• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제27권2호
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• pp.175-185
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• 1994

In order to anticipate disease pattern and health problems of Koreans in the 1st part of 21st century (by the year 2020), transition of population characteristics, mortality and morbidity data during the last 30 years Koreans have experienced were reviewed. On the actual basis of epidemiologic transition process that has undergone during last 30 years since 1960 along with socioeconomic development and successful implementation of selective national health policies (family planning, medical insurance and etc.), following changes can be expected in the 21st century in Korea, under the assumption that the current rate of progress is maintained. The population of South Korea alone will be doubled the population of 1960 by the year 2013 : aged Population older than 65 years will be increased from 3.3% in 1960 to 11.4% in 2020 with increased average age of the population from 23.6 year in 1970 to 39.2 year in 2020; urban population from 28% in 1960 to 83% in 2005. GNP/capita has increased tremendously from U.S. $120 in 1970 to $6,749 in 1992, and the government estimated it would be 519,350 in 2010 and $29,460 in 2020. Growth and developmental indices of children, educational achievement and social status of women also showed a remarkable improvement and anticipated to make futher progress. Leading causes of mortality and morbidity have shown a striking change during the last 30 years, from infectious diseases to chronic degenerative diseases and man-made injuries. Occurrence of communicable diseases may become minimal although viral hepatitis, venereal diseases Including AIDS, and well adapted herpes virus infections will maintain their endemic level. Newly evolving infectious agents, however, should be carefully monitored because of rapidly changing environments and human behaviours. Tuberculosis may increase up to the epidemic level when AIDS prevails. Ischemic heart diseases may increase steadily with increasing occurrence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus whereas cerebrovascular diseases may be decreased slowly. Musculaskeletal diseases which contribute a lot to the disability of aged people may be a major health problems due to increased aged population. Mental diseases, particularly that caused by alcohol and drug abuse, and senile dementia may become a prominent health problem. On the other hand injuries caused by traffic and industrial accidents that have shown most striking increase till now may be decreased considerably by intensive intervention. The health policies in the 21st century will be oriented to the health promotion for good quality life rather than life-savings.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• 제19권1호
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• pp.19-27
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• 2012

목 적 : 최근 부모들의 맞벌이, 조기 교육 등의 이유로 이른 나이부터 보육시설을 이용하는 영유아가 증가하고 있다. 이러한 사회 환경의 변화 속에 5세 이하 어린이들의 보육시설 이용 현황과 이와 관련된 감염성 질환 실태 및 예방접종 현황에 대하여 조사하였다. 방 법 : 2011년 6월 10일부터 6월 16일까지 전국의 5세 이하의 자녀를 둔 부모 1,000명을 대상으로 온라인 설문조사를 실시하였다. 표본오차는 95% 신뢰수준에서 ${\pm}3.1%$이고, 표본추출은 지역별, 성별, 연령별 비율에 따라 무작위 할당표본 추출(quota sampling)방법을 사용하였다. 설문조사는 크게 인구통계학적 특성, 단체 보육시설 이용 현황, 소아의 감염성 질환 경험, 예방접종 유무 관련 4개 주제로 나누고 그 속에 세부 문항을 두어 총 16개의 문항을 구성하였고, 설문결과를 수집하여 통계적 분석을 시행하였다. 결 과 : 5세이하의 영유아들의 보육시설 이용율은 78.5%였고 이 중 약 84%가 3세 이전부터 보육시설을 처음 이용한 것으로 나타났다. 보육시설을 이용하는 영유아(58%)가 그렇지 않은 영유아(34%)보다 감염성 질환을 경험한 비율이 더 높았다(P<0.001). 감염성 질환 중에서 장염(47.1%), 중이염(41.8%), 폐렴(19.1%) 등의 순으로 경험 비율이 높았고, 각 질환의 재발 여부는 중이염이 28.1%로 가장 높고 뒤이어 장염 (22.4%), 폐렴 (11.9%)의 순으로 조사되었다. 각 질환을 앓은 영유아의 약 70% 정도가 생후 24개월 이전에 이들 질환을 처음 경험한 것으로 나타났다(폐렴 75.2%, 장염 77.1%, 중이염 71%). 예방접종율은 국가필수예방접종이 90.4%인데 반하여 기타예방접종은 중복응답을 포함하여 b형 헤모필루스 인플루엔자 백신(76.6%), A형 간염(63.3%), 폐구균 백신(59.4%), 로타바이러스 백신(43.1%) 순으로 나타났다. 결 론 : 이번 연구에서 이른 나이부터 단체생활을 시작하는 영유아가 많았고, 이들의 감염성 질환 경험률이 더 높은 것으로 나타나 이 시기의 감염성 질환 예방을 위해 손씻기 등의 개인위생에 보다 힘쓰고 시기에 맞게 백신접종을 하도록 해야 한다. 또한 소아 감염 전문가들에 의한 보육시설에서의 표준화된 감염관리 지침 제정과 함께 보육현장에서의 교육을 통하여 보육시설에서의 감염 전파를 막기 위한 보다 적극적인 노력이 필요하다.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제14권6호
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• pp.3393-3402
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• 2013

