• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.275-288
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• 1997

The purpose of the study is to explore and describe the lived experience of family members with gastric cancer patients using the grounded theory methodology. The participants were ten spouses of gastric cancer patients who had some kind of treatment at the hospital. They were asked open-ended and descriptive questions in order for them to talk about their experiences in their own terms. As the interveiw progressed the questions became more specific to discuss themes and working hypotheses that emerged from the analysis of previous interviews. All interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed for the analysis. Constant the core category that was emerged from the comparative analysis is “magmaggam” which can be described as a psychological distress due to a high level of uncertainty regarding the health of the patient and the future of the caregivers. Psychological distress includes several emotional feelings such as frustration. anxiety, fear, guilty, and self depreciation. Subcategories or strategies related to the core category are 1) managing illness, 2) using folk medicine, 3) giving the patient a reason to live, 4) being patient, 5) losing reality, 6) anticipatory experience on the patient's death and parting, and 7) changing interpersonal relationships. The results of this study would help clinical nurses to develop nursing intervention to help spouses of gastric cancer patients establish efficient coping strategies in dealing with the problems they face.

• The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.50-58
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• 2005

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to increase our understanding of the terminal cancer patients and their families concerns. I analyzed the counseling contents of terminal cancer patients and their relatives who referred to hospice office. Method: Data was collected from January 2004 to November 2004. During the counseling, I took notes the key points and contents. 109 patients and/or their families's counseling records were analyzed with the descriptive statistics and content analysis. Result: 73.4% of patients knew their current terminally ill status. The mobility of 86.2% of the patients was worse than ECOG 3 level. Patients have uncontrolled pain(28.4%), emotional distress(55.0%), and physical distress(49.5%). Caregivers of the patients were spouse(46.8%), sons and daughters(24.8%). Family members had problems to tell the bad news to their family cancer patient. 95.4% of the patient and family members was informed about the hospice and palliative care services, and 35.8% of them was referred to the hospice and palliative organizations. Frequently asked questions were 'what is hospice?', 'how much is the cost of hospice services?' etc. Conclusion: Care planning for terminal cancer patients must include patient. Also, professionals should consider and offer accessible, effective and empathetic counseling services to patients and families.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.61-70
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• 2008

