• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.280-292
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• 2016

This descriptive survey assessed knowledge of intensive care unit (ICU) nurses regarding compliance with infection control for six kinds of multi-drug resistant organisms to assist in development of effective intervention strategies. Participants included 210 nurses working in the ICUs of general hospitals who completed a structured questionnaire. The results showed that the nurses' knowledge level and infection control compliance was 10.54 and 3.39 for MRSA; 11.25 and 3.69 for VRE; and 9.60 and 3.49 for CRGNB, respectively[ED highlight - consider providing additional information to describe what these values indicate.]. Knowledge regarding MRSA infection control differed significantly based on age, clinical experience, and experience as a trainee, while compliance with MRSA infection control differed based on age. Knowledge regarding VRE infection control was significantly different based on academic qualification level, experience as a trainee, and whether guidelines existed, while compliance with VRE infection control differed based on academic qualification level and the presence of an isolation environment. Knowledge regarding CRGNB infection control differed significantly based on academic qualification level and experience as a trainee, while compliance with CRGNB infection control differed based on the presence of an isolation environment. Thus, intervention strategies should include education programs for enhancing ICU nurse' knowledge regarding strategies for creating isolation environments.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.11
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• pp.425-435
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to examine the knowledge, awareness, safety-climate and performance of standard precautions for healthcare-associated infection control and to identify the factors that influence the performance of standard precautions among nurses in small- and medium-sized hospitals. The subjects of this study were 151 nurses who worked for more than 1 year in 6 small to medium-sized hospitals (less than 300 beds). The data was collected using self-report questionnaires from January 15 to February 15, 2018. The collected data was analyzed using the SPSS Statistics 22.0 program. The mean score for safety climate and performance of standard precautions showed significant differences according to the working department. There were significant positive correlations among knowledge, awareness, safety climate, and performance of standard precautions. The factors influencing the performance of standard precautions were safety climate and awareness. The explanatory power of the performance of the two variables was 23.3%. Based on the findings, it is necessary to improve the safety-climate and continuous educational program, and administrative support should be provided to improve nurses' performance of standard precautions for healthcare-associated infection control in small- and medium-sized hospitals.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.60-74
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• 2017

To facilitate prevention of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), a GIS is widely used for monitoring, investigating epidemics, managing HPAI-infected farms, and eradicating the disease. After the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 2010 and 2011, the government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) established the GIS-based Korean Animal Health Integrated System (KAHIS) to avert livestock epidemics, including HPAI. However, the KAHIS is not sufficient for controlling HPAI outbreaks due to lack of responsibility in fieldwork, such as sterilization of HPAI-infected poultry farms and regions, control of infected animal movement, and implementation of an eradication strategy. An outbreak prediction model to support efficient HPAI control in the ROK is proposed here, constructed via analysis of HPAI outbreak patterns in the ROK. The results show that 82% of HPAI outbreaks occurred in Jeolla and Chungcheong Provinces. The density of poultry farms in these regions were $2.2{\pm}1.1/km^2$ and $4.2{\pm}5.6/km^2$, respectively. In addition, reared animal numbers ranged between 6,537 and 24,250 individuals in poultry farms located in HPAI outbreak regions. Following identification of poultry farms in HPAI outbreak regions, an HPAI outbreak prediction model was designed using factors such as the habitat range for migratory birds(HMB), freshwater system characteristics, and local road networks. Using these factors, poultry farms which reared 6,500-25,000 individuals were filtered and compared with number of farms actually affected by HPAI outbreaks in the ROK. The HPAI prediction model shows that 90.0% of the number of poultry farms and 54.8% of the locations of poultry farms overlapped between an actual HPAI outbreak poultry farms reported in 2014 and poultry farms estimated by HPAI outbreak prediction model in the present study. These results clearly show that the HPAI outbreak prediction model is applicable for estimating HPAI outbreak regions in ROK.

