This study was to explore on the rank of stressful events related to the experience of hospitalization. 180 hospitalized patients on surgical and medical wards were asked to rate 49 stress-producing events associated with the experience of hospitalization. Two university hospitals was used as the setting for this study. Because the nature of the events in the stress scale pertain mainly to general short-term hospitalizations, patients in the rehabilitation and psychiatric units of the hospital were not included. Prior to the beginning of the study, three times meeting were held with 12 head nurses and 3 investigators for discussing with the ethics subject related to the study. The pretest was done to determine whether items to use were pertinent or not. According to the result of the pretest, Volicer's Hospital Stress Rating Scale was selected as a study tool for this study. Data collection was used an interview and a card-sorting method. The interviewing was done by two authors and three graduate nursing students. A total 125 completed the card-sorting procedure. The stressful items were ordered from most to least stressful within the categories. Additional information such as; age, sex, marital status, and diagnosis was obtained from the kardex file. The ordered list of items, with mean values, as scored by the total of 125 respondents was significantly accepted at 1% level by Friedman test. (X2=1448.339) The event, "knowing you have a serious illness." was rated highest stressful and (M=41.54) "Being awakened in the night by the nurse" least stressful. (M=14.73) Highly rated items were orderly "Thinking you might have cancer" "Thinking you might lose a kidney or some other organ" "Not being told what your diagnosis is. "Not knowing for sure what illness you have," five lowerly rated items were orderly "Having to eat at different times than you usually do""Not being able to call family or friends on the phone" "Not having friends visit you," "Having strangers sleep in the same room with you." Further analysis of the data was done to ascertain the degree of similarity of judgment between different groups in the sample as to how events should be rated. The sample was divided into two groups according to the demographic characteristics and the degree of seriousness of illness. The rank order correlation was calculated for the two sets of ranks as a measure of consensus between the two groups. The correlations ranged from 0.85~0.99 all indicating a high degree of consensus.

This article examined relationships between selected variables, such as demographic background, care, treatment variables, environmental characteristics, and patient's daily behavior and mood change. Relationship were determined between independent variabltherapeutic-rapeutie approach, demographic data, environmental management approach, and dependent variable-patient's daily behavioral and mood change. 35 patients selected within some criteria in a psychiatric ward, were observed during 5 weeks by use of Wyatt's Behavior & Mood Rating Scale according to the object of the study. At the same time, the frequence of the care and treatment were collected. Criteria for sample selection and independent variables as an influential factor to the patient behavioral change, based on a literature review and clinical experiences. Pearson's correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to determine the influential factors to the patient behavioral change. Systematic reading (r=0.8324), Psychiatrist's individual interview (r=0.5764), tranquilizer (r=0.3441) and hospitalization processing date (r=0.4143) were related with patient's behavioral change. That is these 4 variables can be said to influence to the patient's behavior and mood. A stepwise multiple regression analysis of the effect of the independent variables of systematic reading, psychintrists individual interview, tranquilizer and hospitalization processing date on the dependent variable, patient's behavioral change was carried out. Systematic reading with on R2 of. 69 revealed to be the main influential factor to the patient's behavior and mood change, as the next factor psychiatrist individual interview. A total inclusion of these factors revealed a 73% prediction for the patient's behavior and mood change. But the most influential factor was the interaction of the systematic reading and psychiatrist's individual interview.

No abstract available.

Immigration of Koreans to the United States has increased since the 1960's. Adjusting to life in the United States produces a great deal of stress for immigrants. Despite better economic opportunities, many see the U.S. culture as threatening to their family and cultural values. Differences in culture, language, expectations and social behavior can lead to misunderstandings between health care providers and clients. These misunderstanding can lead to frustration on the part of each. The ultimate result of this is that often Korea-immigrants do not get their health care needs met and stress response symptoms can lead to disease if there is no appropriate care. To determine the health care needs and concerns of Korean-Americans, a health needs assessment is needed. Appropriate and adequate information about the health care needs of these of these individuals is important as it relates to American policy changes allowing greater numbers of immigrants to enter the U.S. The purpose of this prospective study was to describe Korean-American stress response. This study focused on the primary presenting problems for which subjects reported having sought care. These included a variety of stress-reported symptoms, including peripheral manifestations, cardiopulmonary symptoms, central-neurological symptoms, gastrointestinal symptoms, muscle tension, habitual patterns, depression, anxiety, emotional irritability and cognitive disorganization. Of the 300 subjects who entered the study, 80%(N=223) completed the questionnaire in full. Demographically, the percentage of females and males was 50% each and they ranged in age from 20 to 69 years. Ninety percent of the subjects were highly educated, 25% owners of business, 25% white collar professionals, 15% employed in sales or as skilled/unskilled labor, 30% had no occupation ; and 5% were housewives or students. The SOS inventory is designed to quantify self-perception of behavioral, cognitive, and physiological components of the stress response. It consisted of 94 items divided into 10 subscales. The result of this study are as follows : The total mean SOS of all subjects(N=223 was .8129 ; the mean SOS for male(N=114) was .7665 and for females, (N=108) .8594. The level of symptoms for central-neurologic and muscle tension was higher for than for males. The highest stress response of all subjects was emotional irritability symptoms(1.0644) ; the lowest stress response on all subjects was peripheral manifestation symptoms.