Purpose: This study attempts to explore the experiences of infertility among women with male factor infertility. Methods: From April to July 2018, nine women with experience of male factor infertility and assistant reproductive technology were interviewed. The transcribed data were qualitatively analyzed to identify major themes and sub-themes representing participants’ experiences with male factor infertility. Results: The analysis indicated that the women’s infertility experiences were structured into five theme clusters: “Difficult to accept the situation”, “Confused inside”, “Destroyed relationships due to blaming and anger”, “Desire social support”, and “Embracing hurt feelings and regaining strength”. Conclusions: Intervention programs are needed to closely investigate the psychological status of women with male factor infertility and help with their physical and psychological well-being. Efforts to address infertility through effective governmental support for infertility, a strategy for promoting the social recognition of infertility, and the health professional’s persistent interest and collaboration, are discussed.

Purpose: This study evaluated the validity of the 8-item Health-Related Quality of Life (HINT-8) instrument for older adults in Korea. Methods: This study used data from the 2019 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Health-related quality of life distribution and the ceiling effect were investigated using the HINT-8 and EuroQol-five-dimensions three-level version (EQ-5D-3L) for 1,519 people aged 65 or older in Korea. To examine the known-group validity, the difference between the HINT-8 and EQ-5D-3L utility indexes according to general and disease-related characteristics was analyzed. To examine the convergence validity, the correlations between each domain and the HINT-8 and EQ-5D-3L indexes were evaluated. Results: The HINT-8 (3.6%) and EQ-5D-3L (51.3%) answered that there were no problems across all items. The HINT-8’s ceiling effect was much lower than that of the EQ-5D-3L. The utility index of quality of life in older adults was .76 in the HINT-8 and .88 in the EQ-5D-3L. For each variable category, both the HINT-8 and EQ-5D-3L indexes showed a statistically significant difference. In other words, the quality-of-life index was lower for women, those of higher age, a lower education level, lower income level, hospitalization or outpatient visits, or high stress level. The correlation between the similar domains of the HINT-8 and EQ-5D-3L was higher than that of the other domains. The correlation coefficient between the HINT-8 and EQ-5D-3L indexes was .60 (<i>p</i><.001). Conclusion: The HINT-8 showed adequate validity to measure health-related quality of life for Korean older adults.

Purpose: This study examined the effect of the smartphone-based intervention program using laughter therapy on psychological and biological factors of the middle aged and older adults living alone.Methods: Data collection was conducted by a structured questionnaire about depression, loneliness, life satisfaction, and biological factors including general characteristics for the subjects residing in Cheonan, Korea. The collected data were analyzed by <i>x</i>² test, t-test using SPSS/WIN ver. 26.0. There were 28 experimental and 31 control subjects.Results: The experimental group received laughter therapy for 4 weeks along with usual care. The control group received usual care only. After 4 weeks, there was a statistically significant difference in depression (t=-3.28, <i>p</i>=.002), life satisfaction (t=-2.89, <i>p</i>=.006), and Immunoglobulin M (IgM) (t=-2.36, <i>p</i>=.021) between the two groups.Conclusion: This study presents growing evidence for the diverse applications and benefits of laughter and humor. When using laughter as a complementary method to enhance health, it will be more effective to tailor the program to the specific needs of the individual.

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