Purpose This study was conducted to build a decision tree model composed of factors that predict whether or not the elderly population underwent health or cancer screening using the 2021 community health survey.
Methods This study included 74,434 and 74,417 subjects who answered for experience of health checkup or cancer screening, respectively. This study used Chi-squared test, independent t-tests, and decision tree analysis to analyze the data.
Results Regarding the health checkup, 78.1% of women received a health checkup, and among women, those aged 65-74 years who were not recipients of the basic livelihood service showed the highest participation rate of 85.0%. In case of men, those who were married and had no problems in daily activity showed the highest participation rate of 81.4%. In the case of cancer screening, for women, those who were 65-74 years old and were nonrecipients of basic livelihood benefits showed the highest participation rate of 75.3%. For men, the cancer screening rate was the highest at 74.3% in those who had no problems with mobility and were married.
Conclusion It was found that the general and health characteristics of the elderly had a great influence on the health checkup and cancer screening. In order to develop a more improved screening system, screening rates and effects should be continuously observed and studied.
Purpose Depression and frailty are common health problems that occur separately or simultaneously in later life. The two syndromes are correlated, but they need to be distinguished to promote successful aging. Previous studies have examined the reciprocal relationship between depression and frailty, but there are limitations in the methods or statistical analysis. This study aims to confirm the potential prospective bidirectional and causal relationship between depression and frailty.
Methods We used data from 887 older adults aged 70 to 84 from the Korean Frailty and Aging Cohort Study (KFACS) in 2016, 2018, and 2020 (3 waves). We separated the within-individual process from the stable between-individual differences using the random intercepts cross-lagged panel model.
Results Significant bidirectional causal effects were observed in 2 paths. Older adults with higher depression than their within-person average at T1 had a higher risk of frailty at T2 (β=.22, p=.008). Subsequently, older adults with higher-than-average frailty scores at T2 showed higher depression at T3 (β=.14, p=.010). Autoregressive effects were only significant from T2 to T3 for both constructs (Depression: β=.16, p=.044; Frailty: β=.13, p=.028). At the between-person level, the correlation was significant between the random intercepts between depression and frailty (β=.47, p<.001).
Conclusions We find that depressed older adults have an increased risk of frailty, which contributes to the onset of depression and the maintenance of frailty. Therefore, interventions for each condition may prevent the entry and worsening of the other condition, as well as prevent comorbidity.
Purpose This study aimed to assess the current situation and factors associated with emotional distress due to COVID-19 among people with physical disabilities living in the community, using a Social-Ecological Model.
Methods A secondary data analysis was performed using data from the 2020 National Survey of Disabled Persons. The study participants were 1,654 participants aged 19 years or older with physical disabilities. For data analysis, complex sample logistic regression was conducted to identify factors associated with emotional distress due to COVID-19 in people with physical disabilities.
Results The results showed that 55.7% of people with physical disabilities living in the community experienced emotional distress due to COVID-19. This emotional distress was influenced by various factors, including intrapersonal factors (activities of daily living, difficulty in getting information about COVID-19, difficulty in obtaining and using equipment related to COVID-19), interpersonal factors (satisfaction with the number of friends), and community/policy factor (support related to COVID-19 from national and local governments).
Conclusion It is recommended to develop tailored interventions to prevent mental health issues among people with physical disabilities by considering the factors related to their emotional distress in the event of future infectious disease disasters.
Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the Diabetes Acceptance and Action Scale-Revised (DAAS-R) for Korean patients with type 2 diabetes.
Methods The survey was conducted from September 1, 2021, to September 30, 2021, through a survey institution for patients diagnosed with diabetes who understood the purpose of the study and voluntarily agreed to participate. A total of 231 individuals with type 2 diabetes participated in this study. After performing forward and backward translations of the original version of the Diabetes Acceptance and Action Scale-Revised (DAAS-R) into Korean, its constructive validity (confirmatory factor analysis), concurrent validity and reliability were assessed. Concurrent validity was confirmed through the correlation between acceptance and action, quality of life, diabetes self-stigma, and experiential avoidance.
Results Construct validity, measured using confirmatory factor analysis, showed a good fit. The DAAS-K was positively correlated with acceptance and action, quality of life, and negatively correlated with diabetes self-stigma and experiential avoidance. As for internal reliability, the Cronbach’s α of the DAAS-K was .95.
Conclusion The DAAS-K can be applied to assess diabetes acceptance and action in Korean patients with type 2 diabetes and to compare the levels of psychological flexibility of patients with diabetes internationally.
