• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.8-16
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• 2004

Purpose: The porpose of this descriptive study was grasp the QOL (Quality of Life) of cervix cancer patient and to analysis QOL (Quality of Life) by stage of disease, type of treatment and de me graphic characteristics Methods: Data were collected from 67 patients with cervical cancer from 3 General Hospitals from March 15 to June 4 using The "QOL (Quality of Life)-Cancer Version" inventory made by Ferrell et al (1995). The data were analysed by using SPSS $PC^+$ program including t-test, ANOVA, and Scheffe test. Results: Progressing stage of disease and QOL, the significant between the progressing stage of disease and QOL was significant (F=5.06, P=.003). The degree of difference between the progresstion of the stage of the disease and each item in the test was physical well-being (F=3.97 P=.012), the items of psychological well-being (F=3.91, P=.013), the items of social well-being (F=4.96, P=.004). It show a significant difference, but the item of spiritual well-being (F=1.36, P=.262) was not significant difference. The significance between the type of treatment and QOL was insignificant. The degree of difference between each area of life was the psychological well-being (t=-2.14, P=.037), the social well-being (t=-2.15, P=.036). But the physical well-being (t=-.93, P=.356), the spiritual well-being (t=.73, P=.469) was insignificant. Conclusion: As a result, The QOL of patients with cervical cancer is differentiated by the stage of disease, the type of treatment, and the demographic data. Therefore, there is a need to apply nursing intervention to patients with cervical cancer by considering the stage of disease, the type of treatment, and the demographic data.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 2004

Purpose: A quantitative descriptive study aimed to identify the relationships between spiritual well-being and perception attitudes of death in nursing students. Methods: A survey was conducted and 175 data were collected. Collected data were computed and analyzed using SPSS10.0 for Win. 1) Descriptive statistics were used to identify demographic data, and 2) both t-test and ANOVA statistics were used to figure out the relationships between spiritual well-being /or perception attitudes of death and demographic data of the participants. 3) Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to identify the relationships between the two main variables. Results: 1) The mean of spiritual well-being score of the participants was $50.9943{\pm}10.7235$. Significant relationships between religion /or doing economic activity and spiritual well-being were found. 2) The mean of perception attitudes of death was $20.4914{\pm}2.6280$. There were significant relationships between gender /or age and perception attitudes of death among participants. 3) A strong positive relationship between spiritual well-being and perception attitudes of death of participants was also found(r=.261, P=.000). Conclusion: The study results shows that spiritual well-being of nursing students as caregivers of terminal patients is important when the perception of death of terminal patients is considered. Previous studies indicate that caregivers' perception attitudes impact on those of terminal patients. Therefore, it is suggested that not only perception attitudes of death and spiritual well-being in terminal patients, but also those of caregivers are importantly required to consider in educational programs in relation to spiritual care of terminal patients.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.45-50
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• 2003

Purpose : This study was conducted to develop primary assessment tools to evaluate the relationship between symptom prevalence and symptom distress in cancer patients of Korea. Methods : A total of 196 patients diagnosed with cancer admitted in 5 general hospitals from January, 6 to January, 20 in 2003, were entered into the study. These patients were asked to complete the MSAS (Memorial symptom assessment scale). We classified these answers into prevalence and distress and then scored them according to grade and frequency. Results : The five most prevalent symptoms were lack of energy (82.1%), dry mouth (73.5%), pain (73.5%), itching (72.4%), and feeling drowsy (68.9%). Among 24 common prevalent symptoms, the ten most distress the symptoms were dry mouth (2.11), itching (2.07), pain (2.03), lack of energy (1.98), difficulty sleeping (1.96), worrying (1.94), "I don't look like myself" (1.91), constipation (1.88), and difficulty concentration (1.76). Conclusion : These 10 symptoms had high prevalence and distress in cancer patients of Korea. We suggest these symptoms to be applied in developing the primary assessment tool in cancer patients.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2003

This paper addresses the minor differences in the description of pain in Korean language in order to develop a standarized cancer pain aneument tool for Korean adults, Korean Caancer Pain Assessement Tool. The subtle differences in the meaning of expressions used cannot be translated into English and therefore we omiltted the English abstract.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.57-67
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• 2001

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to identify attitudes of hospice volunteers toward care of for terminally ill patients. Method : This was a descriptive study with a sample of 84 adults who were registered for a hospice volunteer education program at Severence Hospice Center. The Frommelt (FATCOD) scale on attitudes toward the care of the dying (Cronbach alpha=.778) and an open ended questions on "what if you only have 6 months to live" were used to collect the data. The data was analyzed using SPSS/W and content analysis. Results : 1) The hospice volunteers were mostly female, with an average age of 45 years, half of them were college graduates and their religious preference was Protestant. 2) The participants of this study demonstrated positive attitudes to care for the dying which is in coherence with hospice philosophy and principles. However they indicated difficulties in maintaining close relationships with people who are dying, and in communicating and sharing, and encouraging those who are dying to express their feelings. In the open ended questions, they identified that their most important issues would be guilt feelings toward their children, family concerns, and the burden of unfinished business in their lives. They also identified the fear of pain in the dying process and fear of the afterlife. The care they would like to receive was to have peace of mind, have a good listener, spiritual counselling, and pain relief and to be respected as a human being. The source of strength would be faith in God and they would like to overcome their of dying. The FATCOD scale has limitation in describing and identifying the need and attitude toward the care of the dying revisions were made. Conclusion : We all are the potential clients for the hospice rare. In a hospice volunteer education program, communication and interpersonal skill are essential. The fear of dying, afterlife, concerns about family with children, and human dignity are major concerns in hospice and palliative care.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.41-46
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• 2001

