The Characteristics of the Families with Pneumoconiosis Patients

진폐환자 가족의 특성

Pneumoconiosis is a pathological change which is caused by coal dusts. It is a chronic disease that is not cured thoroughly but need treatment and nursing care through all lifetime of the patient. The family of the patient will be suffered from the physical and mental difficulties in the consequence of pneumoconiosis. The study is to find out the characteristics of the families with pneumoconiosis patients. The subjects of the study were 300 families with pneumoconiosis patients who were under medical treatment in Taeback, Donghae, Jeongsun Occupational Medical Center. The period of the study was from the 8th to the 31st of August, 1998. The data were collected by the structured questionnaires included the family intensity measurement which was translated by "Oh". The general properties of the subjects were calculated by frequency and percentage with SAS program. The followings are the summaries of the study. 1) The mean age of the pneumoconiosis patients was 62.3 years. The mean duration of diseases was 11 years and 7 months and the mean duration of hospital stay was 6 years and 4 months. 2) The mean age of the primary care giver was 55.7 years. The proportion of highschool education was 9.6% and it was quite low level compared to other primary care giver groups. 3) The average number of family members were 1.76 person(2.76 persons included patient). The economic status was somewhat high compared to other families with chronic patients. 4) The mean score of family intensity was 41.2(item mean=3.4). With the result, it is recommended to develop a program to improve the quality of family life. For example, there will be social support program for pneumoconiosis patients family sponsored by Social Insurance for Occupational Diseases.