• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.144-153
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• 2021

Purpose: Advance care planning (ACP) is widely understood to improve end-of-life care. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effects of ACP interventions on decision conflict and psychological distress. Methods: A search of PubMed, CINAHL, CENTRAL, EMBASE, KISS, KoreaMed, and RISS was conducted in November 2020. The study included randomized controlled trials. Data were pooled using fixed- and random-effects models. Results: Fourteen studies were identified that cumulatively included 1,548 participants. ACP interventions were effective in alleviating decision conflict (d=-0.53; 95% CI: -0.83 to -0.23), depression (d=-1.22; 95% CI: -1.71 to -0.74) and anxiety (d=-0.76; 95% CI: -1.12 to -0.39). Conclusion: ACP interventions have significant positive effects on reducing decision conflict and psychological distress. A high level of bias was shown related to allocation concealment and blinding. The results of this study are expected to be useful for end-of-life care providers to improve the effectiveness of ACP interventions.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.704-714
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether psychological distress is an independent risk factor for recurrent cardiac events in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: A prospective cohort of studies that measured psychological distress and the incidence of recurrent cardiac events in the adult population were included. Three computerized databases were assessed (PubMed, CINAHL, and PSYCINFO). Meta-analysis was conducted using a random-effects model to determine summary estimates of risks of major recurrent cardiac events associated with each psychological distress. Of 506 publications identified, 33 met inclusion criteria, and 24 studies were used to estimate effect size of psychological distress on recurrent cardiac events. Results: Mean number in the research sample was 736 and mean time of follow-up was 4.0 years. Depression, anxiety, anger, and hostility as psychological factors were studied. According to estimation of effect size using random model effect, depression (OR=1.39, 95% CI: 1.22-1.57), anxiety (OR=1.22, 95% CI: 0.96-1.56), and anger/hostility (OR=1.29, 95% CI: 1.07-1.57) CAD patients in significantly increased risk for recurrent cardiac events. Conclusion: Finding suggests that psychological distress in forms of depression, anxiety, anger, and hostility impact unfavorably on recurrent cardiac events in CAD patients.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.216-222
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• 2022

Background: This study assessed the psychological impact of the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on university hospital nurses. It provides an assessment of mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, distress, and burnout of nurses dealing directly and indirectly with COVID-19. Methods: In a web-based, cross-sectional study, 111 nurses from Daegu Catholic University Hospital in Korea were enrolled from August 4 to August 9, 2020. Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Impact of Event Scale-Revised, and Maslach Burnout Inventory were used to assess the psychological symptoms of depression, anxiety, psychological distress, and burnout among the study participants. Results: Of 111 nurses, 35 (31.5%), nine (8.1%), 26 (23.4%), and 49 (44.1%) experienced depression, anxiety, distress, and burnout, respectively. Nurses who performed COVID-19-related tasks were more likely to have moderate depression (related vs. unrelated, 52.0% vs. 25.6%; p=0.037). There were no differences in anxiety, distress, and burnout between nurses with and without COVID-19-related tasks. More than 50% of the participants showed receptive and positive attitudes toward caring for COVID-19 patients. Conclusion: Nurses who performed COVID-19-related tasks had a higher risk of depression. There were no significant differences in anxiety, distress, and burnout between the two groups. Since nurses who perform COVID-19-related tasks are more prone to psychological distress, continued psychiatric interventions are required for infectious disease outbreaks with a high mortality rate for healthcare workers who are emotionally vulnerable.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.174-180
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• 2016

