• Korean Journal of Hospice Care
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.31-41
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• 2003

Background: The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of family support on the quality of life in patients admitted to the hospice facility at Saemmul Hospice. Method: The subjects of this study were 152 terminal cancer patients that were admitted to the hospice facility at Saemmul hospice between January 2002 and February 2003. Their each quality of life were assessed at admission, one, three, five and seven weeks at Saemmul Hospice using a questionnaire prepared by the Saemmul hospice and were anlalyzed by means of T-test. Result: There was no difference in the quality of life score between patients with family support and patients without family support in terms of physical, psychosocial, and spiritual aspects in the admission. There was no difference in the quality of life score between the patients with frequent family member's visit(>=8) and less frequent family visit(<=7), and between the patients whose family members stayed at the facility for 24hrs and the patients without staying family members. There was no difference in the quality of life score between the patients in low-middle and low-high class among 9 classes of familial economic status(high-high, high-middle, high-low, middle-high, middle-middle, middle-low, low-high, low-middle, low-low). There was no difference in the quality of life score between the patients whose familial religion were Christianity and the patients with other religions. After 1, 3, 5, 7 weeks assessment, the scores in the physical, psychosocial, spiritual aspect of quality of life were increased. Conclusion: The results suggest that family support is important to improve the quality of life in hospice patients and hospice care team is needed to replace 24 hours of family care. There is a urgent need of trained hospice care teams, so training programs for physicians, nurses, clergies, social workers, and volunteers are necessary.

• Korean Journal of Hospice Care
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.28-48
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• 2002

The advances of medical technologies have not only prolonged human life span, but also extended suffering period for the patients with incurable medical diseases. Hospice movement was developed to help these patients keep dignity and lives peaceful at the end of their life. Since many patients prefer to spend the last moment of life at home with their family, hospice home care has become very popular worldwide. The purpose of this study for a promotion and development of hospice home care in Korea, and features basic research on medical profession's knowledge and attitudes to hospice home care. This study which was used for the research questionnaires developed by the researcher that were answered by 100 physicians and 127 nurses in a general hospital. Data were collected from April 22, 2002 to May 10, 2002. The SPSS was used to make a comparative analysis of the frequency, percentile, ANOVA, and x2-test. The results of the study were as follows; 1.The medical profession showed high level of knowledge of the definition and philosophy of hospice. However, the physician group of the examinees showed insufficient knowledge of the fact that hospice care includes bereavement care, while the nurse group's response to the same question showed a significant difference(x2=10.752, p=.001). 2.For whom the hospice home care is provided, 95.6% of the respondents showed very high level of knowledge as answering that the incurable terminal illness patients and their families are the beneficiaries of hospice care. The respondents counted nurses, volunteers, pastors, physicians and social workers, consecutively, as hospice care providers. More nurse were positive toward pastors than physicians in regarding as a hospice care provider by a significant difference(x2=11.634, p=.001). 3.For when to referral hospice home care to the patients, only 34.2% answered that patients with less than 6 months of survival time are advised to receive hospice care, reflecting very low level of knowledge. 23.0% of the physicians and 48.0% of the nurses answered that hospice care should be provided when death is imminent, making a significant difference between the two groups(x2=6.413, p=.000). 4.To promote hospice activities, 87.2% pointed out that it is crucial to make general people, including those engaging in the medical field, more aware of hospice. 79.7% answered that a national hospice management should be developed, marking a significant difference between the physician group and nurse group(x2=10.485, p=.001). 5.Advantages of hospice home care are 87.2% responded that patients can have better rest at home receiving hospice home care. Economical merit was brought forward as one of the advantages also, where there was a significant difference between the physicians group and nurse group(x2=7.009, p=.008). 6.The medical professions' attitude to hospice home care are 92.8% of the physicians answered that they would advise incurable terminally ill patients to be discharged from hospital, with 44.3% of them advising the patients to receive hospice home care after leaving the hospital. From the nurses' point of view, 20.9% of the terminally ill patients are being referred to hospice home care after discharge, which makes a significant difference from the physicians' response(x2=19.121, p=.001). 7. 30.6% of physicians have referred terminally ill patients to hospice home care, 75.9% of whom were satisfied with their decision. Those physicians who have never referred their patients to hospice home care either did not know how to do it(66.7%) or were afraid of losing trust by giving the patients an impression of giving up(27.3%). 94.9% of the physicians responded that they would refer their last stage patients to a doctor who is involving palliative care. 8.Only 36.2% of nurses have suggested to physicians that refer the terminally ill patients discharged from the hospital to hospice home care. Once suggested, 95.8% of the physicians have accepted the suggestion. Nurses were reluctant to suggest hospice home care to the physicians, as 48.8% of the nurses said they did not want to. From the result of this study the following conclusion can be drawn, the medical profession's awareness of general hospice care has been increased greatly compared to the results of the previously performed studies. However, this study result also shows that their knowledge of hospice home care is not good enough yet. There is a need for high recommended that medical education institute and develop regular courses on various types of hospice care. Medical field training courses for physicians and nurses will be very helpful as well. It is also important to train hospice experts such as palliative physicians and develop a national hospice management urgently in order to improve the hospice care in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.139-146
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• 2015

