The Association of the Health Management Strategy with Subjective Health and Well-being Outcomes in General Population

Background@#People face many obstacles to overcoming crisis in life and proactively manage life crises. This study aimed to evaluate the association of self-management strategy with subjective health and well-being for the general South Korean population. @*Methods@#We recruited 1,200 respondents using an equal-probability sampling method from March to May 2018. A questionnaire including life version of the Smart Management Strategy for Health Assessment Tool (SAT-Life), the five Health Status Questionnaire, Short Form-12, McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire (MQOL), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) was administered to participants. @*Results@#In multiple stepwise logistic regression model adjusted with basic demographic variables (age, sex, region, education and monthly income level), core strategy was independently associated with physical, mental, social, spiritual, and general health status (adjusted odds ratios [aORs], 1.97–2.92). Preparation strategy was independently associated with physical, mental, spiritual, and general health status (aORs, 2.36–3.31). Implementation strategy was independently associated with physical, social, spiritual, and general health status (aORs, 2.22–2.42). Core strategy and implementation strategy were independently associated with higher Physical Component Score (aORs, 2.21–2.29) and higher Mental Component Score (aORs, 1.68–1.76). Core strategy and preparation strategy were independently associated with lower PHQ-9 (aORs, 2.63–3.74). Pearson's correlation coefficients between scores on SAT-Life and the other factors (MQOL social support, MQOL spiritual well-being, and SWLS) explain having significant correlations ranging from 0.41–0.43. @*Conclusion@#Self-management strategies of health might be encouraged to manage subjective health and well-being outcomes.

Erratum: Correction of the Text in the Article “Table”: Discordance between Physician and the General Public Perceptions of Prognostic Disclosure to Children with Serious Illness: a Korean Nationwide Study

While recently extending that research, however, the authors discovered that 236 members of the general population were mistakenly to be duplicated by the investigating agency (Word Research) and 1,241 were reported rather than 1,005. The authors present corrections and discuss the relevant data. The authors wish to apologize to the publisher and readers of Journal of Korean Medical Science for these errors.

Erratum: Correction of the Text in the Article “Table”: Discordance between Physician and the General Public Perceptions of Prognostic Disclosure to Children with Serious Illness: a Korean Nationwide Study

While recently extending that research, however, the authors discovered that 236 members of the general population were mistakenly to be duplicated by the investigating agency (Word Research) and 1,241 were reported rather than 1,005. The authors present corrections and discuss the relevant data. The authors wish to apologize to the publisher and readers of Journal of Korean Medical Science for these errors.

Erratum: Correction of the Text in the Article “Table”: Discordance between Physician and the General Public Perceptions of Prognostic Disclosure to Children with Serious Illness: a Korean Nationwide Study

While recently extending that research, however, the authors discovered that 236 members of the general population were mistakenly to be duplicated by the investigating agency (Word Research) and 1,241 were reported rather than 1,005. The authors present corrections and discuss the relevant data. The authors wish to apologize to the publisher and readers of Journal of Korean Medical Science for these errors.

Erratum: Correction of Ethics Statement: Discordance between Physician and the General Public Perceptions of Prognostic Disclosure to Children with Serious Illness: a Korean Nationwide Study

The approval number of Institutional Review Board (IRB) was wrong in the article.

Quantity over Quality? Perception of Designating Long-Term Care Hospitals as Providers of Hospice and Palliative Care / 한국호스피스완화의료학회지

PURPOSE: Amendment to the Act on Decisions on Life-sustaining Treatment was recently enacted to designate long-term care hospitals as providers of hospice and palliative care. Despite its benefit of providing improved accessibility to end-of-life care, the amendment has raised concerns about its effect on quality of service. This study aimed to use information obtained from an expert group interview and previous studies to compare how cancer patients, family caregivers, physicians, and the general Korean population perceive the potential benefits and risks of this amendment.METHODS: We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional study from July to October 2016. The included participants answered a structured questionnaire regarding the extent to which they agree or disagree with the questionnaire items indicating the potential benefits and risks of the amendment. Chi-square tests and univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed.RESULTS: Compared with the general population, physicians agreed more that long-term care hospitals are currently not adequately equipped to provide quality hospice and palliative care. Family caregivers found improved access to long-term care hospitals more favorable but were more likely to agree that these hospitals might prioritize profits, thereby threatening the philosophy of hospice care, and that families might cease to fulfill filial responsibilities. Compared with the general population, cancer patients were more concerned about the potentially decreased service quality in this setting.CONCLUSION: Although potential service beneficiaries and providers expected improved accessibility of hospice and palliative care services, they were also concerned whether the system can provide adequate quality of end-of-life care.

