Home Healthcare Service Awareness Survey for Korean Medicine Doctors: a survey study

OBJECTIVES: Discussions regarding “medical blind spots” in Korea’s “aging society” are continuously rising. In addition, the demand for medical attention and care for the elderly and vulnerable populations continues to increase. Given this, the government is promoting the “home healthcare service” project. This study aims to lay the foundation for promoting this project by investigating the perception of clinical Korean Medicine (KM) doctors in the “community health care” project. METHODS: With the cooperation of the Association of Korean Medicine, we sent a questionnaire to all KM doctors through e-mail. The survey included personal information, awareness, appropriate disease and intervention, proper visit location, and pros and cons. RESULTS: A total of 602 responses were collected and analyzed. Approximately 20% of the doctors answered that they were well aware of the service, while 55% responded that they did not know about it. For a visit, a KM doctor selected the appropriate diseases in the order of stroke, dementia and Parkinson’s disease, osteoarthritis, and chronic diseases. Among treatments, acupuncture, moxibustion, and herbal medicine exhibited similar results. The most common opinion was that KM doctors should schedule their visits once a week for 6-12 months, which was the most prolonged period among the given options. More than 80% (84.1%) of the doctors replied that care projects were highly essential, and about 63.8% expressed their willingness to participate in these projects. CONCLUSION: To provide appropriate home health care, we must raise awareness among Korean medicine doctors. In addition, the healthcare budget must be increased to provide the required support.