• Journal of Korean Clinical Health Science
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.290-298
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• 2015

Purpose. This study aimed to explore family caregivers' experiences with ventilator-dependent patients at home. Methods. The number of patients using mechanical ventilators at home is expected to increase and family caregivers must be able to care for them. However, few studies focus on the experiences of family caregivers. We conducted in-depth interviews with 11 family caregivers who cared for a ventilator-dependent patient at home in South Korea. Data were analyzed using phenomenological method of enquiry. Results. Statements generated from the interviews on the meaning of the family caregiver's experiences were organized into 27 themes, 5 theme clusters, and 2 categories. The theme clusters included endurance under the burden situation, role strain as a caregiver, separation from others, trying to find coping methods, and oriental ethnical customs. Family caregivers of patients using domestic mechanical ventilators need systematic education and emotional support to cope with the challenges of managing ventilator equipment and learning new ways of communicating with patients on the ventilators. Conclusion. These findings may contribute to family caregivers' knowledge and competence, thereby allowing them to better support their ventilator-dependent family members.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2019

Purpose: The Iri station explosion that occurred in 1977 was a major social disaster in Korea, caused by a fire in a train equipped with explosives. The purpose of this study was to investigate the social disaster adaptation experiences of railroad workers. Methods: This study was based on qualitative research using phenomenological methodology. Participants were six railroad workers who experienced the Iri station explosion. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with individual workers from March to June, 2018. The data analysis method was based on Colaizzi's approach. Results: Experiences of railroad workers were categorized into 12 themes and the following 6 theme clusters: (1) Anxiety due to the extreme vibration and crash, (2) Terror regarding the horrible situation that one cannot face, (3) Anger about the cause of the explosion and a sense of relief about survival, (4) Confusion regarding different rumors, (5) Various efforts to return to daily life, and (6) Trauma that continues to exist. Conclusion: The findings of this study recommend that railroad organizations and managers should pay attention to enhance disaster preparedness and develop organizational disaster coping guidelines for members. The results of this study can help us to better understand the various aspects of the Iri station explosion of 1977.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.66-75
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore violent experiences of home visiting health care workers in Korea. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires from 1,640 health care workers. Data collection was done between September 1, 2009 and June 30, 2010. Results: Of the respondents, 70.6% had experienced work-related violence. Shouting (51.9%) was the most common verbal violence, followed by verbalizing sexual remarks to the health care workers (19.0%) and touching the hands (16.5%), the most common acts relating to sexual harassment. Of the respondents who had experienced violence, 50.9% told their peers about the incidents. However, the major reasons why they did not report these incidents was due to the fact that they felt it was useless to file reports and that they expected such incidents to occur as part of their job. The majority of the respondents (86.4%) wanted education on how to deal with such violence at work. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that efforts should be made to increase awareness and to minimize violence in the workplace. Also, educational programs should be designed to improve knowledge and to prevent workplace violence.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.175-185
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• 2012

Purpose: This micro-ethnographic study aimed to understand coping experiences of Korean-American (K-A) women after diagnosis with breast cancer due to a hereditary gene mutation. Methods: Participatory observation and in-depth interviews were performed at one breast cancer screening center in Southern California, in 2005 with eleven first generation K-A immigrant women. All transcribed interviews and field notes were analyzed using ethnographic methodology. Results: K-A women's experience varied based on acculturation risk factors including: limited English speaking ability; disrupted family relationships, individualistic family values, or intergenerational communication barriers; lack of Korean speaking nurses; and Korean physicians' who lacked knowledge about hereditary breast cancer risk. These risk factors led to isolation, loneliness, lack of emotional and social support. In comparison to Korean homeland women in a similar medical situation, these K-A immigrants felt disconnected from the healthcare system, family support and social resources which increased their struggling and impeded coping during their survivorship journey. These women were not able to access self-support groups, nor the valuable resources of nurse navigator programs. Conclusion: Professional oncology associations for nurses and physicians have a moral obligation to support and promote knowledge of hereditary cancer risk and self-help groups for non-native speaking immigrants.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.13-23
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• 2014

This study explores the daily life patterns and housing adjustment behaviors of low-income Korean elderly immigrants residing in affordable housing in the Chicago metropolitan area. Utilizing an intercultural perspective, the study focuses on identifying the immigrants' their cultural attributes of daily living and coping responses to residential misfits. These housing adjustment behaviors are classified into five modes consisting of residential mobility, structural adaptation, residential alteration, normative adaptation, and behavioral adaptation. Two-hour in-depth interviews with open-ended questions were conducted with 138 participants from 15 affordable housing complexes. Collected information includes demographic data, immigration experiences and cultural identity, daily life patterns, as well as housing evaluation and housing adjustment behaviors. The study results indicate that many research participants maintained their cultural attributes of daily living accumulated from past experiences (i.e. mostly based upon Korean cultural contexts), but also made adjustments as they complied with their aging body and new living conditions. This also reflects that immigrants' cultural needs are not limited to the use of language and ethnic goods, but are also embedded deeply in their daily life patterns to influence one's uses of the dwellings in a broader sense. All five modes of housing adjustment behaviors were observed with research participants within their residential settings. More importantly, normative and behavioral adaptations along with residential alterations occurred more simultaneously rather than sequentially when the respondents perceived discrepancy between oneself (i.e. including one's attributes, needs, and preferences) and his/her dwelling.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.79-105
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• 2011

