• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.108-117
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• 2013

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to 1) explore nurses' attitudes toward death, coping with death, understanding and performance regarding end-of-life (EOL) care, 2) describe correlations among the above factors, and 3) determine the factors affecting nurses' EOL care performance. Methods: Study participants were 187 nurses stationed at departments that post higher mortality than others such as the oncology department, intensive care unit (ICU) and emergency department (ED). Data were collected from three urban university-affiliated hospitals. Multi-dimensional measure was performed for study instruments such as "attitude toward death", "coping with death" and "understanding and performance regarding EOL care". Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple regressions. Results: First, nurses showed significantly different attitudes toward death by age, religion, work unit and EOL care education. Younger nurses tend to score low on the understanding of EOL care, and ED nurses' score was lower than their peers at the oncology department and ICU. Second, EOL care performance was positively correlated with attitude toward death (P<0.001), coping with death (P=0.003) and understanding of EOL care (P<0.001). Third, nurses' EOL care performance was affected by work unit (P<0.001) and understanding of EOL care (P<0.001). Conclusion: Because nurses' performance was influenced by their work unit and understanding of EOL care, they should be provided with appropriate training to improve their understanding of death and EOL care according to work unit.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.210-216
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• 2020

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.345-352
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• 2004

Objectives : Previous studies showed that death certification by physicians was an important predictor to improve the quality of death certificate data in South Korea. This study was conducted to examine the proportion of death certificates issued by physicians and associated factors in South Korea from 1990 to 2002. Methods : Data from 3,110,883 death certificates issued between 1990 and 2002, available to the public from the National Statistical Office of Korea, were used to calculate the proportion of death certificates issued by physicians and to examine associated factors with logistic regression analysis. Results : The overall proportion of death certificates issued by physicians increased from 44.6% in 1990 to 77.6% in 2002 (mean: 63.5%). However, the proportion was greatly influenced by the deceased's age. In 2002, more than 90% of the deceased aged 51 or less were certified by physicians. A higher proportion was found among deceased who had tertiary education (college or higher) living in more developed urban areas. Conclusion : The information regarding the cause of death for younger, well-educated deceased in urban areas of South Korea may show a higher level of accuracy. Epidemiologic research using information on causes of death may well benefit from the continually increasing proportion of death certificates issued by physicians in the future in South Korea.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.223-231
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• 2013

Purpose: This study was conducted to explore how nurses' attitude toward dignified death and moral sensitivity affect their end-of-life care performance. Methods: Study participants were 172 nurses who work at university hospitals in a metropolitan city in Korea. Data were collected from June 20 through August 13, 2012 using the Dignified Death Scale, Moral Sensitivity Scale, and End-of-Life Care Performance Scale. Data were analyzed using the SPSS/WIN 19.0 program. Results: Factors affecting nurses' end-of-life care performance included moral sensitivity, dignified death and education level. Conclusion: Moral sensitivity, dignified death and education level should be considered when developing an educational program for nurses' end-of-life care performance.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.15-29
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• 2007

The purposes of this study were to examine if there is a relationship between elderly people's anxiety towards death and their reactions to the Star-Wave drawing, and to verify if the Star-Wave drawing was a good enough tool to measure elderly people's degree of death anxiety. The subject for this study were 307 elderly people (male 127, female 180) over 60 years of age with no physical and cognitive damage, who were residing in Geongsan city and attending colleges or welfare centers for the aged. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS WIN(ver. 12.0) program, and factor analysis, correlation analysis, Chi-square test, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and $Scheff\acute{e}$ test were utilized. The results showed that factors showing different levels of anxiety towards death in the Star-Wave drawing were the total harmony of the drawing, drawing style, repetition of wave, size of the star, and location of the star. In particular, the group that drew the Star-Wave drawing with total harmony felt less anxiety towards death than the other group. Therefore, the results of this study suggested a possibility of the Star-Wave drawing to be used as a good tool that could diagnose the elderly's degree of anxiety towards death.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.49-61
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• 2008

Purpose: To investigate the attitude toward death and recognition of hospice of community dwellers and to examine the differentiation between the attitude, recognition, and demographic variables. Method: This study was a cross-sectional descriptive study using a questionnaire. The Fear of Death Scale (FODS) made by Collect & Lester (1969) and translated and revised by Kim (2003) was used to measure the fear of death. The data were analyzed using SPSS. Results: The subjects were725 community dwellers, 65.8% female with a mean age of 39.9 years. The mean FODS score was 3.17 out of 5, showing a slightly high negative attitude to death. There was a statistically significant difference between the type of religion and total FODS (F=3.91. p=.02). Of the respondents, 66.5% had heard of hospice and 5.5% had received hospice care. Conclusion: Based on the study results, various types of death education program for community dwellers, including the content of hospice care, should be developed. In addition, public relations for the settlement of desirable dying culture and hospice service need to be activated.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.249-259
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• 2011