The increasing scourge of cancer epidemiology is a global concern. With WHO emphasizing that 40% of all cancer cases are preventable, exposure to known and suspected carcinogens must be discouraged. The battle with communicable diseases and other third world challenges has greatly de-emphasized anti-cancer campaigns in sub-Saharan Africa. The abundant deposit of mineral resources in sub-Saharan Africa has attracted high mining activity with its negative environmental aftermath. Poor regulatory mechanisms have led to environmental contamination by products of mining including heavy metals. In addition to poor urban planning, the springing up of settlements in industrial areas has led to generation and exposure to more hazardous wastes consequent on poor disposal systems. Studies establishing close association between exposure to heavy metals and cancer epidemiology in sub-Saharan Africa are increasing. The current review assesses the level of environmental pollution by heavy metals in sub-Saharan Africa, and brings to the fore available evidence implicating such in the increasing cancer epidemiology in the sub-continent.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제47권3호
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• pp.269-273
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• 2009

A 57-year old man who was admitted to an emergency room of a tertiary hospital with hemoptysis developed malarial fever 19 days later and then died from severe falciparum malaria 2 days later. He had not traveled outside of Korea for over 30 years. Through intensive interviews and epidemiological surveys, we found that a foreign patient with a recent history of travel to Africa was transferred to the same hospital with severe falciparum malaria. We confirmed through molecular genotyping of the MSP-1 gene that Plasmodium falciparum genotypes of the 2 patients were identical. It is suggested that a breach of standard infection control precautions resulted in this P. falciparum transmission between 2 patients in a hospital environment. This is the first report of a nosocomial transmission of falciparum malaria in Korea.

• 보건행정학회지
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.270-276
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• 2020

Entering the fourth industrial revolution era, health technology is rapidly developing and the people's needs for medical services are gradually increasing. Establishing a life cycle management of health technology has emerged as a new policy agenda to cope with these changes. However, the management of health technology have been conducted without continuity and with several problems pointed out. Therefore, we suggest the reform agendas by stages to establish system for a life cycle management of health technology in the fourth industrial revolution era as follows. In the stage of development, it is important not only to provide research funding, but also consulting by professional about whole cycle of health technologies. In the phase of market entry, there are needs for enhance the system that would expand the early adoption for innovative technology and increase its effectiveness. After the spread of health technology to clinical settings, a reassessment and post management system should be established that have an institutional framework with strong price adjustment and exit mechanism. Furthermore, we hope that discussions will be brisk in macro perspective on the balancing of development in healthcare industry, health of people and national health insurance finance.

