• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.639-649
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• 2014

Purpose: This study evaluates the feasibility of Korean Advance Directives (K-AD) developed earlier. Method: From January 1 to February 28, 2013, data were collected from 330 adults through a self-reported questionnaire established by the authors based on literature review and expert consultation. The feasibility of K-AD was multi-dimensionally evaluated through four criteria: cognitive, psychological, document making and socially expecting aspects. Data were analyzed using t tests, one-way ANOVA, and Scheffe post hoc tests via the SAS 9.1.3 program. Results: The feasibility of K-AD differed significantly by gender (p=.003), educational level (p<.001), religion (p=.002), and self-reported health status (p=.039). Differences in the level of easiness with K-AD by gender (p=.008) and education (p=.047) were significant. Perceived simplicity of AD differed significantly by religion (p=.005), and the necessity of AD differed significantly by gender (p=.025) and religion (p=.005). Conclusion: K-AD are sufficiently feasible to be tentatively utilized in practice. This is the first study to explore the feasibility of K-AD on the basis of multiple aspects. However, further studies involving diverse populations and methodologies to validate the usefulness of K-AD are warranted.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.74-84
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• 2021

Purpose: This study investigated knowledge of and attitudes toward advance directives (ADs) among middle-aged women in South Korea, their willingness to write ADs in the future, and the factors related to knowledge of and attitudes toward ADs. Methods: Data were collected using a self-administrated questionnaire completed by 154 middle-aged women aged 50 to 64 from February to March 2020. The questionnaire asked about participants' knowledge of and attitude toward ADs, willingness to write ADs in the future, experiences with life-sustaining treatment within their families, experience making decisions about life-sustaining treatment, and demographic characteristics. Results: Scores for both knowledge of and attitude toward ADs were relatively high. About 60% of participants gave wrong answers when asked if attorneys were required for writing ADs. A higher knowledge score was significantly associated with a higher attitude score (r=0.227, P<0.01). The women were more likely to be willing to write ADs in the future when they reported a middle income level rather than a lower income level (odds ratio [OR]=5.952, P<0.01), considered themselves unhealthy (OR=5.873, P<0.01), and graduated college or higher (OR=4.096, P<0.05). Furthermore, women who thought that ADs would have an impact on treatment (OR=1.869, P<0.05) and on their families (OR=1.447, P<0.05) were more likely to be willing to write an AD. Conclusion: This study shows that wrong information about ADs persists among middle-aged women, and significant factors associated with knowledge of and attitude toward ADs were identified. Targeted education programs about ADs need to be developed for middle-aged women.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.11-20
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• 2024

Purpose: Advance directives (ADs) are legal documents that outline a person's preferences or decisions regarding end-of-life care ahead of time. In Korea, there is insufficient awareness and knowledge about ADs among patients undergoing hemodialysis. This study explored the relationship between perceptions of a good death, knowledge about ADs, and attitudes toward ADs in this patient population. Methods: This cross-sectional survey enrolled 119 hemodialysis patients from a secondary hospital in 2021. The participants completed a self-administered questionnaire, and the data were analyzed using the t-test, analysis of variance, Pearson correlation coefficients, Spearman rank correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis. Results: The average score for perceptions of a good death among hemodialysis patients was 2.80 out of 4, with clinical symptoms identified as the most critical factor. The average scores for knowledge about ADs and attitudes toward ADs were 5.69 out of 9 and 2.79 out of 4, respectively. There was a positive correlation between perceptions of a good death and attitudes toward ADs (r=0.34, P<0.001), as well as between knowledge about Ads and attitudes toward ADs (r=0.19, P=0.037). Factors influencing attitudes toward Ads included employment status (β=0.22, P=0.011), education level (β=0.22, P=0.013), and perceptions of a good death (β=0.29, P=0.001), which accounted for 24.8% of the variance in attitudes toward ADs. Conclusion: A positive perception of a good death among patients undergoing hemodialysis was associated with a positive attitude toward ADs. Educational programs are needed to improve individuals' understanding of a good death and encourage the development of end-of-life care plans.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.257-279
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• 2016

Recently, the Well-dying Act was legislated in Korea, and it will come into effect in August 4, 2017. This Act allows to withdraw the life sustaining treatment from impending death patients and also provide the hospice and palliative treatment to terminal patients. In the Supreme Court's case so called "Madam Kim", medical condition of Madam Kim was a persistent vegetative status owing to brain damage and her family members wanted to remove the artificial ventilation. In 2009, the Supreme Court allowed to withdraw the artificial ventilation under the specific conditions. We applied this new Well-dying Act to the Madam Kim's case hypothetically in order to know this Act can reasonably solve the problem of life sustaining treatment for dying or terminal patients. For the impending patients, the Well-dying Act has the problem not to withdraw the futile treatment due to the advance directives of patients. Vice versa, the terminal patients have no chance to withdraw the life sustaining treatment due to the this Act impose the duty to provide the hospice and palliative treatment despite of advance directives. We need to ruke out the persistent vegetative patients from the terminal patients caused by the cancer, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, chronic obstructive lung disease and chronic liver cirrhosis, In addition, we have to discuss the effect of the advance directives of terminal patients in view of self determination right.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.732-738
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• 2020

