• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.242-253
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a scale to assess immigrant women's needs for pregnancy and postpartum adaptation and to test the reliability and validity of the scale. Methods: To construct scale items, critical issues and difficulties associated with pregnancy and postpartum adaptation of immigrant women were identified and categorized through a literature review. Fifty-two scale items were constructed, and data for validity and reliability testing was collected with a questionnaire survey from 367 immigrant women. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and reliability coefficients. Results: The final measurement scale to assess immigrant women's pregnancy and postpartum adaptation consisted of 48 items and 7 factors (adaptation to daily activity during pregnancy, cross-cultural understanding and personal respect, understanding of the process of pregnancy and delivery, baby rearing and family support, physical and emotional adaptation after childbirth, nutrition during pregnancy, and sexual life adaptation). The seven factors accounted for 64.26% of the variance, and Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ was .96. Conclusion: The scale developed by this study is a reliable and valid instrument and can be used to assess needs of pregnancy and postpartum adaptation and can be utilized in providing nursing interventions for immigrant women.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.241-251
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore preserved belief system supporting Korean immigrant women's Taekyo practices and influencing factors while they observe the tradition within US sociocultural context. Methods: Leininger's exploratory focused ethnographic approach was used. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with purposive sample of sixteen Korean immigrant women who gave birth in the US within last 6 months. Researcher's observation and reflective field notes were also integrated into the interview data. Leininger and McFarland's four phases of ethnographic analysis guided data analysis process. Results: The perceived belief system supporting Taekyo practices included Taekyo as an enculturated Korean tradition, connecting parents with fetus, and positive impacts on fetal development. And Korean immigrant women's Taekyo practices were influenced by resources of information, woman's orientation toward Taekyo, pressure from local Korean community, and child order. Conclusion: The findings from this research would serve as an important knowledge base to expand US health care providers' understanding of Korean traditional Taekyo practices observed by Korean immigrant women's as important prenatal self-care practices. The findings could also aid in providing more patient-centered and culturally-tailored prenatal care plan to Korean immigrant by including Korean traditional belief system supporting Taekyo practices.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.66-74
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• 2011

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity and diet and to identify sociodemographic factors related with health behaviors among Asian immigrant women in Korea by ethnicity. Methods: A cross-sectional study using structured questionnaires was conducted in 396 immigrant women from China, Vietnam, and the Philippines to Korea through international marriage. The associations between health behaviors and sociodemographic characteristics were assessed using multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results: The prevalence of current smoking, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, and abnormal diet were 4.2%, 7.6%, 49.3%, and 31.9%, respectively. The prevalence of current smoking (7.6%) and physical inactivity (56.7%) was highest in Chinese immigrant women. However, the prevalence of current smoking (2.7%) and alcohol consumption (3.8%) were lowest in Vietnamese immigrant women. Immigrant women who had been living in Korea for a long time since immigration (${\geq}$ 5 years) had a higher prevalence of alcohol consumption compared to those of who had been living in Korea for a short time since immigration (< 5 years) (OR=2.95, 95% CI=1.74-5.01). Conclusion: Health promotion programs for immigrant women should be differentiated based on health behaviors and their related factors by ethnicity.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.254-264
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors influencing depression of married immigrant women in Korea. Methods: Participants included 127 married immigrant women who met eligibility criteria and agreed to participate in the study. Participants were evaluated for subjective assessment of married immigrant-related constructs using a self-report questionnaire, for depression, acculturation stress, and social support. The analysis was done using SPSS for Windows, version 18.0, and included stepwise regression. Results: The major findings were as follows; 1) Depression significantly differed according to native country, length of residence in Korea, education, family monthly income, household and primary support. 2) There were significant relationships between marital life satisfaction (r=-.80, p<.001), acculturative stress (r=.78, p<.001), and social support (r=-.20, p=.025). 3) Marital life satisfaction, family monthly income, acculturative stress, primary support and social support were significant factors, which explained 84.6% of the variance in depression (F=138.04, p<.001). Multiple regression analysis revealed that a powerful predictor of depression for married immigrant women was marital life satisfaction. Conclusion: Based upon the findings, this study provides useful information that could assist in reducing depression among married immigrant women, and indicates that nursing interventions are needed.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.405-415
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the factors of health beliefs, cultural barriers, and intentions of cervical cancer screening behaviors in married immigrant women and provide information for the development of intervention programs. Methods: The subjects were 207 married immigrant women living D and S cities, and G and Y counties. The data were collected from April to June 2019, using a self-report structured questionnaire that was translated into English, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean, and analyzed by the SPSS/WIN 24.0 program. Results: As a result of this study, it was found that the intention of cervical cancer screening for married immigrant women were high when they had a job (β=-.17, p=.014), experience of Pap testing within the past year (β=-.28, p<.001), experience of cervical cancer prevention education (β=-.18, p=.008), and a higher perceived sensitivity (β=.18, p=.016). All of these variables together explained 22% of the intention of cervical cancer screening behaviors in immigrant women married to Korean men. Conclusion: In order to increase the cervical cancer screening behaviors in married immigrant women, intervention strategies to increase perceived susceptibility and decrease cultural barriers for immigrant women should be developed.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.506-517
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the health management experience of Vietnamese Married Immigrant Women living in the city. Methods: The study participants were 11 Vietnamese immigrant women residing in the urban area who felt bad about their health. Data collection was conducted in depth through individual interviews, and the collected data were analyzed through Strauss & Corbin data analysis. Results: The core category was "health is not a necessity but a choice in a strange land called Korea". The contextual conditions were, "The hard thing-exposing "myself" to the world", and "Hurts hidden, to be away from people's eyes". For the causal condition, the categories of "Unfamiliar life to live alone", "Unfamiliar life different from expectation", and "Symptoms of body suddenly suffering alone", were derived. Through action-interaction, the immigrant women revealed that in their Korean social-structural context, they tended to follow "Health pushed away in turbulent life". The intervening conditions were "a person who is able to help me", "places that can give a helping hand nearby", and "Vietnamese women's grit". A Vietnamese married immigrant woman had her own "Health in the chain with life". As a result, they gained "Health, which is a top priority in life" or "Health oppressed by the weight of life". Conclusion: This study enhanced the understanding of the healthcare process of Vietnamese married immigrant women living in urban areas.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.330-341
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• 2015

