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As the United States grows more racially and ethnically diverse, Koreans have become one of the largest ethnic minority populations. We conducted this qualitative study to explore the perspectives of Korean immigrant parents about their child's future and the factors that shape those perspectives. We used modified grounded theory methods. Twenty Korean immigrant parents of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities participated in the study. Four themes emerged: navigating complicated and limited service systems, maintaining safety and relationships through work and higher education, ongoing parental care at home, and the need for culturally relevant adult services. We discuss implications for culturally responsive practice and inclusive research. [This manuscript was presented at the International Society for Autism Research Annual Meeting in May 2019.]

Purpose: This study analyzed research trends in infant and toddler rearing behavior among family caregivers over a 10-year period (2010-2021). Methods: Text network analysis and topic modeling were employed on data collected from relevant papers, following the extraction and refinement of semantic morphemes. A semantic-centered network was constructed by extracting words from 2,613 English-language abstracts. Data analysis was performed using NetMiner 4.5.0. Results: Frequency analysis, degree centrality, and eigenvector centrality all revealed the terms ''scale," ''program," and ''education" among the top 10 keywords associated with infant and toddler rearing behaviors among family caregivers. The keywords extracted from the analysis were divided into two clusters through cohesion analysis. Additionally, they were classified into two topic groups using topic modeling: "program and evaluation" (64.37%) and "caregivers' role and competency in child development" (35.63%). Conclusion: The roles and competencies of family caregivers are essential for the development of infants and toddlers. Intervention programs and evaluations are necessary to improve rearing behaviors. Future research should determine the role of nurses in supporting family caregivers. Additionally, it should facilitate the development of nursing strategies and intervention programs to promote positive rearing practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of new children subject to protection in 2021 announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare was 3,437, a decrease of 683 compared to 4,120 in 2020. However, this decline seems to be decreasing as the total child population itself continues to decline due to the current low birth rate in Korea, and the number of children subject to protection every year remains about 0.05% of all children. According to the 「Child Welfare Act」, children subject to protection are protected in the jurisdiction, but depending on the situation, there is room for a vacancy in the legal representative. For example, there may be no other relatives who can raise and protect children at a time when a person with parental authority dies, or because all or part of parental authority cannot be exercised according to the judgment of restriction and loss of parental authority. In addition, if the parent is out of contact with the child, fails to fulfill the responsibility of the caregiver due to economic difficulties, or if the child runs away from home because of a family conflict, including child abuse, the legal representative is vacant. As such, it is necessary to conduct a fact-finding survey on children subject to protection through human subject research such as surveys and in-depth interviews to find out what kind of difficulties they are actually facing and what policies or institutional support are needed as a practical solution. However, in accordance with the 「Bioethics and Safety Act」, children must obtain written consent from legal representatives to participate in human subject research. In other words, there is a problem in that even if the child who is the subject of the study has informed assent by sufficient information, he cannot participate in the study without the written consent of the legal representative. Accordingly, this paper examined the current status of children subject to protection in Korea and the need for exemption from proxy consent in research on children subject to protection, and reviewed the main contents of international ethical guidelines for children's research. Based on this, we would like to propose several considerations for the exemption of proxy consent to be recognized so that children, including children subject to protection, can voluntarily participate in research that can contribute to the interests of individuals or their groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Preschool‐age children in hospitals are at a high risk of unexpected incidents. Safety incidents in hospitals can cause serious damage to the children. Objective: To determine the effectiveness of the mobile‐type mHealth Safe Kids Hospital (SKH) application (app) for the prevention of hospitalized child safety incidents. Design: This study used a three‐group, randomized controlled trial pre‐post design. Setting(s): This study was conducted in the pediatric ward of three general hospitals in Korea. Participants: A total of 124 eligible hospitalized children and their caregivers were enrolled in the study from June to December 2018. Of these, 116 finally participated in the study, and 8 were excluded because they were discharged before the intervention. Methods: Hospitalized preschool‐age children and their caregivers were randomly allocated into three groups: experimental group I (n = 39), experimental group II (n = 39), and the control group (n = 38). Experimental group I received the SKH app intervention, the experimental group II received a paper‐based intervention, whereas the control group received the usual intervention. Participants' outcomes of awareness, knowledge, and behavior related to hospital safety, were assessed at two time points: baseline and 24 h after the intervention. Results: Hospital safety awareness had a higher increase after intervention in experimental groups I and II than in the control group. Among the four subdomains of hospital safety awareness, there was a significant increase in the scores of experimental group I on three subdomains after the intervention: falls (F = 8.19, p < 0.001), burns (F = 6.73, p = 0.002), and medical devices (F = 6.81, p = 0.002). In hospital safety knowledge and safety behavior, experimental group I had the highest average score after the intervention compared with experimental group II and the control group; however, there was no statistically significant difference in the average score of the three groups. Conclusions: Using the SKH app is easy to attract the interest of preschool‐age children and is also easy for nurses to use in clinical trials; thus, it is considered to be a useful educational intervention to prevent safety incidents in clinical fields in future. Clinical Relevance: It is thought to contribute to the prevention of preschool‐age children's safety incidents in pediatric wards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is a systematic review study to confirm the characteristics, effects, and application strategies of domestic and foreign virtual reality programs provided by dementia education. This study is based on the literature published up to July 2020, CINAHL, Cochrane, EMBASE, and Pubmed electronic databases were used overseas, and RISS, KISS, and DBpia were searched in Korea. Based on the selection criteria and exclusion criteria, the final six papers were used for analysis. As a result of the analysis, the subjects of the selected literature were two informal caregivers (33.3%), one general (16.7%), and three students (50.0%) including nursing students and medical and pharmacy students. The virtual reality program was effective in a total of five areas(empathy ability, dementia attitude including knowledge and comfort of dementia, trust in own abilities, dyadic relationship scale), of which 75% of the studies measured empathy ability had significant effects. The results of this study confirm that virtual reality technology can be used for human-centered nursing based on empathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose According to a long-term care survey (Statistics Office., 2019), 78.7% of the recipients are unable to walk independently. In a study of falls in inpatients, falls in hospital rooms and toilets were the most prevalent and were reported to occur