The purpose of this study was to analyze and assess the current situation of Korea's school health education program and to establish measures to efficiently carry out school health education in Korea.

The survey was conducted through the internet with the health educators of elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide to assess the current condition of school health education programs, and 2,459 samples were collected which accounted for 23.4% of the total respondents.

According to school health educators on the enforcement of health education, the higher the education became, the less the health education was enforced. The enforcement rate was 96.9% in elementary schools, 76.7% in middle schools, and 67.3% in high schools. The major reasons were found as difficulty in securing class time (54.5%) and other excessive workloads (20.9%). As a result of the health education awareness survey, over 99% answered that health education is needed, over 80% answered that the education requires independent health textbooks, and over 95% answered that health educators are suitable for the person in charge of the education.

This study will be a useful in establishing a detailed policy on enhancing school health education in the future.

The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of obesity and management behaviors of obese adolescents and their families in Korea.

Nine adolescents with moderate-degree obesity and of four their mothers of them were investigated using semi-structured interviews.

The perceptions of obesity was classified into four domains and obesity management behaviors was classified into three domains. The domains regarding the perceptions of obesity include definitions of obesity(a danger signal of health status, deviation status, symbols of growth), causes of obesity(out of balance), opinions about their obesity(contempt, negative preconception, superiority) and changes on thought and attitudes owing to obesity(shrinkage, repulsion, sustaining losses, decreased activity, decreased self-confidence, defensive behaviors). The domains regarding obesity management behaviors include attitude about the management of obesity(not having priority, optimistic view, ardent wish), management behaviors for correcting obesity(encouraging physical activity, control of diet, gathering information, trial of diet control), attitudes about performing the management behaviors for correcting obesity(inconsistency, non-autonomy, conflict).

This study helps to enhance the understanding of the perception of obesity and management behaviors of obese adolescents and their families. Futhermore, based on this understanding, effective and appropriate heath management programs can be planned and conducted.

This methodological study was conducted to develop and psychometrically test the Transcultural Self-efficacy scale (TCSEscale) for nurses.

Initial 41 items for the TCSE-scale were generated based on extensive literature reviews and in-depth interviews with 18 nurses who had experience in caring for foreign patients. Cultural Competence and Confidence model was used as a conceptual framework. Content validity was evaluated by an expert panel. Psychometric testing was performed with a convenience sample of 242 nurses recruited from four general hospitals in the Seoul metropolitan area and Gyeonggi-do province of South Korea. To evaluate the reliability of TCSE-scale, a test-retest reliability and an internal consistency reliability were analyzed. Construct validity, concurrent validity, criterion validity, convergent validity and discriminative validity were used to evaluate the validity.

The 25-item TCSE-scale was found to have three subscales-Cognitive, Practical, and Affective domain-explaining 91.5% of the total variance. TCSE-scale also demonstrated a concurrent validity with the Cultural Competence Scale. Criterion-related validity was supported by known-group comparison. Reliability analysis showed an acceptable-to-high Cronbach's alpha-.88 in total, and subscales ranged from .76 to .87. The ICC was .90, indicating that the TCSE-scale has internal consistency and stability of reliability.

This preliminary evaluation of the psychometric scale properties demonstrated an acceptable validity and reliability. The TCSE-scale is able to contribute to building up empirical and evidence based on data collection regarding the transcultural self-efficacy of clinical nurses. We suggest further testing of the applicability of TCSE-scale in different settings and community contexts.

To develop and test the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the Family Management Measure (Korean FaMM) to assess applicability for families with children having chronic illnesses.

The Korean FaMM was articulated through forward-backward translation methods. Internal consistency reliability, construct and criterion validity were calculated using PASW WIN (19.0) and AMOS (20.0). Survey data were collected from 341 mothers of children suffering from chronic disease enrolled in a university hospital in Seoul, South Korea.

The Korean version of FaMM showed reliable internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha for the total scale of .69-.91. Factor loadings of the 53 items on the six sub-scales ranged from 0.28-0.84. The model of six subscales for the Korean FaMM was validated by expiratory and confirmatory factor analysis (χ²<.001, RMR<.05, GFI, AGFI, NFI, NNFI>.08). Criterion validity compared to the Parental Stress Index (PSI) showed significant correlation.

The findings of this study demonstrate that the Korean FaMM showed satisfactory construct and criterion validity and reliability. It is useful to measure Korean family's management style with their children who have a chronic illness.