• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.163-170
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive, cross-sectional study was to examine relationships among self efficacy, social support, and health promoting behaviors in correctional officers. Factors that influence health promoting behaviors of correctional officers were also assessed. Methods: Two hundred correctional officers completed a pack of self-report questionnaires. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and multiple regression. Results: There were statistically significant differences in health promoting behaviors depending on marital status and subjective health status. Significant positive correlations among self-efficacy, social support, and health promoting behaviors were found. Factors influencing health promoting behaviors of correctional officers were social support, subjective health status, marital status, and self-efficacy. Conclusion: Considering the findings from this study, health care providers need to develop effective nursing interventions which increase the level of self-efficacy and social support for correctional officers and to help correctional officers practice health promoting behaviors.

• Korean Security Journal
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• no.49
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• pp.11-36
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• 2016

The prior studies have well established the factors of correctional staff's stress at work. However, it is not clearly identified gender-specific factors influencing female correctional officers' level of stress. Thus, this study aims to examine factors particularly influencing female correctional officers' stress, such as child-rearing and work conflict, overwork bounden, and strains from male-oriented organizational culture. This current data utilized a set of survey data drawn from female correctional officers from 124 prisons located in different regions in this nation. Finally, a total of 172 female correctional officers's survey data was used for the analysis. A set of multivariate analyses reveal that security staff role, satisfaction for life, positive perception toward correctional officers' leadership in prison decreased the risk of stress among female correctional officers. Regarding work-job conflicts variables, child-rearing and work conflict and strains from male-oriented organizational culture were significantly associated with female correctional officers' stress. Yet, the direction of the two variables were different. For female officers, child-rearing and work conflict was not a risk factor for stress in that i decreased the level of stress. But the variable of strains from male-oriented organizational culture was a risk factor for female officers' stress level. Further suggestions for the future studies, discussion on contributions of the current study and policy implications were discussed in the last part of this article.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.47-58
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• 2013

Objectives: Everyday correctional officers confront with so many criminals, so this situation could be a bad environment on correctional officer's mental health. But the study about their mental health status and related factors have rarely been focused, and besides, the actual mental health conditions of them have also been rarely investigated. Consequently, this study aimed to identify mental health status and related factors of correctional officers. Methods: Data were collected from July 10 to August 25, 2012. The Participants included 1,496 correctional officers in 50 correctional facilities. Results: The risk factors of mental health problems were living in urban region, 40 ages group, less experience in correctional field, unmarried marital status & not living with their spouse, over nine hours contact with criminals and so forth. On the other hand, stress coping methods were not related with socioeconomic and other factors. Conclusions: Lessening working hours or contact hours with criminals, providing a risk-group management for those who have many risk factors, making self-support group will be helpful to manage or promote their mental health status. Besides, employee assistance programs should be developed such as job stress management methods or counselling communication skills.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.1-13
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• 2013

This study is proposed to suggest the preventing methods for correctional officer's mental health problems. For this purpose, Delphi method was used and the study panel was composed of finally 10 people. Total Delphi process was performed for 4 times and six qualified researchers & skilled correctional officers participated in developing Delphi questionnaires. As the main results, major correctional officer's mental health problems are PTSD(post traumatic stress disorder), job stress, suicide witnessing, stress from violent accidents, and anger by related with their own work. All of these problems must need to be managed. Besides, the most effective preventing method for correctional officer's mental health problem is providing regular counsels & treatments with a psychiatrist or the fully qualified experts. The mental health promotion strategies for correctional officers must be settled for providing appropriate mental health services to them.

• Korean Security Journal
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• no.45
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• pp.37-63
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• 2015

The purpose of this study explores the relationship between male inmates' gender stereotypes for female correctional officers and its impact on their stress level while they are doing their time in prisons. To fulfill the purpose of this study, this study uses a set of survey data of 216 male inmates collected from prisons nationwide. The data contains information regarding male inmates' perceptions towards male and female correctional officers as well as their stress level in prisons. The findings of this study suggest that male inmates have low level of gender stereotype against female correctional officers. Further, this study found that none of male inmates' gender perceptions toward female officers has impact on the inmates' reported stress. Rather, perceptions toward the entire correctional officers, which include both gender officers, have influence on the inmates's stress during incarceration. This finding suggests that male inmates consider female officers as a part of professional correctional organization without specific gender stereotype or perceptions toward female officers. It indicates that the concerns regarding the relationship between male inmates and female officers may be a mere myth rather than a serious issues that need to be considered as a barrier for expand female officers carrier opportunity in the corrections systems. Finally, Implications for the research findings for preventing suicide attacks are discussed.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.73-85
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the adaptation process of correctional officers' job stress. Methods: Participants collected were fourteen officers who had experienced the adaptation process of job stress. Data were collected through individual in-depth interviews until the point of theoretical saturation from May to August, 2017. Transcribed interview contents were analyzed using Corbin and Strauss' grounded theory method. Results: A total of 98 concepts, 27 subcategories, and 10 categories were identified through the open coding. As a result of axial coding based on the paradigm model, the job stress adaptation process centering phenomenon of correctional officers was revealed as 'repeat-mark hardening', and the core category was extracted as 'endurance in hardening' consisting of a three-step process: enduring, understanding prisoner management procedures, and rebuilding. The rebuilding was considered as the key phase to escape the repeat-mark hardening and the participants utilized various strategies such as finding fun elsewhere, restoring confidence, accepting values of the prison officer in this phase. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that the adaptation process of correctional officers' job stress can be a process that endurance the hardening. Therefore, it is necessary to develop systematic practical education and vocational motivation programs.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.167-173
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• 2021

