• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.152-160
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• 2015

This paper proposes high quality of healthcare environments for a user-oriented children's hospital by identifying the user needs according to residential characteristics of the child, especially the hospitalization period. Caregivers, mostly parents of children in a children's hospital, participated in a questionnaire survey. The user's demands, satisfaction and hospital environment assessment were measured. A total of 103 copies of the questionnaire were finally collected and analyzed. The data was processed statistically using SPSS WIN 18.0 Version software. The results and conclusions are as follows. 1)The participants were categorized into three groups according to the hospitalization period of the child (less than 7 days, 7-20 days, and more than 21 days). 2)When the patients stayed longer in the hospital, their satisfaction was lower and their demands were higher. The long-term group required a more spacious bathroom for the child inpatients and their caregivers as well as sufficient individual storage spaces that are appropriate for the length of stay. 3)The longer they were hospitalized, the more negative they evaluated the hospital environment. These results suggest that the period of hospitalization is one of the crucial factors that impact the user's satisfaction and demands. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the design factors such as territoriality, privacy, accessability, and aesthetics to improve the satisfaction of the long-term child inpatients and their caregivers.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.77-90
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• 2015

Objective : The purpose of this study is to discuss the role and ways to improve the position and rights of Korean Medicine Doctors (KMDs) working at long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) through survey analysis. Method : (1) The legal and institutional position of KMDs is studied using current law and related papers. (2) The online survey was conducted through KMD community websites, targeted at KMDs working at LTCHs. Results : (1) Whereas there is perceived added benefit for the eight specializations for a specialist of Western medicine at LTCHs, in the case of a specialist of Korean Medicine, their value is not institutionally recognized at all. (2) A Western inpatient's medical fee is more than a Korean inpatient's medical fee, and the individual fee for the same medical treatment is also higher in Western hospitalization. So, Korean medical hospitalization actually cannot be made. Because of that, Korean Medicine Doctors find it difficult to be primary care physicians. (3) Musculoskeletal diseases and the aftereffects of cerebrovascular diseases were the most common chief complaints addressed in Korean medical consultations. Conclusion : This study shows that KMDs working at LTCHs have suffered many kinds of inequality. That is because of the limited medical scope of the current medical system and real constraints from the gap in Korean-Western medical fees by the National Health Insurance Corporation. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate these variations along with revising the statute with continuous research.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.218-223
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• 2000

Background: This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a parenteral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent for management of post-surgical pain and its effect on hospital stay and long-term surgical outcome. Methods: Total of 40 patients undergoing lumbar discectomy were randomly assigned to two groups, receiving either 1) 30 mg intravenous ketorolac upon surgical closure, every 6 hours for 36 hours, and morphine IV PCA (intravenous patient controlled analgesia), or 2) only morphine PCA. A blinded investigator recorded; the visual analog pain scores, total postoperative narcotic consumption, complications by morphine PCA, length of hospitalization (from surgery to discharge), and long-term outcome at 6 weeks. Results: The patients who received IV ketorolac and morphine PCA reported significantly lower visual analog pain scores than patients receiving only morphine PCA. Cumulative morphine doses were significantly lower in the ketorolac group (P<0.001). There was no significant difference between groups in the frequency of side effects related to morphine PCA. Mean length of hospitalization was longer for patients receiving only morphine PCA, but there was no statistical significance. Six weeks after surgery, four (20.0%) patients who received only morphine PCA suffered persistent back pain. In contrary, all those patients who received ketorolac were free of back pain at follow-up (P<0.05). Conclusions: These results suggest that intermittent IV bolus ketorolac, when used with opioid IV PCA is more effective than opioid IV PCA alone for postoperative pain following lumbar disc surgery. However, this strategy did not contribute to early discharge from hospital after lumbar disc surgery. The effect to long-term surgical outcome was not conclusive.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.233-240
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• 2012

