Quality of life(QOL) and fatigue in cancer patients receiving the radiotherapy was assessed. The subjects were 46 cancer patients who daily attended the radiotherapy department. Assessment was done on four occasions ; the first assessment was done on the treatment simulation visit, the second one was four week after treatment started, the third one at the completion of treatment and the last assessment was done between six and eight week following treatment. The results are as follows : The fatigue scores of the patients at each stage of assessment ranged from 5.49 points to 7.67 points and highest score was recorded at the third assessment hat is, at the completion of treatment. The fatigue points showed an increase from the 1st. to 3rd. stage. However, at the 4th. stage, fatigue points decreased to the level at the first stage, fatigue points decreased to the level at the first stage of assessment. QOL were assessed in three areas namely, physical, emotional and social/functional. The QOL scores in the physical area showed the highest score, followed by social/functional and emotional areas. The QOL scores decreased gradually to the third. stage of assessment thereafter recovered to the level of the first. stage. Correlation between QOL and fatigue scores during the treatment indicated that the level of QOL decreased as the level of fatigue increased. In particular, fatigue persisted after completion of the treatment and showed a significantly negative correlation with QOL. The present study strongly suggests that a strategy to restore the emotional well being level of the patient should be devised in order to improve QOL and reduce fatigue of patients receiving radiotherapy.

This study was done to analyze research trends and to suggest future perspectives for nursing research on fatigue. The author reviewed 31 Korean and foreign research papers which have been published in the literature since 1970. An analysis of the study focused on the type of research subjects, type of study design, measurement instrument, and its correlated parameters. The results of the study are summarized as follows: First, within all of the studies analayzed, 14 studies were publised in Korea and 17 were published abroad. The number of studies done abroad have been increasing rapidly since 1991. Second, an analysis of the research design of the studies showed, eight studies each, Korean and foreign used survey design. Two Korean studies and seven foreign studies used a correlational design. Four comparative studies were done in Korea, but only two experimetal studies were performed abroad. Therefore, it was found that the trend of the study design used is survey design and there are more correlational studies done abroad than in Korea. Third, the type of the study subjects; 11 Korean and three foreign studies dealt with healthy people. In addition, three Korean and 14 foreign studies investigated patients with various illnesses. It was found that patients with various illnesses were studied more frequently in foreign studies than in Korean studies. Fourth, the measurement tool used in the Korean studies; 13 studies used a testible tool to assess patients' subjective symtoms or complaints of fatigue. The most commonly used tool used in 10 studies, was the Fatigue Self-Perception Scale, which was designed by the Labor and Health Institute of Japan. The Visual Analogue Scale was used in two studies, and Piper Fatigue Scale, addtional with physiologic parameters, was used in one study. In the foreign studies, subjective measurement tools were used in 16 studies. A combination of a subjective measurement tool with objective parameters was used in ten studies. For the subjective measurement tool used in the foreign studies, a specific measurement tool developed by the researcher which was used in seven studies. Either Rhoten Fatigue Scale or the Visual Analog Scale were used in three studies. Additionally, in order to identify the relationship between fatigue and psychological factors, The Profile of Mood State was used in three studies. Beck Depression Inventory was used in two studies. The Self Rated Depression Scale, developed by Zung, was used in one study and other measurement tools were used to measure various psychological parameters. Rhoten Fatigue Checklist was also used to observe behavior patterns. Lastly, nine studies identified correlations between fatigue and other parameters. A significant correlation was found between fatigue and psychological factors such as depression, and pain. As a result of the above findings, it can be said that research trends on fatigue are increasing internationally. The selected study designs are survey studies both in Korea and abroad. There are more correlational studies abroad than in Korea. In addition, subjective measurement tools and objective parameters are used variously and combined with each other. And, there is a significant correlation between fatigue and psychological factors such as depression, and pain. More survey and correlational studies need to be done to identify the relationship of fatigue in patients with various condition or diagnoses and to suggest a scientific basis for nursing interventions with fatigue. Also, a tool to assess patient's subjective, objective, and behavioral aspects on fatigue needs to be developed.

