Seok Hee Jeong

Factors associated with willingness to participate in clinical trials: a nationwide survey study

BackgroundThis study was conducted to investigate awareness of clinical trials (CTs) including perceptions of favorable feelings about, necessity for, and safety of CTs, the ultimate beneficiary of CTs and the factors associated with willingness to participate in CTs among the general population in South Korea.MethodsA cross sectional survey study was conducted in a randomly selected national sample of 1,515 Korean.ResultsPerception toward CTs was measured using a scale from 0 (strongly disagree) to 10 (strongly agree). Respondents readily understood the necessity for CTs (M = 7.27, SD = 2.15); had moderately favorable feelings (M = 5.32, SD = 2.31) toward CTs and felt that these CTs were moderately safe (M = 4.71, SD = 1.90). Twenty-five percent of the respondents answered that they would be willing to participate in a CT in the future. Perception of the ultimate benefits of CTs, awareness, favorable feelings, safety, and necessity regarding CTs were identified as significant predictors of willingness to participate in CTs.ConclusionAn awareness of CTs and the perceptions toward CTs were associated with general public willingness to participate in a CT. Findings from this study can be used in planning outreach and recruitment strategies, and to understand the predictors of CT participation.

The views of patients and healthy volunteers on participation in clinical trials: An exploratory survey study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS This study was conducted to investigate the views of patients and healthy volunteers on participation in clinical trials. METHODS A total of 291 clinical trial participants, including 140 patients and 151 healthy volunteers, were recruited from four university hospital-affiliated clinical trial centers among 15 Korean regional clinical trial centers in South Korea where the levels of information and care were sufficient to meet the global standard. Participants were recruited from phase I trials or bioequivalence tests, a short term hospitalization under close monitoring in the clinical trial centers, or from phase II, III or IV trials occurring in both wards and outpatient clinics. A structured questionnaire survey was performed to identify their perspectives on clinical trials. RESULTS Participants who were patients were significantly influenced by medical personnels regarding the decision making processes for participation in clinical trials when compared to healthy volunteers. However, no difference was found between the two groups in the level of willingness to participate in and satisfaction with clinical trials. More than 50% of patient subjects misunderstood and thought that their physicians could persuade them to participate in clinical trials or that all the participants would receive a new drug or treatment during trials. CONCLUSIONS Clinical researchers who are involved in clinical trials should make an extra effort to confirm the level of understanding of their patients regarding the clinical trial and to guarantee that each patient has sufficient time to make an informed decision before participating in a clinical trial.

Identification of Subgroups with Lower Level of Stroke Knowledge Using Decision - tree Analysis

PURPOSE This study was performed to explore levels of stroke knowledge and identify subgroups with lower levels of stroke knowledge among adults in Korea. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was used and data were collected in 2012. A national sample of 990 Koreans aged 20 to 74 years participated in this study. Knowledge of risk factors, warning signs, and first action for stroke were surveyed using face-to-face interviews. Descriptive statistics and decision tree analysis were performed using SPSS WIN 20.0 and Answer Tree 3.1. RESULTS Mean score for stroke risk factor knowledge was 7.7 out of 10. The least recognized risk factor was diabetes and four subgroups with lower levels of knowledge were identified. Score for knowledge of stroke warning signs was 3.6 out of 6. The least recognized warning sign was sudden severe headache and six subgroups with lower levels of knowledge were identified. The first action for stroke was recognized by 65.7 percent of participants and four subgroups with lower levels of knowledge were identified. CONCLUSION Multi-faceted education should be designed to improve stroke knowledge among Korean adults, particularly focusing on subgroups with lower levels of knowledge and less recognition of items in this study.

