The Effect of Patient-centered CPR Education for Family Caregivers of Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases

PURPOSE: For cardiovascular patients, family caregivers play a vital role in daily nursing and cardiac emergencies. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of patient-centered CPR education (PCE) for family caregivers of patients with cardiovascular diseases. METHODS: Fifty-four participants were randomly assigned to the PCE or control group. The PCE group received tailored counseling on overall cardiovascular disease information and CPR followed by interactive instructor-guided CPR training and re-education follow-up by telephone 2 weeks later. The control group received only video-based CPR self-education and booklets. Cardiovascular disease and CPR knowledge and self-efficacy were measured before (pre-test), immediately after (post-test 1), and 4 weeks after the PCE (post-test 2). CPR skills and performance were measured pre-test and at post-test1. RESULTS: The PCE group demonstrated significant improvements in knowledge (F=91.09, p<.001), self-efficacy (F=15.19, p<.001) and CPR skills and performance (F=8.10, p=.008), as well as significant differences over time (knowledge: F=364.25, p<.001; self-efficacy: F=1162.28, p<.001; CPR skills and performance: F=1798.81, p<.001). There were significant group-by-time interactions for knowledge (F=8.10, p=.001), self-efficacy (F=4.30, p=.019) and CPR skills and performance (F=4.81, p=.036) by repeated measures ANOVA. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to demonstrate the effects of a patient-centered intervention with CPR education tailored for patients' and family caregivers' preferences, needs, and lifestyles. The results of this study encourage the use of tailored, patient-centered interventions in cardiovascular nursing practice.

The Effects of Laughter Therapy on Stress Responses in Patients with Preoperative Breast Cancer / 종양간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of laughter therapy on mood, state anxiety, and serum cortisol based on a Stress-Coping Model for preoperative breast cancer patients. METHODS: The study used a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The participants were 40 breast cancer patients who were admitted to one general hospital for surgery in 2009 (experimental group 23, control group 17). The experimental group received one hour laughter therapy consisting of dance, lots of laughter techniques, and meditation. RESULTS: The mean ages were 47 years (experimental group) and 49 years (control group). There were no significant differences in demographic and disease-related characteristics between the two groups. After the intervention, the scores of mood and state-anxiety of experimental group were significantly improved than those of control group. However, no difference was found in serum cortisol. CONCLUSION: The laughter therapy was partially effective in improving stress response in patients with breast cancer. Further research is needed to develop and evaluate the longer periods of interventions to testify the effects on serum cortisol, and other biochemical variables.

Early Initiation of Alcohol Drinking, Cigarette Smoking, and Sexual Intercourse Linked to Suicidal Ideation and Attempts: Findings from the 2006 Korean Youth Risk Behavior Survey

PURPOSE: This study examined the association between early initiation of problem behaviors (alcohol drinking, cigarette smoking, and sexual intercourse) and suicidal behaviors (suicidal ideation and suicide attempts), and explored the effect of concurrent participation in these problem behaviors on suicidal behaviors among Korean adolescent males and females. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were obtained from the 2006 Korean Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a nationally representative sample of middle and high school students (32,417 males and 31,467 females) in grades seven through twelve. Bivariate and multivariate logistic analyses were conducted. Several important covariates, such as age, family living structure, household economic status, academic performance, current alcohol drinking, current cigarette smoking, current butane gas or glue sniffing, perceived body weight, unhealthy weight control behaviors, subjective sleep evaluation, and depressed mood were included in the analyses. RESULTS: Both male and female preteen initiators of each problem behavior were at greater risk for suicidal behaviors than non-initiators, even after controlling for covariates. More numerous concurrent problematic behaviors were correlated with greater likelihood of seriously considering or attempting suicide among both males and females. This pattern was more clearly observed in preteen than in teen initiators although the former and latter were engaged in the same frequency of problem behavior. CONCLUSION: Early initiation of alcohol drinking, cigarette smoking, and sexual intercourse, particularly among preteens, represented an important predictor of later suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in both genders. Thus, early preventive intervention programs should be developed and may reduce the potential risks for subsequent suicidal behaviors.

The Effects of Actual and Perceived Body Weight on Unhealthy Weight Control Behaviors and Depressed Mood among Adult Women in Seoul, Korea / 예방의학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to examine the mediating function of body weight perception (BWP) on the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and unhealthy weight control behaviors (UWCB: e.g., fasting, or taking diet pills or laxatives) and between BMI and depressed mood, and to explore the effect of distorted BWP on UWCB and depressed mood among adult women. METHODS: A regionally representative sample of 8,581 women aged 20-64 years residing in Seoul, the capital of Korea, completed the 2001 Seoul Citizens Health Indicator Survey which provides self-reported information about height, weight, BWP, UWCB, depressed mood, demographic/ socioeconomic characteristics, and health-related behaviors. Data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: BMI was significantly associated both with UWCB and depressed mood, even controlling for all covariates. However, the magnitude and significance of each association was considerably attenuated when BWP was taken into account, indicating that BWP functioned, in part, as a mediator between BMI and UWCB and between BMI and depressed mood, respectively. Among the combinations of BMI and BWP, women who perceived themselves to be heavier than their actual BMIs appeared more likely to use UWCB, whereas women who had a distorted BWP, either underestimation or overestimation as compared with their BMIs, tended to be at greater risk for depressed mood than those who had an undistorted BWP. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that how women perceive their body weight may be an important predictor and/or mediator of UWCB and depressed mood among adult Korean women.