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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a webtoon education program on preventive self-management related to premature labor (PSM-PL) for women of childbearing age, to evaluate its effects, and to assess the usability of webtoon education for women of childbearing age.Methods: The study design was a stratified randomized trial with repeated measures. The participants were Korean women of childbearing age (between the ages of 19 and 49 years), with 49 participants each. The preventive health management self-efficacy related to premature labor (PHMSE-PL) scale, the preventive self-management knowledge related to premature labor (PSMK-PL) scale, and usability of webtoon education were assessed. The intervention group read six episodes of the PSM-PL webtoon within 2 days after clicking an online link. The control group did not receive anything but was given the webtoon after the last measurement. To test the effect of the repeatedly measured variables, a generalized estimating equation model was used.Results: The experimental group had statistically significantly greater increases in PHMSE-PL and PSMK-PL scores from baseline to immediately after and 2 weeks later than the control group. The average score for usability of webtoon education was high (4.52; standard deviation, 0.62) on a scale of 1–5.Conclusion: This webtoon education program on PSM-PL was a feasible and acceptable program that increased self-efficacy and knowledge of preventive health management of premature labor in women of childbearing age. Future studies that adopt a webtoon format can be beneficial for childbearing women with other risk factors.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a maternal nursing competency reinforcement program for nursing students and assess the program’s effectiveness in Korea. Methods: The maternal nursing competency reinforcement program was developed following the ADDIE model. This study employed an explanatory sequential mixed methods design that applied a non-blinded, randomized controlled trial with nursing students (28 experimental, 33 control) followed by open-ended interviews with a subset (n=7). Data were analyzed by both qualitative and quantitative analysis methods. Results: Repeated measures analysis of variance showed that significant differences according to group and time in maternal nursing performance; assessment of and intervention in postpartum uterine involution and vaginal discharge (F=24.04, p<.001), assessment of and intervention in amniotic membrane rupture (F=36.39, p<.001), assessment of and intervention in delivery process through vaginal examination (F=32.42 p<.001), and nursing care of patients undergoing induced labor (F=48.03 p<.001). Group and time improvements were also noted for problem-solving ability (F=9.73, p<.001) and emotional intelligence (F=4.32 p=.016). There were significant differences between groups in self-directed learning ability (F=13.09 p=.001), but not over time. The three themes derived from content analysis include “learning with a colleague by simulation promotes self-reflection and learning,” “improvement in maternal nursing knowledge and performance by learning various countermeasures,” and “learning of emotionally supportive care, but being insufficient.” Conclusion: The maternal nursing competency reinforcement program can be effectively utilized to improve maternal nursing performance, problem-solving ability, and emotional intelligence for nursing students.

Purpose:The aim of this study was to develop a breast feeding adaptation scale (BFAS) to evaluate adaptation to breastfeeding for breastfeeding mothers and their infants and to test the validity and reliability of the instrument. Methods: The study was conducted as follows: application of the conceptual framework, identification of the content domains, items generation, and test of validity and reliability. In order to test validity and reliability, two panels of experts reviewed items and subcategories of the preliminary questionnaire and then data were collected from 329 mothers who were up to 4 weeks postpartum and breastfeeding. Descriptive statistics, t-test, factor analysis, and Cronbach's alpha were used to analyze the data. Results: The conceptual framework was based on the Roy adaptation model. The content domains were developed via literature review, review of instruments, and data acquired from the interviews of breastfeeding mothers and nurses. A total of 69 items belonging to 8 domains were generated. A reduction to 44 preliminary items was accomplished through content validity analysis. Factor analysis extracted 8 factors with a total of 27 items on a 5-point Likert scale. Content validity, construct validity, criterion validity, and reliability of the BFAS were established. Conclusion: The newly developed BFAS is a reliable and valid instrument with which the adaptation of breastfeeding mothers and their infants to the breastfeeding behavior can be evaluated.

This study was conducted to investigate the correlations between social–emotional competence (SEC) and academic achievement (AA) among nursing students and to compare students’ level of each core skill of SEC (critical thinking disposition, self-directed learning, creativity, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, and collaboration) and academic achievement (clinical performance and subjective academic achievement). A cross-sectional design was adapted. Data were collected from 195 nursing students in the junior and senior years who had participated in clinical practicum from four universities in South Korea. General characteristics, levels of critical thinking disposition, self-directed learning, creativity, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, collaboration, and academic achievement were collected via self-reported questionnaire. Canonical correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between SEC and AA. The canonical correlation coefficient between SEC and AA was 0.762. Critical thinking disposition (Rs = 0.89), problem-solving (Rs = 0.86), and cooperation (Rs = 0.80) made the most important contributions to SEC. Clinical performance (Rs = 0.95) and subjective AA (Rs = 0.57) were correlated with AA. SEC should be addressed to improve the AA of nursing students. All core skills of SEC should be regularly promoted. It is particularly urgent for nursing students to improve their creativity.