This paper was written to introduce methods of using the research ethics committee (RES) from requesting the initial review to reporting the close-out for nursing researchers.

General ethical principles were described by reviewing the 'Bioethics and Safety Act' and other related guidelines, and constructing some questions and answers.

The results were composed of three parts; definition of RES, steps in using RES, and archiving. The 7 steps for using RES were; identifying whether the study needed to be reviewed, by the RES identifying whether the study could be exempted, requesting the initial review after preparing documents, requesting the re-review, requesting an amendment review, requesting a continuing review and reporting the close-out.

Nursing researchers need to receive RES approval before starting nursing research involving human subjects. Nursing researchers are urged to use the steps reported in this paper to receive RES approval easily and quickly.

The process of designing a questionnaire is complicated. Many questionnaires on nursing phenomena have been developed and used by nursing researchers. The purpose of this paper was to discuss questionnaire design and factors that should be considered when using existing scales.

Methodological issues were discussed, such as factors in the design of questions, steps in developing questionnaires, wording and formatting methods for items, and administrations methods. How to use existing scales, how to facilitate cultural adaptation, and how to prevent socially desirable responding were discussed. Moreover, the triangulation method in questionnaire development was introduced.

Steps were recommended for designing questions such as appropriately operationalizing key concepts for the target population, clearly formatting response options, generating items and confirming final items through face or content validity, sufficiently piloting the questionnaire using item analysis, demonstrating reliability and validity, finalizing the scale, and training the administrator. Psychometric properties and cultural equivalence should be evaluated prior to administration when using an existing questionnaire and performing cultural adaptation.

In the context of well-defined nursing phenomena, logical and systematic methods will contribute to the development of simple and precise questionnaires.

The purpose of the study was to identify factors influencing physical activity among community-dwelling older adults with type 2 diabetes. The study design was based on the Theory of Triadic Influence.

A total of 242 older adults with type 2 diabetes participated in this study. Six variables related to physical activity in older adults, including self-efficacy, social normative belief, attitudes, intention, experience, and level of physical activity, were measured using reliable instruments. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation analyses, and a path analysis.

The mean physical activity score was 104.2, range from zero to 381.21. The path analysis showed that self-efficacy had the greatest total effect on physical activity. Also, experience had direct and total effects on physical activity as well as mediated the paths of social normative beliefs to attitudes and intention to physical activity. These factors accounted for 10% of the total variance, and the fit indices of the model satisfied the criteria of fitness.

The findings of the study reveal the important role of self-efficacy and past experience in physical activity in older adults with type 2 diabetes.

This study was conducted to develop a mobile web-based pregnancy health care educational program for mothers who were at an advanced maternal age (AMA) and to verify the effects of the program on pregnancy health care.

This program was developed using a web-based teaching-learning system design model and composed of 10 subject areas. This research was a quasi-experimental study using a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest time serial design and data were collected from April 2 to May 3, 2014. To verify the effects of the program, it was used for 2 weeks with 30 AMA mothers (experimental group). For the control group, a classroom education booklet for pregnant women used with 31 AMA mothers.

The experimental group having participated in program had statistically significantly higher scores for knowledge (t=3.76, p<.001), self-efficacy (t=8.54, p<.001), and practice behavior (t=4.88, p<.001) of pregnancy health care, compared to the control group.

The results of the program indicate that a Mobile web-based pregnancy health care educational program is effective in meeting the needs of AMA mothers and can be used as the prenatal educational program for AMA mothers and is appropriate as an educational media for theses mothers.

In this study, the effectiveness of a motivational interviewing smoking cessation YOU-TURN program for adolescents was examined. The program was based on the self-determination theory.

The study was carried out with a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Participants in the present study were 136 high school students living in D city. The students were assigned to the experimental group (n=52) who participated in the motivational interviewing smoking cessation YOU-TURN program based on self-determination theory, or to the control group (n=84) who participated in a general smoking cessation program. Data were collected from September 1, 2013 through April 30, 2014. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS PC+ 21.0 with Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Repeated Measures ANOVA, and MANOVA-Wilk's Lambda.

The experimental group had a significant increase in basic psychological needs, and duration of quitting-smoking in comparison with the control group. The experimental group had a significant decrease in cigarettes smoked per day and cotinine in urine in comparison with the control group.

