Despite the implementation of several communication programs for nurses working in hospitals, no evidence-based systematic review has yet been conducted on their efficacy.

In this systematic review of communication programs for nurses, we searched for literature published between 2011 and 2020 in four foreign databases and one domestic database (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and RISS). The papers identified were evaluated on their quality using Version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB 2). The main search terms included “nurse”, “communication”, “program”, and “intervention.” Thirteen articles were included in the final analysis.

The communication programs utilized various teaching methods – such as simulation, reflection, and debriefing – with a majority of these programs significantly improving participants’ communication skills and performance. However, the overall quality of the studies was low concerning the randomization process and measurement; relatively few studies made use of online education methods. All variables assessed using self-reported measures were significant, but not all showed significant results when using objective measures as assessed by the evaluators.

The study’s findings suggest a need for programs dealing with nurses’ communication with health care providers in diverse clinical settings and online-based simulation programs. Moreover, high-quality literature applying the randomization process and measurement is required. Additionally, it is necessary to use both subjective and objective measures to evaluate the overall communication capacities of nurses and reflect the contextual characteristics of various clinical settings.

The purpose of this study was to analyze current research trends on parenting stress of unmarried mothers in Korea and explore the related concepts.

For searching the literature, KMbase, Korea Med, RISS, NDSL was used. Fourteen studies from 2009 to 2019 were selected, and National Institute of Health (NIH) Study Quality Assessment Tool (SQAT) was applied.

Among the 14 studies, most frequently used study design was correlational study (64.3%), and majority of the study (78.6%) was conducted in the field of social welfare. Only one study was found in the nursing journal. Related concepts can be categorized as individual (cognitive, emotional, and behavioral) factors, and social/environmental factors. Among these, self-esteem, parenting self-efficacy, and health perception in cognitive concept domain, depression in emotional concept domain, parenting behavior in behavioral domain, and lastly, social and interpersonal support were studied as related factors with parenting stress. Overall parenting stress level was higher than moderate, and it was positively related to depression, and negatively related to health perception and social support. Various study tools were used even the original foreign tool was the same, thereby comparisons among studies were difficult.

Future studies are suggested to explore unmarried mother’s physical health problems as well as emotional problems, and to develop reliable measurement tools which can be used in Korean situation. Also, various nursing intervention programs for health promotion and child rearing competence for unmarried mothers should be developed.