A Study on Use of Alternative Therapy in Chronic Ill Patients

Lee, You Chin; Park, Hyoung Sook

Abstract

This retrospective descriptive study was conducted to survey the use of alternative therapy by chronicly ill patients. The subject of this study were 205 chronicly ill patients at Pusan National University Hospital. The data for this study were patient record. The data were gathered from August, 1 to September, 30 1998 and analyzed through SPSSWIN program for frequency, percentile and x2-test. The important results of this study are as followings. Of population-sociological characteristics on studied objects, sexual distribution showed a similar percentage male 47.8% and the female 52.2%. Age distribution showed that the 60-69 year old group made up 31.5%, and was the highest. Of religion Buddism was the most frequest. The diagnosis distribution showed cancer at 28.8% and coronary artery disease at 16.1%. According to the results of the study, 51.2% of subjects had used alternative therapy. The most common type of alternative therapy was dietary and nutritional therapy, 40.2%, the place of use, home, 44.0%, duration, less than 3 months, 51.5%. The most common motive was a recommendation by friends or family. The degree of satisfaction after the use of alternative therapy was high for 21.0%, and slight for 53.3%. The reaction after the use of alternative therapy was increasing power for patients with coronary artery disease and cancer, sugar control for those with DM, and pain control for those with chronic arthrits. The study showed that for chronicle ill patients, age, religion, diagnosis name have an important effect on the use of alternative therapy. In conclusion, chronicly ill patients showed high -use of alternative therapy but they did not used alternative therapy as a healing method. Therefore we must provide an education program nurses and physicians. And we must provide more information or healing method's and support chronicly ill patients.