• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.292-295
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• 2016

Hospice and palliative care in Taiwan has been growing continuously. The 2015 Quality of Death index, as rated by the Economist Intelligence Unit, ranked Taiwan first among Asian countries and sixth in the world. In this review article, we highlight three particular areas that might have contributed to this success; the laws and regulations, spiritual care and research network. Finally, we discuss the future challenges and prospects for Taiwanese encounters. A systemic review was conducted with the keywords "hospice palliative care Taiwan" using PubMed. The passing of the "Natural Death Act" in 2000 set the example and established a landmark for patient autonomy in Asia; it guarantees the patient's right to request that medical staff do not resuscitate (DNR) them and to reject other futile medical treatments at the end of their life, thus reflecting the importance of palliative care from the policy perspective. In 2015, Taiwan passed another pioneering law entitled the "Patient Autonomy Act". This law states that a patient may decline medical treatment according to his/her own will. Taiwanese indigenous spiritual care was launched in 2000. It requires a Buddhist Chaplain to successfully complete a training program consisting of lectures, as well as bedside practicum before applying Buddhist practices to end-of-life care. The Japan-Korea-Taiwan research network was established for the purpose of enabling collaborative research for the East-Asian collaborative cross-cultural Study to Elucidate the Dying process (EASED) cohort. With consensus from the government and society to make it a priority, hospice and palliative medicine in Taiwan has been growing steadily.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.74-81
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of spiritual well-being and meaning in life for adolescents with leukemia. Methods: Participants were 102 adolescents (11-21 years) recruited at C university hospital from June to August in 2014. The eligible participants were diagnosed with leukemia and are on follow-up care at the outpatient clinic. Participants were assessed for spiritual well-being, meaning in life, self-esteem, and social support. Results: Levels of spiritual well-being and meaning in life for these adolescents with leukemia were 3.69 out of 6 and 3.10 out of 4, respectively. Self-esteem and social support from family were factors affecting spiritual well-being. Self-esteem, existential well-being and social support from family and friends were predictive for meaning in life and accounted for 68% of total variance. Conclusion: The results show that there are several factors affecting spiritual well-being and meaning in life in adolescents with leukemia. Therefore, nursing intervention programs for adolescents with leukemia should include strengthening self-esteem and social support as well as considering the spiritual aspect of life in order to find meaning in life beyond leukemia.

• The Korean Nurse
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.86-98
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• 1994