This study examined the effects of hospice & palliative care education programs for nursing students, in terms of spiritual well-being and knowledge concerning advance directives. This is a quasi-experimental study of non-equivalent control groups, and includes a pre-test and post-test design. Data was collected between September to December 2018, enrolling third grade nursing college students attending a university in C city: 22 subjects in the experimental group and 27 subjects in the control group. The experimental group was provided the education as a regular subject, 2 hours a week for 7 weeks, for a total of 14 hours. Ed. Notes: I suggest you maintain any one unit for mentioning time. Hence, I changed 120 mins to 2 hours. Data were analyzed by X2 test, Fisher's exact, t-test, independent t-test, and paired t-test, using the SPSS 21.0 program. After attending the program, spiritual well-being showed a significant increase (t=2.80, p=0.009). However, there was no significant difference between groups in knowledge regarding advance directives (t=1.33, p=0.190). Our results indicate that the hospice & palliative care education program helps nursing students improve their score of spiritual well-being. We believe that these results contribute basic data for the future development of hospice-palliative care curriculum.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.109-118
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• 2016

The purpose of this study was to evaluate Korean advance directives (K-AD) by examining the degree of adults' acceptance and reliability of the directive itself. Methods: Survey was performed with 181 adults aged 20 or older who were recruited from three regions. A questionnaire used to examine the participants' acceptance of their K-AD in terms of visual analogue scale score of complexity, difficulty, necessity, satisfaction, recommendation. Then, a retest was carried out by asking participants to write up a K-AD again to confirm the reliability of the directives. Results: On a scale of 100, the average acceptance score was 70 or above, which represents rather high level of acceptance in all five categories. The test-retest reliability kappa values ranged from 0.592 to 0.950, and the conformity degree was moderate or high. Regarding K-AD components such as values, treatment preference, proxy appointment, differences among age groups were observed in each component. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that K-AD is a feasible instrument to analyze its acceptability and reliability for adult population. K-AD could be utilized to help people make their own decision on their end-of-life care. Further studies are needed to confirm this study results and promote widespread use of K-AD.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.413-459
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• 2008

The Law has intervened to define rare circumstances in which a person should choose continuing life in United States. On the one hand, the law has traditionally acted to preservelife and to respect the sanctity of life. On the other hand, one's control over one's own body, and the right to determine what kind of medical care one will receive, is equally well respected and historically grounded. The competent patients have the right to forgo life-sustaining treatment, courts in United States have left many unanswered questions about the nature of that right. The right to choose to forgo life-sustaining treatment is a manifestation of a patient's autonomy interest. In United States, The Karen Quilan case gave rise to legislative activity in the host of state capitals, and several states had adopted statutes that formally recognized some forms of written directives describing some circumstances in which certain kinds of medical care could be terminated. These statues were sometimes dominated 'living will' acts, sometimes 'right to die' acts and ocasionally 'natural death' acts. Today virtually every state has produced a living will statue. In Korea, courts do not permit a terminally ill person to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment. Living wills apply in case of terminal illness owing to a defect in legislation. Now In Korea, these lively dispute of legal policy on the preconditions and concrete procedure of living will act and natural death act. Through the legislation of living will act and natural death act, we should prepare some circumstances to respect patient's autonomy on the right to die. We should frame the cultural standard to make a decision of forgoing life-sustainin1g treatment under the discreet procedure.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.251-262
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• 2020

Purpose: This study attempts to provide basic data for establishing and implementing an advanced directive (AD) system that helps identify dignified death attitudes and reduces death anxiety of the preliminary, through preparation of an AD. Methods: Data were collected from 135 preliminary elderly aged 55 to 64 years, recruited from health centers and welfare facilities. All data were analyzed using SPSS 22.0. Results: Overall scores of the participants were 2.26±0.64 for death anxiety scale, and 3.16±0.44 for dignified death attitude. Scores of individuals who prepared an AD were determined to be 2.19±0.64 for death anxiety, and 3.34±0.44 for dignity of death. The difference in scores obtained for dignified death attitude was significantly higher for the group that signed an AD, as compared to the group with no AD (F=14.81, p<0.001). Conclusions: Results of this study reveal that preliminary elderly who sign an AD have a higher dignified death attitude score as compared to subjects who do not sign an AD. Additionally, the former group of participants desire a dignified end to their life. This indicates a necessity to promote public campaigns for ADs, and to develop educational programs that assist the elderly to prepare for a dignified death and make autonomous decisions.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.207-218
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the chronic patients' preferences for care near the end of life. Methods: This is a descriptive survey research, with subjects of 161 outpatients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus or chronic renal failure. Results: The majority of the subjects do not want meaningless life sustaining treatment and they report thinking positively about family or health care professional to participate in their end of life decision making process. Subjects reported preferring adequate pain management and spiritual support at the end of life. In regard to advance directives (ADs), those subjects with chronic disease report thinking positively about the necessity of ADs and its institutionalization. However, the subjects report not having the detailed information on the proper time and method of writing their ADs. Conclusion: Based on these results, educational programs on end of life decision making for chronic patients need to be developed. Also, the nurse should try to reflect the opinion of chronic patients as much as possible when make an end-of-life decision.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.20-32
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to develop a feasible form of a Korean version of advance directives (K-AD). Methods: Sixteen adults participated in this study: 10 aged 20~50 years and nine aged 65 years or older. Using a draft version of the K-AD, cognitive interview was conducted on the participants to establish a culturally acceptable form of advance directives whose directions can be understood and responded accordingly by the general population. Results: Cognitive interviews revealed areas of concerns for the draft version of K-AD: lack of instructions or clarity for technical and medical terms, context complexity and inadequate response categories. The draft version was revised by rewording, offering examples and rearranging the context. Editorial style was added with appropriate uses of bold fonts, bullet-points and underlines to facilitate interviewees' cognitive responses. Conclusion: Study results feasibility of the revised version of the K-AD. Further study should be performed with a larger number of participants to develop a K-AD with an acceptable level of reliability and validity.