• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• 제12권1호
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• pp.101-107
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• 1999

Background : In order to improve the quality of life of dying patients, they need to receive not only the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual care, but also systematic and continuous care to die with dignity. However, no adequate medical services are available for these terminal cancer patients. We studied their behavior patterns of health care utilization to understand more of their medical and social needs. Methods : We investigated 108 bereaved families through the telephone interview with structured questionnaires. They were randomly selected through the retrospective chart review of the terminal patients who passed away due to cancer. Results : Most of the terminal cancer patients received their care from proper medical services including admission to hospital (45.4%), outpatient clinic (22.2%), emergency room (16.7%), and oriental medicine (12.0%). But during the terminal phase of their illness, 32.4% of patients never received medical care including oriental medicine, and 28.7% received alterative natural care. 26 bereaved families (24.1%) pointed out the indifference of medical staff as a problem receiving proper hospital care, and 22 (20.4%) emphasized emotional strain of their helplessness with the patients' suffering as a problem of caring at home. Over 90% suggested availability of continuous care, hospice care, home care, and 24 hour telephone service to be improved. Conclusions : Due to various reasons, adequate medical care is not delivered to the terminal cancer patients in our present medical system. These problems can be approached with the establishment of proper education and medical delivery system. The role of comprehensive medical specialty cannot be overly emphasized to accomplish this most effectively.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• 제17권1호
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• pp.25-33
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• 1992

Most of oriental medical care resources such as doctors and facilities are distributed in urban areas and approximately ten percent of them is in rural areas. However the aged population of over 60 years old in rural areas is higher than that in urban and these aged population prefer more oriental medical care than the other age group. Therefore, the government planned to carry out the oriental medical care demonstration project in a designated rural areas in 1990. The study was carried out to find out the utilization pattern of medical care and consumers attitude toward oriental medical care treatment provided by health centers. The interview survey was applied to collect the data and 187 patients, who visited to health centers to receive care in 1991, were selected by random sampling. The study results obtained were as follows : 1) Among the 187 respondents, male was 31.6% and female, 68.4%. 2) 73.8% of the respondents were the age of over 45 years old. 3) For the motivation of visiting the health center to receive oriental medical care, 37.4% of the respondents visited purposely according to announcement of oriental medical care and 26.2% of them made a decision by themself 20.3% of them was recommended by the neighbors. 4) The most frequent symptoms surveyed were the disease of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue. 5) By the subjective judgement of the respondents from the result of the oriental medical treatment, recovered or improved cases represent 69.5%. It is considered that the oriental medical care was acceptable, and also the respondents were satisfied with the oriental medical care in terms of kindness of oriental medical doctors, treatment time and expenses of care.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• 제18권2호
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• pp.90-98
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• 2016

Assessment tools for non-academic qualities such as ethics frequently employ hypothetical scenarios to lay out a contextual framework underlying the corresponding criteria of assessment. Due to the context-specific nature of the assessment criteria, details of the scenarios become very important in obtaining accurate results. This study aims to explore how medical school applicants differ in ethical decision making depending on the types of ethical dilemma scenarios, and how they correlate with academic achievements after admission. In 2014, all 82 applicants invited for an admission interview for a graduate-entry program were asked to complete a questionnaire comprised of 13 hypothetical scenarios. There were three domains (unethical business decisions, unethical academic decisions, and sexual quid pro quos) and participants were made to choose between the profitable-but-unethical choice or the unprofitable-but-ethical choice, using a four-point Likert-type scale. On average, tendencies toward unethical decisions were lowest for sexual favors ($1.34{\pm}0.46$), and highest for gaining academic advantages ($2.22{\pm}0.56$). Unethical decisions for academic advantages and sexual benefits showed significant correlation respectively with the female gender and those who graduated from overseas universities. In addition, the propensity for choosing unethical academic decisions was significantly correlated with high academic achievements in medical school (r=0.396). Not only does this study demonstrate that different levels of ethical decision making depend on the scenarios, but also those differences may be a determinant factor in subsequent academic performances in medical school. In conclusion, given the possible influence of the details of the hypothetical scenarios to the applicant's responses, careful consideration must be given during their development.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권15호
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• pp.6605-6608
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• 2015