Background: Correctional officers (COs) experience elevated rates of mental and physical ill-health as compared with other general industry and public safety occupations. The purpose of this study was to investigate demographic, mental health, job tenure, and work-family characteristics and their prospective association to burnout within and between jail officers during one year of new employment. Methods: In 2016, newly hired jail officers (N = 144) completed self-reported surveys across four time points in a one-year prospective study at a Midwestern United States urban jail. Linear mixed-effects and growth modeling examined how work-family conflict (W-FC) and depressive symptoms relate to perceptions of burnout over time. Results: Jail officer burnout increased and was related to rises in W-FC and depression symptoms. Within-person variance for W-FC (B_pooled = .52, p < .001) and depression symptoms (B_pooled = .06, p < .01) were significant predictors of burnout. Less time on the job remained a significant predictor of burnout across all analyses (B_pooled = .03, p < .001). Conclusions: Results from this study indicate that burnout increased during the first year of new employment; and increased W-FC, higher depression, and brief tenure were associated with burnout among jail COs. Future study of correctional workplace health is needed to identify tailored, multilevel interventions that address burnout and W-FC prevention and early intervention among COs.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.121-131
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• 2009

The purpose of EMS is to provide emergency patients with prompt and suitable emergency treatments therefore it saves their lives and makes them recover fast to return to normal. The purpose of correctional administration is to return inmates to society as sound citizens after their service by providing various correctional education, reformational programs, vocational training and etc. In this way, the aim of correctional administration and EMS is like mutual agreement by their returning to society safely. Therefore this study makes some propositions like the followings for the safety between many inmates who can have physical injury and exposure to diseases caused by particularity of subculture within correctional institutions and the staffs who work for them. It is said about efficient pre-hospital EMS through various causes of emergency situation in the correctional institution, system, manpower, facility, equipments and problems and so on. 1. Recruit the first-rate EMT(emergency medical technician) as central role of pre-hospital EMS according to each correctional institution and working terms. 2. Equip specialized transference system with symptom of patients and purpose of transference. 3. Emergency medical equipments and first-aid medicines should be equipped for field and ambulance. 4. Educate correctional officers as first responders and inmates within correctional institutions about systematic emergency treatment.

• Journal of the Korea Furniture Society
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.229-240
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• 2015

Most of crime occurrence in Korea is caused by ex-convict. Various correctional training programs support convicts to reform a criminal as a treatment program. This study is about the most crucial 'Correctional Industry Works Exhibition' that is hosted by the Ministry of Justice and supervised by Seoul Correctional Service and other related events. 'Correctional Industry Works Exhibition' divides into the convicts' works in prison, literary works and staffs' literary works. Based on the working experience as a judge for the last six years(2009~2014) and analysis of research cases, the writer grasps the problems that needs to be improved and suggests the strategies. In the future, 'Correctional Industry Works Exhibition' will be a festival for convicts and prison officers that communicates with the public and will vitalize the works in prison that will produce good products. Moreover, it can be expected to support the social reintegration of prisoners and repeated crime after released from prison.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.370-375
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• 2023

The responsibility to ensure the health rights of detainees, particularly their medical rights, fundamentally lies with the state in all nations. However, in the correctional facilities of the Republic of Korea, these rights are currently not adequately safeguarded. Numerous detainees express dissatisfaction with the medical services provided and show a preference for voluntary external treatment. However, barriers such as prolonged application processes for external treatment and the requirement for detainees to cover their medical expenses present significant challenges. Therefore, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea has advocated for an increased medical budget in correctional facilities and a bolstered professional medical workforce to improve the medical care of detainees. Recommendations for improvements include: (1) establishing dedicated correctional hospitals for detainees, (2) setting up specialized correctional wards, (3) collaborating with military hospitals, (4) launching mobile medical buses for diverse specialties, (5) enhancing collaboration with public and private medical institutions, (6) increasing compensation for partnering external medical institutions, (7) improving the working conditions of medical officers, (8) safeguarding the defense rights of medical staff, (9) improving the working conditions of public health doctors from the Ministry of Justice in correctional facilities, and (10) pre-assigning public health specialists and military doctors to correctional facilities. By implementing these measures, it is anticipated that the quality of medical services in the Republic of Korea's correctional facilities will improve, reducing the demand for external treatments among detainees and ensuring their health and medical rights are realistically upheld.