• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.250-260
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• 2022

Evaluating the effectiveness of educational programs involves measuring learning processes as well as outcomes. It is essential to study cohorts of students and graduates to evaluate the long-term effects of educational programs with data generated both during education and after graduation. The purpose of this study was to establish cohorts of students and graduates to evaluate their performance, thereby providing a basis for evaluating the social accountability of medical education. In this study, student and graduate cohorts were built for both students currently enrolled and graduates at Inje University College of Medicine (IUCM). A model involving the process of cohort establishment and an evaluation indicator framework was developed. In the process of cohort establishment, the following steps were conducted: defining the goals and objectives of the student and graduate cohorts, organizing a cohort committee, developing regulations, registering cohorts, acquiring consent, and building a database. A framework of evaluation indicators according to the graduate roles of IUCM was developed by adapting Kirkpatrick's evaluation model. Next, items to be collected in student and graduate cohorts were selected, and the current status of existing data was analyzed. Moreover, a preliminary analysis was conducted, including analyses of the evaluation indicators and graduates' performance. This study suggests that it is necessary to include additional evaluation indicators considering students' learning environment and well-being in student cohorts and to develop strategies or methods for graduates to continue participating in data collection for a long-term study.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.9
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• pp.4677-4681
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• 2012

Objective: Egg consumption has been suggested to increase the risk of colorectal and some other cancers. The present study summarized and quantified the current evidence relating dietary intake of eggs and prostate cancer. Materials and methods: Literature searches were conducted to identify peer-reviewed manuscripts published up to July 2012. Twenty manuscripts from nine cohort studies and 11 case-control studies were identified. Summary risk estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for case-control and cohort studies separately. Results: Neither the case-control not the cohort studies showed any association of prostate cancer incidence with egg consumption (case-control studies: odds ratio 1.09, 95% CI 0.86-1.31; cohort studies: relative risk 0.97, 95% CI 0.97-1.07). The results were consistent in subgroup analysis. Furthermore, no association was observed between egg consumption and prostate cancer-specific mortality. Conclusions: Our analyses provided no evidence of a significant influence of egg consumption on prostate cancer incidence and mortality. However, more studies, particularly large prospective studies, are needed.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.813-820
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• 2015

In recent years, there has been an argument that the academic performance of college students taught in English might be lower than those exposed in Korean under ceteris paribus environment. This paper examined the validity of this argument against the effectiveness of teaching-in-English, using student data from investment courses at a leading national university in Busan. Of a total of 165 students, 77 students took the teaching-in-Korean class (cohort A), whereas 88 students registered for the teaching-in-English class (cohort B). The findings did not support the popular argument. There was no significant difference in academic performance between student cohort A and student cohort B.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.27 no.1 s.45
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• pp.117-134
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• 1994

The effects of regional medical insurance on utilization of medical care in urban population was examined in this study. The data was collected in a 2-year follow-up household survey conducted at Taegu city before and after implementation of the regional medical insurance. The study population was divided into 2 groups. Cohort I was the uninsured in 1989 and cohort II was the insured in 1989. After the coverage of medical insurance, physician visit rate per 1,000 population, use-disability ratio and use-restricted activity ratio in cohort I were increased compared to cohort II in both of acute and chronically ill people. The use-disability ratio and use-restricted activity ratio of the insured poor were lower than those of the insured nonpoor in both of cohort I and cohort II. The major reasons for pharmacy use were accessibility and affordability before the coverage of medical insurance in cohort I, however, after the coverage of medical insurance, the important reason was accessibility rather than affordability. In logistic regression analysis of physician visit, the significant independent variables were acute illness episode (+), chronic illness episode (+) and income (+) in both of cohort I and cohort II. In cohort I, after the coverage of medical insurance, more people replied that the medical cost of hospital and clinic was reasonable. The people who covered by the regional medical insurance were more dissatisfied with the imposed premium than those who covered by other types of medical insurance in both of cohort I and cohort II. More people in cohort II than cohort I were dissatisfied with the services from hospitals and clinics after implementation of the regional medical insurance. In conclusion. after the coverage of medical insurance, the gap between the poor and the nonpoor still exists in terms of medical care utilization.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.126-131
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• 2023

The aim of this study was to systematically collect data for evaluating short- and long-term outcomes using Kirkpatrick's four-level evaluation model, Chonnam National Medical School has established plans for developing and managing a database of student and graduate cohorts. The Education Evaluation Committee, with assistance from the Medical Education Office, manages the development and maintenance of cohort data. Data collection began in the 2022 academic year with first- through fourth-year medical students and graduates of the year 2022. The collected data include sociodemographic characteristics, admission information, psychological test results, academic performance data, extracurricular activity data, scholarship records, national medical licensing exam results, and post-graduation career paths. The Education Evaluation Committee and the Medical Education Office analyze the annually updated student and graduate cohort data and report the results to the dean and relevant committees. These results are used for admissions processes, curriculum improvement, and the development of educational programs. Applicants interested in using the student and graduate cohort data to evaluate the curriculum or conduct academic research must undergo review by the Educational Evaluation Committee before being granted access to the data. It is expected that the collected data from student and graduate cohorts will provide a sound and scientific basis for evaluating short- and long-term achievements based on student, school, and other characteristics, thereby supporting medical education policies, innovation, and implementation.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.101-106
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• 2003

