• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.163-172
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• 2020

Medical treatments as universal care have been turning into delivering medical technology. Coping with death, which is prevalent in all medical circumstances, without comprehensive understanding results in missing out on significant aspects between life and death. This makes doctors surrender easily to a conventional and binary division of life and death and reduces the chance of including death as a part of the medical realm. Furthermore, in terms of medical education, we need to have the opportunity to consider such subjects that can benefit from special planning and consideration. Through reviewing articles in a variety of disciplines such as medicine, philosophy, psychology, literature, and anthropology, we can better understand death, condolences, and the relevance between them in a contextual way. In order to seek a better approach, this study also aims to survey and review the recent state of death education in diverse fields of medicine in Korea. In conclusion, if it is complicated for us to explain or understand death in general, focusing on condolences as a human response to death could be one meaningful way that deserves contemplation. It is possible to regard condolences as a touchstone and a prerequisite in death education itself.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this experimental study was to examine the values of a death education program developed to improve life satisfaction and attitude toward death in college students. Methods: The death education program was developed and then used with 22 college students for 5 weeks, once a week for 150 min. Before and after the intervention, students responded a questionnaire developed to measure life satisfaction and attitude toward death. t-test, $X^2$-test, and paired t-test with the SPSS program were used to analyze the data. Results: The death education program significantly improved life satisfaction but had no statistically significant effect on attitude toward death. There was a significant difference in life satisfaction between the experimental and control groups but not in attitude toward death. Conclusion: Based on the above results, it is apparent that the death education program has an affirmative effect on life satisfaction in college students and some impact on attitude toward death. We suggest, therefore, that the death education program should be used with all human beings to help them recognize the values of themselves and their current lives and improve their satisfaction with life.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.400-409
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• 2007

Purpose: This study was performed to investigate the level of subjective health status, religiosity and the fear of death of the elderly and to identify the relationships among them. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional descriptive study using a questionnaire. Fear of Death Scale that was made by Loo & Shea (1996) and translated and revised by Kim(2003) was used to measure the fear of death. The data was analyzed using SPSS. Results: The subject was 128 community dwelling elders who had a religion. Of the respondents, 50% felt 'not healthy', and 69.5% was moderately religious. The mean score of FODS was 3.18 (out of 5). The mean score of each subcategory of FODS was as follows: Death anxiety about the death of self was 3.00. Death anxiety about the dying of self was 3.18. Death anxiety about the death of others was 3.31 and death anxiety about the dying of others was 3.23. There was a statistically significance correlation between the level of religiosity and FODS (F=3.29, p= .040). Conclusion: Health professionals may make efforts to learn about healthy attitudes toward death and aid for the elderly and to comfort them. Death education programs are needed for the elderly.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.46-55
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• 2021

Purpose: This pilot study aimed to examine the influence of death counseling on perceptions, preparedness, and anxiety regarding death and dying among family caregivers of hospice patients. Methods: Death counseling developed based on the SPIKES model was provided to 37 family caregivers in a hospice and palliative care unit. Perceptions, preparedness, and anxiety regarding death were assessed with a self-administered structured questionnaire, and participants' scores before and after counseling were compared using the paired t-test. Results: Significant changes were found in perceptions, preparedness, and anxiety regarding death after counseling. Compared to before counseling, the scores for perceptions of death (t=-4.90, P<0.001) and preparedness for death and dying (t=-16.23, P<0.001) improved, while anxiety (t=3.72, P=0.001) decreased after counseling. Some changes were also found in the types of support that family caregivers needed to prepare for the death of their family members in the hospice care unit. Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that death counseling could help family caregivers prepare for the death of their loved ones. Hospice and palliative care providers should play a key role in supporting family caregivers of hospice patients by developing strategies for counseling.

