The effectiveness of hand acupuncture and moxibustion in decreasing pain and "coldness" in Korea women who have had hysterectomy: A pilot study

This pilot study compared the relative effectiveness of hand acupuncture and moxibustion in relieving pain and decreasing "coldness" in certain body parts experienced by subjects who have undergone a hysterectomy. The study participants were 10 women between 40 and 65 years, whose hysterectomies had been performed within 5 years before the study. The 10 subjects were divided randomly into two independent experimental groups, with one group being treated with hand moxibustion, whereas the other group received hand acupuncture therapy. The visual analogue scale evaluation tool was used to measure the pain and digital infrared thermographic imaging to measure "coldness" and blood circulation. When measuring the degree of pain, it was noted that pain scores decreased conspicuously over time. The responses of the two groups did not differ significantly, but moxibustion therapy was found to increase the temperature of internal parts of the body (i.e., abdominal and waist areas), whereas acupuncture affected the peripheral parts of the body. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

The effects of fall prevention program on knowledge, self-efficacy, and preventive activity related to fall, and depression of low-income elderly women

PURPOSE: This research was conducted to determine the effects of a fall prevention program on knowledge, self-efficacy, prevention activity, and depression in the low-income elderly women. METHOD: The design of this study was a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. There were 22 subjects in the experimental group and 22 in the control group. A fall prevention program was performed for approximately 40 minutes, once a week for 6 weeks. RESULTS: The results of this study were as follows: There were statistically significant differences of knowledge, self-efficacy, and prevention activity related to falls and depression between the experimental group and control group. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the fall prevention program used in this study is appropriate for the elderly, therefore this program is strongly recommended for community-based health and welfare centers

Knowledge, health belief, and self-efficacy related to osteoporosis

PURPOSE: This research was conducted to examine the relationship of knowledge, health beliefs, and self-efficacy on osteoporosis. METHOD: The design of this study was a correlative design. The subjects were 1,615 Korean adults over the age of 20 registered in a new town and participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire developed by Kim, Horan & Gendler (1991), translated into Korean. RESULTS: 1) The subjects recorded an average score of 11.10 on osteoporosis knowledge. The average scores on the osteoporosis health beliefs was 15.68 for perceived susceptibility and the respondents recorded an average score of 40.40 for osteoporosis self-efficacy. 2) There were statistically significant differences in the degree of osteoporosis knowledge, self-efficacy and health belief according to gender, age, scholastic achievement, marital state, and jobs. 3) There were statistically significant positive correlations between osteoporosis knowledge and self-efficacy. CONCLUSION: According to these results, an osteoporosis education program improving not only knowledge but also self-efficacy and health beliefs should be developed and applied to decrease the perception of barriers to exercise and intake of calcium

Prevalence of insomnia and its relationship to menopausal status in middle-aged Korean women

Although the prevalence of insomnia and the association of insomnia with menopause have been well reported, not much work has been conducted in population-based research on insomnia and menopause in Korea. The purpose of the present report was to determine overall and different prevalence of insomnia by menopausal status, and the relationship between insomnia and menopause in a population-based sample of middle-aged Korean women. A total of 96.1% of 2497 randomly selected middle-aged Korean women participated. Insomnia was defined as occurring three times a week or more in the previous month. Subjects were categorized into three groups: premenopaues, perimenopause, and postmenopause. The overall prevalence of insomnia in middle-aged Korean women was 14.3%. The most common symptom of insomnia was difficulty maintaining sleep (9.7%), followed by difficulty initiating sleep (7.9%), and early morning awakening (7.5%). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that menopause was independently associated with insomnia after adjusting for confounding factors such as age, income, and depression. Perimenopause was significantly associated with a dramatic increase in the risk of insomnia, but there was no significant association for postmenopause. The major finding is that insomnia is significantly associated with the menopausal transition. The prevalence of insomnia increases significantly by the transition from premenopause to perimenopause, but not to postmenopause. A further prospective study is needed to investigate the influence of menopause on insomnia

Psychosocial predictors of depressive symptoms in Korean-American women in New York City

The purpose of this study was to identify psychosocial predictors of depressive symptoms among Korean-American immigrant women in New York. A sample of 262 women between the ages of 35 and 55 who had resided in the U.S. for 10 years or less completed a survey instrument including measures of depression, acculturative stress, utilization of social support, self-esteem, and socio-economic status. Depressive symptoms were related positively to acculturative stress and negatively to self-esteem and socio-economic status explained significant proportions of variability in depression. Findings suggest a need to implement policies aimed at mitigating the acculturative stresses associated with immigration

The family vs. the government: the changing face of geriatric care in South Korea.

