Korean Hospital Nurses' Experiences with COVID-19: A Meta-Synthesis of Qualitative Findings.

This study aims to provide a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies examining the perceptions and experiences of nurses who cared for patients in dedicated COVID-19 hospitals in South Korea. We searched key health databases (RISS, KISS, KMbase, NDSL, KoreaMed, DBpia, PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane) from September to November 2023. We reviewed and analyzed articles using a thematic synthesis approach. The quality of the studies was ascertained using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program checklist for qualitative research. Ultimately, 13 studies involving 219 nurses were included in the final review. Six major themes and thirteen subthemes emerged. During the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic, nurses were able to overcome difficult situations through their interactions with patients, sense of a professional mission, and commitment to nursing. Most importantly, they persevered through their collaboration and closeness with fellow nurses, despite confusion about their professional identity, the ethical dilemmas they faced in patient care, and the conflicting attitudes of their social support system. To prepare for future infectious disease outbreaks, a multifaceted support system should be established to enable nurses to have positive interactions with their families, colleagues, and patients, which have become central to their resilience.

The Impact of Resilience on Post-Traumatic Growth among Nurses in COVID-19-Designated Hospitals: The Mediating Effect of Meaning in Life.

This study aimed to confirm the relationship between resilience, meaning in life, and post-traumatic growth (PTG) among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the mediating effect of meaning in life on the relationship between resilience and PTG was examined. A cross-sectional descriptive research design was used. The participants were 220 nurses at COVID-19-designated hospitals in Seoul. Descriptive statistics, a t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis, hierarchical regression, and SPSS PROCESS macro (Model 4) were used for data analyses. As a result of the study, resilience and meaning in life each had a significant positive effect on PTG. In addition, the indirect effect of meaning in life was significant, suggesting that meaning in life partially mediated the relationship between resilience and PTG. The results indicate that nurses' resilience directly contributes to the improvement of PTG, and this relationship is further strengthened indirectly through the presence of meaning in life. Therefore, it is suggested that strategies should be developed to enhance resilience and promote a sense of meaning in the profession in order to support the mental health and foster growth among nurses.

Digital Addiction and Related Factors among College Students.

(1) Background: Digital addiction has been a global concern, with college students becoming increasingly vulnerable to it. The detrimental psycho-physiological effects of digital addiction have raised concerns regarding college students' health. This descriptive correlational study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of digital addiction and identify influencing factors among college students, such as body shape satisfaction, time management, and psychological health. (2) Methods: Data were collected from 199 students at a university in Seoul, South Korea, from 30 May to 13 June 2023. The Digital Addiction Scale (DAS), Time Structure Questionnaire (TSQ), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) were used for the assessment. Data (N = 199) were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and stepwise multiple regression. (3) Results: The mean score for digital addiction was 54 ± 12, with scores ranging from 23.0 to 89.0. Digital addiction had a significant positive correlation with body shape satisfaction (r = 0.156, p = 0.028) and a negative correlation with time management (r = -0.500, p < 0.001). In the stepwise multiple regression model of digital addiction (adjusted R2 = 0.285, p < 0.001), subfactors of body shape satisfaction (fear of fatness ß = -0.280, body dissatisfaction ß = 0.401) and time management (effective organization ß = -0.211, persistence ß = -0.209, past orientation ß = -0.165) were statistically significant. (4) Conclusions: Body shape satisfaction and time management are important factors influencing digital addiction among college students. However, it does not establish a direct causal relationship. The findings indicate that there is a statistical association or connection between these factors, but they do not definitively state that body shape satisfaction or time management directly cause digital addiction. To decrease digital addiction in this population, interventions should aim to improve body shape satisfaction and time management.

