Kyung-Sook Bang

Relationship of Prenatal Stress and Depression to Maternal-Fetal Attachment and Fetal Growth

PURPOSE Prenatal depression is associated with potential negative consequences for the mother and infant. The purpose of this study was to examine pregnant womens stress, and depression and their impact on maternal-fetal attachment and fetal growth. METHODS Data were collected by means of a questionnaire and fetal sonogram from a convenience sample of 166 pregnant women. RESULTS Women who have a low educational level, poor health and are dissatisfied with their marriage showed low maternal-fetal attachment. Prenatal depression had significant correlations with length of pregnancy and level of stress. Even though correlation between maternal stress and fetal weight (r=-.15, p=.099) and correlation between maternal depression and maternal-fetal attachment (r=-.13, p=.095) were not statistically significant, the impact of the prenatal psychological state of mothers can not be ignored as it relates to fetal health. CONCLUSION Maternal-fetal attachment and fetal growth can be affected by maternal emotional state, including stress or depression. These findings suggest that primary care nurses in hospitals and public health centers should provide prenatal depression screening and nursing intervention programs for management and prevention of prenatal stress and depression.

Recognition of Nursing Students and Graduates on Nursing and Future Career

Purpose: This study was done to develop strategies for better education and career adaptation of nursing students by investigating the recognition and intentions of nursing students and graduates on the nursing and a future career. Method: Data was collected from a survey conducted between the 1st of October and 5th of December, 2007. Participants were 113 students and 37 graduates of one nursing college. Result: The majority of participants thought that atmosphere and relationships were important criteria to choose a job. Most of them selected nursing major not because their aptitude but because of its professionalism and job stability. Most wanted to go to graduate school and were interested in a nurse specialist program, especially for critical and emergency care. The preferred nursing role changed from recovery care to health promotion as they advanced in their studies. They thought work overload and fatigue from three shift as barriers for a longer stay as a clinical nurse. Conclusion: This study is meaningful in a way that it suggests some strategies for promoting nursing professionalism and adaptation to working field. In order to generalize the results of this study, replicate studies need to be conducted with nation-wide samples.

Nursing Students` Awareness of Nursing and Future Career

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate nursing students` awareness of nursing and future career according to school years and gender. Method: Data was collected using a self-report questionnaire from October to December, 2007. Participants were 279 second year and 250 fourth year nursing students from 6 universities located in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, Chungcheong-do, Gangwon-do, Jeonla-do, and Gyeongsang-do. Result: 1) The senior showed higher scores in `a job with plenty of spare time`, and `good possibilities to be promoted` than the sophomore. Otherwise the senior students showed lower score in `possibilities for part-time working` than the sophomore. 2) The senior showed higher scores in `cooperative relationship`, `physical health`, and `contribution to nursing` than the sophomore. But in `nursing skill`, the senior showed lower score than the sophomore. 3) There were significant differences in wanting department, wanting graduate school, and major obstacles for the longer working between the sophomore and senior. 4) Male students were lower academic performance than female. 5) There were significant differences `a job with social reputation`, and `contribution to nursing` by gender. Conclusion: These results suggest it`s important that nursing educators make nursing students improve their job professionalism and guide nursing students` future career in view of students` gender and school year.

Preceptor`s Perception of Student Preceptorship and Comparison of Perception of the Students` Clinical Competence Readiness between Nurses and Students

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of nursing student`s preceptorship and to compare the perception on the readiness of clinical competence between nurse preceptors and senior-level nursing students. Method: Data was collected with self-administered questionnaires and analyzed by descriptive statistics and t-test. Study participants were 65 preceptors in one university hospital and 59 nursing students in the same university. Result: The knowledge and satisfaction about preceptorship in the nurse preceptor was 2.66 and 2.70 out of 5. Most of the preceptors (70%) agreed to the students preceptorship program even though the intention to be a preceptor was very low (14.1%). They responded that the merits of student preceptorship were self-development (29.7%) and knowledge acquisition (29.7%), whereas the disadvantages were increased workload (67.2%) and increased stress (23.4%). Requested rewards were monetary reward (44.4%) and promotion (33.3%). In all areas of clinical competence readiness, students` perception score was higher than preceptors`. Conclusion: Nursing education must reexamine current approaches to clinical teaching and seek methods to better prepare future nurses. These findings may serve as a guide to create an ideal students preceptorship program to place a greater emphasis on the competencies desired for providing high quality nursing services.

[Effects of an early nursing intervention program for infants' development and mother's child rearing in poverty].

PURPOSE This quasi-experimental study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of an early nursing intervention program to support mothers of children aged 0-3 yr living in poverty. METHODS In this study, mothers who received financial support from the government were recruited from one city and assigned to an intervention group (24) and comparison group (18). They completed a baseline questionnaire about depression, child rearing burden, agreement on physical punishment, and child temperament. Also, Denver II screening of the children was performed by the researcher. Mothers in the intervention group received a home visit intervention every two weeks for three months. At 3-months post-baseline, questionnaire and Denver II screening were reused to compare these two groups. RESULTS Mothers depression, child rearing burden, agreement on physical punishment, and child temperament were not significantly different between the two groups. However, the percentage of depression declined only in the intervention group. Mothers in the intervention group showed higher Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) scores than mothers in the comparison group. CONCLUSION The findings of the study show that this nursing intervention is an effective parenting program. The early nursing program for mothers with infant and toddlers in poverty is effective in promoting HOME, the child rearing home environment.