[No abstract available

A study on health concern, self-rated health, health status, and health promotion behavior of elderly women in urban area

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to examine the relationship among health concern, self-rated health, health status, and health promotion behavior of elderly women in urban areas. METHOD: The subjects of this study consisted of 271 Korean elderly women over 65 years. The data was collected through personal interviews using questionnaires from March to May of 2003. The data was analyzed by the SPSS (ver.10.0) computer program, and it included descriptive statistics, t-test, one way ANOVA, and the pearson correlation coefficient. RESULT: There was a significant positive correlation between self-rated health and health status. Health promotion behavior related to all health concerns, self-rated health, and health status. CONCLUSION: This study showed that strategies of elderly care intervention to put in practice health promoting behavior is needed to improve quality of life in elderly women. In addition, health education appropriate for health maintenance and health promotion must be done for daily living to maintain well-being for the rest of their lives

Relationship between trait-anger and sleep disturbances in middle-aged men and women

Objective: The present study was performed to determine whether high levels of trait-anger (T-Anger) are independently associated with sleep disturbances and quantitative and qualitative measurements of sleep in middle-aged adults. Methods: Enrolled in the study were 2404 men and 2291 women derived from the Korean Health and Genome Study (KHGS), which is an ongoing population-based prospective study. The Spielberger Trait Anger Scale was used to measure T-Anger. Results: Sleep disturbances, including difficulty in initiating and maintaining sleep (DIS and DMS, respectively) and early morning awakening (EMA), significantly increased with increasing levels of T-Anger (P<.05 by test for trend). Nonrestorative feelings in the morning and excessive daytime sleepiness were also strongly associated with higher levels of T-Anger. After adjusting for other potential risk factors, the high and/or moderate T-Anger showed 40% to 70% increases in the odds for sleep disturbances. Conclusion: The present study provides evidence that high levels of T-Anger are independently associated with symptoms of disturbed sleep in middle-aged adult population. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Critical thinking ability of associate, baccalaureate and RN-BSN senior students in Korea

The purpose of this study was to compare the critical thinking ability of students enrolled in associate, baccalaureate, and Registered Nurse-Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN-to-BSN) programs in Korea. The participants were 301 undergraduate nursing students. The instrument used for this study was the Watson & Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, and analysis of variance with Scheffe's multiple comparison. The average critical thinking ability score was 41.59. Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students scored significantly higher on critical thinking than the other 2 groups. Students ≤ 22 years of age scored higher than the other age groups on critical thinking. This study provides preliminary evidence that the length and content of an educational program is as important as its focus on enabling students to develop their critical thinking abilities. This finding suggests a need to infuse critical thinking activities early in existing secondary school curriculums as a way of encouraging students to develop their thinking abilities earlier. © 2006 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved

Korean adolescents' experiences of smoking cessation: A prelude to research with the human becoming perspective

Smoking cessation has been identified as an important factor for health and quality of life in Korean society. This article explicates Korean adolescents' experiences of smoking cessation from the perspective of Parse's human becoming theory, as a prelude to conducting research. A nurse was truly present with individual students as they shared their experiences of trying to stop smoking. Interpreted through the principles and concepts of Parse's theory, the experience of quitting smoking is elucidated as a struggle of choosing one's value priorities amid the opportunities and limitations inherent in this decision, while moving with unique patterns of relating. Staying with the commitment to stop smoking is changing one's health and quality of life. The authors briefly discuss the implications of this perspective for nursing practice, and identify struggling to change as a phenomenon for future research. © 1998 Chestnut House Publications