The relationship between fat intake and breast cancer has been debated for a long period of time. Animal, ecological, and case-control studies have supported that dietary fat increases breast cancer risk. However, cohort studies have not support any strong association between dietary fat intake and breast cancer risk. It has not been clear whether fat per se or some specific type of fat is responsible for the increased risk. Recently, a few cohort studies have found some positive association between specific types of fat intake, but not overall fat intake and breast cancer risk. In this review, the findings from previous studies will be summarized with advantages and disadvantages of different types of study design and recent findings will be introduced.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.41-58
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to compare the job loss and job seeking experiences between middle-aged men and their younger cohort. Participants included 11 middle-aged unemployed men and nine younger unemployed men. The study adopted a phenomenological approach. In-depth individual interviews were carried out and the theme analysis was used to analyze the interview data. The results showed that the two cohorts experienced the macroeconomic crises, the foreign exchange crisis in 1997 and the global financial crisis in 2008, differently. Their experiences affected their attribution of the unemployment and job seeking process. They expressed ambivalence toward their family while dealing with social isolation from extrafamilial support. Most of the participants criticized government employment support policies and services.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.43-51
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• 1981

The objective of the study is to measure the changes in measles infection and measles vaccination rates for the past 10 years in a rural area, Kang Wha. The study population were the entire children who were born between 1971 and 1950 in three townships (Sunwon, Naegae, Buleun) in Kangwha County. Two interview surveys were carried out during the 10 years of period, one in 1977 and the other in 1981. The data were collected by Family Health Workers through interview with structured questionnaires. The diagnosis of measles was mainly based on histories, symptoms and sighs of the disease. If a mother had reported measles history of her child, a public physician reviewed and decided the final diagnosis of the reported case. A retrospective cohort observation was done in order to see the trends of measles infections and measles vaccinations. The major findings were as follows; 1. The 5 year prevalence rate of measles vaccinations was 51.3% between 1971 and 1975 and 71.9% between 1976 and 1980 respectively. The difference between two periods was statistically significant (P<0.05). The secular trend of measles vaccinations showed increasing tendency from 1971 to 1978 and since then kept maintained. 2. In the birth cohort analysis of measles vaccinations, the vaccination rates, in general, were higher in the later cohort groups than that of earlier cohort groups. 9. The 5-year experience rates for measles infections were 24.3% between 1971 and 1975 and 17.2% between 1976 and 1980 respectively. This difference was statistically significant(P<0.05). The secular trend of experience rates for measles infections showed decreasing tendency from 1971 to 1980 except an outbreak in 1976. 4. The birth cohort analysis of experience rates for measles infections showed that the rate was higher in the later cohort groups than that of the earlier cohort groups. This decreasing tendency was prominent between $1973{\sim}1974$ and $1976{\sim}1977$. 5. The distribution of age specific incidence rates for measles infections showed unimodal curve with the peak at the age of 12 to 18 months. This findings were same in both two surveys. 6. Seasonal variations of the measles infections showed two peaks, one major peak in March through May and the another minor peak in September through December. 7. The 5-year reduction rate for measles infections among those vaccinated was 90.4% between 1971 and 1975 and 88% between 1976 and 1980.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.2991-2995
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• 2012

Background: India shows some of the highest rates of cervical cancer worldwide, and more than 70% of the population is living in rural villages. Prospective cohort studies to determine the risk factors for cervical cancer are very rare from low and medium resource countries. The aim of this study was to quantify the effect of risk factors related to cervical cancer in a rural setting in South India. Material and methods: Sociodemographic and reproductive potential risk factors for cervical cancer were studied using the data from a cohort of 30,958 women who constituted the unscreened control group in a randomised screening trial in Dindigul district, Tamilnadu, India. The analysis was accomplished with the Cox proportional hazard regression model. Results: Women of increasing age (HR=2.4; 95% CI: 1.6, 3.8 in 50-59 vs 30-39), having many pregnancies (HR=7.1; 1.0, 52 in 4+ vs 0) and no education (HR=0.6; 0.2, 0.7 in high vs none) were found to be at significantly increased risk of cervical cancer. Conclusion: This cohort study gives very strong evidence to say that education is the fundamental factor among the sociodemographic and reproductive determinants of cervical cancer in low resource settings. Public awareness through education and improvements in living standards can play an important role in reducing the high incidence of cervical cancer in India. These findings further stress the importance of formulating public health policies aimed at increasing awareness and implementation of cervical cancer screening programmes.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2023

In 1945, atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Approximately 70 000 Koreans are estimated to have been exposed to radiation from atomic bombs at that time. After Korea's Liberation Day, approximately 23 000 of these people returned to Korea. To investigate the long-term health and hereditary effects of atomic bomb exposure on the offspring, cohort studies have been conducted on atomic bomb survivors in Japan. This study is an ongoing cohort study to determine the health status of Korean atomic bomb survivors and investigate whether any health effects were inherited by their offspring. Atomic bomb survivors are defined by the Special Act On the Support for Korean Atomic Bomb Victims, and their offspring are identified by participating atomic bomb survivors. As of 2024, we plan to recruit 1500 atomic bomb survivors and their offspring, including 200 trios with more than 300 people. Questionnaires regarding socio-demographic factors, health behaviors, past medical history, laboratory tests, and pedigree information comprise the data collected to minimize survival bias. For the 200 trios, whole-genome analysis is planned to identify de novo mutations in atomic bomb survivors and to compare the prevalence of de novo mutations with trios in the general population. Active follow-up based on telephone surveys and passive follow-up with linkage to the Korean Red Cross, National Health Insurance Service, death registry, and Korea Central Cancer Registry data are ongoing. By combining pedigree information with the findings of trio-based whole-genome analysis, the results will elucidate the hereditary health effects of atomic bomb exposure.