• Cross-Cultural Studies
• /
• v.46
• /
• pp.199-225
• /
• 2017

Death and the Maiden(1990), by the Chilean playwright Ariel Dorfman, directly addresses the issue of liquidating the past that the transient democratic government of Patricio Aylwin faced, the government established right after the end of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. This article focuses on analyzing the aspects of conflicts and discords between memories of individuals as reflected in the conversations between characters of the play. For example. we look into the effects of traumatic memories of Paulina, tortured and raped by the past government, on her everyday life and examine the relationship between her personal memory and the collective memory. We also look into the discourse of the dominating memory through the confession of the rapist doctor Roberto, and observe how Gerardo, a lawyer appointed as a member of the investigation committee, exposes the truth of the case and mediates the conflict of the memories between the two characters. We uncover the problems inherent in the state memory as it tries to intervene in the strife in memories between assailants and victims and explore the possibility that the concept of memory deterritorialization would be an alternative to overcome these problems.

• Child Health Nursing Research
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.263-273
• /
• 2018

Purpose: This study analyzes meaning-centered intervention studies conducted in Korea and abroad to compare and confirm their characteristics and results. Methods: A literature search using keywords in English and Korean was performed using nine electronic databases in December 2017. Search participants included adolescents, and interventions conducted in meaning-centered intervention studies were selected for evaluation. A Risk of Bias Assessment tool for non-randomized studies was used for quality assessment. Results: All studies were based on quasi-experimental designs. The semantic intervention included topics such as freedom, choice, responsibility, pain, death, finding value of life, purpose and meaning of life, and becoming a master of my life. All studies used logotherapy, and included meaningful interventions that influenced the meaning and purpose of the life of adolescents. The life satisfaction of adolescents changed significantly when there is a positive and open relationship with their parents. Therefore, an educational program for parents based on meaning therapy is desperately needed. Conclusion: Meaning-centered interventions were found to be effective interventions for exploring the meaning of life not only for adolescents with problems but also for healthy youth, and as such could be used as basic data for the development of an appropriate intervention for enhancing their life.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.119-129
• /
• 2020

Purpose: The aim of this qualitative study is to explore the health problems and coping experiences of middle-aged and elderly women in the community. Methods: A total of five focus group interviews were conducted with three groups of middle-aged and two groups of elderly women. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. Data were analyzed using the content analysis method. Results: Health problems were categorized as confusion caused by problems that are difficult to handle alone in the middle-aged group and suffering originated by confronting changes in roles and environment in the elderly group. The health problems included stress, suffering, anxiety and social withdrawal as subcategories for the middle-aged women, and the stress, sense of loss, fear, and limited social activities caused by their life events for the elderly women. Meanwhile, the contents of categories about coping were revealed as the beginning of care for the body and mind for healthy life in the middle-aged group and active practice with insight into a healthy lifestyle in the elderly group. While the middle-aged women focused on themselves, attempted changes and started to take care of themselves, the elderly women interacted with the outside world, hardened their mind, made efforts for a dignified death, and managed health by their own methods. Conclusion: There were differences in the experiences of middle-aged and elderly women in accepting their health problems and coping. Nursing interventions reflecting these findings can help to manage and promote the health of middle-aged and elderly women based on an integrated perspective.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.244-256
• /
• 2018