An Exploratory Study of Psychological Distress, Professional Quality of Life, Effort-Reward Imbalance, and Turnover Intention of Hospital Nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This exploratory study aimed to identify factors that may influence nurses' turnover intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were collected during January 2023 from 250 nurses and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Scheffe, Pearson's correlation, and multiple regression analysis. Among the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, nursing care and working with personal protective equipment significantly impacted the turnover intention. Among the independent variables, compassion satisfaction, burnout, effort-reward ratio, and psychological distress were significant, with an explanatory power of 43.3%. Among the subjects, 86.4% (216 people) showed a moderate or high burnout level because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and burnout seemed to have a significant impact on turnover intention. Therefore, to lower the turnover intention of nurses, burnout should be prevented, and managers should create an environment where nurses can receive a balanced reward for their efforts.

Healthy lifestyle interventions for childhood and adolescent cancer survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: This study investigated the effects of healthy lifestyle interventions (HLSIs) on health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) in childhood and adolescent cancer survivors (CACS). METHODS: Major databases were searched for English-language original articles published between January 1, 2000 and May 2, 2021. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs were included. Quality was assessed using the revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool, and a meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.3 software. RESULTS: Nineteen studies were included. Significant effects on HR-QoL were found for interventions using a multi-modal approach (exercise and education) (d=-0.46; 95% confidence interval [CI]=-0.84 to -0.07, p=.02), lasting not less than 6 months (d=-0.72; 95% CI=-1.15 to -0.29, p=.0010), and using a group approach (d=-0.46; 95% CI=-0.85 to -0.06, p=.02). Self-efficacy showed significant effects when HLSIs provided health education only (d=-0.55; 95% CI=-0.92 to -0.18; p=.003), lasted for less than 6 months (d=-0.40; 95% CI=-0.69 to -0.11, p=.006), and were conducted individually (d=-0.55; 95% CI=-0.92 to -0.18, p=.003). The physical outcomes (physical activity, fatigue, exercise capacity-VO2, exercise capacity-upper body, body mass index) revealed no statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Areas of HLSIs for CACS requiring further study were identified, and needs and directions of research for holistic health management were suggested.

Psychological Intervention to Promote Resilience in Nurses: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Nurses primarily focus on caring for others, but they also require care and support to enhance their own resilience. Thus, this study aims to determine the effects of psychological interventions on nurses' resilience support and to define the influence of moderating variables that can affect these effects. The literature search was conducted in 10 electronic databases, and 5 randomized controlled trials and 10 non-randomized controlled trials were finally selected for analysis (a total of 852 participants). Statistical analyses of the effect sizes and homogeneity of the intervention programs were conducted using RevMan 5.3 from the Cochrane Library and the R program. Publication bias in the retrieved studies was tested using contour-enhanced funnel plots. The meta-analysis found that psychological interventions were effective in improving nurses' resilience immediately after the intervention (SMD = 0.59, 95% CI 0.31 to 0.86, Z = 4.18, p < 0.001) and in the short term within three months (SMD = 1.52, 95% CI 0.74 to 2.31, Z = 3.80, p < 0.001). Interventions using emotion regulation, relaxation, and self-compassion were particularly effective, and the intervention period was effective in both a short period of 1 day and a long period of more than 12 weeks. In addition, the optimal one-session time was 121-150 min, and offline interventions were more effective than online interventions. Furthermore, the effect size was affected by the intervention time for one session (QB = 12.02, df = 3, p = 0.007) and the on/offline intervention method (QB = 5.85, df = 1, p = 0.015). These findings may inform the development of targeted interventions and resilience support systems for nurses. However, in the future, more rigorous studies, such as randomized controlled trials, should be conducted to ensure strict control over the variables and to establish a stronger evidence base for the effectiveness of these interventions.

Web-Based Research Trends on Child and Adolescent Cancer Survivors Over the Last 5 Years: Text Network Analysis and Topic Modeling Study.

