• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.654-664
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to identify the burden, health promotion behavior and health status and to describe the relationship of the burden, health promotion behavior and health status of the family caregivers of intensive care unit patients. Method: The subjects were 48 family caregivers of ICU patients in a University Hospital. Data were collected between June, 1 and July, 31, 2000 using structured questionnaires. Research tools used were Suh and Oh's Burden Scale, Revised Walker, Sechrist, & Pender's HPLP(1987) ; Revised Nam's Health State Scale(1965). Result: The mean score of burden of family caregiver was 3.01(full score was 5). The mean score of health promotion behavior of family caregiver was 2.52(full score was 4). And the mean score of health status of family caregiver was 0.68(full score was 1.00). The score of psychological health state was a little higher than the physiological one. In correlational analysis, the burden and the health status of caregivers were reversely correlated . The correlation between the burden and the health promotion behavior, and the health behavior and health status were not significant. Conclusion: The more burden caregivers of ICU patients felt, the worse their health status. So nurses need to understand the family caregiver's burden and apply nursing care that can reduce burden, in order to improve the health status of family caregivers.

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.12-24
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• 2024

Purpose : This study aimed to identify factors influencing the quality of life of family caregivers of intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Methods : We conducted a study using a cross-sectional design. The study involved 109 family caregivers of ICU patients at a university-affiliated hospital in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Data were collected through self-report questionnaires between July 2020 and April 2021 and analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis. Results : The study revealed significant differences in quality of life based on economic status (F=11.63, p<.001), cohabitation with patients (t=-2.04, p=.044), sleep duration after patient's admission to the ICU (t=-2.48, p =.025), and subjective health status (F=30.06, p<.001). There were significant negative correlations observed between quality of life and post-traumatic stress symptoms (r=-.38, p<.001) as well as caregiver burden (r=-.46, p<.001). Factors affecting quality of life were subjective health status, economic status, and caregiver burden (adj. R²=0.52, F=15.64, p<.001). Conclusion : These findings underscore the need to develop and implement intervention programs tailored to the health conditions and economic status of family caregivers, with a focus on alleviating caregiver burden. Such initiatives are essential to ultimately improve the quality of life for family caregivers of ICU patients.

• Journal of Music and Human Behavior
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.25-46
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• 2019

This pilot study involved a single session of song-based music therapy to relieve the anxiety of intensive care unit (ICU) caregivers. Six caregivers of ICU patients participated in the intervention session individually. During the initial stage of the intervention, the participants' current emotional states were identified. Then they listened to familiar songs and playing a tone chime, which was intended to help them relax their body and reduce their psychological resistance. During singing experiences as an essential part of the intervention, the participants discussed the lyrics of songs in an attempt to find the meaning related to them. Also, they sang the songs with a live accompaniment in which their emotional states were reflected with changes in musical elements (e.g., tempo, dynamics, rhythm, or chords). In the final stage, they identified personal application to their everyday lives. To analyze the results, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and a visual analog scale on emotional states were completed by participants before and after the session, and participants' verbal responses during the session were also recorded. According to the results, STAI anxiety scores significantly declined following the session. Also, they showed significant increases in positive emotions and significant decreases in negative emotions. This suggests that short-term music therapy can be an effective intervention for relieving the psychological distress of ICU caregivers.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.211-223
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• 2014

The aim of this study was to identify the levels of family members' burden and to describe factors influencing on famiCX*//8ly caregiver's burden when they are planned to transfer to general ward from the intensive care units (ICU). A descriptive survey was used with a convenience sampling of 101 family members of ICU patients at S university hospital in C city, Korea from August to November, 2010. The data were analyzed with SPSS 18.0 program. The level of object burden in family members had statistically significant differences with level of consciousness, number of patients' monitoring devices, and tracheostomy tube. The level of subject burden had statistically significant differences according to patients' gender, patients' education level, and relationship with patients. Transfer anxiety was showed statistically positive correlation with objective and subjective burden. We found transfer anxiety was statistically significant predictor of family caregiver's objective burden with explanatory power 12.7%. Family members' subjective burden were statistically influenced by patients' gender and transfer anxiety. These factors explained 23.8% out of total variance of family members' objective burden. The structured individualized method of transfer is recommended with further research of ICU families to further examine the dimension of transfer anxiety and how it affects family members' burden and patient outcomes.