• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.100-110
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of hand moxa and hand press pellet on blood pressure, blood lipids and blood cell components in elderly women. Methods: This study was conducted as a quasi-experiment with none equivalent control group pre-post test design. The participants were elders who had essential hypertension. There were 18 members in the experimental group and 20 members in the control group. The experimental group received hand moxibustion and hand press pellet 3 times a week for 12 weeks. The results were analyzed using $x^2$ test, t-test, Fisher's exact test and repeated measures ANOVA with the SPSS/WIN program. Results: There were significant decreases in blood pressure in the experimental group compared to the control group. No significant difference was observed in total triglyceride, LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol between the two groups. Differences in hemoglobin and hematocrit were not significant either. However, there were significant increases in RBC in the experimental group after the intervention. Conclusion: The results suggest that combined hand therapy contributes to the decrease of blood pressure among the elderly with hypertension. Therefore combined hand therapy is recommended as a complementary nursing intervention strategy for the elderly with essential hypertension.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.3 s.71
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• pp.116-125
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• 2007

Objective : To overview the protocols of clinical acupuncture research on cancer in the USA. Methods : Using 'acupuncture' and 'cancer' as keyword search terms in Clinical Trials. gov, 28 clinical studies were found. Three studies by non-American institutions were excluded and 25 studies were analyzed. Analytic parameters were cancer condition, primary outcome, research institution, study design, and acupuncture intervention. Results : Breast cancer was the most frequent single condition in the searched protocols. Pain and quality of life were the primary outcomes in many studies. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centerin New York has performed the largest number of acupuncture cancer studies. The majority of studies were randomized controlled trials with active controls or placebo/sham controls. Total enrollment varied between the range of 10 and 700 subjects and ages of these subjects were at least above 18 years old (except one protocol). Most protocols had strict exclusion criteria for acupuncture needling such as bleeding disorders, infection, heart disorder, and central nervous system disorder. Conclusions : Clinical acupuncture studies for cancer patients have focused on pain, quality of life, and side effects induced by anti-cancer therapies. Re-evaluation and cautions for strict exclusion criteria in foreign countries are required to perform multi-national acupuncture trials.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.25-38
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• 2008

Objectives : Integrative medicine in Korea is the 21st century-style medical practice of two orthodox medical doctrines, traditional Korean medicine and western conventional medicine, as well as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). CAM with scientific evidence should be incorporated in undergraduate curricula for the purpose of Korean integrative medicine. Methods : Items of detailed objectives, syllabi, textbooks, instructor's experiences, and effectiveness and reason for difficulty of the CAM curriculum for undergraduate students were analyzed and the preference of CAM therapies and others were also evaluated. Results and Discussion : The effectiveness of this CAM class curriculum was high (8.0$\pm$1.4) enough to be used in other Oriental medical colleges. Development of ability for self-study was rated as 7.0$\pm$1.7 and the helpfulness for clinical use was marked as 6.8$\pm$1.9. Students preferred placebo, Ayurveda, aromatherapy, yoga, functional food, bio-feedback and homeopathy. The difficulty degree was 7.2$\pm$1.6, and the amount of content was suggested as the major reason for it. We also found that this curriculum can be a model for self-oriented study and problem-based learning. Discussions were made for the improvement of the implemented CAM curriculum, which was shown to be very effective for the achievement of Korean integrative medicine. Conclusion : We have successfully installed a CAM curriculum for undergraduate students at the College of Oriental Medicine, and it can be used in others.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.24-41
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• 2012