Purpose: This study aimed to develop a "Palliative Care Professional" education program and evaluate its effects on the recognition of good death, palliative care, and the meaning of life for nurses. Methods: It was developed based on the hospice care program for volunteers being used in the Hospice Palliative Care Research Center of S University in Seoul. It was also based on the studies which investigated the educational needs of nurses in palliative care. This program consisted of 5 sessions and 16 content items for 2 weeks. A non-equivalent control group non-synchronized design was utilized and participants were assigned to the experimental group (n=42) or the control group (n=44). Results: The recognition of a good death (F=11.44, p=.001), palliative care (F=4.15, p=.045), and the meaning of life (F=5.12, p=.026) increased more significantly for participants in the experimental group than in the control group. Participants felt that they gained further knowledge in palliative patient management and refined their clinical practice. Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that this program could serve as a practical program for palliative care nursing in the nursing field and suggests that more attention should be directed to the diverse educational needs of nurses.

• Korean Journal of Hospice Care
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.55-67
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• 2008

Purpose: This study was to test the effects of wholistic hospice nursing intervention program on pain and anxiety for in-patient of hospice palliative care unit. This study's design was one-group pre-post test quasi- experimental research. Methods: The subjects of study were 27 patients who were over 18 years old and admitted in hospice palliative care unit of S hospital in P city with agreement in hospice palliative care in their terminal disease. The experimental group subjects participated in holistic hospice nursing program took 120 minutes per session, a total of 1,200 minutes altogether for 10 sessions. The period of data collection was from April 6, 2004 to April 20, 2005. The collected data were analyzed by Paired t-test with SPSS/WIN 12.0 program. A Wholistic Hospice Nursing Intervention Program (named ‘Rainbow Program’) was used as a experimental tool in this study. This was developed by the authors. It was provided by interdisciplinary hospice team (nurses, medical doctors, social worker, pastors, art therapists, and volunteers). In addition, Korean Version of Brief Pain Inventory (BPI-K) by Young-Ho Yun(1998) was used to test degree of pain in physical aspect. And State-Anxiety Inventory was developed by Spielberger(1975) and translated by Kim, Jung-Tack & Shin, Dong-Gyun(1978) was used to test the degree of state-anxiety in emotional aspect. Results: (1) Hypothesis No. 1 "The experimental group which received Wholistic Hospice Nursing Program will have a lower degree of pain than before" was supported (t=-10.585, P= .000). (2) Hypothesis No. 2 "The experimental group which received Wholistic Hospice Nursing Program will have a lower degree of state-anxiety than before" was supported (t=-8.234, P= .000). Conclusion: Our results testified that this Wholistic Hospice Nursing Intervention Program was effective to decrease pain and state-anxiety of the in-patients of hospice palliative care unit. Therefore it can be used and applied actively in practice as a useful model of interdisciplinary team approach by hospice professionals in hospice palliative care unit.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.39-46
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• 1998

