• Anxiety and mood
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.44-52
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• 2018

Objective : The present study had examined the psychiatric symptoms and physical health consequences for the bereaved parents of the high school students who died in the 2014 Sewol ferry accident. Methods : Forty bereaved parents participated in the study. The authors administered self-report questionnaires about the parents' health behaviors and psychiatric symptoms. The authors also conducted laboratory tests to assess the parents' physical health at 18 and 30 months after the accident. Univariate descriptive statistics were performed to report the prevalence and severity of psychiatric symptoms and health-related behaviors. Paired t-test and Mcnemar test were performed to compare the 18-and 30-month findings. Correlation analysis between psychiatric symptoms and laboratory findings were performed to find a relationship between the two variables. Results : At 30 months after the accident, most of the bereaved parents still appeared to suffer from complicated grief (97.5%), post traumatic stress disorder (80%), insomnia (77.5%) and severe depression (62.5%) based on the scores on the Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG), the PTSD Check List-5 (PCL-5), the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). One quarter of the bereaved parents reported high-risk drinking, and 47.5% reported increased drinking amount and frequency after the accident. In objective laboratory results, 55% of the bereaved parents were obese as defined by body mass index ${\geq}25$. The parents' mean low-density lipoprotein shows a significant increase over time (118.5 mg/dL at 18 months. vs. 132.5 mg/dL at 30 months. paired t-test t=-4.061, $$p{\leq_-}0.001$$). Total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein at 30 months after the accident were in clinically borderline high range. In correlation analysis, triglyceride was positively correlated with ISI. Conclusion : The loss of children in the Sewol ferry accident, a disaster caused by human error, continued to have considerable impact on the victims' parents' mental and physical health 18 and 30 months after the accident. A longitudinal study following the parents' physical health would be necessary to investigate the long-term effects of this traumatic experience on physical health.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.134-141
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• 2014

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify the current status of studies of bereaved families in Korea. Methods: We reviewed 97 studies of bereaved families, which were published between 1994 and 2013 in Korea. The studies were classified in three groups according to time, subjects, and topic. Results: First, the number of bereaved family-related studies has increased since 2010. Second, most studies focused on the whole family, and middle-age widows were also popular subjects. Third, the most popular topic was a relationship between certain variables. Conclusion: First, variables and their relations among themselves should be approached through an integrated study. Second, a systematic review is needed to assess the effects of interventions on the bereaved. Third, a qualitative research method is needed to broaden and deepen our understanding about the middle-age widowers, parents who lost their children and children who lost their parents.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.286-295
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to review studies investigating the effect of bereavement care provided for parents in the neonatal intensive care unit. Methods: We conducted a literature review of databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL) for studies published in English and four databases (RISS, KISS, NANET, and KoreaMed) for Korean studies. The selection criteria included original articles that evaluated the parents' perceptions or responses to bereavement care provided in the neonatal intensive care unit. Of 889 articles from the initial screening, 66 articles underwent full-text review and five articles were finally selected for analysis. Results: None of the studies was conducted in Korea. Only one study used a randomized control trial design. The forms of bereavement care reviewed included a provision of a memory package, grief information, and emotional and/or social support from peers or health care providers. The effectiveness of bereavement care was measured by including grief, social support, and depression. Conclusion: Bereavement care can be considered to be beneficial for relieving grief reactions and enhancing the personal growth of bereaved parents. Future research should assess the needs of bereaved parents in Korea. Nurses may play a role in developing the bereavement care for parents.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.126-139
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze interventions for bereaved families and evaluate their effectiveness, with the ultimate goal of supporting evidence-based nursing for bereaved families. Methods: Research trends were identified based on a search of domestic databases from January 2000 to December 2022, and a meta-analysis was conducted on interventions for bereaved families. Forty-five papers were selected, and information was extracted on participants, research design, and interventions. A meta-analysis of seven papers was performed, and the effect size was calculated. Results: Fourteen papers dealt with interventions for middle-aged women who had lost their spouses, 20 used qualitative research methods, and 20 were on art therapy programs. Thirty studies had fewer than 10 participants, and most interventions had 60~120 minutes per session and 9~16 sessions in total. There were seven randomized controlled trials, and all studies included in the quality evaluation showed a low risk of bias. Four papers measured grief as an outcome, and the effect size was -1.9577 (95% CI: -2.9206 to -0.9947), indicating that the treatment significantly decreased grief (P<0.001). Six papers measured depression as an outcome, and the effect size was -1.6775 (95% CI: -2.1835 to -1.1716), showing that the treatment significantly decreased depression (P<0.001). Conclusion: Intervention programs for bereaved families were shown to be effective in relieving grief and depression. However, programs should be developed that target middle-aged men who have lost their spouses and children who have lost their parents. Randomized controlled trials should also be conducted on interventions to reduce grief and depression.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.39-49
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• 2008

This research reports on a qualitative analysis of email facilitated reflective dialogue with seven college students whose parent dies. The study was exploratory in considering cultural values on intact family and asked the question: What do children experience after parental death in terms of the relationships with intra and extrafamily systems? Young adult children of single parent family expressed that they felt social pressure to practice filial piety toward their single parent. They made efforts to fulfill the social expectation and to achieve social desirability. Social stigma from extrafamily systems affected the experiences of the bereaved children. In terms of intrafamily system, young adult children tend to idealize their deceased parent. Single parents depended on the young adult children, which made parent-child relationship enmeshed or conflicting. The holistic view of the study highlights the importance of interactions between individuals and the intra and extra family systems when understanding family loss experience of the bereaved young people.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.27-41
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• 2023

