• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.62 no.5
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• pp.561-566
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• 2019

Objective : Functional outcomes have traditionally been evaluated and compared using subjective surveys, such as visual analog scores (VAS), the Oswestry disability index (ODI), and Short Form-36 (SF-36), to assess symptoms and quality of life. However, these surveys are limited by their subjective natures and inherent bias caused by differences in patient perceptions of symptoms. The Fitbit $Charge^{(R)}$ (Fitbit Inc., San Francisco, CA, USA) provides accurate and objective measures of physical activity. The use of this device in patients after laminectomy would provide objective physical measures that define ambulatory function, activity level, and degree of recovery. Therefore, the present study was conducted to identify relationships between the number of steps taken by patients per day and VAS pain scores, prognoses, and postoperative functional outcomes. Methods : We prospectively investigated 22 consecutive patients that underwent laminectomy for spinal stenosis or a herniated lumbar disc between June 2015 and April 2016 by the same surgeon. When patients were admitted for surgery and first visited after surgery, preoperative and postoperative functional scores were recorded using VAS scores, ODI scores, and SF-36. The VAS scores and physical activities were recorded daily from postoperative day (POD) 1 to POD 7. The relationship between daily VAS scores and daily physical activities were investigated by simple correlation analysis and the relationship between mean number of steps taken and ODI scores after surgery was subjected to simple regression analysis. In addition, Wilcoxon's signed-rank test was used to investigate the significance of pre-to-postoperative differences in VAS, ODI, and SF-36 scores. Results : Pre-to-postoperative VAS (p<0.001), ODI (p<0.001), SF-36 mental composite scores (p=0.009), and SF-36 physical composite scores (p<0.001) scores were found to be significantly different. Numbers of steps taken from POD 1 to POD 7 were negatively correlated with daily VAS scores (r=-0.981, p<0.001). In addition, the mean number of steps from POD 3 to POD 7 and the decrease in ODI conducted one month after surgery were statistically significant (p=0.029). Conclusion : Wearable devices are not only being used increasingly by consumers as lifestyle devices, but are also progressively being used in the medical area. This is the first study to demonstrate the usefulness of a wearable device for checking patient physical activity and predicting pain and prognosis after laminectomy. Based on our experience, the wearable device used to provide measures of physical activity in the present study has the potential to provide objective information on pain severity and prognosis.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.64-77
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• 2023

Objectives : Recently, the number of patients with dry eye syndrome has been steadily increasing. However, established treatment for it does not yet exist. This study compared electronic moxibustion with acupuncture for patients with dry eye in terms of efficacy and safety. Methods : This trial was designed as an investigator-initiated, single-blinded, comparative, randomized controlled trial. Thirty patients with dry eye were randomized to the electronic moxibustion treatment group(EMG) or the acupuncture treatment group(AG) in equal proportion. The participants who assigned to the EMG were treated with electronic moxibustion to ten acupoints including both sides of BL2, GB14, TE23, and LI4 for 12 minutes. The participants who were assigned to the AG were treated with acupuncture to the same acupoints for 15 minutes. Over 4 weeks, each intervention was carried out twelve times in total. The primary outcome was the ocular surface disease index(OSDI). The secondary outcomes were the subjective symptoms visual analog scale(VAS), quality of life(QoL), Schirmer I test(SIT), and general assessment. Adverse events and vital signs were also investigated for safety assessment. Results : In intragroup comparisons, both the EMG and the AG significantly improved the OSDI scores, the subjective symptoms VAS scores, the QoL scores, and the SIT results after 4 weeks of the trial. However, there were no statistical differences in intergroup comparisons between the two groups after 4 weeks. The safety of electronic moxibustion and acupuncture was confirmed by no occurrence of serious adverse events. Conclusions : Both electronic moxibustion and acupuncture were effective for dry eye syndrome, and they were safe. Electronic moxibustion and acupuncture can be used for dry eye syndrome as equivalent treatments.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.371-379
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to develop basic data in improving quality of life along with the enhancement in oral health, by arranging a plan for being able to reduce dental fear given the dental treatment in the future by grasping the subjective oral health recognition & status, and the dental fear level of the dental treatment field targeting patients of visiting dental clinics in Busan and Gyeongnam area. In the whole items of DFS, a sense of fear was higher in women than men. A factor of avoiding dental treatment stood at 1.72 points in men and 2.10 points(p<0.001) in women. A factor of response to stimulation stood at 2.75 points in men and 3.20 points(p=0.001) in women. A fear level according to dental kind was high in a factor of avoiding implant treatment(p=0.015), a factor of avoiding orthodontic treatment(p=0.002), physiological reaction(p=0.009), a factor of avoiding prosthesis treatment(p=0.014), a factor of avoiding pulpectomy treatment(p=0.005), a factor of physiological reaction(p=0.017), a factor of avoiding periodontal therapy(p=0.013), a factor of physiological reaction(p=0.004), and a factor of avoiding treatment given not receiving regular checkup(p=0.027). In the above results, to reduce dental fear, there will be a need of developing diverse programs and oral health eduction for regular checkup and preventive treatment.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.10 no.11
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• pp.435-445
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• 2010

