Forecast accuracy of demand for registered nurses and its determinants in South Korea.

BACKGROUND: Despite the significance of demand forecasting accuracy for the registered nurse (RN) workforce, few studies have evaluated past forecasts. PURPOSE: This paper examined the ex post accuracy of past forecasting studies focusing on RN demand and explored its determinants on the accuracy of demand forecasts. METHODS: Data were collected by systematically reviewing national reports or articles on RN demand forecasts. The mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) was measured for forecasting error by comparing the forecast with the actual demand (employed RNs). Nonparametric tests, the Mann‒Whitney test, and the Kruskal‒Wallis test were used to analyze the differences in the MAPE according to the variables, which are methodological and researcher factors. RESULTS: A total of 105 forecast horizons and 196 forecasts were analyzed. The average MAPE of the total forecast horizon was 34.8%. Among the methodological factors, the most common determinant affecting forecast accuracy was the RN productivity assumption. The longer the length of the forecast horizon was, the greater the MAPE was. The longer the length of the data period was, the greater the MAPE was. Moreover, there was no significant difference among the researchers' factors. CONCLUSIONS: To improve demand forecast accuracy, future studies need to accurately measure RN workload and productivity in a manner consistent with the real world.

Workplace sexual harassment toward male nurses in South Korea: a cross-sectional online survey.

BACKGROUND: Many studies have focused on sexual harassment of female nurses perpetrated by patients and coworkers. However, as males in a female-dominated occupation, male nurses are also at risk of being exposed to sexual harassment. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of workplace sexual harassment faced by male nurses in South Korea and to identify related factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey that recruited male nurses working in various general hospitals in South Korea. In total, 246 participants with at least 6 months of clinical experience enrolled in an online survey, and 155 male nurses were included in the final analysis. Data were collected from May 31, 2019 to July 26, 2020. Items on the questionnaire included sexual harassment experiences, nursing work environment, and general characteristics of the participants. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze participants' general characteristics and a negative binomial regression model was used to analyze predictors of workplace sexual harassment. RESULTS: The mean number of sexual harassment incidents was 3.2 ± 5.5. The majority (65.2%) of male nurses had experienced sexual harassment at least once at work. The negative binomial regression model in the study was found to be acceptable (likelihood ratio chi-square = 30.03, df = 18, p = .037). The perceived nursing work environment was the only significant predictor of sexual harassment towards male nurses (p = .001; incidence rate ratio = 0.37; 95% CI, 0.20-0.66). CONCLUSIONS: Nursing administrators must recognize that men in female-dominated occupation may experience sexual harassment in the workplace. Specific and realistic managerial policies and educational programs should be implemented to prevent workplace sexual harassment and improve the nursing work environment for male nurses.

Density and Proximity of Licensed Tobacco Retailers and Adolescent Smoking.

Adolescent smoking prevention is an important issue in health care. This literature review describes the theoretical concept of ecological model for adolescent smoking and tobacco retailers and summarizes previous studies on the association between the density and proximity of tobacco retailers and adolescent smoking. We reviewed nine studies on tobacco retailer density and proximity in relation to adolescent smoking, published in peer-reviewed journals between 2004 and 2014. The tobacco retailer density and proximity were correlated with adolescent lifetime smoking, past 12-month smoking, past 30-day smoking, and susceptibility to smoking. School nurses or other school health professionals may need to include the density and proximity of tobacco retailer factors around schools in school-based tobacco-use prevention programs. Health policy makers may need to consider zoning or licensing restrictions of tobacco retailers around schools for adolescent smoking prevention.

A health recreation program for u-healthcare clients: effects on mental health.

INTRODUCTION: In this study, a health recreation program was implemented with elderly patients (60 years of age or older) who were receiving ubiquitous healthcare (u-healthcare) services. Furthermore, we examined the effects of health recreation on perceived stress, anxiety, and depression, by comparing survey results before and after the recreation program was conducted. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop an offline service with the ability to promote the impact of the u-healthcare service on mental healthcare. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A health recreation program, consisting of a variety of weekly games, songs, and minilectures about mental health over a 10-week period, was offered at a senior citizens center in K-Gu, Seoul, Korea. This program targeted 18 elderly people currently receiving u-healthcare services. Data on the impact of the program on the mental health of the elderly were collected through surveys administered before and after the recreation program, and the results were compared with those of a control group. The control group consisted of 18 elderly people who were receiving u-healthcare services from the same district. RESULTS: The perceived stress and anxiety of the experimental group decreased significantly compared with those of the control group. However, the program did not result in a significant reduction in depression. CONCLUSIONS: This offline health recreation program offered to elderly u-healthcare service clients contributed to the promotion of their mental health. Further studies will be required to better incorporate the offline mental healthcare program into their daily lives within the u-healthcare service.

