• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.174-183
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• 2002

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of nurses' pain experience on the inference of their patients' suffering. Method: Study subjects were sampled from 184 nurses who worked in general wards in one S university hospital located at Seoul. Nurses' pain experience consists of personal pain experience and professional pain experience. The Standard Measure of Inference of Suffering (Davitz & Davitz, 1981) was used for suffering inference measure, and patients' suffering which consists of physical pain and psychological distress. Result: Suffering inference scores of nurses without personal pain experience revealed a higher value than that of nurses with personal pain experience. But these differences were not statistically significant. The higher intense pain was experienced, the higher were suffering inference scores. This physical pain inference score was statistically significant(p=.044). Of the nurses who had personal pain experience, suffering inference scores of nurses with unrelieved pain experience revealed a higher value than that of nurses with relieved pain experience. Physical pain and psychological distress inference scores were statistically significant(p=.010, p=.006). Suffering inference scores of nurses without professional pain experience(internal medicine, general surgery, orthopedic surgery) revealed a higher value than that of nurses with professional pain experience. Professional pain experience of internal medical illness was statistically significant in psychological distress of internal medical illness(p=.044), and professional pain experience of orthopedic surgical illness was statistically significant in physical pain of orthopedic surgical illness(p=.027). Conclusion: Nurses who have experienced low pain intensity or good pain relief are inclined n to underestimate patient' pain. Although nurses who care for the same patient over a long time deal skillfully with that patient, nurses are inclined to underestimate that patients' pain. Nurses need to be aware of possible biases related to pain assessment as a result of pain experience.

• Journal of Korean Academic Society of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.40-48
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• 2009

Although the general concept of suffering care includes palliative care for the terminally ill that is designed to alleviate pain, it is much more holistic and encompasses emotional, spiritual and other life dimensions. Human suffering is multi-dimensional including spiritual and religious aspects, which diverge from the concept of pain understood in the context of materialistic medical approach. In this caring perspective, the body, mind and spirit are integrated so that objectivity and subjectivity can merge. The extended awareness with inner source or energy, and positive thinking about the personally-relevant God can be meaningful the dying person, family members and the caring team. Despite the importance of an inclusive understanding of human suffering, actual nursing practice still does not fully embrace the full understanding of human suffering. A more fundamental meaning of human suffering from the nursing perspective may fruitfully adopt a more inclusive view of human suffering.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.121-130
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• 2001

Although the general concept of suffering care includes palliative care technology for terminally ill person to alleviate his pain, it is much more holistic including emotional, spiritual and other life dimension. This inclusive concept of caring can be possible with the fundamental reflection on the human suffering. Far from the concept of pain understood in the context of materialist medical approach, human suffering has many dimensions including aesthetic, psychological, and religious: its meaning is holistic. With this perspective, the experience of the suffering client must be reconsidered before one starts with an objective side or a subjective side of suffering. Indeed, the actual strategies of suffering care can be different depending on the definition of human suffering accepted by practicians. In this caring perspective, the body, mind and spirit are integrated so the objectivity and subjectivity can merge; the extended awareness with inner resource or energy, and the positive thinking about the God is meaningful especially for dying person, his family members and the caring team. Despite this impending importance of the inclusive understanding of human suffering, the actual nursing practice still does not reflect this growing understanding of human suffering. This approach, which tried to pursuit the more fundamental meaning of human suffering, can contribute to the development of nursing education and practice which pay attention to the more inclusive view of human suffering.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.290-303
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• 1996

