Structural Equation Modeling Based on PRECEDE Model for the Quality of Life in the Elderly with Dementia in Rural Area / 農村醫學 地域保健

Purpose@#This study was designed to test structural equation modeling of the quality of life of elderly diagnosed dementia living in the community in order to provide guidelines for development of intervention and strategies to improve their quality of life. @*Methods@#The participants in the study were elderly who visited the public health center in C rural between May 30 and september 15, 2017. Data collection was carried out through one-on-one interviews. Demographic factors, knowledge, Attitude, Self-Efficacy, social support, accessibility, request for Information, health practice, depression, subjective memory complaints, dependence scale and quality of life were investigated. @*Results@#The final analysis included 192 elderly. Fitness of the hypothesis model was appropriate(χ2 =192.89, p=.000, GFI=0.90, SRMR=0.08, NNFI=0.94, CFI=0.95, PNFI=0.72, RMSEA=0.07). Depression, subjective memory complaints and dependence were found to be significant explaining varience in quality of life. Social support, dementia preventive behavior and health practice had an indirect effect on the quality of life. @*Conclusions@#To improve the quality of life of elderly diagnosed dementia living in the community, comprehensive interventions are necessary to manage knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy, social support, health practice, depression, subjective memory complaints and dependence that can contribute to enchance the quality of life of elderly diagnosed dementia living in the community.

Factors Influencing Work-life Balance in Korean Registered Nurses / 한국직업건강간호학회지

PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore personal as well as occupational factors and health status associated with work-life balance in Korean registered nurses. METHODS: This study was a secondary data analysis using cross-sectional nationally representative data from the Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) in 2014. Study participants included 450 registered nurses in South Korea. Descriptive analysis, Independent t-test, χ² test, and Logistic regression analyses were performed using the SPSS 21.0 statistical program. RESULTS: Work-life balance was reported in 70.6% individuals with 85.7% being male and 70.0% being female nurses. Logistic regression analysis revealed that being male good health state, having less than 40-hour working week, lower number of night duty, policy on flexible work arrangement were significant predictors of work-life balance. CONCLUSION: This study provided evidence that identify predictors of work-life balance in registered nurses in South Korea. Therefore, we need the actively support health care service promotion and prevention for work-life balance predictors.

Influences of Working Conditions and Health Status on Absence due to Sickness in Health and Medical related Workers / 한국직업건강간호학회지

PURPOSE: This study was to examine the influences of working conditions and health status on absence due to sickness in health and medical related workers. METHODS: Data from the Third Korean Working Condition Survey was used. Study participants included 929 workers who have been working in the medical and healthcare fields. Descriptive analysis, independent t-test, χ² test, Fisher's exact test and logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS 21.0 statistical program. RESULTS: Absence due to sickness was found in 7.8% of health and medical related workers. Absence due to sickness differed significantly depending on monthly income, company size, work-related musculoskeletal risk factors, job control, physical health problems and subjective health status would be important factors affecting absence. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidences that predictors of absence due to sickness in workers of medical and healthcare fields are identified. Therefore, we need the active support for health care service promotion and prevention for predictors of absence due to sickness.

Quality of Life and Care Burden of Caregivers of Ventilator-dependent Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Patients

OBJECTIVE: To describe the quality of life (QOL) and care burden of caregivers of ventilator-dependent amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients and to compare the QOL of ALS caregivers with that of dementia caregivers. METHOD: Ninety-one pairs of ALS patients and their caregivers were interviewed. Patients were asked to provide their age, sex, time since diagnosis, and length of ventilator use, as well as complete the ALS functional rating scale-revised (ALSFRS-R). Caregivers were asked to provide baseline demographic data including age, sex, education level, marital status, link with the patient, occupation, care time, substitute caregiver, and personal caregiver. The short form-36 (SF-36) and burden interview (BI) were also administered to evaluate caregivers' QOL and care burden. T-tests, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficients were used for data analysis. RESULTS: Ninety-one pairs of patients (men 69.2%, women 30.8%) and caregivers (men 24.2%, women 73.6%) completed the study. The mean SF-36 physical component summary (PCS), mental component summary (MCS), and total scores of caregivers were 131.5+/-13.2, 114.3+/-17.6, 245.8+/-28.2, respectively, which showed that the QOL of ventilator-dependent ALS patients was decreased. The BI score was 52.8+/-17.8, which meant that caregivers were heavily burdened. The SF-36 total and MCS were correlated with the BI. Care time was an important factor that influenced QOL and care burden. QOL was significantly lower for ventilator-dependent ALS caregivers than for dementia caregivers. CONCLUSION: This survey revealed the poor QOL and heavy burden of ventilator-dependent ALS caregivers, which necessitates social interventions including strategies about care time.

A Survey of Respiratory Care in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Patients Using Non-invasive Ventilatory Support

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the current status of respiratory care in community-dwelling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients using non-invasive ventilatory support. METHOD: Trained investigators visited patients' homes in order to conduct the survey. Questions regarding the time since diagnosis and ventilatory support, department and type of ventilator were asked. The parameters of mechanical ventilation were noted. The presence of respiratory symptoms, frequency of oxygen saturation monitoring, maneuvers for sputum clearance and frequency of air stacking exercise were also investigated. RESULTS: Data from 169 individuals were analyzed. The mean age was 59.1+/-12.5 years, time since diagnosis was 48.0+/-42.8 months and duration of ventilatory support was 25.7+/-20.8 months. The types of ventilator used were significantly different according to the medical departments where they had been prescribed. More than 50% of the subjects had sleep awakening, shortness of breath or daytime drowsiness despite ventilatory support. Air stacking exercises were performed in 8.8%. Sputum clearing maneuvers such as manually assisted cough, mechanical in/ex-sufflation or postural drainage were used by 13.6% of the individuals. Only 16.0% of the patients checked their oxygen saturation level more than once a day. CONCLUSION: Current respiratory care is inappropriate in ALS patients using non-invasive ventilatory support at home. The current system for ventilator prescription and monitoring needs modification to improve the respiratory care status.

