• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.3 s.71
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• pp.86-99
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• 2007

Objectives : Cancer patients who are afraid of unpleasant therapy and doubt a perfect cure often seek out traditional Korean medicine or many other kinds of complementary and alterative medicine (CAM) instead. This study was carried out in order to learn the prevalence and kinds of the traditional Korean medicine and CAM to evaluate awareness of and attitude toward it. Methods : 213 patients with gastric cancer who had undergone surgery in the department of gastrointestinal surgery and visited for routine follow-up from November to December of 2004 were included. A questionnaire survey was done by trained interviewers for CAM and demographic information. Results : 96.7% of patients had experience with CAM. The kinds and frequencies of CAM were diet and nutrition 21.0%, folk remedy 21.0%, pharmacological treatment 13.5%, oriental medicine 5.3% and mind-body intervention 1.4%. 56.8% of patients had experienced 2-6 kinds of CAM, 37.4% more than 7. Among diet and nutrition, ginseng (62.9%) was highest, followed by ox leg bone soup (50.8%) and pumpkin (31.5%). Among the folk remedies, elm tree was highest at 46.5%, followed by phellinus linteus (Sang-Whang) at 26.8% and ganoderma lucidum (Young-Gee) 20.7%.satisfaction with CAM was relatively low (43.2%), many patients (78.2%) replied that they would use it continuously. Conclusion : Most patients had experience with many kinds of CAM, but didn't discuss it with medical doctors. If scientific study proves whether or not each kind of CAM is actually effective ondisease, it will help to improve the health of patients and prevent the inappropriate usage and cost.

• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.81-86
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• 2008

Objective: This study was aimed to review the recent trends of complementary medicine research in ICCMR 2008. Methods: Analyzed data include all researches of both oral and poster presentations in ICCMR. We classified presented researches according to their treatment method, nations, and targeted diseases. Results: In total, 338 researches were presented. In terms of methods, 68 basic researches, 98 clinical trials, 55 commentaries, 46 reviews, 71 trend analysis papers were classified. Herbal medicine was the most common treatment for research in ICCMR. And in terms of nation. Australia's announcement was the most in ICCMR. Lastly, cancer was the most focused theme in the conference. Conclusion: In the recent CAM research, cancer, depression and stress are the most targeted diseases since they are difficult to cure in modern medicine and since patients have high hopes to overcome their state by CAM. This review will help Korean doctors or scientists to systematically understand traditional medicine and to develop their researches.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.92-101
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• 2006

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to study complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) used among cancer patients in Korea. Method: This study was a descriptive survey. Study participants were 1,150 cancer patients selected from 28 representative hospitals in Korea. Data were collected between December 1, 2004 and March 30, 2005. Results: Their diagnosis were as follows : 20.0% for breast cancer, 15.6% for stomach cancer, 14.4% for liver cancer, 10.8% for lung cancer, 10.0% for colon cancer, and 10.0% for uterine cancer. 75.0% of cancer patients had used CAM. The most popular categories of CAM use were diet with 153.2%, non- prescription of oriental medical doctor 47.9% and mind-body control 20.3%. CAM use gender, age, cancer type, cancer treatment method, and current treatment type was significantly different in. Conclusion: CAM use among cancer patients in Korea was very popular(75.0%) and so systemic guidelines of CAM use are needed.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.73-81
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• 2014

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of various treatment modalities including pharmacotherapy, educational-behavioral therapy, and complementary alternative treatment for children with mental retardation (MR) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Korea. Methods : The sample consisted of 50 parents who have children with MR (N=28) or ASD (N=22) : 38 boys, 12 girls ; mean age 14.06 (4.14) years old. A questionnaire was composed of the experienced modality, duration, cost, satisfaction, etc. Results : According to the results, 56.0%, 100.0%, and 36.0% of children with MR or ASD have experienced pharmacological treatment, educational-behavioral therapy and complementary alternative medicine (CAM), respectively. Children who experienced educational-behavioral therapy and CAM experienced 3.52 kinds of education-behavioral therapy and 2.78 kinds of CAM, respectively. Monthly cost of pharmacological treatment was lowest among three modality categories. Regarding treatment satisfaction by parental report, the lowest score was recorded for CAM. Conclusion : Parents who have a child with MR or ASD are trying many treatment modalities and feeling the burden of their treatment.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.113-145
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• 2010