We have examined the development and conceptual definition of shamanism and divination through significant characteristics of various illnesses. However, the terrminology has been inconsistent and its real conceptual meaning is not well defined. Divination is a historically dominant religious practice which represents the core of Korean folk culture. Despite prevalent prejudice toward its primitive nature, we cannot deny its profound relationship to our unconscious, especially our reliance on its religious role whenever we face crisis or conflict. It is therefore appropriate to use the term divination in this context. Shamanism originated as humanity's oldest mode of communication with divine - a religion, The shaman is not a sorceress but a priestess, a healer, a spritual guide, a leader, a mystic, traditionally having a different significance from that of the contemporary diviner or "shaman". The traditional concept of illness has been profoundly altered to serve new functions: while the shamanistic view is based upon spiritual abduction, divination on the other hand invokes concepts of spiritual invasion phenomena such as spirit intrusion, taboo violations, soul loss, object instrusion, deviations from the appropriate spiritual path besiegement, and curess or predestination (the idea that the sufferer is born with his fate), We should therefore try to understand divination from a more holistic point of view, rather than attempting to fit it into the standrd medical illness. We must recognize divination as a phenomenon within our culture, since most people have a mixed conception of illness arising from a combination of divinational and modem concepts, Since divination's humanistic approach is ingrained in our people, to irresponsibly ignore the spiritual aspects of treatment would exert a negative influence on our culture, Especially now, while attraction is focused on Korean culture and its influence on every aspect of our livies, it is important for nurses to expand our horizons in order to create a way of nursing more suitable to Korean culture. Increased importance is now being given to the opinions of patients themselves about their own illness and health, so nurses should seek to understand how patients accept their illness and what particular kinds of help they expect to receive. Consequently, an understanding of traditional divinations will enable us to utilize these characteristics on the job in order to enhance nursing care.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.212-220
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine self-transcendence, life satisfaction, and preference for end-of-life care in elderly patients. Method: This was a descriptive survey study. The study period was between August 2013 and October 2013 and included 208 elderly patients. Results: The average scores for self-transcendence, life satisfaction, and preference for end-of-life care were 2.79, 9.97, and 3.24, respectively. Statistically significant positive correlations were observed between self-transcendence and life satisfaction, decision making by health care professionals, spiritual area, family area. A positive correlation was observed between: (1) life satisfaction and spiritual area, (2) decision making by health care professionals and family area, and (3) decision making by health care professionals and pain area. Self-transcendence was a significant predictor of PCEOL. Conclusion: This study will provide basic information for use in the development of a program to encourage self- transcendence and life satisfaction, as well as to consider the elder's autonomy, pain control, and spirituality as important factors at the end-of-life care.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.726-734
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the Spirituality Promotion Program(SPP) for young nurses working in the stressful university hospital environment. Methods: The study included 41 nurses in the experimental group, nurses who had worked less than 5 years and completed 8 weeks of SPP between June and July in 2011. The control group, 44 nurses, also received the same program after the study was completed. For the study, a survey was conducted of all participants concerning spirituality, perceived stress, positive and negative affect, empathy, job satisfaction, and leadership practice. Results: No significant difference was found between the two groups on study variables. Perceived stress decreased significantly in the experimental group (p=.012). Spirituality (p=.019), positive affect (p=.014), empathy (p=.004), job satisfaction (p=.016), and leadership practice (p=.021) increased significantly in the experimental group. Conclusion: The results show that the Spirituality Promotion Program has positive effects on the spiritual and psychosocial aspect of young nurses. Continuation of this program for nurses is recommended in order to help them develop their self-care ability and improve nursing competency.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.21
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• pp.9307-9312
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• 2014

Background: Hope is an important coping resource for cancer patients. Types and sources of hope and hope-inspiring strategies are not well investigated among Iranian cancer patients. The aims of present study were therefore to investigate the nature of hope and some demographic predictors of hope among Iranian cancer patients. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was undertaken among 200 cancer patients admitted to an educational center affiliated to Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Participants were selected using a convenience sampling method. The Herth Hope Index and other validated questionnaires were used to investigate level of hope and types and sources of hope, as well as hope-inspiring strategies. Data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software. Results: The overall score for hope was 31 from total scores ranging between 12 and 48. Some 94% of patients mentioned 'return to normal life' and 'complete healing of disease by drugs and physicians' as their main hopes. The most important sources of hope reported by patients include spiritual resources, family members, healthcare workers, and medicines and treatments available for the disease. Relationship with God, praying/blessing, controlling the signs and symptoms of the disease, and family/health care workers' support were the main hope-inspiring strategies. Patients who had a history of metastasis, or who were older, illiterate, divorced/widowed and lived with their children reported lower levels of hope. On the other hand, employed patients and those with good support from their families had higher levels of hope. Conclusions: The study findings showed moderate to high levels of hope among Iranian cancer patients. Accordingly, the role of spiritual/religion, family members and health care workers should be considered in developing care plans for these patients.

