Myungsun Yi

The Factors Influencing Quality of Life in Women with Breast Cancer

주요어: 유방암, 희망, 극복력, 사회적 지지, 삶의 질 Address reprint requests to: Ryu, Young Mi College of Nursing, Seoul National University, 103 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-799, Korea Tel: +82-2-740-8433 Fax: +82-2-747-3948 E-mail: youngmiryu@gmail.com 투 고 일: 2013년 8월 10일 심사완료일: 2013년 9월 11일 게재확정일: 2013년 9월 16일 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 유방암 여성의 삶의 질 관련 요인

Factors influencing health-promoting behaviors in Korean breast cancer survivors.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among internal health locus of control, depression, social support, and health-promoting behaviors in Korean breast cancer survivors and to identify factors influencing health-promoting behaviors. METHOD A predictive design was used. The data were collected by questionnaires from a convenience sample of 258 breast cancer survivors in Korea during 2007. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearsons correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS When differences of health-promoting lifestyle based on demographic and illness-related characteristics were examined, no significant differences were found except for undergoing chemotherapy. Internal health locus of control, depression, and social support were correlated significantly with the health-promoting lifestyle. As a result of stepwise multiple regression analysis, social support, depression, and chemotherapy were discovered to account for 34.98% of the variance in health-promoting lifestyle. The variable that most affected a health-promoting lifestyle was social support, followed by chemotherapy and depression. CONCLUSIONS The results of the study clearly demonstrate the importance of social support and depression in explaining the occurrence of a health-promoting lifestyle among Korean breast cancer survivors.

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.

Trends of Doctoral Dissertations of One College of Nursing in Korea

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the trend of nursing research by analyzing the doctoral dissertations in one college of nursing in Korea. Method: The areas of research, the methodological characteristics, and theories used in the research were explored in all doctoral dissertations (n

Informational Needs of Korean Women with Breast Cancer: Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Toronto Informational Needs Questionnaire of Breast Cancer

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to adopt an instrument suitable for assessing the informational needs of Korean women with breast cancer. METHODS This was a cross-cultural adaptation into Korean and quantitative validation of the 52-item Toronto Informational Needs Questionnaire of Breast Cancer (TINQ-BC). In the validation phase, we assessed the psychometric properties of the instrument in a cross-sectional survey of 164 Korean women with breast cancer participating in self-support groups. RESULTS Construct and content validity of the instrument was established. Internal consistency using Cronbachs alpha was .97. Using confirmatory factor analysis, factor loadings ranging from .54 to .87 were obtained and considered satisfactory. All 52 items of the TINQ-BC were found to be effective at measuring the informational needs of Korean women with breast cancer. According to the adapted scale, the Korean Informational Needs Questionnaire of Breast Cancer, the informational needs of Korean women with breast cancer were high, with a mean total score of 203.61 (standard deviation, 34.43; range, 109-255). CONCLUSION The TINQ-BC, developed and tested in Canada, was adapted and successfully utilized in this study in Korea, indicating that it has the potential to assess the informational needs of women with breast cancer on an international basis. Health care professionals must be aware of the domains of information that these women perceive to be important so that educational interventions can be effectively planned and executed.

Effects of breast health education conducted by trained breast cancer survivors

AIMS   This article is a report on a study of the effectiveness of breast health education provided by trained breast cancer survivors on knowledge, skills, performance and self-efficacy. BACKGROUND   Numerous studies have been performed to assess the effects of breast health education provided by health professionals, but few studies have examined the effects of education provided by lay persons, such as breast cancer survivors. This study focused on the role of breast cancer survivors as breast health educators. METHODS   A pretest and post-test quasi-experimental design was used. Trained breast cancer survivors conducted a 60-minute breast health class that was guided by self-efficacy theory to young healthy women. The data were collected in 2008 from 22 young healthy women who participated in the class. Self-report questionnaires were used to measure the breast cancer and breast self-examinations knowledge, skills, performance and self-efficacy at pre-education, and at 1 month and 3 months post-education. RESULTS   The scores on knowledge, skills, performance and self-efficacy before breast health education were significantly increased after 1 month and 3 months post-education. CONCLUSION   The results of this study demonstrate that a one-time breast health class provided by trained breast cancer survivors can be useful in motivating young women to adopt behaviours that help to prevent breast cancer morbidity and mortality.

