Home Visitation Screening for Child Abuse Assessment in Korea

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to facilitate home visits to assess the current rate of child abuse in order to provide an agenda for the early detection and prevention of child abuse and neglect in Korea. METHODS: For this retrospective descriptive research, 20 public health centers were selected, 1,991 families were visited and 2,680 children were assessed. RESULTS: We found 415 cases (15.5%) of potential abuse and 7 cases (0.3%) of actual abuse. The greatest risk group was to children age 4 to 6 years. According to the HOME Inventory, there were 17 infants (5.8%) presenting a potential risk for child abuse and neglect. CONCLUSION: Visitation screening is highly recommended for prevention in the high-risk preschool age group.

Relationship among risk factors related to Human Papillomavirus infection among youth / 한국역학회지

PURPOSE: To investigate the prevalence and related risk factors of infection with human papillomavirus(HPV) in young adults, and the interrelationships among the risk factors, school-based survey was conducted in Busan. METHODS: A total of 1,430 male and female students(aged 16~25) participated in the survey that included self-administered questionnaire and, for males, physician-performed collection of exfoliated genital cells, for females, self-collection of vaginal cells. The prevalences of 25 HPV types were evaluated by a polymerase chain reaction-based assay. RESULTS: HPV DNA detected more frequently in female students(15.2%) than in male students(8.7%). In female students, currently smoking cigarettes(OR=3.8, 95% CI=1.7~8.3) and having had penetrative sexual intercourse(OR=12.7, 95% CI=7.2~22.2) were the significant risk factors for HPV infection; in male students, there was nothing to show statistical significance. Smoking rate was 53.8% in males and 17.7% in females, and 55.6% of male students and 25.9% of female students reported having had a sexual intercourse. Smokers were more likely to have had a sexual intercourse than nonsmokers(OR=4.0, 95% CI=2.5~6.2, males; OR=9.1, 95% CI=5.6~14.7, females). CONCLUSIONS: According to the strong interrelationship between sexual intercourse and smoking, multilateral behavioral intervention is needed to prevent infection with HPV.

A Study on the Correlation Among Total Serum Cholesterol Level, Blood Pressure, Body Mass Index, and Lifestyle / 성인간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among the levels of total serum cholesterol level, blood pressure, body mass index, and lifestyle. METHOD: This study was designed as a descriptive correlation study. Subjects were 972 adults participated voluntarily living in GyeongNam. The height, weight, blood pressure and fasting serum cholesterol were measured. Body mass index was caculated. Information on general characteristics (age, gender, education, job, family history) and life style(cigarette, alchol, sleeping time, regular exercise, meal pattern, peppery, salty, sweetness, vegetable diet, meat diet) were collected using a questionnaire by interviewing method. RESULT: The mean value of total serum cholesterol was 197+/-36.4mg/dl(mean; 189.4+/-36.7, women; 202.1 +/-35.1). By simple analysis, the serum total cholesterol according to general characteristics features was statistically significant in age(F= 6.765, p=000) and gender (t=5.372, p=.000). Total serum cholesterol levels increased significantly with increasing BMI. The serum total cholesterol according to life style features was statistically significant in cigarette(chi2 =12.12, p=.016), exercise(chi2=6.335, p=.042), salty taste(chi2=18.801, p=016), vegetable diet(chi2=19.488, p=012). The most affecting factor which total serum cholesterol factor was BMI(beta=.151, p=.000). CONCLUSION: The significant risk factors relating to serum total cholesterol were age, gender, BMI, smoking, and exercise. Therefore, for the reduction of serum total cholesterol level, it is recommended that nursing intervention for the prevention of obesity, change of life style should be implemented.

