• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.99-105
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• 2008

Purpose: We evaluated patient nutritional status in a home care setting. Method: We recruited 81 patients who received in-home care using a screening sheet. The level of nutrition-related serum marker (albumin) was checked via medical records and data analyzed using descriptive analysis, t-tests, and $X^2$-test. Results: Nutritional status varied according to the primary medical diagnosis. Poor nutritional status was significantly higher in cancer patients than in other diseases. Serum albumin levels were significantly lower in the malnutrition group than the good nutrition group. Conclusions: Nutrition screening can determine the nutritional status in home care patients. Home care nurse practitioners should consider nutritional status when assessing patient health.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.79-96
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• 2018

Objectives: The objective of this study was to survey the performance of postpartum care and compare the western medicine and Korean medicine according to women's postpartum disease. The purpose of this study was to provide basic data for the prevention and management of postpartum disease. Methods: The subjects were 228 women who experienced postpartum disease. This research was conducted in G city, at outpatient department of western medicine hospital and Korean medicine hospital. The degree of performance of postpartum care was measured on a 4-point scale divided by each area, and was compared in three groups. Results: Postpartum care includes traditional postpartum care and postpartum care in hospitals. The degree of performance of postpartum care means that the higher the score, the better. The traditional postpartum care performance score was 2.35 and the postpartum care performance score at the hospital was 1.63. The results of this study showed that the performance of traditional postpartum care was higher than that of postpartum care administered in hospitals. The perception of traditional postpartum care methods was 'An indispensable postpartum care method for health' (75.9%). The most effective method of postpartum care was 'consolidate in harmony traditional postpartum care and guidance of the medical team' (88.2%). Conclusions: The improvement and satisfaction degree of postpartum care were higher in Korean medicine than in western treatments. Therefore, the most efficient method of postpartum care must be integrated in harmony with the direction of the medical staff and traditional methods of postpartum care.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.50-63
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• 1997

Background : A pressure sore was defined as any skin lesion caused by unrelieved pressure and resulting in damage to underlying tissue. The health care institutions in the United States were reported the incident rate of pressure sores ranging from 6 to 14 %. Intensive Care Unit needed highest quality of care has been found over 40% incidence rate of pressure sore. Also, Annual expenditures for the care of pressure sores in patients in the United States have been estimated to be $7.5 billion; furthermore, 50 percent more nursing time is required to care for patients with pressure sore in comparison to the time needed to implement preventive measures against pressure sore formation. However, In Korea, there were little reliable reports, or researches, about incidence rates of pressure sore in health care institution including intensive care unit and about the integrated approach like CQI action team for risk assessment, prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers. Therefore, this study was to develop pressure sore risk assessment tool and the protocol for prevention of pressure sore formation through CQI action team activities, to monitor incident rate of pressure sore and the length of sore formation for patients at high risk, and to approximately estimate nursing time for sore dressing during research period as the effect of CQI action team. Method : CQI action team in intensive care unit, launched since early 1996, reviewed the literature for the standardized risk assessment tool, developed the pressure sore assessment tool based on the Braden Scale, tested its validity, compared on statistics including incidence rate of pressure sore for patients at high risk. Throughout these activities, CQI action team was developed the protocol, called as St. Marys hospital Intensive Care Unit Pressure Sore Protocol, shifted the emphasis from wound treatment to wound prevention. After applied the protocol to patients at high risk, the incident rate and the period of prevention against pressure development were tested with those for patients who received care before implementation of protocol by Chi-square and Kaplan-Meier Method of Survival Analysis. Result : The CQI action team found that these was significant difference of in incidence rate of pressure sores between patients at high risk (control group) who received care before implementation of protocol and those (experimental group) who received it after implementation of protocol (p<.05). 25% possibility of pressure sore formation was shown for the patients with 6th hospital day in ICU in control group. In experimental group, the patients with 10th hospital day had 10% possibility of pressure sore. Therefore, there was significant difference(p<.05) in survival rate between two groups. Also, nursing time for dressing on pressure sore in experimental group was decreased as much as 50% of it in control group. Conclusion : The collaborative team effort led to reduced incidence, increased the length of prevention against pressure sore, and declined nursing care times for sore dressing. However, there have had several suggestions for future study. The preventive care system for pressure sore should be applied to patients at moderate, or low risk throughout continuous CQI team activities based on Bed Sore Indicator Fact Sheet. Hospital-wide supports, such as incentives, would be offered to participants for keeping strong commitment to CQI team. Also, Quality Information System monitoring incidents and estimating cost of poor quality, like workload (full time equivalence) or financial loss, regularly in a hospital has to be developed first for supporting CQI team activities as well as empowering hospital-wide QI implementation. Being several limitations, this study would be one of the report cards for the CQI team activities in intensive care unit of an acute hospital and a trial of quality improvement of health care in Korea.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.241-243
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• 2020