more frequently at night (Yoon et al., 2018). Diapers and excretion-assist care robots can be used to prevent falls caused by toilet movement. The excretion assist care robot can automatically treat excrement by using it instead of diapers at the bedside for the elderly or the people with disabled. Automatic excretion bidet functions include detection, inhalation, cleaning, and drying of excrement. The excretion assist care robot is in the early stages of development and use, and it is necessary to evaluate its usability, considering the characteristics of the product from the point of view of users and experts. In this study, we evaluate the usability of the excretion assist care robot, derive improvements, and use it in the development of care robots. Method The excretory assist care robot used was the Curacare M1 product developed by Curaco. Evaluation indicators were developed to systematically evaluate usability. Indicator areas and items were derived through literature review and product analysis. To ensure the validity of the derived indicators, seven experts who could evaluate the product characteristics were selected, and a Delphi survey was conducted. The index consists of a total of six areas(Table 1) and 49 items, including 'operability area' (13 items), 'safety area' (ten items), 'effectiveness area' (five items), 'efficiency area' (four items), 'ability to acquire area' (two items) and 'satisfaction area' (15 items). A caregiver group and an expert observation group were recruited for the user-based evaluation, and an expert performance group was recruited for the inspection-based evaluation. 15 participants (five participants per group) who met the selection and exclusion criteria participated in the usability evaluation. The evaluation was conducted in the following order: pre-interview (semi-structured format); device use training (video and demonstration); practice, device use and evaluation (7-point scale evaluation paper); and post-interview (semi-structured format). Results and Discussion As a result of the usability assessment questionnaire, out of the six assessment areas (excluding the satisfaction area, which is a subjective assessment unknown to the expert observation group), the caregiver group rated the 'operability area' (60.2 ± 13.6), the expert observation group rated the 'ability to acquire area' (47.1 ± 14.8), and the expert performance group rated the 'safety area' (76.8 ± 7.0) as the lowest scores, respectively(Table 2). All 15 subjects responded that they required an excretion assist care robot. Reflecting the opinions of users and experts in this study, when developing the excretion assistance care robot, it is necessary to consider the ease of learning so that elderly caregivers who are not accustomed to using computers can easily learn. In addition, it is necessary to design it to reduce the physical burden, and devise a method for tailoring it to each individual. It is necessary to continuously promote safety and user friendliness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Republic of Korea has established an institutional framework to expedite the provision of rehabilitation sports public services to individuals with disabilities post-hospital discharge (Act on Guarantee of Right to Health and Access to Health Services for People with Disabilities in December 2017). Regrettably, this service remains non-operational to date. This study employs a service design approach to identify and develop essential elements for the effective implementation of public rehabilitation sports services in Korea. Adopting the service design method, including the empathize–define–ideate–prototype phases, co-creation activities were conducted with three teams comprising people with disabilities, caregivers, rehabilitation physicians, specialized sports instructors, facility managers, and government officials, emphasizing equitable distribution. By leveraging the experiences of people with disabilities, these teams collaboratively engaged in creative activities to formulate strategies for delivering prompt and user-friendly rehabilitation sports public services post-hospital discharge. Contributions from each team were meticulously collected and organized, incorporating diverse perspectives into the development of the Korean Rehabilitation Sports Public Service Information System (KRSPSIS). Additionally, we presented a scenario illustrating the practical application of the KRSPSIS. Through this system, we anticipate providing more efficient and convenient rehabilitation sports public services to individuals with disabilities during the critical early stages following hospital discharge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various topics within the issue, including the older adults' pathway to retirement in South Korea, the nutritional deficiencies at older ages, and the relationship between urbanicity and dementia in China.

Background: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of general characteristics, fatigue, depression, self-efficacy, job stress and interpersonal relationships on the quality of life (QoL) of caregivers in nursing hospitals and use them as basic data for intervention programs to improve the quality of life of caregivers. Methods: The participants in the study were 137 caregivers, aged 52–76, who were actively working in nursing hospitals. Data were collected from caregivers by visiting 9 hospitals in 6 cities, with a questionnaire of fatigue, depression, self-efficacy, job stress, interpersonal relationship, quality of life. Results: Age, marriage, marital satisfaction, education, education experience of QoL, monthly income, perceived economic status, hobby or leisure activity, and number of disease showed differences in the degree of QoL at a statistically significant level. In stage 1, economic status (β = −0.18, p = 0.033) and hobby or leisure activity (β = 0.19, p = 0.025) were influencing factors (F = 4.58, p < 0.001). In stage 2, monthly income (β = −0.19, p = 0.034) and perceived economic status (β = −0.18, p = 0.035) were influencing factors. In stage 3, age (β = −2.80, p = 0.006), perceived economic status (β = −2.41, p = 0.017), self-efficacy (β = 3.19, p = 0.002) and interpersonal relationship (β = 7.12, p < 0.001) were influencing factors which showed 61.5% explanatory power (F = 12.88, p < 0.001). Since the subject's fatigue, depression, and stress did not affect the quality of life, further research is needed. Conclusions: In order to improve the quality of life of caregivers, it would be necessary to develop interventions for raising their self-efficacy and interpersonal relationship by considering their degree of economic status, hobby or leisure activity, monthly income, and age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Recently, there has been an increased availability of information and communication technologies to support healthy aging and caregivers' activities. While there is no substitute for the human touch, new technologies can help to support paid (e.g., health care aides in continuing care) and family caregivers or friends and neighbors. Technologies can also improve the quality of care, especially for residents of continuing care centers who might have complex health and social needs (Lindeman et al., 2020). Thus, technologies can facilitate caregiver responsibilities by enhancing communications and supporting person-centered care. Mobile technologies can offer some advantages for caregivers (Perez et al., 2022) and people living with chronic conditions such as dementia (Neubauer et al., 2021), as well as enhance quality of care. An understanding of the factors that influence the acceptance and usability of technologies is necessary to implement new tools in caregiving roles (Liu et al., 2015). Methods In collaboration with continuing care centers and industry, we developed and evaluated the SmartCare System, a multifeatured mobile application system intended to support paid caregivers' workflows and provide information and updates to encourage the engagement of family caregivers. We followed a sequential explanatory mixed-method approach to evaluate the usability of these technologies. Paid (n=60) and family (n=27) caregivers participated in this evaluation by trialing the SmartCare System for one month. Our study included pre- and post- paper-based questionnaires with no control group. In addition, we conducted four focus groups with a subsample of paid and family caregivers. We evaluated the acceptance and usability of the SmartCare System using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology Model (Venkatesh et al., 2003). With the quantitative data, we employed univariate, bivariate, and partial least squares analyses. With the qualitative data, we used content analysis. Results and Discussion The acceptance of the SmartCare System was high for both groups of caregivers. The SmartCare System was functional, portable, and simple due to its design and easy-to-follow layout interface. For paid caregivers, usefulness, was the only predictor of intention to use, and intention to use the technology predicted usage behavior. For family caregivers, ease of use and potential improvement in their ability to perform caregiver activities using the technology were related to the behavioral intention, while the existing organizational and technical infrastructure was related to user behavior. In addition, family caregivers reported that the SmartCare System was easy to use. Regular updates sent to family were described as a significant advantage of this technology. Family caregivers suggested that family interactions and involvement in care activities could increase by using the SmartCare System and the ease of use of this technology could incentivize technology adoption. Both participant groups suggested including more information and features, such as compatibility with multiple devices and visual indicators. In general, the participants recognized the benefits of this technology to enhance communications and interactions. In conclusion, this study confirms the value of mobile technologies to support the workflow of paid caregivers and social connections with family members of residents in continuing care centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Care needs across countries depend on fertility rates, aging of the population, and the prevalence and causes of morbidity. • A care dependency ratio measures future care needs relative to the potential future supply of caregivers. • Time-use survey data indicate that future unpaid caregivers will be equivalent to one- to two-fifths of the labor force. • Unless the gender division of family care work changes, women and girls will be providing four-fifths of future unpaid caregiving. • To lessen the family's care burden, governments should invest in care programs, basic infrastructure, and measures to protect caregivers and recipients. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions of infections and deaths worldwide, forced schools to suspend classes, workers to work from home, many to lose their livelihoods, and countless businesses to close. Throughout this crisis, families have had to protect, comfort and care for their children, their elderly and other members. While the pandemic has greatly intensified family care responsibilities for families, unpaid care work has been a primary activity of families even in normal times. This paper estimates the future global need for caregiving, and the burden of that need that typically falls on families, especially women. It takes into account projected demographic shifts, health transitions, and economic changes in order to obtain an aggregate picture of the care need relative to the potential supply of caregiving in low-, middle- and high-income countries. This extensive margin of the future care burden, however, does not capture the weight of that burden unless the quantity and quality of care time per caregiver are taken into account. Adjusting for care time given per caregiver, the paper incorporates data from time-use surveys, illustrating this intensive margin of the care burden in three countries that have very different family and economic contexts—Ghana, Mongolia, and South Korea. Time-use surveys typically do not provide time data for paid care services, so the estimates depend only on the time intensity of family care. With this caveat, the paper estimates that the care need in 2030 would require the equivalent of one-fifth to two-fifths of the paid labor force, assuming 40 weekly workhours. Using the projected 2030 mean wage for care and social service workers to estimate the hypothetical wage bill for these unpaid caregivers if they were paid, we obtain a value equivalent to 16 to 32 percent of GDP in the three countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to define and clarify the concept of the family caregivers’ perceived value of caring for older patients. Methods: The hybrid model of Schwartz-Barcott and Kim was used to perform the concept analysis of perceived value of caring. Concept analysis was conducted in three phases: the theoretical phase, fieldwork phase, and final analysis phase. Results: The perceived value of caring was found to have four dimensions and nine attributes. The providing care dimension consisted of two attributes—care behavior and care attitude—and the goals and expectation dimension included three attributes—social norms, family norms, and personal norms. The other two dimensions consisted of two attributes each: a belief in usefulness and a belief in meaning in the building beliefs dimension and life expansion and insight into the future in the suffering sublimation dimension. Finally, perceived value of caring can be defined as the personal belief that behavior or attitude of providing physical, mental, and social services to those in need of care is usefulness and important based on one’s goals and criteria, and with the personal effort of sublimating suffering that arises from care. Conclusion: Based on the study findings, it is suggested that the use of the perceived value of caring should expand in nursing phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Since the quality of work life of healthcare workers is affected by various factors, an improvement in their work environment can reduce the burden on them, increasing their performance. This study aimed to identify the current problems in working environments for registered nurses (RNs), nurse aides (NAs), and caregivers using the 5th Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS), presenting measures to improve working conditions by analyzing their predictors: 1) degree of exposure to work-related risk factors (musculoskeletal and mental), 2) working patterns, 3) work-family balance, 4) work situations, and 5) self-rated health. Methods: The sampling frame was a list of apartment and general survey zones, excluding islands, dormitories, special social facilities, tourist hotels, and foreigner zones, among the total survey zones of the 2010 Population and Housing Census. The KWCS was given to 50,205 participants of various occupations, and responses from 494 RNs, 201 NAs, and 505 caregivers were extracted to compare their 1) degree of exposure to work-related risk factors (musculoskeletal and mental), 2) working pattern, 3) work-family balance, 4) work situations, and 5) self-rated health. Results: The response rate was 0.449. There were significant differences in all the variables (exposure to musculoskeletal and mental work-related risk factors, working pattern, work-family balance, work situations, self-rated health, and satisfaction with working conditions) among RNs, NAs, and caregivers (p < 0.001). The degree of work-related musculoskeletal and mental risk exposure was higher among caregivers and RNs than among NAs; irregular working patterns, challenges with work-family balance, and work environment satisfaction were higher among caregivers than among NAs. In addition, work situations were poorer among caregivers and NAs than among RNs. Self-rated health was the highest among caregivers, followed by RNs and NAs. The most potent predictor of self-rated health was occupation, followed by work environment satisfaction and work-family balance; the most potent predictor of work environment satisfaction was self-rated health, followed by degree of exposure to work-related musculoskeletal and mental risk factors, occupation, work-family balance, work situation, and working patterns. Conclusion: This study confirmed that a variety of factors influence work environment satisfaction. Thus, practical and realistic measures to improve work environments tailored to each healthcare occupation should be developed at the national and community levels. Further qualitative studies are needed to analyze the work environments of nurses and other care workers in depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to explore the relationship between the discharge process and two-year prognosis in patients with Heart Failure (HF) who were hospitalized because of HF exacerbation. Methods: Medical records were reviewed to identify patients admitted for HF exacerbation. Information regarding