Purpose To sustain behavior change, an intervention strategy that considers the contribution of affect to daily physical activity behavior regulation is needed. Although virtual reality-based physical activity interventions have the potential to improve emotional status, interventions using virtual reality videos in a free-living environment are lacking. This pilot study assessed the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a home-based intervention using 360-degree virtual videos and wearable activity trackers to improve mood and physical activity.
Methods A one-group pilot study of 12 middle-aged migrant women asked participants to watch virtual reality videos and perform moderate-intensity walking 5 days per week for 4 weeks, then complete surveys and focus group interviews. The intervention’s feasibility and preliminary efficacy were assessed by examining recruitment, retention, adherence, acceptability, mood, physical activity, and exercise self-efficacy.
Results A word-of-mouth approach was effective for recruiting participants. Although the weekly intervention adherence rate ranged from 53.5% to 83.5%, retention (92.3%) and acceptability (91.7%) were high. Participants were satisfied with the “visual status indicators,” “sense of accomplishment and confidence,” “emotional engagement and sense of presence,” “joy from exercise,” “external motivation through supervision,” “easy to control virtual reality device,” and “extra benefits” of the intervention. Participants had significant decreases in negative affect (p=.016). Positive affect, physical activity, and exercise self-efficacy showed trends toward improvement.
Conclusion This home-based intervention employing virtual reality videos and Fitbit activity trackers is feasible and shows preliminary efficacy in improving mood. Further research is warranted to evaluate its effectiveness in a more rigorous randomized controlled trial.
Purpose The pervasive integration of smartphones into adolescents’ daily lives has resulted in a concerning upsurge in smartphone dependency among high school students. Due to the diverse types and severity levels of smartphone dependency, there is a critical need for research to explore its heterogeneity. This study aimed to identify latent profile of smartphone dependency in high school students based on the four subdomains of smartphone dependency: disturbance of adaptive functions, virtual life orientation, withdrawal, and tolerance. In addition, we explored how emotional and behavioral difficulties differ according to the profiles.
Methods We used data from 2,195 Korean high school students from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey 2018. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was performed to identify smartphone dependency latent profile. Statistical analysis including chi-square test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and ranked Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) confirmed differences in smartphone use characteristics and emotional-behavioral difficulties according to the classified latent profile.
Results LPA identified four distinct latent profiles of smartphone dependency among high school students; 1) Underdependent type, 2) Moderate type, 3) Habitual user type, and 4) Virtual space dependent type. The results of ranked ANCOVA, controlling for gender, geographical location, economic status, parental smartphone dependency, and relational variables, revealed that habitual user type exhibited significantly higher rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, social withdrawal, and depressive symptoms compared to other types.
Conclusion The identification of these profiles provides a foundation for developing tailored intervention programs for adolescents with different levels and patterns of smartphone dependency.
Purpose Migrant workers battle to access health services and adapt to a new culture. Self-care agency can be essential for health self-management. This study examines the effects of a health engagement program to improve self-care agency using a living lab approach among migrant workers living in South Korea.
Methods This study used a mixed-methods design, including a non-equivalent pre-post-test control group and three focus group interviews. Participants included 42 migrant workers from nine countries recruited via flyers, posters, and internet bulletins posted by a migrant community organization. During the 12 weeks, only the intervention group participants received four workshops addressing healthy physical activity, healthy dietary habits, effective cultural adaptation, stress management, and two outdoor cultural activities. They also participated in focus group interviews after the second, third, and fourth group activities and discussed the benefits of healthy behaviors and specific ways to implement them in real life.
Results Participants in the intervention group showed an increase in self-care agency, health literacy, and acculturation after the 12- week intervention. Themes were derived based on the lessons from living lab activities, barriers to health behavior practices, and methods to overcome these.
Conclusion This study demonstrated that multi-component intervention using a living lab effectively increased migrants’ participation in health promotion activities by strengthening health in their self-care agency. The qualitative and living lab approach effectively obtained comprehensive results on strategies to enhance healthy behavior engagement.
Purpose This paper is a descriptive survey research to identify factors that affect acculturation stress in multicultural adolescents, and provide basic information that can be used to develop ways to improve their mental health.