Analysis of Published Papers and their Keywords in the Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education 2007

Purpose: This research was aimed to explore the major subjects and research themes and to classify characteristics of the key words in the Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education 2007. Method: A total of 33 published papers during 2007 were analyzed with structured analysis forms. Result: Most of the research subjects were healthy people such as student nurses and RNs. The topics of education related research were categorized into 9 domains: educational methods, educational curriculum, study type & methods, knowledge level & contents, psychosocial variables related to knowledge & education, attitude, behavior, development & evaluation of educational programs, and effects of educational programs. The most common key words in this papers were concepts related to health risk factors and health promotion. Quantitative research was used about 70% overall, while experimental design was 18.2%. Conclusion: Most of the subjects were healthy people and the most common domain was health related concepts in the Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education. In addition, key words and topics were on nursing educational issues. It can be concluded that the Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education has published mainly education focused papers.

Development and testing of a pediatric nurse parent partnership scale

PURPOSE This study was done to develop and test a scale to measure the partnership between pediatric nurses and hospitalized childrens parents. METHODS Instrument development process included construct identification based on concept analysis using the hybrid model of Shuwartz-Barcott and Kim (2000), a process which generated 42 initial items. This number was reduced to 35 items through content validity tests by 5 experts and face validity tests by 5 pediatric nurses and 5 parents of hospitalized children. The preliminary Pediatric Nurse Parent Partnership Scale (PNPPS) was administered to 186 pediatric nurses and 163 parents at eleven childrens wards in four hospitals. Data were analyzed using item analysis, factor analysis, Pearson correlation coefficients, and Cronbachs alpha. RESULTS Thirty-four items were selected for the final scale. Seven factors evolved from the factor analysis, which explained 68.4% of the total variance. The internal consistency, Cronbachs alpha was .96 and reliability of the subscales ranged from .66 to .93. CONCLUSION The PNPPS demonstrated acceptable validity and reliability. It can be used to assess the partnership of pediatric nurses and parents in practice and research.

The mediating effects of perceived parental teasing on relations of body mass index to depression and self‐perception of physical appearance and global self‐worth in children

AIM To report a correlational study of the relation of body mass index to childrens perceptions of physical appearance and global self-worth and depression, as mediated by their perceptions of parental teasing. BACKGROUND The relation between depression and self-perception in children with obesity has been reported. Recently, parental factors were found to be related to childhood obesity. Little is known about the effects of perceived parental teasing on depression and self-perception in children. DESIGN A descriptive correlational research design was used. METHODS Data were collected from 455 children in the fifth and sixth grades in four provinces of South Korea using self-report questionnaires for measuring self-perception of physical appearance and global self-worth, depression and perceived parental teasing between October-December in 2009. The childrens weight and height information from school health records was used. Multiple regression analysis and the Sobel test were used to identify the mediating effect of perceived parental teasing. RESULTS Among the children, 20% were overweight or obese. Although children with obesity did not differ in the level of depression from their normal weight counterparts, they demonstrated lower perceived physical appearance and higher perceived parental teasing. The mediating effects of perceived parental teasing were found for the relations between body mass index and self-perception of physical appearance and global self-worth, and body mass index and depression, respectively. CONCLUSION Obese children at risk of parental teasing should be identified to prevent their psychological problems. A well-designed intervention study is necessary to examine the effects of psycho-emotional interventions for obese children.

Effects of Forest Therapy on Depressive Symptoms among Adults: A Systematic Review

This study systematically reviewed forest therapy programs designed to decrease the level of depression among adults and assessed the methodological rigor and scientific evidence quality of existing research studies to guide future studies. This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The authors independently screened full-text articles from various databases using the following criteria: (1) intervention studies assessing the effects of forest therapy on depressive symptoms in adults aged 18 years and older; (2) studies including at least one control group or condition; (3) peer-reviewed studies; and (4) been published either in English or Korean before July 2016. The Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network measurement tool was used to assess the risk of bias in each trial. In the final sample, 28 articles (English: 13, Korean: 15) were included in the systematic review. We concluded that forest therapy is an emerging and effective intervention for decreasing adults’ depression levels. However, the included studies lacked methodological rigor. Future studies assessing the long-term effect of forest therapy on depression using rigorous study designs are needed.

Perceived Alienation of, and Social Support for, Siblings of Children With Cancer

This descriptive study was performed to identify the relationships among alienation, general social support, and nurses’ support for the siblings of children with cancer. The participants were 84 siblings of children with cancer. Alienation was measured by the revised version of Dean’s Alienation Scale, and general social support was quantified by the revised version of Dubow and Ullman’s Social Support Appraisal Scale. For nurses’ support, Murray’s Nurse–Sibling Social Support Questionnaire was used. Data were collected from July 2011 to December 2011. The participants’ alienation was not particularly high (mean = 42.24 ± 12.72), but psychosocial vulnerability was identified from their answers to open-ended questions. The participants’ perceived alienation showed a negative correlation with general social support, but no relationship with nurses’ support. Although direct relationships between nurses’ support and the siblings’ alienation were not found in this study, the siblings perceived that the support of nurses was moderately helpful. Nurses can help siblings by providing support.