Social Support, Activities of Daily Living, and Depression among Older Japanese and Koreans Immigrants in the U.S.

This study investigates the relationship between social support, activities of daily living (ADL), and depression among older Japanese and Koreans living in the U.S. Data were collected from 207 older Japanese and 210 older Koreans in various long-term care settings in Honolulu and Los Angeles. A hierarchical regression analysis indicated that social support was a significant factor of depressive symptoms in both groups and ADL was significantly associated with depressive symptoms among older Japanese. Based on our findings, we recommend means for social workers to address depression among older Japanese and Korean immigrants by improving social support and ADL.

A blended learning program on undergraduate nursing students' learning of electrocardiography.

This study sought to evaluate the feasibility of applying the blended learning program that combines the advantages of face-to-face(FTF) learning and e-learning. The blended learning program was developed by the authors and implemented for 4 weeks. 56 senior nursing students were recruited at a university in Korea. Significant improvement was noted in learning achievement. No significant differences were noted between FTF and web-based learning in learning motivation. Learning satisfaction and students' experience in taking this course revealed some positive effects of blended learning. The use of blended learning program for undergraduate nursing students will provide an effective learning model.

[Development of clinical performance indicators for establishing a connecting system between hospital performance management and quality improvement].

PURPOSE: This study aimed at developing integrated clinical performance indicators(CPIs) through the analysis of quality improvement(QI) activities of a hospital and literature review about performance measures. METHOD: The CPIs were developed through the following three stages; 1)Identifying preliminary CPIs 2)A staff validity test in preliminary CPIs 3)Developing final CPIs. RESULT: One hundred twenty-three preliminary CPIs were developed through QI activities of the target hospital for 8 years and literature review. The results of the validity test for the preliminary CPIs supported ninety-one items. Sixty-two CPIs were selected through integration, reclassification and renaming. Then, eighteen items were deleted on account of an imprecise calculation method. Finally, forty-four CPIs were confirmed. They consisted of twenty-six items at the hospital level and eighteen items at the department level. CONCLUSION: CPIs can be used as criteria to evaluate the performance of healthcare organizations, and to decide the quality of healthcare for customers. This study may contribute to establishing an integrated system between QI activities and performance measurement of healthcare organizations.