The purpose of this study was to identify the factors influencing quality of life of married immigrant women in Korea.

The participants included 508 married immigrant women who met the eligibility criteria and agreed to participate in the study. Participants were evaluated for subjective assessment of married immigrant-related constructs using a self-report questionnaire, for self-esteem, self-efficacy, and quality of life (QOL). The analysis was done using SPSS for Windows, version 10.1, and included stepwise regression.

The major findings were as follows; 1) There were significant relationships between marital satisfaction (r=.39, p=.001), violence by the husband during the couple's arguments (r= -.24, p<.001), satisfaction with life in Korea (r=.39, p<.001), self-esteem (r=.16, p<.001), self-efficacy (r=.51, p<.001) and quality of life. 2) Marital satisfaction, self-efficacy, education level and satisfaction life with in Korea were significant factors, which explained 53% of the variance in quality of life (F=43.97, p<.001). Multiple regression analysis revealed that a powerful predictor of QOL for married immigrant women was self-efficacy.

Developing nursing interventions to enhance self-efficacy toward improvement of QOL among married immigrant women is recommended.

The purposes of this study were to explain the phenomena of hot flashes in climacteric women by using Mexameter, Skin Thermometer, Corneometer, and Laser Doppler Perfusion Imager (LDPI) objectively and to identify the interrelation between the subjective and objective measurements of hot flashes by comparing the two as reported in retrospective questionnaires.

The participants were one hundred women (45-60 yr) who were not currently on hormone therapy, and had reached hot flash scores of 10 or higher. Hot flashes were measured in a temperature and humidity controlled room for 7 hr from 10 am to 5 pm. Hot flashes were measured subjectively and recorded via the Hot Flash Diary Report. When participants felt the hot flashes, they were measured objectively by Mexameter, Skin Thermometer, Corneometer, and LDPI.

The frequency of hot flashes in participants ranged from 1 to 7 times. When hot flashes occurred in participants, the erythema, skin temperature, skin hydration, and blood perfusion showed statistically significant changes in all measurements. But, the subjective and objective measurements of hot flashes showed only weak correlations.

Results indicate a need for future research with subjective and objective measuring instruments chosen depending variations identified for the study.