• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.35-39
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• 2006

A 77-year-old female presented panperitonitis due to advanced gastric ranter during palliative care. In the case of panperitonitis following obstruction or perforation, surgical treatment is vital to avoid fatal sepsis and dehydration. However, the risk of surgery and the residual life of a patient must be carefully considered because of high mortality and complication rate in those patients with advanced disease due to the poor condition. The therapeutic value of aggressive hydration, nasogastric tube insertion, and the use of antibiotics is also questionable. Palliative surgery was not performed on this case, and she passed away peacefully in the presence of family after 4 days of palliative medical care. Here is the appropriate management for this kind of patients we would like to recommend through review of relevant references and long discussions. Firstly, we need to predict survival time using clinical variables. Secondly, considering patient status and risk of surgery, non surgical palliative care such as pain control, transient nasogastric tube insertion, and parenteral hydration is recommended. Minimal use of fluid is desirable to minimize complications such as edema and dyspnea if massive hydration in the beginning of treatment is not proved to be effective. Even though started earlier in the course of disease, discontinuation of antibiotics could be discussed with patients and their caregiver if patient status is not improved.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.182-192
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• 2014

Demands for geriatric hospital have increased in an era of rapidly aging population. Most of aged patients tend to stay in institutions for long terms. This means that the patient rooms of geriatric hospital should be given different considerations from those of normal hospital in designing interior features. They should be a homelike places for the aged patients and designed to take care of specific needs of the aged. However, most of geriatric hospitals are designed with little attention to such point. They appear almost same to normal ones. This study attempts to examine how users evaluate patients' rooms. The users are nurses, care-givers and family members of aged patients in six geriatric hospitals in Busan. They rated 12 features of patient rooms from 0 point to 100 points and described reasons why they rated in that way. Also, the walk-through was done for these six hospitals. 12 features are sizes of patient rooms, sizes and fixtures of bathrooms, sizes and locations of windows, bed layout, numbers and types of chairs, sizes and types of closet, lighting, color scheme, finishes of floor and wall, and interior design tone. Followings are findings : The users evaluated patients' rooms relatively positive. However, extra chairs for visitors, closet in patients rooms and storage in bathroom, and sizes of patients rooms and bathrooms were evaluated relatively negative.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.343-346
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• 1999

Objectives : In Korea, pharmacists can dispense medicines without doctor's prescription. This causes the high proportion of pharmaceutical expenditures. The study shows the prescribing behaviors of practicing pharmacists with the simulated patient of arthritis. We select the arthritis as a subject of simulation, because the arthritis is one of the major health problems and the abuse of cortico-steroids is usual in treatment of arthritis patients. Methods : Twenty drug stores among the 320 drug stores in a district, Seoul, Korea were randomly selected. One of the researchers visited the drug stores and received the medicines from the pharmacists after explaining standardized scenario of arthritis. The simulated patient recorded the practice behaviors of pharmacists. Results: The mean number of prescribed drugs are four and half. Among the twenty pharmacists, the nineteen prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and the seven(35%) prescribed the cortico-steroids. The antacids were prescribed by the fourteen(70%) pharmacists. The five(25%) pharmacists only recommended the simulated patients to visit the medical doctors, and the three(15%) performed physical examination to the simulated patients. The three pharmacists(15%) asked the past history of the drug adverse effects and no pharmacist explained the adverse effects of prescribed medicines. Conclusions : The research shows that the cortico-steroids are frequently prescribed and the pharmacists commonly do not give the explanations of the prescribed medicines to the arthritis patients.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.231-240
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• 2007

The hospital setting provides many opportunities for health promotion. There are many health professionals including physicians, nurses, medical technicians who have close contact with patients and their family. Health professionals are very influential to arouse the awareness about health and illness, and to motivate to change lifestyle among patients. Thus health professionals are most effective and important human resources for health education for patients to improve recovery rates and to promote health. In spite of the importance of health professionals' role in health promotion, the Korean government has provided little support for their health education for patients. Most of the health professionals have not learned about health education theories and skills, and have little attention to educate patients to change their lifestyle. Also the health professionals themselves have relatively poor lifestyle compared with advanced western countries. To improve health education for patients and their family, following strategies and policies should be considered: reinforcing curriculum for health education in college and training course, providing practical incentives for patient education, capacity building for health education and developing guideline for patient education, training health educators, networking and collaborating between community health center and hospitals, promoting the importance of health education among patients, researching and developing health education theory and practice including cost-benefit of health education.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.709-718
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• 2005

Purpose: The research aims to understand the lived experience of the caregivers of chronic renal failure(CRF) patients and its essential meaning. The results of the study can be used as basic materials for developing comprehensive intervention methods of care givers of CRF patients. Method: The research used van Manen's hermeneutic and phenomenological research methods in order to describe the lived experience and to understand its meaning. It concentrates on the understanding the essence of experience and consists of existential survey, hermeneutic and phenomenological reflection and hermeneutic writings. Participants in this research were five women care givers of CRF patients who had hemolysis at C university hospital in a metropolitan city, the period of data collection was from July 27 to Sep. 4, 2004 and major data of results in the following 5 essential themes. "sole responsibility for the patient enduring everything", "creating their own field", "heavy and painful life without hope of their private life", "wishing not to be inherited and consoling each other". Conclusion: The above findings point out that the experience of care givers of CRF patient affected and changed all parts of an individual life and his or her family life. Therefore, it suggests that total family nursing care must be considered in order to provide the holistic caring for CRF patients and their care givers.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.37-46
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• 2010