Effects of Tai Chi Exercise on Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Quality of Life in Post-menopausal Women

PURPOSE: Natural menopause resulting in the decline in endogenous estrogen concentrations is responsible for an increased risk of coronary heart disease in postmenopausal women. The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of a 6-month Tai Chi exercise program on cardiovascular risk factors and quality of life in post-menopausal women. METHODS: A quasi-experimental design with pretest and posttest measures was used. The participants in the study, 29 women in the Tai Chi group and 31 in the control group, were enrolled for 6 months. RESULTS: After 6 months of Tai Chi exercise, total cholesterol (M=213 to 185), LDL-cholesterol (M=135 to 128), and their 10 yr cardiovascular disease risk (M=2.62 to 2.27) had improved significantly for the Tai Chi participants compared to the control group. Total scores for quality of life along with the sub-dimensions of health perception and mental functioning were also significantly higher in the Tai Chi participants. CONCLUSION: Tai Chi exercise favorably affected cardiovascular health and quality of life in post-menopausal women after 6 months. Additional rigorous studies are needed to examine long term effects on the prevention of cardiovascular disease in this population.

The Affective Factors of Case Managers' Occupational Stress / 산업간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to learn the affective factors of case managers' occupational stress. METHOD: A total of 986 participants responded to a self-administered questionnaire that included 24 items of Korean Occupational Stress Questionnaire Short Form (KOSQSF), job satisfaction index, health behaviors, general characteristics, and variables related to work. The data collection of research was done from 17th to 21th of September, 2007. The data were analysed by t-test, ANOVA, and multiple regression with SPSS 11.1 package program. RESULT: The results of this study were as follows: The overall job satisfaction rate of men and women was highly than that of the Korean worker's standard. There were statistically significant differences in occupational stress in work place, work department, work position, smoking, treatment in out-patient clinic, subjective & relative health-status, work load, supervisor's review on work-ability, and job satisfaction. According to the multi-variate analysis, occupational stress(47.6%) was related to job satisfaction, workload, individual work-ability, supervisor's review on work-ability, health status and gender. CONCLUSION: Occupational stress varied depending on the ten variables and was influenced by job satisfaction(35.7%) and 5 other variables. The results suggest that further follow-up study on case managers is necessary to relieve their occupational stress.

Factors explaining Quality of Life in Individuals with Coronary Artery Disease

PURPOSE: The study was done to compare quality of life by gender, and to identify factors which explain quality of life in individuals with coronary artery disease. METHODS: For the survey, 91 individuals (53 men and 38 women) agreed to participate in the study. Cardiovascular risk factors, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, health behavior as well as quality of life, were measured. Descriptive statistics, t-test, correlation and hierarchical multiple regression with SPSS WIN 12.0 were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Significant gender differences were found for education, smoking status, chronic disease, perceived health status, and quality of life within sub-dimensions. Hierarchical regression analysis showed gender (men), age, perceived health status, cardiovascular risk scores, and health behaviors together explained 40.2% (adjusted R2) of variance in quality of life. CONCLUSION: As the factors explaining quality of life in individuals with coronary artery disease have been identified as gender (men), age, perceived health status, and health behaviors, health promotion programs designed for this population should focus on these factors for effective behavioral modification, and consequent improvement in quality of life.

The Effects of a Follow-up Program on Physical, Emotional, and Social Function after Breast Cancer Surgery / 성인간호학회지

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of a follow-up program for breast cancer patients after surgery. METHOD: A quasi-experimental design was used. The subjects were 56 breast cancer patients (experimental group: 27, control group: 29). The subjects of the experimental group participated in the Follow-up program of 7 sessions once a week, during 4 weeks including one telephone visit. The program consisted of health education of breast cancer, exercise, lymph edema prevention, diet education, theraband rehabilitation exercise, laugh therapy, and breast self examination. The obtained data were analysed by using the ANCOVA of SPSS. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the scores of physical wellbeing, symptom distress and mood state between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Considering these research results, short-term intervention could improve physical and emotional functioning abilities by helping better health. Nurses should establish and manage a proper program to provide multipurpose support and it must apply the program after surgery as soon as possible for breast cancer women.

Factors Related to Self-care Behavior and the Control of Hypertension inthe Low-income Elderly

No abstract available.

The Lives of Daughters-in-Law Who Care for Parents with Dementia / 간호학회지

This study was done to investigate the lives of the daughters- in- law caring for parents with dementia and participate in their lives through having quality time with them. Data were collected by depth interviews and interpreted through the hermeneutic circle as follows. These daughters-in-law have conflict between social custom and subjective self. They had ambivalence toward their demented partents-in- law and were fighting a battle between rationality and emotions in their mind. These daughters-in law and mothers-in- law did not get along and the parents' dementia aggravated the relationships. They were alienated from their family by the parents with dementia. The indifference of their family especially their husbands, made these subjects live in misery. They cared for the demented mother-in-law with hatred. Even though they had this yoke, there daughters- in-law were not able to throw off the shackles of convention.