Effects of Nursing Interventions for Fall Prevention in Hospitalized Patients: A Meta-analysis

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to identify which nursing interventions are the most effective in fall prevention for hospitalized patients. METHODS From 3,675 papers searched, 34 were selected for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Number of fallers, falls, falls per 1,000 hospital-days, and injurious falls, fall protection activity, knowledge related to falls, and self-efficacy about falls were evaluated as outcome variables. Data were analyzed using the Comprehensive Meta Analysis (CMA) 2.2 Version program and the effect sizes were shown as the Odd Ratio (OR) and Hedgess g. RESULTS Overall effect size of nursing interventions for fall prevention was OR=0.64 (95% CI: 0.57~0.73, p<.05) and Hedgess g=-0.24. The effect sizes (OR) of each intervention ranged from 0.34 to 0.93, and the most effective nursing intervention was the education & environment intervention (OR=0.34, 95% CI: 0.28~0.42, p<.001), followed by education intervention (OR=0.57, 95% CI: 0.50~0.67, p=.001). Subgroup analyses showed that multifaceted interventions (OR=0.76, 95% CI: 0.73~0.79, p<.001) were more effective than unifactorial interventions, and that activities for prevention of falls (OR=0.08, 95% CI: 0.05~0.15, p<.001) showed the largest effect size among outcome variables. CONCLUSION Falls in hospitalized patients can be effectively prevented using the nursing interventions identified in this study. These findings provide scientific evidence for developing and using effective nursing interventions to improve the safety of hospitalized patients.

Does type D personality affect symptom control and quality of life in asthma patients

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This study aims to identify the effects of type D personality on symptom control and quality of life and to explore factors influencing quality of life among asthma patients in Korea. BACKGROUND Psychological factors such as depression and stress are well known to be related to medical outcomes and quality of life in asthma patients. People with type D personality are vulnerable to stress, show poor prognosis in disease and experience low quality of life. DESIGN A descriptive cross-sectional design was used. METHODS A total of 144 patients with asthma participated in this study. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using structured questionnaires: the Type D Personality Scale-14, Asthma Control Test and Asthma-Specific Quality of Life. RESULTS About 33% of participants were classified into the type D personality group. The type D personality group showed statistically significantly lower symptom control and asthma-specific quality of life compared to the non-type D personality group. Based on forward stepwise multiple regression, the most significant factor of quality of life was symptom control, followed by type D personality, hospitalisation within the previous one year, and lifetime hospitalisation experiences. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of type D personality in asthma patients was high, and type D personality was significantly associated with poor symptom control and low quality of life. Psychosocial interventions might be beneficial to improve symptom control and quality of life in asthma patients with type D personality. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Nurses should be aware of the high prevalence of type D personality and the effects on symptom control and quality of life in asthma patients. Nurses should also provide personality-specific interventions to improve quality of life in such patients.

Effects of Blending Oil of Lavender and Thyme on Oxidative Stress, Immunity, and Skin Condition in Atopic Dermatitis Induced Mice

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of essential oil on oxidative stress, immunity, and skin condition in atopic dermatitis (AD) induced mice. METHODS This study was a 3×3 factorial design. Factors were oil type (Lavender, Thyme, and 2:1 mixture of lavender and thyme oil [blending oil]) and treatment period (0 day, 7 days, and 21 days). The samples were 45 mice with AD and randomly assigned to nine groups of five mice per group. The dependent variables such as superoxide radical, IgE, degranulated mast cells, and epidermal thickness were measured. Data were collected from February to April in 2014. Descriptive statistics, One-way ANOVA, Two-way ANOVA, and Tukeys HSD test were performed using the SPSS WIN 20.0 program. RESULTS Dependent variables were not statistically significantly different by the three oil types (p>.05). Essential oils such as lavender, thyme, and blending oil were all effective in reducing AD symptoms and especially 2:1 blending oil were most effective. There were statistically significant differences by the three treatment periods in all dependent variables (p<.001). There were statistically significant interactions between oil types and treatment periods in all dependent variables (p<.01). For decreasing superoxide radical, degranulated mast cells, and epidermal thickness, 2:1 mixed oil should be applied for at least 21 days. Otherwise to reduce IgE, 2:1 mixed oil should be used for at least 7 days. CONCLUSION These findings provide bases for developing effective interventions for AD patients to manage their AD symptoms.