• 보건행정학회지
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• 제27권3호
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• pp.191-198
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• 2017

Moon Jae-in Government announced the Government's 5-Year Plan on July 19, 2017, President Moon directly announced the Government's Plan for Benefit Expansion in National Health Insurance on August 7, 2017. The main contents of the announced expansion include benefit coverage for all medically necessary services with control over non-covered service occurrence, a decrease in the cost-sharing upper limit, and monetary support for catastrophic medical costs. Although past governments have been continuously striving for benefit expansion in the last 15 years, this plan has its breakthrough aspect in that all medical services will be covered by the National Health Insurance. In alignment, there are important tasks to solve: attaining a proper fee schedule, reforming the healthcare delivery system, and improving healthcare quality. This plan is a symptom oriented action in that it is limited in reducing patients' out-of-pocket money, unlike the systematic approach of the National Health Insurance. The sustainability of the National Health Insurance is being threatened due to South Korea's low birth rate, rapidly aging society, and low economic growth, in addition to the unification issue of the Korean Peninsula, medical utilization of the elderly, management of non-communicable diseases, and so on. Therefore, the Government needs to plan the National Health Insurance system reformation including actions addressed toward medical consumers.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제39권1호
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• pp.7-12
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• 2006

Throughout the century, based on the precedent set by Flexner in the United States, almost every subsequent report on the reform of medical education has pointed out the need for more prevention-oriented teaching in the curriculum. This has been particularly so in countries like Korea where the basic public health services have been so important for the improvement of health of the people. And, in fact, preventive medicine and public health have contributed a great deal to the prevention of communicable diseases and prolongation of life expectancy. Recently, however, along with the educational reform that emphasizing the interdisciplinary teaching, integration of basic science and clinical education, and centralization of responsibility for the medical education curriculum, concerns are being voiced by preventive medicine educators. These concerns are primarily centered around the fear that the implementation of interdisciplinary, centrally administered courses would result in a weakening of content and teaching expertise as well as a loss of departmental power and control. This paper foresees that preventive medicine and public health will be more important in Korea in the future and proposes that preventive medicine educators will have to step forward and turn the challenges of curricula restructuring into opportunities to expand the role of preventive medicine in the curricula of their institutions.

• 대한간호학회지
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• 제51권5호
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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.

• 보건행정학회지
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• 제29권2호
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• pp.99-104
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• 2019

On May 1, 2019, the Minister of Health and Welfare announced publicly the first Comprehensive Plan of National Health Insurance (NHI). The Comprehensive Plan which is the 5-year plan including expenditure and revenue aspect of NHI, is desirable in 42 years of introduction of NHI and 30 years of universal coverage of NHI, though the Plan was late and had some conflict process. The Comprehensive Plan was established without evaluation of Moon's Care Plan, did not included to relationship with NHI and other health security systems, and did not have the blue print of NHI. The Plan was not sufficient in content of adequate health care utilization and relationship with service benefit and cash benefit. The Comprehensive Plan should be modified in considering the blue print of NHI and national healthcare system with participating stakeholder in turbulent environment-low fertility, rapid ageing, low economic growth rate, era of non-communicable diseases, unification of the Korean Peninsula, and 4th industrial revolution. Therefore, I suggest to establish the President's Committee of Improving Healthcare System for the blue print of health care and NHI.

• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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• 제20권3호
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• pp.107-114
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• 2023

Epidemiological control of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is needed to estimate the infection period of confirmed cases and identify potential cases. The present study, targeting confirmed cases for which the time of COVID-19 symptom onset was disclosed, aimed to investigate the relationship between intervals (day) from symptom onset to testing the cycle threshold (CT) values of real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Of the COVID-19 confirmed cases, those for which the date of suspected symptom onset in the epidemiological investigation was specifically disclosed were included in this study. Interval was defined as the number of days from symptom onset (as disclosed by the patient) to specimen collection for testing. A locally weighted regression smoothing (LOWESS) curve was applied, with intervals as explanatory variables and CT values (CTR for RdRp gene and CTE for E gene) as outcome variables. After finding its non-linear relationship, a polynomial regression model was applied to estimate the 95% confidence interval values of CTR and CTE by interval. The application of LOWESS in 331 patients identified a U-shaped curve relationship between the CTR and CTE values according to the number of interval days, and both CTR and CTE satisfied the quadratic model for interval days. Active application of these results to epidemiological investigations would minimize the chance of failing to identify individuals who are in contact with COVID-19 confirmed cases, thereby reducing the potential transmission of the virus to local communities.