Abstract
Hwa-byung is a form of psychogenic illness among people in Korea and is listed as a culture-bound syndrome of Korea in the DSM-IV. Despite increased clinical researches for Hwa-byung in the oriental medicine of Korea, there has been no agreement of pattern identification for Hwa-byung. The purpose of this study is to develop a standard instrument of pattern identification for Hwa-byung which will be applied to clinical research. The items and structure of the instrument were based on review of published literature. The advisor committee on this study was organized by 15 neuropsychiatry professors of 11 oriental medical colleges nationwide. The experts attended 2 consultation meetings and discussed developing the instrument. and we also took professional advices by e-mail. The results were as follows; First, we divided the symptoms and signs of Hwa-byung into five pattern identification - stagnation of liver Qi, flare-up of the liver fire, disharmony between heart and kidney, deficiency of both Qi and blood, malfunction of gallbladder due to phlegm stagnation. Second, we got the mean weights to each symptom of five pattern identification which had been scored on a 5-point scale - ranging from 0 to 4 by the 15 experts. Third, we made out the Korean instrument of the pattern identification for Hwa-byung. It was composed of 34 questions and decided on question-and-answer form. Though there are some limits in this study, the instrument of pattern identification for Hwa-byung is meaningful and expected to be applied to the subsequent research. And also, we hope to improve the instrument and make up for this study through various research and discussion.
