• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.175-184
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to report the effectiveness of complex Korean Medicine treatment for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries with meniscus tear. Four patients were treated with complex Korean Medicine by acupuncture, pharmacopuncture and herbal medication. We evaluated the improvement of knee pain and function by Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC Index), EuroQol-5 Dimension Index (EQ-5D Index). After treatment, we found that knee pain was reduced and joint function was improved by NRS and WOMAC index in all cases. In the evaluation of health-related quality of life through EQ-5D index, there was no significant difference in patients with degenerative knee osteoarthritis and severe meniscal injury. This results show that complex Korean Medicine may be an effective option for ACL injuries with meniscus tear. Further clinical studies are needed to clarify the effect of Korean Medicine therapy on ACL injuries with meniscus tear.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.149-165
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• 2004

In Korea, as the elderly population is growing, the quality of life of the rural elderly is becoming a major concern. By the way, social welfare services is less available and accessible to the rural elderly. And we have very limited information about community -oriented welfare services for the elderly. The lack of social welfare services in rural area resulted from mainly geographic isolation and economic deprivation. So, the present research aimed at; 1) to explore what the social welfare service is benefited from governmental or local assembly. 2) to explore what kind of community services is provided for the rural village and elderly. 3) to appear the political propose for the rural elderly. In South Korea, The Rural Development Administration currently operate 'villages which is supported special programs for the improvement of QOL of rural elderly' in 110 villages. It is a model governmental welfare service for rural area. For the purpose, the survey data is gathered from community level data per village (107 villages), individual survey data(881people) who live in the village and qualitative data. Two kinds of quantitative data is combined to form a data. The statistical methods used for data analysis are descriptive statistics, t-test and ANOVA. The major findings of this study were as follows : It was founded that the majority family type of the rural elderly is elderly-only households(75%). In case of poor elderly, they have very limited social insurance benefit and they can not get medical services with satisfaction. The result show that the welfare facilities per village and welfare service for the elderly is extremely low while the needs of welfare service is greate high. A distinctive characteristics in rural villages is that they receive a lot of services from private sectors, like as Women Farmers Union, Adult Union. They operate voluntary welfare services related to food supporting, education for the elderly, free haircut services and so on. In conclusion, the community care services from private sector has specialty in rural area. We conclude it is a distinguishing characteristic of rural community.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.292-301
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• 2010

To restore visual sensation of blind patients, we have proposed a fully implantable retinal prosthesis comprising an three dimensionally (3D) stacked retinal chip for transforming optical signal to electrical signal, a flexible cable with stimulus electrode array for stimulating retina cells, and coupling coils for power transmission. The 3D stacked retinal chip is consisted of several LSI chips such as photodetector, signal processing circuit, and stimulus current generator. They are vertically stacked and electrically connected using 3D integration technology. Our retinal prosthesis has a small size and lightweight with high resolution, therefore it could increase the patients` quality of life (QOL). For realizing the fully implantable retinal prosthesis, we developed a retinal prosthesis module comprising a retinal prosthesis chip and a flexible cable with stimulus electrode array for generating optimal stimulus current. In this study, we used a 2D retinal chip as a prototype retinal prosthesis chip. We fabricated the polymide-based flexible cable of $20{\mu}m$ thickness where 16 channels Pt stimulus electrode array was formed in the cable. Pt electrode has an impedance of $9.9k{\Omega}$ at 400Hz frequency. The retinal prosthesis chip was mounted on the flexible cable by an epoxy and electrically connected by Au wire. The retinal prosthesis chip was cappted by a silicone to pretect from corrosive environments in an eyeball. Then, the fabricated retinal prosthesis module was implanted into an eyeball of a rabbit. We successfully recorded electrically evoked potential (EEP) elicited from the rabbit brain by the current stimulation supplied from the implanted retinal prosthesis module. EEP amplitude was increased linearly with illumination intensity and irradiation time of incident light. The retinal prosthesis chip was well functioned after implanting into the eyeball of the rabbit.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2016

Purpose: This study was a descriptive research to identify the effects of communication skills, compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue on burnout among staff of long term care insurance for the elderly in National Health Insurance Services in Korea. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used. The participants were 191 staffs of long-term care insurance in National Health Insurance Services. Data were collected via mail from the 24 branch offices which were randomly selected among the total of 226 centers of National Health Insurance Corporation. Stamm's professional quality of life (ProQOL) and Communication Skills Test tool were included in questionnaire to detect. SPSS/WIN 20.0 was used to conduct the descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, correlation analysis, and multiple regression. Results: Compassion fatigue had a significant positive effect on burnout, while Compassion satisfaction had a negative effect on burnout. The explained variance for burnout was 69% and compassion fatigue was the most significant factor in burnout among staff of long term care insurance services. Conclusion: The results indicate that the factors influencing staffs' burnout are compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and education level. Therefore, strategies to decrease compassion fatigue and improve compassion satisfaction are needed to decrease burnout for staffs of long-term care insurance in National Health Insurance Services.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.113-124
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• 2018

