A Study to Assess the Need of Customized Visiting Health Care Services for Children according to Socioeconomic Status in a Province

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to survey children's health status and need of customized visiting health care services in one province. METHODS: The participants in this study were 237 caregivers of infants and preschoolers. Data were collected at the participant's home or public health center. RESULTS: Many of the children did not receive developmental screening tests or dental examinations. In the beneficiary group, the prenatal checkup rate and children's vaccination rate were lower, and caregivers had more health problems than the other groups. On the assessment of home safety, unsafe conditions were more frequently found in the beneficiary group. The caregivers in the beneficiary group showed lower child rearing confidence than the other groups, and wanted customized visiting health care services most in the areas of developmental screening, regular health check-up and counseling, nutritional supplementation, and oral health care. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that it is necessary for children and parents in poverty to be provided with professional home visiting interventions for the promotion of child health and prevention of developmental problems and diseases. These findings can be used for developing future customized visiting health care service programs for infants and children in this community area.

Effect of Aromatherapy Program on Lowering BMI and Serum Estrogen Level in Obese Post-menopause Women / 여성건강간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to verify the effect of aromatherapy program on lowering body mass index and serum estrogen in obese post- menopause women. METHODS: One group Pretest-posttest experimental design was used. All subjects received intervention of aromatherapy program. The participants used 3% grapefruit oil, cypress and three other kinds of oil. BMI and Serum estrogen level of the participants' were measured by ZEUS 9.9(Resource Medical, 2004) and PACKARD Gamma Counter-Cobra II RI Manual(USA, 1997) before and after interventions being applied at the P. hospital. Data were analyzed by paired t-test using the SPSS/PC+Win 12 Version. RESULT: The level of serum estrogen and BMI of the participants were significantly decreased after aromathetapy program. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the effect of aromatheapy program could be utilized as an effective intervention to reduce BMI and serum estrogen level in obese post-menopause women.

The Life of Elderly Women Living Alone

PURPOSE: This study aimed to uncover the fundamental nature of living alone in female elderly. METHODS: The phenomenological research approach developed by van Manen was adopted. RESULTS: The theme was 'taking a firm stand alone on the edges of life'. The composition elements of living alone experienced by elderly women were as follows: 1) Corporeality: participants perceived their bodies by their health status. Unhealthy participants were suffering with diseases and dependant on other persons, while healthy participants were free from family responsibility and kept on moving. 2) Spatiality: participants felt both freedom and loneliness while they stayed home. 3) Relationality: participants felt pity and yearning for their bereaved husband and sometimes talked to his picture. According to their children's filial piety, participants were pleased or displeased. However, they incessantly devoted themselves to their children. 4) Temporality: participants considered the rest of their life as extra-time which was proceeding to death, and tried to keep themselves busy before they died. CONCLUSION: A nurse should understand the multifarious aspects of elderly women's life, and then intervene to consolidate their strengths for self-supporting the final years of life.

Effect of Aromatherapy Massage on Abdominal Fat and Body Image in Post-menopausal Women / 간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to verify the effect of aromatherapy massage on abdominal fat and body image in post-menopausal women. METHOD: A Non-equivalent control group pre-post test Quasi-experimental design of random assignment was applied. All subjects received one hour of whole body massage as treatment by the same researcher every week for 6 weeks. Participants also massaged their own abdomen two times everyday for 5 days each week for 6 weeks. The two groups used different kinds of oil. The experimental group used 3% grapefruit oil, cypress and three other kinds of oil. The control group used grapeseed oil. Data was collected before and after the treatment using Siemens Somatom Sensation 4, a tape measure and MBSRQ. Data was analyzed by ANCOVA using the SPSS/PC+Win 12 Version. RESULT: Abdominal subcutaneous fat and waist circumference in the experimental group significantly decreased after aromathetapy massage compared to the control group. Body image in the experimental group was significantly better after aromathetapy massage than in the control group. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that Aromatheapy massage could be utilized as an effective intervention to reduce abdominal subcutaneous fat, waist circumference, and to improve body image in post-menopausal women.