Nowadays, it is surely the quack which stands as one of the most controversial, problematic. the quack has been a consistent target of contested public protection strategies in the past few centuries in many countries. Recently, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasingly utilized and accepted by patients and providers throughout the health care system in the world, most accounts attribute this growing acceptability to the shortcomings of conventional medicine, the appeal of CAM's core beliefs, and the growing body of research indicating that CAM actually works. However, the governments of western countries have called for measures to ensure that the public are protected from incompetent and dangerous practitioners. Common to these controversies has been a suggestion to ban, exclude or limit the medical practice of those deemed to be damaging rather than improving the health of individuals as a measure of public protection. This article describes the experiences of western counties' health care system which is moving in a more pluralistic direction. By examining the ways in which regulatory efforts in the countries have come to address what is invariably described as a growing interest in CAM, this study show how the problem of CAM/quackery today is increasingly located in an ethical field of practitioner competency, qualifications, conduct, responsibility and personal professional development, regardless of the form of therapy in question. Many countries developed a series of measures and strategies to contain the acceptance of CAM groups, such as insisting on scientific evidence of safety and efficacy, resisting integration of CAM with conventional medicine and opposing government support for research and education. In a sense, those countries' movements serve to protect not only patients, but the dominant position of medicine and its allied professions, and to maintain existing jurisdictional boundaries within the healthcare system. The popular support for CAM will require that health professional stakeholders continue to address the challenges this poses, and at the same time protect their position at healthcare system. To cope with the quack, professional body, public sector and health authorities should consider the safety of consumers of healthcare and responding to the demands of the community for CAM therapies as well as the claims of the established healthcare professions. Finally, some implications for future health care were suggested.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.339-346
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• 2006

Background: There has no known epidemiologic survey on the frequency of complementary-alternative medicine (CAM) use in the treatment of adult asthma in Korea. This study examined the current use of CAM by asthma patients in Korea. Methods: One hundred adults with asthma, who had been admitted to Kyunghee university hospital between January 2000 and December 2003, were enrolled in this survey. They received a structured questionnaire interview and a clinical assessment of prevalence and pattern of CAM use. Results: 53% patients had an experience of at least one type of CAM during their asthma management. Users of CAM had more hospital visits than those who had never used CAM($1.46{\pm}0.68$ vs. $2.11{\pm}1.20$, p=0.001). Those in their $50^{th}$ decades had more experience of CAM (80%) than the other age groups. The methods of CAM used by our patients are as follows: Diet/nutritional therapy in 35 patients(69%), herbal therapy in 28 patients(53%), acupuncture in 9 patients(17%), moxa treatment in 6 patients(11%), breathing exercises in 1 patient(2%). Conclusions: More than 50% of patients with bronchial asthma have used CAM. A more detailed and large scaled study will be needed to define the actual status of the use of CAM in the treatment for asthma. Inaddition, further research on the scientific validation of the clinical efficacy of CAM in asthma management should be followed.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.732-745
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• 2009

Objectives : This study analyzed the contents of research papers of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) concerning chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) published in PubMed during the last 5 years. This study was conducted to help clinical studies for treating COPD with Oriental medicine. Materials and Methods : We inspected 31 theses and scrutinized their objectives, periods, participants, materials and methods, methods of assessment, results and Jadad score. Results : The treatments in the studies were supplements, physical training, acupuncture, acu-TENS, Bojungikgi-tang (Buzhongyiqi-tang), counseling, breathing training, osteopathic manipulative treatment, reflexology, and distractive auditory stimuli. The aims of treatment were improvement of exercise capacity, lung function, quality of life, oxidative status, nutrient status, systemic inflammation, and cessation of smoking. The median for treatment period of study was 8 weeks, the median number of participants was 35 and the differences between mean $FEV_1$ from groups were less than 10% in 22 studies. The methods of assessment were lung function test, exercise capacity test, muscle strength test, questionnaire of QoL, laboratory studies, and measurement of nutrient state. The mean of Jadad score was $2.4\;{\pm}\;1.03$, and 24 treatment were assessed as effective. Conclusion : Recent CAM studies of COPD have focused on various topics in alternative and complementary medicine, and it is necessary to provide objective studies for treatment of this disease with Oriental medicines.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.84 no.2
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• pp.105-114
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• 2021

