• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.483-494
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• 2007

Purpose: The objective of the study is to describe the experience of health care activities of the menopausal women through phenomenological methodology. Methods: Seven menopausal women participated in the study. Open in-depth interviews were used to collect data, and data were analyzed by the phenomenological methods suggested by Colaizzi. Results: The data were separated into 4 categories of uncomfortable life due to physical and emotional change, building consistency in daily life through regulating a routine rhythm, recovering normality, recovering stability, and 8 clusters of themes; securing regularity in daily life, securing availability in daily life, regulating through elimination and diminishment, regulating through supplementation, being patient and control self, expressing self, review the context and exchanging views, expending a world through one's faith. Conclusion: Participants accepted menopause not as a disease but as a natural course of life and realized that menopausal health problems could be naturally settled in general health care activities in daily life.

• International Journal of Contents
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.52-56
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• 2012

This study examines whether the infant mortality rate and life expectancy at birth are affected by health care expenditure in Korea. It can be provisionally concluded that the infant mortality rate tends to be affected by the health system itself in the long-run, whereas life expectancy at birth is immediately affected by health-related facilities such as the number of physicians and number of hospital beds in the short-run. Therefore, the health-related system should be well established to improve the infant mortality rate. On the contrary, physical capital such as life-prolonging medical technologies has to be accumulated to improve life expectancy at birth.

• Journal of Korean Medical classics
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.85-102
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• 2007

Zhang thinks human life consists of body(形) and Shen(神 spirit). Body comes from Jing(精), Shen comes from Qi(氣). The common basic of body and Shen is Qi. Thus the elements of human life are Jing, Qi and Shen. Among the three life elements, Jing is the lowest level. To preserve Jing is the key to Life Care. To preserve Jing, we should rest body and Shen, and Shen rules body, so to rest Shen is necessary to preserve Jing. When Jing is full, it converts to Qi, and Qi converts to Shen. Shen is ruled by mind(心), so mind sould be quiet. There is a gate through which Jing and Qi pass. It is called Mingmen(命門), and it sould be closed tight to preserve Jing.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.36-45
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• 2021

Purpose: This study examined the relationship between Knowledge of Life-sustaining Treatment Plans and Attitudes toward Withdrawal of Life-sustaining Treatment among nursing college students, and attempted to identify the mediating effect of Role Perception on Life-sustaining Treatment in that relationship. It is hoped that the findings will ultimately contribute to the development of active nursing strategies. Methods: The participants were 142 nursing college students in the third and fourth years of study who had experienced clinical practice at two universities in cities Y and C. Data were collected from November 1 to 30, 2019. For data analysis, SPSS for Windows version 22.0 was used to calculate descriptive statistics, the t-test, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and multiple regression. To analyze the mediating effect, the Baron and Kenny bootstrapping method was used. Results: Attitudes toward Withdrawal of Life-sustaining Treatment of nursing college students had a significant positive correlation with Knowledge of Life-sustaining Treatment Plans (r=0.34, P<0.001) and Role Perception on Life-sustaining Treatment (r=0.44, P<0.001). Role Perception on Life-sustaining Treatment partially mediated the relationship between Knowledge of Life-sustaining Treatment Plans and Attitudes toward Withdrawal of Life-sustaining Treatment (95% CI, 0.446~1.055). Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, improving nursing college students' Role Perception on Life-sustaining Treatment could be used as a coping strategy to establish positive Attitudes toward Withdrawal of Life-sustaining Treatment.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.207-218
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• 2019

Purpose: Physician competency in end-of-life (EOL) care is becoming increasingly important. This study investigated the EOL care curricula in Korean medical schools. Methods: Questionnaires were issued to the faculty members responsible for the EOL care curricula at each of the medical schools. These included questions on the structure and content of the curricula, teaching methods, and faculty members' attitudes to the curricula. Results: Characteristics of the EOL care curricula were compiled from 27 (66%) of the 41 medical schools. All of the medical schools taught essential aspects of the EOL care curriculum either as a separate course or embedded within other medical education courses. The mean time spent on EOL care teaching was 10 hrs (range, 2~32 hrs). The most frequently taught topics were delivering bad news (100%) and symptom management (74%). When the palliative care education assessment tool (PEAT) was used to evaluate the curricula, a median of 11 PEAT objectives was met (range, 2~26; maximum, 83). More than two teaching methods were used in most of the curricula. However, lectures were the only teaching method used by three medical schools. 78% of faculty members who were responsible for curriculum reported dissatisfaction with it, whereas 18% believed that the time allotted to it was adequate. Only 7% of these faculty members believed that their students were adequately prepared to practice EOL care. Conclusion: There is a need to improve EOL care education in basic medical curricula and to take a more systematic approach to achieving learning outcomes.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.59-69
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• 2018