The motivational interviewing YOU-TURN program, when delivered to adolescents who smoked, was effective in discouraging smoking, and can be utilized as an effective nursing intervention for adolescents who smoke.

This study was done to develop an evidence-based incontinence care protocol through an adaptation process and to evaluate the effects of the protocol.

The protocol was developed according to the guideline of adaptation. A non-randomized controlled trial was used for testing the effects of the new Incontinence Care Protocol. A total of 120 patients having bowel incontinence with Bristol stool type 5, 6, and 7 and admitted to intensive care units were recruited to this study. The newly developed incontinence care protocol was used with patients in the experimental group and conventional skin care was given to patients in the control group. Outcome variables were incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD) severity, pressure ulcer occurrence and severity.

The experimental group had significantly less severe IAD (t=6.69, p<.001), lower occurrence of pressure ulcers (χ²=7.35, p=.007), and less severity of pressure ulcers (Mann-Whitney=86.00, p=.009) than the control group.

Use of this incontinence care protocol has the effects of preventing pressure ulcers and inhibiting worsening of IAD and pressure ulcers. Therefore, this incontinence care protocol is expected to contribute to managing IAD and pressure ulcers.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of essential oil on oxidative stress, immunity, and skin condition in atopic dermatitis (AD) induced mice.

This study was a 3×3 factorial design. Factors were oil type (Lavender, Thyme, and 2:1 mixture of lavender and thyme oil [blending oil]) and treatment period (0 day, 7 days, and 21 days). The samples were 45 mice with AD and randomly assigned to nine groups of five mice per group. The dependent variables such as superoxide radical, IgE, degranulated mast cells, and epidermal thickness were measured. Data were collected from February to April in 2014. Descriptive statistics, One-way ANOVA, Two-way ANOVA, and Tukey's HSD test were performed using the SPSS WIN 20.0 program.

Dependent variables were not statistically significantly different by the three oil types (p>.05). Essential oils such as lavender, thyme, and blending oil were all effective in reducing AD symptoms and especially 2:1 blending oil were most effective. There were statistically significant differences by the three treatment periods in all dependent variables (p<.001). There were statistically significant interactions between oil types and treatment periods in all dependent variables (p<.01). For decreasing superoxide radical, degranulated mast cells, and epidermal thickness, 2:1 mixed oil should be applied for at least 21 days. Otherwise to reduce IgE, 2:1 mixed oil should be used for at least 7 days.

These findings provide bases for developing effective interventions for AD patients to manage their AD symptoms.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) leads to death if the patient does not receive emergency treatment. Thus it is very important to recognize the symptoms in the early stage. The purpose of this study was to identify clusters of symptoms that represent AMI in Koreans.

The study used a retrospective, descriptive design with secondary data analysis. Data were abstracted from 725 medical records of AMI patients admitted from June 1, 2006 to August 15, 2014 at a university hospital.

Analysis of the AMI symptoms revealed five symptom clusters; Cluster 1 (n=140): middle chest pain (100%), shortness of breath, and cold sweating, Cluster 2 (n=256): substernal pain (100%), cold sweating, and shortness of breath, Cluster 3 (n=47): substernal pain (95.7%), left arm pain, shortness of breath, cold sweating, left shoulder pain, right arm pain, and the lower neck pain, Cluster 4 (n=212): shortness of breath (28.3%), left chest pain, and upper abdominal pain, and Cluster 5 (n=70): cold sweating (100%), left chest pain, shortness of breath, left shoulder pain, and upper abdominal pain. Length of hospital stay and mortality rate were significantly different according to symptom clusters (F=2.52, p=.040; F=3.62, p=.006, respectively).

Symptom clusters of AMI from this study can be used for AMI patients in order to recognize their symptoms at an early stage. The study findings should be considered when developing educational prevention programs for Koreans with AMI.

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects on cognitive function, depression, and activities of daily living of Silver-Care-Robot Program for institutionalized elders.

