• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
• /
• v.17 no.5
• /
• pp.732-742
• /
• 2005

Purpose: This study was conducted to compare self-rated health, health status, and health promotion behaviors between non-low income and low income elderly women in the urban setting. Method: The subjects of this study consisted of 668 Korean elderly women over 65years. The data was analyzed by the SAS(ver.8.02) computer program, and it included descriptive statistics, ${\chi}^2-test$, analysis of covariance, pearson correlation coefficient and multivariate logistic regression. Results: 1) The non-low income elderly women had significantly higher scores(self-rated health, health status, and health promotion behavior) than the low income elderly women. 2) In low income elderly women, age, number of children were the main effect factors of health status, and level of education, burden of medical expense were the main effect factors of health promotion behaviors. In non-low income elderly women, number of children was the main effect factors of health status, and level of education, level of pocket money were the main effect factors of health promotion behaviors. Conclusion: This study showed that the establishment of a health care system for elderly according to their social-economic level is very important for providing productive care apposite to the situation of elderly.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.47 no.4
• /
• pp.353-357
• /
• 2009

Cryptosporidium can cause gastrointestinal diseases worldwide, consequently posing public health problems and economic burden. Effective techniques for detecting contaminated oocysts in water are important to prevent and control the contamination. Immunomagnetic separation (IMS) method has been widely employed recently due to its efficiency, but, it is costly. Sucrose floatation technique is generally used for separating organisms by using their different specific gravity. It is effective and cheap but time consuming as well as requiring highly skilled personnel. Water turbidity and parasite load in water sample are additional factors affecting to the recovery rate of those 2 methods. We compared the efficiency of IMS and sucrose floatation methods to recover the spiked Cryptosporidium oocysts in various turbidity water samples. Cryptosporidium oocysts concentration at 1, $10^1$, $10^2$, and $10^3$ per $10{\mu}l$ were spiked into 3 sets of 10 ml-water turbidity (5, 50, and 500 NTU). The recovery rate of the 2 methods was not different. Oocyst load at the concentration < $10^2$ per 10 ml yielded unreliable results. Water turbidity at 500 NTU decreased the recovery rate of both techniques. The combination of sucrose floatation and immunofluorescense assay techniques (SF-FA) showed higher recovery rate than IMS and immunofluorescense assay (IMS-FA). We used this SF-FA to detect Cryptosporidium and Giardia from the river water samples and found 9 and 19 out of 30 (30% and 63.3%) positive, respectively. Our results favored sucrose floatation technique enhanced with immunofluorescense assay for detecting contaminated protozoa in water samples in general laboratories and in the real practical setting.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.40 no.3
• /
• pp.227-232
• /
• 2007

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to determine the population-attributable risk (PAR) and estimate the total medical expenditure of the Korean National Health Insurance (KNHI) due to smoking. Methods : We used data from the Korean Cancer Prevention Study of 1,178,138 Koreans aged 30 to 95. These data were available from 1992 to 2003 and covered a long-term follow-up period among the Korean population. Results : The total medical expenditure of KNHI related to smoking increased by 27% from $324.9 million in 1999 to $413.7 million in 2003. By specific diseases, smoking-attributable KNHI medical expenditure was the highest for lung cancer ($74.2 million), followed by stroke ($65.3 million), COPD ($50.1 million), CHO ($49 million) and stomach cancer ($30 million). A total of 1.3 million KNHI patients were suffering from smoking-related diseases in 2003. We predicted rises in total KNHI medical expenditure related to smoking to $675.1 million (63% increase compared with that of 2003) and in the total number of KNHI patients suffering from smoking-related diseases to about 2.6million (an approximate 100% increase compared with those in 2003) in 2015. Conclusions : We found a substantial economic burden related to the high smoking prevalence in South Korea.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.50 no.3
• /
• pp.201-209
• /
• 2017