Establishment of Normative Self-Rated Health Status Data and Association between Ideal Life Expectancy and Social Wellness of General Population in Korea

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to establish normative data for holistic health parameters in the general Korean population and to investigate the factor associated with ideal life expectancy (ILE) among these holistic health parameters and sociodemographic variables. METHODS: This study used a questionnaire to obtain self-reported physical, mental, social, spiritual, and general health status and then evaluated their association with ILE. A total of 1,241 individuals responded to the questionnaire, from which we established a multidimensional health status reference data set representing the Korean population. To explain factors associated with ILE, we stratified results by age and gender and performed multiple logistic regression of sociodemographic variables and multidimensional health status. RESULTS: Women reported poor health status more frequently for all five health categories. The average ILE was 87.46 years versus 84.42 years of life expectancy in the general Korean population. Single marital status, higher income, and better social health were significantly associated with higher ILE. CONCLUSION: ILE could be a good indicator reflecting social wellness in a certain society. Comprehensive social health promotion programs can improve individuals' attitudes toward life expectancy, especially for vulnerable groups.

Discordance between Physician and the General Public Perceptions of Prognostic Disclosure to Children with Serious Illness: a Korean Nationwide Study

BACKGROUND: It is difficult to decide whether to inform the child of the incurable illness. We investigated attitudes of the general population and physicians toward prognosis disclosure to children and associated factors in Korea. METHODS: Physicians working in one of 13 university hospitals or the National Cancer Center and members of the general public responded to the questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of the age appropriate for informing children about the prognosis and the reason why children should not be informed. This survey was conducted as part of research to identify perceptions of physicians and general public on the end-of-life care in Korea. RESULTS: A total of 928 physicians and 1,241 members of the general public in Korea completed the questionnaire. Whereas 92.7% of physicians said that children should be informed of their incurable illness, only 50.7% of the general population agreed. Physicians were also more likely to think that younger children should know about their poor prognosis compared with the general population. Physicians who opposed incurable illness disclosure suggested that children might not understand the situation, whereas the general public was primarily concerned that disclosure would exacerbate the disease. Physicians who were women or religious were more likely to want to inform children of their poor prognosis. In the general population, gender, education, comorbidity, and caregiver experience were related to attitude toward poor prognosis disclosure to children. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that physicians and the general public in Korea differ in their perceptions about informing children of poor prognosis.

Public Perception and Acceptance of the National Strategy for Well-Dying / 한국호스피스완화의료학회지

PURPOSE: Ten years have passed since the Korean government announced its plan to institutionally support hospice and palliative care in 2002. In line with that, this study aims to suggest future directions for Korea's hospice and palliative care policy. METHODS: We conducted a survey on people's perception and acceptance of well-dying. Data were collected from 1,000 participants aged 19~69 years between June 1 and June 11, 2012 via computer-assisted telephone interviews. RESULTS: The most important factor for well-dying was placing no burden of care on others (36.7%) and the second most important factor was staying with their family and loved ones (19.1%). Among nine suggestions of policy support for well-dying, the most popular was the promotion of voluntary care sharing (88.3%), followed by the palliative care training support for healthcare providers (83.7%) and the support for palliative care facilities instead of funeral halls (81.7%). The idea of formulating a five-year national plan for end-of-life care drew strong support (91%). According to the survey, the plan should be implemented by the central government (47.5%), the National Assembly (20.2%) or civic groups (10%). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated the public consensus and their consistent direction toward policy support for well-dying. Results of this study may serve as a foundation for the establishment of policy support for people's well-dying and palliative care at the national-level.

Mineral Contents in Bottled Natural Water and Estimation of Their Intake by Korean Adults

Minerals play an important role in the body as essential nutrients. However, it is not easy to meet DRIs because food sources of minerals are limited. Recently, consumption of bottled natural water has been increasing in Korea due to water pollution and distrust of tap water. The present study was conducted to investigate mineral contents in bottled natural water and their intakes among Korean adults. We analyzed eight minerals in seven kinds of bottled natural water by ICP-spectrometry and conducted a survey on the intake status of water and bottled natural water with 400 Korean young adults. The mean contents of Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Se, and Mo in bottled natural water were 22.45+/-22.48 mg/L, 10.59+/-9.97 mg/L, 0.27+/-0.18 microgram/L, 2.06+/-1.48 microgram/L, 5.47+/-0.70 microgram/L, 1.43+/-0.37 microgram/L, 1.90+/-0.96 microgram/L, and 3.34+/-0.79 microgram/L, respectively. The mean age, height, weight, and BMI were 22.76 years, 174.94 cm, 68.64 kg, and 22.41 kg/m2 for males (n=150) and 21.25 years, 162.04 cm, 51.05 kg, and 19.46 kg/m2 for females (n=250), respectively. The respective daily intakes of total water and bottled natural water as water itself were 670.30 ml and 212.20 ml for males and 488.04 ml and 132.72 ml for females. The daily intakes of Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Se, and Mo from bottled natural water were 4.76 mg, 2.25 mg, 0.06 microgram, 0.44 microgram, 1.16 microgram, 0.30 microgram, 0.40 microgram, and 0.71 microgram for males and 2.98 microgram, 1.41 mg, 0.04 microgram, 0.27 microgram, 0.73 microgram, 0.19 microgram, 0.25 microgram, and 0.44 microgram for females, respectively. Overall, the contents of Ca, Mg, and Se in bottled natural water were relatively high and the daily intakes of these minerals were 0.4~1.0% of the DRIs.