Background: The relationships of patient factors and caregiver contribution to patients' self-care to different types of self-care have been rarely examined in Korean patients with heart failure. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine patient (ie, age, depressive symptoms, and self-care confidence) and caregiver (ie, caregiver contribution to self-care maintenance and self-care management, and caregiver confidence in contributing to self-care) factors related to different types of self-care (ie, self-care maintenance, symptom perception, and self-care management) and self-care confidence in Korean patients with heart failure. Methods: In this cross-sectional, correlational study, data from 41 pairs of patients (mean age, 68.0 years) and caregivers (mean age, 54.1 years) were collected and analyzed using multiple regression. Results: Higher levels of self-care confidence in patients were related to higher levels of self-care maintenance in patients. Higher levels of self-care confidence in patients were related to higher levels of symptom perception. Higher levels of self-care confidence in patients and caregiver contribution to self-care maintenance were related to higher levels of self-care management. Less severe depressive symptoms in patients and higher levels of caregiver confidence in contributing to self-care were related to higher levels of self-care confidence. Conclusion: Different patient and caregiver factors were related to different types of self-care and self-care confidence in Korean patients, but patients' self-care confidence was related to all types of self-care. Clinicians and researchers need to develop and deliver effective interventions to both patients and their caregivers to improve patients' self-care confidence and, in turn, self-care, considering different factors associated with each type of self-care.

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BackgroundCancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, and most patients with cancer in South Korea die in hospitals. Oncology nurses experience physical, emotional, and occupational challenges associated with the psychological burden of caring for dying patients.ObjectiveThis study explored the coping strategies used by oncology nurses to deal with the psychological burden of patient deaths.MethodsIn this descriptive qualitative study, 10 oncology nurses who had recently experienced a patient’s death were recruited via snowball sampling. All were female, with a mean age of 32.9 years (range, 27–44 years), and their mean working duration was 9.9 (range, 3-23) years. Participants were interviewed individually face-to-face 3 times, with each interview lasting 1 to 1.5 hours.ResultsOncology nurses coped with the psychological burden of a patient’s death in the following 4 ways: (a) avoiding patient deaths to the extent possible, (b) reflecting upon the meaning of life and death, (c) suppressing their emotional distress over the patient’s death, and (d) becoming kinder and more caring toward people around them.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that oncology nurses struggle to cope with the psychological burden of patient deaths. Oncology nurses are affected both negatively and positively by experiencing death as they provide end-of-life care.Implications for PracticeOncology nurses need education or counseling to reduce the psychological burden of caring for dying patients with cancer. Hospital administrators need to continuously identify ways to reduce the psychological burden of oncology nurses providing end-of-life care.

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The purpose of this paper was to identify blood pressure, interdialytic weight gain, thirst and intradialytic discomfort in subjects after applying individual low-sodium dialysis fluid (1,2,3 mEq/L) to hemodialysis patients for 12 weeks. Methods: This study was a non-equivalent pre-post design. For 12 weeks, dialysate concentration was maintained at 1 mEq/L or 2 mEq/L or 3 mEq/L based on average sodium concentration of each individual, and the difference was compared after applying individually. Results: Change in blood pressure significantly decreased in the group where in pre-hemodialysis systolic pressure decreased the gradient of sodium concentration in serum sodium and dialysis solution by 2mEq/L. Interdialytic weight gain, and thirst showed significant decrease in all three groups. But in all three groups, intradialytic discomfort among dialysis showed no significant changes. Conclusion: Although application of low sodium dialysis fluid showed no change in intradialytic discomfort, lowered blood pressure, thirst, and interdialytic weight gain, which could be used for individual showing increased interdialytic weight gain and increased blood pressure. There is need for continued study on this.

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