There is a need to define the concept of suffering more appropriate in the context of Korean culture. This research is an attempt to analyze and develop the concept of suffering by applying the Hybrid Model suggested by Schwartz-Barcott and Kim. The data were collected from March 20, 1995 to September 17,1995. The subjects of the study were eight persons including in-patients and out-patients of a general hospital who were diagnosed as having cancer and those resting in sanatoria for natural treatment of cancer. Qualitative research methods of in-depth interview and participant observation were used for data collection. The contents of the interviews were recorded on tape. Data-analysis progressed according to the 3 phases suggested by the Hybrid Model. For each case, in-depth interview data and participant observation data were included and the attributes of suffering revealed in these data were analyzed. Finally, by summarizing the results from each case, the attributes of suffering, its dimensions, definition, and processes observed in the field were suggested. According to the results of the study, the followlng new definition of suffering is suggested : Suffering is a fundamental and inevitable experience of all human beings. When each individual experiences loss, damage, and pain which threaten one's personal integrity, suffering is perceived differently among each individual depending on their personal inner factors, one's significant others, exterior circumstances and stimuli, and the ultimate meaning of life. Suffering brings severe and unendurable distress which accompany despair, powerlessness, anxiety, bitterness, fear, anguish, guilt, depression, withdrawal and anger. The results of this study suggest that the more responsibility and burden a cancer patient felt, the more suffering she/he experienced and it tended to be more relevant to one's significant others and exterior circumstances and stimuli : the less responsibility and burden a cancer patient had, the less suffering she/he experienced and it tended to be related to one's inner factors. These findings have implications for nursing profession. When caring for patients who experience suffering, nurses need to consider the influence of responsibility, burden, and each dimension of suffering. Moreover, appropriate nursing interventions aimed at relieving pain and satisfying the spiritual need of patients experiencing loss need to be developed and implemented more widely.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.71-82
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• 1998

The purpose of this study is to analyze the phases of back pain occurring on pregnant women, and to raise the necessity of the pain management on the basis of the former analysis. The objective group is 284 pregnant women who visited department of OBGY of hospital located both in Seoul and Andong. The results are as follows; 1. 204(71.8%) pregnant women were suffering from back pain. The ratio of pain occurrance in terms of the duration of pregnancy shows that 78.3% within 3 pregnant months, 68.4% between four and six months and 72.1% over seven month. Most common ares of pain was low back area rating 60.5%. 2. The most painful postural for the suffering women was lying on the back rating 35.9% and the next painful posture was standing rating 34.4%. And the most painful movement was to maintaining continues movement(57.8%). Twisting back rates the second(17.2%). These two variables were relevant each other(p<0.05). 3. 46.7% of pregnant women were experiencing nocturnal pain. Among women experienced the pain before pregnancy, 39.9% were suffering during the pregnancy. The occurrence of nocturnal pain was related to the pain before and after the pregnancy(p<0.05). 4. 58.8% of pregnant women who experience back pain take the pain for granted as a normal proceeding of pregnancy while 3.9% recognize the symptom as an abnormal. Pain recognition in accordance with the phases does not show much difference(p<0.05). 5. It is shown that the more one delivers the number of babies, the faster back pain occurs(p<0.01). 6. 32.3% of the pain-suffering women have family member(s) having back pain. Family member(s) of the women who does not experience the pain don't have the pain either. This case reports 46.1%. Statistically, these two variables are relevant(p<0.01). 7. 43.0% of back pain experiencing women does not have any particular management plan against the pain. 20.7% is exercising as for prevention. Women who recognize the necessity of some means of therapy for their pain marked 42.9%. The majority(65.8%) of women responded exercise gymnastic work-out are most appropriate pain management. The above results show that a great number of pregnant women is experiencing back pain, however, they properly managed. This span suggests that appropriate advocacy and education for pregnant women is necessary. It is recommended that positive contribution can be made to better health of pregnant women when pain management by physical therapist is given.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.104-106
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• 2006

Tolosa-Hunt syndrome is a rare self-limiting disease that's characterized by painful ophthalmoplegia. It has a relapsing and remitting course, and the pain responds promptly to systemic corticosteroid therapy. Yet it is diagnosed by the exclusion of other major causes involving the superior orbital fissure or cavernous sinus, including trauma, neoplasm, aneurysm and inflammation. Further, the associated ophthalmoplegia may follow days to weeks after the onset of orbital or hemifacial pain. Hence, this condition is often misdiagnosed as atypical facial pain, and so improper management could result in unnecessary suffering of the patient. The following case describes a patient suffering with hemifacial pain associated with ipsilateral abducens nerve palsy, which was evident 2 weeks after the onset of pain, and this was misdiagnosed as trigeminal neuralgia and atypical facial pain.

