• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.435-440
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• 2013

Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among women in Malaysia. A diagnosis is very stressful for women, affecting all aspects of their being and quality of life. As such, there is little information on quality of life of women with breast cancer across the different ethnic groups in Malaysia. The purpose of this study was to examine the quality of life in Malay and Chinese women newly diagnosed with breast cancer in Kelantan. Materials and Methods: A descriptive study involved 58 Malays and 15 Chinese women newly diagnosed with breast cancer prior to treatment. Quality of life was measured using the Malay version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) and its breast-specific module (QLQ-BR23). Socio-demographic and clinical data were also collected. All the data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: Most of the women were married with at least a secondary education and were in late stages of breast cancer. The Malay women had lower incomes (p=0.046) and more children (p=0.001) when compared to the Chinese women. Generally, both the Malay and Chinese women had good functioning quality-of-life scores [mean score range: 60.3-84.8 (Malays); 65.0-91.1 (Chinese)] and global quality of life [mean score 60.3, SD 22.2 (Malays); mean score 65.0, SD 26.6 (Chinese)]. The Malay women experienced more symptoms such as nausea and vomiting (p=0.002), dyspnoea (p=0.004), constipation (p<0.001) and breast-specific symptoms (p=0.041) when compared to the Chinese. Conclusions: Quality of life was satisfactory in both Malays and Chinese women newly diagnosed with breast cancer in Kelantan. However, Malay women had a lower quality of life due to high general as well as breast-specific symptoms. This study finding underlined the importance of measuring quality of life in the newly diagnosed breast cancer patient, as it will provide a broader picture on how a cancer diagnosis impacts multi-ethnic patients. Once health care professionals understand this, they might then be able to determine how to best support and improve the quality of life of these women during the difficult times of their disease and on-going cancer treatments.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.8
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• pp.324-331
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• 2017

This study consisted of methodological research verifying the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the interpersonal emotion management (IEM) strategies scale after translating and modifying the scale developed by Little et al. The study verified the content validity, construct validity, concurrent validity and reliability based on 189 nurses working at four hospitals in the Seoul and Gyeonggi region. In this study, the Korean version of the IEM strategies scale was comprised of four factors, with a total of 15 questions that included three regarding situation modification, three regarding attention deployment, four regarding cognitive change, and five on modifying emotional response. Furthermore, verification of concurrent validity revealed that the Korean version of the IEM strategies scale was a valid tool as the correlation of the emotional intelligence scale appeared as r=0.60 (p<0.001). The reliability verification showed four factors at Cronbach's ${\alpha}=0.84-90$, confirming that the Korean version of the tool in this study was very reliable.It is important to note that this study provided basic data for the development of educational programs that can effectively control the negative emotions of clinical nurses at the organization level.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.112 no.4
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• pp.515-522
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• 2023

The aim of this study was to quantitatively evaluate a new stem volume table for estimating the growth, carbon storage, and greenhouse gas (GHG) absorption in Cryptomeria japonica and Chamaecyparis obtusa stands and to provide suggestions for improving the domestic GHG inventory. Carbon storage and GHG absorption were estimated using growing stock data obtained from invariable sub-sample plots between the 6^th and 7^th national forest inventories. We assessed changes in growing stock using the parameters employed by Kozak (1988) and Versions 1 and 2 of the stem volume table. Version 2 has new stem tables for 16 species, including Cryptomeria japonica, which were unavailable in Version 1. Version 2 also includes new data for trees with diameters at breast height equal to or greater than 30 cm. We found greater growing stock values using Version 2 than Version 1 for both stands, and the differences were statistically significant (p<0.001). Applying the new stem volume table increased GHG absorption by 22% for the Cryptomeria japonica stand and 13% for the Chamaecyparis obtusa stand. The growing stock estimation method used in this study should therefore be applied to re-estimate GHG absorptions in the forestry sector to produce accurate statistics for the IPCC guidelines.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.45-53
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• 2013

