• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.129-143
• /
• 2024

Objectives: The objective of this study is to compare a nutritionally balanced soft blend diet (SBD) with a soft fluid diet (SFD) on the health of inpatients who have undergone oral and maxillofacial (OMF) surgery, ultimately aiming to enhance care outcomes, improve health-related quality of life (QOL), and increase satisfaction with the hospital. Methods: Thirty-two patients were randomized into two groups: sixteen received SFD and sixteen received SBD. Anthropometric, laboratory evaluations were conducted upon admission and discharge. Patients filled out questionnaires on demographics, diet satisfaction, food intake amount, and health-related QOL on the day of discharge, assessed using the EuroQoL 5 Dimensions 3 Level and EuroQoL Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS) instruments. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, χ² tests for group differences, and paired nonparametric t-tests for within-group comparisons. The Mann-Whitney U test evaluated inter-group differences in preoperative weight and body mass index (BMI), postoperative changes, meal satisfaction, intake, health-related QOL, and self-assessed health status. P-values were set at a significance level of 0.05. Results: The SBD group had higher dietary intake (63.2% vs. 51.0%) and greater diet satisfaction (80.6 vs. 48.1, P < 0.0001) compared to SFD group. Health-related QOL, measured by EQ-VAS, was better in SBD group (70.3 vs. 58.8, P < 0.05). Postoperative weight and BMI decreased in SFD group but increased in SBD group (P < 0.01). Changes in laboratory results showed more stability in the SBD group. No postoperative infections were reported in SBD group, whereas SFD group had a 31.25% complication rate. Conclusions: While SFD is often recommended after OMF surgery to protect oral wound healing process, our study reveals that SBD not only enhances physical and psychological outcomes but also, somewhat unexpectedly, supports wound healing and reduces complications. Essentially, SBD promotes physical recovery and enhances health-related QOL than SFD by supporting both somatic and mental healing aspects.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.62-66
• /
• 2007

Objectives: There is a perception that a total laryngectomy has a devastating effect on patients and their families, but only a few studies have addressed long-term quality of life (QOL) after laryngectomy. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study of 32 patients more than 3 years since laryngectomy was performed. Patients were asked to complete the SF-36 questionnaire before surgery and within 3-5 years after surgery. Preoperative and postoperative SF-36 scores were compared with data on 46 age-matched healthy controls. Results: The most of SF-36 subscale scores showed significant deterioration after surgery. Preoperative scores had significantly poorer than the normal controls on 6 subscales, and also postoperative scores was lower than normal controls on 2 subscales. Conclusion: In the study, the quality of life of the patients who underwent total laryngectomy show poorer scores than pre operative status and normal controls.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.8
• /
• pp.3345-3350
• /
• 2015

Background: Evaluation of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in cervical cancer patients is important in order to design the interventions for improving patient outcomes. Reports of HRQOL among cervical cancer patients in Indonesia are limited. Moreover, measurement using EQ-5D-3L is to our best knowledge has hitherto not been performed. This study aimed to examine the HRQOL of cervical cancer patients in Indonesia using EQ-5D-3L. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted by interviewing cervical cancer patients using the EQ-5D-3L questionnaire. Percentages of patients who reported having problems in each dimension of EQ-5D as well as EQ-5D index score (utility) were calculated. Results: Our findings indicated that the most frequent reported problems were pain/discomfort (67.8%) followed by anxiety/depression (57.5%). The mean of EQ-5D VAS was 75.8 (SD=17.0). The mean (SD) utility scores were 0.85 (0.19), 0.76 (0.20), 0.71 (0.21), and 0.77 (0.13) for cervical cancer patients in stage I, II, III, and IV, respectively. Conclusions: Cervical cancer significantly affects patient HRQOL. Efforts should be made to improve the quality of life of cervical cancer patients especially in terms of pain /discomfort and anxiety/depression reduction.

