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Background: This study aimed to investigate quality of life (QoL) in middle-aged adults living alone and identify comprehensive biological, psychological, interpersonal, and contextual factors related to QoL using the dynamic biopsychosocial model. As a secondary analysis, this study used data from the 2017 Korea Community Health Survey conducted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Methods: Among the total 228,381 respondents, 10,639 middle-aged individuals aged 40–64 years from single-person households (5,036 men and 5,603 women) were included in the analysis. QoL was measured using the EuroQoL-5 Dimension (EQ-5D). The EQ-5D descriptive statistics were provided according to biological, psychological, interpersonal, and contextual factors. Considering the data structure of the multistage stratified cluster sampling method, a complex samples general linear model statistic was used to identify the predictors of QoL. Results: QoL was lower in those who had undesirable psychological status (e.g., more depressive symptoms, poor subjective health, and higher perceived stress), less engagement in social networking (less frequent contact with friends and less frequent participation in social activities such as religious activities, friendship gathering, and leisure), and lower physical, behavioral, and socioeconomic factors. Conclusions: This study's findings indicate that psychological and interpersonal factors should be addressed and prioritized to improve the QoL of middle-aged adults living alone. By providing many opportunities for easily accessible social activities that meet the needs and interests of this demographic, their QoL can be improved through strengthening social support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nurses play a key role in providing integrated supportive care to cancer patients for their various needs. Efforts should be made to identify the competencies required for nurses providing integrated supportive care to cancer survivors, evaluate the competence level with reliable and reasonable tools, and continuously improve them. In Phase 1, the items of the scale were developed through a literature review and by conducting a focus group interview. In Phase 2, the validity and reliability of the scale were analyzed. A total of 504 nurses participated. Data were analyzed using item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, Pearson's correlation with other scales, internal consistency, and split-half reliability. The developed scale consisted of 22 items. These items were grouped into five subscales and labeled as professionalism enhancement, care coordination, comprehensive nursing needs assessment, providing tailored information and education, and recurrence surveillance and secondary cancer prevention. Confirmatory factor analysis supported good convergent and discriminant validities. The criterion validity was verified. The internal consistency of the scale measured by Cronbach's α was 0.91. The developed scale is expected to be used as an instrument to identify cancer survivor integrated supportive care competencies of nurses in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the serial mediating effects of the time mothers spend with their adolescent children and the adolescents' self-esteem on the relationship between mothers' and adolescents' problematic smartphone use. Patients and Methods: This study was a secondary analysis of data extracted from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS) in 2018, which comprised data on first-year middle school students. Mediation analysis was conducted using Model 6 of the Hayes' PROCESS macro for SPSS. Results: The mediating effect of the time mothers spent with adolescents on the relationship between mothers' and adolescents' problematic smartphone use was significant, but the mediating effect of adolescents' self-esteem was not significant. Mothers' problematic smartphone use was found to significantly affect adolescents' problematic smartphone use by sequentially mediating the time mothers spent with adolescent children and adolescents' self-esteem. Conclusion: It was concluded that, to lower adolescents' problematic smartphone use due to mothers' problematic smartphone use, appropriate interventions should be formulated to help adolescents develop higher self-esteem through sufficient mother–child interaction time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To elucidate the experiences of school nurses when responding to public health crises in Korea. Phenomenological research. One-on-one online in-depth interviews were conducted (N = 10). Major public health crises considerably affected schools, school nurses, and the revision of the School Health Act. The experiences of school nurses in responding to periodic public health crises over the few decades have contributed to the advancement of an infectious disease response system in schools. The activities of school nurses during public health crises could serve as a foundation to improve the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the knowledge structure and research trends in child and adolescent health literacy research over the past 30 years by using network text analysis. The study was conducted in four steps: 1) collecting abstracts, 2) keyword extraction and preprocessing, 3) creation of co-occurrence matrix, and 4) text network analysis. As a result of the centrality analysis, the upper-ranked core keywords were "health care," "health behavior," "prevention," "treatment," and "health promotion." In contrast to earlier times, "barrier," "caregiver," "school setting," and "QOL" have recently emerged as core keywords. Over the past 30 years, child and adolescent health literacy has been importantly addressed in both clinical and public health approaches. The results of the current study provide references for future research in child and adolescent health literacy. This study suggests the need for additional research on school-based practices that can improve health literacy and for identifying validated and reliable multidimensional health literacy assessment instruments. • Since 30 years, child and adolescent health literacy has been addressed in clinical and public health approaches. • School-based practices need more evidence to improve health literacy in children and adolescents. • Validated, reliable multidimensional health literacy assessment instruments are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims: As high‐quality health care encompasses patient‐centered care, this study used the perceived quality−satisfaction−behavioral intention and structure‐process‐outcome models to (1) investigate the relationships among patient experience, patient satisfaction, and the willingness to recommend a hospital and (2) estimate the indirect effects of patient satisfaction on the relationship between patient experience and the willingness to recommend a hospital. Methods: A cross‐sectional survey design was adopted to investigate data obtained from the Seoul National University Hospital Patient Experience survey administered in 2020. Responses were analyzed from 1555 patients, who had been admitted to the inpatient ward of a tertiary hospital for a period lasting more than 1 day. Results: The path model demonstrated a good fit to the relationships between patient experience, patient satisfaction, and the willingness to recommend the hospital. Patient experience directly influenced patient satisfaction (β = 0.659, p < 0.001) and the willingness to recommend the hospital (β = 0.168, p < 0.001), whereas patient satisfaction had an indirect effect (β = 0.418, p < 0.001) on the relationship between patient experience and the willingness to recommend the hospital. Conclusion: Patient experience is a critical factor that health care systems need to consider for enhancing patient‐centeredness, patient satisfaction, and the willingness to recommend a hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptophan) is a hormone that regulates emotions in the central nervous system. However, serotonin in the peripheral system is associated with obesity and fatty liver disease. Because serotonin cannot cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB), we focused on identifying new tryptophan hydroxylase type I (TPH1) inhibitors that act only in peripheral tissues for treating obesity and fatty liver disease without affecting the central nervous system. Structural optimization inspired by para-chlorophenylalanine (pCPA) resulted in the identification of a series of oxyphenylalanine and heterocyclic phenylalanine derivatives as TPH1 inhibitors. Among these compounds, compound 18i with an IC50 value of 37 nM was the most active in vitro. Additionally, compound 18i showed good liver microsomal stability and did not significantly inhibit CYP and Herg. Furthermore, this TPH1 inhibitor was able to actively interact with the peripheral system without penetrating the BBB. Compound 18i and its prodrug reduced body weight gain in mammals and decreased in vivo fat accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]