the following discharge processes was collected: follow-up visits, discharge educational contents, and the presence of family caregivers during patient education. HF-related events, including emergency department visits, readmissions, or death because of HF, were defined as a composite of events. A multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression model was used after adjusting for covariates to explore the association between the discharge process and HF-related events. Results: A total of 201 patients were included in this study. In the two-year follow-up periods, 41 patients (20.4%) experienced at least one HF-related event. Follow-up visits were scheduled at an average of 8.11 ±2.92 days after discharge. Approximately 95.0% of the patients received discharge education with an average of 1.66±1.04 topics, and 69.7% of the families participated in this educational activity. In the multivariate Cox regression model, not having family members during education was associated with a longer time to HF-related events (hazard ratio: 2.09; 95% confidence interval: 1.001~4.346). However, follow-up visits and the amount of educational content received were not associated with time to HF-related events. Conclusion: The presence of family caregivers during education appears to be a protective factor against adverse prognosis in patients with HF. Our results highlight the importance of family engagement during discharge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Provide a comprehensive overview of the solidarity in health and long-term care sectors. • The overall direction of reforms is developing toward universal coverage. • Reforms might be possible without overall consensus on solidarity. • The pay-as-you-go financial arrangements will require strong intergenerational solidarity. • The capacity of informal caregiving of family could be considered. Different from the development of health sector, there are significant variations in the underpinnings and formation timings of solidarity-based long-term care (LTC) systems. This paper compares the historical developmental trajectories and identifies factors of the transitions of the actual practices of solidarity - the scope of community, the scope of interdependence, and the costs of joint action - in the health and LTC sectors in four East Asian countries: Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore. Comparative policy analysis. Healthcare tends to be considered a universal value such that its boundary should include all residents, while LTC is closer to an entitlement of citizens. The differing solidarity reflects path dependency as well as historical legacies and policy diffusion between the health and LTC sectors. In both health and LTC sectors, the costs involved in collective service provision are not distributed evenly between generations. Centralized governance is a prevailing feature of health and LTC sectors in East Asia, allowing solidarity-based institutional arrangements to be established without an overall sense of solidarity. The relationship between solidarity and health and LTC systems is complex and dynamic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To identify the participation patterns of Korean children with and without disabilities at home, and the environmental factors affecting their participation. The Korean Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth were applied to 184 caregivers of children aged 5 to 13 years in South Korea. To explore home participation patterns and environmental factors at the item level, analysis of covariance, Pearson's chi-square tests, and radar plots were used. The largest group differences in participation frequency were in "school preparation" and "homework" and those at involvement level were in "indoor play and games," "getting together with other people," "school preparation," and "homework." More caregivers of children with disabilities desired changes in their children's participation in all activities. They also perceived that "physical, cognitive, and social demands of typical home activities," "supplies," and "money" hindered children's home participation. The findings provide information about how Korean children participated in home-based activities, whether their caregivers desired changes in their participation, and what environmental factors impede their home participation. These can help service providers understand the interaction between participation and environmental factors and offer insight into where their service goals should be focused for the successful participation of children with disabilities at home. As children with disabilities spend much time at home, their parents need to consider both how many times their children participate and how much they get involved in home-based activities. Rehabilitation service providers need to focus on whether parents are satisfied with their children's participation in home activities to decide where much effort is needed for meaningfully occupying children's time at home. The goal of rehabilitation services can be to mitigate a poor fit between children's abilities and the demands of activities for successful participation in home activities. Measuring not only the quantity of participation but also the quality of participation is helpful for setting a collaborative goal with parents to improve the participation of children with disabilities at home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Parkinson's disease reduces patients' function, activities of daily living, and quality of life, and increases their guardians' burden of care. This study verified the effectiveness of a multimodal rehabilitation programme for patients with Parkinson's disease. Trial design: This study was a multicentre parallel randomised controlled, single-blind, trial conducted in three hospitals in Korea. Methods: A central randomisation centre used computer generated tables to randomly allocate 60 of 75 patients with Parkinson's disease who fulfilled the study requirements into experimental (n = 30; multimodal rehabilitation; consisting of daily living training, guardian education, home environment modification, fine muscle exercise, balance training, and training using auxiliary tools performed 50 min per session, twice a week, in 10 sessions) and control (n = 30; traditional rehabilitation; consisting of task-oriented training, joint exercise, and daily living training performed 50 min per session, twice a week, in 10 sessions) groups. Results: Multimodal rehabilitation for Parkinson's disease significantly improved the activities of daily living (p < 0.01) and quality of life of patients (p < 0.001) and eased the guardians' burden of care (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Multimodal rehabilitation is suggested to improve activities of daily living, quality of life of patients with Parkinson's disease, and reduce the burden of care of their guardians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Although air stacking is a widely used lung expansion therapy essential for restrictive lung diseases, important details such as peak insufflation pressure (PIP) and number of squeezes have not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to standardize a method of air stacking to minimize problems with its application by identifying the optimal pressure and number of squeezes performed by professional physicians and investigating the current status of routine air stacking implementation in patients. Methods This prospective cross-sectional test–retest study involved individuals who had neuromuscular disorders and had performed air stacking exercise for longer than 1 year. PIP and number of squeezes were measured to identify the differences between caregivers and physicians. Cases of incorrectly performed air stacking were investigated and categorized. The problems associated with air stacking were evaluated. Results A total of 45 participants were included. PIP was 41.4 (SD = 4.2; range = 34.8–50.0) cm H2O, and optimal number of squeezes was 3.1 (SD = 0.5; range = 2–4). When the air stacking methods used by caregivers were evaluated, 19 of 45 caregivers (42.2%) used methods inappropriately. Higher PIP and larger number of squeezes were observed with caregiver implementation. Thirty caregivers (66.7%) experienced finger or wrist pain; this problem was observed especially in female caregivers, who tended to incorrectly perform air stacking. Conclusions This pilot study showed that the optimal pressure of air stacking was 35 to 50 cm H2O. Caregivers often perform air stacking inappropriately, leading