• Title/Summary/Keyword: chronic physical disease

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Health and quality of life for Korean people in ageing society (고령화 사회에서 한국인의 건강과 삶의 질)

  • Kyung-Hyun Suh
    • Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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    • v.12 no.5_spc
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    • pp.133-147
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    • 2006
  • Korean society is rapidly becoming an ageing society. The Korean may have to live longer than did their parents. Increasing life expectancy and changing social structure, Korean people are getting interested in quality of life, and well-being is becoming a matter of concern. And, the Korean is fully aware of the importance of health for well-being or good life. This concern about health may bring about specific behaviors related to health. Although health care expenditures of Korea are currently smaller than those of other developed countries, it is continuously increasing. Large portion of increased amount of health care expenditures is to spend for disease prevention and expansion of long-term care facilities. Constructs of well-being of the Korean, not living in western culture, may be different from those of people living in western society. Health is not top-ranked to importance for quality of life in previous studies. It does not mean health isn't determinant factor for good life or well-being. Health is an essential element for well-being. It has been proved in several researches which examined poor quality of life caused by certain diseases and management of health-related quality of life. Some theories relate to health-seeking behaviors suggested the health belief or the attitude toward health, intention to do health behavior, perceived behavioral control, and self efficacy as important factors which could predict health-related behaviors. With getting older, people decline in physical and physiological functions and become vulnerable to chronic diseases. Quality of life depends on how to adjust to these changes in senescence. Social supports, especially supports from offspring, are very important to quality of life in senescence, because supports from offspring have influence on pride of the older, they may be afraid of disclose the conflict with their offspring. Avoiding self-disclosure exclude other source of social supports and harm individual's health, therefore psychological intervention is needed to. Increasing life expectancy of the Korean, Korean government has to provide numerous long-term care facilities as well as psychosocial supports. The Korean, so far, does not recognize that psychologist could render great service to promoting individual or community health and improving individual's quality of life. It is highly expected that psychologists take actively interested and involve in health related to quality of life.

A Study on the Clinical Statistics of Oriental Medicine Service in the Health Center (보건소내(保健所內) 한방의료(漢方醫療)에 대(對)한 임상통계연구(臨床統計硏究) (전주시(全州市) 완산구(完山區) 보건소(保健所) 중심으로))

  • Song, Beom-Yong;Yuk, Tae-Han
    • The Journal of Korean Medicine
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    • v.18 no.1
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    • pp.40-57
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    • 1997
  • The Background and Purpose It is done the study on the public health care of oriental medicine and improvement of its system recently, I think that these effect a good health care for a people through the public health care of oriental medicine. Since Woosuk university and Chonju-Wansan health center had taken upon the oriental medicine service in the health center in 1995, we have public favor from the local population. So in other to a study on the clinical statistics of oriental medicine service in the health center, I investigated general character, style of diseases, effect of treatments and the like for a paitents received oriental medicine treatments in there. Objective and Methods This study researched into clinical statistics for paitents received oriental medicine treatments in the Chonju-Wansan health center during one year period from January 4 1996 to December 26 1996. The number of object was 238 case of 234 persons. Results and Conclusions Analyzing these 234 persons, the proportion of males to females was 1 to 6.8. As for the distribution of age, the ages of 61 to 70 occupied 34.62 per cent in the ages of 51 to 90 occupied 88.89 per cent in the whole paitons. Therefor female was very highly more than male and paitents were for the most part, old ages(51years old and over). Musculoskeletal system and connective tissue disease of 238 case occupied 82.77 per cent. were the greatest proportion. At the duration of disease, 1 year to 5 years occupied 32.35 per cent, was the highest The grade Ⅲ was the most of the sign of paitents at first visit, it occupied 55.88 per cent. The good(++) and over effect of treatments occupied 62.18 per cent, the fair(+) and over effect of treatments occupied 78.99 per cent. As for the duration of treatment, the case of 2 times to 5 times visit occupied 34.03 per cent, was the highest. And the case of 2 times to 10 times visit was 4 times as good effect as the case of only one visit. By medication of treatment, O-Juk-San(五積散) occupied 32.21 per cent, was the greatest proportion, and Pal-Mj-Hoan(八味丸) occupied the second greatest proportion. Therefor the most of paitents had the chronic diseases and was diagnosed Sin-Yang-He(腎陽虛). The average 22.58 persons received acupuctural treatment a day, the average 0.58 persons received the moxibustion a day, the average 2.28 persons received venesection (bloodletting) a day. And others treatment performed physical therapy and the like. The case received treatment of the oriental and western medicine at the same time. marked 21 persons among 30 persons and had a good effect by 70 per cent. The average 26.95 persons received treatment of oriental medicine a day, the average 3.9 persons received the first medical examination a day.