Purpose : Hospice Care is considered as one of the most perfect solutions for the problems brought up as the number of chronically ill patients are increasing rapidly and most of social welfare oriented countries are seeking the quality of life. Our former studies(1996, 1997) were to find out the current status of the hospice care in Korea by surveying terminally ill patients and their family members as well as medical professionals. The former study was also to conduct the operation research by developing an information service system for training of hospice care teams and volunteers, and hospice patients management. The purpose of this study was that hospice information service system was tested by home visiting hospice care through visiting nurses. Methods : From October 1, 1997 to March 31, 1998, Twenty six terminal cancer patients were included in this study from Seoul National University Hospital and other hospital. Databases and homepage, hospice information service system were designed and developed for the information needed for the hospice care before this study by our research team and this services were available through the internet. Visiting nurses were trained about this system and they visited the patients with PC notebook and provided them hospice care with hospice information system. They collected physical, psychiatric, social data of the subjects at the first visit and during hospice care at home. Results : Sixteen subjects(61.5%) died during the study and the mean survival was 20.7 days. Anorexia(96.2%), immobility(88.5%) and pain(84.6%) were the major symptom in the 26 subjects, Altered nutrition(26.1%) and pain(12.4%) were the most frequent diagnoses in 226 nursing diagnoses of the subjects. Families understood and demanded the hospice care more than patients. And most patients and families didn't demand spiritual or social care. Conclusion : Through this demonstration study, it was found that we have to provide the information of pain management and nutritional support for patients by the nurses and visiting hospice nurse. The information service system needs to be upgraded with information and manpower of spiritual and social care according to the findings.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.145-153
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• 2001

Purpose : This study was conducted to describe the attitude of hospital staff toward the hospice program. The purpose of this study was to promote the extension and organization of hospice activities to include hospital staff. Method : This is a descriptive study using a survey method. The subjects for this study were the nurses, physicians, technicians, and support staff at Wonju Christian Hospital. Using a stratified sampling method based on position of staff, the researchers recruited 430 staff members as the sample for this study. Data collection was done through a questionnaire developed by the researchers. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. Findings : 1)Ninety seven percent (n=417) of the subjects understood the concept of hospice care, and 97.4% (n=419) answered that dying patients should be respected. When considering the hospice team, the subjects of this study indicated that the team should include family members (n=245), physicians (n=77), pastors (n=41), and nurses (n=34), in that order of priority. 2) When asked to indicate priorities for systematic operation of a hospice program, the subjects indicated that the highest priority was "setting up a team for hospice service(31.4%)", followed by "setting up a hospice ward(28.6%)". Sixty seven percent(n=289) recognized the importance of the hospice activities provided by the volunteers, and 85.3%(n=367) intended to use the hospice service of the hospital. The highest merit of hospital-based hospice program is 'acomplishment of mission'. 3) The average score on attitude toward death was 2.84(maximum=4), and the best needful service except hospitalization is 'constructing of support system'. Conclusion : Most of the staff at Wonju Christian Hospital perceive the necessity for systematic hospice activities, and that to achieve this goal, administrative and structural support at the hospital governance level is the first necessity. The results of this study could be useful for any hospital which is in the first stages of setting up and promoting a hospice program.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.109-119
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• 2010

Purpose: This study was a part of a drive to develop a community health center-based hospice management model which is concerned with hospice care at a community health care setting and available resources of the local community. Methods: Development of a community health center-based hospice management model involved evaluation of existing hospice-related research, including literature review, and research on hospice facilities at the study site, as well as evaluation of model operation. The latter involved community health center-based hospice test operation, and evaluation of test operation by a research team, including of a nursing professor majoring in hospice care and staffs from a community health center in Busan metropolitan city, regional cancer center, and regional terminal cancer patient medical institute. The study was conducted in the 2008 calendar year. Results: The community health center-based hospice management model provides service linked with local community resources, focusing on the local community health center. Financial and administrative assistance is provided by the regional cancer center, with collaboration from academic health care professionals who guide the operation management. The community health center hospice nurse in consultation with a visiting nurse team registers terminally-ill cancer patients and, after assessment, the hospice team prioritize hospice care during team meeting. Care is delivered by staffs and volunteers. Conclusion: The developed community health center-based hospice operation management model maximally utilizes available community health resources to produce qualitative improvement of regional health and welfare policy through improving the lives of home-based cancer patients and their family who are in medical blind spot.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.145-161
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• 2006