The Purpose of this study was to identify characteristics of fatigue and the relationship between fatigue and related factors in patients on hemodialysis. This study was a survey study using a cross-sectional design. The subjects for this study were 101 patients on hemodialysis who were registered in the six hemodialysis clinics among a total of eleven clinics in Seoul. The period of data collection was from February 28, 1995 to May 2, 1995. Data were collected through an interview with a structured packet and the physiological data. The tools used in this study were the Visual Analogue Scale-Fatigue developed by Lee et al(1990) and translated by Lee (1991), the fatigue interview schedule developed by this reseacher, Zung's self rating depression scale (Zung, 1965), the self-efficacy scale developed by Sherer et al(1982) and the Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire (NSSQ) translated by Oh (1984). The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency, range), Pearson correlation coefficients and Stepwise multiple regression. The results were as follows: 1. Characteristics of Fatigue of hemodialysis patients: 1) 79 of 101 hemodialysis patients complained fatigue. 2) The mean fatigue score as measured by the VAS-F was 36.2mm. 3) The mean duration of fatigue was 2.9 hours 2. Characteristics of fatigue related factors: 1) The physiologic factor which included Hgb, Hct, BUN, creatinine, potassium and inter-dialytic weight gain deviated from normal range. 2) The psychological factor which included depression and self-efficacy was about the same level as for patients with other chronic diseases. 3) The environmental factor which included social support had wide variation. 3. The relationship between fatigue and related factors: 1) Interdialytic weight gain in the physiological factor was the only valuable with fatigue (p<.05) 2) The relationship between fatigue and the psychological factor of depression showed a positive and strong correlation (p<.05). According to the findings of this study, fatigue was highly correlated with the depression, This indicates that nurses should try to assess and control psychological factors when patients complain of fatigue rather than just considering physiological factors. Nursing has to develop effective nursing interventions to reduce fatigue in patients with chronic diseases using the relationship between fatigue and physiological, psychological and environmental factors.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to discuss and address the state of the knowledge development and the nature of knowledge regarding fatigue. METHOD: This study analyzed the 63 fatigue related articles published from 1990 to 2001. The analysis schema was 'Alternative linkages among philosophy, theory, and method for nursing science' (Kim, 1993). RESULT: The 63 articles had been studied only within 5 types among all 96 types of linkages. Most of the articles (59 among 63 articles) had been studied within scientific realism and deductive logic. Fifty-three articles among 59 articles were the type of explanatory and predictive theory, grasping reality by the etic method on the controlled setting. CONCLUSION: This study suggests more development of knowledge regarding fatigue with various logics, especially with discovery logic such as inductive and retroductive or methods in multiple designs on various subjects under various philosophy needed for nursing practice.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to identify the change patterns of fatigue and quality of life during consecutive chemotherapies and to determine the relationship of these two variables. METHOD: Stomach cancer patients receiving chemotherapy were recruited from a university hospital in Seoul. Each chemotherapy, subjects were asked to respond to the questionnaires regarding their fatigue and quality of life. The number of subjects who completed 4 cycles and over was 11. Fatigue was measured with Lee's tool(1999). Quality of life was measured with a tool revised by the author based on Padilla et al(1983). RESULT: Most patients were in 1st stage(5 patients) or 3rd stage(5 patients). Fatigue was revealed at its highest level in the 3rd or 4th chemotherapy and at its lowest level in the 1st or 6th chemotherapy. A quality of life appeared at its highest level in the 5th or 6th chemotherapy and the lowest level in 3rd or 4th chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: Among 6 cycles of chemotherapy, in 3-4th chemotherapy the fatigue was the highest and the quality of life were the lowest. Many patients decided to stop treatment at the same period. Therefore we can recognize cancer patients receiving chemo- therapy are in the highest risk at the time of the 3-4 th chemotherapy.