Purpose: Pediatric palliative care is a rapidly developing multidisciplinary approach that supports children with life-limiting conditions and their families. However, there is limited evidence on how to effectively support bereaved parents and siblings. The purpose of this study is to explore the therapeutic impact of art therapy for bereaved families, in accordance with John Bowlby's four-stage theory of mourning. Methods: This single-case study employed the consensual qualitative research method. Art therapy records of bereaved families were reviewed individually, and records from one case were selected. Verbal statements made during the art therapy sessions and photocopies of the artworks were analyzed to understand the mourning process of the family. Results: A total of 113 statements and 12 artworks from 19 art therapy sessions were analyzed. As the art therapy progressed, each family member exhibited a pattern of engaging in more positive and healthy conversations in daily life, demonstrating the final stage of mourning: reorganization and recovery. The family dynamics also revealed that they reconstructed their inner world and redefined the meaning of loss, which is the final stage of mourning. The art therapy provided a safe environment for the family, allowing them to fulfill their wishes and regain the strength needed for recovery. Conclusion: This study suggests that art therapy supports bereaved families in alleviating their psychological difficulties, engaging in a healthy mourning process, and functioning as members of society. Further research is needed to better understand the effect of art therapy as a bereavement support tool in pediatric palliative care.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.134-144
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• 2022

Purpose: A descriptive correlational survey was conducted to examine nurses' attitudes and stress related to perinatal bereavement care (PBC) and their relationships, with the ultimate goal of improving nurses' capabilities related to PBC. Methods: Korean nurses (N=136) who had experienced perinatal death at least once were recruited from seven hospitals. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The Korean version of Nurses' Attitudes towards Perinatal Bereavement Support was assessed in terms of three subdomains (attitudes to PBC, importance of policies related to PBC, and importance of training related to PBC), and nurses' stress was measured. Results: The participants gave high scores for the attitude-related items of "giving sufficient time to bereaved parents to mourn for their dead baby" (4.54 points) and "nurses should treat bereaved parents with respect and dignity" (4.51 points), and they perceived a high level of importance for the policy-related items of "every staff member in the hospital should understand the policies relevant for PBC" and "when nurses feel emotional exhaustion, they should seek support" (4.58 points). Nurses' attitude toward PBC was associated with the perceived importance of policies (r=.40, p<.001), the perceived importance of PBC-related training (r=.61, p<.001), and stress related to PBC (r=.29, p<.001). Nurses' perceived importance of PBC-related training was associated with stress related to PBC (r=.38, p<.001). Conclusion: Establishing hospital policies related to PBC and providing PBC training for nurses could positively affect nurses' attitudes toward PBC. A stress management program for nurses could reduce the stress caused by PBC.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.98-106
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• 1995

This study presents the cases of two patients suffering from chest pain as the chief complaint and refers to related literatures to reveal the psychoanalytic meaning of chest pain. In the first case, the patient who was balked of the desire to be loved complained of her pain in the chest She had been bereaved of her husband and felt deserted by someone on whom she depended, and these experiences caused the chest pain. The drive related to this chest pain in a dependent and aggressive one. The second case, the chest pain of a 28-year-old unmarried woman, resulted from Oedipal conflict Her Oedipal conflict did not resolve successfully for the exessive sexual stimulation in her childhood such as her experiences of witnessing the primal scenes sleeping with her parents in the same room, even under a same blanket In addition, there were some other traumas which prevented her from that conflict: Her father bathed her until her puberty: She saw her father's back view as he urinated in a jerry: She heard her parents' frequent quarrels. This patient felt guilty about desire of Oedipal incest, and chest pain seemed to occur as a kind of self-inflicted punishment.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.369-384
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• 2009

Research method was a case study as narrative method through in-depth interviews around 21 sufferers of elder abuse in rural area and the researcher interviewed them directly. Conclusively, the majority of sufferers of elder abuse were physically very low in the ADL(activities of daily living) and had been bereaved with no spouse. The relations of abused parents and the adult children were much disagreed and divided as unrecovered. Their economic reliance and physical reliance were much overlapped and the majority of them were low educational background and low income level. In case of the abused old people, they had severe low self respect and melancholy, so they considered severely suicide so much as invaluable as their existing value. In spite of over 80.5 years old average, the abuse action had continued for 6 months to 50 years long and the intensity of the abuse was more strengthened. The majority of abused old people refused mostly the entrance of social welfare facilities for elders and also they desired to live in present living area and their own houses.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.443-477
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was to explore the continuing bonds experienced by adolescent victims' 15 parents of the Sewol ferry disaster. The research aim is to classify the continuing bonds into representational, functional, emotional, and relationship characteristics through contents analysis and identify them. The way dimension was found to be continuing bond through "physical objects and space," "dream and spiritual exchange," "personal memorial and ritual activities," "thoughts of deceased children," and "surviving children." In the "functional dimension," it was found that sustainable ties help families find new meanings and purposes in their lives and comfort them by making them feel they are with their children. In addition, at the emotional level, they experienced 'positive emotions' while feeling with their children, and experienced 'pain', and some research participants found it difficult to sustain the bond itself. At the level of each relationship characteristic, the relationship between parents and children was an extension of the relationship even after the child was deceased, and the relationship characteristics were reproduced. The implications for grief counseling were presented by applying a dead two-axis model to the results of this study.