The purpose of the current study was to examine the validity of the Leisure Satisfaction Scale(LSS) and confirm the relations between the LSS and subjective well-being. The LSS developed by Beard and Ragheb[9] has been used for about 20 years without the examination of the validity since it was utilized in Lee[2]'s study in Korea. First, all items of the original LSS and the operational definition of factors were translated and then inversely translated, and reviewed by experts in leisure studies. A total of 515 respondents participated in the study. To achieve the goals of this study, item-total correlation, correlation analysis, exploratory factor analysis, reliability analysis, multiple regression and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted by SPSS 14.0 and AMOS 5.0 programs. Main findings are as follows: First, the factor names(psychological, educational, social, physical, esthetic, and relaxation) and items were modified. Second, modified operational definition of factors were presented. The reliability and validity of the LSS consisted of 24 items and five factors were very high. Psychological and relaxation factors of LSS affected subjective well-being positively. The new LSS would be useful for the future studies associated with leisure satisfaction.

• 재활복지
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.43-58
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• 2018

Swallowing disorders that can affect nutrient intakes and quality of life are commonly shown among the elderly as well as patients with neurogenic disorder. This study verifies the reliability and validity of the Swallowing Disturbance Questionnaire (SDQ), a subjective swallowing disability assessment tool, modified for Koreans' eating habit and cultural sentiment, against 105 stroke patients, in order to help identify early swallowing problems of the elderly. Reliability of internal consistency in the Korean version of SDQ is .601, test-retest reliability is .97, and concurrent validity is .956. Based on 8 points of cut-off score, 46.8% of sensitivity and 81.6% of specificity. Comparing the results of video fluoroscopic study (VFSS), an objective swallowing disorder test with those of Korean version of SDQ, negative predictive value (NPV) and positive predictive value (PPV) was shown as 81% and 53%. The Korean version of SDQ is expected to be a useful testing tool to discriminate swallowing disorders in stroke patients. It has great clinical significance in that swallowing difficulties shown by subjects can be sorted out to request a diagnostic assessment before clinical evaluation by a rehabilitation therapist or ruling out unnecessary exposure to additional tests by accurately identifying stroke patients without swallowing problems.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.495-509
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• 2016

In this study, 60 seniors aged at least 65 years who attended C Senior College in Daegu were selected and randomly allocated to test and control groups of 30 subjects each. The Clean Diet Program was only applied to the test group, and the differences in self-efficacy, depression, health behavior, subjective perception of health, wellness, and physiological indices (blood pressure, blood glucose levels, hyperlipidemia, and BMI) between the test and control groups were compared. The results show a significant difference in the test group exhibiting improved or mitigated self-efficacy (t=6.003, p<.001), depression (t=4.038, p<.001), health behavior (t=6.196, p<.001), subjective perception of health (t=6.624, p<.001), and wellness (t=7.069, p<.001). Among the physiological indices, there was a significant decrease in BMI (t=5.974, p<.001). The results demonstrate the mediation effects of the Clean Diet Program. Since the Clean Diet Program can be implemented through walking, simple exercises, and eating habits, it provides great economic efficiency and usefulness and provides a very reasonable intervention program for the elderly. Based on the results, we discuss how to improve the elderly's attitude toward health promotion and their quality of life.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.383-393
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• 2019