Purpose: This study tried to understand discourses of life-sustaining treatments in general daily and healthcare newspapers. Methods: A text-network analysis was conducted using the NetMiner program. Firstly, 572 articles from 11 daily newspapers and 258 articles from 8 healthcare newspapers were collected, which were published from August 2013 to October 2016. Secondly, keywords (semantic morphemes) were extracted from the articles and rearranged by removing stop-words, refining similar words, excluding non-relevant words, and defining meaningful phrases. Finally, co-occurrence matrices of the keywords with a frequency of 30 times or higher were developed and statistical measures-indices of degree and betweenness centrality, ego-networks, and clustering-were obtained. Results: In the general daily and healthcare newspapers, the top eight core keywords were common: "patients," "death," "LST (life-sustaining treatments)," "hospice palliative care," "hospitals," "family," "opinion," and "withdrawal." There were also common subtopics shared by the general daily and healthcare newspapers: withdrawal of LST, hospice palliative care, National Bioethics Review Committee, and self-determination and proxy decision of patients and family. Additionally, the general daily newspapers included diverse social interest or events like well-dying, euthanasia, and the death of farmer Baek Nam-ki, whereas the healthcare newspapers discussed problems of the relevant laws, and insufficient infrastructure and low reimbursement for hospice-palliative care. Conclusion: The discourse that withdrawal of futile LST should be allowed according to the patient's will was consistent in the newspapers. Given that newspaper articles influence knowledge and attitudes of the public, RNs are recommended to participate actively in public communication on LST.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.75-82
• /
• 2010

Purpose: In Korea, trauma is the $3^{rd}$ most common cause of death. The trauma treatment system is divided into pre-hospital and hospital stages. Deaths occurring in the pre-hospital stage are 50% of the total death, and 20% of those are deaths that are preventable. Therefore, the purpose of our study is to calculate the preventable death rates caused by trauma in our current pre-hospital system, to analyze the appropriateness of the treatment of traumatized patients and to draw a conclusions about the problems we have. Methods: The study was done on traumatized patients who expired at the emergency department from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2009, at the Korea University Medical Centers in Anam, Guro and Ansan. The data on the patients were reviewed retrospectively based on characteristics, conditions on admission and trauma severity. The patient's RTS (revised trauma score) and ISS (injury severity score) was calculated. Preventable death rate was calculated by TRISS (the trauma score-injury severity score). Results: A total of 168 patients were enrolled. All patients were intubated and underwent CPR. Of the total, 72% patients were male, and traffic accidents were the most common form of trauma (52.4%), falls being second (28.6%). Head injury, solitary or multiple, was the most common cause of death (55.4%). Thirty-eight (38, 22.6%) deaths were preventable. The 22.6% preventable death rate consisted of 15.5% potentially preventable and 7.1% definitely preventable deaths. Based on a logistic regression analysis, the relationship between the time intervals until transfusion and imaging and death was statistically significant in the hospital stage. In the pre-hospital stage, transit time from the site of the injury to the hospital showed a significant relationship with the mortality rate. Conclusion: One hundred sixty-eight (168) patients died of trauma at the 3 hospitals of Korea University Medical Center. The TRISS method was used to calculate the preventable death rate, with a result of 22.6%. The only factor that was significant related to the preventable death rate in the pre-hospital stage was the time from injury to hospital arrival, and the time intervals until transfusion and imaging were the two factors that showed significance in the hospital stage. Shortening the time of treatment in the field and transferring the patient to the hospital as quickly as possible is the most important life-saving step in the pre-hospital stage. In the hospital stage, the primary survey, resuscitation and diagnosis should proceed simultaneously.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.58-64
• /
• 2003

Cancer is a life crisis which inflicts major psychological and physical trauma upon the victim. Most of the cancer patients suffer from major depression, profound frustration, and impaired social adjustment. Therefore suicidal ideation and suicidal attempt are also becoming a serious threat to cancer patients and their families. Hospice is patient-centered, and accepts the inevitability of 'death' while simultaneously being life-affirming. Even though there is no chance of physical cure, there is much scope for psychosocial and spiritual healing. Most of cancer patients who commit suicide suffer hem many mental problems. Hospice specialists must play an important role in evaluating and managing emotional or behavioral problems associated with suicidal ideatior and are also are expected to serve as informed commentators regarding suicide. It is crucial that hospice specialists define their role and develop clinical skills to intervene in suicidal event effectively. A systematic approach to suicidal cancer patients is a essential, and there is need for specific training for all hospice professionals. In this case report, the author introduced knowledge and clinical guidelines for a desirable approach to suicidal cancer patient.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.23-35
• /
• 2000

