Status and Issues on Disaster Preparation Programs in Public Health Center / 農村醫學 地域保健

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to review the disaster preparation and response programs and the status of disaster preparation in public health center. METHODS: In depth interview was performed in September 2017 using 5 open questions to the persons who are in charge of disaster response services in 5 public health centers of different levels in Korea. The questions included general characteristics of public health center, disaster programs and future issues. The research hired a quality method. RESULTS: In general, the persons in charge recognized the cooperative agency of local government in disaster management. There were no disaster preparation programs developed by the public health centers. Most of the preparation were passive activities such as emergency support, crisis management on communicable disease and quarantine, participation in biological disaster response training, and education etc. The persons in charge emphasized necessity of disaster preparation programs. CONCLUSIONS: Disaster preparation and responsiveness is an evolving issue in public health centers in Korea. Medical support system and communicable disease management system are being set up in the national level. A comprehensive system covering health management, nutritional support, mental health, environment management of shelter, and volunteers supports on public health center level needs to be developed along with a easy-to-follow manual.

Effect of Acupressure Massage on Temperatures of Acupoints, Severity of Facial Paralysis, Subjective Symptoms, and Depression in Bell's Palsy Patients

PURPOSE: Bell's palsy is a nerve paralysis disease that causes functional impairments and affects psychological and aesthetical parts. This study aimed to examine whether acupressure massage had positive effects on facial paralysis, subjective symptoms, and depression in Bell's palsy patients. METHODS: This study was conducted by a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Participants were 60 patients with Bell's palsy. 30 patients were assigned to the experimental group and the remaining 30 patients were assigned to the control group. The period of the study was from October 1, 2008 to July 30, 2009. Acupressure massage was offered to the experimental group for 20 minutes per day for two weeks (a total of six times). A SPSS/Win 12.0 program was used for data analysis. RESULTS: A difference in Digital Infrared Thermographic Imaging (DITI) between affected and unaffected sides was less in the experimental group having acupressure massage than in the control group and the score of the recovery of facial paralysis was also increased in the experimental group. The Facial Nerve Grade Systems by Brackmann score that is a more objective index showed a significant difference between two groups (F=26.81, p<.001). Subjective symptom and depression scores were more decreased in the acupressure massage group than in the control group. CONCLUSION: Based on the results, it is considered that acupressure massage can be applied to Bell's palsy patients as an alternative therapy. It can be used as an evidence-based East-West nursing intervention to improve patients' physical and mental functions.

Gender Difference in Quality of Life After Controlling for Related Factors among Korean Young-old and Old-old Elderly / 農村醫學 地域保健

OBJECTIVES: As a sequel to the former analysis of the quality of life (QoL) among young-old and old-old in Korea, this research was aimed to identify factors related to the quality of life and the gender difference after controlling for the related factors among Korean elderly. METHODS: Selected elderly data of 1,339 subjects from the 5th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in 2010 was analyzed. In this survey, QoL was measured using Euro Quality of Life (EQ-5D) instrument. Data were analyzed using complex survey data analysis on IBM-SPSS 20.0. The related factors were identified using general linear models with backward elimination. The gender difference was tested also using general linear models. RESULTS: The distributions of educational level, family income level, and presence of cohabitant were different between male and female elderly in both young-old and old-old age group. So were the health behaviors and perceived health, and experience of stress, depression, and suicidal thoughts. QoL and its subscales- mobility, self care, daily living, pain and discomfort, and anxiety and depression- were consistently better among male elderly regardless of age group. Among the variables considered, education, family income level, presence of cohabitant, perceived health, age group and BMI were found to be related to the QoL at p=.05, and presence of chronic diseases at p=.10. The difference in QoL between male and female elderly after controlling for the variables was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Improving QoL is particularly important for the elderly. In order to improve QoL of the elderly, age- and gender-differences need to be considered when developing services and programs for the elderly.

Child Abuse Recognition and Related Factors among Korean Nursing Students / 農村醫學 地域保健

OBJECTIVES: This study measures nursing students' ability to recognize child abuse and identifies the factors related to varying levels of recognition. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, data were collected from 370 third and fourth year nursing students using a self-reported questionnaire during November 15-30, 2011. The measuring tool for child abuse recognition used in the study was developed by Ozasa (2011) and is composed of 44 items including physical, mental, and sexual abuse, and neglect. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, two sample t-tests, and regression analysis were evaluated with the SPSS/PC ver20.0 program. RESULTS: Nursing students were concerned about child abuse(85.4%), but knew little about related laws and regulations(14.3%), and they had almost no formal education or training regarding how to recognize child abuse. They only 1.6% reported child abuse even if they encountered such incidents; however, they correctly recognized even infrequent incidents of child abuse. Recognition of sexual abuse ranked highest, while recognition of neglect ranked lowest. Those with higher levels of concern over child abuse showed higher recognition scores. Regression analysis revealed that physical abuse, mental abuse, and neglect had different related factors, while sexual abuse had none. CONCLUSION: Education and training on the subject of child abuse is strongly recommended in nursing curriculums so that nurses will be able to appropriately respond to and report suspected child abuse.

Effects of Foot Reflexology on Fatigue, Sleep and Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of foot reflexology on fatigue, sleep and pain. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted. Electronic database and manual searches were conducted on all published studies reporting the effects of foot reflexology on fatigue, sleep, and pain. Forty four studies were eligible including 15 studies associated with fatigue, 18 with sleep, and 11 with pain. The effects of foot reflexology were analyzed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Version 2.0. The homogeneity and the fail-safe N were calculated. Moreover, a funnel plot was used to assess publication bias. RESULTS: The effects on fatigue, sleep, and pain were not homogeneous and ranged from 0.63 to 5.29, 0.01 to 3.22, and 0.43 to 2.67, respectively. The weighted averages for fatigue, sleep, and pain were 1.43, 1.19, and 1.35, respectively. No publication bias was detected as evaluated by fail-safe N. Foot reflexology had a larger effect on fatigue and sleep and a smaller effect on pain. CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis indicates that foot reflexology is a useful nursing intervention to relieve fatigue and to promote sleep. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effects of foot reflexology on outcome variables other than fatigue, sleep and pain.

A Study on the Health Status, ADL, Depression and Life Satisfaction by Gender and Stage of Exercise Change among the Rural Elderly

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to find perceived health status, ADL, depression, and life satisfaction among the rural elderly and to explore differences according to gender and the stage of exercise change. METHODS: This is an exploratory survey study. The subjects were 365 elders consisting of 140 men (38.4%) and 225 women (61.6%) in a rural area in Korea. Data were collected from December, 2006 to January, 2007 using a structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed by Pearson's correlation, t-test, ANOVA, and Scheffe's test using the SPSS/WIN 10.0. RESULTS: The mean scores of perceived health status and ADL were lower and depression was higher in women than in men. There were statistically significant differences in perceived health status according to the stage of exercise change. Also there were significant differences in the scores of ADL, depression, and life satisfaction according to the stage of exercise change. CONCLUSION: The tailored exercise seems to decrease depression while promoting physical health status and life satisfaction among the rural elderly. We suggest considering the client's intention and motivation when developing exercise programs.