Impact of Cognitive Aging on Health-Related Quality of Life in Menopausal Women

ObjectivesMenopause is a well-known risk factor for accelerating cognitive aging in women. This study aimed to assess differences in cognitive function and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) according to menopausal status to determine whether the menopause significantly affects the relationship between cognitive function and HRQOL.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional comparative study with a convenience sample of 178 Korean women including 89 naturally menopausal women (65 ± 10 years) and 89 non-menopausal women (45 ± 8 years) who met the eligibility criteria and completed neuropsychological tests and self-report questionnaires about their HRQOL, cognitive function, depression, and sleep quality. Multiple regression analyses were performed within and between groups according to menopausal status.ResultsMenopausal women had significantly worse scores on neuropsychological performance and HRQOL than non-menopausal women. A better neuropsychological performance (β = 0.34) was solely associated with a better HRQOL in menopausal women, whilst socioeconomic variables were associated with HRQOL in non-menopausal women.ConclusionMenopause is an important risk factor for HRQOL, and the association between cognition and HRQOL may differ according to menopausal status. When developing programs for target groups to improve daily functioning and HRQOL, healthcare professionals need to pay more attention to this relationship.

Factors Associated with Practice of Health Information Protection among Nursing Students / 기본간호학회지

Purpose@#Health information protection policy has received increased emphasis in the medical environment. Nursing students are required to access personal health information in practical training to achieve the necessary credits. This study was done to identify the effects of nursing students’ ethical index and their awareness of health information protection on their practice in terms of health information protection. @*Methods@#Participants for this cross-sectional descriptive design study were 238 nursing students who had undergone clinical practice at four universities in J province. Information ethics index, awareness of health information protection, and its practice were measured using self-report questionnaires. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, and multiple regression analysis. @*Results@#Among the participants, 88.2% were female and 55.0% identified as religious. A positive correlation was found between awareness of health information protection and the information ethics index (r=.60, p<.01). In the multiple regression model, 37.4% of the variance in students’ health information protection behavior was predicted by religion (β=.13, p=.033), the respect domain of the information ethics index (β=.22, p=.033), and awareness of health information protection (β=.61, p<.001). @*Conclusion@#To improve health information protection behavior in nursing students, religion, awareness of health information protection, and the respect component of the information ethical index should be considered when developing systematic education programs.