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the socioeconomic inequality in malnutrition in under-5 children in Iran in order to help policymakers reduce such inequality. Methods: Data on 8443 under-5 children were extracted from the Iran Multiple Indicator Demographic and Health Survey. The wealth index was used as proxy for socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic inequality in stunting, underweight, and wasting was calculated using the concentration index. The concentration index was calculated for the whole sample, as well as for subcategories defined in terms of categories such as area of residence (urban and rural) and the sex of children. Results: Stunting was observed to be more prevalent than underweight or wasting. The results of the concentration index at the national level, as well as in rural and urban areas and in terms of children's sex, showed that inequality in stunting and underweight was statistically significant and that children in the lower quintiles were more malnourished. The wasting index was not sensitive to socioeconomic status, and its concentration index value was not statistically significant. Conclusions: This study showed that it can be misleading to assess the mean levels of malnutrition at the national level without knowledge of the distribution of malnutrition among socioeconomic groups. Significant socioeconomic inequalities in stunting and underweight were observed at the national level and in both urban and rural areas. Regarding the influence of nutrition on the health and economic well-being of preschool-aged children, it is necessary for the government to focus on taking targeted measures to reduce malnutrition and to focus on poorer groups within society who bear a greater burden of malnutrition.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.49-61
• /
• 2009

Background: The appropriate management of diabetes mellitus(DM) can help reduce its relapse and economic burden, but the level of management of DM in Korea is reported to be insufficient. This study aims to identify the management level of DM by figuring out the HbA1c examination performance rate of the diabetics and analyzing the variation according to the characteristic of a diabetic. Methods: This study used the Korean National Health Insurance Database which includes E10-14(ICD-10 code) as a primary or secondary disease as of 2006. Study population is 1,892,062 diabetics excluding 393,784 patients with the first attack of DM in 2006, 33,440 diabetics who died in 2006, and 21,299 patients with DM having no record of ambulatory care among the 2,340,585 DM patients in total. Results: The HbA1c examination performance rate of all DM patients in our country is estimated to be 41.5% as of 2006 and shows variation according to the characteristic of individual DM patients. The highest performance odds was shown by the patients who were below 19 of age, insured for health insurance, attended more than 3 ambulatory care providers, made ambulatory care visits more than 10 times annually, attended a specialized general hospital as their main attending medical institution, had a record of hospitalization or had co-morbidity. Conclusion: This study propose that is necessary to make politic preparations for the appropriate management of diabetes at a national level, and particularly, the patients with advanced age, the ones dependent on Medical Aid, and the ones using hospitals or clinics, whose appropriate management seems vulnerable, demand a careful management.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.202-209
• /
• 2018

Health care has two different facets. One is commodity and another is a right of human being. Health care as a commodity is utilized by demand approach in market. Demand is determined by economic factors such as price and income. From the last third of the 19th century until the early 1920s, priority of sickness insurance was replacing the income that workers lost as a result of illness and injury. By the 1920s, the capacity of applied biological and medical science was remarkably developed. Development of medical science stimulated the cost of medical care, and the burden of increased medical care cost required new role of medical care security system. In 1942, Beveridge report was published in United Kingdom, and health care was considered as a right of human being. In 1948, United Nations declared heath care as a right in the Universal Declaration of Human Right. In most countries introduced new medical care security policy based on health care as a right. The viewing health care as a commodity must be shifted toward need based care as a right. Need were understood to rest on demographic, epidemiological, scientific, and medical knowledge factors. Bring needed care to the population could best be achieved institutionally by a hierarchy of provider organizations, guided by planning bodies, which would provide comprehensive benefits. In Korea, health care in social health insurance (SHI) is considered as a commodity not a right. However, health policies under SHI must be need approach based on health care as a right. Mismatch between health policies and ideology of SHI made big troubles. It is important to realize ideology of SHI for good health policies.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.19-29
• /
• 2015