The Analysis of Health Promotion Information On the Internet / 대한의료정보학회지

The recent widespread use of computers and improvement of the internet technology have made people of every walk of life get plenty of information of various contents, including health and medicine. However, the efforts to verify and evaluate those Internet-based information fall far short of the ever-increasing number of web-sites dealing with health and medicine. These efforts are particularly important for the web-sites regarding health promotion, because they can render the general population to nourish their potentials to lead healthy lives, and provide wide variety of information, including every steps of natural courses of diseases till death. In the present study, a total of 100 web-sites regarding health promotion were selected through six domestic major searching engines, considering the contents and methods of evaluation. The evaluations were performed as to the 8 items comprising 3 fields, or the owners' credentials, transparency of sponsorship, and information publication form, along with analyses of the conditions of information-providing agencies and forms of providing on-line education program for health promotion. Results have shown that the average of the total marks of evaluation was 4.52 out of 8. The web-sites with points of +1SD from the average or more (6~8 points) accounted for 19% and those with -1SD from the average or less (~3 points) accounted for 20%. Only 2% of the total web-sites evaluated showed full marks (8 points). As to the agencies providing information, relevant social organizations, including corporations, accounted for the largest part (25%), followed by joint-stock companies and sales companies, which accounted for 24%. These figures represent a maximum of 6-fold as much as information provided by organizations with public confidence, such as institutes, hospitals, and public health centers. In addition, up to 81% of the on-line education programs were provided in the form of usual text, suggesting the lack of appropriate technology of providing information. On the other hand, the number of web-sites on health promotion/risk factors showed differences according to the searching engines used, and the number of those regarding health promotion was larger than that regarding risk factors for health. There was no single web-site searched commonly by five or six engines, and most web-sites were searched by only one engine. These results show that continuous systematic controls and evaluations are needed for the internet web-sites on health promotion, and that these require government-driven analyses of information contents, standardization, and comprehensive support.

A study on The Applying of Training Program to Facilitate Deglution: On spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage patients with nasogastric tube / 성인간호학회지

Dysphagia is common and serious problem in intracerebral hemorrhage patients. Nasogastric-tube intubation is an important method for dysphagic patients who have an intracerebral hemorrhage. But many discomforts develope in patients with a nasogastric-tube. Therefore, it is necessary to decide when to remove the tube and as early as possible. The purpose of this study is to decide the applying time of training program to facilitate deglution for dysphagic patients who have intracerebral hemorrhage. Among the 343 patients with intracerebral hemorrhage who had been admitted to P-university hospital from April, 1994 to December, 1998, the medical record of the 110 patients with nasogastric tube were reviewed retrospectively. Results from the study were as follows: 1. Nasogastric tube insert duration of improved patients was a mean of 23.2 days 2. When a L-tube was inserted and removed, the L.O.C. of improved patients was 2.6+/-0.8(in the midst of stupor or a semicoma), 1.9+/-0.5(close to drowsy), respectively. This was signifcantly different(P=0.000). 3. When a L-tube was inserted and removed, GCS of improved patients was 9.3+/-2.9, 12.1+/-2.2 respectively. This was significantly different (P=0.000). 4. The duration of nasogastric tube insertion was the longest when in a stupor(L.O.C), 6~8 points(GCS).

The Experience of the Middle Aged Women's Aging: A Phenomenological Approach(Colaizzi method) / 성인간호학회지

The purpose of this study was about the experience of middle aged women's aging process. The qualitative research method used was the phenomenological approach. This study tried to discover meaning of life and to understand real experiences of their life and to explore the essence of middle aged women's experience of aging. Furthermore, this study tried to establish of concept of middle age women's holistic health and to help of theoretical development to improve the health. The interviewees were 12 members. The data were collected through in-depth interviews with audiotape recording done by the investigators over a period of five months. The data were analyzed Colaizzi method, new data were continuously coded into statements, cored meanings, themes, groups of themes, and categories. The data were separated into 4 categories; body change, feeling the miss, wise coping and planning the future. The group of themes belonging to 4 categories were body change, sexual change; fleeting, tiredness, attachment of the youth; acceptance, a situation as the adult, fill up the hollow feeling, management body; dying peacefully, preparing for the senior age, being ready to pass away.