• 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.19 no.3
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• pp.233-239
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• 1989

This study was designed to clarify how nurses and nursing students perceive their clients' needs for spiritual nursing care, it's practices, and problems. The purpose was to suggest directions for the development of spiritual nursing practice. The major findings are as follows : Respondents primarily perceived spiritual nursing as nursing care designd to help terminally ill patients accept death. Many of the respondents showed a high level of awareness of spiritual nursing care and its necessity. Few of them, however, bad actual experience in spiritual care. Those with experience in spiritual nursing care tend of take either a religious approach or perceived it as the therapeutic use of the self. The greatest problem related to the practice of spiritual care was found to be lack of time. Most of nurses and nursing students were found to be well aware of the needs for spiritual nursing care but were hindered from practising it because of the lack of time. To resolve the problem it was recommended that the scope of nursing practice be readjusted and that pre-and in-service programs should be developed to further heighten nursing students' interest in spiritual nursing care.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.1011-1020
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• 1999

This study was conducted to develop an education program of hospice care for the professional in order to care for nurses for terminally ill patients facing death and their families. The Modified Tyler-Type Ends-Means model was used to guide the curriculum development of the study The curriculum include a philosophical conception of hospice education, fundamental concepts, purpose, objective and the educational contents. The content was developed based upon a 70% or more demand in educational demand analysis. The education program has a total of 360 hours consisting of 172 hours of theoretical study and 188 hours of practice including fundamental nursing care for hospice.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.153-162
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• 2020

The aim of modern medicine is to prolong life by fighting death. Doctors have traditionally believed that this was an ethical good deed. The negative connotation surrounding death has led to the avoidance of terminally ill patients. But in a modern society where death is medicalized, doctors have to see dying patients every day and are in a state of guilt from implementing meaningless life-sustaining treatments. Therefore, medical schools should allow medical students to embrace a new perspective through death education. Yonsei University Medical College has implemented death education since 2017 as an optional class for first and second year medical students. Students watch videos related to death once a week for 6 weeks and submit their reflections by e-mail. The professor reads the students' reflections and gives them weekly feedback. Through this coursework, students realize that death is not a medical event, but rather a part of life and completion. The ultimate purpose of death education is to transform blind life-absolutist identity into narrative identity.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the needs of hospice care in families of the hospitalized patients with terminal cancer. Method: The data were collected from April to July, 2008. The participants were 100 family caregivers of hospitalized terminal patients with cancer recruited from two general hospitals in 2 cities in Korea. Needs of hospice care were measured using the 'Needs Assessment Instrument for Hospice Care in Families of the Patients with Cancer'. Results: The mean of needs score was 76.6, which meant degree of the needs was very high. Among the categories of the needs, the mean of category 'emotional care' was the highest. There were significant differences in the needs of hospice care according to sex and type of present therapy. Conclusion: Health care providers in hospital and hospice facilities must assess the needs of families as well as the patients in order to meet their specific needs. Additionally, they need to have deeper understanding of the need of emotional care and to apply emotional care to hopice patients and their families.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.40-48
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• 2009

Although the general concept of suffering care includes palliative care for the terminally ill that is designed to alleviate pain, it is much more holistic and encompasses emotional, spiritual and other life dimensions. Human suffering is multi-dimensional including spiritual and religious aspects, which diverge from the concept of pain understood in the context of materialistic medical approach. In this caring perspective, the body, mind and spirit are integrated so that objectivity and subjectivity can merge. The extended awareness with inner source or energy, and positive thinking about the personally-relevant God can be meaningful the dying person, family members and the caring team. Despite the importance of an inclusive understanding of human suffering, actual nursing practice still does not fully embrace the full understanding of human suffering. A more fundamental meaning of human suffering from the nursing perspective may fruitfully adopt a more inclusive view of human suffering.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.140-144
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• 2023

