A STUDY OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE BEREAVEMENT PROGRAM OF SEVERANCE HOSPICE (세브란스 호스피스 추후관리 프로그램의 효과에 관한 연구)
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- The Korean Nurse
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- v.31 no.2
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- pp.51-69
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- 1992
Grief that is not acknowledged and worked through may manifest itself in some emotional, mental or physical problem. In recent years much has been learned about coping with grief which the hospice program can utilize to help family members cope with their grief. This study was carried out to determine the helpfulness of the bereavement care of Severance Hospice and to learm more about the grief response of the bereaved. The tools used to collect data were an assessment form used in the bereavement program and the Grief Experience Inventory developed by Sanders and revised and translated 'by the researcher. Data was obtained from bereaved family members(54 for the final grief assessment and 39 for the grief response assessment) receiving bereavement follow-up, from July 1989 to March 1991. Results of the study were as follows: 1. Final Grief Assessment Regarding the resolution of their grief the majority of the bereaved accepted the reality of the death of their family member, while slightly more than three-quarters were able to express their feelings toward their loss. A large majority had returned to activities of daily living well or fairly well and had reinvested their energy in a person other than the deceased. In addition, the physical condition of the majority was good or fairly good. A majority of the bereaved considered the bereavement care to be helpful and almost three-quarters were not considered to be in need of more follow-up. 2. Grief Response Assessment Age was found to have a modoerately positive correlation to appetite disturbance(r=.41, P<.Ol) and loss of vigor(r=.37, P<.Ol) A moderately positive correlation was found between the number of contacts and sleep disturbance(r=2.38, P<.01) Significant differences were found between men and women in regard to guilt(t=2.38, P<.05), social isolation(t=2.44, P<.05) and depersonalization(t=2.07, P<.05) with men having the more intense grief. Significant differences were found in the grief responses of somatization(F=5.82, P<.001), physical symptoms(F=5.87, P<.OOl), appetite disturbance(F=4.40, P<.Ol), despair(3.79, P<,Ol), anger(Fp2.83, P<.05), social isolation(F=3.61, P<.05), guilt(F=3.62, P<.05) and depersonalization (F = 2.58, P <.05). In the first six of these grief responses mothers scored highest, followed by husbands and then wives, In the grief response of guilt, daughters scored highest and on the grief response of depersonalization sons scored highest. Only one grief response, that of sleep disturbance(t= -2.19, P<.05) was found to be statistically significant, with those family members who died at home having the higher scores. Based on the results of this study several suggestions are presented as follows: 1. Since unresolived grief can have a detrimental effect on the bereaved person's mental and phys. ical health it would be good for the nurse, to include questions related to death of family members and the bereaved person's response to the grief, in her nursing assessment. And in the case of unresolved grief the nurse should encourage the person to talk with a trusted friend or counselor and express their fellings of grief. 2. A study to determine the degree of resolution of the grief of those in the bereavement program could be carried out by use of the Grief Experience Inventory early in their bereavement and again 13 months after the death of their family member. 3. A comparison of the grief response of the bereaved in the bereavement program and bereaved not in the program could be carried out using the Grief Experience Inventory. 4. After bereavement programs have been started in other hospice programs it would be good to carry out a joint study of bereavement outcomes of those in the bereavement programs.