Purpose: This study developed a self-report measure for easy assessing of the health literacy of Asian immigrant women in South Korea. Methods: After a literature review, focus group interviews, and content validity evaluation, 14 preliminary items were generated. These were translated into Chinese, Vietnamese, and English. Data were collected from 229 Asian immigrant women. Validity and reliability tests were conducted. Results: Factor analysis yielded final 10 items in three factors: primary functional and interactive health literacy, secondary functional and interactive health literacy, and critical health literacy, which explained 61.90% of the total variance of health literacy. In known-group comparisons, health literacy was significantly lower in recent immigrants, those with a low education level, and those with low Korean language proficiency. For convergent validity, health literacy was positively associated with health specific self-efficacy and maternal health knowledge. For criterion-related validity, health literacy was positively associated with the REALM-SF. The overall reliability coefficient (Cronbach's ${\alpha}$) of the instrument was .773. Conclusion: The Health Literacy Assessment Scale for Asian Immigrant Women (HLAS) represents a multidimensional construct which encompasses functional, interactive, and critical health literacy. This self-report HLAS can be a useful and convenient method for appraising the health literacy of Asian immigrant women.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.760-769
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• 2013

Purpose: This study was done to assess the level of physical activity among Chinese immigrant women and to determine the relationships of physical activity with individual characteristics and behavior-specific cognition. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with 161 Chinese immigrant women living in Busan. A health promotion model of physical activity adapted from Pender's Health Promotion Model was used. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data during the period from September 25 to November 20, 2012. Using SPSS 18.0 program, descriptive statistics, t-test, analysis of variance, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were done. Results: The average level of physical activity of the Chinese immigrant women was $1,050.06{\pm}686.47$ MET-min/week and the minimum activity among types of physical activity was most dominant (59.6%). As a result of multiple regression analysis, it was confirmed that self-efficacy and acculturation were statistically significant variables in the model (p<.001), with an explanatory power of 23.7%. Conclusion: The results indicate that the development and application of intervention strategies to increase acculturation and self-efficacy for immigrant women will aid in increasing the physical activity in Chinese immigrant women.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.174-184
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• 2018

Purpose: To identify the effects of spousal support on the relationship between acculturative stress and sense of parenting competence among married Vietnamese immigrant women. Methods: The sample for this study consisted of 175 married Vietnamese immigrant women in Gyeongsangnam-do. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, $Scheff{\acute{e}}$ test, Pearson correlations, and hierarchical multiple regression with SPSS/WIN 23.0. Results: (a) sense of parenting competence was negatively correlated with acculturative stress, whereas a positive correlation was observed with spousal support; (b) spousal support mediated the relationship between acculturative stress and sense of parenting competence. Conclusion: Results of the study suggest that spousal support decreases the negative effects of acculturative stress on sense of parenting competence. Therefore, we need to find ways to strengthen spousal support for married Vietnamese immigrant women.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.198-210
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• 2015

Purpose: This study was to develop a health promotion program for marriage immigrant women and to evaluate its efficacy. Methods: The health promotion program was comprised of eight 100-minute weekly sessions. Each session included understanding of health responsibility, nutrition, physical activity, interpersonal relations, stress management, and self actualization. The research was conducted under the principles of nonequivalent control group pretest-post test design. The outcome variables were health promoting behavior, health status, acculturation, self efficacy, and perceived barrier. The participants were 15 immigrant women in the experimental group and 16 in the control group. Data was analyzed using ${\chi}^2$ test, Fisher's exact test, Mann Whitney U-test and Wilcoxon signed rank test. Results: There was a significant improvement in health promoting behaviors (U=-3.08, p=.002), left shoulder flexibility (U=-3.02, p=.003), right shoulder flexibility (U=-3.02, p=.003), low back flexibility (U=-3.37, p=.001), social health status (U=-3.38 p=.001) and subjective health status (U=-2.17 p=.030) in the experimental group compared to the control group. Conclusion: The health promotion program for marriage immigrant women was an effective intervention for improving health promoting behavior, physical health status, social health, and subjective health status. Therefore, the developed health promotion program needs to be applied to married immigrant women in other kinds nursing care settings in future research.