ABSTRACT
Purpose@#A care coordinator is an emerging nursing professional role in South Korea. The purpose of this study was to identify educational needs and priorities for care coordinators among nurses. @*Methods@#An online survey was conducted on 661 current or retired nurses from January 30 to February 28, 2021. A total of 17 essential competencies for care coordinators, recognized based on literature review, were used to analyze the educational needs. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, a paired t-test, and one-way analysis of variance with SPSS 25.0. The educational needs analysis was conducted by using a paired t-test, the Borich Needs Assessment Model, and the Locus for Focus Model. @*Results@#Five contents were identified as the first priorities for educational needs: ‘Health program planning and evaluation’, ‘Care planning’, ‘Coordinating community-based services’, ‘Case management’, and ‘Transitional care’. The second priorities for educational needs included 'Population health management' and'Welfare resource linkages via communicating with social workers’. @*Conclusion@#The priority items derived from this study offer underpinning insights for the development of care coordination training program.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a gum-chewing on the recovery of bowel motility and days of hospitalization after surgery for colorectal cancer. METHODS: This study used a non-equivalent control group and non-synchronized design. Thirty-four patients undergoing abdominal surgery for colorectal cancer were assigned to either gum-chewing group (n=17) or control group (n=17). The patients in the gum-chewing group chewed gum for 10 min three times daily from the first postoperative morning until the day they began oral intake. Outcome variables were time of first flatus, time of first bowel movement, and length of hospital stay. RESULTS: Gum-chewing was effective in enhancing the first passage of flatus, but was not effective in enhancing time of bowel movement and length of hospital stay. CONCLUSION: Gum-chewing can be utilized as a useful nursing intervention to shorten the time of the first flatus of postoperative colectomy.