to complications without achieving the purpose of air stacking. The introduction of a new method, such as manometry, can be helpful for achieving optimal air stacking. Impact Optimal pressure of air stacking can be measured with inexpensive, simple, and commercially available digital manometry. This approach enables air stacking to be performed and taught more accurately and efficiently and reduces complications in both patients and caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to discuss the need for translation studies in dementia care and current translational endeavors, and to provide recommendations for evolving evidence-based dementia care. Methods: A literature review yielded current evidence and translational efforts. Results: Dementia care interventions need to be implemented at various service levels. Barriers to translation include evidence gaps, lack of the use of a conceptual framework to explain the implementation process, and unsupportive funding mechanisms for applying innovations. Conclusion: There is clear evidence of the need for and benefits of evidence-based dementia care for patients with dementia, family caregivers, and care professionals. The urgent need now is finding ways to advance translational activities and facilitate future research into translation science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While demand for care‐giving is increasing rapidly among older adults in Korea, there are large unmet care needs. In the face of an elder care crisis, older adults feel uncertain about how and by whom they will be cared for. This study examines the relationship between expectations of receiving care in the future and all‐cause mortality among Korean older adults. We explore whether mortality risk differs by sources of care (non‐family vs. family caregivers), and further disaggregate different sources of care by family member type (spouse, sons and daughters). Using data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (N = 3,111 participants aged 65 or older), we estimate Cox proportional hazards regression models predicting all‐cause mortality. Expecting to receive care from either non‐family or family members is significantly associated with lower mortality risk. Expecting care from a spouse and/or daughter was associated with lower mortality risk, but expecting care from sons was not. After adjusting for covariates, expecting future care from a spouse and/or daughter predicted lower mortality risk (HR = 0.83; 95% CI = 0.71–0.97 [spouse], HR = 0.79; 95% CI = 0.67–0.94 [daughter]), and the coefficient for expectations of formal care from non‐family members became statistically insignificant. After controlling for family structure, only the association between expecting care from daughters and mortality remained statistically significant (HR = 0.78; 95% CI = 0.66–0.94). These effects are more pronounced among women than men. Initiatives to support and maintain high‐quality family relationships across the life course and remove barriers that obstruct family members from providing care to their elders would improve older adults' longevity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The purpose of this study is to explore the symptoms experienced by adolescents with moyamoya disease and to identify the characteristics of each symptom cluster associated with moyamoya disease. Design: A retrospective and descriptive design, which is a secondary data analysis study based on electronic medical record data from hospitals. Methods: To assess the symptoms associated with moyamoya disease, a qualitative study was conducted on 12 adolescents, 12 caregivers and 12 experts on moyamoya disease. According to a qualitative study, 12 main symptoms (limb weakness, numbness, pins and needles, difficulty in speech, blurred vision, facial paralysis, hand tremors, involuntary movements, convulsions, dizziness, nausea/vomiting and headaches) were selected. Data were collected around these symptoms. The data collection was carried out through the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) data of 303 adolescents aged 13–19 who were diagnosed with moyamoya disease (ICD 10 Code: I67.5) between January 2010–December 2019 in a hospital in Seoul, South Korea. Cluster analysis was applied to identify symptom clusters with the hierarchical cluster agglomerative approach. We used the log‐likelihood distance to measure the similarity of variables. Proximity between groups of variables was measured using the two‐step method. Results: The physical symptoms experienced by adolescents with moyamoya disease were 'limb weakness' – the most common – followed by a 'headache,' 'difficulty in speech,' and 'nausea/vomiting.' A total of five symptom clusters were derived: cluster 1 was characterized by 'limb weakness'; cluster 2 participants were asymptomatic or experienced 'convulsions'; cluster 3 experienced 'difficulty in speech' and 'facial paralysis'; cluster 4 is prone to 'dizziness' and 'pins and needles'; and cluster 5 displays 'headaches' and 'nausea/vomiting'. Conclusion: This study offers a multidimensional approach for identifying differences in clinical symptoms of moyamoya disease among adolescents. Impact: These results will help provide interventions concerning the characteristics of the symptoms of moyamoya disease among adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Future planning has emerged as a global issue for families of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities due to the longer lives and limited long‐term services and supports in the adult disability system. While it has received greater attention, most future planning studies only included parents of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities within the context of European or American countries. The purpose of this study was to examine future planning among siblings of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in South Korea. Method: In this study, 185 Korean siblings of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities responded to a survey. Results: Few siblings engaged in future planning activities and reported a range of barriers to conduct future planning. Further, greater future planning involvement was associated with older siblings, greater advocacy level and greater sibling caregiving. Conclusion: For future research, culturally relevant measures and intervention should be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of Korean family caregivers of patients with cancer by reviewing recent literature. Methods: Five electronic databases were searched—MEDLINE, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and PubMed for English literature, and Korean Information Service System (KISS), and Research Information Sharing Service (RISS) for Korean literature for articles published from January 2010 to March 2020 using the key words cancer, caregiver, and Korean. Twenty‐six articles met the inclusion criteria and remained in the final review. Results: No intervention study was found and most of studies were quantitative without theoretical/conceptual framework. All the studies were conducted with Koreans living in Korea. No previous study has been conducted with Koreans living in the U.S. or other countries. Most studies focused on caregivers' quality of life, burden, unmet needs, and resilience/adaptation/post‐traumatic growth. Conclusions: Comprehensive intervention studies focused on improving quality of life, burden, and adaptation to their complex roles as caregivers in the context of Korean culture would be helpful. Further research is needed in examining the caregiver‐patient dyad interactions longitudinally to understand the dynamic complicated processes of caregiving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Caregiving for childhood cancer survivors may be burdensome for caregivers and affect their physical health and health behaviors. However, studies examining health behaviors in caregivers of childhood cancer survivors are scarce. This study aimed to examine health behaviors of caregivers of childhood cancer survivors by comparing them with those of the general population, and analyze associated factors.Methods: This study included 326 caregivers of childhood cancer survivors recruited from 3 major hospitals in South Korea and 1304 controls from the Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey matched for age, sex, and education level. We compared health behaviors between the two groups by using conditional logistic regression analyses, and investigated factors associated with unhealthy behaviors in caregivers by using