Effects of Perceived Collaboration with Nurses and Physicians on Nursing Performance in Perioperative Nurses

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify effects of perceived nurse-nurse collaboration and nurse-physician collaboration on nursing performance in perioperative nurses. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was used and data were collected in September 2016. Participants were 186 perioperative nurses from three advanced general hospitals and nine general hospitals. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, One-way ANOVA, Scheffé test, Pearson correlation coefficients and hierarchical multiple regression with the SPSS/WIN 23.0 program. Results: The mean scores were for nurse-nurse collaboration, 2.92±0.28 out of 4, for nurse-physician collaboration, 3.29±0.65 out of 5, and for nursing performance, 3.85±0.47 out of 5. There were statistically significant positive correlations among nurse-nurse collaboration, nurse-physician collaboration, and nursing performance. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that nurse-nurse collaboration explained an additional 29%p of nursing performance. Shared processes, conflict management, and professionalism of nurse-nurse collaboration were statistically significant predictors of nursing performance. The nurse-physician collaboration explained an additional 3%p of nursing performance. Sharing of patient information was a statistically significant predictor of nursing performance. Conclusion: Findings indicate that intervention programs that integrate and strengthen shared processes, conflict management, professionalism, and sharing of patient information are useful to enhance nursing performance.

The Effect of HIV/AIDS Education Program for Professional Graduate Medical School Students by Teaching-Learning Methods

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of an HIV/AIDS education program for professional graduate medical school students using a teaching-learning methods. Methods: The design of this study was a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest experiment. A total of 116 professional graduate medical school students in South Korea were included. They were randomly assigned to either a discussion-centered teaching-learning method group (n=60) or a lecture-centered teaching-learning method group (n=56). Data were collected between August and December 2015 and were analyzed using descriptive statistics, χ-test, one-tailed independent t-test, one-tailed Mann-Whitney U-test, one-tailed Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and one-tailed paired t-test using SPSS WIN 19.0 program. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups with respect to HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudes, and education satisfaction. However, the scores of knowledge and attitudes were statistically significantly increased after the education than before the education in both groups. Conclusion: To effectively improve the knowledge and attitude of HIV/AIDS, it is necessary to select an appropriate teaching-learning method for the target subjects and objectives of HIV/AIDS education.

Utilization and Awareness of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in Rural Hypertension or Diabetes Patients

Abstract This study aimed to investigate the awareness and utilization of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in hypertension or diabetes patients to participate in health class in rural community health center. A total of 177 hypertension or diabetes patients were participated in this study. Data were collected using face-to face interviews and were analyzed using the SPSS WIN 18.0 program. About 56.5% of subjects experienced CAM and 16.0% of subjects told heath care providers about CAM. General awareness of CAM was 3.11±0.58 in 5 point, and awareness significantly positively correlated with intention to reuse CAM, recommend CAM, and participate in CAM-related education (r=.604, r=.516, r=.419, p <.001). Health care providers such as doctors and nurses need to be concerned about CAM utilization and awareness in chronic disease patients. These findings can be used in developing effective strategies for health care providers and health policy makers to provide right awareness and utilization of CAM for chronic disease patients and the public.

Status and revitalization plans of the mulberry (Morus alba) industry for forest incomes

This study was carried out to improve the forest income for the long-term revitalization of the mulberry (Morus alba) industry in Buan-gun, Korea by providing improvement plans after gathering the general characteristics of production farms, awareness, distribution status, and marketing. The questionnaire survey was conducted from October to December 2010 through direct interviews with 59 farms that produce mulberries. The general characteristics of the farms and farm workers were gathered by the contents of the survey, such as gender, age, planted area, cultivation career, farming form, status of joining the producers’ group, main human resource, and securing labor. Also, the improvement plans for the long-term revitalization of the mulberry industry were considered through the contents of the survey, such as awareness of production farms, distribution status, and marketing. It was found that stable selling distribution networks, support for mulberry production, and local government strategies would be needed for the long-term revitalization of the mulberry industry in Buan-gun, Korea. Most of the production farms were suffering from an unstable market (59.3%). The cost for production was recognized as the biggest support demand (52.5%). The most serious problem in sales was the lack of sales facilities (49.2%), and the highest proportion of sales was through the local agricultural cooperative or direct dealing (35.6%). Promotion strategies should be established by local governments. In particular, the long-term revitalization of the mulberry industry should be considered by setting up marketing strategies for stable production, increasing output, and enhancing brand image.