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the performance level of functional independence of the stroke patient. Methods : In order to find out the functional independence of stroke patient, 160 peoples, 80 peoples in a large city and 80 peoples in small-to-medium sized city, were questioned. Result : The results of this study were as follows: 1. Functional independence level due to social factor; The comparison of functional independence level between two groups showed significant difference in educational level, religion, family member, vocation, and medical fees(P<.05). However, the two groups did not show significant difference in spouse. 2. Functional independence level due to environment factor; The comparison of functional independence level between two groups showed significant difference in place of residence and residental environment(P<.05). However, each group did not show significant difference. Conclusion : These results suggest that realization of stable housing, educational level, various physical activities, and diversified family members is essential. Also, stable environment and social satisfaction are needed to maintain and improve the health of patient.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.38-41
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• 2012

A 32-year-old female patient and her sister show high levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol in regular health checkups, since female patient was 11 years old. The patient's serum total cholesterol was 285 mg/dL and HDL cholesterol was 113 mg/dL. Her sister's total cholesterol was 240 mg/dL and the HDL cholesterol measured to be 90 mg/dL. Lipoprotein pattern and cholesteryl ester transfer activity gene analysis were examined in these patients. We found c.1321+1G>A (IVS14+1G/A) hetero mutation in cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) genes. Generally, CETP mediates transfer and exchange of triglycerides and cholesteryl ester between plasma lipoproteins. Also we investigated a key role of HDL-CE and Apo A-1 metabolism. Patients with low levels of CETP have increased serum HDL levels. We hereby report two Korean cases of CETP deficiency in a family. Brief literature review ensues with the cases.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.20-24
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• 2023

Background: The Friends and Family Test (FFT) developed by the UK National Health Service evaluates whether patients are satisfied with a service provided, where improvements are needed, and how likely patients are to recommend the intervention. Calculated from the FFT, the Net Promoter Score (NPS) creates a recommendation metric for treatment. The primary aim of this prospective study is to evaluate NPS for arthroscopic subacromial decompression (ASD) and rotator cuff repair (RCR). Secondary aims are to postoperatively evaluate 1-year changes in patients' Oxford Shoulder Scores (OSSs) in terms of the proportion of patients satisfied with their surgery and correlation with FFT. Methods: During a 2-year period, all patients undergoing ASD or RCR completed questionnaires prospectively. Collected preoperatively and postoperatively at 1 year. Results: NPSs were 31 for ASD (n=32) and 52 for RCR (n=39). OSSs increased by 4.3 and 6.9 for ASD and RCR, respectively (P<0.001). Overall, 75% of ASD and 77% of RCR patients were either "satisfied" or "very satisfied," respectively, with procedure outcomes. Scores from FFT had a positive correlation with improvement in OSS and satisfaction scores among patients undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgeries (P<0.001). Conclusions: The current study shows positive NPS outcomes in patients with ASD and RCR. Scores from FFT correlate well with both satisfaction and OSS among patients. NPS can be an adjunct to traditional patient-reported outcome measures to provide global evaluation of patient experiences to aid in determining the clinical value of common procedures in shoulder orthopaedics. Level of evidence: III.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.75-83
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• 2018

Purpose: To provide effective palliative care, it is important to predict not only patients' life expectancy but their discharge status at a time of inpatient admission to a hospice care facility. This study was aimed to identify meaningful life expectancy indicators that can be used to predict patients' discharge status on admission to the facility. Methods: Among 568 patients who were admitted to the hospice ward of P hospital from April 1, 2016 through December 31, 2017, 377 terminal cancer patients were selected. This retrospective cohort study was performed by using performance status, symptoms and signs, socioeconomic status, laboratory findings on admission. Results: Alive discharge was associated with a good performance status that was measured with the Karnofsky and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) scales and the Global health and Mental status. Less anorexia, dyspnea, dysphagia and fatigue were also associated with symptoms and signs. Associated laboratory findings were close to normal Complete Blood Cell (CBC) count, Liver Function Test (LFT) and Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS), ECOG, Global health, Mental status, anorexia, dyspnea, dysphagia, fatigue, CBC, LFT, BUN are meaningful indicators when predicting discharge status for inpatients. Further investigation is warranted.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.66-73
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• 2002

The current health care system demands provisions for patient care in perspectives of a cost-effectiveness and patient satisfaction. Critical pathway implementation facilitates optimal sequencing and intervention timing of patient care, and makes medical team and patients participate in a treatment actively. In this study, a critical pathway was developed and implemented to patients with osmidrosis who undertake operation. Sixty patients were included in the study. The critical pathway was implemented for care of 26 patients while the traditional care was implemented for 34 patients. In the critical pathway implemented group, time needed for charting and unessential working was reduced. Mean time amount of time for patient nursing was increased. The critical pathway implementation is an effective method to utilize time of medical team. Also it increases the satisfaction index of patients and medical team simultaneously.