This research paper represents family volunteer management system for the purpose of activating family volunteer activities. This family volunteer management system is based on the family volunteer activity cases by healthy family support center in Cheon-An City. The following data is the evaluation of effectiveness in the family volunteer management system. 9 families (32 people) among family volunteers who are participated in activities worked for twelve to eighteen hours per a month; one to six times per a month; at the more than two different social welfare facilities. They volunteered in the areas of cultural experience programs for the immigrant's families, baby cares, help for the handicaps and hospice. Family volunteers showed high satisfaction levels; average 4.37 out of 5; in the Family volunteer's management system. They checked in the area of volunteer's training, activity period, activity places, teamwork, healthy family support center, and supervisor of volunteer center.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.145-153
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• 2007

Purpose: This study was to analyze the research trend centering on the theses to hospice released in Korea. Methods: The researcher collected the academic degrees and theses published on the book of the academic society from 1991 to 2004, and examined 110 domestic papers of hospice. Results: 1) The number of articles increased 3 years after 1997, 52 (47%) theses were published in $2000{\sim}2002$. 97 (88%) articles were quantitative studies, and 13 (12%) were qualitative studies. 2) As for the subject, the results were: patients with end stage 44 (40%), nurse 18 (16%), hospice care system, facilities, and literature review 12 (10%). 3) As for main concepts of correlational studies 15 (13%), the results were: quality of life, activities of volunteers, suffering experience of nurse, and so on. 4) The subjects and contents of survey, the results were: pain control and need for nursing care in patients, need for spiritual and physical care in family, and so on. 5) The treatment of experimental research, the results were: hospice nursing, educational program, informational support, spiritual nursing, supportive nursing intervention, home hospice care, information services for control of cancer pain, and so on. 6) In the theme of the qualitative studies, the results were: experience of dying patients, perceive of hospice care and death, experience of family of terminal ill patients, meaning of dying in Korean. 7) In the instrument in studies, the results were: MQOL, EQOL, QOL, NIC, Need Scale, Spiritual Well-being Scale, Spiritual Perspective Scale, Coping for Grief Scale, K-CPAT, VAS, BPI, Depression Scale, Strait-anxiety Scale, Care-giver Burden Inventory, Burnout Inventory, Mental quality. Conclusion: More research needs to be encouraged in experimental and qualitative research fields. Researches should be conducted for the establishment of the basis of practical and theoretical framework and hospice polices.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.216-224
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a community-based cancer patient management program (CBPCMP) which was collaborated between a hospice center and public health centers. Methods: The CBPCMP proceeded on four steps; 1) Signing agreements with three public health centers, 2) Enrolling the domiciliary terminal cancer patients, 3) Providing home hospice service, and 4) Inquiring patient's level of satisfaction. From February 1 to December 31 in 2009, 43 terminal cancer patients were referred and provided with home hospice service. The hospice team made a total of 605 visits. Medical records for each visit and data from satisfaction surveys were analyzed. Results: 76.7% of patients were older than 60 years, and 90.7% of the patients were alert. The level of functional status for 76.7% of patients rated as lower than ECOG grade 1. 62.8% of the patients or their caregivers signed hospice service agreements. On the initial evaluation, the most frequent reasons for referral were general weakness (86.0%), followed by anorexia (72.1%). Nurses visited the patients' most frequently (371 visits), followed by volunteers (216 visits). Nurses provided emotional support and health promotion counseling on 95.1% and 22.9% of visits, respectively. The mean satisfaction score rated by patients and their family was 4.45 out of 5. Conclusion: This study tested CBPCMP in collaboration with hospice centers and public health centers. CBPCMP showed a possibility to improve the quality of end of life care. To insure the quality care, however, the guidelines for home hospice service should be developed.