From the holistic environmental perspective, individual and environmental influences on low-income children's questionable development were identified and examined as to differences in the influences according to the child's developmental stage of infancy (age 0-35 months) or early childhood (age 36-71 months).

This study was a cross-sectional comparative design using negative binominal regression analysis to identify predictors of questionable development separately for each developmental stage. The sample was comprised of 952 children (357 in infancy and 495 in early childhood) from low-income families in South Korea. Predictors included individual factors: child's age and gender; proximal environmental influences: family factors (family health conditions, primary caregiver, child-caregiver relationship, depression in primary caregiver) and institution factors (daycare enrollment, days per week in daycare); and distal environmental influences: income/resources factors (family income, personal resources and social resources); and community factors (perceived child-rearing environment). The outcome variable was questionable development.

Significant contributors to questionable development in the infancy group were age, family health conditions, and personal resources; in the early childhood group, significant contributors were gender, family health conditions, grandparent as a primary caregiver, child-caregiver relationships, daycare enrollment, and personal resources.

Factors influencing children's questionable development may vary by developmental stage. It is important to consider differences in individual and environmental influences when developing targeted interventions to ensure that children attain their optimal developmental goals at each developmental stage. Understanding this may lead nursing professionals to design more effective preventive interventions for low-income children.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a mother/infant-toddler health program developed to enhance parenting knowledge, behavior and confidence in low income mothers and home environment.

A one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was used. Sixty-nine dyads of mothers and infant-toddlers (aged 0-36 months) were provided with weekly intervention for seven session. Each session consisted of three parts; first, educating to increase integrated knowledge related to the development of the infant/toddler including nutrition, first aid and home environment; second, counseling to share parenting experience among the mothers and to increase their nurturing confidence; third, playing with the infant/toddler to facilitate attachment-based parenting behavior for the mothers.

Following the programs, there were significant increases in parenting knowledge on nutrition and first aid. A significant improvement was found in attachment-based parenting behavior, but not in home safety practice. Nurturing confidence was not significantly increased. The program led to more positive home environment for infant/toddler's health and development.

The findings provide evidence for mother-infant/toddler health program to improve parenting knowledge, attachment-based parenting behavior and better home environment in low income mothers. Study of the long term effectiveness of this program is recommended for future research.

To describe psychosocial adjustment of low-income Koreans who have cancer.

Data were collected during 2008 using individual in-depth interviews with 18 Korean people with cancer. The income status of the participants was low, 11 were recipients of the National Basic Livelihood Protection program. Mean age was 58.3 yr and 11 were female. Five participants had stomach cancer, five, colorectal cancer, and four, breast cancer. Data were analyzed using grounded theory methodology.

The core category emerged as 'bearing up alone with double suffering'. 'Poverty and cancer: A double suffering' emerged as a causal condition. The adjustment process consisted of three stages: 'forming a treatment will to live' ,'practicing for the cure',and 'restructuring self and repaying favors'. Each stage indicated action-interaction strategies which were employed to bear up alone with double suffering during the illness process. Self-reflection, parental responsibility, and support from the public sector played important roles in overcoming the double suffering. Two types of consequences were identified: Transcended life and strained life suppressed by poverty and cancer.

The results provide insights into the psychosocial adjustment process for low income Korean with cancer and can be used in developing and implementing efficient home-care services for these people.

This quasi-experimental study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of an early nursing intervention program to support mothers of children aged 0-3 yr living in poverty.

In this study, mothers who received financial support from the government were recruited from one city and assigned to an intervention group (24) and comparison group (18). They completed a baseline questionnaire about depression, child rearing burden, agreement on physical punishment, and child temperament. Also, Denver II screening of the children was performed by the researcher. Mothers in the intervention group received a home visit intervention every two weeks for three months. At 3-months post-baseline, questionnaire and Denver II screening were reused to compare these two groups.

Mother's depression, child rearing burden, agreement on physical punishment, and child temperament were not significantly different between the two groups. However, the percentage of depression declined only in the intervention group. Mothers in the intervention group showed higher Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) scores than mothers in the comparison group.

The findings of the study show that this nursing intervention is an effective parenting program. The early nursing program for mothers with infant and toddlers in poverty is effective in promoting HOME, the child rearing home environment.