The purpose of the present study is to identify the mediation effect of hope between fatigue and psychosocial adjustment in women with breast cancer. The framework for this study was guided by concepts and propositions derived from the theoretical and empirical literature on fatigue, hope and adjustment. The design of this study is a descriptive correlation study using a cross-sectional design. One hundred and twenty two outpatients with early breast cancer, receiving post-surgical radiation therapy or chemotherapy, were selected from three major medical centers in Seoul, Korea. A packet including PABCF (Psychosoical Adjustment to Breast Cancer Factor), revised RPFS (Revised Piper Fatigue Scale), HHI (Herth Hope Index), and self-addressed return envelope was given to the participants at seven to eight weeks post surgery. The questionnaires were to be completed at home and returned to the researcher by mail. The obtained data were analyzed using three regression equations guided by Baron and Kenny (1986); first, hope was regressed on fatigue; second, psychosocial adjustment was regressed on fatigue; and third, psychosocial adjustment was regressed on fatigue and hope, simultaneously. In the first equation, fatigue explained 4% of the variance in hope. In the second equation, fatigue explained 47% of the variance in psychosocial adjustment. In the last equation, hope and fatigue significantly explained the variance in psychosocial adjustment. Therefore, all conditions for the test of mediation effect of hope were satisfied. For the test of the mediation effect, the beta coefficients of fatigue on psychosocial adjustment on the second and third regression equations were compared. The beta coefficients were decreased from .69 (p < .001) on the second regression equation to .63 (p < .001) on the third regression equation. Thus, the hypothesis of this study was supported. As a result of this study, the negative Influence of fatigue on psychosocial adjustment is dampened through the mediator effect of hope in women with breast cancer. Therefore, when planning care for the adverse effect of fatigue on psychosocial adjustment, oncology nurses should consider hope as a mediator between fatigue and psychosocial adjustment to breast cancer.

A study was done to identify the differences of women's perception of fatigue according to the period of pregnancy. Questionnaires were collected from 510 normal pregnant women in 3 University Hospitals in Korea from April to November of 1999. The questionnaires used to measure pregnant women's fatigue were the "Subjective Symptoms of Fatigue Test" designed by the Research Committee of Industrial Fatigue in Hygienic Association of Japanese Industry. The collected data was analyzed by SPSS-Win. The results revealed that there was a significant difference according to the periods of pregnancy: The degree of fatigue was the highest in the first trimester and then third and second trimester in decreasing order (F=89.53, p=0.000). The degree of fatigue was also compared with the respect to the general characteristics of women: There were statistically significant differences according to number of pregnancy (t=6.41, p=0.000), expectation of pregnancy (t=-291, p=0.004) and weight change (F=8.07, p=0.000). Therefore, variable nursing intervention should be provided to alleviate the fatigue according to the each trimester of pregnant period. Especially the nursing intervention program to alleviate the physical fatigue in the first trimester is necessary.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of 6-wk low intensity exercise program on fatigue, perceived health state, exercise-related affect, perceived benefits, and exercise self-efficacy for female college student's. The subjects of the study consisted of thirty-four female college students. The research subjects were assigned to experimental and control group. The experimental group participated in 13-17 and 30-60 minute sesseions of exercise program over 6 weeks. Data analysis was done by t-test with SAS program. The results of this study are as follows. 1) The first hypothesis, "The fatigue of experimental group will be lower than control group", was supported. 2) The second hypothesis, "The perceived health state of experimental group will be higher than control group", was not supported. 3) The third hypothesis, "The exercise-related affect of experimental group will be higher than control group", was not supported. 4) The fourth hypothesis, "The benefits of exercise of experimental group will be higher than control group", was not supported. 5) The fifth hypothesis, "The self-efficacy for exercise of experimental group will be higher than control group", was supported.