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate variables and construct paths that affect complicated grief. Methods: Participants in this cross-sectional, descriptive study were 164 bereaved spouses of cancer patients at least 12 months before the death. Data were collected from October 2016 to February 2017 using self-report structured questionnaires and were analyzed using IBM SPSS 21.0 and AMOS 20.0. Results: The variables affecting complicated grief of bereaved spouses of cancer patients were the quality of end-of-life care (${\gamma}=.15$, p<.001), preparedness for death (${\beta}=-.06$, p=.005), and coping with bereavement (${\beta}=-.24$, p<.001), whereas the quality of death and dying did not show any effects. Preparedness for death had multiple mediating effects in the relationship between the quality of end-of-life care and complicated grief (z=-2.20, p=.028), and in the relationship between the quality of end-of-life care and coping with bereavement (z=2.11, p=.035). Coping with bereavement had a mediating effect on the relationship between preparedness for death and complicated grief (z=-2.39, p=.017). Conclusion: This study revealed that preparedness for death and coping with bereavement play a prominent role in complicated grief. Therefore, it is important to help in preparing for death and enhancing coping with bereavement of spouses providing end-of-life care to cancer patients. In addition, investigating cultural differences in the relationship between the quality of end-of-life care and complicated grief is recommended.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2018

Nearly 20 years after the Boramea Hospital case, the act on decisions on life-sustaining treatment for patients in hospice and palliative care or at the end of life has taken effect on February 4, 2018 as recommended by the National Bioethics Committee. However, during the legislation process, some parts of the bill that stakeholders and concerned parties did not see eye to eye were either revised or removed. Moreover, the hospice and palliative care part was added in the last minute before the enactment. As a result, the law includes parts that are not in line with the recommendations from the National Bioethics Committee, thereby causing various problems. Therefore, it is crucial to monitor how the decisions on life-sustaining treatments are made in the field and gather various opinions of concerned parties to identify and address problems in the early stage of the implementation of the law. Based on the data, the legislation must be amended to fulfill its purpose that is "to protect the dignity and value of human beings by assuring the best interests of the patients and by respecting their self-determination".

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-20
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• 2007

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.7-25
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• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study was to perform a systematic literature review focusing on international studies to identify various factors affecting the quality of life(QOL) of dementia patients admitted to long-term care facilities. Methods: From January 2000 to July 2018, the articles published in foreign journals were searched through CINAHL and MEDLINE databases. The main search terms were'dementia or Alzheimer's'. 'quality of life', 'long-term care', 'care home', 'nursing home', 'care institution', 'residential care', 'small- scale setting'. The first 1706 articles were searched, but 10 studies were selected using the selection and exclusion criteria. Results: Analysis of ten cross-sectional studies showed that factors such as physical functioning status, ability to perform activities of daily living, and cognition showed a positive correlation with QOL. Depression and anxiety, severity of dementia, and neuropsychiatric symptoms were found to be negatively correlated with QOL. In addition, two longitudinal studies have confirmed that factors affecting QOL are affected by individual functional status and social environmental factors rather than the size and form of care facilities. Conclusion: This study summarized 10 papers and analyzed them through a systematic review of literature. We found that factors such as individual characteristics and social environment determine QOL of patients with dementia. In this study, various intervention methods to improve QOL of patients with dementia should be developed and used in long-term care facilities by identifying the factors affecting QOL of dementia patients and using them.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.364-374
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe feelings and actions of nurses following withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment from children being cared for by the nurses. Methods: Data were collected by in-depth interviews with 7 nurses from different hospitals where children receiving nursing care had life-sustaining treatment withdrawn. The interviews were conducted from August 2016 to February 2017 when all data were saturated. Interviews lasted 30~90 minutes and were conducted 2~3 times per participant. Data were analyzed using Giorgi's phenomenological research methodology. Results: The following factors constituted experiences of nurses working in pediatric wards when life-sustaining treatment was withdrawn from children: "agony and conflict in the aspects of care", "heavy mind and regret for exhausting care", "intentionally avoiding parents' sadness", "comforting sadness in the heart" and "orientation in the role of caring for children undergoing withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment." Conclusion: Findings indicate that support systems and intervention programs need to be developed so that nurses can understand and wisely deal with experiences of withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment from children who receive care from nurses.