Internal growth of women with recurrent miscarriage: a qualitative descriptive study based on the post-traumatic growth theory.

BACKGROUND: Unexpected and repeated miscarriages in a woman's life cycle can be a mental and physical burden and lead to post-traumatic stress disorder. However, women may also experience inner growth with such experiences. METHODS: This study was qualitative descriptive research examining the experiences of South Korean women who had recurrent miscarriages three or more times. RESULTS: The average age of the participants was 34.6 years, and the average number of recurrent miscarriages was 3.87. Additionally, five themes were identified as follows: (1) Confusing as if in muddy water, (2) Self-examination of past daily life, (3) Empathy and comfort in homogeneous groups, (4) Religious beliefs that include the lost fetus, and (5) Transforming for internal growth. CONCLUSION: Based on the results of this study, intervention strategies need to be implemented to support the inner growth of women who have experienced recurrent miscarriages.

Experiences of Changes in Eating Habits and Eating Behaviors of Women First Diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes.

As gestational diabetes, which is increasing steadily around the world, can cause complications in the mother and fetus, it is essential to change eating habits and eating behavior to prevent this. According to the 2020 American Diabetes Association recommendations, the food plan should be designed for the adequate calorie intake to achieve glycemic goals and consequently promote maternal and fetal health. Thus, the following study has used the qualitative theme analysis method to assess what it means for 28 South Korean women, who were diagnosed with gestational diabetes for the first time, to change their eating habits and behaviors. As a result, themes were derived related to reflection on daily life, formation of new relationships in the same group, efforts that must be made, rediscovery of couples, and lifestyles reborn as new roles. Based on the results of the study, it is shown that the study participants recovered the peace in their mental state after the crisis of gestational diabetes to pursue relaxation and ultimately higher quality of life by following the plan to fulfill healthy achievements, such as changing their eating habits and behaviors. Therefore, future research and support measures to help the healthy behaviors should be sought by comprehensively exploring the effects of women's experiences in changing their eating habits and behaviors.

Self-Management Mobile Virtual Reality Program for Women with Gestational Diabetes.

The incidence of type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes shows an increasing trend worldwide, and women diagnosed with gestational diabetes are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years of delivery. This is closely related to lifestyle habits such as dietary intake and physical activity; hence, self-management should be continuously practiced. However, after childbirth, women find it challenging to practice self-management due to physical discomfort and child rearing. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an intervention program that is tailored to the characteristics of each participant and allows them to practice self-health management efficiently without time and space restrictions. This study aimed to develop a self-management mobile virtual reality program and investigate its efficacy in preventing type 2 diabetes after childbirth among women diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Intervention with the self-management mobile virtual reality program was performed for 12 weeks. The data of 57 participants in the experimental group and 62 participants in the control group were analyzed. After 12 weeks, the body weight, body fat, hemoglobin A1c, and fasting glucose were decreased in the experimental group compared with the control group. In addition, the dietary habits and health-promoting lifestyle profile were improved in the experimental group compared with the control group. These findings demonstrated that a self-managed mobile virtual reality program could be used as an intervention method for health promotion. To verify the effectiveness of intervention with the self-management mobile virtual reality program, a follow-up study with a larger number of research subjects should be conducted in the future.

End-of-Life Care Mobile App for Intensive-Care Unit Nurses: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

Intensive-care unit nurses may experience difficulties in end-of-life care because of frustration or lethargy. The purpose of this study was to develop a mobile end-of-life care program for intensive-care unit nurses and evaluate the effects on competence factors such as knowledge, self-efficacy, and compassion. A quasi-experimental design was used. The participants included 44 nurses who had less than three years of experience in the intensive-care unit, divided into the experimental group and control group. After the intervention, the experimental group showed a significant improvement in self-efficacy in end-of-life care and compassion in end-of-life care. Based on the results of this study, the end-of-life care mobile app was an effective educational method for nurses with experience of less than 3 years in an intensive-care unit. To improve the quality of end-of-life care, it is necessary to develop various educational programs considering the greater role of the fourth industrial revolution in the future.

Gender-Based Experiences of Verbal Bullying in Adolescents: Application of Giorgi's Method.