• Physical Therapy Korea
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.233-240
• /
• 2020

Background: Cross-culturally adapted questionnaires may not be comparable to their original version. Objects: To examine concurrent validity of two health-related quality of life (HRQOL) instruments for the Korean versions of EuroQOL-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) and the abbreviated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) instrument. Methods: A total of 139 cancer survivors from two rehabilitation institutes was recruited. All participants were registered for palliative rehabilitation care. Both instruments were concurrently administered by health care providers following the second bout of the rehabilitation cares. Rasch partial credit model and Spearman's correlation analysis were used to investigate: 1) dimensionality, 2) hierarchical item difficulty, and 3) concurrent validity using correlations between two instruments. Results: For the WHOQOL-BREF, all items except negative feeling, pain, dependence of medical aid, were found to be acceptable, while all items of EQ-5D were acceptable. There was an evidence of negative correlations between EQ-5D and 4 domains of WHOQOL-BREF. Two correlations were strong (EQ-5D vs. physical health domain, ρ = -0.610, 95% CI = -0.716 to -0.475) and moderate (EQ-5D vs. psychosocial domain, ρ = -0.402, 95% CI = -0.546 to -0.236). Other two correlations were weak (EQ-5D vs. social relationship and environmental domains, ρ = -0.242, 95% CI = -0.401 to -0.075 and ρ = -0.364, 95% CI = -0.514 to -0.207, respectively). Item difficulty calibrations of the two measurements were ranged from -0.84 to 0.86 for the EQ-5D and -1.07 to 1.06 for the WHOQOL-BREF. Conclusion: The study provides some supports for the concurrent validity of the two Korean versions of HRQOL instrument, with evidences of weak to strong correlations between the EQ-5D and four domains of the WHOQOL-BREF applied to various cancer survivors. Additionally, the cancer survivors appeared to have more of a tendency to view the EQ-5D items as being slightly more challenging than the WHOQOL-BREF items.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.85-94
• /
• 2010

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate a clinical effect of Coo-Sun activity focusing on improvement of quality of life in female cancer patients. Methods: The subject of study consisted of 5 female cancer patients at the East-West Cancer Center of OO Oriental hospital. The survey methods of this study are Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Patients performed Coo-Sun activity 6 times a week and filled out FACT-G and STAI questionnaire after every 3 times training. Results: In FACT-G questionnaire, physical well-being and emotional wellbeing was improved significantly after Coo-Sun activity. And change of social/family well-being and functional well-being score were not significant statistically. In STAI questionnaire, STAI1 was improved significantly after Coo-Sun activity. And change of STAI2 score was not significant statistically. Conclusion: After Coo-Sun activity, quality of life (QOL) in female cancer patients was improved and anxiety was decreased. But this study have limitation to prove effects of Coo-Sun activity completely in female cancer patients. So well designed prospective cohort study will be needed to prove its benefits.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.110-118
• /
• 2004

Objectives : Based on the changes of quality of life and pulmonary function test, we aimed to identify the effects and side-effects of Gamichuongsangboha-tang and in asthmatic patients. Methods : The subjects consisted of 30 patients with asthma who were treated with Gamichuongsangboha-tang extract for four weeks. Gamichuongsangboha-tang extract is the extracted powder form of the modified herbal decoction Chuongsangboha-whan, which has been used as the traditional therapeutic agent for asthma. Pulmonary function test (PFT) was checked before and after 4 weeks of treatment. Quality of Life QuestionnaireQ for Adult Korean Asthmatics (QLQAKA) was checked before and after 2 and 4 weeks of treatment. Unpleasant symptoms were checked in all patients at 2 weeks and 4 weeks from the beginning of treatment. Results : Treatment with Gamichuongsangboha-tang extract for four weeks resulted in significant increase in $FEV_{1.0}%$, PEFR%, and QLQAKA. The total efficacy rate of QLQAKA in the patient group was 53.3% after 4 weeks. The QLQAKA of the step 2, step 3, and step 4 groups (n=18, 55.6%) classified by global initiative for asthma (GINA) consistently increased, and significant improvement of QLQAKA occurred in the step3 group. In the step 4 group, FEV1.0%, and PEFR% were significantly increased. A total of 15 patients experienced unpleasant symptoms during the first 2 weeks of treatment, but these symptoms disappeared in all but 2 cases with no need of further treatment during the 2nd 2-week period. Conclusions : This study shows that Gamichuongsangboha-tang extract has effects on improvement of pulmonary function and quality of life, especially in persistent symptomatic asthmatics. Obviously further study concerning all these is still necessary.