Objective: To investigate psychological distress and fertility quality of life (FertiQoL) in infertile Korean women, and to investigate whether a correlation exists between psychological distress and FertiQoL. Methods: Participants in this study were made up of 141 infertile women and 65 fertile women. We conducted a survey on psychological distress (using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales [DASS]-42 questionnaire) and administered a FertiQoL questionnaire. The levels of stress hormones (adrenocorticotropic hormone [ACTH] and cortisol) in serum were assessed. Results: The scores for depression ($13.7{\pm}8.4$), anxiety ($10.7{\pm}6.4$), and stress ($18.0{\pm}8.3$) among the infertile women were significantly higher than the scores for depression ($9.4{\pm}7.5$), anxiety ($6.6{\pm}6.0$), and stress ($12.2{\pm}8.3$, p<0.001) among the fertile women. There was no difference in the scores for depression ($13.5{\pm}8.2$, $13.8{\pm}8.6$), anxiety ($10.0{\pm}6.2$, $11.5{\pm}6.6$) and stress ($17.7{\pm}8.4$, $18.4{\pm}8.1$) between younger (${\leq}34$) and older (${\geq}35$) participants. The mind-body (r =-0.495) and emotional (r =-0.590) subscales showed a higher negative correlation with stress compared with other scales of psychological distress. At the same time, the social (r =-0.537) and relational (r =-0.385) subscales showed a higher negative correlation with depression. Levels of cortisol and ACTH in infertile women were $9.1{\mu}g/mL$ and 11.9 pg/mL, respectively, which are within normal ranges. Conclusion: The levels of psychological distress and quality of life in infertile Korean women seem to require psychological intervention. This study provides a baseline measurement of psychological distress and FertiQoL in infertile women in Korea, which will be available for developing psychological interventions for infertile Korean women.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.16
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• pp.6895-6898
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• 2015

Background: We aimed to explore whether levels of patient-centredness, job satisfaction and psychological distress varied between oncology nurses and doctors. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study using self-administered questionnaires, a total of 24 nurses and 43 doctors were assessed for patient-centredness, psychological distress, and job satisfaction using the Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Job Satisfaction Scale. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test and MANCOVA, with p<0.05 considered significant. Results: Overall response rate was 95.6% (43/45) for physicians and 85.7% (24/28) for nurses. Even after adjusting for known covariates, our principal finding was that doctors reported greater psychological distress compared to nurses (p=0.009). Doctors also reported lower job satisfaction compared to nurses (p = 0.017), despite higher levels of patient-centredness found in nurses (p=0.001). Findings may be explained in part by differences in job characteristics and demands. Conclusions: Mental health is an important concern not just in cancer patients but among healthcare professionals in oncology.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.200-207
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• 2008

Objectives : This study examined whether serious psychological distress (SPD) is associated with occupational injury among US employees. Methods : The employed population aged 18-64 years was examined (n=101,855) using data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2000-2003. SPD was measured using the Kessler 6-item Psychological Distress Scale (K-6), a screening scale designed to identify persons with serious mental illness. The predicted marginal prevalence of psychological distress and occupational injury with the adjusted odds ratio were estimated using multiple logistic regression analyses. Results : The age-adjusted 3-month prevalence of occupational injury was $0.80{\pm}0.12%$ in workers with SPD, which was 37% greater than in workers without SPD ($0.58{\pm}0.03%$). The odds of occupational injury in workers with SPD were higher compared to workers without SPD (OR=1.34, 95% CI=0.93-1.92), after controlling for sex, age, race, education, occupation, and activity limitation by at least one medical condition. Male, service and blue collar occupation, and activity limiation by co-morbidity showed significantly higher odds of occupational injury for workers with SPD. Conclusions : The findings suggest that SPD accounts for an increased likelihood of occupational injury among US employees. A further longitudinal study is needed to differentiate the mechanism or causal pathways linking individual injury risk at the workplace, SPD, and socioeconomic factors.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.82-90
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• 2012

Objectives : Though gastric cancer is one of the most common cancer in Korea, there have been few studies to explore psychological distress in gastric cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and associated risk factors of psychological distress among patients with gastric cancer. Methods : With consecutive sampling, a total of 274 patients with gastric cancer who admitted to a cancer center in a general hospital were recruited and assessed on psychological distress using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale(HADS). Sociodemographic and cancer-related clinical variables were also evaluated. Results : One hundred fifty-three(55.8%) patients with gastric cancer showed psychological distress. Logistic regression models revealed that having alcohol drinking experience[odds ratio(OR)=2.10, p=0,034] and low performance status(OR=2.40 p=0.002) were significantly associated with psychological distress in patients with gastric cancer. Conclusions : These findings indicate that approximately half of patients with gastric cancer suffered from psychological distress and having alcohol drinking experience and low performance status would be associated risk factors, suggesting the need for distress screening and psychosocial supportive care in patients with gastric cancer.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.141-150
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• 2014

