PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analyze attitude toward dignified dying of Korean students majoring in human service area. METHODS: The Q-methodology which provides a method of analyzing the subjectivity of each item was used. The 34 selected Q-statements from each of 38 subjects were classified into a shape of normal distribution using a 9 point scale. The collected data was analyzed using a QUANL PC program. RESULTS: Four types of attitude toward dignified dying from the subjects were identified. Type I is an expression type for happy emotion, Type II is a dislike type for life prolongation, Type III is a pursuit type for relationship improvement, and Type IV is a perception type for family presence. CONCLUSION: The results of the study indicate that integrating multi-disciplinary curriculum development related to dignified dying and death education for students majoring in human service area are needed.
Curriculum ; Humans ; Life Support Care

In the ophthalmologic emergency, the intraocular trauma frequently occurred due to the foreign bodies such as metal piece, rice seed, sand, glass piece, etc. This study introduced an intraocular trauma due to extraordinary foreign body called broken edge of knife. The patient was not thorough examined and monitored. During the first emergency, the trauma was closed because it was considered that having no the intraocular foreign body. This was the second case following the first case reported in America.
Injuries ; Life Support Care ; Foreign Bodies

On Aug 4, 2017, the new legislation of ‘Act on Hospice & Palliative Care and Patient Determination of Life Sustaining Treatments’ was enforced. Compared with articles about the hospice & palliative care of ‘National Cancer Act’, it should be helpful to update the change points.
Hospice Care ; Hospices* ; Humans ; Life Support Care ; Palliative Care*

PURPOSE: This study was done to analyze how a death preparation education program have the effects on awareness of hospice palliative care and withdrawing life sustaining treatment in older adults. METHODS: This study employed a non-equivalent control group design among quasi-experimental designs. The experimental group was comprised with 35 adults and the control group with 40 adults. The death preparation program consisted of five two-hour sessions and was administered once a week for five straight weeks. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, chi2 test, Fisher's exact test, and ANCOVA using SPSS version 18.0. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 66.2 years. A significant difference between the experimental and control groups was observed in withdrawing life sustaining treatment (F=3.380, P=0.040). However, no significant difference was found in awareness of hospice palliative care (F=0.163, P=0.850). CONCLUSION: The study results indicate that death preparation training could positively affect people's awareness of withdrawing life sustaining treatment. More studies should be conducted to explore effects of death preparation education for all ages and help people better understand hospice palliative care.
Adult ; Education* ; Hospices* ; Humans ; Life Support Care ; Palliative Care*

The main goals of treatment of malignant bone tumor are the prolongation of life survival and the improvement of quality of life. In growing children, however, leg length discrepancy (LLD) is one of major problem in the treatment of malignant bone tumors. Therefore, the precise understanding of growth in children is essential, and the prediction of LLD is critical in deciding the time and options of surgery. In addition, to use the adequate method of growth expectation, periodic follow-up and collaboration with patient's parents are needed.
Child ; Cooperative Behavior ; Humans ; Leg ; Life Support Care ; Parents ; Quality of Life

Nearly 20 years after the Boramea Hospital case, the act on decisions on life-sustaining treatment for patients in hospice and palliative care or at the end of life has taken effect on February 4, 2018 as recommended by the National Bioethics Committee. However, during the legislation process, some parts of the bill that stakeholders and concerned parties did not see eye to eye were either revised or removed. Moreover, the hospice and palliative care part was added in the last minute before the enactment. As a result, the law includes parts that are not in line with the recommendations from the National Bioethics Committee, thereby causing various problems. Therefore, it is crucial to monitor how the decisions on life-sustaining treatments are made in the field and gather various opinions of concerned parties to identify and address problems in the early stage of the implementation of the law. Based on the data, the legislation must be amended to fulfill its purpose that is “to protect the dignity and value of human beings by assuring the best interests of the patients and by respecting their self-determination”.
Bioethics ; Decision Making ; Hospices ; Humans ; Jurisprudence ; Life Support Care ; Palliative Care

No abstract available.
Critical Illness ; Decision Making ; Humans ; Life Support Care ; Quality of Life ; Terminal Care ; Physician-Patient Relations ; Withholding Treatment

BACKGROUND: The goal of this study was to analyze the process and characteristics of withholding or withdrawal of life support (WLS) in Korean intensive care units (ICUs). METHODS: This was a single-centered retrospective analysis of patients who died in the ICUs of a tertiary hospital in Korea from January to December 2012. WLS informed consents and clinical data were analyzed. RESULTS: Of 285 deaths during the study period, informed consents for WLS were obtained from 228 patients (80.0%). All WLS decisions were made by family members after the patient's loss of decision-making capacity. Decisions were made most frequently by the patient's son (50.6%). Patients in the WLS group were older than those in the non-WLS group, and older age was associated with the WLS decision. Thirty-seven patients (16.2%) died within one hour of WLS approval, and 182 patients (79.8%) died on the day of WLS approval. The most frequently withheld life support modality was chest compression (100%), followed by defibrillation (95.9%) and pacemaker insertion (63.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Aggressive and invasive life support measures were those most frequently withheld or withdrawn by decision-makers in Korean ICUs. The most common proxy was the son, rather than the spouse.
Humans ; Informed Consent* ; Intensive Care Units* ; Korea ; Life Support Care ; Proxy ; Retrospective Studies ; Spouses ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Thorax ; Withholding Treatment

BACKGROUND: The goal of this study was to analyze the process and characteristics of withholding or withdrawal of life support (WLS) in Korean intensive care units (ICUs). METHODS: This was a single-centered retrospective analysis of patients who died in the ICUs of a tertiary hospital in Korea from January to December 2012. WLS informed consents and clinical data were analyzed. RESULTS: Of 285 deaths during the study period, informed consents for WLS were obtained from 228 patients (80.0%). All WLS decisions were made by family members after the patient's loss of decision-making capacity. Decisions were made most frequently by the patient's son (50.6%). Patients in the WLS group were older than those in the non-WLS group, and older age was associated with the WLS decision. Thirty-seven patients (16.2%) died within one hour of WLS approval, and 182 patients (79.8%) died on the day of WLS approval. The most frequently withheld life support modality was chest compression (100%), followed by defibrillation (95.9%) and pacemaker insertion (63.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Aggressive and invasive life support measures were those most frequently withheld or withdrawn by decision-makers in Korean ICUs. The most common proxy was the son, rather than the spouse.
Humans ; Informed Consent ; Intensive Care Units ; Korea ; Life Support Care ; Proxy ; Retrospective Studies ; Spouses ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Thorax ; Withholding Treatment

PURPOSE: This correlation study was performed to examine Korean adults' perceptions and attitudes towards death with dignity and the withdrawal of life sustaining treatment and to identify factors that predict their attitude towards death with dignity. METHODS: The study was conducted using convenience sampling of 291 adults from three towns of a metropolitan city in Korea. Data were collected using structured questionnaires which surveyed people's perception about and attitudes towards withdrawal of life sustaining treatment and scaled their attitude towards death with dignity. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple regression. RESULTS: The attitude towards the withdrawal of life sustaining treatment and death with dignity showed a significant positive correlation (r=0.49, P<0.001). For attitudes towards death with dignity, significant predictors were attitudes towards the withdrawal of life sustaining treatment, age, religion, a proper withdrawal process and advanced medical directives, which explained 49.3% of total variance. CONCLUSION: The results of this study may contribute to development of a new medical decision-making system including nurses' appropriate roles in the process of withdrawing life sustaining treatment and advanced medical directives.
Adult ; Humanism ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Support Care ; Right to Die ; Statistics as Topic