Hosihn Ryu

Anger, Anger Expression, and Suicidal Ideation in Korean Adolescents

This study described the levels of anger, anger expression, and suicidal ideation in Korean adolescents. Data from 18,752 adolescents were collected using a self-report questionnaire. Anger, anger expression, and suicidal ideation exhibited significant differences according to school level and gender. The group with higher anger and anger expression showed a higher average suicidal ideation score than that of the group with lower anger and anger expression, suggesting that school-based programs which alleviate anger may be needed to decrease suicidal ideation among Korean adolescents.

Suicidal ideation in adolescents: an explanatory model using LISREL.

Suicidal ideation has been reported to be a major factor in attempted and completed suicides. The purpose of this study is to test a structural model to explain adolescent suicidal ideation. Specifically tested is the relationship between the predictor variables of trait anger, anger suppression, entrapment, psychosomatic symptoms, depression, and resilience and the dependent variable of suicidal ideation. Data are collected from a convenience sample of 11,393 students from 36 middle schools and 23 high schools in Korea. Trait anger, entrapment, psychosomatic symptoms, depression, and resilience have a direct effect on suicidal ideation whereas anger suppression shows a significant indirect effect on adolescent suicidal ideation. The predictor variables account for 39% of the variance in suicidal ideation. The study findings suggest that future programs for prevention or alleviation of adolescents’ suicidal ideation need to use interventions that facilitate their resilience and reduce their anger, entrapment feeling, psychosomatic symptoms, and depression.

Design and preliminary results of a metropolitan lifestyle intervention program for people with metabolic syndrome in South Korea

INTRODUCTION The Seoul Metabolic Syndrome Management (SMESY) project, a metropolitan lifestyle intervention program aimed at decreasing the risk of metabolic syndrome to the residents of the city, has recently been implemented in 2011. METHODS Our target population consisted of residents of Seoul who were 30-64 years old. Subjects visiting a Public Health Center were screened for five risk factors for metabolic syndrome and then divided into three groups according to the number of the risk factors: active counseling, for having more than three risk factors; motivational guide, for having one or two; and information support for having none. Members of the active counseling group, the main target of the project, were provided with monthly in-person counseling on health-related lifestyle choices, as well as a follow-up examination every 3 months during the 12-month program. RESULTS In the active counseling group, subjects showed statistically significant improvements in all five risk factors and the average number of retained risk factors decreased from 3.5 to 2.7. However, the percentage of active counseling group members who attended at least 3 out of the 4 sessions provided was only 11.3%. As for the motivational guide group and the information support group, clinically significant improvements were not observed and the percentage of members who attended all sessions were 10.4% and 11.8%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Increased public participation for the ongoing project is expected to lead to great positive changes in the health of people with metabolic syndrome.

Secondary Data for Policy Studies: Benefits and Challenges

Nurse clinicians, researchers, faculty, health service administrators, and consultants are increasingly involved in advocating public policy proposals to address health issues. One necessary tool for effective policy advocacy is a data-based analysis of the problem and recommended policy. Health policy research to inform the fast-paced, just-in-time policy-making process relies on existing government and nongovernmental data to maximize timeliness and credibility of results. Examples of recent reviews and studies using secondary analysis of public and industrial data are briefly described for further exploration. This overview of health policy research aims to foster more use of secondary data analysis studies to inform the policy-making process.

Effect of Domain-Specific Life Satisfaction on Depressive Symptoms in Late Adulthood and Old Age: Results of a Cross-Sectional Descriptive Survey

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to determine the effect of domain-specific life satisfaction on the risk of depressive symptoms in late adulthood and old age. METHODS A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted using stratified data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA). The respondents completed the Korean version CES-D and domain-specific life satisfaction. RESULTS In both groups, satisfaction with health and economic status were significant predictors of depressive symptoms. In the old age group, depressive symptoms were also predicted by satisfaction with the relationships with ones spouse and with ones children. CONCLUSION Life satisfaction was a crucial predictive factor for depressive symptoms in late adulthood and old age.

Health Education Needs and Confidence of School Nurses in Korean Secondary Schools

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the perceived needs and confidence of school nurses in health education at middle and high schools in Seoul, Korea. Methods: A descriptive survey questionnaire was developed by a research team to investigate the perceived needs and confidence across eight health education areas. A total of 329 school nurses at secondary schools in the metropolitan areas of Seoul participated. Descriptive statistics, the t-test, and ANOVA were conducted to analyze the data. Results: Generally high means in perceived education needs(Mean: 3.8~4.7/5) and health education confidence (Mean 3.3~4.5/5) were reported. However, there were significantly low means of health education confidence related to perceived needs in health education for all areas of health education. While injury prevention and emergency care education were the highest perceived educational needs and were also areas with high confidence of school nurses, mental health, social health, and sexual health were areas where nurses showed a significantly lower confidence. In general, nurses with a longer clinical experience and educational career had a higher confidence in injury prevention, emergency care, and mental health. Conclusions: Multi-level support, including the continuing education and proactive in-service training, for the school nurses needs to be developed to improve their teaching competency.

