Effectiveness of the Infectious Disease (COVID-19) Simulation Module Program on Nursing Students: Disaster Nursing Scenarios

Purpose@#This study aimed to develop an emerging infectious disease (COVID-19) simulation module for nursing students and verify its effectiveness. @*Methods@#A one-group pretest–posttest quasi-experimental study was conducted with 78 under-graduate nursing students. A simulation module was developed based on the Jeffries simulation model. It consisted of pre-simulation lectures on disaster nursing including infectious disease pandemics, practice, and debriefings with serial tests. The scenarios contained pre-hospital settings, home visits, arrival to the emergency department, and follow-up home visits for rehabilitation. @*Results@#Disaster preparedness showed a statistically significant improvement, as did competencies in disaster nursing. Confidence in disaster nursing increased, as did willingness to participate in disaster response. However, critical thinking did not show significant differences between time points, and neither did triage scores. @*Conclusion@#The developed simulation program targeting an infectious disease disaster positively impacts disaster preparedness, disaster nursing competency, and confidence in disaster nursing, among nursing students. Further studies are required to develop a high-fidelity module for nursing students and medical personnel. Based on the current pandemic, we suggest developing more scenarios with virtual reality simulations, as disaster simulation nursing education is required now more than ever.

Women's Health Status Working at Traditional Marketplaces and Their Needs for Public Health Care Services

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to analyze health status of women working in traditional marketplace and their needs for public healthcare services. METHODS: A descriptive survey of 500 women working at three traditional marketplaces was conducted. RESULTS: street vendors' health status were much poorer than store merchants'. Furthermore, psychosocial factors like job stress and depression were increased in street venders. Thus, the public healthcare programs required by them included exercise programs (28.2%) and health checkup (26.8%). In addition, 31.2% of the participants reported that they needed visiting nursing care services. The rate of occupational health and safety or employment insurances was as low as 10.8%. CONCLUSION: Effective interventions including psychosocial factors for women workers at traditional marketplaces need to be developed based on these results. Also, it is recommended that public health care services such as outreach services and visiting nursing care services for women working at traditional marketplaces be provided. Furthermore, institutional provisions such as insurances for protecting these vulnerable groups' health are needed.

A Systematic Review of Interventions for Workers with Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: Using an Ecological Model / 한국직업건강간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to review the research trends and to identify developmental direction of studies on community interventions according to the ecological model for workers with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) risk factors. METHODS: Electronic databases including PsycINFO, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library and the reference lists of articles were searched. All articles were assessed in relation to inclusion and exclusion criteria, resulting in 29 researches being reviewed. Each review was critically appraised by two authors using a guideline of PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses). RESULTS: Nowadays, interventions in organizational level, integrated and web-based interventions are increasing to prevent CVD risk factors for workers. Even though the importance of psychosocial aspects to prevent CVD, the only 2 studies included psychosocial factors in the outcome variables. Also, 14% among 29 researches were based on theories. CONCLUSION: Psychosocial factors such as job stress, depression, and emotional labor could be CVD risk factors. Therefore, interventions including psychosocial aspects are needed to prevent workers' CVD risks more effectively. Theory-based interventions are needed to support interventions' effects and to develop the nursing science.

Effects of Sexual Abuse Prevention Education Program on Sexual Knowledge and Attitude among Elementary School Students

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of sexual abuse prevention education program linked to elementary physical and psychological development on sexual knowledge and attitude. METHODS: The participants were the elementary school students of fifth and sixth grades in S city, South Korea (experimental, comparison, and control group=96, 96, and 74, respectively). The experimental group received sexual abuse prevention education linked physical and psychological development, 6 sessions (3 sessions are physical and psychological development educations and 3 other sessions are sexual abuse prevention educations). The comparison group received sexual abuse prevention educations, 3 sessions (the same curriculum of the experimental group). The control group didn't receive any sexual education. The data were analyzed by χ2 test and t-test, and ANOVA using the SPSS program. RESULTS: The experimental group showed significantly better sexual knowledge and attitude than the comparison and control group. CONCLUSION: Sexual abuse prevention education program linked physical and psychological development is required for elementary school students, to improve the sexual knowledge and attitude.

