• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.803-813
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to investigate the anthropometric and blood biochemical characteristics, the dietary behaviors and health-related lifestyles of obese children in Incheon. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using anthropometric measurements, biochemical assessments and questionnaire analysis. The subjects included 7,055 obese children residing in the Incheon area (from 106 elementary schools). The degree of obesity was classified using the Obesity Index (OI) as light 20% ＜ OI ＜ 30% ; Medium 30% ＜ OI ＜ 50% ; Severe 50% ＞ OI. The statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS 10.0 program. Most subjects fell within the medium range of obesity. Most subjects had dietary problems such as overeating, unbalanced meals and skipping breakfast. The ratio of boy subjects eating green and yellow vegetables was lowe. when compared to that of the girl subjects. The boy subjects exercised more frequently and longer than the girls. As the Obesity Index increased, hypercholesterolemia significantly increased. The blood cholesterol levels of the subjects were positively correlated with body fat, waist/hip ratio and BMI; HDL cholesterol levels of the subjects were negatively correlated with the anthropometric data and the LDL cholesterol levels of the subjects were positively correlated with body fat. The blood triglycerides levels of the subjects were positively correlated with body weight, body fat, waist/hip ratio and BMI. Therefore, proper nutritional education and intervention are required for an improvement of obese children＇s dietary behavior, heath-related factors and blood lipid profiles.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.369-378
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• 2003

Purpose: To identify factors influencing women's intention to take hormone replacement therapy(HRT). Method: A cross-sectional survey design was utilized. A total of 116 married women aged 40 to 60 were recruited from women's groups in communities. They completed a structured questionnaire containing demographic characteristics, Orientation to Life Questionnaire, Menopausal Symptom Checklist, Health Belief of Korean Adult, Sexrole Idea of Kim, Dong-il, chronic illnesses, and a single item measuring marital satisfaction. Result: Thirteen percents of the women were currently taking HRT and 28.4% had intention to take HRT. Education, sense of coherence, and sex role attitude were related to women's susceptibility to menopause. Hysterectomy status and the level of sense of coherence explained women's perception of seriousness regarding menopause. In addition, chronic health conditions accounted for the variances of benefits and barriers to HRT. Factors influencing women's intention to take HRT were education, menopausal symptoms, and perceived benefits of HRT. Conclusion: Women's chronic health conditions, psychosocial characteristics as well as menopausal discomforts were associated with women's choice regarding HRT. Other factors related to decision making process of women's health seeking behaviors need to be explored.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.106-115
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• 2016

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate sleep, fatigue, and the level of health promoting behaviors in Korean army soldiers. The factors influencing on health promoting behaviors of soldiers were also identified. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive survey design was used. Data was collected from 269 soldiers in four military units of Korea in July 2015. Verran and Snyder-Halpern Sleep Scale, Fatigue Severity Scale, and Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II were used. Results: The health promoting behaviors were significantly different by perceived health status (p<.001) and presence of fatigue (p<.001). There were significant correlations between quality of sleep, fatigue, and health promoting behaviors of the subjects. In a multiple linear regression analysis, the level of health promoting behaviors were lower in the subjects with high level of fatigue (p<.001) and with fair perceived health status (p=.003). Conclusion: In order to increase health promoting behaviors of soldiers, it takes into account of soldiers' fatigue and perceived health status. Environmental arrangement for soldiers for the break time is needed urgently to decrease their fatigue as well as to improve their sleep quality.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.388-398
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• 2016

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to identify nurses' empathy, attitude and pain management for patients with dementia and the factors associated with their performance of pain management. Methods: The study design was a cross-sectional survey. The participants in the study were 114 nurses working at 12 geriatric hospitals. This study utilized the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), which measures four empathy factors. Nurses' attitudes toward pain and performance of pain management, and general and pain related characteristics were measured by self-administered questionnaires. Results: Barriers to pain management for patients with dementia were absence of guidelines, prejudice of pain in dementia, and lack of time and knowledge deficit. There was a significant positive correlation between empathic concern and attitudes, perspective-taking of empathy and pain management. There was also a correlation between empathy and pain management. Stepwise linear regression analysis indicated that the significant factors affecting the performance of pain management included perspective-taking of empathy, use of pain management in dementia guideline and attitudes toward pain. These factors explained 24.0% of variance. Conclusion: The findings from this study suggest that empathy and positive attitude are the important provider attributes which needs to be enhanced by educational programs. It is also necessary to develop and disseminate guidelines for a dementia specific pain management.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.879-883
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• 2012

