Effects of a Drug Misuse and Abuse Prevention Program on Knowledge, Attitude, and Preventive Behaviors Related to Drug Misuse and Abuse, and Depression in Low-income Elderly Women / 간호학회지

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to determine the effects of a drug misuse and abuse prevention programon knowledge, attitude, and preventive behaviorsrelated to drug misuse and abuse, and depression in low-income elderly women in the urban area. METHOD: The design of this study was a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The subjects consisted of 26 in the experimental group and 23 in the control group. The program was performed for about 1hour, once a week for 5 weeks. Data was analyzed by the SAS(ver.8.02) computer program, and it included descriptive statistics, Fisher's exact test, Mann-Whitney U test, Wilcoxon signed ranks test, and ANCOVA. RESULT: There were statistically significant differences in knowledge, attitude, and preventive behaviors related to drug misuse and abuse, and depression between the experimental group and the control group. CONCLUSION: This study showed that this prevention program of drug misuse and abuse is appropriate for low-income elderly women, Therefore this program is recommended as a nursing intervention strategy for the elderly.

Knowledge, Health Belief, and Self-efficacy Related to Osteoporosis / 간호학회지

PURPOSE: This research was conducted to examine the relationship of knowledge, health beliefs, and self-efficacy on osteoporosis. METHOD: The design of this study was a correlative design. The subjects were 1,615 Korean adults over the age of 20 registered in a new town and participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire developed by Kim, Horan & Gendler (1991), translated into Korean. RESULTS: 1) The subjects recorded an average score of 11.10 on osteoporosis knowledge. The average scores on the osteoporosis health beliefs was 15.68 for perceived susceptibility and the respondents recorded an average score of 40.40 for osteoporosis self-efficacy. 2) There were statistically significant differences in the degree of osteoporosis knowledge, self-efficacy and health belief according to gender, age, scholastic achievement, marital state, and jobs. 3) There were statistically significant positive correlations between osteoporosis knowledge and self-efficacy. CONCLUSION: According to these results, an osteoporosis education program improving not only knowledge but also self-efficacy and health beliefs should be developed and applied to decrease the perception of barriers to exercise and intake of calcium.

Prevalence and Determining Factors related to Depression Among Adult Women in Korea / 간호학회지

PURPOSE: Korean women are likely to experience symptoms of depression, possibly due to socially fixed limitations on the roles that Korean women are expected to perform. Also if a Korean woman experinces negative relationship problem or stress in her family, she would feel responsible, which will worsen her depression. Nonetheless, much of the research on depression among Korean women has focused on menopausal women. This study aims to understand the depression of Korean women to provide fundamental data to develop nursing intervention method for promoting women's health. METHODS: The present investigation assessed the prevalence and correlates of depression in a large sample of Korean women, aged 18 or older, from the general population. With a probability sample of 3312 women drawn from two areas in Korea, a survey, which contains the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and background, was completed. RESULTS: According to CES-D classification criteria, 36.5% of the women in the sample displayed either no depression or mild depression, 55.6% exhibited moderate depression, and 7.8% manifested severe depression. Significant bivariate relationships were observed between depression and each measured background variable except alcohol use. Logistic regression analysis indicated that the strongest combination of predictors of depression included income, menopausal, and marital status. CONCLUSION: The data support the premise that Korean women disproportionately experience elevated levels of depression. Consistent with the theory, depression may be related to social pressures to conform to the traditional roles. The study suggests the need for further research, primary prevention activities, and increased access to treatment.