This study was a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The participants were 42 institutionalized elders (17 in the experimental group and 25 in the control group). The Silver-Care-Robot Program was provided as an intervention which was conducted twice a week for 5 weeks. The Silver-Care-Robot Program is an integrated entertainment program to help the mental, emotional, and physical health of elderly people. Pre-test was conducted on the two groups, and, in order to examine the effects of intervention, a post-test was conducted after 5 weeks.

There were significant differences in cognitive function and ADL (activities of daily living) between two groups after the program. But the difference in depression in the institutionalized elders was not statistically significant between the two groups.

The Silver-Care-Robot Program should be considered as a regular program for cognitive function and activities of daily living for institutionalized elders.

The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the experience of Korean college students on suicide attempts.

Eight students participated and data were collected through in-depth individual interviews between September, 2011 and April, 2012. Data were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin's grounded theory method.

Analysis showed that the central phenomenon of suicide attempt experience of college students was 'inextricable despair'. Causal conditions were 'sense of shame by failure to achieve perfect independence' and 'a big gap between reality and ideals'. Contextual conditions were 'extreme situation of being cornered' and 'excessive changes in emotions'. Intervening conditions were 'important others' and 'perspectives on the world'. Action/interaction strategies were 'temporary efforts' and 'gathering up one's mind'. Consequences were 'trauma as one's own hurt', 'conflict between life and death' and 'becoming mature'.

The results of this study provide an in-depth understanding of the experience of college students with attempted suicide. It is necessary to develop programs to prevent suicide attempts by college students and these results can be used as a basis for program development.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the Person-centered Care Assessment Tool (P-CAT).

The English P-CAT was translated into Korean with forward and backward translation. Survey data were collected from 458 staff in 17 long-term care facilities in Korea. Construct validity and criterion related validity were evaluated. Cronbach's alpha was used to assess reliability.

The Korean version of P-CAT was shown to be valid homogeneously by factor, item and content analysis. Internal consistency reliability was satisfactory in which the values of factor 1, factor 2 and the total scale were .84, .77 and .86 respectively. Exploratory factor analysis supported the construct validity with a two-factor solution. Factor loadings of the 13 items ranged in .34~.80. Criterion validity to the Person-centered Climate Questionnaire-staff (PCQ-S) was .74 (p<.001).

The Korean version of the P-CAT was found to be an applicable instrument with satisfactory reliability and validity for further use in measuring successful person-centered care in long-term care facilities for older persons.

Purpose was to explore associations between sleep duration and metabolic syndrome (MS) risks, and to determine factors associated with self-rated health (SRH) of adults with MS compared to other adults.

This is a secondary data analysis based on the Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey KNHANES V (N=12662). Study instruments included sleep duration, MS risk factors, SRH and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Mean age of participants was 43.68±12.26 years. Fifty-eight percent were women, and 18.3% were identified as having MS. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and SRH were significantly different according to sleep duration (p<.05) among all participants. In the non MS group, male gender, younger age (19~30 and 41~50 age brackets) upper income level, sufficient sleep duration, and high density lipoprotein (HDL) were positively associated with SRH, whereas, lower education levels (≤ middle school), glucose level, and waist circumference were negatively associated with SRH (p<.05). In the MS group, lower income, lower education levels (≤ middle school), glucose level, and waist circumference were negatively associated with SRH, whereas, having an occupation was positively associated with SRH (p<.05).

Results suggest that tailored approaches are required for prevention and control of MS and sleep duration of each individual should be considered rather than applying standardized guidelines. However, as sleep quality was not included in the analysis, further investigations regarding influence of sleep quality on MS and SRH and controlling for other lifestyle and health behavior factors are required.

This study was conducted to develop key performance indicators (KPIs) for home care nursing (HCN) based on a balanced scorecard, and to construct a performance prediction model of strategic objectives using the Bayesian Belief Network (BBN).

This methodological study included four steps: establishment of KPIs, performance prediction modeling, development of a performance prediction model using BBN, and simulation of a suggested nursing management strategy. An HCN expert group and a staff group participated. The content validity index was analyzed using STATA 13.0, and BBN was analyzed using HUGIN 8.0.

We generated a list of KPIs composed of 4 perspectives, 10 strategic objectives, and 31 KPIs. In the validity test of the performance prediction model, the factor with the greatest variance for increasing profit was maximum cost reduction of HCN services. The factor with the smallest variance for increasing profit was a minimum image improvement for HCN. During sensitivity analysis, the probability of the expert group did not affect the sensitivity. Furthermore, simulation of a 10% image improvement predicted the most effective way to increase profit.