Background: Colorectal cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Colorectal cancer screening is an optimal way for reducing of morbidity and mortality and a clinical decision support system (CDSS) plays an important role in predicting success of screening processes. DSS is a computer-based information system that improves the delivery of preventive care services. The aim of this article was to detail engineering of information requirements and work flow design of CDSS for a colorectal cancer screening program. Materials and Methods: In the first stage a screening minimum data set was determined. Developed and developing countries were analyzed for identifying this data set. Then information deficiencies and gaps were determined by check list. The second stage was a qualitative survey with a semi-structured interview as the study tool. A total of 15 users and stakeholders' perspectives about workflow of CDSS were studied. Finally workflow of DSS of control program was designed by standard clinical practice guidelines and perspectives. Results: Screening minimum data set of national colorectal cancer screening program was defined in five sections, including colonoscopy data set, surgery, pathology, genetics and pedigree data set. Deficiencies and information gaps were analyzed. Then we designed a work process standard of screening. Finally workflow of DSS and entry stage were determined. Conclusions: A CDSS facilitates complex decision making for screening and has key roles in designing optimal interactions between colonoscopy, pathology and laboratory departments. Also workflow analysis is useful to identify data reconciliation strategies to address documentation gaps. Following recommendations of CDSS should improve quality of colorectal cancer screening.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권7호
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• pp.3529-3533
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• 2012

Objectives: To investigate the current prevalence and knowledge of cervical cancer, breast cancer and reproductive tract infections (RTIs) in rural Chinese women, and to explore the acceptance and feasibility of implementing a combined screening program in rural China. Methods: A population-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among women aged 30 to 59 years old in Xiangyuan County, Shanxi Province from 2009 to 2010. Socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge of cervical cancer, breast cancer and RTIs, and the attitude toward single or combined screening were collected by an interview questionnaire. Each participant received a clinical examination of the cervix, breast and reproductive tract. Examinations included visual inspection, mammography, laboratory tests and pathological diagnosis. Results: A total of 1,530 women were enrolled in this study. The prevalence of cervical precancerous lesions, suspicious breast cancer, suspicious benign breast disease and RTIs was 1.4%, 0.2%, 14.0% and 54.3%, respectively. Cervicitis, trichomonas vaginitis, and bacterial vaginitis were the three most common RTIs among our participants. Television, radio broadcast, and public education during screening were the major source of healthcare knowledge in rural China. Moreover 99.7% of women expressed great interest in participating in a combined screening project. The affordable limit for combined screening project was only 50 RMB for more than half of the rural women. Conclusion: A combined screening program would be more effective and popular than single disease screening projects, while appropriate accompanied education and a co-pay model for its successful implementation need to be explored, especially in low-resource settings.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.3-25
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• 2013

With the ever-changing medical tourist environment, the study has delved into issues ranging from judged value on medical tourist service quality and its effect on the service level and recurring rate of return visit through the quantitative analysis with the survey for a group of tourists from Japan, China, USA and the interview survey on medical specialist on tourists. Verifying the Hypothesis 1 reveals the assertion that quality of medical service for tourists has effected upon the functional value has proven to be true except the cases on responsiveness and accessibility. And the assumption that the quality of medical service for tourists has effected upon the emotional value has proven to be true except the case on accessibility. The paper has its limitation in that it is confined to medical tourists of small numbers of target countries, relatively short survey period. The study shall be followed by the further analysis on the factors for medical tourists' personal and societal effect

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• 제25권5호
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• pp.387-395
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• 2022