multiple logistic regression analyses.Results: Caregivers were less likely to be physically inactive (aOR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.51, 0.92) compared to controls, and this was more evident in women (aOR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.45, 0.94). However, caregivers were more likely to be binge drinkers (aOR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.73, 2.97), especially if they were men (aOR: 13.59, 95% CI: 8.09, 22.82). Factors associated with unhealthy behaviors in caregivers differed by the type of behavior. Current smoking risk was lower in female caregivers and in those with more comorbidities. Increasing age, female sex, higher education level, and lower household income were associated with lower risk of binge drinking. Higher household income and anxiety were associated with lower risk of physical inactivity, while depression was associated with higher risk of physical inactivity.Conclusions: Caregivers of childhood cancer survivors were more likely to engage in binge drinking, but less likely to be physically inactive. Strategies to promote adherence to desirable health behaviors in caregivers are needed with consideration of their socioeconomic and clinical factors, such as number of comorbidities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate the depression of the main caregivers for the elderly in Korea by using a descriptive survey study. A total of two hundred eight participants who admitted at five nursing homes located in G city were analyzed using SPSS 25.0. There was a significant difference in depression according to general characteristics: higher level in extended family in family type. Participants showed significantly higher level of depression in cases of less than five years’ hospitalization periods or Decision maker of elderly’s hospitalization high level burden for expenses among caring related characteristics. They also had higher level of depression in cases of high level burden for expenses. less than 60 minute in commuting time, or non-satisfaction for nursing home service among caring related characteristics. Although we need more evidences through future studies, the findings from this study will be useful in the development of nursing intervention program for reducing the depression of the main caregivers for elderly population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate the educational needs of parents of infants and toddlers with congenital heart disease (CHD) after hospital discharge. Methods: Qualitative content analysis was conducted of in-depth interviews of eight parents, and the results of an online survey of 171 parents were analyzed quantitatively. Results: Only 16.4% of parents reported that they had received education after hospital discharge on how to provide care for a child with CHD at home. The main reason why parents did not receive education on this topic was that they did not have sufficient opportunities or information (75.5%). In addition, 97.1% of parents stated that they needed educational programs that would be available at home after discharge. In terms of specific educational content, parents expressed the highest needs for education on the symptoms of CHD and ways to cope with them, the prognosis of CHD, and the growth and development of infants and toddlers with CHD. Conclusion: The study showed that parents' educational needs were high in many ways. However, the information and educational opportunities offered after discharge were insufficient compared to those needs. Further research is needed to develop post-hospital educational programs that meet their needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Living with a person with dementia considerably affects the lives of both the primary caregiver and the entire family. This study aimed to synthesize the findings of qualitative studies that explored dementia caregivers' experiences, to further understand the impact of dementia caregiving on family dynamics. Thirty-seven qualitative studies were analyzed and synthesized according to the meta-synthesis methods suggested by Sandelowski and Barroso. Four themes were identified to describe the impact of dementia caregiving on the family: cracked foundation of the family caused by dementia, voluntary or involuntary setup of a marked boundary of care, family as supportive foreground versus reluctant or interfering background, and re-established relationships within and outside the family. The findings illuminate that dementia caregiving has a destructive impact on the entire family, and therefore, it is imperative to develop interventions and infrastructures for both the caregiver and the entire family of individuals with dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first aim of this study is to review and critique the empirical literature on dyadic problems of spousal caregivers. A total of 18 relevant studies published between 1990 and 2015 were identified via several databases in South Korea. Four major results were identified: (1) assuming caregiving roles easily caused various caregiving-related problems, such as stress and burden; (2) care recipients' health conditions and problems were one of the crucial factors influencing caregiving-related problems in spousal caregivers; (3) caregiving easily caused marital problems in couples with frail spouses; and (4) spousal caregivers had negative communications with their care recipients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored predictors of functionally dependent Korean older adults’ mental health. Logistic regression analyses were conducted using a sample of 1234 subjects. Findings show a subject’s functional dependency, pre-existing depression, objective financial status, and stressful life events are risk factors. This analysis yielded unexpected findings of a limited protective effect of social support from family members compared to a significant effect of intrapersonal resources. These findings suggest an emergent transition within East Asian culture about individuals and family dynamics and a need for an alternative approach to culturally competent social work practice with East Asian populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Korea, the Hospice, Palliative Care, and Life-sustaining Treatment Decision-making Act was enacted in February 2016 in order to ensure that the patient's self-determination in end-of-life care processes is respected. To enhance physicians' understanding of this act and to provide proper criteria for medical judgment in variety of clinical settings, consensus guidelines were published in November 2016. In this article, the characteristics of these guidelines and related issues regarding the definitions of 'the end stage of disease' and 'last days of life' and the criteria for medical judgment are presented and summarized. According to the guidelines, the term 'end stage of disease' refers to a state in which there is no possibility of a fundamental recovery and the symptoms are expected to worsen within months. The terms 'the last days of life' and 'the final days of life' refer to a state in which, despite treatment, the patient's condition is worsening and death is impending, with no possibility of recovery. The attending physician and another relevant specialist should both judge a patient's medical condition as either 'end stage of disease' for hospice/palliative care or 'the last days of life' for dying patient care according to the law. Caregivers should provide appropriate medical information to eligible patients for palliative or 'end stage of disease' care through advance care planning. Therefore, it is critically necessary that caregivers understand the legitimate process of hospice/palliative and dying patient care based on the patient's wishes and best interests. Physicians should apply these consensus guidelines to eligible patients considering their clinical course and the patients' wishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Care deficits in Korea are filled by co-ethnic immigrants, in particular, Korean Chinese. This study aims to explain how care regime of foreign care workers in Korea is interconnected with welfare, employment, and migration regimes. Key findings are as follows: First, social services still does not meet care needs of families. Accordingly, families seek additional care services at private market. Second, employment conditions of care work are poor so that care market faces workforce shortage. Last, preference of migration policy for co-ethnic foreigners leads to inflow of Korean Chinese. This study concludes