Purpose: Women with gynecologic cancer often experience various physical and psychological symptoms relating to the cancer and its treatment. The purpose of this study was to identify symptom clusters. Method: A survey was conducted on 184 women with diagnoses of cervical, ovarian or endometrial cancer. Fifty symptoms were assessed for prevalence, severity and interference, and symptom clusters were identified. Cluster analysis was done using SPSS version 12.0. Results: Fatigue was identified as the most prevalent symptom (81.52%), lack of vaginal lubrication (2.26) as the most severe symptom, and lack of vaginal lubrication as the most interfering one (2.15). Identified six clusters were: Anorexia-pain cluster (loss of appetite, taste change, weight loss, appearance change, alopecia, weakness, pain), Fatigue cluster (lack of concentration, lack of memory, fatigue, dry mouth), Urinary-bowel distress cluster (urinary difficulty, constipation), Abdominal discomfort cluster (lower abdominal pain, abdominal pain, bloating), Emotional distress (sadness, anxiety-worry, nervousness, restlessness), and Menopausal cluster (sweating, hot flush, fever). Conclusion: The result of this study provides fundamental data to health care professionals in developing interventions for effective symptom management for women with gynecologic cancer by understanding identified 6 symptom clusters.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.377-388
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on depression, anxiety, self care behavior and quality of life in cancer patients. Methods: Two thousand and eighty three abstracts were identified through six electronic databases (1980 to June 2012) in Korea. Seventeen studies involving 679 participants met the inclusion criteria for meta analysis. Two authors independently assessed trial quality by Cochrane's Risk of Bias and Methodological Items for Non Randomized Studies and extracted data. The data were analyzed by the RevMan 5.2 program of Cochrane library. Results: Overall, study quality was moderate to high. CBT was conducted for a mean of 4.2 weeks, 7 sessions and an average of 36.1-minutes per session. CBT was effective for depression (d=-0.85; 95% CI=-1.09, -0.61), anxiety (d=-0.52; 95% CI=-0.75, -0.29), self care behavior (d=-1.34; 95% CI=-1.93, -0.74), and quality of life (d=-0.42; 95% CI=-0.80, -0.04). Publication bias was not detected as evaluated by funnel plot and Egger's test. Conclusion: CBT has small to large effects on depression, anxiety, self care and quality of life. These finding suggests that various CBT interventions can assist cancer patients in reducing emotional distress and improving self care and quality of life.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.439-446
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of empathic ability and campus life stress on the stress coping behaviors among 395 dental hygiene students. The analysis was performed using PASW Statistics ver. 18.0, and the following conclusions were obtained. The empathic concern factor was the highest in the subscale of empathic ability (3.60). The interpersonal relationship stress was 1.65 and the task-related stress was 2.72. The stress coping behaviors were the highest among the sub-domains, with 3.69 for wishful thinking. The differences of stress coping behaviors according to general characteristics were as follows. The lower the age and grade, the higher the problem-focused coping; when they were religious there was a high pursuit of seeking social support. When they were satisfied with their economic level, wishful thinking was high. There was a low negative correlation between empathic concern and interpersonal relationship stress in campus life (p<0.01). There was a positive correlation between personal distress and task-related stress (p<0.001). The relationship between empathic ability and stress coping behaviors was most associated with personal distress and wishful thinking. Among the sub-domains of stress coping behaviors, factors that have a common impact on personal distress and seeking social support are viewpoint acceptance. Factors supporting emotional focus and wishful thinking were task-related stress. Dental hygiene students are not able to completely eliminate the stress that they are actually under. However, as the research results show, it is necessary to use stress coping techniques to cope effectively with individual tendencies and situations, and to improve the ability to sympathize with another individual.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.111-125
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• 2012

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to develop a navigation program for newly diagnosed cancer patients and to evaluate its effects. Methods: The navigation program was based upon Professional Navigation Framework. Patients were asked to complete self-administered questionnaires on satisfaction, distress, anxiety and depression for evaluating the program. Results: The navigation program consisted of facilitating two concepts: continuity of care and empowerment of patients. Information-education package, telephone counseling and navigator's phone number were provided to the newly diagnosed cancer patients for care continuity. Self-care diary and emotional support by telephone counseling were provided to the patients for empowerment of patients. A total of 163 patients - 78 control and 85 experimental participants - were included in the study. The mean scores of satisfaction, distress, anxiety and depression had no statistical differences between the two groups after program implementation. In patients with longer waiting days, the experimental group with the navigation program showed higher relational continuity than the control group after program implementation(p=.023). In patients with longer waiting days or with higher distress, satisfaction of relational continuity was improved after program implementation in the experimental group. Conclusion: The navigation program in this study has applied the concept of patient navigation into oncology clinical setting in Korea. Navigation program can play a significant role in assisting patients navigating across the care continuum.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.172-180
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• 2000

Objectives : We investigated the characteristics of perceived stress response and relationship between some variables of gastrointestinal symptoms(esp., dyspepsia) and subscales of perceived stress response inventory(PSRI) in patients with upper gastointestinal disorder when they perceived stress. Methods : 84 patients with upper gastrointestinal disorder(gastritis, gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer etc.) and 94 normal controls completed the PSRI developed by Korean psychiatrists. The patient group performed the questionnaire including some variables of gastrointestinal symptoms. Results : Internal consistency was statistically significant in all subscales of PSRI. The patient group was significantly higher at total score of PSRI, general somatic symptom subscale score, specific somatic symptom score than control group. As the result of stepwise regression analysis for relationship between some variables of gastrointestinal symptoms ans subscales of PSRI, specific somatic symptom subsclae closely related with illness duration, past illness history and severity of symptom, and the lowered cognitive function & general negative thinking subscale related with the existence of emotional distress. Conclusion : Patients with upper gastrointestinal disorder showed stronger perceived stress response than control group and they experiences somatic symptoms related to autonomic nervous system and/or gastrointestinal symtoms rather than emotional, cognitive, behavioral symtoms when they perceived stress. They also responded to stress as they expeirenced specific somatic symtom when they had long illness duration, past illness history, and high severity of symptom and the existence of emotional distress could develop lowered congnitive function and general negative thinking.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.57-64
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• 1998