Purpose: Toxins produced by Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) can cause enteritis and diarrhea. Although the number of pediatric CDI cases is increasing, the clinical management of pediatric CDI, including patient characteristics and prognosis, remains unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the background and clinical course of patients with CDI and evaluate the reliability of diagnostic tests in a tertiary pediatric hospital in Japan. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of children diagnosed with CDI between 2011 and 2021 at the Saitama Children's Medical Center in Saitama, Japan. Results: During the study period, 1,252 C. difficile antigen/toxin tests were performed, and 37 patients were diagnosed with CDI. The main underlying diseases among the patients were hematological and malignant disorders and gastrointestinal diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (59.4%). Two patients (5.4%) had an unremarkable medical history. Among the 37 patients, 27 (73.0%) were immunocompromised, 25 (67.6%) had a history of antibiotic use within the past two months, and 6 (16.2%) were negative on the initial test but were positive on the second test. Finally, 28 patients (75.7%) required primary antibiotic therapy only, and two patients with IBD required additional antibiotic therapy as secondary treatment. Conclusion: The number of pediatric patients with CDI is increasing. Both a comprehensive interview, including underlying diseases and history of antibiotic use, and an understanding of the features of clinical examinations should be emphasized to appropriately diagnose and treat CDI.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• 제10권1호
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• pp.139-158
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• 2003

This study evaluated the community-based rehabilitation services provided by the Wonju Public Health Center from Jan. 2000 to Dec. 2002. Ninety-four persons with disabilities dwelling in the community participated and the surveys were completed in an interview during home visits. The respondents' demographic, socio-economic, and medical characteristics, rehabilitation service received, willingness to receive home-visit rehabilitation services, and satisfaction with the rehabilitation services were analyzed by frequency and percentage. A Likert scoring system consisting of five agreement-disagreement categories was applied to each item, consisting of Very Satisfied, Satisfied, So-So, Poorly Satisfied, and Very Poorly Satisfied. The major findings were as follows: 1) The rehabilitation services used included medical rehabilitation (26.9%), followed by social assistance (23.5%), diagnosis by a physician at home (17.3%), medical examination (12.3%), housekeeping services (6.2%), and vocational and educational rehabilitation (3.5%). 2) Of the medical services, the respondents desired physical therapy at home and free rental of rehabilitation equipment, such as wheelchairs, canes, walkers, the most, followed by home visit occupational therapy, nursing services, and oriental medicine service in descending order. 3) Some of the respondents expressed so-so satisfaction (50.0%) or dissatisfaction (16.9%) with the rehabilitation services provided by the Wonju Public Health Center. These findings should prove useful when planning or extending community-based rehabilitation programs for the homebound disabled in the community.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권4호
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• pp.1225-1229
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• 2012

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the meaning of "positive attitude" for medical surgical nurses in caring for cancer patients. Methods: A qualitative method was used in this qualitative descriptive study with data from nurses who had volunteered to participate in an in-depth interview that was conducted between January and February 2012. A total of 10 nurses in general medical and surgical wards of a district hospital were interviewed. Results: The study used three broad themes to describe this multifaceted construct: showing empathy, seeing positively and behaving positively. The nurses were aware of their attitudes towards being positive with cancer patients and its significance in support for cancer patients. Conclusions: The findings of this study can serve as a platform upon which educational and other support programmes can be developed in order to meet the needs of those general nurses working with cancer patients. Future studies are recommended to examine nurses' beliefs about cancer that are thought to affect positive attitudes toward cancer patients.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.162-168
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• 1989

This study was conducted to analyse attitudes to a new health care system in a rural community. The specific purpose of this thesis was to classify attitudes to the patient referral system in Kangwha county, and to identify factors affecting the attitudes. Sampling was done by a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method from the population. The data were collected in Kangwha county through a structured interview survey for two weeks in June, 1957. Attitudes to the patient referral system were classified into four types based upon answers to questions about awareness of the system, the recognition for the necessity of the system, and opinions on the improvement of the system. The four types of attitudes were active acceptance(10.2%), partial acceptance (27.2%), refusal(35.8%), and indifference(26.7%). The respondent's age, educational level, age of head of household, medical insurance fee, the number of ill family members, and the percentage of medical utilization by the family were the variables which affected the attitudes. The medical insurance fee, respondent's age, age of head of household, and the percentage of medical utilization by the family were the statistically significant discriminant factors of the four types of attitudes.