with implications for inclusive foreign care worker policy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this study was to develop a transition nursing program for patients and family caregivers in neurological intensive care units (ICUs) and to evaluate the effects of the program. A literature review, focus group interviews, analysis of medical records, confirmation of validity, and clinical applicability were used to develop the program, which was tested using a pre- and post-test quasi-experimental design. Participants were recruited in 2011. The experimental group (46 patients and their family caregivers) received the developed program before transferring from the neurological ICU to a ward, whereas the control group (48 patients and their family caregivers) received routine care. The results showed that patients and family caregivers in the experimental group had significantly higher transition readiness and satisfaction with transition nursing and lower transition anxiety and transition stress, and family caregivers in the experimental group had a significantly lower burden of caregiving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Deteriorating communication ability of people with dementia is reported as a major cause of care burden. Caregivers' avoidance or inappropriate communication with dementia people reinforce agitation, anxiety and social isolation of dementia people and worsen their psychological and behavioral symptoms (Paquay et al., 2007; Williams et al., 2009). Notwithstanding the importance of sympathetic and effective communication based on Person-centered care, a desirable communication model has not been established (Levy-Storms, 2008). Thus, it is demanded to collect and examine the communication between dementia people and their caregivers in the natural setting and be feedbacked to caregivers to enhance their communication attitude and skill. Purpose 1. Seek for the possibility of using IOT technology in the study of communication between dementia people and caregivers. 2. Evaluate the vocal communication by caregivers within the Person-Centered Care framework. Methodology 1. An Arduino-based device was made to record and transmit the dialogue into the server. For human voice-sensor recording and real-time transmission was programmed with ftp type. 2. The small size of the devices were hung around the necks of two dementia people living in the nursing home with permission of their families. The informed consent of caregivers working in the nursing home were also acquired. Recording was done through 2~3 hours a day in the morning in the living room. The recording was prohibited in the private places of dementia people. The audio was transcribed into text scripts with help of Naver voice recognition program and manual transcription in part. Then, the text was quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed within the 5 principles of PCC theoretical frameworks: warmth, inclusion, attachment, identity, and occupation. Results 1. The device was manufactured for the purpose of data collection and transmission. 2, Data shows there was a great shortage of communication between two parties as caregivers in the nursing home rarely talked to dementia people. In the cases of talking to them, the theme was task-oriented and concerned only physical caring, feeding, bathing and diaper change. 3. By qualitative analysis under the Person-Centered Care framework, caregivers showed warmth, attachment, and recognition. However, some caregivers withheld the demand of dementia people, making fun of them and treating them with a patronizing attitude. There were other Personhood-depreciating communication patterns; intimidation, invalidation, and objectification. Discussion 1. Technological approaches are sometimes useful in the studies of understanding and analyzing the demands and needs of dementia people. Arduino-based network voice recorders are cheap and easy to manufacture, which can be widely used for training caregivers. This study shows the possibility of cheap and easy technology to relieve the burden of caring and increase the quality of lives of dementia people. 2. This study reveals non-PCC communication in the nursing home which desperately needs improvement. Caregiver's attitude and skills on communication with dementia people should be educated and coached based on Person-Centered care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Technologies to age in place must be personalized to meet the changing reality of aging and to respond to individual needs. A variety of technology applications can be used to help those with chronic conditions to remain at home, provide support to family caregivers at work or at a distant location, check on the status or activities of their loved ones, and enhance access to information and community resources including formal and informal support services (Czaja, 2016). ADel (Assistante Domestique électronique) is an Electronic Domestic Assistant developed in Quebec (Canada) by SoftBiomed to help older adults build personalized virtual networks of care including their family caregivers and healthcare professionals. ADel is an application provided in an electronic tablet with a locked mode (kiosk mode) to family caregivers and clinicians (Figure 1) and a cellphone application to be downloaded by family caregivers (Figure 2). With ADel, it is possible to customize contacts to make video calls, personalize medication and appointment reminders, and services (e.g., meal delivery and community services). With a panic button and a fall detector integrated into a watch, it provides peace of mind to older adults and their family caregivers. The objective of this pilot study is to explore the feasibility, usability, and user satisfaction of ADel from the perspectives of older adults returning home after a hospitalization, family caregivers, and clinicians being part of a personalized network of care. Methods Participants include 10 older adults without neurocognitive impairment returning home after a hospitalization, 10 family caregivers, and two clinicians. Data on feasibility (semi-structured interview), usability (System Usability Scale), and users' satisfaction (Visual Analog Scale) are collected at one and two months of use of the technology at home. A steering committee with different stakeholders informs the project from the beginning to anticipate any technical, human, cultural, logistical barriers, and facilitators. Results and Discussion The pilot study will allow sharing of expertise between different stakeholders to inform the improvement of this technology across the continuum of care. ADel has the potential to be implemented in individuals with minor and major neurocognitive disorders, older adults living with chronic health conditions, and palliative care. The results will help to improve and adapt this technology according to the older adult's cognitive and physical health status, provide a technological solution to support home care, and prevent social isolation during the current pandemic (Daly et al., 2021). As the degree of usefulness of these technologies impacts positively elderly people's intention to accept their usage (Etemad-Sajadi & Gomes Dos Santos, 2019), this pilot study will certainly provide insights into ADel's positive impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this study was to find out the effects of transfer assistive robots on care burden, burnout, and self-esteem in caregivers caring for the mobility-impaired older adults and severely disabled people. Method A single-group pre-test post-test study design was used in this study. The participants were 30 caregivers caring for the institutionalized or community-dwelling care recipients. The caregivers used transfer assistive robots to move mobility-impaired older adults and severely disabled people from bed to chair or from chair to bed for a week. The care burden, burn out, and self-esteem were measured using a self-reported questionnaire. The care burden scale developed by zairt(1980), the burnout scale developed by Maslach and Jackson(1981), and the self esteem scale developed by Rosenberg(1965) were used. The data was collected between July 2021 to January 2022. The data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS statistics version 25.0 for window program and difference in outcome variables between pre and post was confirmed using the paired t-test. Results and Discussion Participants ranged in age from 38 to 76 years, with a mean of 57.6 (SD=7.07). There were 28 female respondents (93.3%) and 2 male respondents (6.7%). Of those who participated, 