• 한국호스피스완화의료학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2004.07a
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• pp.103-105
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• 2004

Every one experiences death one day, however no one can hows exactly what it is because people can not experience death until it comes, it is therefore impossible to judge correctly on the phenomenon of the death. On the whole, man experiences indirect death through the mass communications such as TV drama, fiction, magazine etc because those methods can easily access by every one. In addition to this, people usually acquire the negative awareness of death through the dramatic change of story like dying of cancer for dramatic effect by giving scare and fear to the cancers. The purpose of this study is to provide basic information on the spiritual care that enables the facing death patients to accept death as a part of life and divert hope from scare about after death by comparing and analyzing of two aspects of death meaning i.e, Korean fiction and the end stage cancer patients. Additionally, for medical staff to understand the facing death cancer patients by making to aware patients correctly and provide the better quality of care. The study was performed from September 28, 2002 to February, 28, 2003. The materials of this study were collected by direct data obtained from observation, interviews, note and diary of end stage of cancer patients and written materials acquired from Korean contemporary fiction. Participants of this study were 4 end stage cancer patients including 2 lung cancer patients, 1 liver cancer patient and 1 esophagus cancer patient. The methodology used in this study was divided into two types; Huberman & Miles methodology was used for fiction to find and categorize subject, and Colaizzi, one of phenomenological methodology was used for end stage cancer patients to find the major meaning, subject and categorization. Every one experiences death one day, however no one can knows exactly what it is because people ran not experience death until it comes, it is therefore impossible to judge correctly on the phenomenon of the death. On the whole, man experiences indirect death through the mass communications such as TV drama, fiction, magazine etc because those methods can easily access by every one. In addition to this, people usually acquire the negative awareness of death through the dramatic change of story like dying of cancer for dramatic effect by giving scare and fear to the cancers. The purpose of this study is to provide basic information on the spiritual care that enables the facing death patients to accept death as a part of life and divert hope from scare about after death by comparing and analyzing of two aspects of death meaning i.e, Korean fiction and the end stage cancer patients. Additionally, for medical staff to understand the facing death cancer patients by making to aware patients correctly and provide the better quality of care. The study was performed from September 28, 2002 to February, 28 2003. The materials of this study were collected by direct data obtained from observation, interviews, note and diary of end stage of cancer patients and written materials acquired from Korean contemporary fiction. Participants of this study were 4 end stage cancer patients including 2 lung lancer patients, 1 liver cancer patient and 1 esophagus cancer patient. The methodology used in this study was divided into two types; Huberman & Miles methodology was used for fiction to find and categorize subject, and Colaizzi, one of phenomenological methodology was used for end stage cancer patients to find the major meaning, subject and categorization.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.276-283
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• 2012

Current Administrative Death investigation system is have many problems. Almost local governor don't exercise about administrative death investigation authority. Thus, prosecutors have to many decisions about judicial death investigation authority. Consequently, these vicious cycle is repeated. There is not clear regulations about scope for judicial death investigation. Discussed in this paper improve the Administrative Death investigation system are as follows : First, the uniform act of death investigation is have to legislated. Second, the scope for death investigation is clearly legalized. Medical examiner is must administrative death investigation according to the law. Also prosecutor can order to judicial autopsy to medic examiner. Third, Administrative Death investigation rules should be clarified. Introduce a Medical Examiner System Korean Administrative Death Investigation system centered on prosecutor and judicature who are not a specialist in pathology or forensic medicine. Lacking in professional understanding cause less accuracy of Administrative Death Investigation. To overcome limitations and problems of our Administrative Death Investigation system is suggested to introduce a Medical Examiner system.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.572-580
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• 2012