Verbal bullying among adolescents, which has become increasingly prevalent in recent years, often involves swearing or sexually ridiculing one's family members or peers. Because many factors underlying the initiation of verbal bullying remain unknown, Giorgi's phenomenological method was used to examine the essence and meaning of verbal bullying among adolescents, which is an urgent issue in the field of nursing in South Korea. In this descriptive phenomenological study, researchers examined the behavior of 16 adolescents. Four themes emerged from examination: Egocentric Relational Violence, Learning Through Observation and Imitation, The Synchronization of Stigma and Aggression, and The Dilemma of Deviance and Habituation. Findings indicated that a confluence of factors impact verbal bullying among adolescents. To prevent verbal bullying, it is necessary to understand the progress of offenders' deviance and develop intervention activities through mental health services. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 57(6), 45-51.].

Development and Evaluation of Empowering Education Program for Maternal Fetal Intensive Care Unit (MFICU) Nurses.

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to develop an empowering education program for Maternal-Fetal Intensive Care Unit (MFICU) nurses who provide intensive care to high-risk mother and fetus at hospitals, to test effects of the education program on nursing care confidence and nursing knowledge, and to examine program satisfaction. METHODS: This study comprised of 2 phases: program development and evaluation. First, we have followed a process of program development to develop and refine an empowering education program for MFICU nurses through collaborative works among clinical obstetrics and gynecology doctors and nurses and academic nursing professors. Second, the empowering education program was provided to 49 nurses and evaluated from July 5 to 6, 2019. Levels of MFICU nursing care confidence and knowledge were measured. RESULTS: The empowering education program included 18 hours of lectures, discussion, and Q & A, which continued for 2 days. This program significantly improved high-risk maternal-fetal nursing care confidence and knowledge of nurses. The program was well met with nurses' education need and goals, and found to be highly satisfactory. CONCLUSION: The empowering education program was observed to be effective in terms of improve nursing care confidence and knowledge of nurses in MFICU. It is proposed that this program should be open regularly for nurses to obtain and improve their clinical knowledge, confidence, and competency. Further study is needed to develop and run 2-levels of education such as basic and advanced levels based on nurses' clinical background and competency.

Correlates of the Pregnancy Experience and Attitude regarding Weight Change during Pregnancy in Primigravida Women.

PURPOSE: We aimed to examine the correlations between pregnancy experience and attitude regarding weight change during pregnancy. METHODS: This correlative study was conducted from July 2017 to October 2017 by involving 156 primigravida women who were over pregnancy 20 weeks in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do province. Data were collected using a questionnaire, which included questions on demographic data, experience during pregnancy, and attitude regarding weight change during pregnancy. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Also, independent t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation coefficients were used for data analysis. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 30.62 years and their score of attitude regarding weight gain during pregnancy was low. Moreover, a significant correlation was found between the pregnancy experience and attitude regarding weight gain during pregnancy in primigravida women. CONCLUSION: As a result of analyzing the correlation between pregnancy experience and attitude towards weight gain during pregnancy, it is apparent that attitudes toward weight change are different according to experience during pregnancy in women. Based on these results, it can be concluded that nursing intervention programs are necessitated to enhance the attitude of pregnant primigravida women towards pregnancy and weight gain.

A mobile video intervention for women's health of North Korean defectors.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of North Korean female defectors is increasing in South Korea. Women who leave North Korea are exposed to sexual harassments, abuse, and other threats to their survival, which can have a devastating effect on their health. AIMS: In this study, a mobile video intervention program about selected aspects of women`s health was developed specifically for North Korean female defectors; its impact on behavioral change was evaluated. METHODS: A one group pre/posttest design was used with 61 female defectors who participated in the mobile video intervention. The program consisted of eight sessions focusing on the prevention and management of vaginitis and cervical cancer. RESULTS: The study results showed that knowledge and behavioral confidence on vaginitis and cervical cancer increased significantly among the participants following the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: This mobile video intervention program was effective in improving specific health knowledge and behavioral confidence of the participants. The program can be used to improve women`s health in this population.

Effects of Cyberbullying Experience and Cyberbullying Tendency on School Violence in Early Adolescence.