13 (43.3%) were Korean geriatric care helpers, 8 (26.7%) were uncertified assistive personnel, 3 (10.0%) were family caregivers, 1 (3.3%) was the disabled activity supporter, and etc. There was statistically significant reduction in the care burden after the intervention (t=4.62, p<.001). However, there was no significant difference in the burnout and self-esteem. The study suggests that transfer assistive robots were effective in decreasing the care burden in caregivers caring for the mobility-impaired older adults and severely disabled people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study's objectives were to examine the effects of depression on the distress of caregivers of children with brain tumors and to identify the factors moderating depression and caregiver distress.Methods: Participants were 82 caregivers of children with brain tumors undergoing treatment in the National Cancer Center of South Korea. The depression subscale of the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R) and the Burden of a Primary Caregiver (BPC) Scale were used to measure participants' depression and caregiver distress, respectively. The Korean version of the Parenting Sense of Competence (K-PSOC) Scale, Family Environmental Scale-Revised (K-FES-R), and the DUKE-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire-S (DUKE-UNC-FSSQ) were used to assess parental efficacy, family relationships, and perceived social support, respectively.Results: Younger patient age, lower family income, and caregivers' greater number of years of education significantly predicted caregiver distress. Caregivers with depression experienced significantly more distress than those without depression. The interaction of depression with parenting efficacy and social support affected caregiver distress. For highly depressed caregivers, parental efficacy, social support, and family relationships played weaker roles as protective factors against caregiver distress. High parental efficacy and social support were protective factors against distress in caregivers without depression.Conclusions: A multi-dimensional assessment of the psychosocial factors that may affect caregivers of children with brain tumors should precede interventions for distress management. Interventions tailored to individuals' psychosocial factors are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim We investigated whether the presence and characteristics of a family caregiver affect the use of formal long-term care under the new Korean long-term care system. Background In July 2008, Korea introduced public long-term care insurance, a form of social insurance, in order to cope with the reality of the growing elderly population and the increasing demand for long-term care. Methods The family caregivers of 271 applicants for long-term care insurance who had a caregiver and 36 applicants without a caregiver living in one city participated in this cross-sectional study. Data were collected from November 2010 to June 2011 using self-report questionnaires. Variables included the applicant's gender; age; physical and cognitive function; type of long-term care used; presence and type of family caregivers; caregiver's gender, age, education level, marital status, and employment status; and service use covered by long-term care insurance. Logistic multiple regression was used. Results The effect of the presence and characteristics of a family caregiver on the use of a long-term care facility was significant. A nursing home was used for care more frequently when the applicant had no family caregiver. An elderly subject who had a spouse as a caregiver used home healthcare services more often than nursing home services. Conclusion The decision to use formal services may depend not only on the care level required by the applicant, but also on the presence and type of caregivers. To successfully implement the new long-term care insurance system, consideration of the caregiver situation should be included in policy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main reasons for reforming long-term care systems is a deficient existing service infrastructure for the elderly. This article provides an overview of why and how the Korean government expanded long-term care infrastructure through the introduction of a new compulsory insurance system, with a particular focus on the market-friendly policies used to expand the infrastructure. Then, the positive results of the expansion of the long-term care infrastructure and the challenges that have emerged are examined. Finally, it is argued that the Korean government should actively implement a range of practical policies and interventions within the new system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

. A falling fertility rate, increasing longevity, government 'social investment' strategies to achieve the transformation from industrial to post-industrial economy, and increased state support to help women balance family and work responsibilities - all these influences have produced mixed results for the poorly paid female care workers in low-status jobs in the Republic of Korea. The author summarizes policy changes and reports on interviews with childcare and elder-care workers, policy experts and researchers, showing that though increased regulation and expansion of public childcare have led to some improvements, the deregulation and marketization of elder-care have resulted in worsening conditions for elder-care workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Literature on the siblings of disabled children has been dominated by western psychosocial theories that focus on stresses associated with being a 'young carer' or on children as active agents realising their 'rights' rather than as the victims of familial expectations. This article presents the findings of a visual ethnographic study exploring the lives of nine children living with an autistic sibling in South Korea (hereafter Korea). Despite personal challenges and family tensions, experiences of 'being' a sibling were strongly influenced by Confucian familist cultural values in which sacrifice plays a central role in achieving honourable and harmonious family life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives. To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Way-finding Effectiveness Scale (WES) for Korean persons with dementia (PWDs). Design. A descriptive, cross-sectional survey method was used. Methods. Data were collected with a non-probability sampling strategy using structured format face-to-face interviews. A convenience sample of 83 community-dwelling PWDs and their family caregivers were recruited. The participants were PWDs who were over 60 years of age, had been medically diagnosed with dementia or showed signs and symptoms of dementia, had a Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of less than 24 of 30 and were independent in walking. Results. Internal consistency for the 29-item KWES was 0·93 and exceeded 0·70 for the four subscales (complex way-finding goals, CWG; analytic strategy, AS; global strategy, GS; and simple way-finding goals, SWG). The intercorrelations for total KWES and subscales demonstrated a high to moderate relationship ranging from 0·84 (total and CWG) to 0·24 (AS and SWG). Pearson correlations between each subscale scores of the KWES and K-MMSE demonstrated significant, moderate relationships ranging from 0·41 (CWG and K-MSE) to 0·28 (AS and K-MMSE). Differences in current and prior behaviour of KWES were significant for the total ( t = −21·00, p < 0·001) and subscales ( t = −28·33–−9·33, p < 0·001). Conclusion. Acceptable reliabilities and validities support the conclusion that the KWES is a valid and reliable instrument for examining way-finding effectiveness for Korean PWDs. Relevance to clinical practice. The KWES will contribute to the development of understanding of way-finding ability for community-dwelling PWDs in both research and clinical practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents several abstracts and articles on rehabilitation. M. Suh and colleagues studied caregiver's burden, depression and support as predictors of post-stroke depression. S. Choi-Kwon and colleagues studied the factors affecting the burden on caregivers of stroke survivors in South Korea. The occurrence and characteristics of stroke events in atrial fibrillation was studied by D.G. Sherman and colleagues.

Presents a study investigating the determining variables of caregiver burden in caring for impaired older relatives in South Korea. Conceptual framework; Methods; Results; Discussion.