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been used frequently, and its use continues to increase in lung cancer patients, despite insufficient scientific of its efficacy. To investigate this situation, we analyzed the current awareness and use of CAM in Korean lung-cancer patients. Methods: This prospective survey-based study was performed at seven medical centers in South Korea between August and October 2019. The survey assessed general patient characteristics and the awareness and use of CAM. We analyzed differences in the clinical parameters of patients aware and not aware of CAM and of CAM non-users and users. Results: Of the 434 patients included in this study, 68.8% responded that they were aware of CAM and 30.9% said they had experienced it. In univariate analysis, the patients aware of CAM were younger with poor performance status, had advanced-stage lung cancer, received more systemic therapy, and received concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CCRT). By multiple logistic regression, younger age, poor performance status, advanced stage, and prior CCRT were identified as independent risk factors for CAM awareness. There were no significant differences in the general characteristics and cancer-associated clinical parameters of CAM non-users and users. Conclusion: Specific clinical parameters were associated with patients' awareness of CAM, although there were no significantly different characteristics between CAM users and non-users.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.401-424
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• 2022

Objectives: As effective treatments for dementia are lacking in Western medicine, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is considered a useful option. While the quality of life (QoL) is a vital outcome for patients with dementia, the QoL of patients receiving CAM for dementia remains ambiguous. This study aimed to determine the effect of CAM on QoL outcomes in dementia patients. Methods: A search was performed using the keywords "dementia," "Alzheimer's," "cognitive impairment," "Chinese," "Korean," "oriental," "herbal," "acupuncture," and "quality of life". All quantitative data were synthesized using R version 4.1.1. Results: Twenty-five randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 16 pre-post trials, and two cohort studies were selected for the systematic review. QoL in Alzheimer's disease (QOL-AD) (n=11, 25.6%) and geriatric QoL in dementia (GQOL-D, n=9, 20.9%) were the most utilized QoL instruments. Significant benefits in QoL were observed after receiving mind, body, combined mind and body, nursing, oriental medicine, and acupuncture therapies. In the meta-analysis, the combined effect was shown to significantly increase QOL-AD compared to before CAM interventions (standardized mean difference, SMD: 0.507; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.191~0.824; p<0.01). The overall synthesized estimates in the GQOL-D showed a significantly improved QoL (SMD: 0.537, 95% CI: 0.238~0.837 p<0.01; one group; SMD: 1.465, 95% CI: 0.934~1.996, p<0.01). The seven studies assessing the cost-effectiveness of CAM reported uncertain outcomes. Conclusions: This study showed that CAM interventions benefited patients with dementia by improving their QoL. While additional standardized research is required, CAMs are suggested as effective clinical management for patients with dementia. They are also suggested as complementing therapies for these patients.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.457-466
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• 2014

This study aimed to investigate the awareness and utilization of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in hypertension or diabetes patients to participate in health class in rural community health center. A total of 177 hypertension or diabetes patients were participated in this study. Data were collected using face-to face interviews and were analyzed using the SPSS WIN 18.0 program. About 56.5% of subjects experienced CAM and 16.0% of subjects told heath care providers about CAM. General awareness of CAM was $3.11{\pm}0.58$ in 5 point, and awareness significantly positively correlated with intention to reuse CAM, recommend CAM, and participate in CAM-related education (r=.604, r=.516, r=.419, p<.001). Health care providers such as doctors and nurses need to be concerned about CAM utilization and awareness in chronic disease patients. These findings can be used in developing effective strategies for health care providers and health policy makers to provide right awareness and utilization of CAM for chronic disease patients and the public.