• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.372-380
• /
• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to seek ways to improve the quality of life of workers by separating workers into the low fatigue group and the severe fatigue group depending on the level of fatigue level, and analyzing and understanding the difference between quality of life and job stress according to the fatigue level. Methods: For the 'Development of Mibyeong management system which was a consumer-directed health care service', the data of job stress, fatigue and quality of life was collected from 115 workers who visited the oriental hospitals located in J city and C city from Jul, 2012 to Dec, 2012. Results: The severe fatigue group showed significantly higher job stress than the low fatigue group in physical environment (p=.004), job demand (p<.001), interpersonal conflict (p=.012), lack of reward (p=.062). The severe fatigue group showed lower degrees both in physical component summary (PCS) (p<.001) and mental component summary (MCS) (p<.001) measured by SF-12 and the quality of life (p<.001) measured by EQ5D than the lower fatigue group. A relatively strong negative correlation was found in the item of mental component summary (MCS) measured by SF-12. Conclusion: Considering our results that high fatigue level show negative impact on quality of life and job stress, we suggest to provide a variety of health promotion strategies to improve the quality of life through the prevention and relief of fatigue for workers.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.22 no.4
• /
• pp.930-942
• /
• 2008

Following conclusions were derived from researching various consumption caused after surgical operation. The meaning of surgery in HyungSang medical point of view is a big flaw of the original configuration. Therefore meaning, the loss of container to store something. Changes of the body after surgery can be formation of stagnated blood and abnormal cyst of the removed part and entangled undigested food and stagnant blood. After surgery when the symptoms become chronic or the patients develop side effects as they age, consumption and aging process begins. HyungSang medical treatments of consumption caused after surgery are the followings. We should prevent aging of the framework by using appropriate medication to make up for faults in Gall Bladder, Bladder type and six meridian type by considering its form, color, pulse and symptoms. Stability of emotion that can endure various mental stimulation is needed. Prevent stagnation, indigestion, obstruction and numbness by smoothing up the constructive energy and the defensive energy in the operated part. The Heart and Kidney should be under control and Stomach and Spleen should be reinforced so that food intake is accelerated and produce vital substances and Ki and blood. Eum blood and Yang Ki should circulate around the body well. Examine daily life and if small changes in skin complexion, appetite, sleep and excretion occur, also difference in adaptation of external stimulation and mental health occurs immediate treatment and care is necessary. Treatment of side-effects caused from both aging process and post-surgery in HyungSang's view point is considered better than other ways of treatment and will contribute in expanding the field of medical science.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.177-196
• /
• 1997

This study was undertaken to explore the antecedent factors and process of the treatment-seeking behaviors of medical and alternative treatments in patients with arthritis using methodological triangulation. The data were collected from 995 arthritic patients who were registered either in a center of rheumatology for medical treatment or residents of community having no treatment to classify different treatment patterns. Sixteen patients with various types of treatment only, alternative treatment only, and no treatment were selected among the total samples to identify the antecedent factors through in-depth interview. The quantitative data were analyzed by percentile, t-test, chi-square test and discrimant analysis using SAS PC program, while the qualitative data were analyzed by means of grounded theory methodology. Treatment-seeking behaviors of patients change from the early stage to the sick-role stage. At the early stage, initial characteristics of pain and acculturation of medical professionalism affect the choice of treatment patterns. The acculturation of medical professionalism is affected by health care accessibility, level of education, duration of sickness and lay referral system. At the sick-role stage, lay referral system and acculturation of medical professionalism affect the choice of treatment patterns. The acculturation of medical professionalism is affected by characteristics of symtoms, perceived treatment effects, perceived causes of diseases and socio-economic status as well as health care accessibility, level of education and lay referral system. In conclusion, different factors as well as common factors are influencing the treatment-seeking behaviors depending on the disease and treatment stages. More detailed further studies are required to explore the value system or medical acculturation of patients which is one of the most important factors in decision-making about treatment modalities.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.15-35
• /
• 2002