Personality characteristics were studied by means of SCL-90-R test, Behavioral problem and pain site was studied Isleep disturbance, irregular eating habit, decreased physical activity, decreased social activity, increased emotional tension) by examination sheets. This study was conducted to examine the mature and extent of psychological difference between the students who failed the college-entrance examination and freshment and to determine whether psychological distress acts as a precipitate for craniocervical pain. 96students who failed the college-entrance examination (examination-failed student) and 86 freshmen were included in this study. The obtained results were as follows : Mean T-score of SCL-90-R primary scaled and global Indies in examination-failed students were significantly higher than the freshmen group. In comparison with examination-failed student group, the prevalence of neck and shoulder pain was significantly higher than the freshmen group. When the study and control group were compared in behavioral problem the study group had not more sound sleep than the control group. The study group had more irregular eating habit than control group. The study group had the lower physical activity than control group. The study group had poor social activity than control group. There was no significant difference in emotional tension.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.3-9
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• 2015

The etiopathogenesis of burning mouth syndrome (BMS) seems to be complex and many patients probably involves interactions among local, systemic, and/or psychological factors in the pathophysiologic mechanism. Although there are controversies over whether the psychological factor is a cause or a result of BMS, several studies have supported strong relationships between psychological factors and chronic pain. It has been suggested that somatic complaints from unfavorable life experiences may influence both individual personality and mood changes; however, initiation of BMS symptoms is not necessarily correlated with stressful life events despite their elevated psychological stress. If the psychological distress is not a causal factor of BMS, it seems that BMS patients may be particularly vulnerable to psychological problems, primarily depression, anxiety, and hostility due to the characteristic entities of BMS such as chronic persistent pain itself. It seems likely that both physiological and psychological factors play a role in causing, perpetuating and/or exacerbating BMS; therefore, both two components of the patient's symptoms must be addressed. The acceptance of psychological factors by the patient is often an important element of BMS, management. The evaluation of psychological and emotional status of BMS patient enables clinicians to recognize prolonged negative and subclinical factors which can complicate the management of pain or indirectly perpetuate other physical factors. This evaluation improves the doctor-patient relationships, motivation, and compliance through a correct understanding of the clinical problem. Appropriate emotional and psychological evaluation may be required prior to developing a treatment plan in order to gain the successful treatment outcome.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.463-471
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• 2023

Objectives: Medical personnel are professionals subject to stressful situations and psychological distress. This case series reports the results of a mindfulness meditation program combined with digital health for medical personnel at a Korean medicine (KM) hospital. Methods: An online mindfulness program was implemented in 2022 to improve the mental health of nursing staff in a KM clinic. The online mindfulness program, which was supplemented based on previous results and limitations, was applied to KM doctors and nurses working at a KM hospital in this case series. An important difference from the existing case series was the introduction of a smartphone application that promoted the daily routine of meditation. A total of 7 medical personnel, including 4 doctors and 3 nurses, participated in the program. Results: After participating in the program, an increase in deep acting and a decrease in surface acting, which are aspects of emotional labor, were consistent with the results of a previous case series. However, the patterns of change in burnout and hwa-byung symptoms differed depending on the occupation of the participants. Participants' satisfaction with this program and the smartphone application and willingness to recommend it to colleagues were high. Conclusions: As this study was only a small case series, the author plans to continue to expand and improve the program based on the findings.