Journal of Korean Gerontological Nursing最新文献

Purpose: To examine the prevalence and influencing factors of successful aging in young-old adults (aged 65~74 years) and old-old adults (75 years and older) based on Rowe and Kahn's model.

Methods: Utilizing data from the 2020 National Survey of the Living Conditions of Korean Elderly, the study involved a secondary data analysis of 9,870 older adults. A Rao-Scott chi-squared tests, and complex samples logistic regression were employed for data analysis.

Results: The study found a successful aging rate of 16.0% among the participants. The young-old adults were 22.3%, and the old-old adults were 6.5%. It identified that the rate of successful aging decreases with age, with young-old adults showing a higher rate compared to old-old adults. The factors influencing successful aging for the young-old adults were education level and subjective economic status. Education level, subjective economic status, the presence of a spouse and habitation were confirmed as influential factors for the old-old adults.

Conclusion: This study confirms the need for age-specific interventions in promoting successful aging among older adults. It emphasizes the importance of considering demographic differences in future aging research and policy development.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify factors influencing the caring behaviors of the primary caregivers of older adults with dementia at home.

Methods: A total of 125 primary family caregivers, responsible for the care of older adults with dementia across eight dementia care centers, participated in the study. Data were collected from August 1 through September 8, 2022, and analyzed using t-tests, analysis of variance, the Scheffé test, Pearson's correlation, and multiple linear regression.

Results: Participants had a mean age of 47.4±14.2 years, and the mean score for caring behavior was 3.89±0.40. Caring behavior was influenced by the availability of help (β=.22, p=.015), the educational level of older adults with dementia (middle school β=.32, p=.008; high school β=.24, p=.045), care experience evaluation (β=.21, p=.023), and family resilience (β=.22, p=.014). The explanatory power was 25.4% (F=6.27, p<.001, adjusted R²=.25).

Conclusion: Nursing interventions that positively impact dementia care experiences are necessary to enhance the caring behavior of primary caregivers for older adults with dementia at home. Regular access to community resources for assistance is crucial. Additionally, programs should be developed to strengthen family resilience, enabling family members to support each other during challenging situations. Emphasizing education is essential to enhance awareness of care aspects among primary caregivers of older adults with dementia.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors related to burnout of nurses working at intensive care units.

Methods: The subjects of this study included 149 nurses in intensive care units at six general hospitals. The data was analyzed using the SPSS/WIN 23.0 program with descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Scheffé test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and Stepwise multiple regression analysis were used.

Results: The factors significantly affecting burnout included work stress 'high to very high' (β=.39, p<.001), communication skill (β=-.24, p=.001), subjective health status 'normal' (β=.22, p=.001) and 'bad to very bad' (β=.20, p=.002) and problem-driven coping (β=-.19, p=.010) in order, and the explanatory power of these factors to the burnout was 46.3%.

Conclusion: Based on the results, effective interventions need to be provided to improve intensive care unit nurses' health conditions and to relieve their work stress. It is necessary to develop practical strategies to improve nurses' communication and stress coping skills to reduce their burnout.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the impact of health literacy on adherence of medication among older adults living alone and to determine the mediating effect of e-health literacy in the relationship between the two variables.

Methods: A total of 91 older people living alone who visited a general hospital and welfare center participated, and data collection was conducted from July 20, 2023 to August 30, 2023. Descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlations, Model 4 of PROCESS macro were used for data analysis.

Results: Health literacy of older adults living alone was found to have a significant effect on adherence of medication (β=.33, p<.001) and e-health literacy (β=.34, p<.001). E-health literacy was found not to mediate the relationship between health literacy and adherence of medication (Indirect effect: β=-.02, 95% confidence interval -.08~.02). Health literacy was significantly different depending on age (F=6.86, p=.002), education background (F=10.36, p<.001), and monthly income (F=7.98, p<.001). There was a significant difference in adherence of medication based on age (F=4.38, p=.015). Also, e-health literacy had significant differences in age (F=10.05, p<.001), education background (F=7.91, p<.001), and monthly income (F=7.38, p<.001).

Conclusion: When providing education to older adults living alone to improve adherence of medication, medical staff and nurses should identify health literacy, provide repetitive medication education tailored to the level of health literacy of each elderly living alone, and critically receive indiscriminate health information from the Internet.

Purpose: Patients with cancer experience psychological and social problems; in particular, older patients with cancer face many difficulties during the cancer treatment process owing to aging and underlying diseases. Furthermore, the lives of individuals may be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to describe the experiences of older patients with cancer during the cancer diagnosis and treatment process amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: This study employed a qualitative, descriptive phenomenological approach to explore and analyze the experiences of the participants. The participants in this study consisted of patients aged over 65 who were diagnosed with cancer, and data were collected from May 4 to June 30, 2022 through in-depth individual interviews. The collected data were analyzed using Giorgi's phenomenological analysis.

Results: Participants were six older patients with cancer with an average age of 69.66 years. Five theme clusters and 15 themes were generated. The theme clusters were "psychological adaptation to cancer diagnosis," "receiving social and medical support," "difficulty in the treatment process," "fear of the COVID-19 pandemic," and "living through difficulties."

Conclusion: This study revealed that older patients with cancer demonstrated a unique psychology about how to accept the shock of the diagnosis and the resulting coping patterns and feelings of depression. Additionally, it was verified that older patients with cancer, susceptible to infections due to their advanced age and weakened immunity, also face an increased vulnerability to COVID-19. Therefore, a support system tailored to the characteristics of older patients with cancer should be established.