An Analysis of Trends in Exercise-Related Studies in Nursing and Non-Nursing Fields in Korea

Abstract

Purpose: This study was done to analyze the trends in excercise-related research in nursing and non nursing research studies published in Korea. Method: Two hundred and ten research studies published in Korea between January, 1990 and December, 2002 were analyzed according to the criteria of methological characteristics, pattern of excercise-related program, and measurement index of exercise effect. Results: There were twice many papers from nursing compared to other fields, and many experimental studies in nursing were done with more variety than in non nursing fields. Aspects of exercise pattern, such as excercise type, duration, and frequency, exercise-intervention pattern, and applying theory were especially included. When patterns of excercise therapy and index of exercise effect were analyzed, each researcher used their own unique excercise contents and intervention patterns(excercise time per week, exercise duration at each time period, excercise, intervention time, and etc). Conclusion: For the importance of exercise therapy to health improvement and the proper suggestion of exercise therapy on the basis of this research, meta-analysis of exercise effect are needed, and with this analysis, intervention patterns of exercise, development of standard exercise therapy, and identification of exercise effects are required.