Sexual Knowledge, Sexual Attitudes, and the Need for Sex Education Among Adolescent Defectors From North Korea.

INTRODUCTION: Adolescent North Korean defectors are vulnerable due to harmful environments during defection, limited access to sex education in North Korea, and exposure to different sexual norms in South Korea. The purpose of this study was to investigate the sexual knowledge, attitudes, and sex education needs of North Korean refugee adolescents. METHODS: A cross-sectional, descriptive survey was administered to 102 North Korean refugee adolescents. RESULTS: The correct answer rate for questions on genital anatomy, physiology, masturbation, and contraception was less than 20%. The participants exhibited conservative attitudes toward female contraception, masturbation, and having friends of the opposite sex. A significant positive correlation was found between knowledge and the need for sex education. DISCUSSION: These results highlight the importance of tailored sex education in providing accurate information, improving sexual knowledge, fostering positive attitudes, and enabling healthy behaviors among adolescent North Korean defectors.

Communication competence and resilience are modifiable factors for burnout of operating room nurses in South Korea.

BACKGROUND: Burnout negatively impacts the personal and professional life of nurses. Job stress and resilience have been determined to be associated with nurse burnout. Given the importance of communication competence in operating room (OR) nurses, the associations of job stress, resilience, and communication competence with burnout have not been examined. PURPOSE: To determine the relationships of job stress, resilience, and communication competence to burnout of OR nurses in South Korea. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study of 146 OR nurses. A series of self-reported questionnaires was used to assess job stress, resilience, communication competence, and burnout. Pearson correlation coefficient and a hierarchical linear regression were used for data analysis. RESULTS: Communication competence was correlated with resilience (r = 0.65, p < .001) and burnout (r = -0.44, p < .001), and resilience was correlated with burnout (r = -0.48, p < .001). Resilience (ß = -0.22, p = .027) and communication competence (ß = -0.33, p < .001) were associated with burnout of OR nurses in a hierarchical linear regression (F = 6.28, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Increased resilience and communication competence were associated with lower burnout of perioperative nurses. To prevent and reduce burnout of OR nurses, it is necessary to develop and implement a program targeting for communication competence and resilience. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Nurse leaders should provide programs fostering communication competence and resilience to OR nurses and encourage them to actively participate in such job trainings.

Effects of patient deterioration simulation using inattentional blindness for final year nursing students: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Patient deterioration should be detected early and responded appropriately for patient safety. It is necessary to strengthen situational awareness regarding patient deterioration. Inattentional blindness is a major factor that hinders situational awareness about patient deterioration in the clinical setting. OBJECTIVES: To analyze the impact of patient deterioration simulation using inattentional blindness (PDS-IB) on situational awareness and patient safety competency-attitude among final year nursing students. DESIGN: A randomized controlled trial. PARTICIPANTS: Final year nursing students at a university in South Korea. METHODS: Students were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. The experimental group (n = 47) was given a PDS-IB. The control group (n = 44) received a simple patient deterioration simulation. Situational awareness and patient safety competency-attitude were measured at baseline, post intervention, and at 2 weeks follow-up. Data were analyzed using a two-way repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS: There were statistically significant group effects, time effects, and group and time interaction effects in situational awareness and patient safety competency-attitude. CONCLUSION: PDS-IB is an effective educational strategy that increases situational awareness and patient safety competency-attitude in final year nursing students.

The Influence of Psychological Capital and Work Engagement on Intention to Remain of New Graduate Nurses.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the influence of new graduate nurses' psychological capital (PsyCap) and work engagement (WE) on their intention to remain in nursing. BACKGROUND: New graduate nurses experience stressful work environments, emotional exhaustion, and burnout. Positive psychological resources, such as PsyCap and WE, may promote the retention of new graduate nurses. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey design was used. A structured questionnaire was answered by 156 new graduate nurses working at 2 tertiary hospitals and 1 university hospital in South Korea. RESULTS: The intention to remain among new graduate nurses was correlated significantly with PsyCap and WE. A hierarchical regression of intention to remain against general characteristics, PsyCap, and WE explained 33.5% of intention to remain of new graduate nurses. Psychological capital and WE were influential in new graduate nurses' intention to remain. CONCLUSIONS: Organizational attention is needed to foster PsyCap and WE to strengthen new graduate nurses' intention to remain in nursing.