This study aimed to clarify any factors that may have effect on the appropriateness of hospital admission and hospitalization with the intention of facilitating more efficient occupancy of hospital beds and better medical services in the aspect of their quality, minimizing unnecessary occupancy of beds, and ultimately helping patients requiring acute treatments to use immediately hospitals. This paper selected 154 Stroke patients who left neurology department of one general hospital from March, 1, 2006 to September, 31, 2010 as targets to meet the rate according to medical care security and to see the trend of recent 4 years. As study method, this paper analized medical treatment record with AEP to evaluate the appropriateness of hospital admission and stay and the collected data was computerized through SPSS 12.0. Based upon the results above, the conclusion was drawn that the higher appropriateness of hospital admission and the shorter length of hospital stay will lead to the higher appropriateness of hospitalization. In other words, it is required to provide hospitalized patients with all kinds of behaviors including medical treatments and nursing care service, management of pharmaceuticals, tests, rehabilitation and symptoms, as well as instructions and information for patients. Meanwhile, as it was found that the length of hospital stay may affect the appropriateness of hospitalization, the longer length of hospital stay may result in reduced bed turnover rate. In this light, it is necessary to organize a task force team responsible for evaluation and control of the appropriateness of hospitalization and hospital stay length to improve the quality of medical service in a medical center, so that patients can leave the center timely. Ultimately, governmental supports such as expansion of long-term care facilities will reduce the necessary length of hospital stay so that patients with stroke can receive rehabilitative treatments and long-term care service shortly after completion of acute treatments.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.351-361
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• 1998

The purpose of this study was to explore whether there is a point within the range of physical impairment after which the cost of home care exceeds the cost of nursing home care among the elderly who require long-term care. The provision of long-term care for the elderly is a major health policy issue, in part due to the aging of the American population and dramatic increase in health care costs. The framework for this study was guided by Pollak's(1973)model of costs of alternative care settings for the elderly. This study used a retrospective, descriptive correlational design. Physical impairment was measured by the modified Index of Activities of Daily Living(Katz et al. 1963). Cost of care was measured by the average cost per patient per day. The sample for this study included 67 patients receiving long-term care at home from the Long-term Home Health Care Programs (LTHHCPs) and 67 patients receiving long-term care in nursing homes. Data were collected on patient characteristics. including activities of daily living and cognitive impairment. and on the number of physician visits. emergency room visits. and hospitalization from the patient records. For each patient. Medicaid cost data for home care services/or nursing home services were collected from the financial department of each home care agency or nursing home. The living costs and informal care costs were estimated for home care patients. The results indicated that the home care sample and the nursing home sample were similar in terms of gender. ethnic background. and marital status. The elderly patients in the home care sample were: however. younger and less physically impaired than those in the nursing home sample. The hypotheses of this study were supported: For elderly persons with physical impairment scores below 12(possible range of 0 to 14), cost of care was lower in home care than in the nursing home care setting. However, for elderly persons with physical impairment scores above 12. the cost of care was higher in home care than in the nursing home care setting. Thus. in this sample for elderly patients with extreme physical impairment, the cost of home care exceeded the cost of nursing home care.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.272-283
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• 2016

Purpose: This is a comparative study using secondary data from the Korean national long term care (LTC) insurance. Methods: Visiting nursing (VN) service users (n=666) and non-users (n=4,375) were extracted and compared in terms of medical expenditures, length of hospitalization, and annual number of ambulatory care visits to investigate effects of VN services in LTC. Results: Total health care expenditures were compared between the two groups and it was found that VN service users spent about $ 1700 than non-users for their medical costs between 2009 and 2011. The average length of in-hospital stay for VN service users was 19.4 days shorter than that of non-users. However, using VN services did not significantly influence the annual number of ambulatory care visits. Conclusion: The study has found that VN services are effective ways of providing community-based LTC services. We recommend LTC policy makers to further utilize VN services to deliver cost effective health care services.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.35-52
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• 1991