Purpose: This study examined factors influencing death anxiety in the middle aged. Method: This was a descriptive survey study. Data were collected from September to October, 2011, from 410 middle- aged adults. The questionnaires solicited information on death anxiety, health behavior, depression, life satisfaction, and family function. Analysis of data was performed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, and stepwise multiple regression. Results: Average scores were 2.53 for death anxiety, 3.02 for health behavior, 4.44 for depression, 10.13 for life satisfaction, and 3.77 for family function. Statistically significant negative correlations were observed between health behavior and death anxiety, life satisfaction and death anxiety, and family function and death anxiety. However, from the statistical point of view the correlation between depression and death anxiety was a significantly positive. In addition, statistically significant positive correlations were observed between depression and death anxiety. Depression, life satisfaction, and family function were significant predictors of death anxiety. Conclusion: Multilateral nursing intervention is needed for maintenance of the health of middle aged adults.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.513-521
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analysis the effect of death preparing education on death anxiety, spiritual well-being and meaning of life in adults. Methods: This study adapted the one group pre-posttest design. Data collection and intervention were performed from January 19 to 25, 2009. The participants were 30 adults (aged 20 or older) from Jeonju City. The death preparing education program consisted of five steps. Data were analyzed through paired t-test with SPSS/WIN 12.0 program. Results: There were significant differences in death anxiety, spiritual well-being and meaning of life between before and after the death preparing education program. Conclusion: The death preparing education program for adults was confirmed to be an effective intervention to lower death anxiety and to improve spiritual well-being and the meaning of life. Therefore, I look forward to broad application of this program to adults.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.28-37
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• 2011

Purpose: The study examined influencing factors on death anxiety in the aged. Method: This was a descriptive survey study. Data were collected from March to June, 2010, from357 older home-dwelling adults. The questionnaires solicited information on death anxiety, family function, morale, health behavior and ego-integrity. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, and stepwise multiple regression. Results: Average scores were 2.50 for death anxiety, 3.80 for family function, 9.0 for morale, 3.12 for health behavior and 2.84 for ego-integrity. There were statistically significant negative correlations between family function and death anxiety, morale and death anxiety, health behavior and death anxiety, and ego-integrity and death anxiety Morale, ego-integrity, and economic status were a significant predictor of death anxiety. Conclusion: Multilateral efforts are needed to assist the aged in successful aging through continuous body activities and active participation in society.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.16
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• pp.69-85
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• 2003

Death has been one of the basic objects in philosophy and religion. Why do people feel afraid about death? Maybe it is because they don't know the situation after death or because they have a wrong idea about it. Someone may think that he/she doesn't care the situation. But this attitude is wrong. We must understand that our attitude about life is shaped by our knowledge of the situation after death. A recurrent theme about death in popular thought is the idea that death is mysterious. As we have seen, it is difficult to formulate a satisfactory philosophical analysis of the concept of death. If it is impossible to analyse the concept of death, then it is impossible to explain precisely what we mean when we say that something dies. It might be said therefore that, in virtue of this fact, death is mysterious. Of course, death is not distinctively mysterious - all other unanalysable concepts are equally mysterious in this way. Reflection on death gives rise to a variety of philosophical questions. One of the deepest of these is a question about the nature of death. Typically, philosophers interpret this question as a call for an analysis or definition of the concept of death. Plato, for example, proposed to define death as the separation of soul from body. However, this definition is not acceptable to those who think that there are no souls. It is also unacceptable to anyone who thinks that plants and lower animals have no souls, but can nonetheless die. Others have defined death simply as the cessation of life. This too is problematic, since an organism that goes into suspended animation ceases to live, but may not actually die. The eastern philosophers proposed to define death as the nonduality of life and death. Taoists, for example, do not believe in the Wheel of Life of the Buddhists nor in the Heaven or Hell of Christianity. Taoists view existence as glorious. The whole Universe, they teach, is a marvelous, vibrant Unity wherein everything, visible and invisible, pulses with energy and changes. As being develops through the experience of existence, its vessels are swept onwards by the mighty stream of the eternal TAO to other forms of expression and activity. Man does not die; he merely extends into new fields. Taoists teach that the end of a person is the return to the Ultimate Reality. "Life is uncertain - Death is certain": This is a well known saying in Buddhism. Knowing very well that death is certain and it is a natural phenomenon that everyone has to face, we should not be afraid of death. Yet, instinctively, all of us fear death because we do not know how to think of its inevitability. We like to cling to our life and body and so develop too much craving and attachment.