Cvd-related Knowledge, Perception, Belief And Prevention Behaviors Of Korean Blue-collar Workers: Needs Assessment For Developing The Intervention Program through Qualitative Approach / 한국직업건강간호학회지

PURPOSE: This study intended to grasp real context of Cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related factors of Korean blue-collar workers, especially CVD-related knowledge, perception, beliefs, benefits and barriers of behaviors according to the health belief model. METHODS: We interviewed twenty two workers working in two small-sized companies and performed two series of focus group interviews. Data were analyzed by deductive content analysis approach based on Elo & Kyngäs. RESULTS: Excepting participants who have CVD risk factors, most participants had lower level of CVD risk perception. The level of CVD knowledge was low but there was difference by gender. CVD-related beliefs were ‘fatal disease’, ‘caused by lifestyle’ and ‘difficult to prevent by themselves’. The risk reduction behaviors were motivated by current or family history of hypertension. But there were barriers to interfere practice of preventive behaviors such as poor quality of food provided by cafeteria in the workplace, frequent overtime, victim mentality as one of vulnerable social group, housework and financial burden, lack of facilities for rest and physical activity in the workplace. CONCLUSION: To develop intervention for reducing CVD risks in Korean blue-collar workers, we need to focus on improving CVD knowledge and perception and modifying work-related environments such as low quality of food and lack of facilities for rest and physical activity in the workplace.

Attributable risk of lung cancer deaths due to indoor radon exposure

Exposure to radon gas is the second most common cause of lung cancer after smoking. A large number of studies have reported that exposure to indoor radon, even at low concentrations, is associated with lung cancer in the general population. This paper reviewed studies from several countries to assess the attributable risk (AR) of lung cancer death due to indoor radon exposure and the effect of radon mitigation thereon. Worldwide, 3–20 % of all lung cancer deaths are likely caused by indoor radon exposure. These values tend to be higher in countries reporting high radon concentrations, which can depend on the estimation method. The estimated number of lung cancer deaths due to radon exposure in several countries varied from 150 to 40,477 annually. In general, the percent ARs were higher among never-smokers than among ever-smokers, whereas much more lung cancer deaths attributable to radon occurred among ever-smokers because of the higher rate of lung cancers among smokers. Regardless of smoking status, the proportion of lung cancer deaths induced by radon was slightly higher among females than males. However, after stratifying populations according to smoking status, the percent ARs were similar between genders. If all homes with radon above 100 Bq/m3 were effectively remediated, studies in Germany and Canada found that 302 and 1704 lung cancer deaths could be prevented each year, respectively. These estimates, however, are subject to varying degrees of uncertainty related to the weakness of the models used and a number of factors influencing indoor radon concentrations.

Factors Affecting Health-related Quality of Life on Korean Blue-collar Workers / 한국직업건강간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate Korean blue-collar workers' Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and influencing factors in Korean blue-collar workers. METHODS: Participants in this study were 109 Korean blue-collar workers. The survey included health-related, work-related, and psycho-social factors. SF-36 was used to measure HRQoL. The data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: In the hierarchical linear regression model, when subjects' psycho-social variables were included in the regression model, R2 change was statistically significant. The significant predictors for HRQoL were education level (beta=.26, p=.023), depression (beta=-.38, p<.001), and self-efficacy (beta=.23, p<.001). CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that health care providers must have priority to consider psycho-social variables, especially depression and self-efficacy to improve HRQoL in Korean blue-collar workers.

Intervention Model Development of Health Promotion for Women Workers in Traditional Marketplaces: Using Community based Participatory Action Research / 한국직업건강간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe the intervention model development of health promotion for women workers working in the traditional marketplace, using community capacity building framework. METHODS: Need assessment of the target population, work-related environment investigation, social network group building, and setting health management in the marketplace were performed. Then the interventions including cardiovascular health, musculoskeletal health, and psychological health were conducted. The results were evaluated using NCEP-ATP III(National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III), OWAS, and CES-D. RESULTS: It was found that the intervention program for the vulnerable group in marketplace was appropriate, promoting the improvement of metabolic syndrome and the reduction of pain complaints. Therefore, the intervention framework for health promotion of women workers in the marketplace was developed. Work-related environment assessment also was included in the framework development. Several community capacity building strategies, including developing community resources and promoting partnership, making small social network group, and promoting program participation. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that occupational health nurses and professionals consider the appropriateness of intervention framework development after identifying the needs of women workers' work-related environmental problems.

