• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.334-344
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• 2018

This study was conducted to identify the relationship between knowledge, attitude, and compliance regarding infection preventive behaviors among long-term care hospital staff during a Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) epidemic. The subjects were 211 staff members of a long-term care hospital in J province evaluated using a structured survey. Data were collected between June 15 and July 15, 2015 and analyzed using SPSS/WIN 24.0 based on an independent t-test, ANOVA, and Welch test, while post-hoc tests were conducted using the Scheffe test and the Grames-Hawell test. The MERS knowledge score of the staff at the long-term care hospital was high for nurses and nurse aids, who had experienced infection management when they received influenza vaccine in the previous year and were provided with easy access to hand sanitizers. Attitude towards MERS was more positive for nurses than nurse aids and caregivers. The degree of execution of infection preventive behaviors in terms of daily activity was high when influenza shots were received in the prior year; in terms of caring for patients, it was high when influenza shots were received in the previous year and they had easy access to hand sanitizers. The relationship between knowledge, attitude, and infection preventive behavior regarding MERS was such that high knowledge and positive attitude led to a higher degree of execution of infection preventive behavior. Therefore, during periods of high prevalence of newly infectious diseases such as MERS, it is important for the long-term care hospitals to conduct infection management education including the characteristics of the MERS disease, its transmission, and its prevention to enhance knowledge regarding MERS and induce positive change in attitude to improve the level of infection preventive behaviors.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.77-88
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• 2018

"Standard Precautions" (SP) is important for nursing students as it will lead to the protection of health professionals from infectious diseases and prevention of the wide spread of epidemic illnesses. Therefore, this study investigated factors influencing nursing students' attitudes toward SP. Data were collected from 291 nursing students from May to June, in 2016. According to the results, perceived benefit (4.26) was the highest among sub factors of the health belief model, test score of SP was 78.8%, and attitude score (4 point scale) was 3.63. Perceived sensitivity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, knowledge about SP showed significant correlations with the attitudes towards SP. Among sub-factors of the health beliefs, perceived sensitivity (${\beta}=.152$, p<.05) and perceived barrier (${\beta}=-.125$, p<.05) were found to influence nursing students' attitudes toward SP (F= 5.680, p<.001). Hence, it can be concluded that a convergence education program promoting health belief is needed for improving attitudes toward SP among nursing students.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.65-73
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• 2021

This study aimed to provide the basic data for the development of a simulation training program for new infectious diseases by analyzing the knowledge and educational needs of 119 paramedics regarding COVID-19 infection control. Data was obtained through a structured questionnaire survey of 186 paramedics from November 15th to 30th 2020. The study showed that 98 of the 119 paramedic subjects (52.7%) had not been educated regarding COVID-19. The knowledge level was 18.21±1.98 out of 25 points, with environmental control securing the lowest correct answers. The highest need for education was in the areas of prevention of transmission and spread, and employee safety control. The total average for educational needs was 3.81±.28 (4 point scale) with the highest educational need in the area of prevention of the spread and dispersion of the disease and employee safety management. There was a statistically significant difference in the knowledge of the general characteristics according to gender (t=-1.999, p=.047) and the educational demand was related to career (t=-1.999, p=.047) and, education levels (t=2.336, p=.021). Accordingly, it is necessary to plan a new infectious disease simulation education program that addresses the low-scoring areas and items with high educational needs which include the propagation path and spread prevention, environmental management, and employee safety management as per the findings of this study.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.359-366
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• 2022

This study is to provide basic data on intervention methods to enhance the performance of infection control by grasping the relationship between ethical decision-making, moral sensitivity and infection control performance of nursing students in the global COVID-19 pandemic. General characteristics, major-related characteristics, ethical decision-making, moral sensitivity, and infection control were investigated using a structured questionnaires for 3^rd and 4^rd graders of nursing college. To analyze collected data, descriptive statistics, indepentent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and stepwise multiple regression anlaysis were performed using IBM SPSS21.0 program. As a result of this study, factors influencing the performance of COVID-19 infection control were the principle of beneficence, which is the sub area of ethical decsion-making, and conflict and patient-centered nursing, which is the sub-area of moral sensitivity. In order to improve infection control of nursing students who are prospective medical professionals in a situation where new infectious diseases are highly likely to occur in the future, it is required to develop a practice-oriented convergence education programs for nurses which can improve ethics of patient centered nursing.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-3
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• 2020

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which originated in Wuhan, China, is pandemic. It has occurred in more than 170 countries on six continents. In Korea, COVID-19's cases are more than 9,000. The reasons of pandemic COVID-19 are that COVID-19 can spread asymptomatic or early in symptoms although similar reproductive number to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS), that there are more travelers in China and world than the SARS of 2003, and that the control of COVID-19 was contaminated to political considerations in China, World Health Organization (WHO), and Korea. Emerging infectious diseases such as COVID-19 will occur in the future. To prepare for control of emerging infectious disease, first, the Ministry of Health should be independent from Ministry of Health and Welfare and the department of disease management should be established. Second, experts for making evidence about the emerging infectious diseases should be trained and the plan that is the mobilization of manpower and facilities in large cases will be established. Third, the WHO should enhance its capacity to manage emerging infectious diseases and Korea will support the country of occurred emerging diseases through experts in the analysis of emerging infectious diseases.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.509-514
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• 2016

