The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between self-esteem and quality of life(QOL) and between coping type and quality of life (QOL) in mothers of handicapped children and further to identify the level of self-esteem and quality of life of the subjects. The subjects of this study were the 51 mothers of handicapped children who were registered in two special schools in Taejon. The data were collected using a questionnaire and the period of the data collection was from April 18th to May 26th, 1997. The instruments for this study were Resenberg's self-esteem scale, Folkman and Lazarus's Ways of Coping Checklist(WCC) and the quality of life scale designed by Ro, You Ja. The results were analyzed using SPSS/PC+. Data analysis included the descriptive correlational statistics of ANOVA, Pearson Correlational Coefficient, and t-test. The results are as follows : 1. The level of self-esteem showed a mean score 34.51 and the level of QOL, a mean score 137.55. An Active type of coping was used more often than a passive one. 2. The level of self-esteem differed according to monthly income and was significantly higher in mothers of children with acquired handicaps than those of children with congenital handicaps. The level of QOL differed according to monthly income. 3. There was positive correlation between health status and self-esteem(r=.355, p<.05), and between health status and QOL(r=.367, p<.01). 4. Test for hypothesis ; Hypothesis 1, "The higher the level of self-esteem in mothers of handicapped children, the higher their level of quality of life will be." was supported(r=.755, p<.001). Hypothesis 2, "The QOL level for the active coping group as compared to the passive coping group will be higher." was not supported.

No abstract available.

The surgical hand scrub(SHS) is the single most important procedure in the prevention of postoperative wound infections and yet it remains the most violated of all infection control procedures. The purpose of this study was to gain an overview of SHS habits in operative theatre personnel and to determine knowledge and attitudes to identify whether there is a need for improvement. The subjects for this study included 79 doctors and 94 nurses working in the operative theatres of four hospitals in Incheon City and Kyungki Province. Related data were collected from July 25 to August 10, 1995 by the author. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-squre test. The results of the study are summarized as follows: 1. Nurses felt that they conducted SHS for a longer period of time than doctors did(X=20.1, P= .005). 2. Nurses and doctors had some knowledge of slipping rings off fingers and the length of nails, but they lacked knowledge on the duration of SHS, handwashing after an operation and on manicure. 3. There were many reasons given for insufficient SHS included: 1) because they were so busy (38%). 2) brushes were too harsh(19.7%). 3) operations were very simple(18.7%). 4) surgical latex gloves provide functional barrier(11.6%). 5) SHSs were troublesome(7.4%) 6) there were no clocks near the sinks(2.5%) and 7) the operative patients were administered antibiotics after operartion(2.1%). 4. Most of nurses and doctors considered SHS to be important in prevention against post operative infections. 5. Nurses were found to do a thorough SHS, but residents were found to neglect SHS. 6. Considering prevention against postoperative infections, most nurses and doctors considered aseptic techniques, environment-sanitary management and SHS more important than the use of antibiotics, the resistance of patients or the method of operation. 7. Half of the nurses and doctors(54.3%) considered surgical latex gloves to function well as a barrier. 8. Half of the nurses(56.4%) and doctors(51.9%) learned SHS as part of the curriculum in their school education and the rest (nurses: 95.7%, doctors: 74.7%) learned SHS as part of their In Service Education. In conclusion, these findings suggest a need to develop an educational program on surgical hand scrub and hospital infection control for surgical personnels, to install clocks near the hand scrub sinks, to consider a violation report for negligent surgical hand scrubs, and to develop a soft brush for hand scrubs in order to increase performance of the surgical hand scrub.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of hand reflexology on the physiological?emotional responses and immunity of the patients with chronic illness. This study looked specifically at patients with chronic renal failure(CRF) and cancer patients. METHOD: This study was designed as a quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group pre and post test. Subjects were 54 patients who received dialysis and chemotherapy in one hospital. Thirty-one patients were assigned to the experimental group and 23 to the control group. The hand reflexology was applied to both hands of the experiment group for ten minutes each time, 5 times during three days. For data collection, physiological lab levels, immune cells of blood and questionnaires for emotional responses were measured before and after the program. RESULT: BT of the experiment group was decreased significantly on both of the 1st and the 5th application. PR and BP were decreased significantly on the 1st times, but not 5th times. Hb levels of the experimental group were significantly increased. And emotional responses, vigor and mood scores of the experiment group were significantly increased. B cell and CD19 were increased significantly on the experiment group. Suppressor T cell and NK cell showed significant decrease after the program, but no significant differences between the groups. CONCLUSION: We have found that the hand reflexology helps the chronic patients to improve physiological emotional responses and the immune reaction. Through this result, the hand reflexology is effective as a intervention of psychoneuroimmunologic function.