BACKGROUND: Being diagnosed with cancer during childhood or adolescence can disrupt important periods in an individual's physical, psychosocial, and spiritual development and potentially reduce the quality of life (QOL) after treatment. Research is urgently required to improve the QOL for child and adolescent cancer survivors, and it is necessary to analyze the trends in prior research reported in international academic journals to identify knowledge structures. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify the main keywords based on network centrality, subgroups (clusters) of keyword networks by using a cohesion analysis method, and the main theme of child and adolescent cancer survivor-related research abstracts through topic modeling. This study also aims to label the subgroups by comparing the results of the cohesion and topic modeling. METHODS: A text network analysis method and topic modeling were used to explore the main trends in child and adolescent cancer survivor research by structuring a network of keyword (semantic morphemes) co-occurrence in the abstracts of articles published in 5 major web-based databases from 2016 to 2020. A total of 1677 child and adolescent cancer survivor-related studies were used for data analyses. Data selection, processing, and analyses were also conducted. RESULTS: The top 5 keywords in terms of degree and eigenvector centrality were risk, control interval, radiation, childhood cancer treatment, and diagnosis. Of the 1677 studies used for data analyses, cluster 1 included 780 (46.51%) documents under risk management, cluster 2 contained 557 (33.21%) articles under health-related QOL and supportive care, and cluster 3 consisted of 340 (20.27%) studies under cancer treatment and complications. CONCLUSIONS: This study is significant in that it confirms the knowledge structure based on the main keywords and cross-disciplinary trends in child and adolescent cancer survivor research published in the last 5 years worldwide. The primary goal of child and adolescent cancer survivor research is to prevent and manage the various aspects of the problems encountered during the transition to a normal life and to improve the overall QOL. To this end, it is necessary to further revitalize the study of the multidisciplinary team approach for the promotion of age-specific health behaviors and the development of intervention strategies with increased feasibility for child and adolescent cancer survivors.

Post-Traumatic Growth of Nurses in COVID-19 Designated Hospitals in Korea.

BACKGROUND: This descriptive survey aimed to identify the factors affecting the post-traumatic growth (PTG) of nurses in COVID-19 designated hospitals on the basis of a PTG model. METHODS: A survey of 250 nurses working at three COVID-19 hospitals in Seoul, South Korea, was conducted from May to July 2021. The collected data were analyzed using the IBM SPSS 25 (IBM Inc., Armonk, NY, USA). RESULTS: The participants in this study were mostly women (92.7%), and the average age and career duration were 32.08 and 7.88 years, respectively. The factors that significantly influenced the participants' PTG were identified as marriage, religion, self-disclosure, deliberate rumination, meaning in life, and resilience. CONCLUSIONS: As new infectious diseases emerge, it is necessary to develop a program that can encourage self-disclosure and deliberate rumination, help nurses discover and pursue meaning in life, and enhance their ability to overcome trauma and promote PTG.

Validation of the Disaster Preparedness Evaluation Tool for Nurses-The Korean Version.

(1) Background: The purpose of this study was to validate a Korean version of the disaster preparedness evaluation tool (DPET-K) for nurses and to verify its validity and reliability for use in community healthcare centers and hospitals in South Korea; (2) Methods: In total, 497 nurses (248 for exploratory factor analysis and 249 for confirmatory factor analysis) at public health centers, public health sub-centers, public health clinics, and general hospitals in Seoul and Gyeonggi, Chungcheong, and Gangwon Provinces participated in this study. The tool went through translation and back-translation, content validity verification, a pilot survey, and validity and reliability testing; (3) Results: The DPET-K had 28 items with five factors (disaster education and training, disaster knowledge and information, bioterrorism and emergency response, disaster response, and disaster evaluation). The Cronbach's α values for internal consistency were 0.766-0.953 for the five subscales of the DPET-K. A structural equation model was built through confirmatory factor analysis for goodness of fit (χ2/df = 2.193, SRMR = 0.060, RMSEA = 0.069, GFI = 0.831, CFI = 0.927, NFI = 0.875); (4) Conclusions: The DPET-K was confirmed to be a useful tool for assessing the disaster preparedness of nurses in Korea.

