The concept of Mibyeong (sub-health) in Korea: A Delphi study

IntroductionMibyeong is a concept in Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM) meaning sub-health state, and treatment of Mibyeong can be understood as preventive medicine. The aim of this study was to obtain consensus from TKM experts in order to define the concept, and develop research method, care of Mibyeong, and health policy legislation of Mibyeong.MethodologyA panel of 10 TKM experts participated in a 2-round e-mail Delphi process. The experts were asked to give opinions about the concept of Mibyeong, potential subtypes, research methods, diagnosis, treatment, and health policy legislation.ResultsOver half of the experts reached consensus on; the concept, case scenarios, diagnosis methods, treatment, and health policy legislation of Mibyeong. The concept of Mibyeong involved borderline findings, and unexplained symptoms. All experts agreed with the need for subtyping Mibyeong. However, consensus on the subtype criteria was not reached. Treatment of Mibyeong differed from conventional treatment of a disease, even though the process and methods of diagnosis was not much different. As for health legislation of Mibyeong, experts came to agreement that preventive care and constant connection between patient and doctor were important. For establishing standards for Mibyeong, clear definition and international academic studies were necessary.ConclusionsConsensus was achieved on the concept, the need for subtyping, diagnosis, case scenarios and policy setting but not on areas such as study design, and population for further study. These results suggest that rigorous studies are needed to establish clear definition of Mibyeong for any future research.