BACKGROUND: School violence in early adolescence, whose frequency and status have recently changed significantly. OBJECTIVE: This study attempts to detect the cyber bullying inclination of youth in early adolescence when aggressiveness reaches its peak, to identify school violence, and to develop a school violence prevention program. Method: This study was a survey research, investigating participants who were 470 middle school students in South Korea. For the analysis, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA and hierarchical regression analysis. RESULTS: It is suggested that the school violence victimization experience and cyber bullying infliction experience has an influence in the school violence infliction. And the cyber bullying victimization experience and school violence victimization experience variables exert effects. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that school nurses who are connecting to the community-school-home should take an active part in the development of school violence mediation education program, considering the cultural characteristics of the country.

Gender-based experiences on the survival of chronic renal failure patients under hemodialysis for more than 20 years.

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease (CKD), which causes reduction in kidney function, is a common public health problem worldwide. Among patients who have received hemodialysis for 20 years, the survival rate in first 5 years is merely 39.9%. Such rate is lower than that of cancer patients. OBJECTIVES: In an effort to understand and develop helpful realistic nursing interventions, we interviewed hemodialysis patients of different genders, who have survived more than 20 years, regarding what their survival experiences meant for them. METHODS: While the phenomenological research method was used, the data were analyzed the by Colaizzi. RESULTS: We found that the essential meaning of survival experiences was as follows: the stress of hemodialysis patients is similar to that of late-stage cancer patients, and the patients of each gender go through different experiences due to the country's specific cultures. However, regardless of genders, the positive supports from their families and nurses were important influences in their 20 years long survival. The results imply that an in-depth understanding of hemodialysis patients' experience is an essential element for developing effective nursing interventions.

Effects of nursing process-based simulation for maternal child emergency nursing care on knowledge, attitude, and skills in clinical nurses.

BACKGROUND: Since previous studies on simulation-based education have been focused on fundamental nursing skills for nursing students in South Korea, there is little research available that focuses on clinical nurses in simulation-based training. Further, there is a paucity of research literature related to the integration of the nursing process into simulation training particularly in the emergency nursing care of high-risk maternal and neonatal patients. PURPOSES: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of nursing process-based simulation on knowledge, attitudes, and skills for maternal and child emergency nursing care in clinical nurses in South Korea. PARTICIPANTS: Data were collected from 49 nurses, 25 in the experimental group and 24 in the control group, from August 13 to 14, 2013. METHODS: This study was an equivalent control group pre- and post-test experimental design to compare the differences in knowledge, attitudes, and skills for maternal and child emergency nursing care between the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group was trained by the nursing process-based simulation training program, while the control group received traditional methods of training for maternal and child emergency nursing care. RESULTS: The experimental group was more likely to improve knowledge, attitudes, and skills required for clinical judgment about maternal and child emergency nursing care than the control group. Among five stages of nursing process in simulation, the experimental group was more likely to improve clinical skills required for nursing diagnosis and nursing evaluation than the control group. CONCLUSION: These results will provide valuable information on developing nursing process-based simulation training to improve clinical competency in nurses. Further research should be conducted to verify the effectiveness of nursing process-based simulation with more diverse nurse groups on more diverse subjects in the future.

Meaning of care for terminally Ill HIV-infected patients by HIV-infected peer caregivers in a simulation-based training program in South Korea.

The purpose of this study was to develop a simulation-based training program for people living with HIV (PLWH) as peer caregivers who would take care of terminally ill, HIV-infected patients. We used qualitative research methods and standardized patients to explore the meaning of caring for patients as peer caregivers. Study participants included 32 patients registered as PLWH at the South Korea Federation for HIV/AIDS. The meanings of peer caregiving were categorized into four dimensions: physical, psychological, relational, and economic. Our study had benefits in knowledge acquisition for caregivers as well as care recipients, empathy with HIV-infected care recipients, improvement in self-esteem and social participation, and financial self-sufficiency to enable independent living for caregivers. The simulation training program for PLWH peer caregivers for terminally ill HIV-infected patients demonstrated value, for both PLWH caregivers and terminally ill HIV-infected patients in South Korea, to improve the quality of care.

Mental health and PTSD in female North Korean refugees.

