The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of laughter therapy on postpartum fatigue and stress respon-ses of postpartum women.

The research design was a nonequivalent control group non-synchronized design. The participants were 67 postpartum women who agreed to participate in this study, selected by convenience sampling: (experiment group-33 and control group-34). The data were collected from August 5 to September 30, 2010. The experimental group received laughter therapy from a laughter therapy expert for 60 min, twice a week for 2 weeks, a total of 4 sessions. To evaluate the effects of laughter therapy, postpartum fatigue by self-report questionnaire and cortisol concentration in breast milk were measured. The data were analyzed using the SPSS WIN 13.0 Program.

The first hypothesis that "the degree of postpartum fatigue in the experimental group participating in laughter therapy would be lower than that of the control group" was accepted. These findings indicate that laughter therapy has a positive effect on decreasing postpartum fatigue.

The finding provides evidence for use of complementary and alternative nursing in Sanhujori facilities and obstetric units to reduce postpartum women's fatigue.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Koryo Hand Therapy (KHT) on menopausal symptoms and hormone levels (Follicle Stimulating Hormone [FSH], Luteinizing Hormone [LH], and estradiol [E₂]) in climacteric women.

The research design was a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Data were collected from November 28, 2005 to February 28, 2006. The 45 participants were assigned to either the experimental group (23) or control group (22). KHT was applied three times a week, for a total of 8 weeks to the women in the experimental group.

There was a statistically significant decrease in menopausal symptoms (F=42.49, p=.000), FSH level (F=26.98, p=.000) and LH level (F=5.31, p=.026) between the experimental and control groups. There was an increase of the estradiol level in the experimental group but the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant.

KHT can be applied as a supportive nursing intervention to climacteric women. KHT is expected to be a complementary alternative intervention for health management of the climacteric women.

The purposes of this study was to analyze the effects of a health education program using problem-based learning on health related knowledge, behavior, and quality of life in elderly people.

The participants included 44 elders, of whom 23 took the health education program and 21 did not. All participants were over 60 yr of age and were selected from residents of nursing homes or participants in activities of social welfare facilities in Jeju Province. Elders in both groups completed pre- and post-tests. Elders in the education group participated in 5 weekly sessions, 100-120 min/session of problem-based learning on health education. Data were analyzed using SPSS WIN 12.0.

Scores for health knowledge, health behavior, and quality of life for the education group were significantly higher than those of the control group.

A problem-based learning health education program can be recommended as a method to promote the health of the elders. Indirectly, the results seem to indicate that proper assessment and support should be provided simultaneously in the management of elders' health. Finally, future study is needed to examine whether problem-based learning is more helpful compared to traditional education.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Nei-Guan(P6) acupressure on nausea and vomiting in pregnant women having hyperemesis gravidarum.

The research design was a randomized control-group pretest-posttest repeated measure design with counter balancing. For the experimental treatment, P6 acupressure was carried out for ten minutes. Data was collected from April 1. 2003 to April 30. 2004. The participants were 66 patients admitted with hyperemesis gravidarum. They were divided into three groups, a P6 acupressure group, placebo point group and a control group.

Hyperemesis gravidarum patients who received P6 acupressure during admission experienced much less nausea and vomiting than the placebo acupressure and control group(F=8.259, p=.001).

Nei-Guan(P6) acupressure is considered an effective intervention for reducing nausea and vomiting in pregnant women having hyperemesis gravidarum. Further more Nei-Guan(P6) acupressure maybe used as an independent nursing intervention method for pregnant women with severe nausea and vomiting.