Factors Influencing Quality of Life during Chemotherapy for Colorectal Cancer Patients in South Korea

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to investigate the levels of physical symptoms, anxiety, depression, and quality of life (QOL) during chemotherapy for colorectal cancer patients in South Korea and to identify factors influencing their QOL. METHODS Data were collected from 144 colorectal cancer patients receiving chemotherapy during 2012 at one general hospital located in Seoul. Physical symptoms were measured by the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Gastrointestinal Cancer Module, and anxiety and depression were measured by the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale. QOL was measured by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Colorectal. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, Scheffé post hoc test, Pearson correlation and stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS Mean age of the participants was 56.6 and most of them were not employed. In terms of cancer stage, 38.2% were in stage 3, followed by stage 4 (34.7%). The most frequent symptom was lack of appetite, followed by sleep disturbance and fatigue. The mean score for anxiety was 5.40 with a prevalence of 23% and that of depression 8.85 with a prevalence of 64.6%. The mean score for quality of life was 81.93 out of 136 and 75.3% of the variance in QOL was explained by depression, symptoms, anxiety, treatment place, and occupational status. Depression was the strongest predictive factor. CONCLUSION Oncology professionals need to pay special attention to relieving depression as well as physical symptoms to improve QOL during chemotherapy for colorectal cancer patients.

Phenomenology on the lived experience of Korean women with spinal cord injuries

PURPOSE The purpose of the study was to understand and explain the essences and structures of the experience of Korean women who have had a spinal cord injury. METHODS The data were collected in 2010 through individual in-depth interviews using open-ended questions. A total of 9 women with spinal cord injuries participated in the study. Each interview lasted about 2 hours. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed using phenomenological analysis. RESULTS Five theme clusters emerged from the analysis using Colaizzis method: frozen mind with rigid body; shame due to restrictions of physical function and dependency; struggle to go back to the previous normal body; disabilities that are noticeable in everyday family life; rebirth by discarding the obsessions of the past. These theme clusters illustrate that although most participants faced very strange and unbearable situations in most aspects of life after the injury, they were empowered finally by finding their hope and by giving new meanings to the current existence. CONCLUSION This study provides deep understanding of women with spinal cord injuries who are relatively alienated from society. Based on the results of the study, health professionals could develop effective nursing interventions to improve quality of life of these women.

Evaluation of groundwater chemistry affected by an abandoned metal mine within a dam construction site, South Korea

Groundwater chemistry in and around an abandoned metal mine within a large dam construction site was evaluated. For this purpose, a total of 50 groundwater samples were collected and chemically analysed for major ions and toxic metals. The pHs of the groundwaters were near neutral to slightly basic, with an apparent increase along the flow direction away from the mine waste dump. Higher values of electrical conductivity with a mean of 532 μS cm−1 were observed in the mine area. Dissolved oxygen concentrations over 5 mg l−1 clearly indicated an oxygenated groundwater environment. The high concentration of sulphate was derived from weathering and oxidation of sulphide minerals. Hydrochemistry of the groundwater samples is characterized by the relatively significant enrichment of Ca2+ and SO42−. Results of factor analysis also indicated that the dominant mechanisms or continuing processes affecting the distribution of the chemical parameters in the study area are various geochemical reactions including dissolution of sulphide and carbonate minerals, and removal of calcium and sulphate by dilution through mixing with Ca2+− and SO42−-poor groundwaters. In the mine area, substantial groundwater contamination by toxic metals including Zn, Al, Fe and Mn was observed. Most of the toxic metals decreased gradually or dramatically with distance from the mine, although some metals were also found in high concentrations in the downstream areas. Compared with the contamination levels of the surrounding farmland soils and stream sediments, the levels of contamination of groundwater by toxic metals were relatively low. The low concentrations are ascribed to the high pH and highly oxygenated conditions, which reduce toxic metal mobility. Significant groundwater contamination with toxic metals was strictly limited within the immediate vicinity of the mine waste dump but the ubiquitous distribution of the toxic metals with slightly elevated levels all over the study area may be attributed to the same geology and mineralogy as in the mine area.

Unmet needs and quality of life of family caregivers of cancer patients in South Korea

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the levels of unmet needs and quality of life (QOL) among family caregivers (FCs) of cancer patients and to characterize the relationship between unmet needs and QOL. Methods: A descriptive correlation design was used. Data were collected by convenience sampling during 2013 from 191 FCs of cancer patients who visited an outpatient cancer center in a general hospital in Korea. The comprehensive needs assessment tool for cancer-caregivers and the Korean version of the Caregiver QOL Index-Cancer were used to measure unmet needs and QOL, respectively. Results: FCs of cancer patients had a variety of unmet needs with prevalence ranged from 57.0% to 88.9%, depending on the domain. The domain with the highest prevalence of unmet needs was healthcare staff, followed by information/education. The mean QOL score was 74.62, with a possible range of 0-140. A negative correlation was found between unmet needs and QOL. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that unmet needs relating to health/psychological problems, practical support, family/social support, in addition to household income, cohabitation with the patient, and patient′s age, explained 52.7% of the variance in QOL. The most influential factor was unmet needs relating to health/psychological problems, which accounted for 35.7% of the variance. Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that oncology professionals need to develop interventions to improve the QOL of FCs by focusing not only on information/educational needs of patient care but also on physical and psychological needs of FCs.