• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.50-54
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• 2022

Antibiotics are commonly prescribed medications in the hospice and palliative care setting, as well as in many other healthcare settings. The overuse or negligent use of antibiotics is associated with the harmful consequence of fostering the development of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Thus, there is an urgent need to critically examine and audit antibiotic use in all aspects of healthcare. In the status quo, there is a lack of consistent standards and guidelines surrounding the use of antibiotics in hospice and palliative care settings, leading to significant variations in how antibiotics are prescribed and administered in end-of-life care. It is apparent that greater thought needs to go into antibiotic decisions for patients receiving hospice or palliative care, especially considering the harmful consequences of the overprescription of antibiotics. The literature suggests that many clinicians prescribe antibiotics inappropriately for patients who would not benefit from their use or prescribe them without adequate documentation. Clinicians should be deliberate about when they prescribe antibiotics and adhere to the appropriate documentation standards and procedures within their institution or community. Future research should seek to generate generalizable knowledge about which patients will benefit most from antibiotic therapy during end-of-life care.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.37-52
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• 2014

The aim of this study was to understand home hospice care status and problem in Korea, and ultimately to develop the home hospice standard. This study was conducted as a part of a study on the institutionalization of the home hospice in Korea. A focus group interview with representatives of seven home hospice agency where have provided home hospice service for years was conducted. All of the participants agreed to the essential components for home hospice service including 24 hour on call service, multidisciplinary team visiting, and periodical team meeting. Visiting frequency was 1-3 times per week mostly by nurses. And they agreed requisitely to fulfill an office for home visiting nurses, storage space, and home visiting bags. The obstacles of providing home hospice were 1) no reimbursement system, 2) difficulties to change medication at home, 3) lack of inpatient beds for symptom control. Standardization of home hospice is critical to improve service quality and to develop reimbursement system. The findings of this study could be used as a basic data to develop home hospice standards and guidelines.

• Korean Journal of Hospice Care
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.1-14
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to promote the popularization of hospice services by providing the information about the influences of hospice training on participants. We compared differences of attitudes toward death between those of pre-training and post-training by use of questionnaire. This study involved 137 volunteers participating in the hospice training held by one hospice center located in K-city. The questionnaire was composed of 46 items, 21 items of general information and 25 items of information about attitudes toward death. We applied Park's translated version(1992), originally distributed by Thorson and Powell(1988), in the assessment of participants' changed attitudes toward death. Participants were asked to fill out the questionnaire before and after the hospice training. The data were analged by frequency. ANOVA t-test, paired t-test. The results were as follows, 1.Pre-training items holding a high rank were 'The subject about the future life after death is distressing'(F=5.20), 'No worry about any occurrences around the body after a funeral'(F=4.75), 'Having little interest in being laid in a coffin after death'(F=4.56); items holding a low rank were 'Having little interest in any occurrences around the body after death'(F=2.22), 'Willing to deal with the aftermath of the death in detail'(F=1.94), 'No fear to have an idea to be cancerous'(F=1.72). 2.Post-training items holding a high rank were 'No fear to be dead as a result of sufferings from long-lasting illness'(F=3.18), 'No fear to have an idea to be cancerous'(F=3.16)', Having little interest in the future life after death'(F=3.09); items holding a low rank were 'Unpleasant to be not able to move after death(F=1.74), 'Distressing not to know about the future life after death'(F=1.61), 'The subject about the future life after death is distressing'(F=1.60). 3.There were significant difference in participants' attitudes toward death. Compared with pretraining(F=3.97), more positive were developed in post training(F=2.30). The results of this study indicate that hospice training renders positive regards toward death to the participants. Therefore every human being, who is able to speculate about the meaning of death, has to be exposed to the hospice training. In conclusion, hospice training should be popularized in the near future.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.122-131
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• 2009

This study was performed to identify the importance and performance of hospice volunteer's activities perceived by hospice volunteers. Methods: The subjects were 259 hospice volunteers from six hospitals in Daegu and Gyeongsangbukdo areas. A list of hospice volunteer's activities was developed by authors, based on literature, and interviews with the hospice volunteers were used to measure the perception on the importance and performance of their activities. Data were analyzed by using Descriptive statistics, t-test, One-way ANOVA with Scheffe test, and Pearson's product-moment correlation in SPSS Win 12.0. Results: The average of the importance of hospice volunteer's activities was 3.09 and the performance was 2.31, which was lower than the importance. There was a significant correlation between the importance and the performance (r=.487, P=.000). There were significant differences in total score of the importance, depending on religion, education, and period of hospice volunteer activity of subjects. There were significant differences in total score of the performance, depending on age, religion, and period of hospice volunteer activity of subjects. Conclusion: The importance of hospice volunteer's activities, perceived by hospice volunteers, was relatively high, however their performance didn't reach the level of the importance. Some characteristics of the volunteers influenced the perception of the importance and performance of the hospice volunteer's activities. The findings of this study are expected to provide useful information for the development of educational and management programs the hospice volunteers.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.7-17
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• 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze end-of-life care practices in lung disease patients with physician orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLSTs). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from medical records regarding the end-of-life care practices of POLST decisions for patients with lung disease hospitalized at a tertiary hospital in Seoul, South Korea. Data were collected from January 1 to June 30, 2021. Results: Of 300 total patients, 198 had lung cancer (66.0%) and 102 had non-malignant lung diseases (34.0%). A POLST was written for 187 patients (62.3%), and an advance directive was written for 20 patients (6.7%). Subsequent treatments were hemodialysis in 13 patients (4.3%), surgery in 3 patients (1.0%), and cardiopulmonary cerebral resuscitation in 1 patient (0.3%). Among cancer patients, chemotherapy was performed in 11 patients (3.7%), targeted therapy in 11 patients (3.7%), immunotherapy in 6 patients (2.0%), and radiation therapy in 13 patients (4.3%). Depending on the type of lung disease, types of treatment differed, including hemodialysis, ventilators, bilevel positive airway pressure, high-flow nasal cannulas, nebulizers, enteral nutrition, central line, inotropic agents, and opioids. Conclusion: Although the goals of hospice care are the same whether a patient has lung cancer or a non-malignant lung disease, because the characteristics of the respective diseases differ, end-of-life care practices and hospice approaches must be considered differently.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.12-29
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• 2008