From the point of view to prevent airborne infection-related diseases such as H1N1, SARS, and MERS, an actual application of air cleaning and purification systems including technologies like UVGI has become increasingly important. Recently, an air purification system using REME (Reflective Electro Magnetic Energy) developed in the U.S. is applied for indoor air purification and sterilization technology to counteract the outbreak of new airborne infections. In this study, an air sterilization performance experiment using REME was carried out. The results verified that air sterilization performance in the case of installing a REME system in a medical center was 31%, namely the number of floating bacteria decreased by 31% after only a five-day operation. In addition, the number of culture collections in the REME operating air conditioning systems using nonpathogenic Geobacillus stearothemophilus as a biological indicator decreased maximally to 67%. A field application of REME technology will be useful to prevent airborne infection-related diseases, especially in response to public health crises due to the advent of emerging diseases.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.537-548
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the factors influencing COVID-19 vaccination intentions in nurses. Methods: The participants were 184 nurses in Korea. Data were collected using a Google Form online survey method in February, 2021, and analyzed using an independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis with the SPSS/WIN 26.0 program. Results: COVID-19 vaccination intention in nurses was correlated significantly with vaccine hesitancy (r = .58, p < .001), risk perception of COVID-19 (r = .22, p = .003), perception of vaccination as a professional duty (r = .59, p < .001), and attitude towards workplace infection control policies (r = .20, p = .007). Vaccine hesitancy (β = .40, p < .001) and the perception of vaccination as a professional duty (β = .44, p < .001) significantly influenced COVID-19 vaccination intention. The model developed in this study explained 50% of the variation in COVID-19 vaccination intention. Conclusion: Improving the perception of vaccination as a professional duty and lowering vaccine hesitancy may enhance nurses' COVID-19 vaccination intention. Above all, it is necessary to provide programs to encourage voluntary recognition of vaccination as a professional duty and develop strategies to reduce hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccinations.

• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.203-220
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• 2020

With the COVID-19 pandemic being prolonged, the society is being converted into an untact society, thereby affecting the service methodology of domestic and foreign library systems. This study thus surveyed the librarians' awareness of COVID-19 response measures of public libraries, and proposed public libraries' response measures in situations where the novel infectious disease is spreading and prolonging. Specifically, the proposed measures include, first, preparing national-centered library countermeasures to jointly respond to the epidemic disease, second, strengthening various untact and online services of various public libraries through government-level budget support, third, a thorough prevention of epidemics and preemptive response from the viewpoint of employees and users, and fourth, the expansion of library services aimed at resolving the digital cultural divide among classes of people, including information unfairness.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.155-197
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• 2012

Nach der sog. Neue Influenza(Schweinegrippe)-Pandemie wird die Verh$\ddot{u}$tung und Bek$\ddot{a}$mpfung von Infektionskrankheiten eine essentielle Aufgabe f$\ddot{u}$r das Gemeinwesen und stellt eine komplexe Herausforderung f$\ddot{u}$r die Rechtsordnung dar. Die n$\ddot{a}$chste Pandemie ist nicht mehr eine Frage der Ob, sondern lediglich der Zeit. Zwar ist der jetzige Influenza-Pandemie Plan und der koreanische Infektionsschutzgesetz (ISchG) nicht verfassungswidrig, weil mit ihnen die Untergrenzen des Gestaltungspielraums von Gesetzgeber nicht unterschreitet und damit die grundrechtliche Schutzpflicht von Staat nicht verletzt ist. Jedoch ist aber gesetzlicher Erg$\ddot{a}$nzung bed$\ddot{u}$rftig, denn es gibt keine konkrete Regelungen, die in einer Verknappungssituation von medizinischen G$\ddot{u}$tern bei Pandemien anwendbar sind. W$\ddot{u}$rde die Knappheit von Impfstoff nicht vermeiden, dann d$\ddot{u}$rfte dar$\ddot{u}$ber entschieden werden, wem die Ressourcen in der Verwendungskonkurrenzen bevorzugt zugeteilt werden sollen. In Knappheitssituationen ist zuerst die Frage der Verteilung medizinischer G$\ddot{u}$tern von so wesentlicher Bedeutung, dass sie von Verfassungs wegen durch das Parlament zu regeln ist. Zweitens kann die Verteilung knapper medizinischer Ressourcen auf Maximierung der Uberlebendenzahl als Menschenw$\ddot{u}$rdegrundsatz und Lebensschutzpflichten vom Staat gerichtet sein. Drittens d$\ddot{u}$rfen die in Art.11 KVerf genannte Kriteien, wie Geschlecht oder Religion, weil sie als Ungleichbehandlungskriterium im koreanischen Verfassungstext verboten sind, nicht zur Verteilung und Zuteilung herangezogen werden. Nicht zuletzt darf und muss der Gesetzgeber dar$\ddot{u}$ber regeln, wer in welchem Verfahren behandelt bzw. gesch$\ddot{u}$tzt werden soll.

• Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 2017

Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate psychological effects of an outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), a newly emerged infectious disease, on doctors. Methods After the MERS outbreak was over, we conducted an online survey of doctors who worked at the hospitals in which exposure to MERS cases had been confirmed or who were directly involved in MERS diagnosis and treatment. The Patient Health Questionnaires-9 (PHQ-9) and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) assessment methods were used to assess the severity of depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms among the 64 doctors participating in the survey. Results The results of the survey indicate that 26.6% (n=17) of participants exhibited depressive symptoms and 7.8% (n=5) had post-traumatic stress symptoms. The doctors employed at hospitals with MERS cases had higher PHQ-9 and IES-R mean scores than those in doctors were not so employed. In contrast, there was no significant difference in those test scores between doctors who participated directly in MERS diagnosis and treatment and those doctors who did not. Conclusion The survey demonstrated that 28.1% (n=18) of doctors involved in MERS care suffered from depressive or posttraumatic stress symptoms, even though the MERS infection was being controlled. Working at a hospital with MERS cases was the primary determinant of the adverse psychological outcomes among doctors ; however, direct participation in the diagnosis and care of MERS patients was not significantly related to such outcomes.