Ecological Correlates of Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Korean Blue-collar Workers: A Multi-level Study

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate individual and organizational level of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors associated with CVD risk in Korean blue-collar workers working in small sized companies. METHODS: Self-report questionnaires and blood sampling for lipid and glucose were collected from 492 workers in 31 small sized companies in Korea. Multilevel modeling was conducted to estimate effects of related factors at the individual and organizational level. RESULTS: Multilevel regression analysis showed that workers in the workplace having a cafeteria had 1.81 times higher CVD risk after adjusting for factors at the individual level (p =.022). The explanatory power of variables related to organizational level variances in CVD risk was 17.1%. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that differences in the CVD risk were related to organizational factors. It is necessary to consider not only individual factors but also organizational factors when planning a CVD risk reduction program. The factors caused by having cafeteria in the workplace can be reduced by improvement in the CVD-related risk environment, therefore an organizational-level intervention approach should be available to reduce CVD risk of workers in small sized companies in Korea.

Factors Associated with Blue-collar Workers' Risk Perception of Cardiovascular Disease

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of actual cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, as well as, individual, psychosocial, and work-related factors as predictors of CVD risk perception among Korean blue-collar workers. METHODS: The participants were 238 Korean blue-collar workers who worked in small companies. Data were collected through a survey; anthropometric and blood pressure measures; and blood sampling for lipid levels. RESULTS: Blue-collar workers had high actual CVD risk and low CVD risk perception. The significant predictors of risk perception included perceived health status, alcohol consumption, knowledge of CVD risk, actual CVD risk, decision latitude, and shift work. The model explained 26% of the variance in CVD risk perception. CONCLUSION: The result suggests when occupational health nurses are giving routine health examination in small companies, they can enhance CVD risk perception in blue-collar workers by providing essential information about CVD risk factors and personal counseling on the individual worker's CVD risk status.

Association Between Body Mass Index and Asthma Symptoms Among Korean Children: A Nation-Wide Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of wheeze using nation-wide cross-sectional study in Korean children. Total 50,200 children from 427 elementary schools were randomly selected according to residential areas (metropolitan, provincial, rural, and industrial areas) by the cluster sampling method. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) questionnaires were used to measure the prevalence of wheeze. Among 31,026 respondents, 25,322 were analyzed. BMI was classified into quartiles based on BMI-for-age percentile. In all residential areas, pets at home and visible mold or moisture were associated with an increased prevalence of wheeze in both genders. However, other living environment factors were not consistently associated among residential areas and gender. Among girls, lowest BMI was negatively associated with prevalence of wheeze and highest BMI was positively associated in all residential areas. In multilevel logistic regression analysis, environmental tobacco smoking exposure, pets at home, visible mold or moisture, and being in the lowest and highest BMI quartile were significantly associated with the prevalence of wheeze in both genders. BMI has become an important risk factor for asthma symptoms among Korean children.

Relationship Between Earlobe Crease and Brachial-ankle Pulse Wave Velocity in Non-hypertensive, Non-diabetic Adults in Korea / 한국역학회지

OBJECTIVES: Several studies have found a significant association between the presence of earlobe crease (ELC) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Brachial-ankle Pulse Wave Velocity (baPWV) is a non-invasive and useful measure of arterial stiffness predicting cardiovascular events and mortality. However, few studies have reported the relationship between ELC and baPWV as a new measure of arterial stiffness. The purpose of this study was to determine whether ELC is related to baPWV in non-diabetic, non-hypertensive, and apparently healthy Korean adults. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 573 non-hypertensive, non-diabetic Korean adults aged 20-80 yr. Subjects were stratified into three groups according to gender and menopausal status. baPWV was measured by an automatic waveform analyser. The association between ELC and baPWV was assessed by multiple linear regression analysis after adjusting for conventional cardiovascular disease risk factors including age, gender, blood pressure, lipid profile, and smoking status etc. RESULTS: The overall frequency of ELC was 19.02% and the subjects with ELC showed significantly higher mean baPWV (p<0.0001). Multiple linear regression of subjects revealed that the presence of ELC was independently associated with baPWV (male, p<0.0001; premenopausal female p=0.0162; postmenopausal female p=0.0208). CONCLUSION: ELC had a significant correlation with baPWV, independently controlling for other classical cardiovascular risk factors in adults aged 20 yr or older. ELC is an important surrogate marker of increased arterial stiffness as measured by baPWV in Korean adults.