Research trends related to childhood and adolescent cancer survivors in South Korea using word co-occurrence network analysis.

PURPOSE: This study analyzed research trends related to childhood and adolescent cancer survivors (CACS) using word co-occurrence network analysis on studies registered in the Korean Citation Index (KCI). METHODS: This word co-occurrence network analysis study explored major research trends by constructing a network based on relationships between keywords (semantic morphemes) in the abstracts of published articles. Research articles published in the KCI over the past 10 years were collected using the Biblio Data Collector tool included in the NetMiner Program (version 4), using "cancer survivors", "adolescent", and "child" as the main search terms. After pre-processing, analyses were conducted on centrality (degree and eigenvector), cohesion (community), and topic modeling. RESULTS: For centrality, the top 10 keywords included "treatment", "factor", "intervention", "group", "radiotherapy", "health", "risk", "measurement", "outcome", and "quality of life". In terms of cohesion and topic analysis, three categories were identified as the major research trends: "treatment and complications", "adaptation and support needs", and "management and quality of life". CONCLUSION: The keywords from the three main categories reflected interdisciplinary identification. Many studies on adaptation and support needs were identified in our analysis of nursing literature. Further research on managing and evaluating the quality of life among CACS must also be conducted.

Meaning-Centered Interventions for Patients With Advanced or Terminal Cancer: A Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: For patients with advanced or terminal cancer undergoing hospice or palliative care, spiritual care based on meaning-centered intervention (MCI) has become an essential form of support. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to characterize MCI systematically and the effectiveness of hospice and palliative care for patients with advanced or terminal cancer. METHODS: MEDLINE via PubMed, Cochrane Library CENTRAL, EMBASE, CINAHL, and several Korean electronic databases were searched from inception to May 2017. The RevMan 5.3 program of the Cochrane Library was used for data analysis. RESULTS: A meta-analysis was conducted of 10 controlled trials (6 randomized and 4 nonrandomized) featuring 623 patients with cancer. Meaning-centered interventions were compared with usual care control groups or other psychosocial interventions. The weighted average effect sizes across studies were -0.96 (P < .001, I = 7%) for meaning in life, -0.37 (P = .002, I = 0%) for spiritual well-being, -0.48 (P < .001, I = 0%) for quality of life, -0.28 (P = .02, I = 0%) for anxiety, and -0.31 (P = .02, I = 17%) for physical symptoms. CONCLUSION: Spiritual care based on MCI may help to improve the physical, psychosocial, and spiritual well-being of patients with advanced or terminal cancer. IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE: Meaning-centered interventions could be a valuable way to enhance quality of life at the end stage for patients with advanced or terminal cancer.

Effects of Psychosocial Interventions for School-aged Children's Internet Addiction, Self-control and Self-esteem: Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to perform an effect size analysis of psychosocial interventions for internet addiction and to identify the intervention moderators applied to school-aged children. METHODS: For the meta-analysis, studies were included that were published in English or Korean until January 2015, without limitation in terms of the year. They were retrieved from 11 electronic databases and by manual searches according to predefined inclusion criteria. RESULTS: A total of 37 studies were selected, which included 11 treatment conditions and covered a total of 1,490 participants. The effect size estimates showed that psychosocial interventions had a large effect for reducing internet addiction (standardized mean difference [SMD], -1.19; 95% confidence interval [CI], -1.52 to -0.87) and improving self-control (SMD, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.11 to 0.47) and self-esteem (mean difference, 3.58; 95% CI, 2.03 to 5.12). The moderator analyses reveals that group treatments, a selective approach, a long duration, a community setting, or higher school grade had a larger effect. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this review suggest that psychosocial intervention may be used to prevent Internet addiction in school-aged children, although further research should be conducted using a randomized controlled trial design or diverse age groups to provide evidence-based recommendations.