This study was conducted to provide basic data for policy of Oriental medicine by analyzing community resident's consciousness of taking herb medicine and its related factors. Data were collected from 1478 residents from March 2, 2001 to May 31, 2001. The results of this study are summarized as follows. 1) The rate of experience of taking herb medicine was 85.2%(88.2% of 'male'; 82.5% of 'female'). It appeared to be significantly higher in the groups of 'the married', 'housewife', and 'Buddhist'. As the age increased, so the rate of experience of taking herb medicine was significantly high. 2) In case of purpose of taking herb medicine, taking herb medicine as a restorative(66.8%) was much higher than taking it as a curative medicine. 3) 52.1% of the respondents satisfied with the effect of herb medicine. The groups of 'male', 'older age', 'residents in a big city', 'insurant in company', and 'the employed' showed significantly high rate in satisfying with herb medicine than the other groups. 4) According to the reason for preferring herb medicine, 36.7% of the respondents preferred herb medicine because the herb medicine was effective, while 27.8% preferred it because its side effect was low. 16.7% preferred it because persons around them recommended it. 5) 42.6% of the respondents did not want to take the herb medicine because the price of the herb medicine was high. Also 20.6% of the respondents did not want to take herb medicine because it is uneasy to take herb medicine. 15.8% did not want to take it because certain food should not be taken during the period of taking it. 9.4% did not want to take it because it tasted bitter. 6) In case of opinions on side effects of herb medicine, 40.8% of the respondents thinks that herb medicine is free from side effects, while 37.5% thinks that it causes side effects. There were significant difference in the opinions on side effects by sex, age, marital status, resident area, education level, occupation, and type of health insurance. 7) 60.7% of the respondents thinks the price of herb medicine is not resonable, while only 10.9% thinks it is resonable. 8) 45.2% of the respondents uses packs of decocted herbs although they think the packs of decocted herb are a little low effective because decocting herbs in home is bothersome. 45.2% uses packs of decocted herbs because they are convenient, being not related to the effect. 7.6% takes medicinal herbs after decocting them in a clay pot because they think the packs of decocted herbs have low effect. 51.9% does not know whether taking herb medicine in summer is effective or not because the effect is different according to their physical constitutions. 35.5% thinks that taking herb medicine is summer is effective because their physical stamina is weakened after sweated a lot, while 12.6% thinks that it is not effective because the effect of herb medicine disappears with sweat. 9) According to the level of satisfaction with Oriental medical care, the respondents marked $3.47{\pm}0.64$ points on the base of 5 points. It was significantly higher in the groups of 'male', 'the married, resident in a big city', 'highschool graduate', 'the unemployed', 'office clerk', 'growing up in a big city', 'insurant in region', and 'the middle class'. 10) According to the result of a regression analysis of factors influencing preference for herb medicine, the factors displayed significant difference by sex, age, education level, health status, and times of receiving Oriental medical care. As shown in the above results, the community residents satisfy with the effect of herb medicine. Therefore, the method of taking herb medicine without difficulty must be devised. The medicinal herbs in packages need to be included in health insurance coverage and resonable price of herb medicine must be set. Also, education program for community residents must be developed in order to provide right information in herb medicine. Therefore, related public authority, associations, and professionals must make efforts, forming organic cooperative system.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.348-360
• /
• 2015

Objectives From observing the tongue of a patient, one can assess the health status; this method has been frequently used in traditional Korean Medicine (KM) clinics. In particular, KM posits that the color of the tongue is highly related to digestive functions. In this study, the color of tongue and heart rate variability (HRV) were compared between chronic dyspepsia (CD) patients and healthy subjects. Methods Healthy subjects and CD patients with functional dyspepsia (FD), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), or chronic gastritis (CG) were enrolled for the study. Profile view images of the tongue were acquired by using a computerized tongue image acquisition system (CTIS). The color of the tongue body was extracted from the non-coated region on the tongue images. Results Color differences in CIE L*a*b* color space between the three sub-types of CD patients and healthy subjects were analyzed by using multiple linear regression analysis with age and sex as the factors. The variable b* was significantly lower in GERD patients than in the controls (p=0.017). Variable a* was significantly lower in CG than in the controls (p=0.03). No significant difference was seen between FD and controls. In GERD, the tongue body seems to be intense red in color; in CG, pale red. Frequency domain analysis showed that HF was significantly lower in GERD patients than in the controls (p=0.041). Conclusions The color of the tongue body and HF of HRV can be used for diagnosing digestive functions in health care.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.27 no.5
• /
• pp.667-671
• /
• 2013

The aim of this study was to know the current management status in Korean medical clinics (KMC) and the awareness of Korean medicine doctor. The simple random extraction method from the membership list of 'The Association of Korean Medicine' in 2010 was used for survey. The questionnaire which had used in 2008 was revised, and those were sent to each KMC by mail. A total of 107 data were acquired and frequency analysis was conducted. The result showed that the annual average employees working in each KMC was 2.9 persons and the number of daily outpatient was 33.8 person in 2010. The proportion of sales covered by medical insurance at KMC has been increasing annually as 42.9%, 43.5%, and 44.8% of total sales, whereas the uninsured sales was 57.1%, 56.5%, and 55.2% of total sales in 2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively. All of the responders recognized that the current situation of Korean medical service market was not good and the reason was mainly resulted from undeveloped medical technique, popularized use of functional foods for health and alternative medical care by Western medicine. To expand Korean medical service, the expansion of sales covered by public health medical insurance, government support and advertizement for public relation were needed.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.446-454
• /
• 2012

In order to evaluate the efficacy of SHT against atopic dermatitis (AD), various immune related cytokines as well as histological comparison were performed in animal models, and the results are described. Clinical skin index of the SHT treated group decreased significantly in weeks 11 and 13, compared to the control group. Also, CD4+ immune cell ratio in the dorsal skin was significantly decreased to 69%, and both epidermal and dermal skin thickness was decreased. Serum IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-13, and TNF-${\alpha}$, which are all important markers of inflammation, were decreased to 64%, 44%, 87%, 48%, and 45%, respectively. The expression of histamine, a chemical transmitter increasingly released during the progression of inflammation, was significantly decreased to 47%. The production of IgE immunoglobulin was significantly decreased to 16% compared to the control group. In conclusion, SHT pacifies the activation of T cells, leading to suppression of both Th2 cytokine overexpression and infiltration of immune cells into skin. As a result, relative thinning of both epidermis and dermis were observed. With the results obtained from in vitro studies, the immune modulatory effect of SHT in AD animal models was experimentally demonstrated. This study should provide solid information to construct EBM and for clinical practice.