• Physical Therapy Korea
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.32-40
• /
• 2023

Background: Equating is a statistical procedure used to create a common measurement scale across two instruments. Item-level information should be taken into consideration so that scores can communicate interchangeably across the instruments. Objects: To investigate a common measurement scale across two health-related quality of life questionnaires (HRQOL) applied to various cancer survivors who underwent palliative care in healthcare institutions. Methods: A total of 139 cancer survivors who underwent palliative care were recruited from two rehabilitation hospitals and an oriental medicine hospital. Participants consisted of various cancer survivors who presented to the sites for palliative care. They were asked to fill out Korean versions of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) and EuroQOL-5 dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaires following the palliative care. For the item level comparison, the Rasch rating scale model was used to investigate how participants regarded individual test items of two instruments in relation to item difficulty calibrations. Results: All items except the three items fit the Rasch model. One item (anxiety/depression) of the EQ-5D and two items (dependence on medical aids and negative feelings) of the WHOQOL-BREF are misfit. The WHOQOL-BREF targets the survivors well, while the EQ-5D is able to target the survivors with lower HRQOL levels with some ceiling effects. By inspecting the item difficulty calibrations of the two instruments, five items of the WHOQOL-BREF are selected as common items in relation to the EQ-5D. These five items are considered compatible with each other. Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis reveals that the healthcare item of the WHOQOL-BREF vs the self-care item of the EQ-5D exhibits significant DIF. Conclusion: Findings suggest that one paired item should be taken into consideration when equating the WHOQOL-BREF and the EQ-5D applied to cancer survivors who underwent palliative care.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
• /
• v.12 no.12
• /
• pp.551-562
• /
• 2021

This study aimed to identify the effect of resilience and positive psychological capital on hospital nurses' professional quality of life. A cross-sectional survey design was utilized to investigate 221 general hospital nurses from June 1 to 30, 2021. Professional quality of life (ProQOL), which is conceptualized with three sub-dimensions (compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress), resilience, and positive psychological capital variables were measured. There was a positive relationship between compassion satisfaction and resilience, positive psychological capital, and a negative relationship among burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and the other variables in this study. The main factors influencing compassion satisfaction were resilience, and positive psychological capital, which explained about 47% of compassion satisfaction. Burnout was influenced by resilience, positive psychological capital, and work pattern, and these variables explained about 37% of burnout. Notably, it was found that resilience was the most crucial factor in nurses' compassion satisfaction, and positive psychological capital was the most crucial factor in nurses' burnout. Thus, it is suggested to develop and verify the effectiveness of a resilience improvement program and positive psychological intervention program to strengthen the internal resources of hospital nurses.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.619-629
• /
• 2014

The purpose of this study was to examine the current status of patents related to dietary life of the elderly in Korea. Using Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service, patents registered between 2002 and 2013 were searched with the key words including 'elderly or the aged' and 'food, meal, or dietary life.' The search results showed 1,438 patents, and 500 patents meeting the research purpose were selected and analyzed. They were divided into two categories: 'patents on foods' and 'patents on products and services related to dietary life.' The former was further divided into four subgroups as follows: foods for health promotion, foods for disease prevention, foods for the people with difficulty in swallowing and masticating, and others. Also, the latter was divided into products or services. The results showed that patents on foods accounted for about 90%, of which the patents on foods for health promotion were ranked as the highest (40%). The number of patents on products and services related to dietary life was relatively small, indicating that the technology development has been focused on foods. Therefore, the technology for products and services related to dietary life should be actively developed as well as that for foods to improve the quality of life for the elderly in the future.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.304-320
• /
• 2007

Objective : To evaluate the effect of Astragalus Membranaceus Extrac (AME) on myelosuppression, activity and immune modulation in 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) treated mice. Method : We carried out complete blood count, histological analysis of bone marrow, and cell colony forming assay for hematopoietic progenitor to evaluate the effect of AME on myelosuppression and conducted swimming test, survival rate, nitric oxide (NO) assay, 51Cr release assay in natural killer cell, mRNA expression of $IL-1{\beta}$, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, $TNF-{\alpht}$, $IFN-{\gamma}$, $TGF-{\beta}$ and GM-CSF in spleen cells to evaluate the effect of AME on quality of life (QOL). Results : AME improved 5-FU induced myelosuppression and peripheral blood count was recovered effectively, had significant efficacy to protect against chemotherapy induced marrow-destruction and on hematopoiesis compared with the control group, improved increase survival rate and the swimming time, had a stimulatory effect on macrophage activation and NK cell activity, and up-regulated cytokine gene transcription (IL-2, IL-6, $IFN-{\gamma}$) in murine immunologic system. Conclusion : We can conclude that AM is an effective herbal agent for improvement of myelosuppression and QOL in 5-FU treated mice.