In-depth interview research and qualitative methodology were used to find changes in the experiences of family volunteer activities through the use of the Health Family Support Center. Ultimately, 143 items as sub-concepts, 42 items as sub-categories, and 10 items as subjects were found. I will also suggest alternative basic and primary data. First, using 10 subjects, the following points were evaluated in detail. I looked at what kind of changes in the volunteer activities these subjects experienced after working at the Health Family Support Center, and what the specific underlying reasons were for the changes in their family volunteer experience. These included 'community solidarity', 'family community', 'leisure and culture for the family', 'communication', 'personal relations', 'coping skills', 'growth', 'sympathy', 'positive thinking', 'future plans'. Second, families experienced a feeling of belonging as community members and the family realized the importance of their life, learned communication methods and coping skills. Third, families came to have new opportunities to grow as humans and learned a feeling of sympathy for others. Fourth, families found new paradigms to think positively about their daily life and to establish future plans. We will need more effort to empower family experiences of family volunteer activities that use the Health Family Support Center as well as supporting its staff. The following specific factors were the main mediating factors for using such a facility: family volunteer education, family volunteer service agency consulting, program planning, and managing family volunteers and other services.

• The Southeast Asian review
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.135-179
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• 2013

This study explores the study experiences of Southeast Asian students at a reputable Korean private university in Seoul. In particular, this study focuses on difficulties and coping strategies of both non-native speaker of English and native-speakers of English who are working for their undergraduate or postgraduate degrees. Interviews of fourteen students from five Southeast Asian countries were collected and analyzed by NVivo 9. Thematic analysis result shows that many students, particularly non-native speakers of English, had much more difficulties than their counterparts, in contemporary Korean university context, where internationalization indices-driven strategies including expanding courses conducted in English language. Also, this study observes and documents contrasting patterns of different degree of difficulties experienced by students, depending on their degree levels and majors. Undergraduate students in science and engineering majors had the greatest degree of difficulties among all. In contrast, their graduate counterparts seem to have less difficulties. This might be related to the fact that graduate students in science and engineering majors are mostly working with their peers in their own labs, which provides institutional support. Coping strategies of students show that international students, facing unfavorable or unfriendly treatments by their Korean peers, developed innovative strategies, including using the internet technology to catch up with the classes that they could not fully understand. As a whole, adaptation process of international students do not seem to be passive or one-way. This study also provides policy implications for international students, particularly, who can be categorized as linguistic and ethnic minorities.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.99-109
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• 2018

Objectives: To analyze the reports of qualitative research about depressed mood and suicidal ideation of Korean Seniors. Methods: Eleven published qualitative research studies were selected for analysis. We extracted common topics and factors of each stage, Selected factors were paralleled and synthesized to make a flow chart of the phenomena. Results: Depressed mood arousals of Korean seniors are categorized by causation factors, which include economic, psychosomatic, and social factors, and positive-negative coping strategies, which include cognitive-behavioral factors. Suicidal experiences are categorized as ideation, suicidal attempt, and after-suicide stage. In the latter, participants reported three types of lifestyles by their enthusiasm for 'being alive'. Conclusions: Through the qualitative synthesis of research, we could analyze and categorize major factors and coping strategies of participants who exhibited a depressed mood or suicidal ideation.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.270-281
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• 2005

Purpose: The objective of this study was to understand the caring experience of families with terminal cancer patients. Method: This was designed to be an inductive and descriptive study. Forty-seven families with terminal cancer patients were interviewed in depth and collected data were examined through content analysis. Result: The main categories of difficulties found in this study were 'suffering of patient', 'emotional suffering of family', 'bereavement of patient', 'difficulties in coping', 'problems in treatment', 'incurable situation', 'family problems', 'relationship with other people', 'economic problems', 'spiritual problems', 'problems in the future', 'informing patients of their condition', 'preparing death', 'emotional unstability', 'meaninglessness', 'unkindness of medical teams', 'poor environment for treatment', 'difficulties in hospital environment' and 'economic burden'. Conclusion: The main point found from this result was that families taking care of terminal cancer patients are suffering emotionally from watching the patients' pains and had difficulties in coping with the patients' situation and treatment. In addition, they had negative experiences in medical teams' attitude and hospital environment. This result can be used as an important guide for nurses to assess families' needs in the terminal care setting.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.299-316
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• 2003

A phenomenological methodology was used to identify the life of children living with alcoholic parents. Nine adolescents participated in the in-depth interviews, done between October and December 2001. The Colaizzi's method was used for data analysis. The results of this study are as follows. One theme and thirteen meanings were identified, The one theme is Paradoxical Coping in Life. The meanings are obsessive behavior as a way to control father's behavior, always on the defensive due to anxiety and tension, being afraid of life alone due to paranoid thoughts, contradictory expectations about father's drinking behavior due to life with chronic tension, stress becoming familiar and life being boring and tendious without stimulation, life that is fake and filled with misinterpretations about reality, affection sought from others due to loneliness, compensatory life within peer group, negative expectation about the future due to negative experiences, controling others to protect ego, denial of real emotion to protect self from hurt, life of regretting self, and strong need for approval from others. The results of this study can provide a foundation for the development of programs for children of alcohol dependent parents.