• The Journal of the Society of Korean Medicine Diagnostics
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.23-32
• /
• 2012

Objectives : The purpose of this research is to develop the clinical pathway for optimizing the integrative medical service (oriental-western integrated medical service) and to analyze the clinical pattern of the integrative patients who received the oriental-western integrated medical service. Methods : This research developed the clinical pathway by interviewing with doctors, nursing and experts at K Medical Center. To analyze the clinical patterns, this research used 860 integrative patients and 6345 non-integrative patients at K Medical Center since 2007. Results and Conclusions : 1. We developed the clinical pathway for optimizing the integrative medical service. 2. Comparing the clinical pattern of the integrative patients with the non-integrative patients, the results indicated that the interval and frequency of the integrative patients is shorter than that of the non-integrative patients. 3. Comparing the medical treatment type, the integrated patients take much more medical care and more frequently participate in medical treatment. 4. In conclusion, it is different that the clinical pathway of the integrative medical service from the non-integrative medical service and the integrative medical treatment is more effective than the non-integrative medical treatment.

• Journal of Korean Medical Ki-Gong Academy
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.130-157
• /
• 2007

The purpose of this research is to seek for efficient health maintenance device and to suggest desirable daily habit, based on the inquiry on interrelationship between workers' daily lives and their heartbeat change level. The paper survey about general features, case history and daily habits was conducted on workers during medical examination in Jeollabukdo, and examined their change of heartbeat as well. The results of research deducted from data analysis are as follows; 1. There found very positive interrelations between time-domain analysis and frequency-domain analysis, and MHR and LF/HF ratio had negative connection with other analyses. 2. The recipient showed high time-domain analysis when they are younger, have worked shorter or have spouse, and it contributes to stable sympathetic nerve and parasympathetic nerve as it stimulates autonomic nervous system. 3. According to the result of frequency-domain analysis, recipients showed higher TP and LF when they are younger, and the highest HF when they are under 34.The level of VLF was higher for university graduates than the ones who finished high school. The recipients showed higher TP and HF when they don't have spouse, and lower TP, LF and HF when they have worked longer. 4. The level of RMSSD and TSRD was high for the people who don't have case history, and HF was high when they don't have any disease in progress. 5. According to the result concerning correlation of daily habits with time-domain analysis and frequency-domain analysis, cigarette, alcohol and sleeping hours don't affect heartbeat change, but the ones who regularly workout showed higher result in every analysis. It shows that the autonomic nervous system of recipients who regularly exercise response more actively. The result mentioned above suggests that the change of heartbeat is a direct index which shows the change of autonomic nervous system, and it depends on the exercise the most. Thus, workout is proved to be the best method in order for workers to take care of their health.

• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.15-31
• /
• 2011

Objective : The study aims to investigate the effect of moxibustion treatments on autonomic nervous system function of cancer patients through the evaluation of heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback testing. Materials and Methods : Six cancer patients from inpatient care unit of Dunsan Oriental Hospital, Daejeon University were given three moxibustion treatment sessions every other day over one week period on five Oriental Medicine meridian points CV4, CV6, CV12, KD1, and PC8. HRV biofeedback was conducted before and after each treatment sessions. Three areas of analyses were done from the test conducted; Time Domain Analysis, Frequency Domain Analysis and Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) balance analysis. Results : Time Domain Analysis has shown increased Standard Deviation of all Normal R-R Intervals (SDNN), and decreased Mean Heart Rate and Physical Stress Index (PSI) levels, with statistical significance (P<0.05). In Frequency Domain Analysis, series of moxa treatments have increased Total Power (TP), Very Low Frequency Oscillation Power (VLF), High Frequency Oscillation Power (HF), normalized HF values while decreasing Low Frequency Oscillation Power (LF), normalized LF and LF/HF ratio with statistical significance (P<0.05). The values of ANS activity, ANS balance, Stress resistance, Stress index, have also shown significant changes. For cardiac stability stroke volume power (SP) and Blood Vessel Tension (BVT) were followed, which were both increased after treatment. All changes were statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion : The results have shown a positive correlation between the moxibustion treatments and autonomic nervous system responses on cancer patients through the HRV biofeedback testing. This study suggests possible application of moxibustion treatments for managing ANS functions of cancer patients, although additional studies with larger population are necessary to confirm the data.