The objective of this study was to compare the cost of illness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the Korean population based on the staging system for ALS from the perspective of both patients and the government. Direct medical costs, care-related costs, and loss of productivity in patients with ALS were measured based on medical records and face-to-face interviews. The patients were divided into groups according to the staging system for ALS, and the cost of illness was analysed. A total of 151 patients with ALS were enrolled in the study. The mean monthly cost of ALS was US $7902 per patient and increased according to the disease stage (stage 2, US $5181; stage 3, US $7089; stage 4, US $10,557). Of direct medical costs (US $3436), 44.8% of the cost burden was carried by patients, and the remaining costs were paid by the government. In conclusion, although the current coverage rate of the National Health Insurance (NHI) system for rare and intractable diseases including ALS is 90%, the rate of direct medical costs paid by patients and out-of-pocket costs remain high. Moreover, coverage rates and cost of illness are closely related with disease severity.

(1) Background: This study examined the effects of living arrangements on the quality of sleep among older adults and analyzed related gender differences; (2) Methods: A total of 4756 older adults in Seoul were included. After adjusting for socio-demographic factors, older adults living alone showed a poorer sleep quality compared with those living with others; (3) Results: When we analyzed the effects of living arrangements on sleep quality by gender, there was no difference in the risk of poor sleep quality between male older adults living alone and those living with others (OR = 1.089, 95% CI = 0.729–1.628), whereas the risk of poor sleep quality was higher for female older adults living alone than those living with others (OR = 1.359, 95% CI = 1.088–1.696); (4) Conclusions: In this study, we have confirmed that older women living alone had poor sleep quality compared to older men. Hence, gender-based approaches will be helpful when providing social support resources to older adults living alone.

Distance learning (DL) based on information and communication technologies is gaining importance due to its convenience and cost savings. However, there is not enough evidence to identify the effect of DL on students requiring a high level of self-regulated learning (SRL). Therefore, this study aims to compare the effects of the use of augmented reality (AR) as an innovative learning method and the use of a textbook as a conventional learning method. Both methods were based on SRL strategies. In this pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT), SRL using an AR group (n = 31) and a textbook group (n = 31) was performed. Perceived learning (PL) competency, knowledge, SRL competency, academic stress, and learning flow were measured to evaluate the effect of intervention. Although, there was not significant interaction between the effects of time and the intervention in PL competency, knowledge, academic stress, and learning flow. In the subdomains of SRL competency, environmental structuring, task strategies, time management, help seeking, and self-evaluation were significantly improved after intervention. SRL using innovative methods is more important after COVID 19. Therefore, well-designed larger RCTs are required to identify the effect of SRL strategy using innovative method.

Purpose: This bibliometric study investigated the current state of documents on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) published in nursing journals. The analysis focused on the description of most productive journals, institutions, and countries, as well as the characteristics of the documents.Methods: The publications analyzed in this study were retrieved from the Web of Science database with search keywords. The searches used to establish the study dataset were last updated on July 10, 2020. The inclusion criteria were relevant English-language publications in journals published in the Science Citation Index Expanded or Social Science Citation Index. Content analysis of original articles and reviews was done.Results: An analysis of 125 publications on COVID-19 from 48 journals showed that the most productive journal and country were the Journal of Clinical Nursing (n = 18) and the USA (n = 53), respectively. Original articles (n = 27, 21.6%) and review papers (n = 4, 3.2%) accounted for 24.8% of the articles, and the highest number of papers were found in early access (published ahead of print) (n = 51, 40.8%) and Q1 journals (n = 73, 58.4%). The content analysis found 10 data-based original articles or reviews, which dealt with the topics of nurse training (n = 2), nurses’ psychosocial status (n = 2), nursing research methodology (n = 1), nursing guidelines (n = 4), and protection for nurses (n = 1).Conclusion: This study presents the current situation of nursing research on COVID-19 based on an analysis of publications in nursing journals and provides meaningful information to nursing researchers and editorial board members. The number of data-based original articles on nursing related to COVID-19 remains low.