Purpose: To develop the standardized record forms for home hospice team members, made up of nurse, doctor, social worker, minister and volunteer, to share information and communicate efficiently in their specialized field. Methods: A methodological study revising and complementing initially developed record forms by obtaining content validity from the experts in each field. Results: Reflecting total 27 experts' opinions, final 11 types of home hospice team documents (registration form, visiting record form for a nurse, initial assessment form for a doctor, progress note for a doctor, initial assessment form for spiritual care, visiting record form for a minister, care note for social worker, visiting record form for a volunteer, final summary note, initial assessment form for bereaved family, and follow-up record form for bereaved family) have been developed. Conclusion: It is believed that this study initiated of effective communication between home hospice team members and enhanced quality of home hospice service and its records.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.109-114
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• 2018

The objective of this paper is to suggest plans to properly establish and promote the use of hospice music therapy by examining its necessity and how it is being used in Korea. Hospice music therapy is a clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions administered by a professional to alleviate total pains suffered by hospice patients and their families. While the effects of hospice music therapy have been reported by many studies, its meaning and value are still poorly understood in Korea, which explains the lack of related institutions in the nation. Recently policy-wise and legislative efforts have been made to promote hospice and palliative care, which in turn will likely fuel demand for hospice music therapy. Therefore, the meaning and role of hospice music therapy should be defined by major hospice and palliative care institutions and societies, followed by institutional and academic efforts as follows. First, a set of qualification criteria for hospice music therapists should be established to provide proven music therapy interventions to patients and their families. Second, a systematic program offering both theoretical and practical trainings needs to be developed to foster hospice music therapists. Last but not least, clinical studies should be promoted with development of a research road map for hospice music therapy and a standard protocol.

• Journal of Korean Academic Society of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.78-86
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationships among emotional intelligence, resilience to burnout, and meaning in life of hospice volunteers. Methods: Data were collected through structured questionnaires from 200 hospice volunteers who were working at hospitals for six months or longer. Data were collected from March 7 to March 31, 2016, and analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression with SPSS WIN 22.0. Results: There was a statistically significant correlation between emotional intelligence, resilience to burnout and meaning in life. The significant predictors of hospice volunteers' meaning in life were resilience to burnout(${\beta}=.47$), emotional intelligence(${\beta}=.15$), educational level(college, ${\beta}=.11$), religion(protestant, ${\beta}=.12$; buddhism, ${\beta}=-.15$), and motivation for neighborhood service(${\beta}=.16$). These variables explained meaning in life up to 50.2%. Resilience to burnout was the greatest effective factor on meaning in life. Conclusion: These results suggest a need to develop programs that improve hospice volunteers' emotional intelligence and resilience to burnout. Also, educational level, religion, and service motivation of hospice volunteers should be considered.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.138-143
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• 1999

Accurately estimating survival times in terminal cancer patients is very difficult for palliative care clinicians. But a reasonably accurate estimate of survival would permit the medical team to : Plan the ideal therapeutic strategy between overtreatment and too early discontinuation of specific therapy. Answer any questions asked by the patient or family. Organize adequate assistance for the patient concerned. Decide on the eligibility of the patient for clinical trials and whether to begin a treatment, the effects of which will not be immediate. This case was a 79 year-old male patient with colon cancer. He complained of dry mouth, anorexia, weight loss and showed KPS $40{\sim}50$ on admission day. 40 days later he died. To improve patient/family quality of life, it is necessary to improve the ability to estimate accurately a patient's length of survival.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.209-219
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was to testify the effects on self esteem and spiritual well-being of holistic hospice nursing intervention program ("Rainbow program") for inpatients of hospice palliative care unit. This was designed as a preliminary experimental study with one-group pre-post test. Methods: A total of 27 patients who were over 18 years old, and admitted in hospice palliative care unit of S hospital in P city, submitted informed consent for this study, participated in holistic hospice nursing intervention program(total 10 sessions and 1,200 minutes for 2 weeks) from April 6, 2004 to April 20, 2005. To test the effects of this intervention, Self Esteem Questionnaire (SEQ) and Spiritual Well-being Questionnaire were used. The collected data were analyzed by Paired t-test with SPSS/WIN 12.0 program. Results: (1) Hypothesis No. 1 "The experimental group which received Rainbow program will have a higher degree of self esteem than before" was supported (t=11.554, P<0.001). (2) Hypothesis No. 2 "The experimental group which received Rainbow program will have a higher degree of spiritual well-being than before" was also supported (t=6.387, P<0.001). Conclusion: This Holistic Hospice Nursing Intervention Program was effective in increasing self-esteem and spiritual well-being of patients in hospice palliative care unit. Therefore, it can actively be used and also applied to hospice palliative care practice, research, and education as a useful model of interdisciplinary team approach by hospice professionals.