KPIs of HCN can estimate financial and non-financial performance. The performance prediction model for HCN will be useful to improve performance.

The purpose of this study was to examine validity and reliability of Webel and colleagues' HIV Self-Management Scale when used with a Korean sample.

The original 20-item HIV Self-Management Scale was translated into Korean using translation and back-translation. Nine HIV nurse experts tested content validity. Principal component analysis (PCA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of data from 203 patients was used to test construct validity. Concurrent validity was evaluated using correlation with patients' self-rating as a "smart patient" measured using a visual analogue scale. Internal consistency was tested by Cronbach's alpha coefficients.

All items were rated as having satisfactory content validity. Based on PCA and consideration of conceptual meaning, a three-factor solution was selected, explaining 48.76% of the variance. CFA demonstrated the adequacy of the three-domain structure of the construct HIV self-management: daily self-management health practices, social support and HIV self-management, and chronic nature of HIV self-management. Goodness-of-fit indices showed an acceptable fit overall with the full model (χ²/ df₍₁₆₄₎=1.66, RMSEA=0.06, SRMR=0.05, TLI=0.91, and CFI=0.92). The Korean version of the HIV Self-Management Scale (KHSMS) was significantly correlated with patients' self-rated smart patient (r=.41). The subscale Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from .78 to .81; alpha for the total scale was .89.

The KHSMS provides a valid and reliable measure of self-management in Korean patients with HIV. Continued psychometric testing is recommended to provide further evidence of validity with this population.

Maternal knowledge, positive attitudes and interest toward breastfeeding may improve the sustainability of breastfeeding. This study examined the associations of knowledge, attitudes, and interest toward breastfeeding with the duration of breastfeeding in Korean mothers who used the internet.

We conducted a cross-sectional study of 604 Korean mothers who breastfed their babies. Mothers were recruited through the internet and their knowledge, attitudes and interest toward breastfeeding were assessed using a web-based self-administered questionnaire. Geometric means and odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals were calculated.

Higher knowledge, attitudes, and interest toward breastfeeding were associated with longer duration of breastfeeding in Korean mothers. In particular, mothers who had optimal breastfeeding duration were more likely to be aware of the easiness of breast milk stimulation and breastfeeding, the development of attachment between mother and child, and pleasure from breastfeeding compared to those mothers with shorter duration. The association with optimal breastfeeding duration was more pronounced among mothers who graduated from high school for total attitude scores and total interest scores, compared to mothers who graduated from college or above.

The results of this study suggest that it is important to improve maternal knowledge, attitudes, and interest toward breastfeeding in Korean mothers who use the internet as a source of knowledge. Also, the study results imply that the development of strategies to target mothers with relatively low education levels may improve breastfeeding rates.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Wheel of Wellness counseling on wellness lifestyle, depression, and health-related quality of life in community dwelling elderly people.

A parallel, randomized controlled, open label, trial was conducted. Ninety-three elderly people in a senior welfare center were randomly assigned to two groups: 1) A Wheel of Wellness counseling intervention group (n=49) and 2) a no-treatment control group (n=44). Wheel of Wellness counseling consisted of structured, individual counseling based on the Wheel of Wellness model and provided once a week for four weeks. Wellness lifestyle, depression, and health-related quality of life were assessed pre-and post-test in both groups.

Data from 89 participants were analyzed. For participants in the experimental group, there was a significant improvement on all of the wellness-lifestyle subtasks except realistic beliefs. Perceived wellness and depression significantly improved after the in the experimental group (n=43) compared to the control group (n=46) from pre- to post-test in the areas of sense of control (p=.033), nutrition (p=.017), exercise (p=.039), self-care (p<.001), stress management (p=.017), work (p=.011), perceived wellness (p=.019), and depression (p=.031). One participant in the intervention group discontinued the intervention due to hospitalization and three in the control group discontinued the sessions.

Wheel of Wellness counseling was beneficial in enhancing wellness for the community-dwelling elderly people. Research into long-term effects of the intervention and health outcomes is recommended.