A Review of Exercise Interventions for Fall Prevention in the Elderly / 간호학회지

PURPOSE: This study was done to suggest directions for developing exercise interventions for fall prevention in the elderly in Korea in the future. METHOD: Twenty five articles for fall prevention exercises were reviewed and analyzed. RESULT: 84.0% of subjects were older adults age 65 and older living in the community. The most frequently performed interventions were lower limb strength and balance exercises together 43.3%, group exercise 70.0%, exercise 3 times/week 60.0%, 60 min per session 36.7%, duration of 12 weeks and 1 year 23.3% each. The most frequently used outcome variables were static balance 84.0%, lower limb muscle strength 72.0%, dynamic balance 56.0 %, and falls 56.0 %. The effect of exercise interventions on fall prevention was inconclusive. Lower limb strength exercises with resistance were effective for increasing muscle strength. Balance exercises with various movements for balance were effective for increasing balance. CONCLUSION: Exercise interventions for fall prevention is recommended for older adults with risk factors of falling. The desirable type of exercise intervention is lower limb strength and balance exercise together.

A Comparative Study on Barrier Factors in Health Behaviors of Urban vs Rural Elderly / 성인간호학회지

The purpose of this study was to identify the barrier factors of health behaviors of urban and rural elderly and to compare the health behaviors and level of barriers between two groups, and finally to get the basic informations about the adequate nursing strategies to promote the health state of urban and rural elderly. The subjects of this study were 177 over the age of 65, 81 elderly lived in Seoul and 96 elderly lived in rural areas. The instruments for this study were the health behavior scale(14 items) and the barrier scale (118 items) developed by Gu et al(2003). For the data analysis, SPSS PC program was utilized for descriptive statistics, chi2- test, t-test, Pearson correlation. The results of this study were ; 1. The mean score of health behaviors (range 1-4) was 2.69 in urban elderly and 2.33 in rural elderly ; there was significant difference(t=5.03, P=.00). 2. There were significant differences in levels of barriers(range 1-3) between the two groups, such as calcium intake(t=-3.16, P=.00), regular exercise(t=-3.80, P=.00), exercise time(t=-5.54, P=.00), use of stress reduction method(t=-3.45, P=.00), regular check up(t=-3.89, P=.00), vaccination(t= -3.83, P=.00). Higher levels of barriers were found in rural elderly than in urban elderly.3. Lack of habituation, lack of will power and lack of knowledge in calcium intake; lack of time, lack of habituatuion, lack of family support, lack of will power and lack of environment in exercise; lack of perceived benefit, lack of time, lack of will power and lack of knowledge in use of stress reduction method; lack of time, lack of interest, lack of habituation and lack of will power in disease prevention were significantly higher in rural elderly than in urban elderly.In the conclusion, nursing interventions should be planned based on the social environment of elderly. To promote the health state of elderly, interventions to decrease the barrier levels and to reduce the barrier factors to health behaviors should be implemented.

Effectiveness of Aromatherapy Massage on Abdominal Obesity among Middle Aged Women / 간호학회지

PURPOSE: Objectives of the study is to examine the effectiveness of aromatherapy massage among middle aged women with abdominal obesity. METHOD: AB/BA crossover design of random blind assignment was applied. Aromatherapy and placebo massage were given to Group(A), Group(B), each groups applied each massages for 2weeks alternatively. Weight, abdominal circumference and appetite were compared for results check among the subjects. RESULT: The apparent effectiveness of Aromatherapy Massage in reducing weight, abdominal circumference and appetite was noted. CONCLUSION: On the basis of results, they strongly support the facts of reduction of abdominal obesity by applying aromatherapy massage for middle aged women.