Objectives The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of attachment security, social support and health-related burden in the prediction of psychological distress and the mediation effects of social support and health-related burden in relationship between attachment security and psychological distress. Methods Finally, 161 patients were included for the analysis. Chi-square test and independent samples t-test were used for comparing differences between depressive/anxious group and non-depressive/non-anxious group. For evaluating the relationship among attachment security, social support, psychological distress and health-related burden, structural equation modeling analysis were performed. Results 40.7% and 32.0% of the patients have significant depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms, respectively. In the analysis for testing the differences between groups who have psychological distress and who have not, there were no significant differences of sociodemographic factors and medical characteristics between groups, except for association between depressive symptoms and type of surgery (p = 0.01). Contrary to sociodemographic and medical characteristics, there were significant differences of health-related burden and two coping resources (attachment security and social support) between groups (all p < 0.01), except for the support from medical team in between anxious group and non-anxious group (p = 0.20). In the structural equation model analysis (Model fit : chi-square/df ratio = 0.8, root mean square error of approximation = 0.000, comparative fit index = 1.000, non-normed fit index =0.991), attachment security and social support emerged as an important predictor of psychopathology. Conclusions Attachment security and social support are important factors affecting the psychological distress. We suggest that individual attachment style and the social support state must be considered to approach the newly diagnosed breast cancer patients with psychological distress.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.76-87
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the psychological distress related to quality of life (QoL) of patients with colorectal cancer receiving 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) chemotherapy at home with disposable Elastomeric infusion pumps. Methods: In this study, 179 colorectal outpatients were recruited between September 2019 and January 2021. National Cancer Center Psychological Symptom Inventory scores, general self-efficacy, and the EORTC QLQ-C30 scores were measured. Data were analyzed using Independent t-test, One-way ANOVA with Bonferroni post hoc analysis, and hierarchical multiple linear regression with the SPSS/WIN 26.0 programs. Results: The overall prevalence of psychological distress was 52.0% in colorectal patients. In multiple regression, psychological distress (β=-.20, p=.005), appetite loss (β=-.20, p=.001), chemotherapy cycles (β= .19, p=.002), fatigue (β=-.16, p=.035), physical functioning (β=-.16, p=.024), and emotional functioning (β=-.15, p=.025) were significant factors of QoL, and the final model explained 45.0% of the total variance of QoL. Conclusion: Supporting patients toward decreased psychological distress and increased physical and emotional functioning, especially in the first or second cycle of chemotherapy, could be used to improve their QoL. To consider the thresholds for clinical importance, it is necessary to increase the interpretation of psychological distress in clinical practice and further research.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.453-466
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• 2022

This study attempted to examine the role of gender roles in psychological distress of Korean adult men. Specifically, it was attempted to verify whether compliance with multidimensional male gender roles predicts psychological distress through gender role conflict. To this end, this study was conducted on 358 male participants aged 19 to 39 using the Korean Conformity to Masculine Norm Inventory, Korean Male Gender Role Conflict Scale, and General Health Questionnaire. As a result of the study, it was found that the influence on psychological distress through male gender role conflict was different depending on the sub-factors of the male gender norm. The sub-factors of masculine norms, 'power and control', 'job - independence', and 'emotion suppression', were statically predicted psychological distress through the medium of 'fear for femininity', which is a sub-factor of gender role conflict. Meanwhile, among the male norms, 'male leadership' and 'family support' had negative direct effects on psychological distress, and the indirect effects through gender role conflict were not significant. The results of this study suggest that the sub-factors of male norms have different functions for psychological distress, and in particular, the dysfunctional role of male norms can be caused by negative emotions about femininity during gender role conflict.