• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.20-26
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the stress and the coping strategies in breast cancer patients and their spouses. Methods: The stress level was measured by the Stress Questionnaire of Andersson & Albertsson (2000). The coping strategies were measured by the modified Lazarus & Folkman's Ways of Coping Questionnaire. The data were collected by a survey sampling 49 couples from one hospital in Seoul. The data were analyzed by t-test, ANOVA and paired t-test. Results: There was no significant differences between the stress level of breast cancer patients and their spouses. The problem-focused coping of breast cancer patients was significant higher than their spouses. The cancer patients and their spouses used problem-focused coping mode more than emotion-focused coping mode. In the problem-focused coping mode, breast cancer patients used two coping strategies - 'seeking information' and 'cognitive reconstruction' - significantly more than their spouses. In emotion-focused coping mode, the breast cancer patients used one coping strategy, 'emotional expression', significantly more than the their spouses. Conclusion: Further study needs to attempt to develop nursing interventions that could improve positive coping strategies.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.77-83
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• 2012

Purpose: This study was designed to describe outcomes of pain management, to identify pain intensity, pain management and barriers to pain management, and to test correlation among the variables in cancer patients who are registered in public health centers. Methods: By using a descriptive survey design, 3 instruments were used to collect data: the Numeric Rating Scale for pain, the Barriers Questionnaire-Korean version, and a one-item self-report tool about patient satisfaction. A sample of 190 patients with cancer was recruited from a public health center. Results: The mean rating for pain during the past 24 hours was mild and the mean score of barriers to pain management was 3.20. Patients were satisfied with pain management but they also had concerns it. A negative correlation was found among pain severity, pain relief and satisfaction of pain management. However, there was not significant correlation between the patient-related barriers to pain management and other variables. Conclusion: These results suggest that the intervention for cancer patients should focus not only on patient-related barriers to pain management, but also address health-care system related barriers.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.101-107
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• 2011

Purpose: This study was to understand and explain the adjustment of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Variables in this model were social support, uncertainty, resilience and coping. Methods: The data were collected for approximately five months from May through to September 2006 with cancer patients receiving chemotherapy or cancer patients finished chemotherapy using self-administered questionnaires. Descriptive statistics program, Amos 5.0, was employed to verify the goodness of the hypothetic model and the hypotheses formulated in the study. Results: The fitness of the finalized model turned out to be improved ($X^2$=332.644, df=70, GFI= .809, AGFI= .714, RMSEA= .138, AIC=402.644). Those variables made a 60.8% prediction of the patients adjustment. Conclusion: The hypothetic model presented in the study could serve to explain the adjustment of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Moreover, the use of the conceptual framework of the theory of planned nursing intervention would be very worthwhile as a strategy to boost the adjustment of cancer patients when receiving chemotherapy.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.68-78
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• 2007

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of cold oral gargling on oral discomfort among Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patient undergoing chemotherapy. Method: An quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group design was used. Thirty two patients receiving chemotherapy at G hospital in P city were recruited from August 1, 2002 to October 20, 2002. Sixteen were conveniently allocated into the experimental group and 16 into the control group. Participants in the experimental group used cold oral gargling while their counterparts used room temperature oral gargling. Subjective and objective oral discomforts were measured by the instruments developed by Beck. The SPSS WIN 10.0 program was used to analyze the data with t-test, ${\chi}^2$ -test, and repeated measures ANOVA. Findings: The participants in the experimental group reported less oral discomfort and showed better oral conditions than those in the control group at the post 7th, 14th, and 21st days. Participants in the experimental group reported better oral conditions in taste, tongue, eating, and saliva than those in the control group. Conclusion: The cold oral gargling seemed to be more beneficial than room-temperature oral gargling in reducing oral discomfort for the Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients undergoing chemotherapy.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.26-35
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• 2007

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to set the strategy that clinical nurses can efficiently cope with the stress from bereavement care, by examining and analyzing stress factors and coping methods of nurses' bereavement care. Methods: A total of 628 nurses were recruited from four university hospitals, two cancer specialized hospitals, and three public hospitals. Stress was measured using the bereavement care stress measurement tool, and coping was done using the cope with stress scale. Results: The stress level about bereavement care of the nurses working in the cancer unit was significantly higher than the level of the nurses working in the general unit. However, there was no difference of coping level between nurses working in cancer unit and general unit. Conclusions: It is important to ensure the methods that contrive to perform bereavement care efficiently by generating hospice nurses and by activating the system for nurses specialist who perform bereavement care.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.87-96
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• 2005

