• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.154-163
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• 2023

Objectives: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or lupus patients usually experience various physical and psychological challenges. Since the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, these challenges have become even harsher. Using the participatory action research approach, this study evaluated how an e-wellness program (eWP) impacted SLE-related knowledge and health behaviors, mental health, and quality of life among lupus patients in Thailand. Methods: A 1-group, pretest-posttest design study was conducted among a purposive sample of lupus patients who were members of Thai SLE Foundation. The 2 main intervention components were: (1) online social support, and (2) lifestyle and stress management workshops. Sixty-eight participants completed all the study requirements, including the Physical and Psychosocial Health Assessment questionnaire. Results: After being in the eWP for 3 months, participants' mean score for SLE-related knowledge increased significantly (t=5.3, p<0.001). The increase in sleep hours was statistically significant (Z=-3.1, p<0.01), with the percentage of participants who slept less than 7 hours decreasing from 52.9% to 29.0%. The percentage of participants reporting sun exposure decreased from 17.7% to 8.8%. The participants also reported significantly lower stress (t(66)=-4.4, p<0.001) and anxiety (t(67)=-2.9, p=0.005). The post-eWP quality of life scores for the pain, planning, intimate relationship, burden to others, emotional health, and fatigue domains also improved significantly (p<0.05). Conclusions: The overall outcomes showed promising results of improved self-care knowledge, health behaviors, mental health status, and quality of life. It is recommended that the SLE Foundation continues to use the eWP model to help the lupus patient community.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.425-434
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• 2019

This study was conducted to investigate psychological and physiological changes of elderly affected by agro-healing activities. To meet the purpose, we conducted an agro-healing program with 20 elderly participants (average age 77.6±5.84 men and women) and once a week in total seven sessions. The Korean version of the Brief Encounter Psychosocial Instrument (BEPSI-K), Korean version of the Short Form of Geriatric Depression Scale (SGDS-K), participants' satisfaction with the program, Salivettes system method, and blood pressure were measured to find out the effects of agro-healing activities. BEPSI-K decreased by 5% in the high stress group although it was not statistically significant. The result of program satisfaction showed that 75% of the participants are satisfied with these activities. We investigated how many and what kind of chronic diseases the participants have had before they joined the program. As a result, hypertension was most common(35.6%), followed by hyperlipidemia, diabetes, arthritis, lumbago, osteoporosis, and heart disease. Systolic blood pressure after the activities decreased significantly from 144.75mmHg (stage 1 hypertension), to 132.90mmHg(prehypertension stage). As a result of analyzing the correlations between general matters such as age, education level, average income of the participants, psychological scale and number of diseases, it was found that participants' satisfaction had a negative correlation with depression. In conclusion, agro-healing is very useful in relieving stress or lowering blood pressure for the elderly whose most common disease is hypertension. Agro-healing activities are proved to have positive uses in reducing the problems of the modern society with severe issues of the aging population.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.47-58
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• 2004

This study was conducted to evaluated the degree of job-related life style and stress of industrial workers to present fundamental materials of preventive oriental medicine. The medical examination with oriental medicine method was performed from October 14 to November 1, 2002 for the 474 industrial workers and general characters, life style and Psychosocial Well-being Index(PWI) were collected by using self-recording type questionnaire. The results were as follows; 1) All 474 of subjects were male, job type was distributed into technician, 37.8% of them, white collar worker, blue collar worker, research worker in an orderly fashion. 2) As a result of comparison between the job types in general characters, research worker group was the highest in education level, above 10 years group in employee duration and 1.5-2.99 million won group in monthly income was the largest group in all job type and the distribution was significantly different. 3) Analyzing the difference in life style according to the job type shows that significantly highest prevalence of drinking alcohol was found in blue collar workers, they drank alcohol 2-4 times a week and that workers did not smoke in all group of job type and the prevalence of exercise was significantly high in less than 1 time a week. 4) Analyzing the difference in the degree of stress according to the job type shows that blue collar worker group had the highest score in Factor 1, Factor 4 fields, technician group had the highest score in Factor 2 field and the differences were significant. Considering above results, the present study shows that there are difference in life style and stress according to the job type in industrial workers and that health management according to job type must be required to improve health condition and to prevent disease of industrial workers in the future.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.217-228
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• 2001

