This cross-sectional survey was conducted to describe the sexuality of Korean women after menopause using a national sample, and to examine relationships between the sexuality and demographic, body mass index, and life style factors including smoking, alcohol use, and physical activity.

From Dec. 20, 1998 to April 30, 1999, 2196 naturally postmenopausal women aged between 41 and 65 years were recruited by a disproportional stratified random sampling method from 7 metropolitans and 6 provinces in Korea. The questionnaire was used to obtain information on the demographic characteristics, life style factors, body mass index, and sexual activities.

The findings show that the frequency of intercourse after menopause decreased among most of postmenopausal Korean women (64.5%). The frequency of women reported their sexual activity as satisfactory was higher among women doing physical activity, not smoking, with higher educational status, with middle socioeconomic status, without sleep disturbance, with lower body mass index, and with good subjective health status.

Further studies need to be designed as the longitudinal studies with larger random samples and better measures of sexuality.

Nursing has evolved as a unique and independent field over the last decades. Unfortunately, many nurses in Korea express concern that they lack appropriate background knowledge in bioscience necessary to practice nursing competently. To determine the reasons of their concerns, we examined the perceptions of RNs regarding bioscience courses in their undergraduate (Baccalaureate and 3 year diploma program) and their perceived relations to the practice of nursing.

The structured questionnaires were sent to 3 university-affiliated tertiary hospitals in Seoul, Korea.

The responses given by the nurses in the two groups were similar. The nurses in this study reported that the bioscience courses they took as undergraduates had little relation to their professional tasks. This lack of link between bioscientific knowledge and nursing practice may be partly due to the fact that the courses are taught by non-nursing faculties who are not familiar with nursing tices. It also appears that bioscience knowledge deficit was most prominent during nursing assessment regardless of the program they attended or the unit they are currently working.

Bioscience courses should be integrated into the nursing curriculum properly and taught by nursing faculty who have a strong background in biological sciences.

This cross-sectional survey research was undertaken to examine the degree of depression in postmenopausal women and to analyze the factors affecting that depression.

325 people from public health center in Inchon were surveyed as the subject of this study. Data collection was conducted through the use of questionnaires.

The above half of these sampled people were in depressed state (64.0%) and the mean score of depression was 12.71. There were significant differences in the depression state according to presence of spouse, economic level, exercise, and smoking. A positive correlation was found between depression and climacteric symptoms. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that the most powerful predictor was climacteric symptom. Climacteric symptom, presence of spouse, smoking, and exercise accounted for 45% of the variance in postmenopausal women's depression.

Nurses are able to use these results to plan and implement nursing interventions for decreasing depression and consequent the improved quality of life in Korean postmenopausal women. Also, the nurses have to be more aware of the following groups; solitary women, low-income group and smokers, that they have higher mean score of depression.

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between fatigue and nutritional status in patients undergoing radiotherapy.

A correlational and crossectional study design was used.

One-hundred-fifty-one subjects with cancer receiving radiotherapy were recruited from a university hospital in Chonan, Korea. Fatigue was measured using Piper's Fatigue Scale (PFS). The parameters for nutritional status included body weight, body mass index, hemoglobin, and lymphocyte counts. Cancer stage was controlled in analyzing the differences in fatigue, body weight and body mass index.

The patients who experienced most fatigue were in their fifties, employed, had head and neck cancer, received radiotherapy on the head and neck, and had concomitant chemotherapy. Disease-related characteristics such as cancer type, and treatment type were frequently related to poorer nutritional status. Patients who showed poorer nutritional status, such as those with lower body weight, lower body mass index and lower hemoglobin levels were more fatigued than those who did not exhibit such characteristics. Lymphocyte counts did not correlate with fatigue. Conclusion: The findings can be used by nurses who are taking care of patients undergoing radiotherapy. Considering the relationship between fatigue and nutritional status, nurses can identify the risk group most vulnerable to fatigue and malnourishment in order to provide appropriate interventions for them.

To examine the effects of body position and time after feeding on gastric residuals in low birth weight infants(LBW).

A repeated measures design was conducted. Twenty LBW infants being fed via indwelling nasogastric tubes were randomly assigned to one of 5 different position orderings. In each position, gastric residuals were measured at 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 minutes after feeding.

In comparisons of gastric residuals with position and time, the main effects of position and time were statistically significant (F = 5.038, p = 0.001; F = 429.763, p < 0.001, respectively), but the interaction between position and time was found not to be significant. In pairwise comparisons, the gastric residuals were more reduced in the right anterior oblique and prone positions compared with the left lateral position (P < 0.05) and the differences across time periods were significant (p < 0.001).

