Comparison of Needs for Pregnancy and Postpartum Adaptation of Chinese Immigrant Women and Vietnamese Immigrant Women in South Korea.

PURPOSE: To identify needs for pregnancy and postpartum adaptation of Chinese immigrant women and Vietnamese immigrant women in South Korea. METHODS: A descriptive research design was employed. Data were collected from 244 Chinese immigrant women and Vietnamese immigrant women from 3 provinces, 20 health care centers, and multi-cultural family support centers. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, t-test and ANOVA. RESULTS: An average score for needs perceived by Chinese immigrant women was significantly higher than that perceived by Vietnamese immigrant women. There were significantly differences in physical and emotional adaptation after childbirth, nutrition during pregnancy, cross cultural understanding and personal respect, and adaptation daily activity during pregnancy between the 2 groups. The highest score of needs in Chinese immigrant women was for nutrition during pregnancy and that in Vietnamese immigrant women was for baby rearing and family support. CONCLUSION: Based on needs of pregnancy and postpartum adaption, nursing intervention program in consideration of cultural characteristics of Chinese immigrant women and Vietnam immigrant women need to be developed for their pregnancy and postpartum health care.

Alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and subjective health in Korean elderly men.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the level of alcohol drinking, cigarette smoking, and subjective health in elderly Korean men and to examine the relationships among those variables. The data were collected through the questionnaire that includes general characteristics, the quantity-frequency (Q-F) method, and the Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire (FTQ) scale. The prevalence of alcohol consumption was 65.2%, and 28.7% represented heavier drinkers. The prevalence of smoking was 47.0%. Among the smokers, 17.1% elderly men reported nicotine dependence in the medium range. Forty-six percent of subjects reported their health as poor or fair. In conclusion, alcohol drinking and smoking were prevalent among Korean elderly men. These findings show the need to improve strategies for educating elderly men and motivating them to incorporate healthy behaviors.

[Fatigue, depression and sleep in young adult and middle-aged].

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to investigate fatigue, depression and sleep in young adult and middle-aged. METHOD: The convenient sample consisted of 415 subjects from 20 to 59 years old. Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire from July to October, 2001. The VAS-F and CES-D were utilized to measure the level of fatigue and depression. Sleep duration and sleep satisfaction were measured based on the subject's self-report. RESULT: The result of the study revealed that the level of fatigue and depression was higher among young adult than middle-aged. Considering age and gender, the level of fatigue and depression was higher among young adult women and middle-aged men. Depression and sleep satisfaction influenced on the fatigue. CONCLUSION: Health care providers need to concern about fatigue and depression in young adult women and middle-aged men. Especially, more concern and intervention programs are needed for young adult women and middle-aged men.

[The relationships among loneliness, social support, and family function in elderly Korean].

PURPOSE: To examine the relationships among loneliness, social support, and family function in elderly Korean. METHOD: The sample for this study were 290 elderly Korean who were at least 60 years of age. Data were collected by interview using the translated Korean versions of the Revised University of California Los Angels Loneliness Scale(RULS), Family APGAR, and Social Support Questionnaire 6. RESULT: Subjects were moderately lonely and had moderately functional families. Means for social support were 1.42 for network size and 4.09 for satisfaction. Subjects who lived with their spouses had a larger number of network members than who did not live with spouses. However, living with spouses was not associated with social support satisfaction. The level of loneliness was related negatively to the level of social support network, social support satisfaction and family function in this study. Social support satisfaction and Family function were the significant predictor of loneliness. CONCLUSION: The number of social supporter and satisfaction and family function should be considered in nursing intervention to decrease the level of loneliness in older adults. Further studies and efforts will be needed to reduce the level of loneliness in older adults.