• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.45-53
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• 2021

Purpose: This study was conducted to assess the factors affecting turnover intention of the nurses working in neonatal intensive care units, including the extent of fatigue, work stresses, and work overload related to infection control. Methods: This was a descriptive correlational study to test factors affecting the turnover intention of the nurses working in neonatal intensive care units. Data was analyzed utilizing descriptive statistics, t-test, One-way ANOVA, Pearsons' Correlation Coefficient, and multiple regressions by using the IBM SPSS Statistics 23.0 Program(IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results: The turnover intention of nurses had a positive correlation with the extent of fatigue (r=.54, p<.001), work stress (r=.40, p<.001), and with the work overload (r=.43, p<.001) related to infection control. In addition, factors affecting the turnover intention of nurses included the extent of fatigue (β=.52, p<.001) related to infection control and the number of pediatric patients assigned to each nurse (β=.26, p=.001) and the variances explained by the regression model was 37.0%. Conclusion: It is necessary to establish and implement strategies to lower the extent of fatigue related to infection control by reducing the nurses' workload. Securing additional nurses to ensure an appropriate number of pediatric patients assigned to each nurse, and providing efficient management and available resources to reduce the turnover intention of nurses working in neonatal intensive care units are suggested.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.475-483
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• 2018

Purpose: This study aimed to identify stress levels due to end-of-life care, coping strategies, and psychological well-being among nurses in neonatal intensive care unit, and to investigate the effect of stress levels and coping strategies on their well-being. Methods: A total of 128 nurses in the neonatal intensive care units of general hospitals in B city participated. The data were collected using a self-report questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the t-test, ANOVA, the Pearson correlation coefficient, and hierarchical regression with SPSS version 22.0. Results: The coping strategy that nurses most often used was seeking social support. The factors affecting the well-being of the participants were wishful thinking, problem-focused coping and seeking social support, in order. Those 3 variables explained 21 % of the total variance in psychological well-being. Problem-focused coping and seeking social support were positively associated with psychological well-being, while wishful thinking showed a negative association. Conclusion: In order to improve the psychological well-being of nurses in neonatal intensive care units, it is necessary to provide nurses with a program to build a social support system and to improve their problem-based coping skills.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.9-22
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the gaps in research related to developmentally supportive care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The ultimate goal was to explore directions of further research on developmentally supportive care for premature patients. Methods: The Arksey and O'Malley scoping review method was used. Articles on developmentally supportive care for preterm infants in the NICU, written in English or Korean, were identified through electronic search engines. A total of 279 papers were identified in the initial search, of which 22 full-text papers were included in this review. Results: Several nursing studies have been published in the past 5 years. The important elements of developmentally supportive care were family-centered care and management of the NICU environment. The primary developmentally supportive care interventions were training programs to promote the care competency of NICU nurses. Conclusion: It is necessary to actively develop comprehensive developmental support interventions that consider the various elements of developmentally supportive care for preterm infants. Additional studies should be done to develop programs that provide direct intervention for premature infant and their families.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.76-88
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• 2014

Objectives: Parents of a premature baby feel a pressure on their baby's growth and they are highly in need for proper education. However, the lack of proper education can cause the difficulty of follow-up care and rehospitalization. Currently, methods of education among each nurse are based on verbal explanation and can be often different. Therfore, it is true that the psychological burden is great during education. Hence, by enforcing discharge education activities, we intend to provide information; induce participation of parents; promote the level of performance; standardize education program; and increase the job satisfaction of nurses. Methods: NICU conducted a questionnaire survey of the demand and satisfaction for discharge education among mothers that left hospital. And before and after the improvement activity, the satisfaction level of mothers and nurses were studied, and rehospitalization rate were analyzed. Results 1)The survey results of the satisfaction level of mothers towards education program as followes: The level of understanding of content, general babysitting, special situation, education method, and educator attitude showed statistically significant increase. 2)The survey results of the satisfaction level of nurses towards education program as followes: While, the need for education program decreased, the adequacy of education content and method, consistency of education, understanding of learner, and learner's performance increased. All the factors except for the need for education program and the adequacy of education content showed statistically significant difference. 3)Rehospitalization rate of premature babies decreased. According to analysis of the cause of rehospitalization, breast-feeding related apnea turned out to be the highest. Conclusion: Through QI, satisfaction of mothers and nurses improved more than 10%. And rehospitalization rate of premature babies decreased by the same amount as well. Therefore, with the help of the standardized discharge education program, mothers who is not easy to take care of after leaving hospital can be seen to significantly affect their healthy growth and development.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.251-263
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• 2012

