• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.215-225
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• 2016

Purpose: This study was performed to identify the meaning of life experience following suicide attempt among middle-aged men. Methods: A qualitative research design was adopted using van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenological approach. The participants were six middle-aged men who had attempted suicide at least one time. Data were collected in 2013 through in-depth interviews. Individual interviews were recorded; and literary, art works and phenomenological literature were searched to identify the meaning of the experience. Results: The five essential themes of the life experience of middle-aged men who attempted suicide were 'Bitter reality confronted again', 'Anger buried deep inside', 'Broken family, inescapable fetters', 'Blocked relationships, closed world' and 'A step towards a new life'. Conclusion: The meaning of lived experience found in this study provides deep insight into the experience following suicide attempt in middle-aged men and crucial information to give directions to appropriate support and nursing interventions.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.272-280
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• 2023

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify the level of senior nursing students' knowledge about palliative care, meaning of life, and willingness to palliative care and to identify factors affecting their willingness to palliative care. Methods: Data were collected from 192 senior nursing students at six nursing schools in four cities in Korea from December 8, 2022 to January 5, 2023. Descriptive statistics, an independent t-test, Pearson's correlation, and multiple linear regression test were used to analyze the data. Results: The mean±standard deviation score of knowledge about palliative care and meaning of life were 8.44±2.20 and 146.48±19.32. Factors affecting senior nursing students' willingness to palliative care were the knowledge about palliative care (β=.18, p=.005), meaning of life (β=.36, p<.001), and motivation for admission into a nursing school based on aptitude and interest (β=.16, p=.020). Conclusion: It is necessary to develop a nursing education program for enhancing knowledge about palliative care and meaning of life to prepare the palliative care competency of nursing students.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.355-366
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of study was to describe operation room nurses' ethical values in relationship to the attitude and meaning of life toward organ transplantation in brain death. Methods: This study used a descriptive correlational survey design. Participants were 174 nurses who had attended to organ transplantation surgery in brain death more than once. Data were collected from September 1 to 11, 2015 and were analyzed using independent t-test, ANOVA, $Scheff{\acute{e}}$ test, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and hierarchical multiple regression with SPSS 22.0. Results: Educational level, attitude on organ transplantation in brain death, and meaning of life were significant variables predicting the level of nursing ethical value, accounting for 82.6% of the variability. Conclusion: Continued education and self-development programs should be encouraged for operating room nurses to establish professional nursing ethics as well as positive meaning of life and attitude toward the organ transplantation in brain death.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.71-90
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• 2022

Objective: This study examined the experiences of pre-service Early Childhood teachers who participated in major-associated autonomous club activities. Methods: Participants were 31 students of the Department of Child Care at A University located in Gyeonggi-do, who participated in a major-associated autonomous music club activity. A content analysis was conducted to examine the meaning of the participation experience of pre-service Early Childhood teachers. Qualitative content analysis was the best method to analyze the meaning of their experience while participating in the activities. Results: The meaning of the experience of music club activities was organized into three categories: "enjoying abundant college life," "growing as a competent childcare teacher," and "being a responsible member of a community." Conclusion/Implications: The results show that pre-service Early Childhood teacher's participation in the activities of major-associated autonomous clubs has a positive impact on desirable changes in college life and adaptation to the department and on the growth of future professional Early Childhood teachers.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.271-286
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• 2000

This study is designed to investigate what elders think about the meaning of aging. We have used Q-methods to identify meaning of aging from elders, and developed self-referenced surveys to analyze characteristics In this study, we used a non-structured method to select Q sampling. From 183 Q populations, we selected 36 Q sampling. A total of 32 persons sixty-years or older were randomly selected for P samples, When the Q-sorting was complete, we interviewed the participants at both end of the extremes(agree or disagree), and documented their responses. We used PC QUANL to process the data and used principal component analysis for Q factor analysis. There were five subjective types for the meaning of aging by elders. Of the 32 P-samples of elders, 11 were identified as Type 1, 7 as Type 2, 2 as Type 3, 8 as Type 4, and 4 as Type 5. Type 1 : 'Matured elders' Elders wished the well being of their children, thought older persons should maintain good health, worried about becoming senile, and dependent God believing in life after death. Type 2 : 'Assertive-Rights' Elders categorized as Assertive-Rights insisted on their rights to life as a person. Type 2 elders characterized themselves as people who should keep themselves healthy, become weak and lack sexual desires, act selfish like a child, need to be protected, and be financially independent. Type 3 : 'Passive-Dependents' Elders characterize themselves as those who pray for their children's well being, worry about the children even after their death. and becoming senile. Type 4 : 'Hopeless' The 'Hopeless' type of elders characterized aging as a time to pray for their children, insignificant beings, thoughts were selfish and child-like, poor, worried about going senile, regret their life overall, and preferred to die than to live as an old person. Type 5 : 'Attached-Present' The 'Attached-Present' type of elders thought elderly characterized themselves as acting selfish and child-like, wiser, anxious, regret their life, stand aloof of greed and worldly things, being a model for the society, and deserving to be treated with filial respect. Thus far, Korean elders seemed to have a positive and negative meaning of aging due to the current changes in the society, value system, and family structures. The above five subjective meanings of aging confirm that we need to approach and nurse the elderly differently. Years of aging are a part of and a natural process of life with various physical, psychological, and sociological changes. Nurses need to assist elderly to find the positive meaning of their life by providing appropriate physical, psychological, and social support at an earlier stage in nursing. Based on this study, we could derive the following two implication from the perspectives of science of nursing to care for elders. 1) Based on the studies investigating the type of meaning of aging, we could develop tools to assist in nursing intervention programs for elderly. 2) Based on research on the meaning of aging for different developmental stages of life, we could develop a model for roles for different family members in nursing and caring for the elders.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.74-81
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of spiritual well-being and meaning in life for adolescents with leukemia. Methods: Participants were 102 adolescents (11-21 years) recruited at C university hospital from June to August in 2014. The eligible participants were diagnosed with leukemia and are on follow-up care at the outpatient clinic. Participants were assessed for spiritual well-being, meaning in life, self-esteem, and social support. Results: Levels of spiritual well-being and meaning in life for these adolescents with leukemia were 3.69 out of 6 and 3.10 out of 4, respectively. Self-esteem and social support from family were factors affecting spiritual well-being. Self-esteem, existential well-being and social support from family and friends were predictive for meaning in life and accounted for 68% of total variance. Conclusion: The results show that there are several factors affecting spiritual well-being and meaning in life in adolescents with leukemia. Therefore, nursing intervention programs for adolescents with leukemia should include strengthening self-esteem and social support as well as considering the spiritual aspect of life in order to find meaning in life beyond leukemia.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.641-648
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• 2020