Objectives Non-major depression with fewer symptoms than required for a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-4th edition diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) has consistently been found to be associated with functional impairment. In this study, we aim to estimate the cognitive impairment and the quality of life in elderly patients with subsyndromal depression (SSD) compared with non-depressive elderly (NDE). Methods The Korean version of Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview was administered to 194 outpatients with depression and 108 normal controls. SSD is defined as having five or more current depressive symptoms with core depressive symptoms (depressive mood or loss of interest or pleasure) during more than half a day and more than seven days over two weeks. Depression was evaluated by the Korean form of Geriatric Depression Scale of a 15-item short version. Global cognition was assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination in the Korean version of CERAD assessment packet (MMSE-KC). Subjective cognitive impairment was assessed by the Subjective Memory Complaint Questionnaire. Quality of life was evaluated by the Korean Version of Short-Form 36-Item Health Survey. Results The mean score of the MMSE-KC in the SSD group was lower than that in the NDE group with adjustment for age, gender, and education [F = 4.270, p = 0.04, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA)]. If we defined those having Z-score of MMSE-KC < -1.5 as a high risk group of cognitive impairment, the odds ratio for the high risk group of cognitive impairment was 1.86 [95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.04-3.34] in SSD and 7.57 (95% CI 3.50-16.40) in MDD compared to NDE. The scores of physical component summary (F = 9.274, p = 0.003, ANCOVA) and mental component summary (F = 53.166, p < 0.001, ANCOVA) in the SSD group were lower than those in the NDE group with adjustment for age, gender, and education. Conclusions The subjects with SSD, as well as those with MDD, showed impairment of global cognition and also experienced low quality of life in both physical and mental aspects, compared to the NDE group.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.60-68
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• 2003

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop a Korean version of the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale(LEAS-K) and to examine its validity and reliability. Methods: LEAS-K was developed from translating original LEAS into Korean. The subjects were 476 Korean medical students(322 males and 154 females). The internal consistency was evaluated with the Cronbach's alpha coefficients and 40 protocols were independently scored by two raters to confirm interrater reliability. Additionally, a Korean version of 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale(TAS-20K), Korean versions of the Openness to Experience Inventory(OE), the Marlowe-Crowne Scale (MCS), the Bendig short form of the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale(TMAS) and the Emotional Expressivity Scale(EES) were rated to evaluate concurrent validity. Results: The internal consistency measured by Cronbach's alpha was 0.81 and interrater reliability was high{r(40)=0.99}. Correlation coefficients for concurrent validity were nonsignificant with TMAS and EES. LEAS-K correlated significantly with TAS-20K{r(476)=-0.10, p<0.05}, OE {r(476)=0.10, p<0.05} and MCS {r(476)=0.10, p<0.05}. Conclusion: LEAS-K was demonstrated to have high reliability and validity.

• Honam Mathematical Journal
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.787-794
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• 2014

We prove three convex hull theorems on triangles and circles. Given a triangle ${\triangle}$ and a point p, let ${\triangle}^{\prime}$ be the triangle each of whose vertices is the intersection of the orthogonal line from p to an extended edge of ${\triangle}$. Let ${\triangle}^{{\prime}{\prime}}$ be the triangle whose vertices are the centers of three circles, each passing through p and two other vertices of ${\triangle}$. The first theorem characterizes when $p{\in}{\triangle}$ via a distance duality. The triangle algorithm in [1] utilizes a general version of this theorem to solve the convex hull membership problem in any dimension. The second theorem proves $p{\in}{\triangle}$ if and only if $p{\in}{\triangle}^{\prime}$. These are used to prove the third: Suppose p be does not lie on any extended edge of ${\triangle}$. Then $p{\in}{\triangle}$ if and only if $p{\in}{\triangle}^{{\prime{\prime}}$.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.544-553
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• 2015