The body position after feeding has a significant affect on gastric residuals over time in LBW infants. The right anterior oblique or prone position is recommended rather than left lateral position after feeding. Knowledge of the proper position and the pattern of gastric emptying over time after feeding may lead to the development of evidence-based nursing care.

This ethnography is aimed at describing the care-giving practices of the nuclear family and relatives of the elderly within a clan village in relation to their socio-cultural context. Four basic notions of the study came from Leininger's culture care theory and the nurse-client negotiation model of Anderson. In order to understand the cultural system of caring, the following questions were explored: What caring behaviors are performed for the elderly person in a clan and how do these behavior relate to the various components of that particular culture?

Data for this study was gathered through twenty-one fieldwork expeditions between September 1994 and December 2002 using interviews and participant observation of 7 families drown from two extended families. Data was analyzed using the techniques of taxonomy, value, and proxemics analysis.

The socio-cultural context of caring for elderly people, their caring values, and four categories of caring were explored. Values of caring and every day life in the clan were hierarchical, reciprocal, and collective. The four categories of caring were: being with, empowering, keeping territory, and enhancing spirituality.

The results of this study can be used to understand culture-specific care and to provide culturally congruent care for the elderly in a clinical setting.

The purpose of this study was to survey the prevalence rate of cognitive impairments and to identify the factors influencing cognitive impairment in the elderly in rural communities of Jeju Province..

590 elderly in 6 rural communities of Jeju Province were interviewed, using a questionnaire consisting of sociodemographic characteristics, health behavior, quality of life, and MMSE-K

Prevalence of cognitive impairment was 33.1% (39.1% of females, 16.76% of males). Prevalence of dementia was 12.4% (16.3% of females, 2.87% of males). Factors related to cognitive impairment were age, sex, education, standard of living, employment status, and subjective health state.

In community health care for the elderly, factors relating to cognitive impairment have to be considered. When planning community health care, priority should be given to the elderly; who need care but live alone; who lack social support; who have a low standard of living; who experience discomfort in the activities of daily living; who believe they are not in a good state of health; or whose life satisfaction is low.

Ischemic heart disease results from athesclerotic changes of the coronary artery. These changes are aggravated by hypercholesterolemia, smoking, obesity, lack of exercise, coronary-prone personality, and stress. Because these risk factors affect not only the prevalence of the ischemic heart disease but also recurrence of the disease, cardiac rehabilitation programs were introduced to help patients with ischemic heart disease reduce risk factors. Diverse cardiac rehabilitation programs are needed to motivate participation in cardiac rehabilitation and to enhance patients' quality of life.

To examine the effect of a self-efficacy promoting cardiac rehabiltation program on self-efficacy, health behavior and quality of life of patients with ischemic heart disease.

Data were collected from 45 hospitalized ischemic heart disease patients. Medical records were reviewed to obtain demographic and clinical characteristics. Data regarding self-efficacy, health behavior, and quality of life were obtained from interviews using structured questionnaires. The nonequivalent control group non-synchronized design was used to conduct this study. One session of conventional group education was given to patients in the control group while they were in the hospital. Patients in the experimental group participated in a newly developed cardiac rehabilitation program. It focused on strengthening selfefficacy with four self-efficacy sources - performance accomplishment, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion and physical status using two individualized in-hospital education sessions and four weekly telephone counseling follow-up calls after discharge.

Four weeks after discharge, the increment of total self-efficacy score was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group (p<.01). There was also a significant difference in the total quality of life scores increments between the two groups (p<.01). However, no significant changes were noted in the increments of total health behavior scores between the two groups.

A cardiac rehabilitation program focusing on promoting self-efficacy was effective in improving self-efficacy, and quality of life of patients with ischemic heart disease.

In Seoul, Korea, 70% of all adult males are reported to be smokers, and guidelines to smoking cessation generally include ways to help smokers avoid situations of smoking temptation. However the phenomenon of smoking temptation has been scarcely studied. Therefore, it is critical to acquire a better understanding of smoking temptation for more effective nursing practice.

This study intends to analyze the subjectivity of smoking temptation.

Q-methodology, which applies a scientific method to subjectivity, was utilized.

Five distinct smoking temptation modalities, on Q-types, emerged from the Q-sort: 1) Urge to facilitate interpersonal relation; 2) Psychological desire for tranquility; 3) Habituation in social life; 4) Habituation in daily life; and, 5) Nicotine craving combined with daily routine.

It is hoped that analysis of the five types of smoking temptation identified in this study will contribute to the body of knowledge and a better understanding of why smokers are addicted to smoking.