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.35-46
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• 2022

Purpose : This study aimed to identify the factors affecting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection control practices of nurses in negative pressure isolation rooms. Methods : The participants were 150 nurses working in three hospitals with negative pressure isolation rooms. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed using an independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Scheffé test, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis using the SPSS/WIN 26.0 program. Results : Factors significantly influencing the subject's COVID-19 infection control practice include Being married (𝛽=.18, p =.016), working in a ward with negative pressure isolation rooms (𝛽=.44, p <.001), working in an ICU with negative pressure isolation rooms (𝛽=.27, p =.010), COVID-19 infection control attitude (𝛽=.28, p =.001), anxiety for COVID-19 (𝛽=.30, p <.001). The explanatory power of these variables for COVID-19 infection control practice was 24.6% (F=8.67, p <.001). Conclusion : It is expected that strategies that utilize positive attitudes which believe that COVID-19 disease may be overcome by COVID-19 infection control practice will help improve emerging infectious diseases infection control practice.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.149-160
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify factors influencing performance of MultiDrug-Resistant Organisms (MDROs) infection control by nurses in general hospitals. Methods: The research design was a descriptive survey design using convenience sampling. Data were collected from 130 nurses working in 6 general hospitals. Collected data were analyzed using SPSS/WIN 21.0 program for descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple regression analysis. Results: General hospital nurses' MDROs infection control performance was influenced by their awareness of environmental safety, recognition of MDROs infection control, number of beds in the hospital, whether nurses had nursing experience with infection control and guidelines for MDROs infection control. The most important predictors of MDROs infection control performance were awareness of environmental safety and recognition of MDROs infection control. Conclusion: Findings indicate that it is necessary to include content related to awareness of environmental safety and recognition of infection control in developing MDROs infection control education programs for general hospital nurses.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.375-385
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• 2008

Purpose: This study is to identify factors affecting on the level of practice on nosocomial infection management of operating room nurses. Methods: The subjects of this study were 155 nurses who worked in operating rooms of six medical centers in located Gwangju and Chonanam area. Data were collected during October, 2006 by the questionnaire including a total of 124 questions. Data collected were analysed with use of SPSS 12.0 program. Results: There was a significant difference of the level of practice by marital status(t=3.957, p=.048), education level(F=3.691, p=.027), position(F=6.588, p=.002), type of hospital(t=4.857, p=.029), number of nurse(F=4.243, p=.007), education about nosocomial infection management(F=3.069, p=.030), management council(t=6.397, p=.012) and management manual(t=6.961, p=.009). There were significant correlations between knowledge and practice (r=.389, p=.000), and between awareness and practice(r=.389, p=.000). Knowledge on nosocomial infection management, awareness of hands washing and positions were affecting factors on the level of practice. Conclusion: This study suggests that knowledge and awareness on nosocomial infection prevention and management of operating room nurses should be improved through consistent education. and support of administrator's of hospitals is needed.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.293-302
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate nursing students' awareness and performance on standard precautions and to provide meaningful information for nursing students' education regarding hospital infection control. Method: Four hundred forty seven nursing students at 6 universities in D-city participated in this study. Data collection was conducted from March to April 2011. Students' awareness and performance on standard precautions of infection control in hospitals were measured using the modified 2007 CDC standard precautions guidelines. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS WIN 18.0 program, descriptive statistics, t-test, and ANOVA. Results: The level of students' awareness in the standard precautions was higher than performance. The higher levels of students' awareness and performance on standard precautions included patient care equipment, safe injection practices, and worker safety. The lower levels of students' awareness and performance on standard precautions included hand hygiene and personal protective equipment. There was no difference in the students' awareness and performance of standard precautions according to their characteristics. Conclusions: Based on the findings of this study, hand hygiene and personal protective equipment need to be stressed more within the program to improve nursing students' infection control techniques.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.40-49
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• 2006

Purpose: This study was designed to investigate nursing students' exposure experience to infectious diseases and their knowledge and performance for the nosocomial infection control. Method: The data was obtained from 292 nursing students having clinical experience at two university hospitals in Seoul from November 2005 to February 2006. Specific questionnaire was constructed and used for this study. The obtained data was analyzed by using the SPSS window program. Result: The results were as follow : 1. Among the evaluation scores of knowledge for the nosocomial infection control, the score of sterilization and the score of the intravenous therapy management were low(.14). 2. Among the evaluation scores of performance for the nosocomial infection control, the score of hand washing is low(1.63). 3. 86.3 percent of the nursing students had exposure experience to infectious disease. Many of them did not use the protective equipments in clinical experience nor took any treatment after the exposure to infectious diseases. Conclusion: Based on these results, we suggest that the programs for the nosocomial infection control should be developed for nursing students. It is also suggested that nursing students should be educated before their clinical experience to keep protected from the infection. In particular, the hand washing, sterilization and intravenous therapy management should be emphasized in the educational programs.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.159-193
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• 2015

