The Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS) is a tool used to classify the severity and urgency of emergency department (ED) patients, focusing on their symptoms. In consideration of the importance of the KTAS, a web-based learning program has emerged as a new mode of education; it enables ED triage nurses to access it anytime and anywhere, and according to their own learning abilities. This study aimed to develop a web-based KTAS learning program and evaluate its effects on self-efficacy and triage performance ability in ED nurses.

A quasi-experimental design with a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest was used. The conceptual framework was Bandura's self-efficacy theory. There were 30 participants in the experimental group and 29 in the control group. The experimental group attended an orientation and 4 sessions of a web-based KTAS learning program. The learning program lasted 280 minutes over five weeks, consisting of 40 minutes of orientation and four 60-minute sessions.

The scores of self-efficacy, triage performance ability in KTAS level, and chief complaints significantly increased in the experimental group compared to the control group. In addition, the numbers of under-triage in KTAS significantly decreased in the experimental group in comparison to the control group.

The results suggest that the learning program was effective in improving ED nurses' level of self-efficacy and triage performance ability (KTAS level and KTAS chief complaint). Accordingly, the web-based KTAS learning program can be applied as an education intervention to improve ED nurses' triage skill.

This study was aimed to examine how subjects' characteristics and nursing service quality influence hospital revisiting intent, to compare perceptions of patients with those of nurses.

The questionnaire was developed and distributed to 300 patients and nurses at six general hospitals in a provincial city, Korea. For data analysis, the SPSS/PC program was used.

The nursing service quality's scores of patients is 3.61, that of nurses is 3.77, and there is a significant difference. The hospital revisiting intent's score of patients is 4.84, that of nurses is 4.61, and there are no significant differences. In subjects' characteristics, patients perceive that the hospital is the only different factor, and place hospital revisiting intent at 3.6%. Nurses perceive that education level and position are different factors, and place hospital revisiting intent at 3.3%. In nursing service quality, patients perceive that 2 attributes explain hospital revisiting intent at 17.8% and 2 factors explain it at 16.5%; whereas, nurses perceive that 2 attributes explain hospital revisiting intent at 15.3% and 3 factors explain it at 12.2%.

There are perception gaps between consumers and providers. So nursing and hospital managers must recognize these facts and provide various marketing strategies to overcome them.

This study examined the predictive factors enabling access to children's oral health care at the level of financial barriers, beliefs, and the provider.

In-depth interviews were conducted with 320 immigrant mothers of low-income families regarding their use of oral health services for children aged four to eight years old. Access to oral health care was measured with frequency of planned dental visits, continuity of care, and age at first visit to dentist.

The mother took her child to the dentist at a younger age if she received referrals to a dentist from pediatrician. Regular dental visits were significantly related to household income, provider availability on weekends, and insurance coverage. The extended clinic hours in the evenings, and the belief in the importance of the child's regular dentist visits increased the likelihood of continuing care. The mothers perceiving a cost burden for the child's dental care were also less likely to return to the dentist.

The available care delivery system, coordinated medical care, and health beliefs were among important predictors of the health service use. The study findings suggest need for culturally competent dental health interventions to enhance access to oral health care among particularly vulnerable populations such as low-income children in Korean communities.

This study was performed to give direction to quality improvement strategies of nursing services by comparing the differences in quality perceptions and satisfaction for nursing services between patients and nurses in small-medium sized general hospitals with 200 beds.

The subjects, who were 150 inpatients and 162 nurses of 4 general hospitals in a community, answered a self-report questionnaire with a SERVQUAL scale.

There were differences between patients' and nurses' expectations and perceptions of nursing service and satisfaction. In the service expectation, the highest factor was ‘the responsiveness’, and in the perceived performance, the highest was the ‘assurance’. In addition, overall patients' perceptions on nursing services showed higher than nurses'. There were positive correlations among the expectations and perceptions on nursing service, and satisfaction. The correlation between perception and satisfaction was higher than the correlation between expectations and satisfaction.

To improve the nursing service quality at small-medium hospitals, strengthening the ‘assurance’ factor and improving the nursing service support system is needed. Also, this study on nurses' perceived nursing service at small-medium sized hospitals should be duplicated.

The purpose of this study was to develop a tool that measures the quality of nursing service, to measure the quality of nursing service perceived by consumers, and to identify the gaps between ideal and actual nursing services.

A questionnaire was developed and distributed to 300 people who had been hospitalized in one of six general hospitals with quality of nursing services in five provincial cities in Korea. For data analysis, the SPSS/WIN(ver 10.0) program was used.

The 20 attributes included in the instrument of quality of nursing service is abstracted into 2 factors : tangibility and intangibility. In quality analysis, 15 of 20 attributes are minus scores, meaning that those nursing services are perceived as generally low. However among the minus scores' attributes, only two attributes are significant statistically. Gaps between importance and performance of the nursing service exists in 19 among 20 attributes.

Nursing service quality (performance-expectation) needs to be improved, and Gaps (importance-performance) reduced. In addition, a tool measuring nursing service quality has to be developed so nurses can deal successfully with the quality and gaps of nursing service perceived by consumers.

This study was performed to measure the nursing service perceived value by consumer and providers, and to investigate the relationship among nursing service, general satisfaction and hospital revisiting intent, and to examinate the tools that measures nursing service's reliability, construct validity and usefulness.

The questionnaire was developed and distributed to 300 patients and 210 nurses at three general hospitals. For data analysis, SPSS/PC program was used.

The nursing service perceived value by providers is higher than that by consumers. There are distinctive difference in the expectation, and importance and performance values of the nursing service perceived. In examination of the relationship among nursing service, general satisfaction and hospital revisiting intent, nursing service has a deep relationship with general satisfaction, but doesn't have relationship with hospital revisiting intent. The tool that measures nursing service has a good reliability and construct validity. In analysis on the usefulness between the tools, SERVPERF tool is more useful than SERVQUAL tool.

The nursing service perceived value by consumer is different that by providers, and the tool that measures nursing service has a good reliability and construct validity. The SERVPERF tool is more useful than SERVQUAL tool.