At the start of the new century, South Africa probably had the largest number of HIV-infected people of any country in the world. The only nation that comes close is India with a population of one billion people compared to South Africa's figure of 57 million. The tragedy is that this did not have to happen. South Africa was aware of the dangers posed by AIDS as early as 1985. In 1991, the national survey of women attending antenatal clinics found that only 0.8percent were infected. In 1994, when the new government took power, the figure was still comparatively low at 7.6 %. The 2004 figure which has been published is 26.5%. This article tracks the epidemic globally, in the region and in South Africa. I explain some of the basic concepts around the disease and look at what may happen with respect to numbers. The situation is bad, and the number of people falling ill, dying and leaving families will rise over next few years. This will impact on South Africa in a number of important ways. This article assesses the demographic, economic and social consequences of the epidemic. It disposes of a number of myths and present the real facts. The AIDS in South Africa is not related to individuals only. It warns that AIDS in Africa is becoming a community and systemic problem. The acuteness of the problem does not stem merely from the fact that communities are affected, or could even be wipe out by the end of this decade, but from the fact that AIDS will place incredible burdens and obligations upon medical services, health care and religious communities such as churches. The facts confront churches' mission with the important question: who is going to take care of all the patients and where? The reality is that people dying of AIDS will have to be cared for at home by relatives and friends. A further question that arises is whether our people are prepared for this. AIDS was considered to be a homo-plague and the hunt was on for a scapegoat in the light of the fatal implication of the disease. At present we are in the strategic phase where we all realize that it will be of no avail to scare people with the ominous threat of AIDS AIDS destroys the optimism of our achievement ethics. This exposure of the culture of optimism is also an exposure of the so-called 'human basic fear which accuses Christianity that their concept of sin is a damper on man's search for liberation and basic need to be freed from all Imitation. AIDS is also a test for our ecclesiastical genuineness and the sincerity of our mission sensibility. It poses the question: How unconditional is Christian love? Is there room for the AIDS sufferer in the community of believers, despite the fact he is an acknowledged homosexual? The question to put to the church is whether the community of believers is an exclusive to put to the koinonia which excludes homosexuals. They may be welcome on principle, but in actual fact are not acceptable to the church community. As South Africa enters the new century, it is clear that the epidemic is not having a measurable impact. However, the impact of AIDS is gradual, subtle and incremental. The author's proposal of what is currently most needed in South Africa is that the little things will make a difference. It's about doing lots of little things better at grassroots level, with the emphasis on doing. There are so many community, churches and NGOs initiatives worth building on and intensifying. One must not underestimate the therapeutic value of working together in small groups to overcome a problem
The duty shifts of hospital nurses not only affect nurses' physical and mental health but also present various personnel management problems which often result in high turnover rates. In this context a study was carried out from October to November 1995 for a period of two months to find out the status of hospital nurses' duty shift patterns, and preferred duty hours and fixed duty shifts. The study population was 867 RNs working in five general hospitals located in Seoul and its vicinity. The questionnaire developed by the writer was used for data collection. The response rate was 85.9 percent or 745 returns. The SAS program was used for data analysis with the computation of frequencies, percentages and Chi square test. The findings of the study are as follows: 1. General characteristics of the study population: 56 percent of respondents was (25 years group and 76.5 percent were "single": the predominant proportion of respondents was junior nursing college graduates(92.2%) and have less than 5 years nursing experience in hospitals(65.5%). For their future working plan in nursing profession, nearly 50% responded as uncertain The reasons given for their career plan was predominantly 'personal growth and development' rather than financial reasons. 2. The interval for rotations of duty stations was found to be mostly irregular(56.4%) while others reported as weekly(16.1%), monthly(12.9%), and fixed terms(4.6%). 3. The main problems related to duty shifts particularly the evening and night duty nurses reported were "not enough time for the family, " "afraid of security problems after the work when returning home late at night." and "lack of leisure time". "problems in physical and physiological adjustment." "problems in family life." "lack of time for interactions with fellow nurses" etc. 4. The forty percent of respondents reported to have '1-2 times' of duty shift rotations while all others reported that '0 time'. '2-3 times'. 'more than 3 times' etc. which suggest the irregularity in duty shift rotations. 5. The majority(62.8%) of study population found to favor the rotating system of duty stations. The reasons for favoring the rotation system were: the opportunity for "learning new things and personal development." "better human relations are possible. "better understanding in various duty stations." "changes in monotonous routine job" etc. The proportion of those disfavor the rotating 'system was 34.7 percent. giving the reasons of"it impedes development of specialization." "poor job performances." "stress factors" etc. Furthermore. respondents made the following comments in relation to the rotation of duty stations: the nurses should be given the opportunity to participate in the. decision making process: personal interest and aptitudes should be considered: regular intervals for the rotations or it should be planned in advance. etc. 6. For the future career plan. the older. married group with longer nursing experiences appeared to think the nursing as their lifetime career more likely than the younger. single group with shorter nursing experiences (