• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.55
• /
• pp.231-254
• /
• 2003

The main premise of this study is that the assurance on human rights of the mentally ill is contradictory to 'the greatest happiness of the greatest number' or 'therapeutic benefits'. Accordingly this study aims to find out the conceptual framework of assurance and restriction on human rights of the mentally ill. Using qualitative method, this study conducted the in-depth interview with 10 general public, 9 professionals, 6 mentally ill regarding the several issues of human rights included long-term hospitalization, restriction on driver's licence, involuntary hospitalization, restriction on communication in psychiatric ward. Research results are as follows ; two sets of dimensions are inferred from the analysis of interview transcript. First dimension is the focus of justification, ranging from the emphasis on positive consequences influenced to 'the greatest numbers'(the utilitarian thought) to the emphasis on assurance of rights without any conditions(the deontological thought). Second dimension is the locus of decision, raging from the formal system included the professionals and the government agency to the informal system included the families and the mentally ill. And there are differences in attitudes toward assurance and restriction on rights of the mentally ill among general public, professionals, and the mentally ill. In detail, general public regarded that 'involuntary hospitalization' and 'restriction on driver's license' which are apt to be directly harmful to people must be justified by consequence-centered and decided by the formal system, while 'long-term hospitalization' which is less harmful to people could be justified by right-centered and decided by the formal-system. And they thought that 'restriction of communication' could be justified by right-centered and decided by the informal system. Based on the findings, this study would conclude that practical guidelines for the promotion of human rights of the mentally ill must be developed.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.209-279
• /
• 2016

The Korean Mental Health Act was amended 2016 overall. This paper examines and evaluates the old Korean Mental Health Act since 1995 and the new Korean Mental Health Promotion Act 2016 from the Perspective of Human Rights and Inclusion of Persons with Psychosocial Disabilities. The persons with mental disabilities was separated and ruled out from society by the enactment of the Mental Health Act in 1995 and five times amendment. That has been justified and institutionally supported by medical viewpoint. The medical approach which reconsider the persons with mental disabilities as patients conceal that the aims of the involuntary admission in Mental Hospital are protection of society and the relief of the family member's duty of support for person with mental disabilities. This is institutionally supported in the 1995 Korean Mental Health Act by involuntary admission through the consent of family members as protectors. According to the old Act, the family members as protectors are authorized to consent to involuntary admission of persons with mental disabilities. Also, the psychiatrist that diagnoses the person with mental disabilities and evaluates the need for treatment by admission is not impartial in this decision. Family members as protectors may want to lighten their burden of support for the person with mental disabilities in their home by admitting them into a mental hospital, and the psychiatrist in the mental hospital can be improperly influenced by demand of hospital management. Additionally, Article 24 of the Korean Mental Health Act for the Involuntary Admission by the Consent of Family Members as Protector might violate personal liberty, as guaranteed in the Korean Constitution. The Mental Health Promotion Law was amended to reduce the scope of the persons with mental illness which are subject to forced hospitalization and to demand that a second diagnosis is made by another psychiatrist and screening by the committee concerning the legitimacy of admission in the process of the involuntary admission by the consent of family members as a method of protection. The amended Mental Health Promotion Law will contribute to reducing the number of the involuntary admissions and the inclusion of persons with mental disabilities. But if persons with mental disabilities are not providing some kind of service to the community, the amended Mental Health Promotion Law does not work for Inclusion of them.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.155-206
• /
• 2023

When a person with diminished mental capacity refuses necessary medical care, normative judgments about when paternalistic intervention can be justified come into question. A typical example is involuntary hospitalization for people with mental disabilities, traditionally governed by mental health law. However, Korean civil law reform in 2011 introduced a new form of involuntary hospitalization through guardianship legislation, leading to a dualized system to involuntary hospitalization. Consequently, a conflict has arisen between the 'best interest and surrogate decision-making' paradigm of civil law and the 'social defense and preventive detention' paradigm of mental health law. Many countries have criticized this dualized system as not only inefficient but also unfair. Moreover, the requirement for the presence of 'mental illness' for involuntary hospitalization under mental health law has faced criticism for unfairly discriminating against people with mental disabilities. In response, attempts have been made to integrate guardianship legislation and mental health law based on mental capacity. This study examines the legislative process and framework of the Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016, which reorganized the mental health care system by fusing guardianship legislation with mental health law based on mental capacity. By analyzing the case of Northern Ireland, which has grappled with conflicts between guardianship legislation and mental health law since the 1990s and recently proposed mental capacity as a single, non-discriminatory standard, we aimed to offer insights for the Korean guardianship and mental health systems.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.150-155
• /
• 2023

Drug-induced dyskinesia is an involuntary muscle movement caused by various dopamine receptor-blocking drug exposure, such as antipsychotics, antidepressants, and antiemetics. Causative drug removal is the main treatment for drug-induced dyskinesia whenever possible because its pathophysiology lacks a universally accepted mechanism; however, the symptoms can persist for years or decades in many patients even after causative drug removal. Herein, we present a case of drug-induced dyskinesia in a 61-year-old female patient who consumed medication for approximately 10 years for her depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Cervical and facial dyskinesia was suggested to be related to perphenazine and levosulpiride administration. The patient received acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, herbal medicine, and chuna treatment for 81 days during hospitalization. The symptoms were evaluated using the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale, Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale, Tsui's score, and Numeric Rating Scale, which revealed remarkable improvement, suggesting the effectiveness of combined Korean medicine for drug-induced dyskinesia.

