Ethnosientific Approach of Health Practice in Korea

한국인의 건강관행에 대한 민속과학적 접근

In order that nursing care an essential quality of nursing practice be acceptable and satisfying, it is necessary that client's culture be respected and that nursing practice be appropriate to that culture. Since cultural elements are an important influence on health practices and life patterns related to medical treatment, recovery from and prevention of disease, nurses need to have an understanding and knowledge of social and cultural phenomena to aid in the planning of nursing interventions. To understand the health practices surrounding health and illness, the health beliefs and practices of both folk and professional healing systems should be ascertained. Cultural data are required to provide care of high quality to clients and to reduce possible conflict between the client and the nurse. It is nursing's goal to provide clients from various cultures with quality nursing care which is satisfying and valuable. The problem addressed by this study was to identify Korean health practices which would contribute to the planning of professional caring practice with the culture : ultimately this study was intended to make a contribution to the development of the science of nursing. The concrete objectives of this study were ; 1) to identify Korean health practices, 2) to interpret the identitial health practices through traditional cultural thought, and 3) to compare the Korean health practices with those of other cultures. The investigator used the ethnosceintific approach outlined by spradly in a qualitative study. To discover ancestral wisdom and knowledge related to traditional health practeces, the subjects of this study were selected from residents of a small rural mountain village in south west Korea, a place considered to be maintaining and transmitting the traditional culture in a relatively well -preserved state because of being isolated from the modern world. The number of subjects was 18, aged 71 to 89. Research data were collected from January 8 to March 31, 1990. Five categories of health practices were identified : “Manage one's own mind”, “Moderation in all thing”, “Live in accord with nature”, “Live in mutuality with others”, and “Live to the best of one's ability”. Values derived from these ways of thinking from Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism help fashion a traditional way of life, examplified by the saying “Benifience to all”. Korean thought and philosophy is influenced primerily by Confucianism, Confucian principles of ethics, embedded deeply in the peoples' minds, form the idea that “heaven and human being are intimately united” based on concept that “heaven is, so to speak, reason”. Twoe Gae's theory of existential subjectivity develops the concept of self which is the basis of the spirit of reverence in modern Confucian philosophy. The human md is granted from heaven out of the idea of matter, and what control the mind is the spirit of reverence. Hence the idea of “The primacy of the mind" and provided that one should control one's own mind. The precepts of duty to parents, respect for elders and worship of ancestors, and moderation in all behavior put a restraint on life which directed that one live earnestly according to Nature's laws with their neighbors. Not only Confucianism, but also Buddism and Taoism have had an important effect upon these patterns of ideas. When compared with western culture, Korean health practices tend to be more inclusive, abstract and intuitive while westerner health practices found to be mere concrete, practical and personal. Values and beliefs based and pragmatism and existentialism infuence western civilization, Ethical values may be founded on utilitarianism, which considers what is good for the persons in their circumstances as the basis of conduct and takes a serious view of their practical lives including human aspirations rather than an absolute truth. These philosophical and ethical ideas are foundations for health practices related to active, practical and progressive attitudes. This study should be enable nursing not only to understand clients as reflections of the traditional culture when planning nursing practice, but to dovelop health education corresponding to cultural requiments for the purpose of protection against disease and improvement of health, and thus promote sound health practice. Eventually it is hoped that through these processes quality nursing care as the central idea of the science of nursing will be achieved.