[Meta-analysis of psychosocial interventions to reduce pain in patients with cancer].

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of psychosocial interventions on pain in cancer patients. METHODS: Eight studies published between 1980 and 2012 in Korean and ten studies published between 2002 and 2012 in English met the inclusion criteria with a total of 1539 participants. Methodological quality assessed by Cochrane's Risk of Bias for randomized studies and Risk of Bias Assessment tool for non randomized studies. The data were analyzed by the RevMan 5.2 program of Cochrane library. RESULTS: Overall, study quality was moderate to high. Effect sizes were heterogeneous and subgroup analysis was done. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) were effective for pain (ES= -0.35; 95% CI= -0.56, -0.13). Pain education studies measured with NRS and VAS were effective for pain (ES= -0.77; 95% CI= -1.01, -0.52). Publication bias was not detected. CONCLUSION: This study support the use of psychosocial interventions administered to cancer patients for their pain management. However, more well-designed studies are needed.

Clinical outcomes and quality of life of home health care patients.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the quality of life (QOL) in home health care patients according to change in health status outcomes between the start of care and discharge or 60 days, whichever came first. METHODS: This is a prospective descriptive study. The convenience sample consisted of 100 home health care patients, who started receiving home health care services from a home health care agency in the United States. The World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale-Brief (WHOQOL-BREF) was used for measuring QOL; activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental ADLs were collected from the Outcome and Assessment Information Set data via Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-required home health agencies. Descriptive statistics, paired t tests, and multiple linear regressions were used for data analysis. RESULTS: ADLs and instrumental ADLs of participants significantly improved between start of care and discharge or 60 days. Overall QOL, general health, and three of four QOL domains (physical, psychological, and environmental, but not social domain) were significantly improved at discharge or 60 days. CONCLUSION: Home health care nurses should maintain and improve the functional ability of patients, as this could improve the QOL of these patients.

[Task analysis of Korean geriatric care managers].

PURPOSE: This study was designed to create a job description for Korean geriatric care managers and examine performance frequency, importance, and difficulty of task elements. METHOD: The sample consisted of 38 geriatric care managers and professors who performed duties related to geriatric care management at community based-facilities in Korea. A survey method was used, and the questionnaire included frequency, importance, and difficulty of task elements in job descriptions using the DACUM method. Using SPSS WIN 10.0, descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution, means, and standard deviation were conducted to examine the subject's general characteristics, frequency, importance, and difficulties of task performance. RESULT: The job description of geriatric care managers revealed 10 duties, 34 tasks, and 105 task elements. On all ten duties, the average performance frequency, importance, and difficulty was 2.55, 2.21 and 2.43 respectively. CONCLUSION: The job description of geriatric care managers includes duty, task, and task elements and the definition of a completed job. Thus we recommend a data based trial to confirm and validate the information gathered.

[The effects of a pulmonary rehabilitation program for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients].

PURPOSE: This study was designed to investigate the effects of a pulmonary rehabilitation program for patients with COPD. METHOD: 37 subjects, who had a FEV1/FVC below 70%, participated. 18 were assigned to the experimental group and 19 to the control group. The program consisted of individualized education program and exercise program for 6 weeks, 3 times a week. Data was collected through questionnaire surveys of general characteristics, anxiety and depression, blood tests for lactic acid and cardiopulmonary exercise tests, and also using bicycle ergometer, for exercise capacity. As for data analyses, paired and unpaired t-test and chi2-test were adopted using an SPSS program. RESULT: The result revealed that the increase in VT, peak O2, Emax, HRmax and Wmax, at the maximal exercise, were significantly high in the experimental group. However, the anxiety and depression scores were not significantly high in the experimental group. CONCLUSION: The pulmonary rehabilitation program was effective in increasing cardiopulmonary endurance in patients with COPD. Accordingly, we should seriously consider an individualized pulmonary rehabilitation program as a nursing intervention.