The agitation of dementia patient is a factor which aggravates the care-givers' burdon, and it is needed to develop intervention methods. Hall and Buckwalter hypothesized that an increase in agitation behavior occur when persons experience high levels of stress. This study was conducted to explore the efficacy of hand massage in producing relaxation and decreasing agitation behaviors in persons with dementia. Hand massage was administered once a day in afternoon for 8days to 24 patients and 4days to 23 patients. There was no difference in result between the two groups. Significant differences were found in systolic blood pressure, pulse rate, emotional state from pre to post -intervention with the use of hand massage. The change of systolic blood pressure was 26% explained by ADL, MMSE-K and institutionalized period. The most significant variable was institutionalized period. The change of diastolic blood pressure was 11% explained by ADL, and it was significant. But no decrease in agitation behavior was observed and no increase in functional capacity.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of hand massage as a nursing intervention on the anxiety of the hysterectomy patients in immediately prior to surgery. The method of this study was Nonequivalent Control Group Non-Synchronized Design. The data were selected from at K university hospital in Pusan, and they consisted of Experimental group-25 patients, Control group -24 patients. The data were collected from Jan. 4 to Jan. 30 in 1999. The subjects' self-reports of anxiety (measured by the Spielberger Trait-State anxiety Inventory and Visual Analogue Scale developed by Cline et al.) were recorded before and immediately after the intervention. The objective physiologic measures of blood pressure and pulse rate. The collected data were analysed by means of frequency, percentage, standard deviation, chi- square test, t-test, ANCOVA with SPSS program. The results of this study were as following; 1. Hypothesis 1: The 1st hypothesis that "There will be significant difference of the state anxiety level just before surgery in the experimental group and control group" was supported(P= .000). 2. Hypothesis 2: The 2nd hypothesis that "There will be significant difference of the visual analogue scale score just before surgery in the experimental group and control group"was supported(P= .000). 3. Hypothesis 3: The 3rd hypothesis that "There will be significant difference of the systolic and diastolic blood pressure level just before surgery in the experimental group and control group"was supported (P= .003, P= .041). 4. Hypothesis 4: The 4th hypothesis that "There will be significant difference of the pulse rate just before surgery in the experimental group and control group"was supported(P= .004). In conclusion, hand massage is a benefical nursing intervention that alleviates the psychological, physiological anxiety of the hysterectomy patients in immediately prior to surgery. therefore it is recomended to use the hand massage as a nursing intervention for patients undergoing anxiety. The results of this study appear promising, additional research is recomended to further the appropriate uses of hand massage in nursing practice for this and other patient population.

The purpose of this study is to understand the structure of mothers of mentally handicapped daughters' lived experience, to apprehend the connectedness of the structure of the experience with concept of Parse's human becoming theory, and to provide a foundation for nursing research and education. Data collection was conducted from October 1995 to April 1996. Research participants were eight mothers of mentally handicapped daughters whose ages ranged from 12 to 18 attending special schools located in either Inchon or Seoul. The researcher had interviews with them over their lived experience conducted tape recorded, and made an analysis according to Parse's "human becoming research methodology." The data were collected using the dialogical engagement process "I and You," the participant researcher and the participant subject. The data were analyzed using the extraction-synthesis and heuristic interpretation. The structural integration is illustrated in the following: 1) Realizing the mother's role of mentally handicapped daughters and admitting situation. 2) Concealing a part of their relationship with others is interpreted as revealing-concealing. 3) Their fight back voluntarily to improve the situation is interpreted as powering. The conceptual integration which emerged was the lived experience of mothers is powering through the revealing-concealing and connection-separating of valuing.

