Factors that Influence Sexual Intercourse among Middle School Students: Using Data from the 8th (2012) Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate factors that influence sexual intercourse among middle school students in South Korea. METHODS: Using statistics from the 8th (2012) Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey, hierarchical logistic regression analysis was conducted. The study sample comprised 37,297 middle school students aged primarily 12 to 15. RESULTS: The significant predictors of sexual intercourse were grade, ever smoking, ever drinking, habitual or purposeful drug use, economic status, weekly allowance, cohabitation with family, and type of school. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that intensified sex education is needed not only in the 1st grade of middle school, but also in the upper grades of elementary school. Sexual health interventions for high-risk groups may be needed, given the factors predicting sexual intercourse.ope

Evaluation of a community health practitioner self-care program for rural Korean patients with osteoarthritis

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a self-care program for elders with osteoarthritis managed by primary health care workers, Community Health Practitioners (CHPs), in rural Korea. METHODS: The self-care program, consisting of 7 areas, was evaluated with a randomized experimental study for patients over age 60 with osteoarthritis in which 150 participants in the experimental group and 140 in the control group were compared. The self-care program was implemented for six weeks, 2 hours per week, at community health posts by CHPs. Data were collected using an interview questionnaire given by the CHPs and laboratory tests before and after the intervention for both groups. Propensity score matching analysis was done to test effectiveness after controlling for confounding variables. RESULTS: The intervention group showed a significant decrease in the number of painful joints (p<.001) and a significant increase in self-care ability (p<.05) compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: Study results indicate that training and utilizing primary health care workers in rural areas is valuable in increasing the generalization and continuity of intervention programs. As arthritis should be managed life-long, CHP directed self-care programs are useful interventions for rural elders with arthritis to learn self-care management.ope

Analysis of Actual Condition and the Related Predicting Factors for Sexual Experience of University Students in Korea

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to research on the actual condition of sexual experience and to identify the related predicting factors for sexual experience of University students in Korea. Methods : The cross-sectional descriptive study design was used. We selected 600 students from 6 University located in Seoul, Chungchung-do and Gangwon-do by convenience random sampling and received IRB from Y Univ. 562 students were included in the final analysis using logistic regression. Results : Among 562 students, 386(71.5% in male and 60.2% in female students) students reported having sexual experience. The result of analyzing the related factors to sexual experience revealed that the students who were male, lived in Seoul area, smokers, having friends who had sexual experience, and those who's parents were not at home when the students returned to home, had significantly more sexual experience. Conclusion : According to the results of this study, there should be an intensive sexual related program development for the college students, especially for smoking males and living in Seoul area. And the school health services of University should be strengthened to protect the college students from the critical situation caused from sexual experience.ope

The Effects of an Aerobic Exercise Program on Mobility, Fall Efficacy, Balance, and Stress in the Elderly at Senior Centers

Purpose This study was conducted in order to investigate the effects of an aerobic exercise program on mobility, fall efficacy, balance, and stress in the elderly at senior centers. Methods This research was conducted as a quasi-experimental pretest and posttest control and experimental comparison study. The subjects were 41 senior residents (Exp.=18, Cont.=23) who aged above 65 at senior centers in S City. The period of time for data collection and intervention was from August 25 to December 5, 2008. Results Mobility (t=-3.10, p<.01) in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group without an aerobic exercise program. However, fall efficacy (t=1.28, p=.207), balance (t=-.53, p=.602; t=.36, p=.723), stress (t=-1.32, p=.199) in the experimental group was not significantly higher than that in the control group. Conclusion These findings confirmed that aerobic exercise programs make a contribution to improving mobility in the elderly at senior centers.ope

Development and psychometric evaluation of the Korean version of the cultural competence scale for clinical nurses

PURPOSE: To develop and psychometrically test the Korean version of the Cultural Competence Scale for Nurses (K-CCSN). METHODS: A multi-phase questionnaire development method was used to develop the scale from November 2012 to April 2013. The item pool was generated based on literature review, existing scales and in-depth interviews. The content validity was evaluated twice by an expert panel. The scale validation was conducted with a convenience sample of 456 general hospital nurses recruited from five general hospitals and a nursing college in the Seoul Metropolitan Area of South Korea. The construct-related and criterion-related validity and internal consistency reliability of the scale were tested. RESULTS: The 33-item K-CCSN comprised four subscales-cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural sensitivity and cultural skills-explaining 53.96% of the total variance. The criterion-related validity was supported by a known-group comparison. The reliability analysis showed an acceptable-to-high Cronbach's alpha in total and for subscales ranging from .879 to .932. CONCLUSION: This preliminary evaluation of psychometric scale properties demonstrated acceptable validity and reliability. The K-CCSN is able to provide scientific and empirical data regarding the cultural competence of clinical nurses. However, further studies are needed to test the applicability of the scale in different settings and contexts.ope

Health Education Status in Elementary, Middle and High Schools by National Health Education Guidelines

