Purpose:The purpose of this study was to determine effects of an empowerment education program (EEP) on internet games addiction, empowerment, and stress in middle school students. Methods: The EEP used in this study was based on the Freire's Empowerment Education Model. The research design of this study was a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design for 48 middle school students, who were conveniently assigned to an experimental group or a control group. The data were collected from May 29 to June 19, 2005. Data were analyzed using SPSS/PC program with frequencies, c 2 -test, Fisher exact test, t-test, mean, standard deviation and ANCOVA. Results: 1) The first hypothesis that, "the experimental group would have higher empowerment scores than the control group." was supported.2) The second hypothesis that, "the experimental group would have lower internet games addiction scores than the control group." was supported.3) The third hypothesis that, "the experimental group would have lower stress scores than the control group." was supported. Conclusion: We suggest, therefore, that the EEP should be used with adolescent to help them control their stress, internet games addiction and to increase their empowerment.

Although the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and the Modified Health Assessment Questionnaire are useful tools for assessing and monitoring patients with rheumatic diseases, they have a "floor effect" and do not fully reflect the psychological status of patients. Recently, the Multidimensional Health Assessment Questionnaire (MDHAQ) was developed to overcome these shortcomings. We translated the MDHAQ into the Korean language and evaluated its reliability and validity for use with Korean-speaking patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The questionnaire was translated into the Korean language by three translators, who were aware of its objectives, and it was translated back into the English language by three different translators. One question was modified to reflect Korean culture, and imperial measures were changed to metric measures because most Koreans use the metric system. The Korean MDHAQ was administered to 136 patients with RA who were attending the outpatient rheumatology clinic at the Chonnam National University Hospital (Gwangju, South Korea). Test-retest reliability was assessed in 101 patients after 1 week. To assess criterion validity, we compared MDHAQ scores with HAQ scores and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) functional class. To test construct validity, the MDHAQ was compared to ACR core criteria (tender and swollen joint count, pain, patient's global assessment, physician's global assessment, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C-reactive protein), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). The test-retest reliability was analyzed by computing kappa statistics, which ranged from 0.60 to 0.76. Cronbach's alpha coefficient ranged from 0.892 to 0.938. The MDHAQ was significantly correlated with the HAQ and ACR functional class (all p<0.001). The correlations between the MDHAQ scores and the ACR core set, BDI, and STAI were all high and statistically significant. The Korean version of the MDHAQ is a reliable, valid tool for assessing Korean patients with RA.

Purpose: Meta-analysis of this study was to analyze the character of adolescent smoking cessation programs, to calculate the effect size according to variables and to compare the weighted mean effect sizes on adolescent smoking cessation programs in Korea. Methods: Twenty two studies for meta-analysis were selected from dissertations, theses, articles and research papers that had been published from 1995 to 2003. The selected studies had a randomized or nonequivalent control group in a pretest-post test design and had reported statistical value to calculate the effect size. Results: The mean number of sessions was 6.5. The education time per each session varied from 40 to 150 min and the most applied theories were Bandura's social-cognitive theory and the cognitive-behavioral theory. Smoking-knowledge, smoking-attitudes and smoking-amount showed high effects on the first post test after mediating adolescent smoking cessation programs according to the criteria of Cohen. The effect size of urine-cotinine found no homogeneity on the first post test, but it was significantly effective on the second post test. Conclusion: Adolescent smoking cessation programs analyzed in this study were relatively effective in smoking abstinence.

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate changes in cognitive functions, depression and life-satisfaction for elderly participants with mild cognitive impairments participating in an individual cognitive improvement program. Methods: A quasi-experimental with non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design was implemented. The participants were senior citizens over 65 years of age who had been clinically diagnosed with mild cognitive impairments in G City and J Province (experimental group: 29, control group: 27). The experimental group participated in the individual cognitive improvement program based on Korean traditional tales and games for nine weeks. Results: After the intervention, only the participants in the experimental group reported significant improvement in K-MMSE (t=-2.5, p=.016), MoCA-K (t=-2.6, p=.008), depression (t=3.51, p=.001), and life satisfaction (t=-2.75, p=.008) when compared to those in the control group. Conclusion: These results indicated that the individual cognitive improvement program was effective in improving cognitive functions, depression, and life-satisfaction among the elderly with mild cognitive impairments. Therefore, the application of this individual cognitive improvement program developed in this study by visiting nurses may strengthen the cognitive functions of seniors with mild cognitive impairments.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of Tai Chi exercise on loneliness, sleep pattern, and instrumental activities of daily living in elderly women. Methods: A quasi-experimental design, a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest was used. Elderly women who agreed to participated in the study were assigned into an experimental group (n=20) or a control group (n=20). The experimental group participated in Tai Chi exercise program (Sun-style 12 forms) for 50 minutes per session, 2 times a week for 8 weeks. Tai Chi exercise program consisted of 10 minutes for warm-up, 35 minutes for main session, and 5 minutes for cooling down. Study outcomes were measured through study questionnaires. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test, t-test and Mann-Whitney test by SPSS WIN 14.0 program. Results: Compared with the control group, the experimental group showed significant improvement in loneliness (t=-2.733, p=.009), sleep pattern (t=2.552, p=.015), and instrumental