Employment Experiences of Female Mongolian Migrant Workers in Korea

Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to understand the employment experiences of female Mongolian migrant workers in Korea and identify their meanings. @*Methods@#Data were collected through individual in-depth interviews with eight such women using the phenomenological Colaizzi qualitative research approach. @*Results@#Six categories were drawn from the research: “Facing a dilemma when hitting the wall,” “Foreigners’ lives disrespected,” “Physically filled with wounds,” “Lonely, laborious, and sad,“ “Growing stronger and knowledgeable,” and “Happiness found in the workplace.” @*Conclusion@#The results of this study revealed the substantial meaning of the employment experience of female Mongolian migrant workers in Korea. The results of the study could provide basic data for offering such women various kinds of programs to support them psychologically and in their adjustment to their jobs. These programs would enhance their ability to adapt to both working and in Korea.

Independent Living: A Phenomenological Study on the Experiences of People with Mental Illness / 정신간호학회지

Purpose@#This study is to understand the experiences of people with serious mental illness following adjustment to independent living. @*Methods@#Aphenomenological research approach was used. Research participants were recruited from community psychiatric rehabilitation centers where they received the support for successfully independent living in the community. In-depth interviews were conducted with a total of 20 research participants from September 2019 to August 2021. The collected data were analyzed using the phenomenological analysis method previously described by Giorgi. @*Results@#Four major themes emerged from our analysis: (1) feeling free in everyday life changed when they started living independently; (2) being the owner of my life; (3) feeling surrounded by barriers at the start of independent living; and (4) required efforts and support for fully living independently. @*Conclusion@#Our study findings encourage fundamental understanding of benefits and difficulties in adjusting to independent living and the adjustment process among people with serious mental illness through in-depth analysis of their experiences. It is necessary to conduct further studies to develop interventions to support people with serious mental illness once they start living independently and instruments to measure their independence.

Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study on the Experiences of Employment of Married North Korean Women Defectors Rearing Children

PURPOSE: This study aimed to understand the experiences of married North Korean women's child-rearing, working lives, and their home and work environment in depth.METHODS: This study adopted van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenological method to qualitatively analyze data. The participants were 8 married North Korean women defectors. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and observations from July 4 to August 20, 2018.RESULTS: Nine essential themes emerged: more personal challenges after overcoming a life-threatening crisis; hopes of firmly settling in this land; the wound from the north, which chased them here; a body that becomes stronger through hardship; being stuck in a past full of anxiety and pain; the present is full of hope; hope for the future; sense of alienation from coworkers that cannot be overcome; and sense of power to endure an exhausting work life.CONCLUSION: This study provided a broader understanding of the life and experiences of married women from North Korea. It highlights the need for nurses to recognize their importance in nursing care. The study also suggests that academic and practical approaches for nursing, and basic data for a nursing intervention for married women from North Korea be provided. The study findings can be used as a basis for preparing a national policy that will help North Korean defectors to find employment and gain stability.

The Daily Life Experiences of Community Dwelling People with Mental Disabilities

Purpose@#As the daily life experiences of community-dwelling people with mental disabilities are closely correlated to mental health recovery, this study aimed to analyze their daily life experiences in depth to determine their significance. Method: Participants included eight community-dwelling people with mental disabilities. A total of 12 in-depth interviews were conducted once or twice per participant. The collected data were analyzed using the phenomenological analysis method described by Giorgi. @*Results@#The daily life experiences of community-dwelling people with mental disabilities were categorized into the following four components: “encountering shocking reality in the outside world”, “life tied down by the mental illness”, “happiness and gratefulness encountered in daily life”, and “wishing for a change and self-sustaining life”. Conclusion: This study found that the recovery and welfare of community-dwelling people with mental disabilities were promoted and that these patients made necessary efforts to become a member of the local community. These findings could be used as a reference for establishing social welfare policies which enable people with mental disabilities to participate as functioning members of the community that facilitate the prevention of relapse, to promote their integration into the community. Furthermore, the present results will contribute to the development of nursing intervention programs to promote recovery and prevent relapse, to ultimately establish a mental health management system.

Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study on the Experiences of Employment of Married North Korean Women Defectors Rearing Children

PURPOSE@#This study aimed to understand the experiences of married North Korean women's child-rearing, working lives, and their home and work environment in depth.@*METHODS@#This study adopted van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenological method to qualitatively analyze data. The participants were 8 married North Korean women defectors. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and observations from July 4 to August 20, 2018.@*RESULTS@#Nine essential themes emerged: more personal challenges after overcoming a life-threatening crisis; hopes of firmly settling in this land; the wound from the north, which chased them here; a body that becomes stronger through hardship; being stuck in a past full of anxiety and pain; the present is full of hope; hope for the future; sense of alienation from coworkers that cannot be overcome; and sense of power to endure an exhausting work life.@*CONCLUSION@#This study provided a broader understanding of the life and experiences of married women from North Korea. It highlights the need for nurses to recognize their importance in nursing care. The study also suggests that academic and practical approaches for nursing, and basic data for a nursing intervention for married women from North Korea be provided. The study findings can be used as a basis for preparing a national policy that will help North Korean defectors to find employment and gain stability.

The Daily Life Experiences of Community Dwelling People with Mental Disabilities

Purpose@#As the daily life experiences of community-dwelling people with mental disabilities are closely correlated to mental health recovery, this study aimed to analyze their daily life experiences in depth to determine their significance. Method: Participants included eight community-dwelling people with mental disabilities. A total of 12 in-depth interviews were conducted once or twice per participant. The collected data were analyzed using the phenomenological analysis method described by Giorgi. @*Results@#The daily life experiences of community-dwelling people with mental disabilities were categorized into the following four components: “encountering shocking reality in the outside world”, “life tied down by the mental illness”, “happiness and gratefulness encountered in daily life”, and “wishing for a change and self-sustaining life”. Conclusion: This study found that the recovery and welfare of community-dwelling people with mental disabilities were promoted and that these patients made necessary efforts to become a member of the local community. These findings could be used as a reference for establishing social welfare policies which enable people with mental disabilities to participate as functioning members of the community that facilitate the prevention of relapse, to promote their integration into the community. Furthermore, the present results will contribute to the development of nursing intervention programs to promote recovery and prevent relapse, to ultimately establish a mental health management system.

Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study on the Experiences of Employment of Married North Korean Women Defectors Rearing Children

PURPOSE@#This study aimed to understand the experiences of married North Korean women's child-rearing, working lives, and their home and work environment in depth.@*METHODS@#This study adopted van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenological method to qualitatively analyze data. The participants were 8 married North Korean women defectors. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and observations from July 4 to August 20, 2018.@*RESULTS@#Nine essential themes emerged: more personal challenges after overcoming a life-threatening crisis; hopes of firmly settling in this land; the wound from the north, which chased them here; a body that becomes stronger through hardship; being stuck in a past full of anxiety and pain; the present is full of hope; hope for the future; sense of alienation from coworkers that cannot be overcome; and sense of power to endure an exhausting work life.@*CONCLUSION@#This study provided a broader understanding of the life and experiences of married women from North Korea. It highlights the need for nurses to recognize their importance in nursing care. The study also suggests that academic and practical approaches for nursing, and basic data for a nursing intervention for married women from North Korea be provided. The study findings can be used as a basis for preparing a national policy that will help North Korean defectors to find employment and gain stability.

Suffering Experience of Primary Caregivers of People with Mental Disabilities in Community Dwellings / 정신간호학회지

Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to examine the suffering experienced by the primary caregiver of people with mental disabilities in community dwellings to explain the fundamental structure thereof. @*Methods@#The Giorgi’s phenomenological research methodology was used. Three male subjects and five female subjects participated in this study. The data were collected September-December, 2019 through in-depth individual interviews, and analysis based on the Giorgi’s method. @*Results@#Four clusters of themes were identified. They are: “Mental disability came as a burden of pain”, “Painful time from caring due to being mentally recoiled and being hurtful”, “My life is broken by illness”, and “Hope discovered in the midst of pain”. @*Conclusion@#The findings provide deeper understanding and insight into the suffering experienced by primary caregivers for people with mental disabilities in community dwellings. A comprehensive program encompassing psychological and social aspects must be developed to facilitate resolving the problem of the suffering experienced by the primary caregiver for people with mental disabilities.

Nursing College Life Experiences of North Korean Defectors

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to understand nursing college life experiences of North Korean Defectors and identify their meanings. METHODS: The study collected data through individual in-depth interviews among six undergraduates or graduates from nursing colleges, using phenomenological research methodology of Colaizzi-one of qualitative research approaches. RESULTS: Six categories drawn as a result of research include ‘Be bumped against hard reality wall’, ‘Bondage of discrimination and prejudice’, ‘Endure and stand with strength of faith’, ‘Myself grown up along with work’, ‘Becoming one amid differences’, and ‘Stepping towards unification’. CONCLUSION: The result of this study would contribute to understanding academic and interpersonal difficulties North Korean defectors might experience at nursing colleges. And it may also help people to learn that they would play an important role in integration of the nursing fields of South and North Korea as well as the nation's unification. Along the way, the results of the study could be basic data to establish national policy helping North Korean defectors adapt to nursing college life, and develop the supporting system of colleges as well as setting up appropriate supports and measures from the perspective of the nursing field.