• The Journal of Korea Assosiation for Disability and Oral Health
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.9-16
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• 2015

Pain and sensory disorder resulting from injury to peripheral nerves of the face and jaws are a major source of patient dissatisfaction and suffering. The majority of patient who sustain injuries to the peripheral sensory nerves of the face and jaws experience a slow but orderly return of sensation that is functional and tolerable in quality, if not "normal". For many patients, however, the long-term effects are a source of aggravation, and for a few, a significant cause of suffering. Common complaints relate to reduced sensory information causing embarrassing food accumulations or drooling, biting a burning the lip or tongue, and difficulty in performing routine activities such as shaving and apply makeup. For some patients posttraumatic symptoms become pathological and frankly painful. The predominent pain components are (1) numbing anesthesia dolorosa pain, (2) triggered neuralgiaform pain, (3) burning, aching causalgiaform pain, and (4) phantom pain. This is a report of cases about posttraumatic pain syndrome associated with dental treatment in a psychologically disabled patient.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.72-76
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• 2006

Background: The objective of this study was to describe the extent of pain relief after an epidural steroid injection in the patients suffering from chronic low back pain from herniated disks or lumbar spinal stenosis. Methods: The study was prospectively designed for patients suffering with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) and herniated disks (HD) who were referred to a hospital-based pain clinic for epidural steroid injections (ESI). The pain was assessed with using a visual analog scale at baseline, two weeks after the first ESI and two weeks after the third ESI. Results: Eighty patients were enrolled, and all of them provided pain ratings before and after the injections. The LSS patients seemed to improve less than did the HD patients. The results showed no significant differences in the triamcinolone dosage and the frequency of injections for determining the efficacy of ESI. Conclusions: The LSS patients tended to have a less effective respond to ESIs than did the HD patients. The unsatisfactory response to ESI by the LSS patients underscores the need for randomized controlled trials of performing ESI in this population.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.45-59
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• 1998

Suffering is a human burden that may not be truly avoidable. In order to put that view in perspective we must examine suffering in a form as isolated from self-inflicted behavior as possible. The suffering of a child is one such example. The purpose of this study is to understand the meaning of suffering in the teenager and is to analyze difference of suffering in children and adult. The subjects of this study were 6 childrens (12year-17year) including in-patients and out-patients of a general hospital who were diagnosed as having cancer. The data was collected from October 10, 1996 to April 15, 1997. Qualitative research methods of in-depth interview and participant observation were used for data collection. Data analysis progressed according to the fieldwork phases suggested by the Hybrid Model. According to the results of the study, the meaning of suffering in the teenager can be described as follows : Suffering is an inevitable experience of all human beings. When each child experiences pain and destroying child-adult relationship, suffering in which threaten one's personal integrity is perceived differently among each child depending on their personal inner factors, one's significant others, exterior circumstances and stimuli. Suffering brings severe and unendurable distress which accompany anguish, depression, anxiety and fear. This findings provide data for new insights of suffering. When caring for teenager who experience suffering, nurses need to consider the influence of suffering. Moreover, appropriate nursing interventions aimed at relieving suffering need to be developed.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.955-966
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• 2005

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand the meaning and nature of pain experienced among patients with chronic pain. The present study adopted a hermeneutic phenomenological method which was developed by van Manen. Method: The participants for this study were 4 men and 5 women, who were over the age of 20 with chronic pain more than 6 months. Data was collected by using in-depth interviews and observations from September, 2004 to December, 2004. The contents of the interviews were tape-recorded with the consent of the subject. Result: The essential themes that fit into the context of the 4 existential grounds of body, time, space and other people were 'untamed and unremitting pain', 'the body as an obstacle', 'continuity of suffering time as if the moment would never end', 'a narrow radial range of action' and 'separating from other people'. Conclusion: Patients with chronic pain experienced and perceived the world through the filter of their pain. It is necessary for nurses to understand the experiences of chronic pain patients and to provide more empathic, supportive care. Further research is needed on nursing interventions that could help chronic patients cope with and find the meaning in their suffering.