This study is designed to report three cases of postoperative care after hip surgery using conventional Korean Medicine treatments including phototherapy. Three patients undergone hip fracture surgery were treated with acupuncture, herbal medicine, and phototherapy. We used Visual analogue scale (VAS), EuroQol five dimension scale (EQ-5D), and hip disability and osteoarthritis outcome score (HOOS) to evaluate treatment effectiveness. After the treatment, VAS score was improved in all three cases, while EQ-5D and HOOS showed different results by items. EQ-5D (pain/discomfort) and HOOS (pain, symptoms, activities of daily living) were improved in all three cases. EQ-5D (self-care) and HOOS (quality of life) showed improvements in two cases. EQ-5D (mobility, usual activities, anxiety/depression) and HOOS (sports/recreation) were improved in one case. Conventional Korean Medicine treatments including phototherapy can be effectively used to alleviate pain and symptoms after hip fracture surgery.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.259-263
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• 2016

Lung cancer has a high mortality rate and is often diagnosed at the metastatic stage. Gefitinib is a targeted molecular therapeutic drug used to treat patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Korean herbal medicines may also have therapeutic efficacy against lung cancer, reduce the side effects associated with chemotherapy, and improve patient quality of life (QOL). This case report describes the effects of a Korean herbal medicine regimen combined with gefitinib in a patient with NSCLC and bone metastasis. The Korean herbal medicine regimen included woohwanggeosa-dan, hwanggibujeong-dan and geonchilgyebok-jeong. The computed tomography (CT) findings showed that following combination treatment, the size of the tumor was markedly decreased without serious adverse events. Moreover, the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status was improved and cancer-related pain was decreased. These results suggest that a combination of Korean herbal medicines and gefitinib may be an effective therapeutic option for patients with advanced NSCLC and bone metastasis. Further studies are needed to examine the mechanism and the clinical efficacy of Korean herbal medicines against NSCLC.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.197-209
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• 2012

Purpose: This study was aimed to revise Personal Power of Health Care (PPHC) scale which was developed to measure the personal power and competence for health care. Methods: Research phases designed for this study were literature review, scale development, and discussion with experts and pre-test for content validity, and survey for construct validity and reliability. The scale was composed of 25 items with 7 dimensions and tested to 592 adults ranged from 20 to 59 aged living in S and W city. Results: From factor analysis, 7 dimensions were identified and named as follows: Health-perception, Health problem identifying and solving, Socio-economical involvement, Sociocultural relationship, Self-regulation, Spiritual wellbeing, and Health policy participation. The total explained variance was 54.69%. The reliability was .817 of Cronbach's alpha. The PCHC scale was significantly different from gender, religion, education level, monthly income, and presence of family disease, but not different from age and job. Also, there were significant correlations among Health Promotion Lifestyles Profile II, WHO QOL-BREF and self-efficacy. Conclusion: This PCHC scale is reliable and valid to measure personal competence of health care.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.239-246
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of denture care skills education program on denture self-care, denture satisfaction and subjective oral status among the elderly. Methods: The research design for this study was a non-equivalent control group quasi-experimental design. Total 61 elderly who visited a seniors center, Seoul, Korea, participated in this study. Participants were 31 elderly for the experimental group and 30 elderly for the control group. The experimental group received a lesson in denture care skills education program which was developed by the researchers. Using a structural questionnaire, the elderly's perception about denture self-care, denture satisfaction and subjective oral status were measured before and after the intervention. Descriptive statistics, independent t-test, chi-square test, and ANCOVA test were performed using SPSS WIN 21.0. Results: The experimental group showed significantly higher scores in denture satisfaction(p<.001), QOL of oral health(<.001), concern for oral health(p=.005), subjective oral health status(p<.001), bad breath(p=.010), oral dryness(p<.001) and number of denture clearing(p<.001). Conclusion: The results suggest that the denture care skills education program for elderly at a senior center was effective. Further work is required to develop more effective denture care skills education programs and an oral health promotion program to improve the health status of the elderly.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.11 no.11
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• pp.643-650
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• 2013

This study was conducted to examine the effects of low-density exercise on physical and psychological function of the frail elderly. The research design was nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, x2-test, Mann-Whitney U test and Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ with SPSS/Win 17.0 program. There was a significant improvement in Lt. Grip strength(U=56.00, p<.000), Rt. Grip strength(U=40.00, p<.000), TUG(U=95.00, p<.022), Depression(U=94.00, p<.011) in the experimental group compared to the control group. The low-density exercise program showed the effects to improve the physical and psychological functions of the frail elderly. In recommendation, this exercise program could be utilized as a health promoting program for the frail elderly.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.90-100
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• 2019

Objectives : This study aimed to investigate the association between depression with atypical features and metabolic syndromes in Korean adults using the 2016 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) data. Methods : We used the 2016 KNHANES data to enroll 277 participants with a score of 10 or higher on Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Depression with atypical features was diagnosed when at least two of the following criteria were met : 1) sleeping more than 10 hours a day ; 2) weight gain of more than 3 kg in a year ; and 3) fatigue/anergia. Depression was divided into two groups based on the presence/absence of atypical features. Physical and mental health, and risk of metabolic syndrome were compared between the groups. Results : Among the 277 participants, 91 had depression with atypical features. We identified significant differences in age, sex, income, and education between the two groups. After adjusting for these variables, depression with atypical features had lower EuroQol-5D index scores (p<0.001) and higher prevalence of metabolic syndromes (p=0.035) compared to the depression without atypical features. Depression with atypical features had higher odds ratio (OR) in association with metabolic syndromes after adjusting for confounding variables (OR=1.923 ; 95% confidence interval : 1.069-3.460). Conclusions : Depression with atypical features increases the risk of metabolic syndromes and lowers the quality of life.