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Survey of Current Status of the Patients with Home Ventilator in Seoul and Kyunggi Province (가정용 인공호흡기를 사용하는 서울 및 경기 지역 환자의 실태)

  • Ahn, Jong-Joon;Lee, Ki-Man;Shim, Tae-Sun;Lim, Chae-Man;Lee, Sang-Do;Kim, Woo-Sung;Kim, Dong-Soon;Kim, Won-Dong;Koh, Youn-Suck
    • Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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    • v.49 no.5
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    • pp.624-632
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    • 2000
  • Background : Home ventilation can decrease hospital-acquired infection, increase physical activity, improve nutritional status, enhance quality of life, and reduce medical costs. The number of patient using home ventilators has been increasing, particularly in Europe and United States. Although the number of patients with home ventilation has been increasing in Korea, the current status of these patients is not well known. This study was undertaken to obtain basic information upon these patients in addition to evaluating any problems related to patients' home care in our country. Methods : A register of 92 patients with home ventilators in Seoul and Kyunggi Province were obtained from commercial ventilator supply companies. The patients were contacted by phone and 29 of them accepted our visit. Information concerning education about home care before discharge, equipment cost, and problems related to home care were documented. The mode and preset variables of the home ventilator were checked; tidal volume (TV), peak airway pressure, and oxygen saturation were measured. Results : There were 26 males (90%) and their mean age was 48.0 (${\pm}20.1$) years. The underlying diseases were : 21 neuromuscular disorders, 2 spinal cord injuries, 6 chronic lung diseases. Among the caregivers, spouses (n=14) predominated. Education for home care before discharge was performed primarily by intensive care unit nurses and the education for ventilator management by commercial companies. Twenty-five of the 29 patients had tracheostomies. Volume targeted type (VTT ; n=20, 69%) was more frequently used than the pressure targeted type (PTT). Twenty-three of the 29 patients purchased a ventilator privately, which cost 7,450,000 (${\pm}$3,290,000) won for a PTT, and 14,280.000 (${\pm}$3,130,000) won for a VTT. Total cost for the equipment was 11,430,000 (${\pm}$634,000) won. The average cost required for home care per month was 1,120,000 (${\pm}$1,360, 000) won. Conclusion : The commonest underlying disease of the patients was neuromuscular disease. The VTT ventilator was primarily used with tracheostomy. Patients and their families considered the financial difficulties associated with purchasing and maintaining equipment for home care an urgent problem. Some patients were aided by a visiting nurse, however most patients were neglected and left without professional medical supervision.

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Air Pollution and Its Effects on E.N.T. Field (대기오염과 이비인후과)

  • 박인용
    • Proceedings of the KOR-BRONCHOESO Conference
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    • 1972.03a
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    • pp.6-7
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    • 1972
  • The air pollutants can be classified into the irritant gas and the asphixation gas, and the irritant gas is closely related to the otorhinolaryngological diseases. The common irritant gases are nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, hydrogen carbon compounds, and the potent and irritating PAN (peroxy acyl nitrate) which is secondarily liberated from photosynthesis. Those gases adhers to the mucous membrane to result in ulceration and secondary infection due to their potent oxidizing power. 1. Sulfur dioxide gas Sulfur dioxide gas has the typical characteristics of the air pollutants. Because of its high solubility it gets easily absorbed in the respiratory tract, when the symptoms and signs by irritation become manifested initially and later the resistance in the respiratory tract brings central about pulmonary edema and respiratory paralysis of origin. Chronic exposure to the gas leads to rhinitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, and olfactory or gustatory disturbances. 2. Carbon monoxide Toxicity of carbon monoxide is due to its deprivation of the oxygen carrying capacity of the hemoglobin. The degree of the carbon monoxide intoxication varies according to its concentration and the duration of inhalation. It starts with headache, vertigo, nausea, vomiting and tinnitus, which can progress to respiratory difficulty, muscular laxity, syncope, and coma leading to death. 3. Nitrogen dioxide Nitrogen dioxide causes respiratory disturbances by formation of methemoglobin. In acute poisoning, it can cause pulmonary congestion, pulmonary edema, bronchitis, and pneumonia due to its strong irritation on the eyes and the nose. In chronic poisoning, it causes chronic pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary edema. 4. Ozone It has offending irritating odor, and causes dryness of na sopharyngolaryngeal mucosa, headache and depressed pulmonary function which may eventually lead to pulmonary congestion or edema. 5. Smog The most outstanding incident of the smog occurred in London from December 5 through 8, 1952, because of which the mortality of the respiratory diseases increased fourfold. The smog was thought to be due to the smoke produced by incomplete combustion and its byproduct the sulfur oxides, and the dust was thought to play the secondary role. In new sense, hazardous is the photochemical smog which is produced by combination of light energy and the hydrocarbons and oxidant in the air. The Yonsei University Institute for Environmental :pollution Research launched a project to determine the relationship between the pollution and the medical, ophthalmological and rhinopharyngological disorders. The students (469) of the "S" Technical School in the most heavily polluted area in Pusan (Uham Dong district) were compared with those (345) of "K" High School in the less polluted area. The investigated group had those with subjective symptoms twice as much as the control group, 22.6% (106) in investigated group and 11.3% (39) in the control group. Among those symptomatic students of the investigated group. There were 29 with respiratory symptoms (29%), 22 with eye symptoms (21%), 50 with stuffy nose and rhinorrhea (47%), and 5 with sore thorat (5%), which revealed that more than half the students (52%) had subjective symptoms of the rhinopharyngological aspects. Physical examination revealed that the investigated group had more number of students with signs than those of the control group by 10%, 180 (38.4%) versus 99 (28.8%). Among the preceding 180 students of the investigated group, there were 8 with eye diseases (44%), 1 with respiratory disease (0.6%), 97 with rhinitis (54%), and 74 with pharyngotonsillitis (41%) which means that 95% of them had rharygoical diseases. The preceding data revealed that the otolaryngological diseases are conspicuously outnumbered in the heavily polluted area, and that there must be very close relationship between the air pollution and the otolaryngological diseases, and the anti-pollution measure is urgently needed.

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