Cervical cancer is caused by HPV infection and can be prevented by early vaccination. Objective: To assess Syrian women's level of knowledge and determinants of good knowledge of cervical cancer, HPV infection and its vaccines. Methods: A cross sectional survey was undertaken among mothers with daughters in sixth grade classes enrolled in primary schools in Aleppo city, Syria. Samples were selected through cluster sampling and data collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Results: Less than a third of the mothers had heard of HPV infection and vaccines against cervical cancer and levels of knowledge were generally low. Good knowledge was associated with high education level, higher family monthly income, having few - less than four children, positive history of cervical cancer screening, and working or having relatives working in the medical field. The main source of information was television and few reported health care providers as a source of knowledge on HPV infection and vaccine. Conclusion: Since knowledge of HPV infection and its connection with cervical cancer and its vaccine are low, more efforts must be made to educate Syrians prior to introduction of any HPV vaccination programme. Public health efforts must focus on educating mothers, the public as well as health care providers.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.66-73
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to determine if Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) variables predict soy milk intake in a sample of WIC participants in 2 Illinois counties (n = 380). A cross-sectional survey was used, which examined soy foods intake, behavioral beliefs, subjective norms, motivation, and intention. Soy product intake was low at both sites, and many participants (40%) did not know that soy milk was WIC approved. Most (> 70%) wanted to comply with their health care providers, but didn't know their opinions about soy milk (50-66%). Intention was significantly correlated with intake (0.507, P ${\leq}$ 0.01; 0.308, P ${\leq}$ 0.05). Environmental beliefs (0.282 and 0.410, P ${\leq}$ 0.01) and expectancy beliefs (0.490 and 0.636, P ${\leq}$ 0.01) were correlated with intention. At site 1, 30% of the variance in intention to consume soy milk was explained by expectancy beliefs and subjective norm beliefs (P < 0.0001); at site 2, 40% of the variance in intention was explained by expectancy beliefs. The TPB variables of expectancy beliefs predicted intention to consume soy milk in WIC participants. Therefore, knowing more about the health benefits of soy and how to cook with soy milk would increase WIC participants' intention to consume soy milk. Positive messages about soy milk from health care providers could influence intake.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.588-596
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify factors that influence depression in stomach cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at outpatient clinic. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used. Ninety two subjects diagnosed with stomach cancer and receiving chemotherapy agreed to participated in the study. Subjects completed a survey which included questions about depression, symptom experience, social support and self-efficacy. Results: The level of depression was $13.45{\pm}6.92$. Reported depression differed according to patient's perceived health status. Depression was significantly correlated with symptom experience, social support and self-efficacy. The most important factor related to depression was symptom experience, followed by social support and self-efficacy. These three factors could explain about 47% of depression in stomach cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Conclusion: Although the level of depression in stomach cancer patients receiving chemotherapy was relatively low, 34.8% of patients reported to have depression. It is important to apply nursing intervention including screening of depression level in stomach cancer patients receiving chemotherapy that focused on symptom experience and to consider about social support and self-efficacy at outpatient clinic.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.441-453
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• 2012

Purpose: This secondary data analysis study was aimed at identifying the factors related to the patterns of alcohol use (normal alcohol use, hazardous alcohol use, and alcohol dependence) in the Korean adult. Methods: This study analyzed the cross-sectional data from 230,715 Korean adults aged 19 year and older who participated in the 2009 Korean Community Health Survey. Multinomial logistic regression was used to uncover associations between demographic, health related factors and the patterns of alcohol use. Results: The patterns of alcohol use was differentiated from the sociodemographic variables (residential area, gender, age, marital status, educational level, monthly income, and occupation) and with health related factors (smoking status, hours of sleep, body mass index, pain or discomfort, subjective health, stress level, liver disease, cardio/cerebro vascular disease, and depression). Hazardous alcohol use was lower in rural areas and lower among women, but higher among people who smoke, reported severe stress, and/or depression. Similarly, alcohol dependence was lower among women and among those in rural areas, and was more likely associated with those who smoke, have severe stress and depression. Conclusion: A number of factors are associated with patterns of drinking. Smoking, severe stress and depression seems to confound the problems of alcohol use. Additional research is needed to isolate those factors that are the most important influencing the use of alcohol.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.53-61
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to identify the levels of anxiety, depression and uncertainty of patients who participated in the clinical trials for anticancer drug, and to identify correlations among these variables. Methods: Cross-sectional survey used the Symptom Check List-90-Revision and the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale from 106 subjects in 2011. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients. Results: The mean score of anxiety was 2.06, that of depression 2.35, and that of uncertainty 2.61. Anxiety and depression (r=.70), anxiety and uncertainty (r=.44), depression and uncertainty (r=.60) were significantly correlated each other. The levels of anxiety, depression and uncertainty were different in various characteristics of the subjects, such as education, recurrence, and economic burden. Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that when implementing psychosocial interventions for cancer patients who participate in clinical trial, factors such as education, economic burden, and recurrence should be integrated into the intervention. Further studies applying theoretical model would be helpful to identify directional relationships among the variables that are important in psychosocial well-being of cancer patients undergoing clinical trial.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.256-265
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• 2017

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify levels of health literacy and reported health behaviors among older adults with cardio-cerebrovascular disease residing in rural areas. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a convenience sample of 134 older people (mean age=75.5 years, 71.6% Female) registered at seven health centers. The structured questionnaires were used to measure levels of health literacy and health behaviors. Results: The average functional health literacy score was $6.08{\pm}3.04$, and the health behavior score was $62.92{\pm}6.45$. Respectively health behavior was positively associated with health literacy. Education, economic status, number of family members, number of social activities and health literacy were contribution factors explaining 40.64% of the variance in health behavior. Health literacy specifically explained 12.5% of health behavior. Conclusion: These findings suggest that strategies for improving health behaviors and reducing health inequalities may benefit from adopting a stronger focus on health literacy within prevention, patient education, and other public health interventions. Further longitudinal studies are needed to help confirm that improving health literacy in the elderly may be effective in changing health behaviors.