• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.26-32
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• 2020

Background: Hong Kong's construction industry currently faces a manpower crisis. Blue-collar workers are a disadvantaged group and suffer higher levels of chronic diseases, for example, cancer, than the wider population. Cancer risk factors are likely to cluster together. We documented prevalence of cancer-associated lifestyle risk behaviors and their correlates among Hong Kong construction workers. Methods: Data were collected from workers at 37 railway-related construction worksites throughout Hong Kong during May 2014. Tobacco use, alcohol consumption, unbalanced nutrition intake, and physical inactivity were included in the analysis. Latent class analysis and multivariable logistic regression were performed to identify the patterns of risk behaviors related to cancer, as well as their impact factors among construction workers in Hong Kong. Results: Overall, 1,443 workers participated. Latent class analysis identified four different behavioral classes in the sample. Fully adjusted multiple logistic regression identified age, gender, years of Hong Kong residency, ethnicity, educational level, and living status differentiated behavioral classes. Conclusion: High levels of lifestyle-related cancer-risk behaviors were found in most of the Hong Kong construction workers studied. The present study contributes to understanding how cancer-related lifestyle risk behaviors cluster among construction workers and relative impact factors of risk behaviors. It is essential to tailor health behavior interventions focused on multiple risk behaviors among different groups for further enlarging the effects on cancer prevention.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6537-6540
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• 2013

Background: Music therapy is a common complementary and alternative therapy in addition to medical treatment for patients with cancer. If music therapy, which is known has a positive effect on human emotions and behaviors, is a useful additional therapy, it should be more integrated into pyscho-oncology. In this study, we aimed to determine medical oncologist attitudes to music therapy for patients with cancer and knowledge about musicology and music therapy in Turkey. Materials and Methods: This survey study included questions about participant attitudes and knowledge regarding music therapy as well as demographic characteristics. The population of the study were 402 physicians working in medical oncology in Turkey and the sample covered 112 participants in the the survey. For statistical analyses the chi-square test, Fischer exact test, and Mann-Whitney U analysis are applied. Results: In our study the rate for medical oncologists who were interested in music therapy was 28% (n=112). Some 30% (n=34) of medical oncologists recommended music therapy for their patients and 55% (n=61) recommended music therapy to prevent anxiety in patients with cancer. Conclusions: In this study, for more harmony with patients and in order to ensure management of adverse effect, it was concluded that music therapy should be regrded as an additional therapy in oncology clinics.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.80-87
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• 2010

Purpose: This study was aimed to analyze the contents and trend of published research in oncology nursing during the past five years in Korea and to suggest the direction for future research. Methods: Using the key words "cancer", "cancer patients", and "tumor", 391 nursing research published from 2003 to 2008 were selected for the analysis. Results: 1) Three hundred fifty-five (90.8%) of the studies used quantitative research approach, whereas most studies were descriptive in nature. 2) The main subjects of the study were cancer patients with mixed diagnosis (36.4%) and breast cancer patients (20.0%). 3) Complementary alternative therapy (28.9%), educational program (25.6%), and psycho-social and spiritual program (16.7%) were the most frequently used nursing interventions. Most frequently measured outcome variables were psycho, socio, and spiritual factors (38.8%), symptoms (28.2%) and physiological factors (14.6%). 4) Most frequently used key words were identified as quality of life, fatigue, coping, pain, anxiety, anorexia, and depression. Conclusion: The number of published research in oncology nursing in Korea has been increased. It is suggested to conduct international studies to develop, compare, and replicate nursing interventions for patients with cancer in future. Increasing funding, establishing research infrastructure, and removing methodological challenges are warranted for better research environment.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.18
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• pp.7679-7686
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• 2014

Background: This study aimed to seek insights into Chinese women's lay beliefs about cervical cancer causal attributions and prevention. Materials and Methods: Twenty-three new immigrant adult women from Mainland China and thirty-five Hong Kong adult women underwent semi-structured in-depth interviews. Interviews were audio taped, transcribed and analyzed using a Grounded Theory approach. Results: This study generated three foci: causal beliefs about cervical cancer, perceived risk of cervical cancer, and beliefs about cervical cancer prevention. Personal risky practices, contaminated food and environment pollution were perceived as the primary causes of cervical cancer. New immigrant women more likely attributed cervical cancer to external factors. Most participants perceived cervical cancer as an important common fatal female cancer with increased risk/prevalence. Many participants, particularly new immigrant women participants, expressed helplessness about cervical cancer prevention due to lack of knowledge of prevention, it being perceived as beyond individual control. Many new immigrant participants had never undergone regular cervical screening while almost all Hong Kong participants had done so. Conclusions: Some Chinese women hold pessimistic beliefs about cervical cancer prevention with inadequate knowledge about risk factors. Future cervical cancer prevention programs should provide more information and include capacity building to increase Chinese women's knowledge and self-efficacy towards cervical cancer prevention.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.9
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• pp.4005-4012
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• 2014