Owing to causes such as population aging, increased use of various medical devices, long-term hospitalization of various patients with reduced immune function such as cancer, diabetes, and organ transplant patients, and the growing size of hospitals, hospital infections are continuing to increase. As seen in the MERS crisis of 2015, hospital infections have become a social and national problem. In order to prevent damage due to such hospital infections, it is necessary to first strictly implement measures to prevent hospital infections, while, on the other hand, providing proper relief of damage suffered due to hospital infections. However, the mainstream attitude of judicial precedents relating to hospital infection cases has been judged to in fact shift responsibility over damages due to hospital infections on the patient. In light of the philosophy of the damage compensation system, whose guiding principle if the fair and proper apportionment of damages, there is a need to seek means of drastically relaxing the burden of proof on the patient's side relative to conventional legal principles for relaxing the burden of proof, or the theory of de facto estimation. In relation to such need, the German civil code (Burgerliches Gesetzbuch), which defines contracts of medical treatment as typical contracts under the civil code, and has presumption of negligence provisions stipulating that, in cases such as hospital infections which were completely under the control of the medical care providers, if risks in general medical treatment have been realized which cause violations of the life, body, or health of patients, error on the part of the person providing medical care is presumed, was examined. Contracts of medical treatment are entered into very frequently and broadly in the everyday lives of the general public, with various disputes owing thereto arising. Therefore, it is necessary to, by defining contracts of medical treatment as typical contracts under the civil code, regulate the content of said contracts, as well as the proof of burden when disputes arise. If stipulations in the civil code are premature as of yet, an option may be to regulate through a special act, as is the case with France. In the case of hospital infection cases, it is thought that 'legal presumption of negligence' relating to 'negligence in the occurrence of hospital infections,' which will create a state close to equality of arms, will aid the resolution of the realistic issue of the de facto impossibility of remedying damages occurring due to negligence in the process of occurrence of hospital infections. Also, even if negligence is presumed by law, as the patient side is burdened with proving the causal relationships, such drastic confusion as would occur if the medical care provider side is found fully liable if a hospital infection occurs may be avoided. It is thought that, alongside such efforts, social insurance policy must be improved so as to cover the expenses of medical institutions having strictly implemented efforts to prevent hospital infections in the event that they have suffered damages due to a hospital infection accident, and that close future research and examination into this matter will be required.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.133-162
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• 2019

Due to the nature of medical malpractice lawsuits, it is difficult for medical consumers, who are weak in getting information when it comes to health care problem, to secure all information inside the hospital. Even if you are confident about the hospital infection, it is true that people have difficult to obtain medical testimony by expert. It is seen as no easy task to testify to the malpractice of colleagues who work in the same field not only in our country but also abroad, when a doctor gives negative testimony to another doctor in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Although few health care providers will be motivated to take medical care from the outset, testimony or statements from a medical practitioner can have a significant impact on the outcome of a lawsuit, as it is impossible for the patient to control or be aware of the whole process of medical conduct, especially in the event of a hospital infection and the victim. If the hospital can prove the causality of damages caused by negligence of the employees or supervision of the hospital itself in a medical suit caused by the infection, the level of protection of the victim could be raised further. We sought to find a solution to these problems by looking at the provisions of other laws related to hospital infection. In particular, as the comparative legal review regarding hospital infection, Germany's legislative precedent sets a medical contract as a typical civil law contract, so it is thought that looking at German civil law regulations also has implications for Korean law. We also tried to improve the French Special Act 'rights of patients' and we can look at the consequent changes in court cases. Finally, the content of the U.S. case's and the theory of 'the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur' in relation to it show that doctors and hospitals have been forced to shift the burden of proof through this theory. This paper tried to find out the implications of mitigating the burden of proof by reviewing various issues that might be related to medical litigation of hospital infection from a comparative point of view.