The purpose of this study was to find the sociopsychological factors influencing the compliance of dietary regimen in diabetes by using focus group interviews. The data were collected from fifty three diabetes patients in eleven focus groups from September 1997 to March , 1998 in Seoul and Suwon Korea. The interviews were tape-recorded and the contents of the interviews were analysed by researchers. The subjects knew the causes, complications, and therapies of diabetes although they were incorrect at times . Patients had a wide range of outcome expectations from very optimistic to pessimistic. They recognized diabetes as a disease which needs life-time care, and they though that good care could provide a normal life. One the other hand they thought diabetes could lead to death through complications, and cause financial problems as well as social isolation. As for self-efficacy they recognized the importance of compliance to diet regimen but they thought the diet therapy was very difficult and were not very willing to follow it. They felt medical professionals, especially doctors, were influential for the therapies. However they frequently felt counselling provided by doctors was insufficient in time and content and led to attitude problems. They felt support from families and others was often insufficient and inadequate. Nutrition education fostering outcome expectation, social support, and self-efficacy is needed to increased compliance. The most influential referents were medical professional including doctors, nurses, dieticians, so their role in diet therapy should by emphasized.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.230-238
• /
• 2003

Objectives : To estimate the value of statistical life (VSL) and health damage cost on theoretical mortality estimates due to environmental pollution. Methods : We assessed the health risk on three environmental problems and eight sub-problems. Willingness to pay (WTP) was elucidated from a questionnaire survey with dichotomous contingent valuation method and VSL (which is the division of WTP by the change of risk reduction) calculated from WTP. Damage costs were estimated by multiplying VSL by the theoretical mortality estimates. Results : VSLs from death caused by air pollution, indoor air pollution and drinking water contamination were about 0.3, 0.5 and 0.3 billion won, respectively. Damage costs of particulate matters ($PM_{10}$) and radon were higher in the sub-problems and were above 100 billion won. Because damage cost depends on theoretical mortality estimate and WTP, its uncertainty is reduced in the estimating process. Conclusion : Health damage cost or risk benefit should be considered as one scientific criterion for decision making in environmental policy.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.5-8
• /
• 2002

Stroke is a leading cause of death in most developed countries and some developing countries including South Korea. It is well known that stroke has is related in some way with several sleep disorders. At first, the onset time of stroke varies according to circadian rhythm. Early morning is the most prevalent time and late evening the least. The changes of blood pressure, catecholamine level, plasminogen activity and aggregation of platelet during sleep have been suggested as possible mechanisms. Sleep apnea (SA), a representative disorder in the field of sleep medicine, is found in more than 70% of acute stroke patients compared to 2-5% of the general population. Various sleep related breathing disorders occur after stroke and snoring is a distinct risk factor for stroke. So the relationship between stroke and SA is obvious, but the cause and effect are still not clearly known. Also, stroke may cause many sleep related problems such as insomnia, hypersomnia, parasomnia and changes in sleep architecture. Patients, family members and even medical personnel often ignore stroke-related sleep problems, being concerned only about the stroke itself. The clinical impacts of sleep problems in stroke patients may be significant not only in terms of quality of life but also as a risk factor or prognostic factor for stroke. More attention should be paid to the sleep problems of stroke patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.21
• /
• pp.9549-9553
• /
• 2014

Background: Cancer affects patients in many ways including physical, social, emotional, psychological and economic and restricts the functional lives. Psychiatric problems seen among cancer patients may increase the suicide probability and patients perceive suicide as a peaceful death type. The aim of this study was to examine the correlation between functional life and suicide probability among cancer patients. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted with 105 cancer patients as descriptive. The Functional Living Index_Cancer (FLIC)," suicide probability scale" (SPS) and personal information form were used as data collecting tools. Data were evaluated by descriptive analysis, and Pearson's correlation. Results: It was determined that 34.3% of patients thought of suicide. Significant negative correlation was found between functional life and suicide probability (r=-.641, p=0.000), increase being evident in those with poor functional life. Conclusions: It is recommended that cancer patients should be supported for improving their functional lives with help in coping processes for illness and treatment symptoms. Evaluation of the patient mental status to prevent the suicide among this group is an important role for nurses.