Hae Sagong

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly used in health care, yet little is known about user acceptability, particularly among older adults. To address this gap, the AI Health Acceptability Evaluation (AI-HAE) was developed to assess perceptions of AI in health management contexts. Thirteen items were created based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), and AI-specific considerations (eg, trust, transparency, privacy). A total of 404 adults aged 60 to 81 years completed an online survey. Psychometric evaluation included exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, internal consistency, and known-groups validity. Participants were 52.2% female and predominantly White (88.4%), with high rates of smartphone (90.1%) and PC/laptop ownership (90.1%). Exploratory factor analysis supported the removal of one reverse-coded item with low factor loading, resulting in a 12-item structure. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a unidimensional model with strong item loadings and excellent fit indices and internal consistency. Exploratory subgroup comparisons indicated higher AI acceptability among younger participants, males, individuals with higher education, and those with prior AI experience; no differences were observed by race or income. The AI-HAE is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing AI acceptability in health care among older adults. Its strong psychometric properties support its use in evaluating readiness, informing intervention design, and guiding equitable implementation of AI-driven health solutions.

Background and Objectives: Despite the growing Korean population in the USA, barriers to healthcare access persist due to widespread limited English proficiency, particularly in hearing healthcare. A lack of culturally competent, multilingual resources has exacerbated these challenges. This study aimed to translate the HEAR-COMMAND Tool into Korean, adapt it culturally, and assess its comprehensibility, readability, and relevance to Korean individuals.Subjects and Methods: A systematic six-step methodology led by a team of four Korean faculty members was used for the translation process. Two nursing faculty members drafted the first version, ensuring alignment with the original content. A bilingual linguist specializing in English–Korean translation reviewed the draft, followed by a speech-language and hearing sciences faculty member who assessed its cultural appropriateness. The translated tool was tested by 10 Korean-speaking participants to evaluate its readability, linguistic and cultural suitability, and accessibility, leading to further refinement. Finally, five Korean American healthcare and academic professionals provided additional inputs, resulting in a beta version of the HEAR-COMMAND Tool–Korean.Results: The beta version of the HEAR-COMMAND Tool–Korean was generally found to be feasible, comprehensible, and engaging. Ten of the 15 participants found the items easy to understand, although some had difficulties with specific terms and sentence structures. Notably, 14 of the 15 participants reported that the tool would likely motivate them to seek professional help for hearing concerns.Conclusions: The translation and cultural adaptation of the HEAR-COMMAND Tool into Korean represents an advancement in addressing the hearing healthcare needs of the Korean population in the USA. Grounded in the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), this tool facilitates hearing-related assessments that can be used more broadly among all Korean-speaking individuals worldwide. Future research should validate this tool and examine its impact in clinical and community settings.

Background: Modern societies are seeing a steady rise in individuals living alone. This study examines the impact of dietary habits, physical activity, and perceived health status on the health‐related quality of life (QoL) of adults aged 40 and older with chronic diseases, comparing living‐alone households to multi‐person households.Methods: Data from the 2022 Korean Community Health Survey, including 65,861 respondents, were analyzed. The analysis utilized the Rao‐Scott χ² test, independent t‐test, and multiple logistic regression with a complex sample design to assess differences in variables affecting QoL by household type.Results: Individuals living alone were more likely to be female, older, less educated, economically inactive, divorced or separated, and have lower household incomes compared to those in multi‐person households. Physical activity, perceived health status, and QoL were higher in multi‐person households. Although all variables influenced QoL in multi‐person households, nutritional labeling awareness and frequency of physical activity showed no significant association with QoL in living‐alone households.Conclusion: Living‐alone households with chronic diseases face notable demographic disparities. Additional research is needed to understand why nutritional labeling awareness and physical activity frequency do not significantly affect QoL in this group. The influence of mental health warrants further investigation to guide targeted interventions.

Background: Frailty is prevalent in older adults and represents a dynamic condition that can improve with early detection and interventions focused on influencing factors. Older immigrant populations, marked by diverse cultural backgrounds, distinct health beliefs and behaviors, language barriers, and low health literacy, require a focused exploration of factors influencing frailty. This study examines the perceived factors affecting frailty among older Korean American immigrants (OKAIs). Methods: A focus group interview was conducted with nine OKAIs (five frail/prefrail and four robust) in Alabama, supplemented by demographic and health-related surveys. Semi-structured questions addressed health literacy, physical activity, nutrition, and mental health. Data analysis included both descriptive and content analysis methods. Results: Participants displayed notable differences in health literacy scores between Korean and English assessments. Content analysis highlighted that social activities, health behaviors, and healthcare utilization for OKAIs were shaped by distinct environmental and healthcare contexts compared to those in Korea. Limited English proficiency and access to healthcare resources further influenced their experiences. Participants expressed a preference for Korean healthcare providers, interpreters, and traditional food options to maintain well-being. Conclusion: Interventions aimed at preventing and managing frailty among OKAIs should consider their unique characteristics and challenges to improve effectiveness.

Nursing students often hesitate to work with older adults due to a lack of knowledge and preconceived notions. Students also experience increased anxiety and lack confidence in assessment and communication skills. This study is a descriptive pilot study to examine nursing students' perceptions towards older adult care, anxiety levels, and confidence in nursing care skills before and after their initial clinical rotation in a long-term care facility to develop future supportive educational programs and studies. 70 first-semester baccalaureate nursing students from a single nursing college answered five Likert scale questions through an online survey link. Results showed a significant increase in students' confidence in assessment and communication skills, and a decrease in anxiety after the clinical. However, students' willingness to work with older adults did not significantly change and was even lower than before the clinical. The positive sentiment of caring for older adults increased by 5.6%, negative sentiment decreased by 0.9%, and neutral sentiment decreased by 4.7%. Clinical education should prioritize strategies to reduce pre-clinical anxiety, emphasize the significance of working with older adults, and address barriers to enhance students' perceptions and attitudes toward this population.