Most people experience fatigue at some point in their lives, and they say the word 'fatigue' in their ordinary conversational speech. The ordinary word is used as a military or engineering term and has been studied in various different disciplines such as ergonomics, physiology, psychology, medicine, and nursing. In spite of its widespread uses, however, fatigue has not been well defined. The terms of fatigue is thus often used with different meanings and is applied in diverse contests that had led to a confusion of ideas. In people with cancer, fatigue is reported as a major distress. Despite the importance of fatigue in cancer patients, the phenomena of fatigue is poorly understood. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to analyze the concept of fatigue in people with cancer. The process for the concept analysis was guided by Walker and Avant's conceptual analysis methodology. The identified attributes of fatigue in the present study were subjective feeling, lack of energy, sustenance, and multi-dimensions. The antecedents were cancer treatment and economic status. The consequences were decreased daily, vocational, leisure, and social activities, uncertainty, and difficulties in adjustment. Symptoms(pain, anorexia, and insomnia) and emotional disturbance were not clear whether they are antecedents or consequences. However, they are related with cancer related fatigue. Even though still in the beginning stage, instruments measuring cancer related fatigue have been developed by some nursing investigators.

No abstract available.

The purpose of this study was to identify basic data for the health care of normal pregnant women. The number of subjects was 779 pregnant women who received prenatal care in two University hospitals. The data, which were collected from June to October, 1998, and used the questionnaire "Symptom Table on Fatigue Perception" designed by the Research Committee of the Industrial Fatigue in Hygienic Association of Japan Industry. The Collected data were scored by use of means and standard deviations according to the subjective symptoms of fatigue and each item as an independent variable was analysed by t-test and ANOVA test. The results are as follows : 1) Degree of subjective fatigue showed as an average of 1.81. Fatigue as physical symptoms had the highest score with 2.09, followed by neuro-sensory symptoms, 1.69 and psychological symptoms had the lowest score 1.66. 2) With the respect to the general characteristics of the subjects, there were statiscally significant difference in experience of pregnancy(t=-2.286, p=.023), wanted pregnancy(t=-2.935, p=.004), parity(t=-2.429, p=.015), sleeping time(F=3.478, p=.031), and presence of other child(t=2.347, p=0.19).

The purpose of this study was to get some basic data for health care for working women, especially for hospital nurses. the number of subjects was 796 nurses from one general hospital and four private educational hospitals. The data were collected from February to April, 1988 using the questionnaire "Symptom Table on fatigue Perception" designed by the Research Committee of Industrial Fatigue in Hygienic Association of Japan Industry. The collected data were analyzed using means and standard deviations for the subjective symptoms of fatigue and each item as an independent variable was analyzed by T-test and ANOVA test. The results are as follows: 1) The mean score for degree of fatigue was 1.89 and the degree of fatigue for physical symptoms had highest score of 2.04, the next was psychological symptoms at 1.89, and euro-sensory symptoms were the lowest ar 1.74. Among the fatigue symptoms, the item scored most frequently was "Legs feel heavy" with a mean score of 2.40 and the least frequent item was "My hand and foot trembled" with a mean score of 1.40/. 2) With the respect to the general characteristics of subjects, there were statistically significant difference according to age(F=17.039, p=.000), state of marriage(t=5.381, p=.000) presence of children(t=5.134, p=.000), clinical experience(F=16.663, p=.000), present position(F=12.598, p=.000), duty time(F=9.068, p=.000), monthly wages(F=7.361, p=.000), satisfaction about the pay and treatment at work(t=-5.511, p=.000), relation the doctors(t=-4.593, p=.000).

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors influencing fatigue in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. METHODS: A descriptive correlational study design was used. A convenience sample of 125 subjects was recruited from the outpatient respiratory clinic at a large university hospital. Data was collected from June to October, 2005 using structured questionnaires, an oxygen saturation test, a 6-minute walking test, and a pulmonary function test. RESULTS: Subjects had a slightly low degree of fatigue. The fatigue showed a significant correlation with emotion(r= .589, p= .000), dyspnea(r= .304, p= .001), self-efficacy (r= -.278, p= .002), and symptom experience(r= .238, p= .008). Emotion(34.7%) and dyspnea(5.8%) were significant predictors to explain fatigue. CONCLUSION: This study provides comprehensive understanding of the influencing factors on fatigue in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Nursing interventions to decrease negative emotion and dyspnea for management of fatigue is suggested.