Nan-Young Lim

Incidence and Predictors of Falls in Institutionalized Elderly

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence and influencing factors of falls in the institutionalized elderly. Method: A descriptive survey design was used with a convenience sampling of 430 institutionalized elderly. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Results: The falls rate after admission in institution was 8.4%. Types of injury after falls were mostly contusion and fracture. Interventions for fall prevention were environmental management and regular evaluation of risk factors for falls. Fall experience was significantly different according to admission periods. Type of falls was significantly different according to state of ADL. Predictors for falls were longer admission periods and dependent state in ADL. Conclusion: Falls is important health related problem in the institutionalized elderly, so effective fall prevention program is needed for their health promotion.

A Validation Study of EQ-5D in the Patients with Osteoarthritis

Purpose: We aimed to test the validity of the EQ-5D (Euro-Quality of Life-5 Dimension), a brief and simple instrument, in measuring health related quality of life in the patients with osteoarthritis. Methods: 183 participants attending the education programs for osteoarthritis patients at the Health Centers located in Seoul and Gyunggi province area during the periods of June to December in 2009 were interviewed with the EQ-5D and KWOMAC (Korean version of Western Ontario and McMaster Scale). The data were analysed with Spearman correlation coefficents and t-test by using of SPSS/WIN 12.0 version. Results: There was a negative correlation between knee pain, stiffness and difficulty in usual activity of sub category items of KWOMAC and EQ-5Dindex, while there was no correlation between these categories and EQ-VAS. Moreover, as a result of comparing the score of physical function measured by KWOMAC according to the severity degree of the EQ-5Dindex, the group of advanced stage having moderate and severe symptoms reported significantly higher scores of physical function than those of groups having no health problems. Conclusion: The EQ-5D is an acceptable and valid instrument for measuring health-related quality of life in patients with osteoarthritis.Purpose: We aimed to test the validity of the EQ-5D (Euro-Quality of Life-5 Dimension), a brief and simple instrument, in measuring health related quality of life in the patients with osteoarthritis. Methods: 183 participants attending the education programs for osteoarthritis patients at the Health Centers located in Seoul and Gyunggi province area during the periods of June to December in 2009 were interviewed with the EQ-5D and KWOMAC (Korean version of Western Ontario and McMaster Scale). The data were analysed with Spearman correlation coefficents and t-test by using of SPSS/WIN 12.0 version. Results: There was a negative correlation between knee pain, stiffness and difficulty in usual activity of sub category items of KWOMAC and EQ-5Dindex, while there was no correlation between these categories and EQ-VAS. Moreover, as a result of comparing the score of physical function measured by KWOMAC according to the severity degree of the EQ-5Dindex, the group of advanced stage having moderate and severe symptoms reported significantly higher scores of physical function than those of groups having no health problems. Conclusion: The EQ-5D is an acceptable and valid instrument for measuring health-related quality of life in patients with osteoarthritis.

The Analysis on Published Research in the Journal of Muscle and Joint Health

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the published research in the Journal of Muscle and Joint Health and to suggest the future perspectives. Methods: In this study, we reviewed the contents of 195 articles published in this journal from the first issue of the year 1994 to 2007. Results: The majority of subjects were adult, mostly with arthritis. The position of the authors was mostly professor (73.3%). Most of studies did not clearly describe about ethical consideration. The data collection was mostly conducted in the hospital (53.8%) or community (36.9%), with the questionnaire (62.6%). The types of research design were correlational study (36.4%), experimental study (31.8%), survey (18.5%), and qualitative research (4.6%). Physical variables included pain, fatigue, activities of daily living, joint flexibility, muscle strength, etc., psychosocial variables were measured by self-efficacy, depression, quality of life, etc., and cognitive variables by knowledge, education, etc. The most utilized nursing intervention for experimental study were exercise, self-help, and education. Conclusion: Further research is needed to extend the target population research design from multidisciplinary perspectives.

Leg Length Inequality, Habitual Posture, and Pain in Women's College Students

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the leg length Inequality, habitual posture, and pain in women`s college students. Methods: The subjects were 281 students, in 8 women`s college in Korea. The tapelines were used for measuring leg length Inequality and questionnaires were used for measuring habitual posture, and pain. The data were collected between August and October 2010 and analyzed using SPSSWIN 11.5. length Inequality(

Nurses` Needs and Priority for Developing Advanced Nursing Education Program in Musculoskeletal Care

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess nurses` educational needs for developing advanced nursing education program for musculoskeletal care. Methods: The participants consisted of 272 clinical nurses who had experience of taking care of patients with musculoskeletal problems. A structured questionnaire with 28 items was used to assess educational needs and priority perceived by clinical nurses. Collected data were analyzed using SPSSWIN V.18.0 program for descriptive statistics. This survey was conducted in accordance with standard ethical guidelines for all research involving human participants. Results: While the majority (93.4%) perceived needs for advanced education program, about half of the participants (48.5%) reported no educational experience about musculoskeletal care. The clinical nurses perceived important for 23 out of 28 areas to be included in advanced nursing education. Especially, the areas of pain management, surgical care, and medication were perceived high priority for education program in caring musculoskeletal patients. Conclusion: The study findings showed that most nurses perceived the need for advanced nursing education program in musculoskeletal care, and the areas with higher priority as perceived by nurses should be reflected in the program.

A Case Study on Preschool Children-Robot Pet Play Interaction: Pilot Study

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the behavioral responses to a robot pet in pre-school children. Method: This activity for children was conducted for 5 days at a kindergarten and each session lasted 30 minutes. In order to measure children`s temperament, Chun Heeyoung`s Temperament Rating Scale was used. In addition, to investigate the behavioral responses to a robot pet, each session was videotaped. The videotape data was analyzed according to child-robot interaction. Result: On the average, subjects scored highest in emotionality and lowest in activity for the temperamental subscale. The videotape data revealed verbal, positive nonverbal, and negative nonverbal interaction. Conclusions: These results suggest that child-robot interaction reflects temperamental characteristics, therefore, to develop a nursing intervention program using a robot, it is necessary to consider individual differences and recreational factors to grab children`s interest.