Effects of a Palliative Care Program based on Home Care Nursing

PURPOSE This study was done to develop and test a palliative care program based on home care nursing. METHODS A quasi-experimental design was employed. Changes in the variables were evaluated to test effects of the developed program. Participants were patients with terminal cancer and their families receiving home care nursing from six hospitals (experimental group: 24 and control group: 22). Data collection was conducted from February to October, 2006. chi-square test, Fishers exact test, t-test, Mann-Whitney U test and repeated measures ANOVA were used to analyse the data. RESULTS Hypothesis 1, the experimental group receiving this program will experience less pain (severe, average, weak pain) than the control group, was supported. Hypothesis 2, the experimental group will have less symptom experience than the control group, was supported. Hypothesis 3, the experimental group will have higher QOL than the control group, was supported and the last hypothesis 4, family burden in the experimental group will be less than the control group, was supported. CONCLUSION The home care nursing based palliative program developed in this study was found to be an effective program to reduce patient pain and symptom experience, to improve patient QOL and to decrease family burden.

Development and Evaluation of a School-based Anger Management Program (SAMP) for Adolescents

PURPOSE This study was done to develop a school-based anger management program (SAMP) of 4 sessions and examine its effects on the anger, anger expression, psychosomatic responses, psychosocial responses, and immunologic responses in adolescents. METHODS A quasi-experimental study using a nonequivalent control group, pre-post design with repeated measures was used. Chi-square test, t-test, paired t-test, and Fishers exact test were used to analyze the data. RESULTS There were no differences between the experimental and control groups in outcome variables except for lymphocytes. However, following additional analyses, statistically significant differences by time point were observed for pain sensitivity, T cell, Helper T (Th) cell, Suppressor (Ts) cell and Natural Killer (NK) cell post-treatment, entrapment and psychosomatic symptoms at the 4-week follow-up, and resilience at the 10-week follow-up for the experimental group. CONCLUSION Although some modifications in contents and administration will be required to increase the effectiveness of the program for anger management, SAMP can be used to promote anger management ability in adolescents.

Program Development and Effectiveness of Workplace Health Promotion Program for Preventing Metabolic Syndrome among Office Workers

This paper aims to develop and analyze the effects of a socio-ecological model-based intervention program for preventing metabolic syndrome (MetS) among office workers. The intervention program was developed using regular health examinations, a “health behavior and need” assessment survey among workers, and a focus group study. According to the type of intervention, subjects took part in three groups: health education via an intranet-based web magazine (Group 1), self-monitoring with the U-health system (Group 2), and the target population who received intensive intervention (Group 3). The intervention programs of Group 1 and Group 2, which relied on voluntary participation, did not show significant effects. In Group 3, which relied on targeted and proactive programs, showed a decrease in waist circumference and in fasting glucose (p < 0.001). The MetS score in both males (−0.61 ± 3.35 versus −2.32 ± 2.55, p = 0.001) and females (−3.99 ± 2.05 versus −5.50 ± 2.19, p = 0.028) also showed a statistically significant decrease. In light of the effectiveness of the intensive intervention strategy for metabolic syndrome prevention among workers used in this study, companies should establish targeted and proactive health care programs rather than providing a healthcare system that is dependent on an individual’s voluntary participation.

Office Workers’ Risk of Metabolic Syndrome-Related Indicators A 10-Year Cohort Study

The purpose of the study is to assess the relationship between the prevalence of metabolic syndrome–related risk factors and work tenure among office workers. A 10-year cohort analysis was conducted using employees’ health examinations given to new employees within 1 or 2 years of joining the firm and every 5 years thereafter. Age-adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence interval [CI], p < .05) were calculated based on a contrast test with general estimating equations. Specifically, the age-adjusted odds ratios and CIs of those with 20 ± 1 years of work, compared with those with 1 to 2 years of work, were as follows: triglycerides (≥150 mg/dl) 3.01 (2.11, 4.28), waist circumference (male ≥90 cm) 2.70 (1.63, 4.45), and fasting glucose (≥100 mg/dl) 2.67 (1.78, 4.01). The findings of the relationship between metabolic syndrome risk and work tenure as well as the baseline health data of new employees provide a foundation for developing a workplace health management system.