Purpose: It was necessary for developing a neonatal classification system based on nursing needs and direct care time. This study was, thus, aimed at identifying nursing activities and measuring the standard nursing practice time for developing a neonatal patient classification system in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Methods: The study was taken place in 8 general hospitals located in Seoul and Kyungi province, South Korea from Dec, 2009 to Jan, 2010. By using 'the modified Workload Management System for critical care Nurses' (WMSN), nursing categories, activities, standard time, and task frequencies were measured with direct observation. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics. Results: Neonatal nursing activities were categorized into 8 areas: vital signs (manual), monitoring, activity of daily living (ADL), feeding, medication, treatment and procedure, respiratory therapy, and education-emotional support. The most frequent and time-consuming area was an ADL, unlike that of adult patients. Conclusion: The findings of the study provide a foundation for developing a neonatal patient classification system in NICU. Further research is warranted to verify the reliability and validity of the instrument.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.407-419
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the meaning and essence of a mother's experience of hospitalization of her newborn in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Methods: This study employed a qualitative research design. An interview was conducted with a mother whose newborn was hospitalized in the NICU, and the data were analyzed using Giorgi's phenomenological method. Results: Five main themes and 19 formulated meanings were indentified. The 5 themes were 'drowning in pain', 'just look outside the glass door', 'being a pillar', 'a deepening attachment', and 'prepare for nurturing with hope'. Conclusion: The results of this study provided an in-depth understanding of the experience of a mother with a newborn in the NICU. These results can be used in the development of a nursing intervention program that provides psychological and emotional support to the mother and family.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 2011

Invasive Candida infections (ICI) have become the third most common cause of late-onset infection among premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Risk factors include birth weight less than 1,000 g, exposure to more than two antimicrobials, third generation cephalosporin exposure, parenteral nutrition including lipid emulsion, central venous catheter, and abdominal surgery. Candida colonization of the skin and gastrointestinal tract is an important first step in the pathogenesis of invasive disease. Strict infection control measures against the infection should be done in the NICU. The following practices are likely to contribute to reducing the rate of ICI: (1) restriction of broad-spectrum antibiotics, antacids and steroid; (2) introduction of early feeding and promoting breast milk. Fluconazole prophylaxis may be an effective control measure to prevent Candida colonization and infections in individual units with high incidence of fungal infection. In addition, there is a need of further data including the development of resistant strains and the effect on long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants exposed to drugs before the initiation of routine application of antifungal prophylaxis in the NICU.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.229-240
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• 2018

Purpose: This study was conducted to assess the knowledge and performance of developmentally supportive positioning for premature infants (DSPP) among neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurses. Methods: The participants in this study were 131 nurses working in the NICU at five university hospitals in Daejeon and the city of Cheong-ju. The collected data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, the t-test, analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation coefficients using SPSS for Windows version 22.0. Results: NICU nurses' average DSPP knowledge score was 24.7 out of 33.0, and their average DSPP performance score was 3.2 out of 4.0. A statistically significant positive correlation was observed between knowledge and performance of DSPP (r=.32, p<.001). Conclusion: To improve the level of NICU nurses' knowledge and performance of DSPP, educational programs should be developed and their effectiveness should be verified.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.296-308
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the noise level and frequency experienced by premature infants receiving incubator care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Methods: The participants were 20 premature infants receiving incubator care in the NICU of a university hospital in Daejeon Metropolitan city. The noise level was measured using a professional sound-level meter (ET-958, FLUS, Shenzhen, China) based on a noise classification table developed by the author. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, the t-test, analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation coefficients using SPSS for Windows version 22.0. Results: The average noise level experienced by premature infants receiving incubator care in the NICU was 51.25 dB (range: 45.0~81.7 dB). The frequency of noises was highest for factors related to nursing activities (40.3%), followed by human factors (29.1%), machine alarm sounds (20.1%), incubator operation (6.6%), and internal environmental factors (3.9%). Conclusion: According to the above results, the noise level experienced by premature infants receiving incubator care in the NICU exceeded the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an interventional program to reduce noise in the NICU, and to conduct follow-up studies to verify its effectiveness.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.297-307
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• 2021

Purpose: This descriptive study compared the perceived parental stress levels between parents with very low birth weight infants (VLBWIs) and nurses in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Methods: In total, 83 parents of VLBWIs and 78 NICU nurses were enrolled. Data were collected with the Parental Stress Scale (PSS) and analyzed using the t-test and analysis of variance in SAS version 9.4. Results: The average PSS score was 3.31 among parents and 3.45 among nurses. The stress score was significantly higher among nurses with children (t=2.46, p=.016) and senior nurses (t=2.12, p=.037). There was a significant difference in the stress score according to parents' education (t=3.29, p=.002) and occupation (F=3.14, p=.049) in the sights and sounds subscale. Mothers had significantly higher stress scores than fathers in the parental role alterations subscale (t=2.32, p=.023). Parental stress scores were higher than those perceived by nurses in the infant's appearance and behaviors subscale for breathing patterns (t=2.95, p=.004), followed by jerky/ restless behavior (t=2.70, p=.008). Conclusion: Nurses should provide explanations to parents of VLBWIs in order to reduce parental stress about the appearances and behavior of VLBWIs. This is more important than aspect of the NICU environment and education about parental roles.