The present study was conducted to determine convergent factors affecting depression in drinker by age. This was a cross-sectional secondary data analysis study that used the raw data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2014 & 2016. The subjects of the present study were 4,446 middle-aged drinker. Variables related to general characteristics, physical and psychological factors were selected. After a sampling plan compound file was created using IBM SPSS 23.0 program, data were analyzed by giving weights. Depression was influenced by gender (30s, 50-60s), income (30-40s, 60s), education (30-40s), number of family members (30-60s), job (30-60s), eating level (30-40s, 60s), hypertension (40s), DM (30-40s), BMI (30-40s), smoking (30s, 50s), exercise (30s), weight control (60s), drinking binge (30-60s), subjective health (30-60s), subjective body awareness (30-50s), stress (30s-60s), quality of life (30-60s). It is required to design preventive interventions and management plans for depression, considering these factors comprehensively.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.941-947
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• 2023

Objective: The purpose of this case study is to report the hydrocele of the canal of Nuck and the effectiveness of Korean medicine in post-surgery improvement of symptoms. Method: A patient who was diagnosed with hydrocele of the Nuck canal and had symptoms after Lichtenstein's operation was treated using Korean medicine, including acupuncture, herbal medicine, and moxibustion, every day. The evaluation was performed using the Numeral Rating Scale (NRS), the 5-level EQ-5D version (EQ-5D-5L), the EQ visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS), and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-Brief (WHOQOL-BREF). Results: After treatment, changes were observed in NRS (from 8 to 2-3) and EQ-VAS (from 60 to 85), whereas there was no difference in EQ-5D-5L (both 6). There was an overall improvement in the domains of WHOQOL-BREF and subjective symptoms. Conclusion: This study suggests that Korean medicine may improve symptoms after surgery of hydrocele of the canal of Nuck and can be evaluated using an overall QoL questionnaire.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.79-94
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• 2010

Objectives : Many researchers in western societies raised questions on methodological limitations of randomized controlled trial (RCT) for studying Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM), and they have tried to find alternatives to RCT. Some of them recently have interest in health service research as one of the alternatives. Discussing the significance of health services research in CAM studies will be helpful to guide the researchers in Korea who are also interested in developing an appropriate research methodology for traditional Korean medicine. Methods : Previous studies on methodological issues of studying CAM and health service researches published in western societies until 2009 were searched mainly from Pubmed. The definition, main research domains, and research methods of health service research and the significance of it for researches on CAM were summarized. Results & Conclusions : Health service researches are important in two aspects. First, health service researches evaluate the actual practice of CAM, including the individualized diagnosis as well as treatment and interaction between practitioners and patients. Second, when evaluating the outcomes, they put an emphasis on subjective evaluation by patients as well as objective evaluation by doctors. Thus, it can reflect the treatment goals of CAM which is improving the overall quality of life and the physical and psychological health. Therefore, health services researches such as descriptive studies, qualitative studies, outcomes studies including economic evaluation, and whole systemic research should be more utilized in order for studying traditional Korean medicine.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.369-375
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was the examination of the correlations between the daily physical pain intensity (DPPI) scale and the numeric rating scale (NRS), and between the DPPI scale and the quality of life (QOL) of short form health survey (SF-36) and beck depression inventory (BDI) questionnaires. The focus of the DPPI scale was the daily-living activities of the individual, and the scale contains three items regarding the pain per movement range, the pain per day, and the pain when touching the pain area. Methods: A total of 241 adults answered the DPPI, NRS, SF-36, and BDI questionnaires. Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated for the various relations of the DPPI to the other scales. Results: High correlations were shown between the NRS and the DPPI (r=0.809, p<0.05). The DPPI scale (r=0.437, p<0.05) showed "moderate" significant correlations with the SF-36 and the NRS (r=0.370, p<0.05), and it showed "weak" significant correlations with the SF-36. There are no statistically significant correlations between the DPPI, the NRS score, and the BDI score (p>0.05). Conclusion: This study was the first attempt to establish the concurrent validity of a new focus on daily-living activities for the assessment of pain. This study showed promise for the development of activities of daily living focused tool for an assessment of the subjective pain in patients that was more objective.