Objectives: This study reviewed research trends concerning the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use and to suggest future research directions appropriate to medical circumstances in Korea. Methods: We searched for surveys of CAM use in 8 databases including 6 Korean databases, Ovid MEDLINE, and the CINAHL electronic database. Three independent reviewers working in pairs screened titles and abstracts of articles for eligibility. Full text was retrieved in case of disagreement on the eligibility. The main analysis targets included survey researcher's affiliation, terminology used in the title, study subject, definition of CAM, classifications of CAM modalities, and the area assortment of CAM and traditional Korean medicine (TKM). Results: 92 articles were included for analysis. The major constituent of affiliation was doctors (53%). According to years, study subjects were diversified to a large range of diseases. Since 2003, terminology is absorbed to use CAM. But actually, the most commonly used definition in the research was comprehensive such as "not generally considered part of major medicine" (55.4%) and the most used classification of CAM was self-criteria (61.9%). As for area assortment of CAM and TKM, many therapies exist in a gray zone between CAM and TKM. Conclusions: Standardized definition and classification criteria about CAM fit to the Korean healthcare system have not yet developed. For traditional Korean medicine academia, more concern should be paid to establishing appropriate development of definitions and classification criteria.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.187-196
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perception and utilization patterns of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome. Methods: A total of 92 fibromyalgia syndrome patients participated in this study. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and were analyzed with SPSS/WIN 23.0 program. Results: As a result, 59.8% of subjects had an experience of CAM and 33.7% of subjects have used until now. There were significant differences of the use of CAM between the group of CAM users and non-CAM users by education ($x^2$=4.04, p=.044), period of illness ($x^2$=15.03, p=.001), and period of treatment ($x^2$=12.10, p=.002). Relatively large numbers of patients understanded as that CAM was effective (58.7%) and fibromyalgia syndrome was controllable (75.0%). Moreover, there were significant differences of the use of CAM by the perception of CAM effects ($x^2$=4.15, p=.042), fibromyalgia syndrome ($x^2$=6.55, p=.038), and best treatment for fibromyalgia ($x^2$=11.03, p=.001). Conclusion: These results could be utilized as a basic data for developing nursing intervention for fibromyalgia syndrome.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.3139-3144
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• 2014

Background: Medical treatment for eliminating the side effects of cancer therapy may not always be efficacious. Acupuncture is one of the most widely accepted alternative and complementary therapies in use today. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of acupuncture in patients experiencing cancer treatment side effects, including nausea, vomiting, pain, poor sleep quality and anxiety. Materials and Methods: A total of 45 inpatients who underwent chemotherapy between February and April 2013 in the Oncology Department of Numune Hospital were included in our study. Acupuncture was administered to the patients one day prior to chemotherapy, on the day of chemotherapy and one day after chemotherapy. The patients were evaluated on nausea, vomiting, pain, sleep quality and anxiety before the chemotherapy and on the $4^{th}$ day of chemotherapy. Results: Of the 45 patients included in the study, 18 (40%) were female and 27 (60%) were male. A total of 25 (55.6%) had an elementary school education; 32 patients (71%) had stage 4 cancer and were treated with palliative chemotherapy (the patient characteristics are shown in Table 1). Statistically significant decreases (p<0.001) in pain, nausea, vomiting, insomnia and anxiety scores were observed after the acupuncture treatment compared to baseline. There were no differences in the age, gender, education level, stage or metastasis levels between the patient groups whose symptoms improved or were unchanged. Conclusions: Our study showed that acupuncture has positive effects in cancer treatment patients who experience nausea, vomiting, pain, poor sleep quality and anxiety as side effects of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy-related side effects in cancer patients could be decreased by the concurrent use of acupuncture.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.160-176
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• 2008

Objective : We designed this study to analyse the Natural Standard methodology and apply the results to new study and evaluation methods. Methods : We investigated the main stream of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), the methodology of Natural Standard, guideline in CAM, and concrete 35 cancer-related herbs and dietary supplements in 98 ones. Results : There are 35 graded herbs and supplements associated with cancer in natural standard contents: 9 foods, 17 herbs, 7 amino acids, enzymes and vitamins, and 2 herbal mixture formulas. Most of them get a grade of C: unclear or conflicting scientific evidence. Conclusion : Natural Standard aims to provide high-quality, reliable information about CAM therapies to clinicians, patients, and healthcare institutions. The more demands for and use of CAM grows, the more the needs for related studies increases. According to this international and multidisciplinary collaborative effort, we have to develop how to study and evaluate the results. We need guidelines in association with the evidence and recommendations of CAM.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.21-25
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• 2005

