Global Health Competencies and Educational Needs for Nursing Students in South Korea.

BACKGROUND: Despite the increasing demand for global health education, relatively few global health courses currently are offered in Korea. METHOD: This mixed-methods study examined the need for global health competency and global health education experience for nursing students. A survey of 208 nursing students was conducted from May 2020 to August 2020, and three focus groups were conducted with 12 nursing students. RESULTS: The average score of global health nursing competencies was 2.8 ± 0.7 on a scale ranging from 1 to 4. Female, higher academic achievement, fluent English, and higher global health education experience had a significant effect on global health competency. The most influential factor was more experience with global health education. Nursing students' perceptions and educational needs related to global health education were classified into four subthemes. CONCLUSION: The development of global health education programs for nursing students is needed. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(2):75-82.].

Community Health Nursing During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Korea: Consequences, Challenges, and Directions.

PURPOSE: To explore the consequences, challenges, and future directions based on community health nurses' experiences during COVID-19. DESIGN: Qualitative study. Four focus group interviews were conducted with 27 community health nurses. FINDINGS: Three major themes emerged: 1) Coordination of roles and duties, 2) Identifying deterioration of patients' health and increasing demand for visits, and 3) Changing service delivery strategies: a testing ground for new services. CONCLUSIONS: Community health nurses were essential public healthcare providers during the pandemic. The findings are informative for nurses and policy makers who can develop and suggest different services in the post-COVID era.

Effects of a multimodal approach to food art therapy on people with mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia.

BACKGROUND: Food art therapy (FAT) has multiple modalities in which cognition, emotion, and social changes are stimulated. The purpose of this study was to design a multimodal approach to a food art therapy (MM-FAT) program and identify its effects on cognitive ability, daily living functioning, depression, self-esteem, self-efficacy, self-expression, and social functioning in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild dementia by employing a mixed methods research design. METHODS: The participants included 39 patients from a public dementia care centre in Seoul, Korea. The intervention group, which comprised 20 participants, received 12 MM-FAT sessions 3 times a week for 4 weeks, and the control group, which included 19 participants, received usual care. The MM-FAT program was evaluated based on its effectiveness on cognitive, daily living, emotional, and social functioning outcome measures at three time points using repeated measures analysis of variance. Semi-structured interviews (n = 9) were conducted to evaluate the overall experience of the MM-FAT program and its outcomes. RESULTS: The findings reveal that MM-FAT has a positive effect on the cognitive, emotional, and social functioning of individuals with MCI and mild dementia. However, there were no enhancements in individuals' daily living functioning, and the lasting effects of the intervention could not be assessed. Cognition and depression increased significantly at the end of the MM-FAT program. Self-expression and self-efficacy were significantly higher in the MM-FAT group than in the control group. The semi-structured interviews revealed improvements in participants' behaviour, communication, and interaction. CONCLUSION: This mixed methods study focused on individuals with MCI or mild dementia contributes to an understanding of the effectiveness of a FAT program employing a multimodal approach. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the study was able to enrich the effects of MM-FAT on cognitive, emotional, and social functioning through qualitative findings.