Coronavirus disease 2019 poses an occupational health risk to health-care workers. Several thousand health-care workers have already been infected, mainly in China. Preventing intra-hospital transmission of the communicable disease is therefore a priority. Based on the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety model, the strategies and measures to protect health-care workers in an acute tertiary hospital are described along the domains of work task, technologies and tools, work environmental factors, and organizational conditions. The principle of zero occupational infection remains an achievable goal that all health-care systems need to strive for in the face of a potential pandemic.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.85 no.4
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• pp.361-363
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• 2022

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.23-33
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of eye-shields and sleep-inducing music application on sleep quality and incidence of delirium for intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Methods: This study was a untreated control group design with pretest and posttest. The data was collected in the ICU of D University Hospital in Busan, from June to September 2011. Thirteen subjects were assigned to eye-shields and sleep-inducing music intervention and 15 subjects were in the control group. Results: Eye-shields and sleep-inducing music application was effective for improving the quality of sleep in ICU patients. There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of delirium between the two groups. Conclusion: The sleep improvement intervention with eye-shields and sleep-inducing music would be a meaningful part of nursing intervention programs to enhance the quality of sleep in ICU patients.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.130-134
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• 2021

In the era of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), social distancing and strict visitation policies at hospitals have made it difficult for medical staff to provide high-quality end-of-life (EOL) care to dying patients and their families. There are various issues related to EOL care, including psychological problems of patients and their families, difficulties in EOL decision-making, the complicated grief of the bereaved family, moral distress, and exhaustion of medical staff. In relation to these issues, we aimed to discuss practical considerations in providing high-quality EOL care in the COVID-19 pandemic. First, medical staff should discuss advance care planning as early as possible and use the parallel planning strategy. Second, medical staff should play a role in facilitating patient-family communication. Third, medical staff should actively and proactively evaluate and alleviate dying patients' symptoms using non-verbal communication. Lastly, medical staff should provide care for family members of the dying patient, who may be particularly vulnerable to post-bereavement problems in the COVID-19 era. Establishing a system of screening high-risk individuals for complicated grief and connecting them to bereavement support services might be considered. Despite the challenging and limited environment, providing EOL care is essential for patients to die with dignity in peace and for the remaining family to return to life after the loved one's death. Efforts considering the practical issues faced by all medical staff and healthcare institutions caring for dying patients should be made.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.148-152
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• 2016

The hospital readmission rate has been widely used as an indicator of the quality of hospital care in many countries. However, the transferrability of this indicator that has been developed in a different health care system can be questioned. We reviewed what should be considered when using the risk-standardized readmission rate (RSRR) as a generic quality indicator in the Korean setting. We addressed the relationship between RSRR and the quality of hospital care, methodological aspects of RSRR, and use of RSRR for external purposes. These issues can influence the validity of the readmission rate as a generic quality indicator. Therefore RSRR should be used with care and further studies are needed to enhance the validity of the readmission rate indicator.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.97-112
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• 2013

This study is a proposal of quality scale and measurement for the Mobile Hospital Information System Usability used to the Chungnam National University Hospital in Daejeon Korea. This study is to provide decision- making guideline for hospital managers and to provide feedback for the users' information needs in Mobile Hospital Information System. The target people of the study were medical doctors in Chungnam National University Hospital. The service contexts of usability were request of medical Care, Vital sign check of Patient, Care Agreement of Patient, Blood management, Check of care state, Sign of choice doctors, Query of doctor order and patient measurement result. The Usability factors were the efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction of quality model ISO9241-11. This study shows that the Mobile HIS is used for the communication and education between doctor and patients. Especially, The Care Agreement of Patient is a part of the most utilized in the Mobile HIS.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.72 no.1
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• pp.68-71
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• 2012

Untreated massive hemoptysis, especially in patients with tuberculous-destroyed lung, is a serious complication resulting in considerable morbidity and mortality. We report a case of a patient who had active tuberculosis and a destroyed left lung with massive bleeding. He was transferred to our clinic with intubation of a right-sided Robertshaw double lumen tube and right upper lobe collapse likely due to tube malposition that was presented on chest X-ray. Because hemoptysis had persisted after bronchial arterial embolizaton, we replaced the double lumen tube with a conventional endotracheal tube and inserted an endobronchial blocker into the left main bronchus through an endotracheal tube guided by bronchoscopy to prevent aspiration of blood into the right lung. Left pneumonectomy was performed and hemotpysis was ceased. We suggest that the use of an endobronchial blocker followed by surgery may be a safe and effective modality of treatment in patients with persistent bleeding after bronchial arterial embolization.