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze long-term trends in the contribution of each cause of death to socioeconomic inequalities in all-cause mortality among Korean adults. Methods: Data were collected from death certificates between 1990 and 2004 and from censuses in 1990, 1995, and 2000. Age-standardized death rates by gender were produced according to education as the socioeconomic position indicator, and the slope index of inequality was calculated to evaluate the contribution of each cause of death to socioeconomic inequalities in all-cause mortality. Results: Among adults aged 25-44, accidental injuries with transport accidents, suicide, liver disease and cerebrovascular disease made relatively large contributions to socioeconomic inequalities in all-cause mortality, while, among adults aged 45-64, liver disease, cerebrovascular disease, transport accidents, liver cancer, and lung cancer did so. Ischemic heart disease, a very important contributor to socioeconomic mortality inequality in North America and Western Europe, showed a very low contribution (less than 3%) in both genders of Koreans. Conclusions: Considering the contributions of different causes of death to absolute mortality inequalities, establishing effective strategies to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in mortality is warranted.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.71-82
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• 2015

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate paramedic students' awareness and attitude toward a do not resuscitate (DNR) order and death. Methods: This research was conducted among 421 students from the Department of Emergency Medical Technology in a 4-year college located in the Chungcheong and Daejeon districts, from May 14 to 22, 2014. Data were analyzed by using IBM SPSS 21.0. Results: The mean level of attitude toward death was 2.17. The paramedic students with clinical experience showed a positive attitude toward death, of whom 72.0% answered that a DNR order is necessary. The mean level of attitude toward DNR was 2.88. The paramedic students with clinical experience showed a positive attitude toward a DNR order. They indicated that sanctity of life should be respected rather than extending ineffective treatment and that patients' decisions on DNR should be respected. The students who had more knowledge about DNR and felt the necessity of DNR had a positive attitude about death and DNR. Conclusion: Paramedic students need systematic education for proper recognition and values establishment about death and DNR.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.227-234
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• 2015

Purpose: This study was done to analyze how a death preparation education program have the effects on awareness of hospice palliative care and withdrawing life sustaining treatment in older adults. Methods: This study employed a non-equivalent control group design among quasi-experimental designs. The experimental group was comprised with 35 adults and the control group with 40 adults. The death preparation program consisted of five two-hour sessions and was administered once a week for five straight weeks. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, ${\chi}^2$ test, Fisher's exact test, and ANCOVA using SPSS version 18.0. Results: The mean age of the participants was 66.2 years. A significant difference between the experimental and control groups was observed in withdrawing life sustaining treatment (F=3.380, P=0.040). However, no significant difference was found in awareness of hospice palliative care (F=0.163, P=0.850). Conclusion: The study results indicate that death preparation training could positively affect people's awareness of withdrawing life sustaining treatment. More studies should be conducted to explore effects of death preparation education for all ages and help people better understand hospice palliative care.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.67-78
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• 2024

Purpose: The present study investigated experiences of traumatic perinatal events, the provision of related education, and educational needs of nurses working in the labor and delivery room (LDR). Methods: Nurses working in the LDRs of six institutions and two nurse portal sites were invited to participate in the survey, delivered on paper or online. The data were collected from October 1 to November 25, 2022. Data from 129 nurses were analyzed using frequency, the chi-square test, the Fisher exact test, the t-test, and analysis of variance. Results: Virtually all participants (98.6%) reported having experienced at least one traumatic perinatal event (dystocia, postpartum hemorrhage, neonatal congenital anomalies, severe maternal or neonatal injury, stillbirth, and maternal or neonatal death) while working in the LDR. The most shocking traumatic perinatal event experienced was the maternal or neonatal death (40.3%), but 24.8% of participants did not recall ever receiving education on the topic. About 63% of participants experienced traumatic perinatal events within a year of working in the LDR. The average score for education needs regarding traumatic perinatal events was 3.67±0.37 out of 4, and participants preferred simulation education as the most effective educational method. Conclusion: Since most of the participants had experienced various traumatic perinatal events in the early stages of working in the LDR and expressed a high level of need for education on traumatic perinatal events, it is necessary to provide more effective stimulation education programs in the early period of work in the LDR.