Background : Many analgesics are used to relieve the pain of various causes. Among these, $Myprodol^{(R)}$, a combination analgesic with codeine, ibuprofen and paracetamol, was recently used as a new analgesics. This study was performed to survey the kinds of diseases, side effects and pain relief effect of $Myprodol^{(R)}$ in clincal practice. Methods : This retrograde study surveyed the medical records of 183 patients treated with $Myprodol^{(R)}$ at Pain Clinic, Pusan National University Hospital. From medical records, the disease entities, the pain characteristics, duration of $Myprodol^{(R)}$ medication, the analgesic effect and side effects were evaluated. Results : $Myprodol^{(R)}$ is used in the treatment of cancer pain (64.3%) and non-cancer pain (35.7%). Among side effects of $Myprodol^{(R)}$ medication, nausea with vomiting, constipation and generalized edema were common in cancer pain, but epigatric pain was common in non cancer pain. $Myprodol^{(R)}$ was more effective in non cancer pain than cancer pain. Conclusions: $Myprodol^{(R)}$ was used in cancer and non-cancer pain patients. In cancer pain patients, $Myprodol^{(R)}$ was effective in early cancer pain but, not effective in advanced cancer. $Myprodol^{(R)}$ was also used and effective in non-malignant benign chest pain, lumbago, post-operative pain.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.49-63
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• 2004

Purpose: The Hospice Oriented Medical Record (HOMR) was developed for assessing the pain and symptoms of terminal cancer patients. Methods and Results: The HOMR consists of an instruction for users and 2 assessment pages which include the graph showing vital signs (temperature, blood pressure, pulse, respiration rate and pain score), current problem lists, performance status, laboratory data, pain characteristics and management, sedation score, associated symptoms and drug side effects, etc. Pilot study was performed in the inpatient Hospice Care Unit in Guro Hospital, Korea University Medical Center. Because an one-week progress data was recorded in HOMR as a flow sheet, the patient's condition and pain control status could be seen at a glance. Conclusion: The HOMR is useful for assessing the terminal cancer patients because it is simple and convenient to use. Further research is needed before it can be universally used in the clinical settings.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.208-218
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• 2015

Purpose: Although a Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) order is widely in use, it is one of the challenging issues in end-of-life care. This study was conducted to investigate attitudes toward DNR according to education and clinical experience. Methods: Data were collected using a structured questionnaire comprising 30 items in a tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea. Results: Participants were 238 nurses and 72 physicians. Most participants (99%) agreed to the necessity of DNR for reasons such as dignified death (52%), irreversible medical condition (23%) and patients' autonomy in decision making (19%). Among all, 33% participants had received education about DNR and 87% had DNR experience. According to participants' clinical DNR experience, their attitudes toward DNR significantly differed in terms of the necessity of DNR, timing of the DNR consent and post-DNR treatments including antibiotics. However, when participants were grouped by the level of DNR education, no significant difference was observed except in the timing of the DNR consent. Conclusion: This study suggests that the attitudes toward DNR were more affected by clinical experience of DNR rather than education. Therefore, DNR education programs should involve clinical settings.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.196-207
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• 2015

Purpose: We comprehensively analyzed domestic studies on the effects of death preparation education in order to present objective data. Methods: Meta-analysis was conducted with a total of 22 master's and doctoral theses published between 2004 and 2014. Results: According to our analysis, the death preparation education had a mid-size effect. The effect size of a moderator variable was the greatest in infants and children, and the effect size was bigger in younger ages. The effect size was the greatest when education was given through a total of 10~15 sessions, twice a week, and less than 60 minutes per session. The effect variable and death-related variable showed a significant effect size, and sub-variables were equivalent to the death-related variable with a biggest effect size. Non-death related variables had a mid-level effect size and sub-variables were found to have the highest ego integrity. Conclusion: The significance of this study lies its systematic integration of advanced research on the effects of death preparation education through meta-analysis. By suggesting guidelines for the design of a death preparation education program, evidence-based basic data were proposed which will more likely strengthen intervention effects. Based on these results, more studies are needed to develop and extensively carry out a death preparation program which can meet needs of specific age groups from children to seniors.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.188-195
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• 2015

Purpose: We examined the effects of a well-dying program on nursing students in terms of death preparation, death recognition and perception of well-dying perception. Methods: The design of this study was quasi-experimental and non-synchronized with a non-equivalent control group. The study was conducted with nursing students: 32 in the experimental group and 36 in the control group. The well-dying program was consisted of five sessions: introduction, thinking about meaning of death, organizing things to do before dying, looking back on my life, and leaving a trail of my life. Descriptive analysis, t-test, ${\chi}^2$ test and ANCOVA were used with SPSS 18.0 program to analyze the data. Results: After attending the program, a difference was observed in death preparation of the experimental group (t=2.61, P=0.014). The death recognition (F=154.15, P<0.001) score of the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group. There was no significant difference between the groups in perception of well-dying (F=0.11, P=0.747). Conclusions: The well-dying program helped nursing students build positive death recognition. Therefore, this study is expected to contribute to development of a death education program for nursing students.