Cancer survivor's self-help group may promote psychosocial adjustment in cancer patients. Self-transcendence has been shown to be related with crisis and adjustment in women with breast cancer. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of self-transcendence promoting program to facilitate self-transcendence, physical, and emotional well-being in women with breast cancer. Thirty patients who received mastectomy were recruited, but 9 subjects of experimental group and 14 subjects of control group participated in this study. Subjects of experimental group attended the self-help group for self-transcendence once a week for 6 weeks. Each session of program was proceeded for 2hours and the program contained activities for promoting self-transcendence, stress management, communication skill, exercise and relaxation, symptom management, and family support. Data were collected by self-reporting questionnaires within seven days after mastectomy and after the program was finished in experimental group, within 7 days after mastectomy and after 3 months in control group. Self-transcendence was assessed using the self-transcendence scale (STS) developed by Reed. Physical well being was assessed using Symptom distress scale (SDS) developed by McCorkle and Young and emotional well being was assessed using Profile of mood states (POMS). As a result, no significant differences were found between both groups in changes of self-transcendence, emotional well-being, and physical well-being. Self-transcendence score was significantly decreased in control group (p =0.16). But that of experimental group showed no decrease. In conclusions, when the self-transcendence promoting program is provided to the patients with breast cancer, it can be helpful for promoting self- transcendence. For the further study, repeated research with appropriate sample size and more intensive nursing intervention to promote self-transcendence is suggested. And reassessment after 6 months is recommended for testing long term effects of the program.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.255-268
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• 1993

This descriptive correlational research was conducted to compare the relationship between self-esteem performance of antenatal care and health pro-motion lifestyles for unmarried and married pregnant women. The sample consisted of 94 married women attending one general hospital and residing in Seoul and 82 unmarried women from two social institutes for unmarried women. The tool used for this study was a structured questionnaire which was developed and revised by the researcher. The tool consisted of 12 items related to demographic characteristics, 10 items on self-esteem measurement, 20 items on performance of antenatal care and 37 items on health promotion lifestyle profile. The data collected from the interviews were analyzing using the SPSS, yielding frequencies, percentiles, means, standard deviations, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation. The results of this study are as follows : 1) The demographic variables for the two groups were heterogenous except for religion. 2) The results of the comparison between the two groups were significantly different for self-esteem, married women(mean 20.41, standard deviation 3. 94) had higher scores on self-esteem than unmarried women(mean 24.02, standard deviation 4.11), (t=-5.91, p .001) 3) There was a stastically significant difference between the two groups on the health promotion lifestyle profile. The married women had higher scores on the health promotion lifestyle profile (t=7.22, p〈.001) 4) The score for married women on performance of antenatal care has higher than the score for unmarried women(t=8.83, p〈.001) 5) With regard to the relationship between health promotion lifestyle and performance of antenatal care and self-esteem, the correlation coefficient between self-esteem and health Promotion lifestyle for married women was .45, between per formance of antenatal care and health promotion lifestyle, .54, between self-esteem and performance of antenatal care, .32. For the unmarried women, between self-esteem and health promotion lifestyle, .39, between performance of antenatal care and health promotion lifestyle, .67, between self-esteem and performance of antenatal care, .30. 6) There was a statistically significant different between the two groups on all subconcepts of the health promotion lifestyle profile (p〈.001). 7) Comparison of the order of the scores between the two groups for the married women showed that the highest score was for nutrition, then self-actualization, interpersonal support, health responsibility, stress management and exercise in that order. For the unmarried women the highest score was for self-actualization followed by nutrition, interpersonal support, stress management, health responsibility, and exercise in that order. The score in the exercise domain was lowest in both groups. In conclusion, on the basis of the results of this study, resources and protection facilities for unmarried pregnant women could be improved through government policies and health care policies that would allow unmarried women to utilize significant social support resources and actualize health pro-motion lifestyles. Nursing should offer interventions to increase psychosocial adjustment and support tp improve the quality of life for unmarried pregnant women and further to promote improved growth and development of the infants.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.314-327
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• 1999

