The purpose of this experimental study was to examine the values of a death education program developed to improve life satisfaction and attitude toward death in college students.

The death education program was developed and then used with 22 college students for 5 weeks, once a week for 150 min. Before and after the intervention, students responded a questionnaire developed to measure life satisfaction and attitude toward death. t-test, χ²-test, and paired t-test with the SPSS program were used to analyze the data.

The death education program significantly improved life satisfaction but had no statistically significant effect on attitude toward death. There was a significant difference in life satisfaction between the experimental and control groups but not in attitude toward death.

Based on the above results, it is apparent that the death education program has an affirmative effect on life satisfaction in college students and some impact on attitude toward death. We suggest, therefore, that the death education program should be used with all human beings to help them recognize the values of themselves and their current lives and improve their satisfaction with life.

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of hand acupuncture therapy on pain, ROM, ADL, and depression among older people with low back pain and knee joint pain.

The research was a quasi-experimental design using a non-equivalent control group pre-post test. The participants were 40 patients, 18 in the experimental group and 22 in the control group. A pretest and 2 posttest were conducted to measure the main variables. For the experimental group, hand acupuncture therapy, consisting of hand acupuncture and press-pellets based on corresponding points, was given.

There were statistically significant differences in pain, ROM in knee joint, and ADL in the experimental group but not in depression compared to the control group over two different times.

The hand acupuncture therapy was effective for low back pain, knee joint pain, ROM in knee joint and ADL among the elders in this study. Therefore, the hand acupuncture therapy can be utilized in the field of geriatric nursing as a nursing intervention for older people with low back pain and knee joint pain.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of life satisfaction and the significant factors which impact on life satisfaction of young-old (60-69 yr), old (70-79 yr), and oldest-old (80 yr or above) women.

The participants for this study were 289 elderly Korean women living in the city of Daegu and Kyongpook province. The data were collected using structured questionnaires. ANOVA, Chi-square, and multiple regression with the SPSS program were used to analyze the data.

There were statistically significant differences among young-old, old, and oldest-old women regarding the existence of spouse, income, educational status, and religions. The model including variables related to physical, psychological, financial, and social aspects of life, explained variance of life satisfaction of elderly women differently, such as 55% of young-old, 37% of old, and 66% of oldest-old. Finally, self-esteem was the only predictor in explaining the level of life satisfaction among old women regardless age.

Based on the findings of the study, implications for practical services for elderly women and recommendations of further study are provided. Nursing interventions should be developed to improve life satisfaction of elderly women according to age differences.

This study was done to develop a pregnancy nutrition knowledge scale and to examine the relationships between pregnancy nutrition knowledge and eating habits in pregnant women.

With convenient sampling, 189 pregnant women who used community health centers for their ante-natal care were recruited. Data were collected using a self administered questionnaire including items on pregnancy nutrition knowledge (18 items) developed by researcher and items on eating habits (14 items). Cronbach's alpha and exploratory factor analysis were examined to test reliability and construct validity of the scale. Pearson's correlation coefficients were used to identify the relationship between pregnancy nutrition knowledge and eating habits.

Cronbach's alpha of 18 items was .80. In factor analysis using principal components, 6 factors explained 65% of the total variance. The level of pregnancy nutrition knowledge was not sufficient but correlations between pregnancy nutrition knowledge and some of eating habits were significant. Specifically, pregnancy nutrition knowledge was positively correlated with good eating habits and negatively with bad eating habits.

The pregnancy nutrition knowledge scale developed in this study is acceptable for nutrition education led by nurses. Pregnancy nutrition knowledge and eating habits are considered as major variables for ante-natal nutrition education. In future studies, explorations are needed on dietary intake and physiological indices in pregnant women, comparison of women at risk with those not at risk, and development of nutritional education programs for pregnant women.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of ondansetron combined with dexamethasone on Post-Operative Nausea and Vomiting (PONV) and pain with ondansetron alone in patients with laparoscopy assisted vaginal hysterectomy under general anesthesia.

Data were collected from April 1 through September 30, 2005 using a double blind method. Ondansetron 4 mg and dexamethasone 10 mg were administered to the experimental group (25 patients), and ondansetron 4 mg only to the control group (25 patients). The medications were administered through an intravenous line at the beginning peritoneum suture. PONV by Index of Nausea Vomiting and Retching (INVR), nausea by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and pain (VAS) were assessed at postoperative 1 hr, 3 hr, 6 hr, 24 hr, and 48 hr. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA, and Bonferroni methods.

The experimental group that received ondansetron combined with dexamethasone had less PONV (p=.048), and nausea (p=.012) than control group that received ondansetron alone. However, there was no difference in pain (p=.557) between the patients in the two groups.

