This qualitative study aimed to develop a substantive theory of the process of adaptation to motherhood in Central Asian-Korean immigrants to Korea.

Individual, in-depth interviews were conducted from July to September 2017, with 18 women who emigrated of Korean ethnicity from Central Asia to Korea, and took care of their baby for at least a year after their first delivery in Korea. The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data from the transcriptions were analyzed through Strauss and Corbin's grounded theory method, and data analysis was conducted simultaneously with data collection.

As a result of categorizing the interview data through the process of open coding, 10 categories, with 31 subcategories and 102 concepts were drawn, and “growth as a Central Asian-Korean mother in an unfamiliar, historical hometown” was found to be the core category of the process of adaptation to motherhood in Central Asian-Korean immigrants to Korea.

A characteristic of the process of adaptation to motherhood in Central Asian-Korean immigrants to Korea, drawn from this study, is that it differs according to the level of initiative to carry out interaction strategies, and the use of various supportive social resources. The findings indicate the need for Medicare eligibility adjustment for antenatal care, the extension of the visa renewal period during childbirth, the development of web- or mobile application-based educational programs in Russian language, and the establishment of integrated visiting healthcare services, community service resources, and policy support to enable these women to utilize various supportive social resources.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a health promotion program utilizing action planning strategy for young adults.

A non-equivalent control group pre-post-test design was used. One hundred three university students participated in the study. Participants in the experimental group (n=51) were provided the health promotion program utilizing action planning strategy for five weeks. The program consisted of weekly sessions that included action planning and group feedback. The control group (n=52) was provided with health information every week for 5 weeks. Program outcomes, including self-efficacy, physical activity health behaviors, total exercise time per week, daily cigarette consumption, frequency of alcohol drinking per month, nutritional health behaviors, and subjective health status, were assessed at baseline and at follow-up after 5 weeks.

The participants in the experimental group demonstrated significant increases in self-efficacy, physical activity health behaviors, weekly exercise time, and nutritional health behaviors and significant decreases in daily cigarette consumption than those in the control group.

The health promotion program utilizing action planning strategy is a brief and effective intervention to promote health behaviors among young adults. Further investigation is warranted to assess the program's effectiveness among other age groups and populations at high risk for chronic illness.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency, patterns, and factors of reversals in decisions about life-sustaining treatment (LST) among older patients with terminal-stage chronic cardiopulmonary disease.

This was a retrospective correlational descriptive study based on medical chart review. De-identified patient electronic medical record data were collected from 124 deceased older patients with terminal-stage cardiopulmonary disease who had made reversals of LST decisions in an academic tertiary hospital in 2015. Data were extracted about the reversed LST decisions, LST treatments applied before death, and patients’ demographic and clinical factors. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors associated with the reversal to higher intensity of LST treatment.

The use of inotropic agents was the most frequently reversed LST treatment, followed by cardiopulmonary resuscitation, intubation, ventilator therapy, and hemodialysis. Inconsistency between the last LST decisions and actual treatments occurred most often in hemodialysis. One-third of the reversals in LST decisions were made toward higher intensity of LST treatment. Patients who had lung diseases (vs. heart diseases); were single, divorced, or bereaved (vs. married); and had an acquaintance as a primary decision maker (vs. the patients themselves) were significantly more likely to reverse the LST decisions to higher intensity of LST treatment.

This study demonstrated the complex and turmoil situation of the LST decision-making process among older patients with terminal-stage cardiopulmonary disease and suggests the importance of support for patients and families in their LST decision-making process.

This study aimed to understand the mechanisms of decision regret and stress of family surrogates' end-of-life decision making using an exploratory path model. In particular, the research identified the direct effects of perceptions of uncertainty and effective decisions on decision regret and stress, and examined the indirect effects of being informed, having clear values, and being supported for decision regret and the stress of end-of-life decision making through the mediating variables of perceptions of uncertainty and effective decisions.

Data were collected from 102 family surrogates who had participated in end-of-life decision making for patients with terminal cancer in a tertiary hospital.

Perception of effective decisions was a significant direct predictor of decision regret, and uncertainty was a significant predictor of stress among the participants. Being informed, having clear values, and being supported had a significant indirect influence on decision regret through the perception of effective decisions among family surrogates. However, only having clear values had a significant indirect influence on stress through the perception of uncertainty. The model explained 63.0% of decision regret and 20.0% of stress among the participants and showed a good fit with the data, χ²=12.40 (df=8, p=.134), TLI=.97, and RMSEA=.07.

Nurses can support family surrogates in end-oflife decision-making processes to decrease their decision regret by providing information about end-of-life care choices, clarifying personal values, and supporting the decision-making process, and to relieve their stress by facilitating the clarification of personal values.

This study was conducted to compare effects of open and closed suctioning methods on lung dynamics (dynamic compliance, tidal volume, and airway resistance) and hypoxemia (oxygen saturation and heart rate) in mechanically ventilated patients.

This study was a cross-over repeated design. Participants were 21 adult patients being treated with endotracheal intubation using a pressure-controlled ventilator below Fraction of Inspired Oxygen (FiO₂) 60% and PEEP 8 cmH₂O. Data were collected at baseline and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10 minutes after suctioning. Data were analyzed using two-factor ANOVA with repeated measures on time and suctioning type.

Effects of the interaction between suction type and time were significant for oxygen saturation and heart rate but not significant for dynamic compliance, tidal volume, or airway resistance. Prior to performance of suctioning, tidal volume and oxygen saturation were significantly lower, but airway pressure and heart rate were significantly higher using the closed suctioning method as compared with the open suctioning method.

For patients on ventilator therapy below FiO₂ 60% and PEEP 8cmH₂O, open suctioning performed after delivery of 100% FiO₂ using a mechanical ventilator may not have as much negative impact on lung dynamics and hypoxemia as closed suctioning.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate effectiveness of a peer support program conducted by older community volunteers for older adults living alone.

Thirty volunteers trained as peer supporters were matched with low-income, older adults living alone in the community on gender. Visits occurred on a weekly basis over the 12 month study period, and the volunteers provided peer support for health management to solitary older adults. Data were collected, before the start of the program and again 6 and 12 months after its initialization, from intervention and control groups regarding physical health, general health, mental health, depression, social functioning, and satisfaction with social support. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze data.

By the end of the program, socially isolated older adults in the intervention group had significantly higher scores in physical health and general health than elders in the control group. Significant interaction effects between time and group were found for depression, social functioning, and satisfaction with social support.

The peer support program undertaken by older community volunteers was effective in improving physical health, general health, depression, social functioning, and satisfaction with social support in socially isolated, low-income, older adults.

The purpose of this study was to understand the level of functional health literacy and its influence on perceived health status in Korean older adults.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Daegu, Kyungpook and Busan province. A total of 103 older adults aged 65 yr or older were interviewed in person between July 1 to August 30, 2007.

A high proportion of older adults were unable to read and understand written basic medical instructions. Only 40-50% were able to comprehend directions for taking medication four times a day or on an empty stomach. Only 11-38% were able to understand information regarding treatment procedure, informed consent, or educational material for elderly fall prevention. Individuals who were older, single, and had less education and income were more likely to have lower functional health literacy. After adjusting for sociodemographic variables, individuals with lower health literacy had poorly perceived health status.

Many Korean older adults have a very low level of fuctional literacy. Low health literacy was independently associated with poorly perceived health status.