In this study, domains, contents, and effects of pre-existed intervention programs for individuals with arthritis were meta-analyzed to develop arthritis health promotion program based on Holistic Model. The developed program includes strategies of cognition, environment, and behavior. and also generates positive changes in the physical, psychological, and social demensions. Then needs assessment on conveniently selected 153 women who visited a university hospital in Seoul or in Inchon are conducted to identify the objective domains of arthritis health promotion program According to the study results. target health problems of the arthritis health promotion program were shown as pain, disability, depression, and role impediment in social domain. These objectives could be achieved by including the strategies of changing cognition, the strategies of changing behavior through learning the skill related to the health promoting behavior. and the strategies of changing environment in the health promotion program. That is, it is analyzed that the contents of program are not exclusive one another in physical. psychological. and social demensions, and also are not exclusive one another in aspect of cognition, behavior, and environment. The necessary methods to achieve the desired objectives for the developed arthritis health promotion program and evaluation subjects are as follows : (1) In the arthritis health promotion program, knowledge on management of arthritis, efficacy related to arthritis management, skill for pain management, skill for exercise, establishment of positive self-concept, enhancement of positive thinking, stress management. skill for problem solving, skill for setting goals. skill for requesting help, and skill for communication are all included. Through the improvement of all those strategies, intermediate objectives, such as “joint protection, and maintenance of pain management behavior”, “maintenance of regular exercise”, and “promotion of coping skill in psychosocial dimension” are achieved. (2) These intermediate objectives are also the methods for achieving objectives in next stage. It implies that through the intermediate objectives. the final objectives such as “minimization of physical symptoms and signs”, “maximization of psychological function”, and “maximazation of role performance in social domain” could be achieved. Each of these final objectives reflects the different dimension of quality of life, respectively. When these objectives are achieved, the quality of life that client perceives is improved. Therefore, through evaluation of these final objectives, the level of achieving final outcome of arthritis health promotion such as quality of life is determined.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.224-231
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• 2018

Background: Organizations are pursing complex and diverse aims to generate higher profits. Many workers experience high work intensity such as workload and work pressure in this organizational environment. Especially, psychological burden is a commonly used term in workplace of Republic of Korea. This study focused on defining the psychological burden from the perspective of occupational safety and health and tried to develop a scale for psychological burden. Methods: The 48 preliminary questionnaire items for psychological burden were prepared by a focus group interview with 16 workers through the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II and Mindful Awareness Attention Scale. The preliminary items were surveyed with 572 workers, and exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and correlation analysis were conducted for a new scale. Results: As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, five factors were extracted: organizational activity, human error, safety and health workload, work attitude, and negative self-management. These factors had significant correlations and reliability, and the stability of the model for validity was confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis. Conclusion: The developed scale for psychological burden can measure workers' psychological burden in relation to safety and health. Despite some limitations, this study has applicability in the workplace, given the relatively small-sized questionnaire.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.665-675
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• 2007

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of people with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in Korea. The specific aim was to identify major problems that people with CHB face and strategies that they are dealing with. Methods: A grounded theory method was utilized. The data were collected by individual in-depth interviews from 12 CHB patients from one of the major hospitals in Korea. Results: After constant comparative analysis, a core category emerged as "illness management with self-reliance and will." Seven major strategies that were identified in dealing with the illness were maintaining receptive and positive attitudes; restraining excessive work and greed; searching for information; controlling illness information; adhering to practices for not spreading the viral disease; abstaining from alcohol and smoking and maintaining healthy eating habits; nd using alternative therapies. The outcomes that result from employing these strategies were identified as burden, depression and helplessness, stress for maintaining compliance, and dispirited interpersonal relationships. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that most people with CHB in Korea have problems in psychosocial area. Thus health professionals need to provide not only informational support but also emotional one to improve quality of life of the people with CHB.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.133-145
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• 1999