Influence of Trauma Experiences and Social Adjustment on Health-related Quality of Life in North Korean Defectors

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to identify the influence of trauma experiences and social adjustment on health-related quality of life in North Korean defectors. METHODS: The subjects were 117 North Korean defectors living in B and Y city. The data were collected from September 1 to September 20, 2014, and analyzed by the SPSS/WIN 18.0 program. RESULTS: Significant differences were found in the health-related quality of life with respect to the subjects' education, marriage status, types of dwelling, family types, duration of residence in South Korea, jobs in South Korea and in North Korea, families left in North Korea or other surrounding countries, and subjective health status. Health-related quality of life is negatively related to trauma experiences during escape from North Korea and during their life in South Korea. Health-related quality of life positively is related to social adjustment. The meaningful variables which influenced the subjects'health-related quality include social adjustment, job in South Korea, job in North Korea, current family structure, and trauma experiences in South Korea. Total explanatory power of these factors for health-related quality in North Korean Defectors is 43.0% and social adjustment is the most influential factor. CONCLUSION: Therefore, in order to enhance health-related quality of life in North Korean defectors, it is necessary for them to increase social adjustment and decrease trauma experiences. In addition, methods are needed to provide job opportunities, better education and family services for North Korean defectors.

Lived Experience of Primary Caregivers of People with Mental Disability / 정신간호학회지

PURPOSE: This phenomenological study was done to explore in-depth understanding of the lived experience of primary caregivers of people with mental illness. METHODS: Participants were 7 primary caregivers and data were collected from November 2017 to February 2018. Giorgi's phenomenological method was used in this study. The caregiving experiences were categorized into separate types of situational structures in terms of specific and general descriptions. RESULTS: Six clusters and fourteen sub-clusters were identified. The 6 clusters were found to be ‘Embarrassing encounter with a disease’, ‘Sustained regret and self-defeating’, ‘Family life of constant oppression’, ‘Confinement of a mental illness’, ‘Nagging label of mental illness’, and ‘Recognizing the disease as a fate and taking courage’. CONCLUSION: The study findings emphasize the importance of both local and national support and the provision of information designed for primary caregivers of people with mental disability. Psychiatric nurses should understand and consider the growing number of increasing social prejudices, stigma, and caregiver burden so as to improve interpersonal relationships brought about by mental illness.

Effect of ursodeoxycholic acid on experimental hepatic porphyria induced by griseofulvin

Griseofulvin(GF) has become the drug of choice as an antifungal agent for patients who suffer from many kinds of fungal infection. In order to clarify hepatic injury by griseofulvin(GF) overload and the effect of UDCA on GF-induced hepatic injury, the authors carried out biochemical, histologic, and ultrastructural studies of liver following treatment with griseofulvin and ursodeoxycholic acid(UDCA) in mice. Urine porphobilinogen excretion in the group treated with GF alone was significantly increased and reached the highest level in the 4th week and declined thereafter. Biochemical studies of the liver function showed no remarkable changes of serum bilirubin levels throughout the experimental period in all groups, except for SGPT and alkaline phosphatase activities which were significantly elevated and reached the highest level in the second week. Then they slightly decreased in GF treated groups(GF alone and GF plus UDCA) in comparison with the control group. Pathologic findings in the group treated with GF alone include focal liver cell necrosis(esp, zone 3), Mallory bodies in hepatocytes(esp, zone 1), Kupffer cell activation, and brown protoporphyrin pigments in the hepatocytes, bile canaliculi and interlobular bile ducts with a marked inflammatory cell infiltration in the portal tracts. Under the polarizing light microscope, bile ductular and canalicular thrombi showed a "Maltese cross" birefringence in mice treated with GF alone. There is no definite finding of fatty change in hepatocyte. Under the microscope, the liver appeared normal with an intact lobular architecture in the GF plus UDCA treated group. Electron microscopically, GF-induced changes include swelling of mitochondria, globular protoporphyrin crystals in the hepatocyte cytoplasm, markedly dilated bile cannaliculi and bile ducts and the formation of a Mallory hyaline bodies in the hepatocytes. There were no noticeable structural changes in the GF plus UDCA-treated group. Therefore the results suggest that GF causes hepatic injury, namely porphyria and cholestasis, and the treatment of UDCA may have cytoprotective and choleretic effects on GF-induced hepatic injuries.