This study was conducted to identify mental health status, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and psychophysiological change in female North Korean refugees. Data were collected using questionnaires and symptom checklists that measured PTSD and the psychosomatic state of the subjects. As many as 97 subjects, who had settled in and around Seoul, South Korea, were selected by snowball sampling. Mental health and PTSD levels of the participants were above a moderate level. We conclude that health care professionals need to provide female North Korean defectors with services to improve mental health and make the sociocultural transition successfully.

Operational effectiveness of blended e-learning program for nursing research ethics.

BACKGROUND: Since 2006, the Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and the National Research Foundation of Korea have taken the lead in developing an institutional guideline for research ethics. OBJECTIVES: The purpose was to identify the effectiveness of the Good Research Practice program, developed on a fund granted by the National Research Foundation of Korea, for nurses and nursing students whose knowledge and perception of research ethics were compared before and after the implementation of the Good Research Practice program. RESEARCH DESIGN: This study was conducted to compare the levels of knowledge and perception of research ethics in the participants before and after the program was implemented. PARTICIPANT AND RESEARCH CONTEXT: The participants included 45 nurses and 69 nursing students from hospitals, colleges of nursing, and the Korean Nurses Association, located in Seoul, Korea. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: This study was approved by the Institutional Research Board in Korea. FINDINGS: Based on the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation model, the Good Research Practice program was made up of a total of 30 h of the blended learning both online and off-line. The results of this study showed that there were statistically significant differences in both knowledge and perception of research ethics in nursing students and nurses before and after the program had been implemented. DISCUSSION: The concepts of professional nursing ethics, moral issues, and bioethics were often confused with one another and not clearly defined. Therefore, the concept and scope of bioethics, moral judgment, and overall nursing ethics should be well defined and conceptualized in the future. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested integrating research ethics education in the nursing curriculum as a required course of study for nursing students and as part of the in-service training program for nurses in order to improve research ethics in nursing research in Korea.

[Health knowledge, health promoting behavior and factors influencing health promoting behavior of north korean defectors in South Korea].

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify health knowledge, health promoting behavior and factors influencing health promoting behavior of North Korean defectors in South Korea. METHODS: Participants in this study were 410 North Korean defectors, over 20 years of age residing in Seoul. They were recruited by snowball sampling. Data were collected from April to June, 2010. Health knowledge, health promoting behavior, self-efficacy, perceived barriers to health promoting behavior and social support were measured by structured questionnaires, and perceived physical and mental health status were measured by one item with 10-point numeric rating scale. The data were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, and multiple regression. RESULTS: Health knowledge, health promoting behavior, and perceived barriers to health promoting behavior were moderate while self-efficacy and social support were high. Factors influencing health promoting behavior of the participants were found to be self-efficacy, social support and perceived barrier to health promoting behavior. CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that nursing intervention programs enhancing self-efficacy, social support and reducing perceived barriers to health promoting behavior need to be developed for North Korean defectors in South Korea.

Monokine levels in cancer and infection.

The levels of monocyte intracellular monokines (TNFalpha, MIP, and MIG) in patients with cancer or bacterial infection were studied by multiparameter flow cytometry and comparative fluorescence analysis. TNFalpha, MIP, and MIG levels in peripheral blood of patients with cancer or bacterial infection were higher than in normal controls (p < 0.005). In normal controls, no significant relationships were found among TNFalpha, MIG, MIP levels, monocyte count, and lymphocyte count in peripheral blood. In cancer patients, TNFalpha was strongly related to MIP (r = 0.809, p < 0.001) and MIG (r = 0.773, p < 0.001). Of the 3 monokines, TNFalpha and MIG levels were related to monocyte count, but none showed correlation with lymphocyte count in cancer patients. In patients with bacterial infection, TNFalpha was not significantly related to MIP (r = 0.423, p = 0.051), but it was related to MIG (r = 0.457; p = 0.033). None of the monokines (TNFalpha, MIP, MIG) was related to the monocyte count, but the MIP level was related to the peripheral blood lymphocyte count in patients with bacterial infection (r = 0.559, p = 0.008). These results suggest that circulating monocytes may play an important role in both cancer and bacterial infection through increased production of monokines. Moreover, correlations of the monokine levels with each other and their relationships to the monocyte count differ in patients with cancer and bacterial infection.