Jee Won Park | 3 Articles |
PURPOSE
The objective of this study was to identify the relationships between family function and successful aging of vulnerable elderly using the circumplex model. METHODS The participants were the elderly (N=401) who were over 65 years old living in H city under the National Livelihood Security Act. Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale III and Successful Aging Instrument were used. RESULTS The family function perceived by the study subjects was average 43.20 +/- 16.62 out of maximum 100 points. According to the analysis on family types suggested by circumplex model, there were 183 people for balance family (45.6%) and 218 people (54.4%) for extreme family. The total points on successful aging were 1.67 +/- 0.37 out of 3 points. When the difference in points on the Successful Aging instrument were analyzed according to the scores on the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale those points of the balanced family were statistically significant (t=2.087, p=.038). CONCLUSION In case of the balanced family type, the level of perceiving successful aging was relatively higher. For the improvement of family function, it is advised that the successful aging perception among vulnerable elderly can be uplifted through a program that enables effective communication with other family members.
PURPOSE
Sasang constitutional medicine is Korea's creative medical science, that has attracted public attention. But for lack of indices in objectifying constitutions, there are difficulties for most of health professionals in approaching Sasang medicine. The purpose of this study was to compare the results of clinical diagnostic data according to the type of Sasang constitution. METHOD The subjects were 195 examinees who had a general health check-up at A hospital. The instrument used for this study were Questionnaire of Sasang Constitution Class II(QSCCII) program for personal computer developed by Kim Sun Ho et al. RESULT The distribution of constitutions of the subjects were the So-eum 46.7%, the Tae-eum 36.9% and the So-yang 16.4%. The level of body composition- related indices(body weight, obesity) of the Tae-eum were significantly higher than those of other constitutions. In heart-related indices, systolic BP were the highest in the Tae-eum. In liver-related indices, the level of triglyceride, SGPT were significantly higher in the Tae-eum. But the hematologic indices and lung-related indices were not showed significantly difference among any constitutions. CONCLUSION The results of this study showed that there were significant difference of clinical diagnostic data according to Sasang constitutions, especially in the Tae-eum. So, to understand the human nature of nursing clients, nurses need to apply the oriental based medical theory, like Sasang constitution, to the discipline of nursing.
PURPOSE
Fatigue is one of the most common complaints of cancer patients. In this study, we analyzed the change of fatigue level and general symptoms as time go by, so that, we could explain more on the mechanism and change of fatigue in relation with treatment, and explore the influencing factors. METHOD The subjects of this study were 50 GI cancer patients who have visited the cancer center of A hospital in Suwon. We measured fatigue by using the Revised Piper Fatigue Scale(RPFS) at the time of starting and finishing induction chemotherapy, and starting the 2nd cycle of chemotherapy. RESULTS 1) The fatigue score was 2.81, 3.73, and 3.82 in a 10 point scale at the time of starting and finishing induction chemotherapy, and starting the 2nd chemotherapy, respectively. This means fatigue persisted until after the treatment. 2) Fifty two percent of participants complained of some kinds of symptoms when starting the treatment, and the proportion increased up to 92% when finishing the treatment. 3) Fatigue scores were significantly high in patients with fatigue-related symptoms than for patients without those symptoms. 4) Fatigue scores showed significant differences according to patients' general characteristics such as age, educational level, economic status, occupation, diagnosis, hematocrit, weight, and amount of sleepy. CONCLUSION We have to develop intervention strategies to reduce fatigue in cancer patients in the consideration of influencing factors.
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