J Nurs Acad Soc.  1985 Dec;15(3):74-80.

The Effect of Supportive Group Nursing Care on Body Image of the Patient With Lower Limb Fracture

• Jung C

Abstract

This study was attempted to identify the difference between body image of the patients with lower limb fracture and that of normal persons, and to examine if supportive group care could offer an apportunity for positive change in body image of the patient with lower limb fracture under the Quasi-experimental design. The subjects for this study were obtained by taking convenient sample of soldiers; the experimental group were 44 lower limb fractured patients hospitalized on the orthopedic Surgery unit in S Army General Hospital, while the control group were 44 normal enlisted men serving in the B Army regiment. Supportive group nursing care was given to the lower limb fractured patients who belong to the experimental group. Pre-and post-tests were administered to the experimental and the control group.The instruments to measure body image of the subjects were body Cathexis Scale developed by Scord and Jourard (1953) and Body Meaning Scale developed by the reseacher. The reliability coefficients by Cronhach's alpha-test were .95 in body Cathexis Scale and . 89 in Body Meaning Scale in this study. Data for this study were collected over a period 12 days from the 12th to the 24th of October, 1984 by the questionnaire. Data were analyzed by computer. Frequency, Percentage and chi-square-test were used to examine general chacteristics of the subjects. t-test was used to analyze the hypotheses. Analysis of variance was used to test difference in body image between groups classified by the general characteristics. Pearson Correlation Coefficient was used to identify the correlation between Body Cathexis Scale and Body Cathexis Scale and Body Meaning Scale. The results of this study were as follows: 1. No significant difference was found between the experimental and the control group on general characteristics of the subjects (p>.05). 2. Hypothesis I; "There will be a difference in body image between patiens with lower limb fracture and normal persons," was supported(Body Cathexis t=6.91, p<.001, Body Meaning t=5.66, p< . 001). 3. Hypothesis II; "The will be a difference in body image of patients with lower limb fracture between after and before, supportive group nursing care was provided," was supported (Body Cathexis t-5. 90, p <. 001, Body Meaning t=4.45, p<. 001). 4. There was no significant difference in body image between groups classified by the general characteristics (p>.05). 5. The correlation between Body Cathexis Scale and Body Meaning Scale: It was reported that Body Cathexis Scale correlated with Body Meaning Scale in total subjects of the experimental and control group (r=.744, p<. 001). That is, there was relatively high correlation between two scales. Body Cathexis Scale correlated with Body Meaning Scale in the experimental group(r=.738, p<. 001) and in the control group (r=.352, p<. 001). That is, there was more than moderate correlation between two scales. In conclusion, it was found that there was a difference in body image between patients with lower limb fracture and normal persons, and supportive group nursing care offered an opportunity for positive change in body image of the patient with lower limb fracture.

MeSH Terms

Body Image*
Cathexis
Hospitals, General
Humans
Lower Extremity*
Male
Military Personnel
Nursing Care*
Nursing*
Orthopedics
Surveys and Questionnaires
Weights and Measures