This study was undertaken to provide basic data for the development of a mental health promotion intervention program, by confirming the mediating effects of social support in relation to the effect on the life stress and meaning of life in middle-aged women. The subjects of this study were 201 middle-aged women from D and K cities. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlations using a statistical program for structural equation modeling (SEM); fitness of the final model was RMSEA 0.03, CFI 0.98, and NFI 0.95. The major learning from this study was that life stress has a direct effect on meaning of life and social support. Life stress (β=0.05, p< 0.001), meaning of life (β=0.05, p< 0.001), and social support (β=0.05, p< 0.001) have a significant and direct effect on depression. The findings also suggest that life stress indirectly affects the mediating effect between meaning of life and social support, and also depression of middle-aged women. We believe that results of this study encompass basic data that will aid in developing a program to promote the mental health of middle-aged women.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.150-155
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• 2018

End-of-life care competencies have been perceived as important and essential, so it has been suggested that end-of-life care be studied in undergraduate medical education. However, end-of-life care curriculum has mostly focused on acquisition of knowledge and skills rather than attitudes. Therefore, we aimed to explore whether education about death affects medical students' attitudes towards care for dying patients and perception of death anxiety, meaning in life, and self-esteem. A total of 15 first- or second-year medical students were surveyed with questionnaires before and after completing a 6-week death education course. Paired data analysis showed that participants' attitudes towards caring for terminally ill patients and their caregivers improved significantly (t=-2.84, p=0.013) with an effect size of 0.73. In contrast, no significant changes were found in death anxiety, meaning in life, or self-esteem. All participants agreed that formal teaching about death and dying must be encouraged in medical schools. Our results suggest that death education may positively influence attitudes towards end-of-life care. Although replication with larger samples is necessary, this preliminary finding may support the importance of developmentally appropriate end-of-life care education in medical schools.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.482-493
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• 2011

Purpose: This study was conducted to compare and identify the mediating effect of family communication in the impact of death anxiety and personal meanings of death on the attitude of dignified death near the end-of-life among Korean mid-life and old people. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 287 mid-life and old people in Seoul, Busan, and Daegu City. Data were collected through self-report questionnaires which were standardized instruments from November 2010 to March 2011. Data were analyzed by using SPSS/WIN 14. Results: The results of the study indicated that there were statistically significant differences in level of death anxiety, personal meaning of death, and the dignified death between mid-age and old-age people. In addition, family communication had full mediating effects among the mid-age, while it had partial mediating effects among the old-age in the relationships between death anxiety, personal meaning of death, and the attitude of dignified death. Conclusion: Based on the findings of the study, implications for the intervention of the dignified death and preferences for care near the end-of-life among mid-life and old people and recommendations of further study were provided.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.758-767
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe life-stories and meanings of life in wives of alcoholics by analyzing their autobiographies. Methods: Autobiographies were collected from 20 participants who produced their own autobiographies in the logotherapeutic autobiography program at community alcohol counseling centers in Korea. The data were coded to identify themes of agency and communion using the manual coding system developed by McAdams, and analyzed by the existential approach. Results: There were 214 coded episodes in twenty autobiographies. There were 128 agency themes and 86 communion themes. The most common themes were Love/Friendship. Five themes emerged from the autobiographical episodes on the existential perspective: 1) overcoming the suffering, 2) meaningful people and relationships, 3) spiritual maturation, 4) caring and helping, and 5) finding a meaning of life. Conclusion: These results showed that the wives of alcoholics who participated in the logotherapeutic autobiography program found the meaning of life through their suffering. Furthermore, a study on existential nursing interventions for people who have meaninglessness in life needs to be done.