Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the utilization of the Transtheoretical Model(TTM) for Korean nursing studies on health behaviors and identify the strategies for improvement of further studies.
Methods: From a main and seven branch journals on the Korean Society of Nursing Science, a total of 26 studies, which had been conducted based upon the TTM, were selected. The selected studies were analyzed from the September of 2006 to the February of 2007 by the criteria; name of journal, year of publication, health behavior, population, sampling, sample size, research design, instrument (translation process, reliability and validity), and statistical analysis.
Results: TTM on the Korean nursing studies was mainly applied for smoking cessation or exercise with elderly or middle aged women. The research findings could not be generalized with the limitation of the use of non representative samples. The most frequently used research design was a cross-sectional survey. Some studies had a lack of reliable and valid instruments, so that the internal validity of the study findings may be threatened. Statistically related problems increased type I error and decreased power.
Conclusion: Korean nursing studies based on TTM can be the beginning stage in quality and quantity.
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