The purpose of this study was to assess the degree of stress and patterns of coping for that Stressful events on family members because of the hospitalization of the patients. Stress and coping were measured with a tool on the basis of Volicer and Bell's questionnaire. In data collection, the modified 38 items of Volicer's stress scale and Bell's 18 item coping scale were administered. The subjects consisted of 259 family members of general ward-patients in Seoul National University Hospital during April in 1990. They were randomly selected on the basis of relationship of patients; patient's spouse, patient's daughters or sons. The stressors of the family members were ranked as follows; The first rank Stressful events was related to the patient's diseases and pain, the second ones was related ·to caring of their patients and family's psychosocial life. Families used long term coping method significantly more than short term ones. The results indicated that there was no difference in use of coping method between pre and post hospitalization. Finding out more about situation and optimism were the most common coping methods, and the least frequent coping method was the use of drugs. In conclusion, the identification of perceived stress and coping patterns of family members provides useful information for family nursing and aimes at better nursing care for the hospitalized in patients.

• Journal of The Korean Dental Society of Anesthesiology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.121-126
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• 2013

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dislocation is an acute paintful condition that causes severe functional limitation. So, manual reduction is the treatment of choice and should be performed as early as possible. Long-term dislocation of the TMJ that has persisted for more than 1 month is comparatively rare. This may include severe illness, neurological diseases and prolonged intensive care hospitalization with oral intubation and sedation. A joint that remains prolonged dislocated undergoes morphological change which is also true for periarticular tissue, especially in ligaments and muscles. Treatment of long-term TMJ dislocation should be different from acute TMJ dislocation, as simple reduction is difficult to achieve and it's likely to redislocate. The prevention of redislocation after reduction should be considered. This is a case report of about manual reduction of temporomandibular joint long-standing dislocation under general anesthesia.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.205-214
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• 2006

Background : Acute exacerbations form a major component of the socioeconomic burden of COPD. As yet, little information is available about the long-term outcome of patients who have been hospitalized with acute exacerbations, although high mortality rates have been reported. The aim of this study was to determine predictors of long-term mortality after hospitalization for acute exacerbation of COPD. Methods : We performed a retrospective cohort study of consecutive patients admitted to the hospital for COPD exacerbation between 2000 through 2004. Patients who had died in hospital or within 6-months after discharge, had tuberculosis scar, pleural thickening or bronchiectasis by chest radiography or had been diagnosed with malignancy during follow-up periods were excluded. Results : Mean age of patients was 69.5 years, mean follow-up duration was 49 months, and mean $FEV_1$ was 1.00L (46% of predicted). Mortality was 35% (17/48). In the multivariate Cox regression analysis, heart rate of 100/min or more (p=0.003; relative risk [RR], 11.99; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.34-61.44) and right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) of 35mmHg or more (p=0.019; RR, 6.85; 95% CI, 1.38-34.02) were independent predictors of mortality. Conclusion : Heart rate and RVSP in stable state may be useful in predicting long-term mortality for COPD patients admitted to hospital with acute exacerbation.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.193-203
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• 2017

The implementation of national cancer screening has increased the detection rates of early gastric cancer (EGC) in Korea. Since the successful introduction of laparoscopic gastrectomy for gastric cancer in the early 1990s, this technique has demonstrated improved short-term outcomes without compromising long-term oncologic results. It is associated with reduced pain, shorter hospitalization, reduced morbidity rates, better cosmetic outcomes, and equivalent mortality rates as those for open surgery. Laparoscopic gastrectomy improves patients' quality of life (QOL) and provides favorable prognosis. Single-incision laparoscopic gastrectomy (SILG) is one extremely minimally invasive method, theoretically offering improved cosmetic results, less postoperative pain, and earlier recovery after surgery than conventional multiport laparoscopic gastrectomy. In this context, SILG is thought to be an optimal method to promote and maximize patients' QOL in the acute postoperative phase. However, the technical difficulties of this procedure have limited its use. Since the first report describing single-incision distal gastrectomy in 2011, only 16 studies to date have evaluated SILG. Most of these studies have focused on the technical feasibility and safety of SILG because its long-term outcomes have not been reported. This article reviews the advantages and limitations of SILG.