Effects of individual reminiscence therapy for older women living alone.

BACKGROUND: The loss of cognitive function and memory interrupts the independent activities of daily living of older women, and it eventually causes role loss, increased dependence, declining self-esteem and low quality of life. AIM: To examine the effects of the individual reminiscence therapy on memory self-efficacy, memory practice, Mini Mental State Examination and quality of life for older Korean women living alone. METHODS: A quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test control group design was employed. Seventy-eight older women aged 65 and older who were living alone in Seoul and Gyeong-gi-do, Korea, was recruited through convenient sampling. Individual reminiscence therapy was applied for 1 h/week in the experimental group (40 subjects) for 4 weeks. A study questionnaire was designed to measure general characteristics, memory self-efficacy, memory practice (immediate, delayed), Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and quality of life. RESULTS: There were significant differences in the effects of individual reminiscence therapy on memory self-efficacy, memory practice (immediate, delayed), and quality of life between experimental and control group. CONCLUSION: Individual reminiscence therapy was an effective intervention for improving memory self-efficacy, memory practice (immediate, delayed), cognitive function and quality of life of older Korean women living alone. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY: Individual reminiscence therapy can be utilized as a nursing intervention for improving memory, cognition and quality of life of older women in the nursing practice. Health policy needs to give attention to health issues of older women living alone. Individual reminiscence therapy can be utilized as a nursing intervention for improving memory, cognition and the quality of life of older women. Health policy needs to give attention to health issues of older women living alone.

Depression, self-esteem and anger expression patterns of Korean nursing students.

BACKGROUND: According to previous studies, nursing students' anger expression patterns, depression and self-esteem significantly affected the physical and mental well-being of patients. It is of utmost importance that the relationship among them is thoroughly investigated in this study. AIM: The purpose of this study was to examine the degrees of anger expression patterns, depression and self-esteem of Korean nursing students and to examine the correlations among them. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The subjects consisted of 320 Korean nursing students at colleges in S and G city, Korea. The measurements were based on the Korean standard STAXI (State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory), SCL-90-R (Symptom Checklist-90-Revision) and SLCS-R (Self-Liking/Self-Competence Scale-Revised Version). RESULTS: In the analysis of the degrees of variances, the subjects showed lower anger repression, anger expression, control of anger and depression. The degree of self-esteem revealed a higher than the median value. There were significant correlations among anger expression patterns (anger repression, anger expression and anger control), depression and self-esteem. LIMITATIONS: The study limitations were the degree of representativeness of the setting and sample, and its generalizability. CONCLUSION: Based on the findings of this study, interventions are needed for Korean nursing students in order to promote anger management and improved self-esteem. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICY: The development of an anger control programme for nursing students should focus on lowering depression and enhancing self-esteem. One of the policy issues focused on providing anger management programmes for lowering depression and enhancing self-esteem. This study will enable nursing students to recognize the importance of controlling their anger, enhancing their self-esteem, establishing positive emotions and improving their overall well-being as future professional nurses.

A comparison of the factors influencing life satisfaction between Korean older people living with family and living alone.

BACKGROUND: As the global population of older people continuously increases, many countries are beginning to experience health problems associated with older age. These countries may be interested in knowing and understanding the health problems experienced by the older Korean population, which is projected to age the most rapidly. AIM: This study aimed to compare and examine the factors that influence the life satisfaction between older people living with their family and those living alone. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted. The participants comprised a total 300 older Koreans (150 living with their family, 150 living alone) aged 65 years or over who met the eligibility criteria. All measures were self-administered. Data were analysed using the SAS statistical software program version 6.12 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). RESULTS: The older people living with their family were better than the older people living alone in perceived health status, self-esteem, depression and life satisfaction. Perceived health status, self-esteem, depression, age and monthly allowance were found to be the factors related to the life satisfaction of older people living with their family and those living alone. The factors that were found to have the greatest influence on the life satisfaction of older people living with their family and those living alone were depression and perceived health, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study may help healthcare providers to understand the factors that can influence the life satisfaction among older people living with their family and living alone in Korea.

A comparison of the health and related quality of life between middle-aged Korean and Chinese women.

BACKGROUND: The proportion of middle-aged people in one's total life cycle has increased. Health providers are required to promote and manage their health, and improve the quality of their life, especially middle-aged women. As international interchanges in nursing are growing between Korea and China, understanding of the level related to health and quality of life between middle-aged Korean and Chinese women is critical to improve their health and quality of life. AIM: To compare and examine the health perception, anger expression, self-esteem and quality of life between middle-aged Korean and Chinese women. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted. The participants were comprised of a total 430 middle-aged Korean (n=220) and Chinese (n=210) women aged 40-64 years. The survey included a set of four questionnaires. All measures were self-administered. Data were analysed using the statistical package, SPSS/WIN Ver16.0 (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). RESULTS: Middle-aged Chinese women had higher health perception than middle-aged Korean women. Anger expression, self-esteem and quality of life of middle-aged Korean women were higher than in middle-aged Chinese women. Also, there were the differences in the health perception, anger expression and self-esteem according to the general characteristics in all middle-aged Korean and Chinese women. CONCLUSIONS: Various nursing intervention strategies should be developed and adjusted to improve the self-esteem and quality of life for all middle-aged Korean and Chinese women, especially middle-aged Chinese women. Additionally, the individual characteristics and national culture of the middle-aged women should be considered as a basis for the nursing intervention.