Cancer Risk Perception and Cancer Related Health Behavior in College Students / 종양간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to survey the college students' perception of cancer risks, cancer related health behavior, and perception of cancer occurrence possibility before and after age 40. METHODS: The subjects were 771 college students who were conveniently selected from two colleges in the Gyeonggi Province. Data were analyzed using SPSS WIN 12.0. RESULTS: The mean score of cancer risk perception was 3.8. The highest score item was 'smoking may cause cancer'. The mean score of cancer related health behavior was 3.0. The highest score item was 'take bath or shower'. Student felt that possibility of developing cancer before age 40 was 20.1% and that after age 40 was 36.2%. The perception of cancer risks was significantly different between male and female, and the health behavior was significantly different between age groups. There were weak relationships between the perception of cancer risks and cancer related health behavior. CONCLUSION: College students' perception of cancer risks was mostly good, but their behavior to reduce the risks did not match the degree of perception. Students recognized that after age 40 has a higher risk of developing cancer, therefore, intervention on behavioral modification to reduce cancer risks would be beneficial.

Factors Influencing Stress Appraisal of Cancer Patients' Primary Caregivers / 성인간호학회지

PURPOSE: The objectives for this study were to identify the factors that correlate with appraisal of illness and to explore what variables are predictive of cancer patients primary caregivers' cognitive appraisal for stress. METHOD: The subjects were selected by convenient sampling and 130 caregivers who completed a questionnaire. Measures used in this study included the Family Inventory of Resources for Management, Social Support Index, Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales and Family Coping Coherence Index. Pearson correlation was used to identify the relationship among factors and multiple regression was used to determine the individual and cumulative effect of potential predictors on the caregivers' appraisal. RESULTS: Patient's level of activity, severity of the disease, quality of relation between patient and caregiver, caregiver's subjective health status, economic status, family resources and coping were significantly correlated. Among the variables, coping, family resources, economic status and quality of relation between caregiver and patient predicted 49.2 percent of the variance in appraisal of caregivers' stress condition. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that coping mechanisms and family resources are important for positive appraisal. Nurses should provide adequate nursing care for the primary caregiver about professional care information and supportive counseling.

Effects of Rooming-in on Continuation of Breastfeeding and Maternal Identity / 여성건강간호학회지

PURPOSE:The objective of this study was to identify the effectiveness of continued breast feeding and maternal identity between rooming-in and not rooming-in groups of mothers in post partum care. METHOD: The subjects were selected by convenient sampling, with 95 women in childbirth completing a questionnaire. The data were collected on the 2nd day after delivery by questionnaire, and after the 4th and 8th weeks by telephone interview. Measures used in this study included general characteristics, breast feeding related characteristics, and the maternal identity scale revised by Koh(1996). The data were analyzed with the SPSS program, and the Chi-test and t-test were used to identify the effect on breast feeding and maternal identity. RESULTS:Continued breast feeding up to 4 weeks after deliverly was not statistically significant between rooming-in and not rooming-in group, but beyond 8 weeks of deliverly, it was significantly different in rooming-in group(p<.01). Maternal identity was significantly higher in rooming-in group than in not rooming-in group(p<.01). CONCLUSIONS: Mothers preferred rooming-in system because it helped breast feeding and baby care. Rooming-in system provides self confidence in taking care of baby, knowledge about breast feeding and stimulates early phase lactation. We recommend rooming-in system in hospitals to promote breast feeding and maternal identity. Nurses are encouraged to discuss prenatal breast feeding before delivery and rooming-in care should be planned individually for continuation of breast feeding and formation of maternal identity.