• Korean Journal of Hospice Care
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.75-86
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• 2002

Prupose: The purpose of this study was to identify signs and symptoms of hospice patients during their dying processes. Method: The subjects of this study were 76 patients who received hospice care services in 2 different hospice care programs in Seoul area. Data was obtained from January, 1999 to June, 2001 by hospice nurse's observation, interviews with patient's primary caregiver and hospice volunteers, patient's self report, nursing records and questionnaires which had been developed by selecting from various references and refining them based on the result of preliminay studies. The collected data were analyzed with the SPSS PC+ program and content analysis. Results: Mean lengths of hospice patient's dying process were 3.6 days. Physical signs and symptoms of hospice patients during their dying processes were 'increased sleep'(89.5%), 'decreased oral intake of food'(88.2%) and 'liquids'(86.8%), 'change of respiration'(82.9%), 'decreased urine output'(80.3%), 'cold extremities'(69.7%), 'death rattle'(67.1%), 'cyanosis'(57.9%), 'restlessness'(55.3%), etc. And psychological, spiritual and social signs and symptoms were 'decreased interpersonal relationships'(61.8%), 'panorama of memories from childhood'(60.5%), 'experiences as like hallucination'(56.5%), 'saying bye with family'(69.7%), 'forgiveness', 'make a will', etc. Experiences as like hallucination were seemed not as dream but reality were shown by 43 dying patients. They had experienced to see and to talk with their deceased mother(18.6%) and/or relatives(30.2%), angels(20.9%), heaven(11.6%), old house in which they had lived, someone from the world beyond with black clothes, etc. Conclusion: The above results indicate that death of hospice patients is ongoing process with dying signs and symptoms during several days contains not only in physical aspects but also among psychological, spiritual and social aspects including family dynamics.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.172-181
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• 2006

Purpose: This study was done to identify observation and performance of nursing role activities by student nurses graduating from 3 year junior colleges or 4 year universities. Method: A descriptive design was used and the participants were 295 student nurses who were graduating. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Results: The average score for observation of nursing role activity was $2.16{\pm}0.29$, and for performance $1.61{\pm}0.29$. Among the college students, the mean item score for observation was highest for medication administrator and lowest for provider of spiritual & bereavement care, while for the university students the highest was for provider of care during surgery and lowest for provider of spiritual & bereavement care. The college students had higher scores for observation, and the university students for performance. Conclusion: It is concluded that standardized practice learning programs need to be designed in schools and in clinical practice areas, in order to further develop adaptability to nursing roles.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.897-911
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• 2001

The purpose of the study was to compare home care nursing intervention activities analyzed by the Nursing Intervention Classification (NIC) system for hospice and general patients. Method: For the descriptive survey study, data was collected by reviewing charts of 151 hospice patients and 421 general patients who registered in the department of home health care nursing at K Hospital. Results: According to the NIC system application, there were 2380 total nursing interventions used for the hospice patients and 8725 for the general home care patients. For both sets of patients (hospice vs. general), the most frequently used nursing intervention in level 1 was the Physiological: Complex domain (40.13 vs. 31.06 percent), followed by the Safety domain; in level 2, the Risk Management class (28.4 vs. 27.70 percent), followed by Tissue Perfusion Management; and in level 3, Vital Sign Monitoring (6.18 vs. 4.84 percent), followed by Health Screening. Conclusion: The study showed that there was a lack of specialized hospice nursing interventions such as emotional, family and spiritual support, and care for dying hospice patients.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.45-60
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• 2016

Purpose: This study is aimed at understanding the volunteers' experiences and interactions with their corresponding teams during their participation in hospice care. More specifically, the study is to contribute policy-wise to development of hospice care in Korea by helping policy-makers and organizers and managers of hospice care provides better understand the importance of the meaning and roles of volunteers in hospice care. Methods: In-depth interviews and participant observation were performed with study participants who were selected from four different types of hospice agencies. Study analysis was conducted using "case study" as one of the rigorous qualitative research methods to develop "inter-" and "intra-" comparisons among the study participants. Results: Volunteers in hospice care were initially motivated by religion and faith, and the motivation grew stronger through the volunteer experiences. They emphasized that the essence of the hospice volunteering was motivation from religion and faith and something they do for themselves. They characterized their experience as a true service that is offered for free and a job that requires expertise. In addition, they achieved personal (internal) growth by reflecting on the meaning of "good death" and better understood the importance of respecting spiritual diversity. Conclusions: This study could help hospice officials offers better understand hospice volunteers' role and their importance. The study also provide practical implications and policy suggestions.