Background: Previous studies have established that negative or traumatic childbirth can create childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD). Because of the negative implications of CB-PTSD for mothers, children, and families, global qualitative research on traumatic or negative childbirth has risen in recent years. However, few studies have been conducted in South Korea. This study aims to explore women’s various perceptions of traumatic childbirth in South Korea. Methods: This qualitative descriptive study examined nine women who were at high risk of PTSD (IES-R-K > 24) at the time of the interview, between 1 and 11 years after childbirth. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. Interview transcripts were subjected to thematic analysis. Results: The analysis identified two themes with six subthemes, as follows: (1) person-centred factors (pain, guilt, maternal identity conflict, and damaged femininity); (2) society-centred factors (threatened dignity and disrupted relationships). These findings may be attributed to Korean culture (excessive motherhood and lookism), as well as unbearable pain, disrespectful childbirth environments, lack of spouse’s support, loss of their lifestyle, and unrealistic expectations. Conclusions: This study demonstrates various negative consequences, ranging from psychological damage to conflict in women’s relationships with their spouses, and others. This highlights the various perceptions stemming from traumatic childbirth and emphasizes the significance of clinical intervention. Therefore, healthcare professionals’ greater understanding of women’s perceptions and increased concern about childbirth and respectful childbirth environments are required. In addition, based on our findings, there is a need to develop interventions that can alleviate CB-PTSD and further improve women’s mental health, particularly through women-centred interventions.

Limited English proficiency (LEP) is one of the most influencing factors of personal health literacy (PHL) in the older immigrant population. Over the years, the proportion of older Korean immigrants with LEP has not improved and it is still noted as a major barrier to PHL. Therefore, organizational approaches are needed to enhance the PHL of older immigrants with LEP. This study aims to find the mediating effect of social support and acculturation between LEP and PHL by conceptualizing social support and acculturation as an organizational health literacy strategy. Data from 244 older Korean immigrants living in the states of Alabama and Georgia, USA, were used to conduct the study. Korean version of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), East Asian Acculturation Measure (EAAM), and Health Literacy Survey-12 Questionnaires (HLS-Q12) were used to measure the variables. The path analysis was conducted to find the serial mediation effects of social support and acculturation. The results showed that 77.5% of the participants reported not having fluent English proficiency. English proficiency (β =− 0.21, p = 0.007), social support (β = 0.17, p = 0.004), and acculturation (β = 0.18, p = 0.011) significantly predicted the PHL, and social support (β = 0.04, p = 0.028) and acculturation (β = 0.14, p < 0.001) mediated the relationship between LEP and PHL. Discussion: Health-related organizations and communities are encouraged to provide external social support and acculturation opportunities to enhance PHL in older Korean immigrants with LEP.

Background Previous studies have established that negative or traumatic childbirth can create childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD). Because of the negative implications of CB-PTSD for mothers, children, and families, global qualitative research on traumatic or negative childbirth experiences has risen in recent years. However, few studies have been conducted in South Korea. This study aims to explore women’s experiences of traumatic childbirth in South Korea. Methods This qualitative descriptive study examined nine women who were in the high-risk group of PTSD (IES-R-K > 24) at the time of the interview, between 1–11 years after childbirth. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. Interview transcripts were subjected to thematic analysis. Results The analysis identified two themes with six subthemes, as follows: 1) person-centred factors (pain, guilt, and threatened dignity); 2) society-centred factors (damaged femininity, confusion in social relationships, and maternal identity conflict). These findings may be attributed to Korean culture (excessive motherhood and lookism), as well as unbearable pain, disrespectful childbirth environments, lack of spouse’s support, loss of their lifestyle, and unrealistic expectations. Conclusions This study demonstrates various negative consequences, ranging from psychological damage to conflict in women’s relationships with their spouses, colleagues, and children. This highlights the severity of the birth experience, which can be traumatic, and the need for clinical intervention. Therefore, healthcare professionals' greater understanding of women’s experiences and increased concern about childbirth and respectful birthing environments are required. In addition, based on our findings, there is a need to develop interventions that can alleviate CB-PTSD and further improve women’s mental health, particularly through women-centred interventions.

Abdominal obesity remains a high public health concern. Within the United States, there are noted disparities among different ethnic/racial groups in relation to obesity, especially for females. The purpose of this secondary analysis project was to examine the differences in nutritional intake, food sources, and meal planning and food shopping between Hispanic, White, Black, and Asian females by abdominal obesity level in the United States. The 2017-2018 National Health Nutrition Examination data was used. Major variables included race/ethnicity, waist circumference (WC), nutritional intake, food source, and food shopping and meal planning behaviors. Descriptive statistics, correlational analyses, a series of two-way factorial analysis of variance, and odds ratio analyses were conducted to address research questions. When comparing nutritional intake and food source by different racial/ethnic groups and abdominal obesity level, there were no interaction effects for all categories across groups. However, for the racial/ethnic main effects and obesity main effects, significant differences among groups were noted for nutritional intake and food source categories. There were no differences in food shopping and meal preparation between abdominal obesity and non-obese participants in each racial/ethnic group. Similarities and differences were noted between racial/ethnic groups for nutritional intake and sources of food. However, no significant differences were noted between racial/ethnic groups for food shopping and meal preparation behaviors. More research should be done to confirm these findings and further understand food shopping and meal preparation behaviors.