• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.43-59
• /
• 2023

Objectives: Although a manual for a disaster medical support using Korean medicine doctors for disaster survivors has been developed, education programs for using the manual in disaster situations need to be developed. Thus, the purpose of this study was to analyze existing online education programs for disaster mental health to develop education programs for Korean medicine doctors. Methods: We conducted website searching for disaster mental health education programs using Google. Compositions, contents, hours, methods, costs, organizers, and targets of included educational programs were analyzed qualitatively. Results: After searching, eight websites among a total of 64 were included for the analysis. Lectures consisted of Psychological First Aid, Skills for Psychological Recovery, Self-Care, and Psychological Education after a disaster experience. Training hours for each program ranged from 30 minutes to 31 hours. All lectures were given only online. They could only be taken online. Free lectures were the most common ones. Most of them were for the general public. Conclusions: Findings of this study provide information regarding trends of online education programs for disaster mental health. Our information could be used for developing disaster trauma response education programs for Korean medicine doctors in the future.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.39-53
• /
• 2021

Objectives: To analyze the reports of qualitative research about natural disasters in Korea. Methods: Nine published qualitative research studies were selected for the analysis. The selected reports were analyzed by Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ), a reporting guideline for qualitative research. In addition, each subject of the study was qualitatively synthesized. Results: In the quality assessment using COREQ, detailed information about the researchers were insufficient. The results of the studies were integrated into six themes: "Disaster experience", "Disaster damage", "Dealing with disasters", "Disaster compensation issues", "Arbitration Resources", and "Post-disaster change". Conclusions: In further qualitative research on natural disasters, it is necessary to report the research according to the COREQ checklist. Based on the results of this study, continuous attention and research are needed to explore the areas of Korean medicine care in the event of a disaster.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 2024

Objectives: This study aims to develop an educational program based on a manual for disaster medical support using Korean medicine (KM) for disaster survivors. Methods: We conducted a literature review on another educational program, a focus group interviews with experts, a survey of the academic needs of Korean medicine (KM) doctors, educational competency development, and an expert Delphi survey. Results: This program was designed using a hybrid method combining online (4 h) and offline (8 h) elements; the total time of the program is 12 h. The offline course consists of theory (4 h) and practice (4 h) lectures. The theory lecture covers herbal medicine, acupuncture, stabilizing technique, emotional freedom technique, and self-management, and the practice lecture covers stabilizing technique, emotional freedom technique, and clinical performance evaluation. Meanwhile, the online course covers a manual for disaster medical support using KM and an introductory course from the National Center for Disaster and Trauma. Conclusions: The results of this study are expected to be useful for enhancing training for KM doctors in trauma care for disaster survivors as well as evaluating and validating the program's effectiveness.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Emergency Medicine
• /
• v.29 no.6
• /
• pp.585-594
• /
• 2018

Objective: This study was designed to report on the progress of the fire at Jecheon sports complex and to assess the adequacy of Disaster Medical Assistant Team (DMAT)'s activities in response to the fire disaster. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review based on camera recordings and medical records that were recorded at the disaster site for assessment of activities. We cooperated with firefighters, police officers, local hospital medical staffs and public health personnel in Jecheon in order to classify patients in the disaster field and to understand the patients' progress. Results: At 15:53, the first request for emergency rescue came to the 119 general emergency call center, and a request for DMAT activation came at 16:28. DMAT arrived at the site at 17:04 and remained active until the following day at 00:43. The total number of casualties was 60, including 27 minimal (Green) patients, 29 expectant (Black) patients, three delayed (Yellow) patients, and one immediate (Red) patient. There were 32 patients who received on-site care by DMAT. Two patients were transferred from a local hospital to Wonju Severance Christian Hospital for hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Conclusion: Twenty-nine victims were found in the sports complex building, and there were 31 mildly to moderately injured patients in this fire disaster. The main cause of death was thought to be smoke suffocation. Although DMAT was activated relatively quickly, it was not able to provide effective activity due to the late rescue and difficulty with fire suppression.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.43 no.5
• /
• pp.387-395
• /
• 2010

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the physical and mental health status of disaster victims according to disaster types, such as a typhoon disaster and an oil spill disaster, and to suggest adequate health care services for them. Methods: A total of 484 people who suffered disasters were selected for this study, and data were collected from July to August, 2008. The data-set for this study included 286 victims of typhoon disasters in Jeju and Jeollanamdo district in South Korea, and 198 victims of the oil spill disaster in Taean. Physical health status was measured using revised Patient Health Questionnaire and mental health status was measured using the Korean version of 'Post-traumatic Diagnostic Scale'. Results: According to the comparative analyses of typhoon disaster victims and oil spill disaster victims, poorer physical health outcomes were shown among the oil spill disaster victims when compared to the typhoon disaster victims. Also, the oil spill disaster victims showed symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, at rates higher than those found among the typhoon disaster victims. Conclusions: These findings suggest that there is a need to provide adequate physical and mental health-related care services for oil spill disaster victims. The seriousness of oil spill disaster should be realized and reconsidered in developing recovery strategies and disaster preparedness for physical and mental health services.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.77-86
• /
• 2011