Background and Objectives: The popularity of complementary and alternative medicine(CAM) has grown at an astonishing rate in recent years. Because patients are interested in CAM and want to use it, physicians also should be concerned about CAM and know about the current situation of its usage. In this study, we tried to determine the prevalence of CAM use in the patients with head and neck cancer and correlate with demographics and tumor characteristics. Materials and Methods: A total of 87 patients with head and neck cancer previously treated with surgery at Seoul National University Hospital from March through June, 2004 were enrolled in this study. The patients were completed, questionnaire about the use of CAM and demographic information. Tumor characteristics were obtained from the patient's medical records. Results: Of the 87 patients, 33 patients(37.9%) use at least one CAM. There was no statistically significant correlation between patient's data and prevalence of CAM use. Of those patients using CAM, 16(48.5%) of 33 were using 2 or more therapies. The majority of agents used by patients in this study are mushrooms such as Phellinus and Reishi, followed by dietary therapy. A majority(60.6%) of patients were introduced to alternative medicine by friends or family members. Conclusion: Considerable cancer patients use CAM. Head and neck oncologists should inform themselves about CAM to counsel and educate the patients. Further scientific investigations on promising CAM agents may help advance cancer treatment.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.147-156
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• 2013

Purpose: The study was done to define complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among primary brain tumor patients and factors influencing use. Methods: The study was conducted with convenience sampling in 5 neuro-oncology centers in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. Data were collected using a 25-item questionnaire developed by the researchers. Results: Of 250 patients approached, 231 (92.4%) agreed to participate. Overall, 26.8% of the respondents used CAM and the average cost for CAM use was 300,000 KRW. More than 72% of CAM users did not disclose CAM use to their health care professionals. The most frequently used therapy was natural products including mushrooms. Logistic regression analysis revealed that an education level of university or higher (OR=2.92, 95% CI=1.56-5.44, p=.001), unemployment (OR=1.99, 95% CI=1.04-3.80, p=.037), and WHO grade III & IV tumors (OR=2.18, 95% CI=1.07-4.72, p=.048) were significant factors influencing CAM use. Conclusion: Three out of ten brain tumor patients spend substantial sum of money for CAM. In these situations, health care professionals should be aware of this phenomenon and provide adequate information and consultation to the patients.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.142-155
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to investigate the rate of utilization, kinds and effective complementary-alternative therapy in elder arthritics, and then utilize the results as basic data for nursing intervention for elder arthritics. Study subjects consisted of 157 elder arthritics over 60 years old, data were collected through a structured questionnaire and face to face interviews. Data collection was done from July 2001 to August 2001. Subjects were sampled out from outpatients of department of rehabilitation of a university hospital in S city, outpatients of a local hospital in D city, and outpatient at public heath center in K and S city. Sexual distribution of subjects showed male 19.1% and the female 80.9%. The diagnosis distribution showed degenerative arthritis at 91% and reumatoid arthritis at 8.9% Duration of arthritics was 10 years over by 46.5%, duration of hospital treatment was 1-5 years by 41% The degree of pain by arthritis pointed out a mean point of 3.37 on a 5-point numeric scale 94.2% of subjects have experience complementary-alternative therapies used. Of the kind the subjects used, physiotherapy occupied 38.2%, Oriental medicine 36.3%, physical exercise 35.7%, nutritional therapy 22.3%, animal diet 8.9%, herbal diet 3.8%. The hardest thing due to arthritis represented disability in daily life by 59.8% and the pain problem by 30.5%. In conclusion, results of the study reveal that elder arthritics have used physiotherapy, Oriental medicine, physical exercise. Concrete strategies for nursing intervention about these complementary-alternative therapy are required to the established soon.