[Family functioning and quality of life of the family care-giver in cancer patients].

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship among quality of life, family coherence, family hardiness, and family resources of the family care-giver caring for a cancer patient. METHOD: Data was collected by questionnaires from 137 families with a cancer patient at a General Hospital and Government Cancer Hospital. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, pearson correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression. RESULTS: The score of quality of life showed a significant positive correlation with the score of the level of family sense of coherence, family hardiness, and family resources. The most powerful predictor of quality of life was sense of coherence and the variance was 30%. A combination of sense of coherence and family resources account for 34 % of the variance in quality of life of the family care-giver caring for a cancer patient. CONCLUSION: The results showed that family sense of coherence, hardiness, and family resources were significant influencing factors on the quality of life of the family care-giver caring for a cancer patient.

[Exploring the nature of caring in Hwa-Byung--transpersonal Caring-Healing Model].

UNLABELLED: Hwa-Byung(HB) has been categorized as a Korean culture-bound syndrome that is prevalent in married women of low socioeconomic status. PURPOSE: The Purpose of the study was to search for the essence of HB and a caring-healing process of HB. Then the research result discusses whether the Transpersonal Caring-Healing Model has been congruent with it. METHOD: Case examples resulted from in-depth telephone counseling over a period of time at the Women's Hot Line with a client who is a housewife with HB. The counseling content was analyzed through Giorgi's method of descriptive phenomenology. RESULT: The core meaning of the essence of HB was 'injustice'; and essential themes were 'lack of reciprocity', 'infidelity' 'suppressed aggression and powerlessness' and 'need for recognition'. The core meaning of the essence of the caring-healing process was 'caring-healing experience (maintaining a trust relationship)'; and essential themes were 'active listening', 'empathy' and 'forming a therapeutic relationship'. According to Watson, 'active listening', 'empathy' and 'forming a therapeutic relationship' were identified as intentionality, intersubjectivity and transpersonal. CONCLUSION: Transpersonal caring can release inner power and strength and help the person to gain a sense of inner harmony. Transpersonal caring is as important to healing as are conventional treatment approaches and even more powerful in the long run.

[Exploring the nature of "Hwa-Byung" using pragmatics].

PURPOSE: While most psychiatrists diagnose Hwa-Byung as a chronic psychogenic disorder associated with familial, financial and personality, the purpose of study was to shed light on the nature of Hwa-Byung through pragmatics. Hwa-Byung is characterized as 'Hwa' which means fire 'Byung' which means disease. This condition cannot be empirically experienced, rather it is represented by suffering internally (in the mind). It also could find an aspect of somatization, and self-diagnosing. METHOD: As patients themselves diagnose Hwa-Byung, pragmatical approach was taken to analyze the context of the learning through their communication with others. The case examples resulted from in-depth telephone counseling with a client who is housewife with Hwa-Byung over a period of time at the Women's Hot Line. RESULT: The study showed that the client experienced continuous improper attacks by her husband. She expressed improperness by applying her personal emotions to social-justice reasoning. CONCLUSION: 'Hwa' means lack of mutual intimacy in this research. By expressing this 'Hwa', the client would like to recover mutual intimacy with her husband.