Purpose: To analyze the current status of health education and problems of elementary, middle, and high schools by national health education guideline. Methods: Study subjects were 991 school health teachers of elementary, middle, and high schools in one province and the data was collected by mail. The data was analyzed by χ²-test and Fisher’s exact test. Results: The rates of school health education implementation were 99.6% in elementary school, 98.1% in middle school, and 96% in high school. The rates of school health education were reported much higher than former studies. The most barrier in providing school health education was ’health room management during health education’. During health education by school health teachers, the health rooms were managed by other teachers in elementary schools or by locking the health room with announcement memo in middle and high schools. Conslusion: To improve the school health education, higher school health teacher placement and administrative supports for health clinic were recommended.ope

A Study on Gender Differences in Influencing Factors of Office Workers' Physical Activity

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine gender differences in effects of self-efficacy, exercise benefits and barriers, and demographic factors on the physical activity. Methods Seventy sedentary office workers, 35 male and 35 female, from a major airline company, completed a questionnaire from March 28 to April 5, 2012. Steps and body mass indices were measured using a CW-700/701 (Yamax) pedometer and Inbody 720 (Biospace), respectively. Data were analyzed using t-test, χ2-test, multiple linear regression, and simultaneous quantile regression. Results For male workers, exercise self-efficacy had a significant effect on physical activity, but only when respondents were at 10%(3,431 steps/day, p=.018) and 25%(4,652 steps/day, p=.044) of the physical activity distribution. For female workers, marital status was significantly related to physical activity, but only when respondents were at 10% (3,537 steps/day, p=.013) and 25%(3,862 steps/day, p=.014) of the physical activity distribution. Conclusion Quantile regression highlights the heterogeneous effect of physical activity determinants among office workers. Therefore intervention strategies for increasing physical activity should be tailed to genders as well as physical activity levels.ope

Development of HIV Prevention Program for Female Youth in A Rural Area of Ethiopia

Objectives: The objective of this study was developing a community-based HIV prevention program to enhance the safe sexual behavior among rural Ethiopian female youth. Methods: A community-based HIV prevention program was developed using the Cox’s Interaction Model of Client Health Behavior. The program development was carried out in four phases using a mixed research method: need-assessment which consisted of three steps (secondary-data analysis, key-informant interview, and focused-group interview); identification of preliminary program contents; expert’s review of the program contents for the validity and cultural acceptability of the program; and refinement of the proposed program contents. Results: The HIV prevention program developed in this study consisted of three modules; the first module was for enhancing the youth’s self-esteem, the second was for providing the youth with information regarding HIV/AIDS and safe sexual behavior, and the third was for improving the youth’s communication skills and refusing skills. Conclusions: The need assessment and expert’s review was very effective way to reflect sociocultural factors of rural Ethiopia for developing HIV prevention program for female youth. Further research is desirable for verifying the effectiveness of the developedprogram.ope

A Comparison of Stress Levels of Elementary Students by Geographical Regions

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare stress levels of elementary students according to three regional levels: a large city, a medium-sized city, and a rural area. Methods: This was a descriptive comparative survey using a convenience sample of 1,161 5th-and 6th-grade students. The stress level was measured by a stress scale that consisted of 65 items regarding personal characteristics, family, school, and peer factors. The data were analyzed by ${\chi}^2-test$, t-test, ANOVA and multiple regression using the SPSS 10.0 statistical program. Results: Overall, the mean stress scores reported by the participants were near the middle of a 5-point scale and the level of family-related stress was highest, followed by peer, school, and individual-related stress. Sixth-graders and female students showed higher stress levels than 5th-graders and male students, respectively. The participants reporting unsatisfaction with their lives and those living in large cities tended to have significantly higher stress levels. Conclusion: Grade, gender, life satisfaction, and regional levels were all significant factors associated with high stress levels among elementary students. Development of stress management programs for this specific population, especially targeting students who are female and living in large cities, is needed.ope

Analysis of Factors Affecting Unmet Healthcare Needs of Married Immigrant Women

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors affecting the unmet healthcare needs of married immigrant women. Methods: This study was a secondary data analysis using data from the 2009 National Survey of Multicultural Families. Data collected from 58,735 married immigrant women who had spouses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, and logistic regression. Results: Overall, 9.9% of married immigrant women have unmet healthcare needs. The significant predictors related to unmet healthcare needs were young age, high level of education, employed, country of origin, long period of residence, low income, uninsured, urban area, low level of subjective health status, and illness experience over past two weeks. In particular, four variables (long period of residence, low income, subjective health status, and illness experience over past two weeks) significantly predicted unmet healthcare needs for women from all countries of origin. Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that common predictors related to unmet healthcare needs of married immigrant women are a long period of residence, low income, subjective health status, and illness experience over past two weeks. Therefore intervention strategies to decrease unmet healthcare needs should focus on these significant predictors.ope