Korean Patient-Perceived Satisfaction Scale of Community-Based Case Management Services (Korean-PSCCM): Development and Psychometric Evaluation.

This study aimed to develop and psychometrically test an instrument for measuring patient-perceived satisfaction with community-based case management services in Korea. The study was conducted in 4 phases: Phase I, development of the instrument; Phase II, pilot testing of the instrument; Phase III, a large-scale study to test reliability and validity; and Phase IV, conversion of the new instrument from Korean to English. The new instrument was determined to have six factors-advocacy of case manager, outcome of care, communication skills, practice of a healthy lifestyle, referral, and recognition of risk factors-and also shown to be reliable.

Structural model of factors influencing smoking behavior among Korean-Chinese adolescent boys.

AIM: The aim of this study is to develop and test structural equation model to explore factors influencing smoking behavior among Korean-Chinese adolescent boys. METHODS: Participants were recruited from six middle schools in China (N=768). Self-administered questionnaire included: (1) demographic information, (2) smoking behavior, and (3) individual factor (i.e., life satisfaction, future orientedness, stress), familial factor (i.e., relationship with parents, family life, socioeconomic status), environmental factor (i.e., father's smoking, friends' smoking, anti-smoking environment), and Intention Refusal Self-efficacy. AMOS analyses were used to evaluate the proposed model. RESULTS: The model was a good fit for the data. Intention Refusal Self-efficacy significantly influenced smoking behavior. The model explained 52% of the variance in smoking behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking behavior is significantly related with factors of intention to smoke, refusal skill, self-efficacy, friends' and father's smoking, and anti-smoking environment. Targeting these issues might be useful when developing strategies for smoking prevention programs.

Smoking in korean-chinese middle school students: prevalence and risk factors.

BACKGROUND: Cigarette smoking is rising among Chinese adolescents, and adolescent smoking is a crucial public health issue. Despite the number of studies that have explored the prevalence and various aspects of adolescent smoking in China, we know of no data currently available on smoking behavior among Korean-Chinese adolescents. PURPOSE: This article studies the prevalence of smoking and factors affecting smoking behavior among Korean-Chinese adolescents. METHODS: Data were collected from six Korean-Chinese middle schools in the Yanbian region of Jilin, China. The differences in data from three groups (never-smokers, ever-smokers, and current smokers) were analyzed using χ2 tests and analysis of variance. Logistic regression was used to analyze the factors affecting smoking behavior. RESULTS: Among the 2,116 participants, 7.3% of the boys and 3.7% of the girls were ever-smokers, and 7.2% of the boys and 0.8% of the girls were current smokers. Differences among groups in terms of gender, number of friends currently smoking, parental smoking behavior, academic performance, alcohol consumption, and intention not to smoke were all significant (p < .001, .05). Compared with never-smoking and ever-smoking students, currently smoking students perceived a significantly less antismoking environment (p = .000). The smoking rate was 2.24 times higher in boys than girls and was 11.57 times higher in students who had three smoking friends compared with those who had no smoking friends. CONCLUSION: The findings may help develop more effective intervention approaches to prevent adolescent smoking. Preventive programs should involve smoking parents by increasing the value they place on their children's nonsmoking behavior and equipping them to help deter adolescent smoking.

Familiarity with, knowledge of, and attitudes toward epilepsy among teachers in Korean elementary schools.

We investigated familiarity with, knowledge of, and attitudes toward epilepsy among teachers in elementary schools in Korea, where there is profound prejudice against epilepsy. Most of the teachers thought that epilepsy is a genetic disease. They agreed that children with epilepsy (CWE) should attend regular classes (although with some restriction of school activities) because their academic achievement would be comparable to that of children without epilepsy. However, half of the teachers opposed having CWE in their own classes because they feared a child having a seizure during class and they felt they lacked knowledge of first-aid for seizures. Those teachers who had inaccurate clinical knowledge of epilepsy also demonstrated negative attitudes toward the marriage and employment of persons with epilepsy. We conclude that information about epilepsy should be included in teacher training programs so as to increase their level of knowledge of epilepsy and correct prejudices against epilepsy.

Korean women's attitudes toward breast cancer screening tests.

The purpose of the study was to explore Korean women's attitudes toward breast cancer screening tests from a feminist perspective. Twenty Korean women working in Dong-Dae-Moon Market in Seoul, South Korea were recruited using a convenience sampling method. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted using an interview guideline that was developed for the study. The data were analyzed using a thematic analysis. The themes emerged from the analysis process included: "importance of breasts to women", "fearful, but not related to me", "bad previous experience", and "no need for a breast exam." Based on the findings, implications for nursing practice are proposed.