The purpose of this study was to identify the theoretical characteristics and direction of inquiry in the discipline of nursing by analyzing doctoral dissertations.

The materials used in this study were 277 doctoral dissertations from five universities in Korea. The framework for the study was derived from Kim's(1993) alternative linkage among philosophy, theory, and method in nursing science.

Of the 277 dissertations it was found that there were 13 types of linkages out of a possible 54 types. Most of the dissertations (128 of 277) were done within the linkage of realism/etic/quantitative/explanatory knowledge type. Of the 218 dissertations within scientific realism, 42 were within relativism, and 17 within practicism. There were 134 dissertations of the explanatory knowledge type, 112 descriptive ones, and 31 prescriptive ones. Studies done within the etic quantitative methodology included 209 dissertations and within the emic perspective, 43 with qualitative methodology, and 7 with quantitative.

The results show that it is necessary to develop more alternative linkages for nursing practice and this will lead to expanding nursing knowledge.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a violence coping program (VCP) based on Polk's middle-range theory of resilience on nursing competency, resilience, burnout, and the ability to cope with violence in nurses working in emergency rooms.

A quasi-experimental study, with a nonequivalent control group and a pretest-posttest design, was conducted. Participants were 36 nurses who worked in emergency rooms and had experienced violence; 18 nurses from D hospital and 18 nurses from C hospital were assigned to the experimental and control groups, respectively. The experimental group received the VCP twice per week for 8 weeks.

Levels of resilience, F=59.41, p<.001, active coping behavior, c²=33.09, p<.001, and nursing competency, F=59.41 p<.001, increased significantly and levels of passive coping behavior, c²=22.92, p<.001, and burnout, F=52.74, p<.001, decreased significantly in the experimental group.

The results suggest that the VCP could be an effective strategy for reducing burnout and improving resilience, active coping behavior, and nursing competency. Therefore, it would be a useful intervention for improving the quality of nursing care provided in emergency rooms.

The study was done to evaluate the effects a Stress Management Program (SMP) on stress, problem solving skills, and quality of life for hospitalized patients with Schizophrenia.

A mixed method design was used: a combination of a repeated-measure design with a non-equivalent control group and qualitative data collection. The participants were 40 patients with schizophrenia admitted in three psychiatric hospitals. The experimental group (n=20) received the SMP twice a week for a total of 8 weeks.

Study results revealed that the SMP was effective for stress (F=321.02, p<.001), problem solving ability (F=246.28, p<.001), and quality of life (F=63.35,p<.001) for hospitalized persons with schizophrenia.

The results suggest that a SMP can be an effective strategy to reduce patients' hospitalization stress, and improve problem solving skills and quality of life. Therefore, it is recommended that mental health nurses use this stress management program in clinical practice to assist adaptation to hospitalization for persons with schizophrenia.

This study was done to develop a measurement for stress experienced by patients with schizophrenia during hospitalization.

The preliminary tool was developed through in-depth interviews and a validity verification test of content. For data collection, 15 inpatients with schizophrenia were selected as participants for in-depth interviews and 195 patients admitted to one of eight psychiatric hospitals in four provinces were recruited as participants to test reliability and validity of the preliminary tool.

The questionnaire was developed as a four-point Likert-type scale in a self-report form with 28 items. Factor analysis showed 28 items in six factors. Factors were named 'Unjust human rights infringement', 'Futureless life', 'Alienation from other family members', 'Infringement of basic needs', 'Infringement of personal preference' and 'Inconvenience of shared living'. The six factors explained 63.5% of the total variance. Cronbach's alpha for the total items was .93 and for the factors ranged from .65 to .87.

A tool to measure stress in patients hospitalized with schizophrenic was developed based on identified hospitalization stress experiences. Study results indicate that this tool can be used to evaluate hospitalization stress in these patients and will contribute to establishing nursing interventions for relief of hospitalization stress.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a school-based intervention program for middle school adolescent girls with depression.

The study was a pretest–posttest repeated-measure design with a nonequivalent control group. Fifty eight students with depressive symptoms were recruited from two middle schools in Seoul, Korea. The data were collected from the intervention (n= 30) and the comparison group (n= 28). The research instrument was Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale.

The intervention group greatly improved from baseline to 10 weeks and then saw a slight positive change between 10 and 13 weeks.

The results of this research show that depression intervention programs are effective for young female adolescents. Thus the investigation has important school-based treatment implications, and should be integrated into school curriculums by school health nurses for early intervention of depressive symptoms in middle school adolescent girls.

This study was conducted to develop and test the effects of an elder health promotion program and apply strategies for elder health leader training sessions with elders at senior citizen halls.

A nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used. Participants were 49 elders at a senior citizen hall (intervention: 27, control: 22). The elder health promotion program consisted of health education and exercise. A professional leader led the program for 4 weeks, and then an elder health leader and research assistant led for 8 weeks (total 12 weeks). Scales for elder health promoting behaviors, perceived health status, life satisfaction and senior citizen hall capability were used and physical fitness levels were measured. Data were collected between April 21 and July 28, 2010 and analyzed using Chi-square, Fisher's exact test, t-test, and repeated measure ANOVA with SPSS/WIN 12.0.

Health promoting behaviors, physical fitness, perceived health status, and senior citizen hall capacity were significantly better in the experimental group after the intervention compared to the control group.

Study findings indicate that elder health promotion programs applying strategies of elder health leader training are effective and can be recommended as nursing interventions for health promotion of these elders.

This study was designed to investigate the effects of a network program to prevent obesity and improve dietary habits for patients taking antipsychotics or antidepressants.

Thirty-seven patients in two hospitals were assigned to a control group (21 patients) or an intervention group (16 patients). The intervention group was evaluated to analyze the effect of the network program for six weeks after the program.

There was a difference in the rate of increased body weight between the control group and the intervention group. Notably, the body weight of both groups before the intervention was significantly increased. However, after the intervention the body weight of the intervention group rarely increased, whereas, the body weight of the control group was significantly increased as expected. There was an observed difference in diet between the control group and the intervention group. After the intervention, caloric intake per day of the intervention group decreased. Also, the duration of the meal of the intervention group after the intervention was longer than before.

The network program for preventing obesity and improving dietary habits of patients taking antipsychotics or antidepressants was effective. The study shows that a network program can be an important part of a nursing intervention in clinical practice.