Objectives : These days assaults and other natural and human disasters are increasing. But oriental medical treatment researches in Korea are limited in car accident PTSD patients only. Our object is to explore an oriental medical intervention model for the evidence-based approach to PTSD after diverse trauma including disasters. Methods : Domestic papers for Korean researches are obtained from oriental medical related journals by internet searching. International materials are obtained from PubMed searching and a publication from Department of Veterans' Affairs. After assorting searched articles into RCTs and non-RCTs, we analyzed the articles according to the elapsed time from trauma. Results : We confirmed that acupuncture, CBT, and PMR were effective in acute stage after traumatic event. And EMDR, EFT, and relaxation therapy were effective in chronic stage after traumatic event. Building on the findings, we proposed a model of oriental medicine for Disaster Mental Health. Conclusions : Analyzing previous researches about oriental medicine on PTSD, several interventions were confirmed the effectiveness on specific treatment stage. We could find the possibility of Oriental Medicine as a Disaster Mental Heath and proposed a model of Oriental medicine for Disaster Mental Health.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.53 no.1
• /
• pp.26-28
• /
• 2020

In September 2018, heat waves were declared to be a type of natural disaster by the Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety. The present study examined the characteristics of heat waves from the perspectives of meteorological phenomena and health damage. The government's efforts to minimize the damages incurred by heat waves are summarized chronologically. Furthermore, various issues pertaining to heat waves that are being raised in our society despite the government's efforts are summarized by analyzing big data derived from reported news and academic articles.

• The Journal of KAIRB
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.1-4
• /
• 2022

Although disaster research participants are in a more vulnerable state than general research participants, various ethical issues to be considered in the study may be overlooked due to the special situation of disaster. Therefore, research ethics should be considered to reduce damage to study participants and maximize benefits. In addition, from the perspective of researchers, ethical considerations should be applied in the disaster research process, so research ethics awareness should be established. In addition, at the health care institution and national level, it is necessary to prepare research ethics that reflect the Korean situation while meeting international standards in consideration of the characteristics of local communities. In Korea, after the Ferry Sewol accident in 2014, social interest in disaster mental health increased and the National Trauma Center was established in 2018, raising the need for disaster mental health ethics guidelines. Therefore, this review aims to discuss the significance of six items: specificity of the study, prior consent and autonomy, community participation, confidentiality and feedback provision, risk minimization, and research support. So far, the experience of disaster mental health research is not sufficient in South Korea. Therefore, the current guidelines are required to be continuously revised through practical experience in the future.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.135-148
• /
• 2023

Objectives To investigate the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of post-disaster musculoskeletal pain by reviewing relevant clinical studies. Methods A systematic search was conducted across 10 electronic databases to identify relevant clinical studies on acupuncture treatment for post-disaster musculoskeletal pain until May 2023. The methodological quality was evaluated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 and Risk of Bias Assessment tool for non-randomized studies tools. Results Six articles were analyzed, including two randomized controlled trials (RCTs), two before-after studies, one qualitative research, and one case series. Overall, acupuncture therapy showed some improvement in pain scale among musculoskeletal pain survivors. However, no significant improvement was observed in the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ-2). Subgroup analysis of participants who completed at least four acupuncture sessions revealed a significant effect on the SFMPQ-2. Additionally, a significant improvement in 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF36P) was observed after 6 months of treatment, but the 2-month treatment period did not show statistically significant effects on SF-36P improvement. The evaluation of the methodological quality of the RCTs identified some concerns of bias. Conclusions The results suggest that acupuncture is effective in alleviating post-disaster musculoskeletal pain. However, considering the limited number of selected studies and the inclusion of subjective evaluation measures, caution should be exercised in interpreting the results. Further large-scale follow-up studies are needed to determine the optimal frequency and duration of acupuncture treatment. Well-designed controlled trials should be conducted to provide more robust evidence regarding the effectiveness of acupuncture for post-disaster musculoskeletal pain.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.73-89
• /
• 2005

The disaster preparedness system in Korea has been developed in spite of many obstacles, but there are still many problems for response to newly emerging terrorisms due to the existing problems of disaster response system. The newly emerging terrorism in 21th century like biochemical terrorism has made us focus on terrorism preparedness, but health and medical aspect of terrorism has been overlooked. The health disaster system is more necessary for 21th terrorism response as well as the disaster engineering, economic and administrative aspects. The disaster preparedness system for bioterrorism has been developed by Ministry of Health with syndromic surveillance system and no case has been found in Korea yet and the resources of personnel and equipment as decontamination system in medical facilities are lacking in case of chemical terrorism. So through the multiple access method reflecting the risk factors in real terrorism field and human based health disaster concept, the disaster preparedness and response system to make up for the weak point should be suggested.