The purposesof the study are to analyze the community nursing center in U.S.A and to develop the model of nursing care system based on nurse-midwifery clinic in community for women's health in Korea. 1. In America nursing center is defined as nurse-anchored system of primary care delivery or neighborhood health center. Nursing centers are identified the following four types: (1) community outreach centers, which are similar to traditional public health clinics: (2) institutional-based centers following the mission of a large institution, such as a hospital or university: (3) wellness/health promotion centers, which offer screening, education, counseling, triage, and health maintenance services: and (4) independent practice. Nursing centers are a concept of services provided by nurses in practice arrangements in a community. Nursing centers offer a variety of services, ranging from primary care provided by advanced practice nurses with medical acute management and nursing care to the more traditional education, health promotion, screening wellness and coordination services. Some services, such as the care provided by advanced practice nurses are reimbursed under various insurance plan in some instances and states, where as others, such as preventive and educational services, are not. Thus, lack of reimbursement has threatened the survival of some centers. Licensing of nursing centers varies by state and program and accreditation of nursing centers is also limited. 52% of centers are affiliated with another facility and 48% are freestanding centers. The number of registered nurse at the nursing centers ranges from just one to 115, with a mean of eight RNs peragency and a median of three. Nursing centers avail ability varies: 14% are open 24 hours, 27% have variable short hours, 23% are open 6-7 days per week, and 36% are open Monday- Friday. As the result of my visiting three health centers in Seattle and San Francisco, the women's primary care nurse practitioners focus on a systematic and comprehensive assessment of the health status of women and diagnosis and management of common physical and psychosocial health concerns of women in ambulatory settings. Therapeutic nursing strategies are directed toward self-care, risk reoduction, health surveillance, stress reduction, healthy nutrition, social support, healthy coping, psychological well-being, and pharmacological therapy. They function as primary care providers for the well ness and illness care of women from adolescence through the older adult years and pregnant families. 2. In Korea a nurse-midwife practices independently for pregnant women's health including childbearing family at her own clinic in community. Her services are reimbursed under national health insurance but they are not paid on a fee-for-service schedule covering items. Analyzing the nursing centers in America, I suggest that nurse-midwifery clinics offer primary care for women and home care for chronic ill patients. The health law and health insurance policy should be reovised in order to expand nurse-midwife's and home care nurse's roles at nurse-midwifery clinic.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.536-546
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• 2001

The purposes of this descriptive study were to identify the prevalence rate of urinary incontinence(UI) and the differences in frequency of incontinent and normal women by general characteristics, obstetrical history, and the conditional events for urinary incontinence of the elderly women in a community. By the results of this study, it is intended to provide nursing practice guidelines for incontinent women. The research design of this study was a preliminary descriptive study. The 173 subjects were 55 years old and over, and resided in a small city area. Data were collected from June 20 to July 20, 2001, by an interview or a self-report with questionaire. The questionaire was composed of items of general characteristics, obstetrical characteristics, and conditions of UI by the modified Henderickon's Stress Incontinence Scale(1981). The results were summariezed as follows: 1. The UI prevalence rate of the sample was 64.2%. Of the incontinent women, 31.5% had experienced UI for a period of three to five years, and 84.7% had never treated or managed their UI. Frequency of UI was once or twice times per month(46.8%). 2. The total mean of UI on the scale in the incontinent women was 25.50 of 85, ranging from 18 to 41. 3. The most frequent condition of UI was coughing, followed by laughing, sneezing, heavy exercise, and preparation of urination in descending order. 4. There were significant differences in age, education, social activity, and urinary difficulty between the incontinent women and the normal women. 5. There were significant differences in frequency of spontaneous abortion, age of menopause between the incontinent women and the normal women. 6. There were no significant differences in number of delivery, frequency of artificial abortion, age of the last delivery, and postal health management between the incontinent women and the normal women. In conclusion, the incidence of UI in this study was high, but there were no effective treatments or management. It is suggested to provide the adult women with knowledge about UI, and to educate preventive behavior and control skill of urinary incontinence. Also episodes of urinary incontinence were high in the situation of sudden increase of abdominal pressure. This data can be used for the prevention strategy of urinary incontinence, In future research it is recommended to identify comprehensive factors related to urinary incontinence including psychosocial factors, and effective strategies of urinary incontinence.