Exploring the Influence of Nursing Work Environment and Patient Safety Culture on Missed Nursing Care in Korea.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore the influence of nurse work environment and patient safety culture in hospital on instances of missed nursing care in South Korea. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used, in which a structured questionnaire was administered to 186 nurses working at a tertiary university hospital. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test or ANOVA, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: Missed nursing care was found to be correlated with clinical career, nursing work environment and patient safety culture. The regression model explained approximately 30.3 % of missed nursing care. Meanwhile, staffing and resource adequacy (ß = -.31, p = .001), nurse manager ability, leadership and support of nurses (ß = -.26, p = .004), clinical career (ß = -.21, p = .004), and perception on patient safety culture within unit (ß = -.19, p = .041) were determined to be influencing factors on missed nursing care. CONCLUSION: This study has significance as it suggested that missed nursing care is affected by work environment factors within unit. This means that missed nursing care is a unit outcome affected by nurse work environment factors and patient safety culture. Therefore, missed nursing care can be managed through the implementation of interventions that promote a positive nursing work environment and patient safety culture.

Factors That Influence Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting Attitudes of Pediatric Nurses in Korea.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to identify knowledge of child abuse, awareness of child abuse reporting, factors that influence attitudes toward mandatory reporting, and professionalism among a sample of pediatric nurses in Korea. METHODS: One hundred sixteen pediatric nurses working at two university hospitals in Korea took part in the study and completed self-administered questionnaires. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t tests, analysis of variance, Pearson correlation coefficients, and hierarchical regression analysis. RESULTS: Knowledge of child abuse, awareness of child abuse reporting, and attitudes toward mandatory reporting were low. Regarding nursing professionalism, social perceptions had the lowest mean score and nursing autonomy had the highest mean score. Attitudes toward mandatory reporting significantly correlated with professionalism. In the hierarchical regression model, the influences of nursing autonomy and intentions to report child abuse on attitudes toward mandatory reporting were statistically significant (F = 2.176, p = .013), explaining 32% of the variation in attitudes toward mandatory reporting. CONCLUSION: The results of this study could be used to improve systems and policies addressing child abuse and to further develop reporting procedures for identifying children at risk of abuse, to ensure their protection as a professional responsibility.

Exploring the Influence of Nurse Work Environment and Patient Safety Culture on Attitudes Toward Incident Reporting.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the influence of nurse work environments and patient safety culture on attitudes toward incident reporting. BACKGROUND: Patient safety culture had been known as a factor of incident reporting by nurses. Positive work environment could be an important influencing factor for the safety behavior of nurses. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey design was used. The structured questionnaire was administered to 191 nurses working at a tertiary university hospital in South Korea. RESULTS: Nurses' perception of work environment and patient safety culture were positively correlated with attitudes toward incident reporting. A regression model with clinical career, work area and nurse work environment, and patient safety culture against attitudes toward incident reporting was statistically significant. The model explained approximately 50.7% of attitudes toward incident reporting. CONCLUSION: Improving nurses' attitudes toward incident reporting can be achieved with a broad approach that includes improvements in work environment and patient safety culture.

Antitumor and antioxidant activity of protocatechualdehyde produced from Streptomyces lincolnensis M-20.

We characterized the biological functions of protocatechualdehyde (PA) isolated from the butanol extract of culture supernatant from Streptomyces lincolnensis M-20. Following butanol extraction, it was purified by silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography. PA was analyzed by Furier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Gas chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS), and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). PA had potent antioxidant activity, as measured by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity. Antitumor activity against MCF-7 human breast cancer cells was evaluated by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium-bromide (MTT) assay. PA treatment (0 approximately 150 muM) dose-dependently blocked apoptosis, as shown by improved cell viability and inter-nucleosomal DNA fragmentation. Our findings suggest that Streptomyces lincolnensis M-20, a lincomycin producer, also produces protocatechualdehyde.

Purification and characterization of chitinase from Streptomyces sp. M-20.

Chitinase (EC 3.2.1.14) was isolated from the culture filtrate of Streptomyces sp. M-20 and purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-cellulose ion-exchange chromatography, and Sephadex G-100 gel filtration. No exochitinase activity was found in the culture filtrate. The molecular mass of the purified chitinase was 20 kDa, estimated by a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and was confirmed by activity staining with Calcofluor White M2R. Chitinase was optimally active at pH of 5.0 and at 30 degrees C. The enzyme was stable from pH 4 to 8, and up to 40 degrees C. Among the metals and inhibitors that were tested, the Hg(+), Hg(2+), and p-chloromercuribenzoic acid completely inhibited the enzyme activity. The chitinase activity was high on colloidal chitin, chitotriose, and chitooligosaccharide. The purified chitinase showed antifungal activity against Botrytis cinerea, and lysozyme activity against the cell wall of Botrytis cinerea.