PURPOSE: This study was to measure quality of life in hospice and palliative care patients. METHODS: Research tools were the Korean version of McMaster quality of life scale and Spitzer's quality of life index used by 11 doctors in 7 institutes related to hospice and palliative care. Research subjects were 70 terminal cancer patients. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant differences in the Korean version MQLS score by test-retest method. Cronbach's alpha was 0.90. The Pearson correlation coefficient for concurrent validity between the Korean version MQLS score and QLI score by physicians showed a moderate level of statistically significant correlation (r=0.55, P=0.002). The Korean version MQLS score of terminal cancer patients group in hospital ward of hospice was significantly higher than the others (F=4.958, P=0.004). Total scores of the Korean version MQLS (Mean+/-SD=3.79+/-0.74) and QLI (Mean+/-SD=4.58+/-1.63) showed moderate scores. CONCLUSION: The Korean version MQLS would be a reliable methods for the measurement of quality of life in Korean palliative care patients. The research tool would be satisfactorily used for assessment of hospice and palliative care patients during palliative phase.
Academies and Institutes ; Hospice Care ; Hospices ; Humans ; Palliative Care ; Quality of Life ; Research Subjects ; Terminally Ill

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analyze the reason to select complementary and alternative therapy for terminally ill cancer patients. METHODS: The data were collected from 21 terminal cancer patients and families through the in-depth interview. Data analysis were performed by the Colaizzi's phenomenological method (1976). RESULTS: The reason to select complementary and alternative therapy for terminal cancer patients and families was then categorized with 4 elements; Awareness of limitations in contemporary medical treatments, Belief in effectiveness of the CAM, Satisfaction with emotional needs of family members, and Disbelief due to negative attitudes of physicians. The result indicated the following 9 themes expectation for a complete cure, uncertainty in hospital treatments, complementary method for management of side effect of chemotherapy, alleviation of symptoms and life-sustaining, fear for side effects of cancer treatments, belief in earned information, referrals by other, responsibility of family, and dissatisfaction with negatine attitudes of physicians. CONCLUSION: Physicians should provide a sufficient explanation and try to effectively communicate with clients about hospice and palliative service and the CAM. We strongly realized that concerns about patients' best care and satisfactions with family's needs should be understood.
Complementary Therapies ; Hospices ; Humans ; Qualitative Research ; Referral and Consultation ; Statistics as Topic ; Terminally Ill ; Uncertainty

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to study on 1) What is nursing students' experience of ethical problems involving nursing practice? 2) What is nursing students' experience of using ethical decision-making models? METHOD: In order to answer these two questions, we selected 97 senior baccalaureate nursing students from two Korean universities using a conceptual framework and method of content analysis. RESULT: From 97 ethical problems emerged five content categories, the largest being ethical problems involving health professionals (69%); the basic nature of the nursing students' experience of ethical problems consisted of conflict, resolution, and rationale; 94% of the students stated that using an ethical decision-making model was helpful. CONCLUSION: Although additional research is needed, these findings have important implications for nursing ethics education and practice.
Education ; Ethics, Nursing ; Health Occupations ; Humans ; Nursing* ; Students, Nursing

Background: Medical nutrition therapy is a fundamental part of diabetes management; however, it is very difficult for patients to maintain the recommended diet programs. We investigated whether providing home-delivered therapeutic meals designed by registered dietitians could be useful in lowering blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: During a 12-day study period, we monitored the blood glucose levels of 19 patients with type 2 diabetes by continuous glucose monitoring. For the first six days, the participants maintained their usual lifestyles and were allowed to eat freely (free meal period). During the last six days, two out of the three main meals per day were replaced with home-delivered therapeutic meals designed for diabetes management (therapeutic meal period), during which snacks and exercise were freely allowed. Blood glucose levels and estimated glycated hemoglobin (eHbA1c) were compared between the two periods. Results: Between the free meal period and the therapeutic meal period, mean blood glucose level and eHbA1c dropped by 11.9 mg/dL (P < 0.001) and 0.4% (P = 0.002), respectively. These results were mainly due to the decrease in postprandial glucose levels rather than preprandial glucose levels. Conclusion Providing home-delivered therapeutic meals designed for diabetes management was effective in lowering the blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Background: Medical nutrition therapy is a fundamental part of diabetes management; however, it is very difficult for patients to maintain the recommended diet programs. We investigated whether providing home-delivered therapeutic meals designed by registered dietitians could be useful in lowering blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: During a 12-day study period, we monitored the blood glucose levels of 19 patients with type 2 diabetes by continuous glucose monitoring. For the first six days, the participants maintained their usual lifestyles and were allowed to eat freely (free meal period). During the last six days, two out of the three main meals per day were replaced with home-delivered therapeutic meals designed for diabetes management (therapeutic meal period), during which snacks and exercise were freely allowed. Blood glucose levels and estimated glycated hemoglobin (eHbA1c) were compared between the two periods. Results: Between the free meal period and the therapeutic meal period, mean blood glucose level and eHbA1c dropped by 11.9 mg/dL (P < 0.001) and 0.4% (P = 0.002), respectively. These results were mainly due to the decrease in postprandial glucose levels rather than preprandial glucose levels. Conclusion Providing home-delivered therapeutic meals designed for diabetes management was effective in lowering the blood glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes.