the living day, being in a world of invisible power, reestablishing relationships, and reflection on his or her life.

These findings revealed that living in the world is affected to varying degrees by the cancer. It is important for nurses to identify and take care of disabilities and to support the reorientation in the disintegrated life situation. The result of this study can give nurses some insight into these experiences and help promote empathetic care.

It has been attempted to support mother of premature infants by providing information of premature infant care using e-learning because premature infants need continuous care from birth to after discharge.

The e-Learning Program for mother of premature was developed with Xpert, Namo web editor, Adobe Photoshop, and PowerPoint and applied for 4 weeks from 4 to 30 September 2006.

1) We found that the contents of information which premature infants' need when being in the hospital and after discharge were the definition of a premature infant, orientation of NICU, care of premature infants, care of premature infants' common diseases, the connection of healthcare resources, exchange of information, and the management of rearing stress. 2) The program content consisted of cause of premature birth, comparison to full-term baby, physiology character, orientation of NICU, common health problems, follow up care, infection control, feeding, normal development physically and mentally, weaning method, and vaccination.

Considering the results, this program for mother of premature is a useful means to provide premature-care information to mothers. This information can be readily accessible and can be varied and complex enough to be able to help mothers to the information and assistance they require.

The aim of this study was to analysize net income of a surgical nursing ward in a general hospital.

Data collection and analysis was conducted using a performance-based costing and activity-based costing method.

Direct nursing activities in the surgical ward were 68, indirect nursing activities were 10. The total cost volume of the surgical ward was calculated at ₩119,913,334.5. The cost volume of the allocated medical department was ₩91,588,200.3, and the ward consumed cost was ₩28,325,134.2. The revenue of the surgical nursing ward was ₩33,269,925.0. The expense of a surgical nursing ward was ₩28,325,134.2. Therefore, the net income of a surgical nursing ward was ₩4,944,790.8.

We suggest that to develop a more refined nursing cost calculation model, a standard nursing cost calculation system needs to be developed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the professional nurse's postpartum breast-feeding support on breast-feeding prevalence for mothers who delivered in Baby-Friendly Hospitals (BFH).

This quasi experimental study was designed with a nonequivalent control group post test. The subjects of this study were 55 mothers who were hospitalized in the delivery room of a university hospital which was selected as a BFH in Daegu from October 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006. Twenty nine mothers were assigned to the experimental group and 26 mothers to the control group. Postpartum breast-feeding support by nurses' telephone calls to the experimental group was provided once a week for 4 weeks postpartum and then once a month for 16 weeks postpartum. Four post tests were given at postpartum week 4, 8, 12, and 16. The control group was given a telephone call at postpartum week 4, 8, 12, and 16.

The breast-feeding prevalence of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group for each period.

Postpartum breast-feeding support by nurses may be a useful intervention to increase breast-feeding prevalence.

This study was to investigate the reference accuracy in major nursing journals in Korea.

The references in articles from eight nursing journals from 2006 were compared with PubMed for authors, year, title, journal, volume, and page accuracy. Four hundred sixty-six references were reviewed. Errors were classified as major or minor and categorized by bibliographic headings (author, title, journal, year, volume and page).

Of the 466 references, 223 (47.9%) had citation errors. The reference error rates ranged from 28.6% to 58.7%. Most errors occurred in the author element (37.9%), followed by title (20.9%), journal (19.0%), page (13.9%), volume (5.9%), and year (2.4%).

This study identified a considerable error rate in the references of nursing journals. Inaccuracy of references is a reflection on scholarly work of authors and journals. Authors and Editorial committees are responsible for the accuracy of references.