Factors Influencing Regular Exercise of the Elderly / 성인간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors influencing regular exercise of the elderly in discriminating regular exercise and non - regular exercise groups. METHOD: The subjects of this study were 167 elderly over the age of 60, living in a rural city in Korea. The data was collected by interview and self report questionnaire in 1999. The Cronbach 's alpha of scales used this study were .66 ~.97. RESULT: 1. There were significant differences in doing regular exercise between the perceived importance of the health(p=021), the perceived health status(p=.050), the perceived need of the exercise(p=000), the perceived importance of the exercise(p= .000), the intent of participation in the exercise program(p=.000), IADL score(p= .022), the perceived benefits of exercise (p=.000), the emotion of exercise(p=.000), HPLP(p=.000), the self efficacy(p=.001), the perceived benefits of health promoting behaviors(p= .011), the perceived barriers of the health promoting behaviors(p=.002), and the Internal locus of control(p=.021) of the elderly. 2. Variables which showed significance for discriminating regular exercise of the elderly in this study were the perceived need of the exercise(p=.000) and the perceived benefits of the exercise(p=.000). By using the combination of these variables, the possibility of proper prediction for predicting regular exercise group was 84.8 %, non - regular exercise group was 93.9%, and total Hit ratio was 89.4%. CONCLUSION: To improve exercise behavior in older adults, health care providers should focus of developing interventions to strengthen the perceived benefits, the perceived needs of the exercise.

The Study on Active and Environmental Tobacco Smoke in Biological Samples among High School Students in Korea / 한국역학회지

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to determine the active and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in biological samples (plasma, saliva and urine) among high school students in Korea. METHODS: Study samples were from 99 nonsmoker or smoking volunteers from high school in Kyungki-do in 2000. ETS was defined as the having smokers of their family members or their friends. Urinary samples were extracted with ethyl ether at pH 10.5, and the extract was injected in GC-NPD. Plasma or saliva was extracted with methylene chloride at pH 10.5 and the quantification was performed with GC-MS (SIM). Peak shapes and quantitation of nicotine and cotinine were excellent, with linear calibration curves over a wide range of 1 to 3000 ng/mL. RESULTS: The results are as followings1. The prevalence of smoking among study subjects were 18.2% among males and 6.1% among females. A 69.7% of total subjects among both males and females were exposed at ETS. 2. The primary metabolite cotinine of nicotine was good indicator of ETS exposure in nonsmokers. Salivary cotinine was found to be highly correlated to the concentration of cotinine in plasma (r=0.9480). 3. Urine cotinine was increased among those with smokers in their family members, while salivary or blood cotinine was increased among with smoking friends. 4. Blood cotinine was highly correlated with salivary cotinine, but it was relatively poorly correlated with urine cotinine. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the results show how the students in high school in Korea suffer from secondhand smoke. It appeared that salivary cotinine was easy to collect and best way to predict the ETS among adolescents

Factors Influencing Health Promoting Behavior of the Elderly / 성인간호학회지

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors influencing health promoting behavior of the elderly for develop health promoting intervention of old people. The subjects of this study were 167 elderly person over the age of 60, living in rural city in Korea. The data were collected by interview and self report questionnaire, during the period from May, 1999 to August. 1999 The instruments for this study were the PRQ-II by Weinert(1988), the scale of Locus of Control by Wallstone et al(1978), the scale of self efficacy by Sherer & Maddux(1982), 10 points visual analogue scale for the perceived health status and the importance of health, the health promoting behavior scale by Walker et al(1987), and the scales developed by authors for the perceived benefits of health promoting behaviors, and the perceived barriers to health promoting behaviors. The Cronbach 's alpha of these scales were .84 ~.97. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression. The results of this study were as follows: 1. Among cognitive perceptual factors of the Health Promotion Model by Pender(1987), the scores of the importance of health, the perceived internal control of health, the self efficacy, the perceived health status, and the perceived benefits were significantly positive correlation with the scores of the health promoting behavior of the elderly. In addition, the scores of the perceived barriers were significantly negative correlation with the scores of the health promoting behavior of the elderly. 2. Among modifying factors of the Health Promotion Model by Pender(1987), the pocket money of the elderly, the scores of social support were significantly positive correlation with the scores of the health promoting behavior of the elderly. In addition, ages of old people were significantly negative correlations with the scores of the health promoting behavior of the elderly. 3. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that the most powerful predictor of health promoting behavior was the self efficacy. A combination of the self efficacy, the perceived barriers, the social support, the importance of health, and the perceived internal control of health accounted for 56.2% of the variance in health promoting behavior in the elderly. From the results of this study, we concluded that the Health Promotion Model by Pender will be used to explain health promoting behavior of the elderly. We suggested that the results of this study will be considered in developing health promoting programs of elderly.