Methods This study used the data of the 2nd multicultural adolescents panel study provided on December 30, 2022 by the National Youth Policy Institute. The subjects of this study were 1,520 multicultural adolescents in the fourth grade of elementary school and the survey period was from July to November 2020. The dependent variable was acculturation stress, and the explanatory variables were as follows: mother’s and father’s country of origin, region size, home economic conditions, academic achievement, experience of discrimination, mother’s level of education, father’s level of education, and number of close friends. Data analysis involved calculation of descriptive statistics, analysis of differences in the level of acculturative stress and general characteristics between male and female adolescents, and multiple regression analysis.
Results This study found that there are gender differences in significant influencing factors for acculturation stress among multicultural adolescents. For males, factors influencing acculturation stress were identified as regional size, mother's education level, parental support, and teacher support. For females, they were regional size, experience of discrimination, number of close friends, parental support, and self-esteem.
Conclusion The results of this study suggest that psychiatric nurses should provide psychiatric nursing and counseling to multicultural adolescents in addition to clinical psychiatric nursing. Various mental health programs should be developed for multicultural adolescents, with a focus on counseling, education, and family therapy.
Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify factors associated with smoking relapse within 6 months after quit attempts among inpatients of a university hospital.
Methods The subjects of this study were 572 inpatients of the National University Hospitals in Daejeon & Sejong who had enrolled in the smoking cessation service provided by the Daejeon·Sejong Tobacco Control Center and attempted to quit smoking. The data used in the study were extracted from the Smoking Cessation Service Integrated Information System. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox Proportional hazards model were used to identify variables associated with smoking relapse within 6 months.
Results The smoking relapse rate within 6 months was 76.7%, and variables associated with relapse included the absence of supporters for quitting smoking (hazard ratio [HR]=1.42, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.00-2.02), nicotine dependence (HR=1.09, 95% CI=1.03-1.15), the use of prescription medications (including varenicline or bupropion) (HR=3.99, 95% CI=1.83-8.71), and the number of consultations (HR=0.67, 95% CI= 0.63-0.70).
Conclusion As a result of the study, the number of consultations showed the strongest correlation with abstinence within 6 months. This implies that it is necessary to increase the counseling participation rate of the subjects so that smoking cessation counseling can be continued after discharge, and it is also required to provide support education to guardians during hospitalization for effective smoking relapse prevention.
Purpose Preventing the effects of physical vulnerability is a practical approach to improving older adults’ depressive symptoms. This study aims to examine the relationship between gender differences related to muscle strength and depressive symptoms mediated by perceived stress.
Methods In this cross-sectional study, data from 2,705 older adults (65 years old or older) from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VII 2016 and 2018 were analyzed. The moderated mediation model was developed; the outcome, independent, mediation, and moderated mediation variables in the literature-based research model were depressive symptoms, muscle strength, perceived stress, and gender, respectively.
Results Perceived stress had a mediating effect on the relationship between muscle strength and depressive symptoms. The indirect effect of muscle strength on depressive symptoms mediated by perceived stress was β = -.02 (95% CI:-0.03~-0.01). The moderated mediation model demonstrated that the interaction term of handgrip strength and gender negatively affected perceived stress, which indicated that gender moderated the mediating model of perceived stress on the association of muscle strength and depressive symptoms (β = -.01, p <.05). The conditional indirect effect model was insignificant in the male group (β = -.00, 95% CI:-0.01~0.01) but significant in the female group (β = -.01, 95% CI: -0.02~0.00). Conclusions: Perceived stress mediated the relationship between muscle strength and depressive symptoms. However, the effect differed by gender. A stress-mediated depressive symptoms intervention program for older adults should be developed to consider women’s needs.
Purpose This study aimed to identify the effects of fatigue and emotional labor on the quality of sleep among apartment security guards.
Methods A total of 196 apartment security guards working in 10 different regions participated in the study between July and October 2022, completing questionnaire assessing fatigue (physical imbalance, exhaustion, mental fatigue, and nervous system disfunction), emotional labor, and sleep quality. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, ANOVA including Scheffe’s post hoc, and regression analysis.
Results 183(93.4%) participants were poor sleeper. Regression analysis of the factors influencing sleep quality yielded a significant model (F= 21.56, p<.001) with an explanatory power of 25.0% in the order of fatigue(exhaustion) (β=.28, p<.001), emotional labor (β=.27, p<.001), and subjective economic status (β=.15, p=.017).
Conclusion It is essential to develop nursing educational programs that reduce exhaustion and emotional labor for improving the quality of sleep.
Purpose This study verified that the dual sensory impairment (DSI) in the elderly is associated with cognitive impairment (CI) and confirmed how change in cognitive function varies depending on the social support (SS).