• Mood & Emotion
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.126-132
• /
• 2011

Background and Objectives : This study aims to identify sociodemographic and disease-related variables which predicts continuity of outpatient treatment after discharge among bipolar patients. Materials and Method : The medical records of patients who discharged with the diagnosis of bipolar disorder from Department of Psychiatry, St. Mary's hospital from 2005 to 2009 were reviewed. Data on sociodemographic and disease-related variables were analyzed. Results : It showed older age, higher rate of male and higher rate of being married in 1-year follow-up group than in non-follow-up group. And it showed longer duration of index hospitalization, higher rate of previous psychiatric outpatient treatment within 3 months before index hospitalization, higher rate of involuntary admission in 1-year follow-up group than in non-follow-up group. The univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that older age, being male, previous psychiatric treatment and longer duration of index hospitalization were significantly related to an increased likelihood of 1-year follow-up visits. Conclusion : Age, sex, history of previous psychiatric treatment, and duration of hospitalization seems to have influence on continuity of outpatient treatment after discharge.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.286-291
• /
• 2000

Behcet's disease is a systemic disease affecting multiple organs including the central nervous system. Neuro-Behcet's disease was regarded as relatively rare, but thanks to the development of diagnostic tools, more and more cases are being reported. We are reporting a case of neuro-Behcet's disease in which the patient displayed paraparesis, dysarthria and involuntary tremor as neurologic symptoms. The patient's brain MRI showed cerebellar atrophy, and a spinal cord MRI failed to reveal any significant lesions. The patient experienced a couple of fever attacks during hospitalization, which were managed adequately by herbal medicines. Her main neurological symptoms such as paraparesis were, however, grossly unchanged at discharge.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.54-61
• /
• 2003

Object : This cross-sectional study was performed in order to evaluate the prevalence of tardive dyskinesia among the hospitalized schizophrenic patients. Methods : Four hundred nineteen hospitalized schizophrenic patients(male=263, female=156) were recruited for this study. They were treated with antipsychotics for more than 3 months. The prevalence of tardive dyskinesia was assessed by the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale. Results : The prevalence of tardive dyskinesia was 35.6%(Male=36.9%, Female 33.3%). There were no significant differences in the prevalence of tardive dyskinesia among male and female schizophrenic patients. The prevalence of tardive dyskinesia among the patients over 30years old was much higher than those below 30years old. There were no significant correlations between the prevalence of tardive dyskinesia and the duration of hospitalization, the total amount of antipsychotics. The frequently involved parts of the body in the schizophrenic patients who have tardive dyskinesia were tongue, upper extremity, lips and perioral area, jaw, lower extremity, muscles of facial expression trunk, respectively. Conclusions : There was significant correlation between the age and the prevalence of tardive dyskinesia in the antipsychotic-treated schizophrenic patients. There were no correlations between the prevalence of tardive dyskinesia and gender difference, the duration of hospitalization, the total amount of antipsychotics.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.75-96
• /
• 2006

Having gone through socioeconomic changes from an agricultural to a post-industrial society, mental health system accordingly has been changed. In Korea where the socioeconomic change has been so rapid, the mental health system and law have been behind the socioeconomic system. Post-industrial society needs more humanized and advanced mental health system, however, Korean mental health law reflects ideology of Korean society in industrial age. This paper attempts to assess the significance Korea's Mental Health Law against the backdrop of socioeconomic changes. A substantial part of the report is devoted to identifying discrepancies between Korea's Mental Health Law and the perspectives of post-industrial ideology and areas for improvement. Improvement in mental health law should take place in line with the changes occurring in socioeconomic environments, the social concept of family, and the public awareness of human rights. Korea's mental health law should be changed in a way to improve hospitalization procedure for people with mental illness, promote the opening of mental health facilities and improve the quality of the lives of the mentally ill. Further changes are deemed necessary in the public and media view of mental illness. Also, the national budget will have to be increased with a view to raise the social rights of those with mental illness to receive quality rehabilitation services.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.42 no.6
• /
• pp.1319-1330
• /
• 2021

A 56-year-old male patient with a sudden onset of tremor and involuntary movement of right upper and lower extremities, head, and voice was diagnosed as having a drug-induced tremor, with valproic acid being the culprit drug. The patient had undergone admission treatment at an internal Korean medicine department with herbal medicine according to constitutional diagnosis, acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, and rehabilitation. The change in the severity of tremor was assessed with the Fahn Tolosa Marine scale. After discharge, the patient took herbal medicine for two more months. After 20 days of admission and 2 months of treatment with herbal medicine, the patient's tremor improved. In this case, the patient with valproic acid-induced tremor showed improvement in symptoms after 20 days of hospitalization and further reduction of tremor and improvement of quality of life were confirmed through follow-up for 2 months.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.38 no.5
• /
• pp.853-861
• /
• 2017

Objectives: The objective of this study was to report a clinical case that suggests potential beneficial effects of Korean medicine therapy for the treatment of levosulpiride-induced acute dyskinesia. Methods: A patient having drug-induced acute dyskinesia was given a series of Korean medicine therapy treatments, including administration of the herbal medicine Chengsimyeonja-tang-gamibang, acupuncture, electroacupuncture, pharmacopuncture, and moxibustion over the 17 days of the hospitalization period. During the therapy, the progression of the disease was measured by the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS). Results: During the therapy, the remission of orofacial dyskinesia and improvement of AIMS scores were observed. Conclusion: Korean medicine therapy has potential benefits for the treatment of drug-induced acute dyskinesia.