Purpose: To investigate the validity and reliability of the Korean Version of the Assault Response Questionnaire (ARQ-K) measuring the intensity of reaction to victimization of emergency nurses in Korea. Methods: An internal consistency reliability and construct validity using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted using SPSS WIN (20.0) and AMOS (20.0). Survey data were collected from 321 nurses who worked in 3 levels - wide regional emergency centers, regional emergency centers, appointed emergency centers - of emergency care facilities in Busan, Korea. Results: The Cronbach's alpha values regarding internal consistency were .77~.93 for the subscales of ARQ-K. Factor loadings of the 26 items on the four subscales ranged from .59 to .84. The four-subscale model was validated by confirmatory factor analysis (${\chi}^2/df=3.85$, p<.001, RMR=.06, GFI=.80, NFI=.81, TLI=.83, CFI=.85, RMSEA=.09). Conclusion: This study shows that the Korean Version of the Assault Response Questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument to assess nurses' reaction to victimization of emergency nurses in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.207-214
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• 2016

Purpose: To validate the Korean Version of the Jefferson Empathy Scale for Health professionals (K-JSE-HP) in a sample of Korean nurses. Methods: Internal consistency reliability, construct and criterion validity were calculated using SPSS (22.0) and AMOS (22.0). Data were collected from 253 nurses (230 women, 23 men) working at one university hospital in Seoul, South Korea. Results: The Korean version of JSE-HP showed reliable internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha for the total scale of .89, and .74~.84 for subscales. The model of three subscales for the K-JSE-HP was validated by confirmatory factor analysis (${\chi}^2=864.60$, Q=6.55, p<.001, CFI=.94, NNFI=.92). Criterion validity compared to the Interpersonal Reaction Index (IRI) showed significant correlation. Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrate that the Korean JSE-HP shows satisfactory construct and criterion validity and reliability. It is a useful tool to measure Korean nurses' empathy.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.132-146
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a new version of Spirituality Assessment Scale (N-SAS) and verify its reliability and validity. Methods: The total of 59 preliminary items for the N-SAS were selected through a literature review, two rounds of experts' content validation, cognitive interviews, and pre-tests. Verification of its reliability and validity was divided into two phases. In Phase I, questionnaires were collected from 219 adults. Reliability was tested using Cronbach's alpha, validity with item analysis, and exploratory factor analysis. In Phase II, questionnaires developed based on the results of Phase I were collected from 225 adults. Reliability was tested using Cronbach's alpha, validity with confirmatory factor analysis, and criterion validity. Results: The final version of the N-SAS comprised two dimensions (vertical and horizontal), four domains (relationship with God; meaning of life and self-integration; self-transcendence; and relationship with others, neighborhoods, and nature), and 44 items were identified. Total Cronbach's α was .97; those of each subscale ranged from .79 to .98. N-SAS scores were positively correlated with the scores of Howden's Spiritual Assessment Scale (r=.81, p<.001). Conclusion: Findings suggest that the N-SAS can be used to measure spirituality in adults. The use of N-SAS is expected to facilitate perceiving patient's spiritual needs and providing spiritual care.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.155-161
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• 2019

Interprofessional education (IPE) can promote high-quality patient care and good medical outcomes through teamwork among health professionals. However, there are no valid measurements to prove the effectiveness of IPE in Korea. This study aimed to develop and test a Korean version of the Self-efficacy for Interprofessional Experimental Learning Scale (SEIEL). The original SEIEL was translated into Korean by two experienced medical professors, and 368 questionnaires were collected from medical and nursing students (third and fourth year). To analyze the validity of the Korean version of the SEIEL, an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted. Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ was used to evaluate reliability. Results from the exploratory factor analysis identified two functions: "interprofessional collaboration" and "interprofessional team evaluation." A significant cross-correlation was found between the two functions (r=0.690, p<0.001), with a Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ value of 0.932. The reliability and validity of the Korean version of the SEIEL was identified in this study. This tool can be helpful in measuring the effectiveness of IPE in Korea.