Methods For a study sample of Korean older people, data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA) from the 7th (2018) to the 8th (2020), were included in this cross-sectional descriptive study. Among people who responded in both 2018 and 2020, a total of 2,069 people of those who are 65 years of age or older, and have living children and normal cognitive function, were analyzed. X2 -test, t-test and logistic regression analyses were utilized.
Results First, the number of elderly with visual impairment (VI), hearing impairment, and DSI increased on 8th data compared with 7th data. In addition, 22.9% of the 2,069 people showed a decrease in cognitive function. Second, compared to the elderly with normal sensory function, the cognitive function of the elderly with only VI was found to be more degraded, and the cognitive function of the elderly with DSI was found to be much more degraded. In addition, among SS, only participation in social gatherings was found to show significant change in cognitive function of the elderly with DSI. Third, the interaction effect of participating in social gatherings was not significant in the CI of the elderly with DSI.
Conclusion VI and DSI effected cognitive function, but participation in social gatherings such as SS has not significant interaction effect on CI of the elderly with DSI.
Purpose The government has implemented a pilot project for community care for older adults and the integrated visiting nursing center in Bucheon-si operated by public fund of government to provide visiting nursing service for older adults. This study aimed to analyze the outcomes of the utilization of visiting nursing service at the integrated visiting nursing center in Bucheon-si.
Methods This study linked the personal data from the pilot project for community care with the National Health Insurance data. The final subjects comprised 30 participants and 110 of the matched control group. The length of home stay, hospitalization, and the admission for long-term care facilities or convalescent hospitals were measured. Statistical analysis was performed through difference-in-differences analysis using generalized estimating equation and Cox proportional hazards model.
Results The results indicated an increase of 28.2 days for length of home stay and a reduction of 69% in hospitalization from medical institutions and 81% in admission of long-term care facilities or convalescent hospitals among participants compared to the control group.
Conclusion The visiting nursing service of the integrated visiting nursing center was effective in extending length of home stay and lowering the hospitalization of medical institutions and admission of long-term care facilities or convalescent hospitals.
Purpose Over time, the number of migrant workers in Korea has shown a steady increase. Notably, among all migrant workers, those from Vietnam constitute the third largest group in Korea. The main objective of this study was to investigate the factors that influence the health-related quality of life of Vietnamese migrant workers. The study aimed to provide essential data for the development of customized nursing intervention programs and policy preparation in the future.
Methods A total of 220 Vietnamese migrant workers aged between 18 and 64, who were employed in Korea through the Employment Permit System and had been residing in the country for more than 91 days, participated in this study.
Results The study results revealed that physical activity (β=.19, p=.002), hope (β=.50, p <. 001), cohabitation with colleagues (β=.16, p =.003), and sleep hour (β=.11, p =. 031) had a statistically significant impact on health-related quality of life. The findings showed that higher levels of physical activity and hope were positively associated with higher health-related quality of life. Moreover, cohabiting with colleagues and sleeping for more than six hours were also significantly related to higher health-related quality of life.
Conclusion Given these findings, it is imperative to develop programs that encourage physical activity and enhance the health-related quality of life of migrant workers from Vietnam. Policymakers and employers should also consider providing adequate living conditions that facilitate cohabitation with colleagues and sufficient time for sleep to improve the health and well-being of migrant workers.
Purpose This study aims to find out further about the burden on families in undertaking caregiving for the elderly with chronic illnesses.
Methods A qualitative study was developed using in-depth interviews with 12 family caregivers selected by purposive sampling in July 2022. The thematic analysis was then carried out using the Colaizzi method, and N-Vivo 12 Qualitative Data Analysis Software was used to assist with the content analysis.
Results The result from the experience interview analysis of caregivers participating in this study were 54 codes which were categorized into thirteen categories. Then, they were derived into four themes, as follows: 1) Physical burden of the caregivers for the elderly with chronic illness, 2) Psychological burden of the caregivers for the elderly with chronic illness, 3) Obstacle of caregivers for the elderly with chronic illness, 4) The state of caregivers who perform caregiving for the elderly with chronic illness.
Conclusion The experience of caregivers in undertaking caregiving for the elderly with chronic disease has many obstacles, such as physical, psychological, and economic burdens. Caregivers often find positive aspects of their experiences while caregiving for the elderly, although their burden also constantly increases. Health facilities should pay serious attention to family caregivers and facilitate programs that can help reduce the burden on family caregivers.
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