We conclude that the administration of ondansetron combined with dexamethasone is more effective than the administration of ondansetron alone to reduce PONV in patients with laparoscopic hysterectomy.

This study was done to identify the relationship between goodness-of-fit for mother-preschool child dyads and parenting stress experienced by the mother.

Study participants were 500 mothers who had children aged 3 to 5 who attended one of ten kindergartens or infant schools in M City or B City. Descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated using the SPSS program.

Comparison of goodness-of-fit scores for mother-preschool child dyad according to the characteristics of the participants, showed a significant difference according to child's age, gender, and birth order, mother's education and occupation, father's age and education, family income, and the chief caregiver in the family. There was a positive correlation between goodness-of-fit scores for mother-child dyad and parenting stress scores for mothers.

The findings of the study indicate a need to identify differences between children's behavioral problems and parenting styles according to the degree of discord in the mother-child temperaments. It is also necessary to develop and apply nursing programs to promote harmonizing of temperaments, programs in which the characteristics of the child and the mother are considered.

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of listening to music in inpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia, on their auditory hallucinations, and positive and negative symptoms.

A quasi-experimental research design with 2×2 cross-over trial and convenience sample was used. Eleven patients (Group AB) listened to music followed by a wash out period and then a usual care period, and 12 patients (Group BA) had a usual care period followed by a wash out period and then listened to music. For one week those who were in the experimental period listened to individualized music using an MP3 player whenever they heard hallucinations.

There was a statistically significant decrease in the frequency of auditory hallucinations after listening to the music. There was a decrease in the mean scores for positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and general psychopathology after listening to music, but only negative symptoms showed a statistically significant decrease. The treatment effects on scores for positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and general psychopathology were greater in Group BA than Group AB.

These findings suggest that listening to music may be useful for managing auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia inpatients.

This study was to investigate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and risk factors in elderly people (old vs oldest-old) with arthritis.

The Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA) was used with a sample of 1,084 elderly people with arthritis aged 65 or above.

We found that the prevalence of depressive symptom was greater for oldest-old people (66.7%) compared to old people (56%). Significant differences between old people and oldest-old people were found for education, living with spouse, number of generation, regular exercise, body mass index (BMI), ADL limitation, self-rated health, and depression. Significant differences existed between depression and non-depression in terms of all variables except region and BMI among old people. But, among the oldest people, ADL limitation and self-rated health showed differences. The Logistic regression analysis revealed that religion, medical comorbidity, ADL limitation, self-rated health were significantly associated with depressive symptoms in old people. But, in oldest-old people, none of the variables were associated with depressive symptoms.

The findings show that there are age differences in depression and related factors in elderly people with arthritis. Longitudinal studies, which covered depressive symptom severity and which are controlled for a large number of potential confounders, will need to complement the results of this study in the future.

This study was done to investigate community attitudes towards people with mental illness and to mental health services.

From August to October of 2006, 474 citizens of Siheung city were asked to give demographic data and their personal attitude toward mental illness and mental health services.

The residents of Siheung community showed slightly negative attitudes, with a mean opinion about mental illness score of 93.38±17.29. According to the study, health professionals and citizens showed a positive attitude to the establishment of day care centers and residential facilities (62.2% and 55.4% respectively). Civil servants showed negative attitudes (40.4%). There were significant differences in attitudes according to gender, age, education level, occupation, religion, and income. Positive attitudes were found for health professionals and negative attitudes for civil servants.

The results of this study indicate a need to provide public information and education for civil servants, and for those who have negative attitudes, in particular, men, people in the younger age group, who have lower education levels, who are Buddhists, monthly renters, who have a monthly income below 1 million won, who have no children and no experience with people who have a mental illness.

The purposes of this study were to explore the functional status of elderly residents and to analyze time use, and finally identify factors to predict nursing care needs in relation to functional status and health related variables. Methods: In this study a descriptive-correlational design was used. Functional status of participants was obtained through interviews, and nursing care time was examined using a 1 min time-motion study with a standardized instrument developed by Korea Long-Term Care Planning Committee (2005).

In this study a descriptive-correlational design was used. Functional status of participants was obtained through interviews, and nursing care time was examined using a 1 min time-motion study with a standardized instrument developed by Korea Long-Term Care Planning Committee (2005).

The mean total functional score was 65 (range 28-125) and mean total nursing care time was 144.15 min per day. There were significant positive relationships between total nursing care time, marital status, back pain, dementia, and vision impairment. Multiple regression analyses showed that a liner combination of number of illnesses, types of primary disease, ADL, IADL, cognitive function, nursing demand, and rehabilitation demand explained 42.8% of variance of total nursing time. ADL (β=-.533) was the most significant predictor of nursing service need.