Background: This study investigated the utilization of both problem and emotion focused coping strategies and their association with aspects of quality of life among Turkish women with ovarian cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: The convenience sample consisted of 228 patients in all disease stages. The data were collected using the brief COPE, QOL-Cancer patient tool, sociodemographic sheet, and medical variables were gathered from patients' medical charts. Results: Findings reveal that quality of life is moderately high for this group of cancer patients, despite some specific negative facets of the illness and treatment experience. Acceptance, emotional support and religion were the most frequently used problem-focused coping strategies and self-distraction, venting and behavioral disengagement were the most frequently used emotion-focused coping strategies reported by patients. Overall quality of life and, particularly, psychological and spiritual well-being scores of younger patients were lower. Patients reported using significantly more problem-focused coping than emotion-focused coping, and more problem-focused and less emotion-focused coping predicted greater quality of life. Problem-focused coping was related to patients' physical and spiritual well-being and emotion-focused coping was related inversely with psychological and social well-being. Conclusions: Coping strategies are influential in patient quality of life and their psychosocial adaptation to ovarian cancer. Psycho-oncology support programs are needed to help patients to frequent use of problem-focused coping and reduce emotion-focused coping strategies to improve overall quality of life.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.56-65
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• 2003

Purpose: The study was to develop psychoeducational intervention and identify its effect for symptom management of home cancer patient. Method: Study subjects were 24 patients in control group and 18 patients in experimental group. In experimental group, individualized psychoeducation was done after pretest and then continued to educate and consult through calling by telephone once a week for 4 weeks. The data were collected using several tools such as symptom distress by McCorkle(2000). Physical functioning, a part of Medical Outcome Study by Ware and Sherbouine(1992) and QOL- cancer patient version by Ferrell and Grant(1995) from 18th of Feb. to 30th of July. Data were analysed to ${\chi}^2$ test and t test using SAS VER8.12. Results: The mean score of symptom distress was 21.6 in experimental group and 24.2 in control group. Experimental group was shown lower score than control group. Physical functioning of experimental group was better as mean score 23.3 than 20.6 in control. Psychological wellbeing was 69.7 in experimental group and 66.1 in control group. Social wellbeing was 32.2 in experiment and 25.8 in control. Psychosocial wellbeing of experimental group was higher than control group. However there was no significant differernce between two groups among these variables. Conclusion: The psycho educational intervention was not made symptom mangement, physical functioning, and psycho social wellbeing improved but shown positive tendency. It is expected having a statistically significant finding if enlarged sample size and prolonged the intervention term in future. Therefore it is suggested psycho educational intervention study do repeatedly.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.3-9
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• 1994

The psychobiological model of cancer has a long history, with Galen's view on melancholic woman being often quoted. From a historical perspective, the 1950s witnessed a surge of interest in psychosomatic medicine and in researches linking psychological, social, and environmental factors to disease onset and progression. The 1960s witnessed the growth of animal experiements, in the hope of better understanding the effects of psychological and behavioral factors on carcinogenesis while controlling confounding variables. The 1970s saw rapid advances in immunology and neurochemistry. Further researches in the 1980s in psychoneuroimmunology explored relationships between immunological responses and psychosocial variables, and their implications for cancer vulnerability and progression. In this review, the interacting aspects of oncology and psychiatry are presented with selected major findings in the fold of psychooncology researches.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.19-30
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to describe psychosocial difficulties experienced by cancer patients. Methods: Three focus group interviews were conducted to collect the data from 19 outpatients with cancer undergoing treatments during 2009. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed using constant comparative analysis of grounded theory. Results: As a result of constant comparative analysis, 'psychosocial distress' was identified as a core category, and seven subcategories were identified. 'Plunged into negative emotions' and 'damaged self-identity' were identified as major categories in the individual dimension. 'Difficulty in dealing with diagnosis' and 'hasty expectations and concerns' were identified in the dimension of family. 'Inefficient communication' and 'lack of necessary information' were identified in the dimension of health care setting. 'Lonely journey into a strange territory' was identified in the dimension of society. Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that cancer patients experience a wide range of psychosocial problems. Thus, in assessing and relieving psychosocial distress of cancer patients, it is necessary to focus not only on the level of the individual but also on the levels of family, health care setting, and society in general is necessary.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.88-94
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• 2010

Purpose: This study was to identify the effect of hand massage on comfort in women with gynecologic cancer undergoing chemotherapy. Methods: A nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used for this study. Hand massage was provided to the experimental group for 5 min (2.5 min for each side) once on admission day, twice from the second day until the day before discharge, and once in the morning on discharge day. Results: Findings showed no significant differences in pre and post levels of general, physical, psycho-spiritual, social and environmental comfort. However, women's comfort levels in all domains were increased after the chemotherapy in the experimental group. Conclusion: Although there were some increases in women's comfort levels on all domains after the treatment, hand massage was not proved as a statistically useful nursing intervention in comforting women with gynecologic cancer. The results suggest that hand massage could be effective if it is applied longer than it was in this study. The future implications of hand massage in patients with various cancers are discussed.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.471-476
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• 2010

The majority of childhood cancer survivors and their families will be psychologically healthy, but may desire and benefit from preventive care. A significant portion of the survivor population will be psychosocially distressed in various aspects by their harsh experience of long cancer treatment, and may warrant professional intervention and treatment. Pediatricians should be aware of the late psychological effects that can occur a year or 2 after treatment, possibly in many aspects of a survivor's life. Not only the cancer diagnosis, but also treatments such as chemotherapy, irradiation, and surgical intervention may exert different long-term effects on the psychosocial outcomes of survivors. Pediatricians need to be more concerned with maintaining and improving the psychological health of this growing number of childhood cancer survivors through long-term follow-up clinics, community support, or self-help groups. Research on all of the psychosocial aspects of childhood cancer survivors is important to recognize the reality and problems they face in Korea.