Perception on the Traditional Korean Medicine According to the Existence of a Chronic Disease

• Main Authors: Jihye Kim, Minjung Park, Angela Dong-Min Sung, Kyeong Han Kim, Soo-Hyun Sung
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korean Pharmacopuncture Institute 2020-12-01
• Series: Journal of Pharmacopuncture
• Subjects: national survey; chronic diseases; korean medicine; perception
• Online Access: http://www.journal-jop.org/journal/view.html?doi=10.3831/KPI.2020.23.4.252

Objectives: Chronic diseases (CDs) continue to increase due to advances in medicine and increase in lifespan, affecting quality of life and resulting in economic loss through treat-ment costs. This study addressed the perception characteristics of the effectiveness of Korean medicine (KM) based on the existence of a CD to determine the national prefer-ence for KM treatment.Methods: Using data from the 2017 National Survey of KM Usage, we evaluated the per-ception on treatment effect of 16 diseases by dividing them into the CD group and the non-CD group. Response reliability was verified by applying the chi-square test (χ2-test) analysis method of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) statistical pro-gram.Results: The analysis of the perception on effectiveness of KM for patients with CD (n = 1,050, 21.0%) and for patients with non-CD (n = 3,950, 79.0%) showed an overall similar trend for all the 16 diseases. The response rates of having some treatment effect were high for nine diseases namely, disc-related disease (CD: 70.7%, non-CD: 73.1%), osteoar-thritis (CD: 72.3%, non-CD: 72.4%), frozen shoulder and shoulder pain (CD: 79.6%, non-CD: 81.4%), back pain (CD: 84.6%, non-CD: 85.0%), sprain (CD: 84.8%, non-CD: 84.1%), facial nerve paralysis (CD: 73.5%, non-CD: 71.7%), stroke (CD: 66.2%, non-CD: 62.8%), digestive disease (CD: 53.3%, non-CD: 50.0%), and common cold and rhinitis (CD: 44.7%, non-CD: 44.8%).Conclusion: The present results found that there was little difference in the perception on effectiveness of KM for each of the 16 diseases in patients with CD and non-CD, however, 70% or more of the respondents recognized some treatment effect on musculoskeletal disorders, regardless of the existence of CD. Preferential political support for KM treat-ment of chronic musculoskeletal disorders is recommended.