Identifying factors that result in variations of service need has implications for adequate nursing service, estimation of optimum nurse to patient ratio, quality of care and patient safety.

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of an exercise program on frontal lobe cognitive function in seniors.

The participants were 42 seniors using a health center in Seoul (experimental group) and 28 seniors using a facility for elders in Seoul (control group). The exercise program was carried out for 16 weeks from April to August 2007. The frontal lobe cognitive function, which includes short term memory, attention, immediate memory, delayed memory, verbal fluency and motor function, was measured by the Digit Span Forward test, Trail Making test, Immediate recall words test, Delayed recall words, Controlled oral word association test and Finger tapping test. The collected data were analyzed by Fisher's exact test, Chi-square, t-test, and ANCOVA using the SAS program.

The major findings of this study were as follows: Attention (p=.009), immediate memory (p=.005), delayed memory (p=.009), and verbal fluency (p=.004) improved after the exercise program.

In this study, the exercise program was effective in improving frontal lobe cognitive function in elders. So it provides basic information for further nursing education on exercise programs which will be effective for prevention of early cognitive function decline in normally aging elders.

The study was done to identify lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and to evaluate the factors affecting LUTS for the people with Parkinson's disease.

The research design was a cross-sectional study with interviews using a structured questionnaire. The participants were 72 patients with Parkinson's disease who were seen in the Neurology clinic of a university hospital from September to November 2005.

Mean score of LUTS for the participants was 10.11. In each symptom score of LUTS (range 0-5), weak stream was the highest 2.06, followed by nocturia 1.71, and urgency 1.61. The severity of LUTS was moderate to severe group for 51%. LUTS were significantly different by regular exercise. Positive correlations were observed between Hoehn and Yahr stage (stage of disease severity) and frequency and between Hoehn and Yahr stage and urgency (r=.280, p=.018; r=.328, p=.005). LUTS were significantly predicted by regular exercise (p=.001) which explained 15.0% of the variance in LUTS.

Regular exercise was found to be a very important factor associated with LUTS for patients with Parkinson's disease.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the service satisfaction for families who have someone with mental illness, and are using community mental health centers in Gyeonggi Province.

The participants in this study were 796 family members. Data were collected using Family satisfaction survey questionnaire developed by the author (23 items on family service and 15 items on client service).

The total satisfaction level for the service with family and client resulted in above average scores. Of the 23 service items, data showed the highest level of satisfaction was with professional skills and attitude, and day rehabilitation programs, and the lowest for professional activities for advocacy and social welfare benefits, emergency & crisis intervention, medical expense subsidies. Of the 15 service items, job and housing related service had the lowest level of satisfaction.

It is recommended that psychiatric emergency & crisis intervention programs and system development be accelerated. Also, there is a need to develop medical expense subsidy programs for older family caregivers, job and housing focused rehabilitation programs and community facilities for the client, as well as more active and powerful professional advocate activities for persons who have mental disabilities and their families.

Natural menopause resulting in the decline in endogenous estrogen concentrations is responsible for an increased risk of coronary heart disease in postmenopausal women. The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of a 6-month Tai Chi exercise program on cardiovascular risk factors and quality of life in post-menopausal women.

A quasi-experimental design with pretest and posttest measures was used. The participants in the study, 29 women in the Tai Chi group and 31 in the control group, were enrolled for 6 months.

After 6 months of Tai Chi exercise, total cholesterol (M=213 to 185), LDL-cholesterol (M=135 to 128), and their 10 yr cardiovascular disease risk (M=2.62 to 2.27) had improved significantly for the Tai Chi participants compared to the control group. Total scores for quality of life along with the sub-dimensions of health perception and mental functioning were also significantly higher in the Tai Chi participants.

Tai Chi exercise favorably affected cardiovascular health and quality of life in post-menopausal women after 6 months. Additional rigorous studies are needed to examine long term effects on the prevention of cardiovascular disease in this population.

This study was done to develop a school-based anger management program (SAMP) of 4 sessions and examine its effects on the anger, anger expression, psychosomatic responses, psychosocial responses, and immunologic responses in adolescents.

A quasi-experimental study using a nonequivalent control group, pre-post design with repeated measures was used. Chi-square test, t-test, paired t-test, and Fisher’s exact test were used to analyze the data.

There were no differences between the experimental and control groups in outcome variables except for lymphocytes. However, following additional analyses, statistically significant differences by time point were observed for pain sensitivity, T cell, Helper T (Th) cell, Suppressor (Ts) cell and Natural Killer (NK) cell post-treatment, entrapment and psychosomatic symptoms at the 4-week follow-up, and resilience at the 10-week follow-up for the experimental group.

Although some modifications in contents and administration will be required to increase the effectiveness of the program for anger management, SAMP can be used to promote anger management ability in adolescents.