• Title/Summary/Keyword: terminal care

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Development and Application of the Constipation Assessment Tool for Patients with Terminal Cancers (말기 암환자의 변비 사정도구 개발 및 적용)

  • Kim, Myung Ok;Park, Myung Hee;Rye, Min Ae
    • Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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    • v.18 no.2
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    • pp.205-214
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    • 2012
  • Purpose: The purposes of this study were to develop the constipation assessment tool for identifying their bowel movement patterns, and to provide basic information for the assessment and intervention protocol on constipation for patients with terminal cancers. Methods: The study followed the steps: the first step was to build a conceptual framework based on literature review; the second step was to develop a tentative instrument by analyzing the conceptual framework and existing instruments; the third step was to test content validity and reliability; and the final step was to apply the tool to patients with terminal cancers (N=112). Results: The constipation assessment tool was consisted of total nine items; under the categories of subjective and objective data for diagnosis had 4 items, and under the initial assessment category which includes stool type, physical examination, and abdomen X-ray had 5 items. Conclusion: The constipation assessment tool developed in this study is very easy to use and useful in nursing practice, especially in hospice and palliative care setting. Particularly this tool has items on patient assessment which would be considered as an evidence for choosing nursing interventions. Based on the constipation assessment tool, the development and application of intervention protocol on constipation for patients with terminal cancers is warranted in future research.

Legal Grounds for Withholding or Withdrawal of Life-Sustaining Treatment (연명의료의 중단 - 대법원 2009.5.21. 선고 2009다17417 판결과 관련하여 -)

  • Suk, Hee-Tae
    • The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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    • v.10 no.1
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    • pp.263-305
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    • 2009
  • Is it lawful to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment applied to a patient in a terminal condition or permanent unconscious condition? In Korea, there are no such laws or regulations which control affairs related to the withholding or withdrawal life-support treatment and active euthanasia as the Natural Death Act or the Death with Dignity Act in the U. S. A. And in addition there has had no precedent of Supreme Court. Recently Supreme Court has pronounced a historical judgment on a terminal care case. The court allowed the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment from a patient in a permanent unconscious state. Fundamentally the court judged that the continuation of that medical treatment would infringe dignity and value of a patient as a human being. And the court required some legal grounds to consider such withdrawal or withholding of medical care lawful. The legal grounds are as follow. First, the patient is in a incurable and irreversible condition and already entered a stage of death. Second, the patient executed a directive, in advance, directing the withholding or withdrawal of life-support treatment in a incurable and irreversible condition or in a terminal condition. Otherwise, at least, the patient's will would be presumed through his/her character, view of value, philosophy, religious faith and career etc. I regard if a patient is in a incurable and irreversible condition or in a terminal condition, the medical contract between a patient and a doctor would be terminated because of the actual impossibility of achievement of it's purpose. So I think the discontinuation of life-sustaining care would be legally allowed without depending on the patient's own will.

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Convergence Factors Influencing Terminal Care Stress in General Hospital Nurses (일개 종합병원 간호사의 임종간호 스트레스에 영향을 미치는 융합적인 요인)

  • Park, Mi Sun;Kim, Hye Young;Kim, Ji Young
    • Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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    • v.9 no.4
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    • pp.28-38
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    • 2019
  • This study aimed to explore predictors of terminal care stress of nurses. Participants were 197 nurses from a C university hospital in J city. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, pearson's correlation coefficient and stepwise multiple regression. On hierarchial multiple regression, dignified dying attitude, turnover intention, well dying attitude, and spirituality explained 39.6% of variance in terminal care stress. The results suggest that dignified dying attitude, well dying attitude, spirituality need to be properly assessed and managed to reduce terminal care stress of nurses.

Medications at the End of Life Care for Terminal Cancer Patients during Their Last Admission (말기 암 환자의 마지막 입원 동안 임종돌봄시의 약제들)

  • Kim, Do-Yeun
    • Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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    • v.13 no.1
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    • pp.7-12
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    • 2010
  • Purpose: To evaluate medications at the end of life care for terminal cancer patients during their last admission. Methods: Medical records of terminal cancer patients during their last admission from July 2003 to April 2008 at a district academic hospital were evaluated. Patient's characteristics, therapeutic drug classification during their last admission and on the patient's day of death, and the administrated route and number of medications on the patient's day of death were analyzed. Results: Total 81 patients were included. The median patient age was 63 years. The median length of admission was 18 days (range: 1~101). 54% of the patients had more than one comorbidities. The most frequently prescribed drugs during the last admission were opioid analgesics (63%), followed by antibiotics (58%) and antacids (53%). On the day of death, common medications were antibiotics (59%), antacids (58%), and opioid analgesics (46%). Intravenous injection was given to 81% of the patients and intramuscular injection was given to 16% of the patients on the day of patient's death. Number of medications prescribed to patients was between 0 and 11 (median: 3) and 12% (10/81) of the patients took over 8 medications including intravenous and oral drugs on the day of death. 6% (5/81) of the patients took potentially futile medications, like multivitamin or statin until the day of death. Conclusion: This study suggests that potentially futile medications and uncomfortable care were given to terminal cancer patients. Multicenter-based studies are necessary to diminish futile medications by essential medication at the end of life care for terminal cancer patients.