Many terminally ill cancer patients grapple with a range of physical, psychological, and social challenges. Therefore, it is critical to offer effective psychological interventions to assist them in managing these issues and enhancing their quality of life. This brief communication provides a concise overview of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), along with empirical evidence of its application for patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals in hospice and palliative care settings and an overview of future directions of ACT interventions in South Korea. ACT, a third-wave type of cognitive behavioral therapy, is a model of psychological flexibility that promotes personal growth and empowerment across all life areas. Currently, there is substantial evidence from overseas supporting the effectiveness of ACT on health-related outcomes among patients with various diseases, caregivers, and healthcare professionals. The necessity and significance of conducting ACT-based empirical research in hospice and palliative care settings in South Korea are discussed.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.241-247
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• 2014

Purpose: Serum vitamin C is one of the indicators for antioxidant levels in the body and it is lower in cancer patients compared with the healthy population. However, there have been few studies on the levels of serum vitamin C in terminally ill cancer patients and related factors. Methods: We followed 65 terminal cancer patients who were hospitalized in two palliative care units. We collected data of age, sex, cancer type, functional status, clinical symptoms, history of cancer therapy, and various laboratory findings including serum vitamin C level. Patients were categorized into two groups according to the quartile of serum vitamin C level (Q1-3 vs. Q4), which were compared each other. Stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors related to serum vitamin C levels. Results: The mean serum vitamin C level was $0.44{\mu}g/mL$, and all patients fell into the category of vitamin C deficiency. Univariate analysis showed that The serum vitamin C level was lower in non-lung cancer patients (P=0.041) and febrile patients (P=0.034). Multivariate analysis adjusted for potential confounders such as lung cancer, fever, dysphagia, dyspnea, C reactive protein, and history of chemotherapy demonstrated that odds for low serum vitamin C level was 3.7 for patients receiving chemotherapy (P=0.046) and 7.22 for febrile patients (P=0.02). Conclusion: Vitamin C deficiency was very severe in terminally ill cancer patients, and it was associated with history of chemotherapy and fever.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.113-121
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• 2014

The major symptoms of terminally ill cancer patients are fatigue, loss of energy, feeling of helplessness, poor appetite and pain as well as general weakness, which are very similar to symptoms of adrenal insufficiency. Adrenal insufficiency-induced symptoms widely vary from mild symptoms to life-threatening conditions and may be resulted from variable medical causes. For terminally ill cancer patients who are hospitalized for palliative care, opioid agents are prescribed to control moderate to severe pain. The use of acute or chronic opioid agents is believed to negatively affect adrenal gland function. In most studies of opioid effects (preclinical/clinical with animal subjects or and patients suffering non-malignant pain, adrenal insufficiency and hormonal abnormalities were observed as side effects. However, opioid-induced adrenal insufficiency has been rarely reported in studies with patients with malignant cancer pain. Relationship between the type, treatment period, dosage of opioid agents and hormonal abnormalities can be examined by measuring the functional level of the adrenal glands. We hope to improve patient's quality of life by indicating hormone substitution to treat symptoms of adrenal insufficiency.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.188-193
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• 2017

Purpose: There has been very little study on the associations between patient's symptoms themselves and family caregiver (FC)'s depression in the palliative phase. This cross-sectional study was to investigate the relationship between symptom features of terminally ill cancer patients and their FC's depression. Methods: We performed a multicenter survey using the MD Anderson symptom inventory and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. A total of 293 patient-FC pairs were recruited from seven tertiary medical centers. A multivariate regression analysis was applied for identifying the relevant factors associated with FC depression and for estimating adjusted depression score of FCs. Results: Among various psychosocial factors, low FC quality of life, low social support, spouse, and more caregiving time were significantly associated with FCs' depression. According to the presence of FCs' depression, there were significant differences in some symptom characteristics of patients. Even after adjusting for the relevant confounders, depression scores were lower in FCs caring for patients who had negative symptoms (loss of appetite, P=0.005; drowsiness, P=0.024; and dry mouth, P=0.043) than in FCs caring for patients who had not. FCs caring for patients with severe appetite loss had lower depression scores than those with not severe one (P=0.039). Conclusion: Our result suggests that patient's symptom characteristics might be helpful when evaluating a FC's depression.