Male Nurses' Experiences of Workplace Gender Discrimination and Sexual Harassment in South Korea: A Qualitative Study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore male nurses' experiences of workplace gender discrimination and sexual harassment in South Korea. METHODS: Phenomenological qualitative methodology exploring male nurses' experiences was employed to collect data, and thematic analysis of the data was conducted. Research subjects were recruited by convenience and snowball sampling. Ten male nurses participated in individual in-depth interviews via mobile phone. Data were collected from June 15 to July 24, 2020. FINDINGS: Two themes were extracted that described male nurses' experiences of workplace gender discrimination and sexual harassment. In the first theme, "facing gender discrimination from various dimensions," nurses' thoughts and feelings regarding gender discrimination from various sources were expressed. The second theme, "experiencing sexual harassment at work as a man," presented experiences of sexual harassment as a male nurse and difficulties in being recognized as a victim. CONCLUSION: Gender discrimination and sexual harassment experienced by male nurses stem from a wide range of socio-cultural factors, ranging from individuals to organizations, and institutions. Therefore, this problem requires a correspondingly broad approach for improvement, such as making efforts to avoid classifying certain roles according to gender, developing new standards considering the specific experiences of men as victims of sexual discrimination and sexual harassment, and continuing training to increase social sensitivity and interest in the harm suffered by minorities in society.

Cotinine Fluctuation in Maternal Saliva During and After Pregnancy: Implications for Perinatal Outcomes.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine maternal cotinine levels in saliva at the first (T-1) and third trimesters of pregnancy (T-2), and postpartum (T-3) among women who reported smoking a consistent number of cigarettes. The goal was to generate data to provide suggestions about how nurses can improve patient outcomes for women who smoke. METHODS: Saliva cotinine values obtained from the randomized controlled trial (BabyBEEP) were used for this secondary analysis. We examined variations in saliva cotinine between the first and third trimesters of pregnancy and postpartum among light and heavy smokers. Cotinine values for pregnant smokers who were in the control group (not randomized to any intervention) and reported smoking the same range of cigarettes during and after pregnancy were used for the analyses (n = 43). Descriptive statistics and repeated-measures ANOVA were used for analyses. RESULTS: There were differences in maternal saliva cotinine levels across the different time points and between the groups. There was a significant interaction effect between time and group. Cotinine decreased from T-1 to T-2 in heavy smokers and increased from T-2 to T-3 among both light and heavy smokers. Cotinine at T-3 was higher than T-1 among light smokers. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Findings support accelerated nicotine metabolism during pregnancy and need for smoking cessation efforts throughout pregnancy to help women stay smoke free during postpartum.

Concept analysis of impressionability among adolescents and young adults.

AIM: To report a concept analysis of impressionability among adolescents and young adults. BACKGROUND: Adolescence and young adulthood are critical periods to establish health behaviour. Environmental determinants are associated with youth health risk behaviours. These populations are impressionable to a range of social and physical environmental factors. DESIGN: Concept analysis. METHODS: We selected 17 studies to review from Psych INFO, ERIC, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar as well as the University of Virginia library. We did not apply date limits. We included search terms: "adolescent"; "youth"; "young adult"; "impressionability"; and "impressionable." RESULTS: The defining attributes of impressionability among youths were a state where: (a) one is able to be susceptible to external stimuli; (b) one is incapable of reasonable judgement; and (c) one has a changeability to accept or modify one's attitude and behaviour. We identified antecedents, consequences, and cases of impressionability.

Telephone Support and Telemonitoring for Low-Income Older Adults.

The objective of the current pilot study was to determine whether nurse-led telephone counseling improves health behavior, self-care, and physiological indices for low-income older adults using a telemonitoring system. The control group (n = 15) was provided with weekly health education only, and the intervention group (n = 20) was given additional telephone support by nurses. At baseline and 8 weeks, data on health and self-care behaviors were collected using a self-reported questionnaire, and blood pressure and fasting blood glucose levels were assessed. Nurse-led telephone support had a medium effect on improving health behavior (Cohen's d = 0.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] [-0.10, 1.27]), reducing systolic blood pressure (Cohen's d = -0.61, 95% CI [-1.29, 0.08]), and improving self-care behavior for hypertension (Cohen's d = 1.16, 95% CI [0.05, 2.27]). Findings support that nurse-led telephone support may be effective for improvements in health behavior, systolic blood pressure, and hypertension self-care in disadvantaged older adults under remote monitoring. Further studies are needed to obtain a powered sample size and investigate the long-term effects of personalized elements surrounding telehealth in community-based settings. [Res Gerontol Nurs. 2018; 11(4):198-206.].

[Factors Influencing Adolescent Lifetime Smoking and Current Smoking in South Korea: Using data from the 10th (2014) Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey].

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate factors influencing lifetime smoking and current smoking among adolescents in South Korea. METHODS: Hierarchical logistic regression was conducted based on complex sample analysis using statistics from the 10th (2014) Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey. The study sample comprised 72,060 adolescents aged 12 to 18. RESULTS: The significant factors influencing adolescent lifetime smoking were female gender, older age, higher stress, higher weekly allowance, lower economic status, living apart from parents, parental smoking, sibling smoking, peer smoking, observation of school personnel smoking, and coed school compared to boys' school. The significant factors influencing adolescent current smoking were female gender, older age, higher stress, higher weekly allowance, both higher and lower economic status compared to middle economic status, living apart from parents, parental smoking, sibling smoking, peer smoking, observation of school personnel smoking, and coed school compared to boys' school. CONCLUSION: Factors identified in this study need to be considered in programs directed at prevention of adolescent smoking and smoking cessation programs, as well as policies.