Exploring the Possibility of Death Education through Literature from the Perspective of Medical Humanities / 계명의대학술지

The purpose of this study is to examine the possibility of medical humanities from the perspective of death literature and to explore educational possibilities. In this study, the possibility of medical humanities from the perspective of death literature was considered by dividing it into the effect of death education in poetry, the effect of death education in novels, and the effect of death education in essays. As a result, the possibility of death education using poetry seems to be key to triggering the imagination related to the experiences of students through the medium of death poetry implied in symbolic language. The possibility of death education using novels seems to be meaningful in indirectly experiencing life and death by using the characteristics of transitional experience of novels and having them worry about the true meaning and value of life. The possibility of death education using essays is that they can utilize the characteristics of empathic experiences of essays. Essays contain actual events rather than fiction and are expected to be effective in education on death because they present the author's direct experience and accompanying emotions. In conclusion, this study is meaningful in suggesting the application of medical humanities education that integrates and improves the direction of death education as human-centered medicine based on clinical and medical science as a humanistic understanding of death.

The Mental Health and Sleep Quality of the Medical Staff at a Hub-Hospital against COVID-19 in South Korea

Objectives@#Now, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is worldwide threatening. Medical staff’s efforts and sacrifices against COVID-19 are still ongoing. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mental health of the medical staff who have fought against the COVID-19 in hub hospitals. @*Methods@#The medical staff underwent an evaluation of psychiatric and sleep status between March 23rd and April 3rd, 2020. Based on the evaluation, we retrospectively analyzed depression, anxiety, and sleep quality of the medical staff, who worked more than 7 days for fighting against the COVID-19. @*Results@#This study included a total of 101 medical staff. Approximately 1/4 of the medical staff showed depressive mood and low quality of sleep, and more than 1/3 reported anxiety. The nurses reported more severe psychiatric symptoms and poorer sleep quality. @*Conclusions@#This study demonstrated the mental and sleep status of the medical staff against COVID-19. Medical and social support should be considered for them.

Development of the Health Promotion Program for the Auxiliary Police based on the PRECEDE Model / 한국직업건강간호학회지

Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to develop of the Health Promotion Program for the Auxiliary Police based on PRECEDE model. @*Methods@#The data were collected from the Auxiliary Police officer in the D provincial Police Agency. The program was developed through analysis of literature review, analysis on the Auxiliary Police’s demand through in-depth interview, and the content validation by an expert group. @*Results@#The program consists group education sessions (7 times, 90 minutes each) for 5 weeks. The program also reflects the concept of quality of life, health promotion behavior, self-efficacy and health knowledge, social support, and availability of resources which are important factors for assessment through PRECEDE. @*Conclusion@#The results may be crucial to develop strategy in order to decrease the disease prevalence as well as increase the participants’ overall quality of life of Auxiliary Police. This is proposed to standardize the Health Promotion Program for the Auxiliary Police.

Clinical Characteristics of Primary Insomniacs with Sleep-State Misperception

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of sleep-state misperception and to identify any differences in the clinical characteristics of primary insomniacs with and without misperception. METHODS: In total, 250 adult primary insomniacs were enrolled whose objective total sleep time (TST) was more than 120 min, as assessed by full-night polysomnography. Sleep state misperception was defined objectively as a TST of at least 6.5 h and an objective sleep efficiency (SE) of at least 85%. RESULTS: The prevalence of sleep-state misperception in primary insomniacs was 26.4%. The (low) quality of sleep and psychiatric parameters were similar in the two groups, although the objective sleep architecture was relatively normal for the misperception group. Multivariate analysis revealed that both SE and sleep quality were significant factors associated with subjective TST in the misperception group, while only SE was significant in those without misperception. Subjective TST was a significant effect factor with respect to sleep quality in the misperception group, while the Beck Depression Inventory-2 score and age were significant factors in those without misperception. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical characteristics of patients with sleep-state misperception differed from those without this condition. This suggests that these two groups should be separated and the treatment goals tailored specifically to each.

Validation of a Korean Version of the Insomnia Severity Index

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to standardize and validate a Korean version of the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI-K), and to evaluate its clinical usefulness. METHODS: We translated the ISI into Korean and then translated it back into English to check its accuracy. The 614 patients with sleep disorders who were enrolled in this study comprised 169 with primary insomnia, 133 with comorbid insomnia, and 312 with obstructive sleep apnea. All subjects underwent one night of polysomnography (PSG) and completed the Korean versions of both the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI-K) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, as well as the ISI-K. The ISI-K was compared to these sleep scales and various PSG sleep parameters. RESULTS: The internal consistency the ISI-K total score was confirmed by a Cronbach's alpha of 0.92, and the item-to-total-score correlations (item-total correlations) ranged from 0.65 to 0.84, suggesting adequate reliability. The correlation between the ISI-K total score and PSQI-K was 0.84, which suggested adequate convergent validity. Low-to-moderate correlations were obtained between the ISI-K total score and PSG-defined sleep parameters: 0.22 for sleep onset latency, 0.38 for wake after sleep onset, and 0.46 for sleep efficiency. A cutoff score of 15.5 on the ISI-K was optimal for discriminating patients with insomnia. The test-retest scores over a 4-week interval with 34 subjects yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.86, suggesting excellent temporal stability. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study show that the ISI-K is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing the severity of insomnia in a Korean population.

Factors of Depression in Korean-Chinese Elders in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in China: With Reference to Han-Chinese Living in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture

PURPOSE: This study was to investigate depression in Korean-Chinese elder living in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in China. METHODS: A cross-sectional community-based survey was conducted using face to face private interviews for elders aged over 59, who have been dwelling in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. The samples consisted of 183 Korean-Chinese and 182 Han-Chinese with the latter as a reference group. Data were collected from August 25 to September 20, 2011 and analyzed with the SPSS 18.0 program. The GDS (Geriatric Depression Scale) was used to measure elderly depression in the subjects. RESULTS: In Korean-Chinese, the rate of depression was higher in those who had lower educational levels, and were economically supported by the government. And those who had depression showed lower scores in Chinese language proficiency, health status, and social supports, and had more chronic diseases. Factors having effects on Korean-Chinese elderly depression included perceived health status and subjective support. CONCLUSION: According to the results, for preventing the depression of Korean-Chinese, it is necessary to develop health management programs and social support networks, which were easy to approach.