PURPOSE
This study was performed to identify the illness intrusiveness, quality of life, and their relationships in patients with chronic liver disease.
METHOD
Data was collected using scales of illness intrusiveness developed by Devins et al and Korean health related quality of life (KoQoLS) developed by Shim et al to measure the illness intrusiveness and quality of life from 141 chronic liver disease patients.
RESULT
The total mean score of illness intrusiveness was 38.85+/-18.45. The domain of illness intrusiveness which showed the highest mean score was health (4.60+/-2.02), and the lowest mean score domain was relationship with spouse (2.04+/-1.69). The subcategory of KoQoLS which showed the highest mean score was bodily pain (6.96+/-2.98), and the lowest mean score subcategory was vitality (2.75+/-1.20). There were negative relationships between illness intrusiveness and KoQoLS in all subcategories. Abovel all, Illness intrusiveness had the strongest negative relationship with role limitation (r=-0.641) among the KoQoLS subcategories.
CONCLUSION
Because the illness intrusiveness had negative influence on the quality of life in patients with chronic liver disease, further research will need to specify detailed illness intrusiveness and to explore influencing factors on quality of life in them.

In Korea, most of the patients with chronic liver diseases have been using some kind of alternative therapies at home. however, the question is why do people turn to alternative therapy and how the patients are able to use the alternative therapies widely, though the effects have not been proven scientifically. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the process of the patients' experiences using the alternative therapies. The 16 participants were from internal- medical departments in hospital and the permission was received to participate in this study from the subjects. The data were collected with interviews and participants observations, analyzed by the grounded theory methodology of Strauss and Corbin(1990). With the analysis of the data, 15 categories were generated such as psychological pressures, barriers of role performances, distrusts of western medicine, blind obediences to the treatments, attitudes towards alternative therapies, supportive systems, obstacles to taking alternative therapies, financial burdens, collecting informations, pursuing alternative modalities, efforting diversities, analyzing by themselves, managing the body, accepting the disease, and ambivalence. The paradigm model was developed to identify the relationships of categories. The central phenomenon of the experiences of seeking alternative therapies was named jagi momdasrim. The central concept of jagi momdasrim is a mind-set to desire to wellness and to take more responsibility for one's own healing by pursuing alternate healing modalities rather than the western medical system. The process of jagi momdasrim evolved several stages such as seeking, finding, struggling, overcoming, fulfilling, and governing the diseases. Four patterns of taking alternative therapies were found as follows: the bulsin-chujong-hyung, the suyoung-hyung, the yangdari-gulchiki-hyung, the chamjae-hyung. In conclusion, the phenomenon of alternative therapies as consumer-driven force to heal the chronic liver diseases of the patients could be explained as an adaptive behavior through the process of jagi momdasrim. However, since most of the participants practicing some kind of alternative therapies had no evidences of its effects and never tried to consult with their medical doctors about alternative therapies, we should approach more actively. Therefore, it is recommended for nurses to listen and watch the patients behaviors of using alternative therapies and find out how to educate the patients about the proper and safe way to take the alternative therapies.