This study was designed to investigate the effect of a hand massage program on anxiety and immune function in patients during cataract surgery. The hand massage program, in this study, consisted of hand massage and hand-holding. The subjects were sixty-three patients, thirty for the experimental and thirty-three for the control group, who were admitted at Kang Nam St. Mary's Hospital for cataract surgery. This study was carried out from December 10, 1997 to February 26, 1998. The level of anxiety as measured by the Visual Analogue Scale, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and pulse rate were measured before, after hand massage, and after hand-holding. Epinephrine, norepinephrine, cortisol, blood sugar levels, neutrophil, lymphocyte, and natural killer cell percentages also were measured before hand massage and five minutes before the end of the operation. Data were analyzed by t-test, ANCOVA, repeated measure ANOVA, and Bonferroni multiple comparisons. The results were as follows : 1) After hand massage, psychological anxiety levels decreased significantly compare with before hand massage in the experimental group, not in the control group. After hand holding, there were significant decrease in both groups. 2) There were no significant differences on systolic blood pressure, diastorlc blood pressure, and pulse rates in both groups. 3) The hand massage program decreased epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol significantly in the experimental group and increased epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol in the control group. 4) There were no differences in blood sugar levels, neutrophil and lymphocyte percentages in white blood cells after the hand massage program. However, natural killer cells in lymphocytes were significantly increased in the experimental group. These findings indicate that a hand massage program could be a effective nursing intervention in decreasing the psychological and physiological anxiety levels and improving immune function in clients having cataract surgery under local anesthesia.

Various difficulties and inconvenience arise from having a mentally handicapped child in a family and these place many demands on mothers. There are few studies in Korea on these demands nor on what mothers go through with their mentally handicapped daughters' menarche and puberty. The purpose of the study was to examine the experiences of mothers of mentally handicapped daughters, as it relates to their daughters' menarche and the beginning of puberty. With in depth interviews, both in person and by telephone and participant observation the study used a qualitative research methodology to attempt to understand the experiences of these mothers. The data were gathered from October 1995 to April 1996. The subjects for the research included nine mothers of mentally handicapped daughters whose ages ranged from 12 to 18 and who attended one of three special schools located in either Inchon or Seoul. The data were recorded and analyzed ; meaningful statements were grouped according to subjects raised by the mothers. Content Analysis was also applied to identify similar content and confirm common experiences, and to highlight concepts and categorized them. The results of this study are as follows. Five categories were identified ; mothers' emotional responses to their mentally handicapped daughters' menarche and menstruation were of severe despair accompanied by anxiety, guilt, fear, anguish, shame and pity because the mothers were afraid their daughters would not be able to use appropriate hygienic measures during menstruation and the mothers felt heavily burdened in having to look them. The mothers also had negative feelings about their daughters' physical development. The experience of mothers related to their daughters' possibilities for marriage and pregnancy were of powerlessness, distress, withdrawal, fear, pity and desperation and they were afraid that their daughters might be violated sexually. The mothers rejected the possibility of marriage and pregnancy for their daughters and instead planned very restricting futures for them. The mothers used various coping methods to bring meaning to their lives. Because the negative emotional responses of the mothers, nurses need to work to empower mothers to overcome these negative responses. Sex education can also play an important role especially for the daughters especially through the use of visual aids. Further, nurses should understand the learning difficulties of mentally handicapped daughters, what mothers need and also what they experience with their mentally handicapped daughters. In conclusion, nurses should understand the negative experiences of the mothers in relation to their mentally handicapped daughters' menarche help the mothers cope with the negative. emotions through real life education and counselling. In addition, there is a need for nursing interventions and an administrative system which will minimize the prejudices of society towards handicapped people.