Post-traumatic growth (PTG) refers to personal growth that occurs after experiencing challenges. For many nursing students, PTG could occur during their clinical practice. Academic motivation and resilience could help students to overcome these traumatic clinical experiences and possibly achieve PTG. This study examined the relationships between nursing students’ academic motivation and resilience leading to post-traumatic growth. A total of 291 nursing students from three South Korean nursing colleges participated in this cross-sectional study. Self-report questionnaire data were analyzed using t-tests, ANOVA, correlations, and hierarchical multiple linear regressions. Intrinsically motivated students’ PTG scores were significantly higher compared to extrinsically motivated students (t = 4.62, p < 0.001). Resilience scores showed similar results (t = 3.81, p < 0.001). Significant total, direct, and indirect effects of academic motivation on resilience and PTG were found. In addition, resilience mediated 40.9% of the relationship between academic motivation and PTG. Nursing students with intrinsic academic motivation were more likely to achieve high PTG scores, and resilience mediated the relationship between academic motivation and PTG. It is suggested that the importance of academic motivation must be considered in the early stages of university-level nursing education to increase retention rates of nursing students.

Purpose: This study aimed to describe the perceived level of organizational commitment and organizational culture of Korean American Registered Nurses (KARNs) and to investigate predictors of job satisfaction. Design: A total of 163 KARNs working in U.S. hospitals responded to a Web survey. Descriptive analysis, t test, analysis of variance, and stepwise regressions were used for data analysis. Results: KARNs reported moderate levels of job satisfaction (3.5 ± 0.58). Job satisfaction was positively correlated with both organizational commitment (r = .85, p < .001) and culture (r = .66, p < .001). KARNs who were aged ≥50, married, hospital-employed, had longer nursing experience, and experienced turnover at least once were more likely to report higher job satisfaction compared with other nurses. Organizational commitment, culture, marital status, and workplace were significant predictors of and explained 76.8% of the variance in job satisfaction. Conclusion: This study provides evidence to help nursing managers and health policy makers develop educational programs aimed at enhancing job satisfaction and retention of KARNs.

Adverse social behavior (ASB) by colleagues or superiors in the workplace is considered highly stressful for workers in South Korea. The authors investigate the mechanism by which ASB reduces productivity (measured in terms of sickness presenteeism (SP)), by examining the potential mediating role of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). All data are derived from the fourth Korean Working Conditions Survey, which investigated a representative sample of the working population. The authors analyze their general characteristics (age, gender, income, and education), work-related factors (job type, occupational ergonomic risk, job resource, employment contract, work schedule, working hour, and job demand), and health-related factors (self-rated health and MSDs). The authors use a two-step regression analysis to estimate the direct effect of ASB on SP and the indirect effect of SP via MSDs. The authors find that MSDs mediate 16.7% of the total effect of ASB on SP. When employment type and job conditions are considered, the role of the mediating variable in the group with a permanent contract, no shift or night work, and high working time is greater than the counterpart of each variable. Various strategies are needed to address MSDs according to the working environment, which might help limit the negative impact of ASB on SP.

A Study on the Sociodemographic Characteristics of Adult Users of Korean Traditional Medicine Korean traditional medicine;Social determinants of health;Adult; Purpose: Patterns of traditional medicine (TM) utilization vary depending on culture, historical significance, and regulations. We seek to understand how socio-demographic factors are related to TM use in Korea. Methods: The longitudinal cohort survey data of the Korea Health Panel (2008-2012) were used for the analysis. Information on TM included questions on 4 types of TM therapies used in South Korea (e.g., acupuncture, moxibustion and cupping, herbal therapies, and massage using hand). To adjust clustering across multiple observations per individual, individual random effects were used in the multivariate analysis. All analyses were performed using Stata 11.0. Results: A majority of Koreans (60%) used WM only during a year, and few people used TM only. Among TM users, most (93%) used it along with WM and 8% used TM only. Our regression analysis showed that female, age 34-64, low-educated, and sicker people were more likely to use TM. Conclusion: This study provides evidence on the relationship between TM utilization and socio-demographic factors.

Objectives: Social activities are important and influential factors for healthy aging. However, limited information is available regarding the associations of the type and intensity of social participation with health and well-being. This study aimed to investigate how various types of social activities are associated with several dimensions of health outcomes.Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized data from the Seventh Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging, which included 5,526 adults aged 60 years and older. Multivariate linear regression analysis was employed to analyze the associations of social activities with depression, self-rated health, and life satisfaction. Additionally, subgroup analyses by sex and age were performed.Results: Among the participants, 73.5% reported involvement in at least 1 of the 4 types of social engagement. After adjustment for all covariates, individuals who participated in any social activity reported better self-rated health and higher life satisfaction compared to those who did not participate. However, the intensity of engagement in different social activities had varying impacts on subjective health outcomes. An increased level of participation was associated with a lower rate of depression and improved self-rated health. However, no significant differences were observed in the relationship between the intensity of participation in activities (with the exception of alumni societies or family councils) and life satisfaction.Conclusion: This study suggests that to improve their health, older adults in the Republic of Korea should not only engage in social activities but also do so actively and regularly.