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between fatigue and nutritional status in gastric cancer Design. A correlational and crossectional study design was used. Method: Fatigue was measured using the Revised Piper Fatigue Scale. The parameters for nutritional status consisted of BMI, Hb, Hct, total protein, albumin and lymphocyte count. Result: The mean score of fatigue was $94.31{\pm}22.08(mean\;average\;4.48{\pm}1.00)$. The subdimensional scores of fatigue revealed $34.15{\pm}8.76$ for behavior/severity, $22.00{\pm}7.93$ for cognitive/mood, $21.67{\pm}5.56$ for sensory, and $20.81{\pm}6.69$ for affective. And the level of BMI, Hb, & Hct were under the normal ranges. In the ancillary analysis, there was a significant difference on the fatigue scores by the groups of present diet(F=3.343, P=.026). Age, types of treatments, period after diagnosis and weight change were related to nutritional status. There was a significant negative correlation between fatigue and nutritional status(r=-.371, P=.004). Conclusion: Considering the relationship between fatigue and nutritional status, nurses can identify the risk group most vulnerable to fatigue and malnourishment in order to provide appropriate interventions for them.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.116-125
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• 2005

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was variables in patients hemopoietic stem cell transplantation(HSCT) for leukemia. Method: A total of 88 participants were recruited at St. Mary's Hospital. The data were gathered from July, 2001 to June, 2002 using questionnaires. Result: The mean score of hope was $3.39{\pm}0.35$. Positive relationships were found between hope and self-esteem, physician's support, nurse's support, and satisfaction of life. And negative relationships were found between hope and depression, trait-anxiety, and state-anxiety. The major variable, that associated with hope, was the state-anxiety, explained 35.4% in the variance of the hope. Conclusion: Leukemic patients undergoing HSCT tended to have a high level of hope. Higher levels of self-esteem, physician's support, nurse's support and satisfaction of life were related with higher level of hope. And, higher the levels of depression and anxiety were related with a lower level of hope.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.26-37
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• 2004

The purpose of this study was to determine and test treatment-seeking behavior type and decisional factors of the cancer patients after first detecting symptoms. This study used the methodological triangulation. In the first, treatment-seeking behavior type and decisional factor were described based on qualitative data collected from in-depth interviews with 29 cancer patients. Next, they were tested using quantitative data collected from a structured questionnaire involving 165 cancer patients with statistical method. As a result, treatment-seeking behavior from detecting symptoms to visiting a doctor categorized into immediate visit and delayed visit. The decisional factors on time interval between detecting symptoms and visiting a doctor was influenced by the perceived seriousness of symptoms, the experiences of visiting a doctor previously with similar symptoms, social-group influences on visiting a doctor, barriers to visiting a doctor, and health concerns. There were significant relationship between treatment-seeking time and these factors, however, there was no statistically significant relationship between treatment-seeking time and the demographic characteristics. It is expected that results of this study can be used for nursing education data of cancer patients for early diagnosis after detecting symptoms

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.191-198
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a gum-chewing on the recovery of bowel motility and days of hospitalization after surgery for colorectal cancer. Methods: This study used a non-equivalent control group and non-synchronized design. Thirty-four patients undergoing abdominal surgery for colorectal cancer were assigned to either gum-chewing group (n=17) or control group (n=17). The patients in the gum-chewing group chewed gum for 10 min three times daily from the first postoperative morning until the day they began oral intake. Outcome variables were time of first flatus, time of first bowel movement, and length of hospital stay. Results: Gum-chewing was effective in enhancing the first passage of flatus, but was not effective in enhancing time of bowel movement and length of hospital stay. Conclusion: Gum-chewing can be utilized as a useful nursing intervention to shorten the time of the first flatus of postoperative colectomy.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.171-179
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of progressive muscle relaxation on nausea, vomiting, fatigue, anxiety, and depression in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental research using non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Data were collected from outpatients in a university hospital from April to August, 2009. There were 74 participants, 39 in the experimental group and 35 in the control group. The experimental group was given daily the progressive muscle relaxation for 20 min during three weeks. The structured questionnaire was used to measure nausea, vomiting, fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Data were analyzed using the SPSS/WIN 12.0 program, $x^2$-test, Fisher's exact test, t-test and ANCOVA were conducted to examine the homogeneity and the research hypotheses. Results: There were statistically significant decreases in anxiety and depression in the experimental group compared to the control group. However, there were no significant differences in nausea, vomiting, and fatigue between the groups. Conclusion: In this study, progressive muscle relaxation was effective in alleviating anxiety and depression of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Therefore, progressive muscle relaxation can be usefully utilized as a nursing intervention that enhances psychological function of cancer patients.