The Group Counseling Program for Terminal Cancer Patients and their Family Members in the Seoul National University Hospital (말기 암환자와 가족을 위한 집단상담 프로그램 - 서울대학교병원 경험의 분석-)

  • Lee, Young-Sook;Heo, Dae-Seog;Yun, Young-Ho;Kim, Hyun-Sook;Choi, Kyung-Sook;Yun, Yeo-Jung
    • Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.56-64
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    • 1998
  • Purpose : Seoul National University Hospital developed a group counseling program for the terminal cancer patients and their family members. This program consists of each of doctor, nutritionist, nurse, pharmacist, and social worker to provide them with the information and to enhance their ability to cope with terminal cancer. This research aims to introduce this new program per se, and to appreciate its validity and applicability to the terminal cancer patients and their family members by analyzing the concerns and specific questions of the participants. Methods : The methodological approach employed in this research is 1996 content analysis of the group counseling reports, and interview of the 312 participants. The analysis includes the general characteristics of the subjects, family relationship to the patients, times of attendance to the group session, source of information to the program. Results : The participants consist of 261 family members(84%) and 51 patients(16%). Majority responded to the program with a single-attendance. Diagnosis are mainly lung cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer. The ratio of participants by family members is decreased in the order of spouse, children, daughter-in-law, brothers and sisters, and parents. The source of information to the program is largely through medical staff(69%) as compared with posters in the hospital (26%). The participants are interested primarily in the medical information. Their interests are various, such as pain control, patient care, nutrition, psychosocial problem and etc. Conclusion : This program is characterized largely as a family-supporting program which primarily offers information for terminal cancer. This program is a sort of a hospice program, which maximizes the present quality of living of the terminal cancer patients as long as life continues by encouraging them to live with terminal cancer. Thus, this group program can be employed as an active support network for the patients and their family. In order to develop comprehensive care-giving services, it is required to have 24-hour telephone service, hospice facilities, home care service, and communication between the referral hospitals and the primary care physicians, in particular. Such a development of services is the ultimate goal for improving care. But the immediate goal of the program is to make possible better education for the patients and their family to live with terminal cancer.

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Advances in Hospice and Palliative Care in Japan: A Review Paper

  • Mori, Masanori;Morita, Tatsuya
    • Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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    • v.19 no.4
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    • pp.283-291
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    • 2016
  • Over the past decade, hospice and palliative care in Japan have progressed rapidly under the national policies supported by the Cancer Control Act. The numbers of palliative care units/inpatient hospices, hospital palliative care teams, and clinics with a home hospice function have been steadily increasing. The increasing numbers of physicians, nurses, and pharmacists have been certified as specialists in palliative care by national associations. Collaborative efforts have been made to standardize and disseminate educational programs and training opportunities in undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing medical education. Research activities in Japan have markedly contributed to the growing body of evidence, especially in the fields of terminal delirium, terminal dehydration, palliative sedation, care for dying patients, prognostication, communication, psycho-oncology, and regional palliative care programs. This review focuses on major palliative care settings, specialty, national associations, education, and research in palliative care in Japan.

A Structural Equation Model of Clinical Nurses' End-of-life Care Performance (임상간호사의 임종간호수행 구조모형)

  • Park, Hyo jin;Lee, Yun Mi;Kim, Min Hye
    • Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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    • v.14 no.1
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    • pp.1-13
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    • 2021
  • Purpose : Based on Quint's theory and the relevant literature, this study constructed a structural equation model for explaining and predicting end-of-life care performance in clinical nurses. Methods : A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 265 nurses between September 1 and September 30, 2016. The data were analyzed using SPSS ver. 21 and AMOS ver. 21. Results : The goodness of fit of the modified model was found to be relatively satisfactory (χ2=114.82, Nomed χ2(χ2/df)=2.44, SRMR=.06, GFI=.94, AGFI=.89, CFI=.95, TLI=.91, RMSEA=.07). End-of-life care performance was affected by the attitudes toward nursing care of the dying, working unit, and death anxiety. The attitudes toward such care had the highest effect on end-of-life care performance. Conclusion : The results suggest that end-of-life care performance is directly and indirectly affected by attitudes toward nursing care of the dying, participation in end-of-life care education, working unit, death perception, and death anxiety. To improve clinical nurses' end-of-life care performance, effective programs to promote death anxiety and attitudes toward nursing care of the dying need to be developed. In addition, hospital nursing organizations should attempt to produce concrete measures for death anxiety and terminal care attitudes in clinical nurses.

A Case of Hypnotherapy with Terminal Pediatric Cancer Patient (말기 소아 암 환자의 최면치료 1예)

  • Choi, Hwee-Young;Wang, Soon;Lee, Soo-Yong;Kim, Hoo-Nam
    • Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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    • v.3 no.2
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    • pp.152-155
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    • 2000
  • The authors reported a case of terminal pediatric cancer patient. The patient was ten-year-old girl, and she was diagnosed as osteosarcoma with multiple metastasis to lung and bones. She was markedly depressed and had severe bone and chest pain. The patient was treated with hypnotherapy once or twice a week for two months. There was marked improvement in pain control and emotional reactions, and the hospice team could establish good rapport with her. Hypnotherapy would be one of the effective treatment modalities in assisting patients.

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The Management of Malignant Ascites in Terminal Cancer Patients (말기 암환자에서 악성 복수의 치료)

  • Kim, Sun-Hyun;Yeom, Chang-Hwan
    • Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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    • v.11 no.3
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    • pp.131-135
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    • 2008
  • The management of malignant ascites can be problematic for physicians and patients. The mass effect of ascites can cause symptoms of painful abdominal distention, nausea, vomiting, and bowel obstruction. Also patients often complain of shortness of breath and lower extremity edema. These symptoms not only are distressing, but also adversely affect quality of life in terminal cancer patients. We will introduce you how to treat ascites based on our cases.

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