Objectives: The purpose of the study is to investigate the related factors to dental care utilization, oral health behaviors, and oral health status in immigrant workers in Korea. Methods: The subjects were 504 foreign immigrant male workers over 20 years old who visited Daegu labor consultation center for oral health survey and oral examination. The questionnaire included 5 questions of socioeconomic characteristics, 8 questions of oral health practice behavior, 6 questions of dental clinic visit, 8 questions of social relations and Korean language proficiency. The question for health behavior was measure by body mass index(BMI). Social relations and Korean language proficiency instrument was modified by Seol from "Family welfare survey in Korean international marriage" and scored by Liker 5 scale. Results: The oral health examination of the immigrant workers was as follows: decayed teeth - 76.6%, filling teeth - 27.4%, missing teeth - 69.8%, dental caries experience above five or more - 60.2%, periodontal pocket tissues - 58.9%. Simplified Oral Hygiene Index was very poor and accounted for 49.0%. Dental care utilization experience was closely associated with social relation indexes including attendance in family events, household stuff help, financial help and counseling for hard work(p<0.01). Dental care utilization experience proportionally increased with proficiency in Korean literacy including speaking, listening, and writing abilities of Korean language(p<0.01). Conclusions: In order to improve the oral health condition of the immigrant workers, it is important to provide social network, Korean language proficiency support, and health insurance coverage through economic burden reduction by the Korean government.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.94-98
• /
• 2012

Purpose: Developmental delay and mental retardation are frequently occurring disorders that present major socio-economic burden on the affected individual's family and society. Both can be congenital or acquired. However, a large number of people are institutionalized without exact diagnosis and, as a result, have not received proper care. Methods: 508 subjects with mental retardation or developmental delay from six institutions in Chung Buk Province were clinically evaluated and screened for metabolic and endocrinologic problems between 2000 and 2012. Results: Clinical genetic disorders were observed in 52 (10.2%) subjects. Cerebral palsy attributed to 21% of the institutionalized. 18 (3.5%) were diagnosed with metabolic disorders and 13 (2.6%) exhibited secondary endocrinologic dysfunction. Over 16% showed metabolic evidence of malnutrition. Conclusion: 21% and 3.5% of the population institutionalized due to mental retardation or developmental delay were afflicted by preventable cerebral palsy and metabolic disorders, respectively. Through early identification of the causes and early treatment, it may be possible to prevent, reduce, or alleviate the disability of many institutionalized individuals. Further research is imperative for establishing guidelines for diagnostic investigation for mental retardation.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.1-5
• /
• 2020

Foodborne diseases (FBD) pose significant public health problems and economic losses worldwide. In recent years, emerging foodborne diseases have resulted mainly from novel bacteria, viruses, protozoa, mycotoxins, prions in animal and plant sources. The consumption of unsafe food contaminated with harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical agents or naturally occurring toxins results in high morbidity and mortality. However, estimating the incidence and burden of FBD is a huge global challenge due to the difficulty in food source attribution to specific pathogenic or chemical hazards, underreported cases, diagnosing how infections are transmitted or when a person is infected are not well understood and thus makes the control of FBD very challenging. Therefore, implementing comprehensive food safety strategies and policies, enhancing surveillance, ensuring resilient health system, and intensifying education and training to ensure safe food and prevent foodborne diseases is everybody's responsibility.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.1-19
• /
• 2000

With rapid economic development, the emphasis of the public health movement in Korea has shifted towards addressing the burden of chronic disease. With this shift in direction comes a greater focus on health behaviour and the need for planning models to assist in lifestyle modification programs. The Health Belief Model (HBM), which originated in the US, has generated more research than any other theoretical approach to describe and predict the health behaviour of individuals. In recent years it has been applied in many different cultures and modifications have been suggested to accommodate different cultures. Given the centrality of language and culture, any attempts to use models of health behaviour developed in a different culture, must be studied and tested for local applicability. The paper reviews the applicability and suitability of the HBM in Korea, in the context of the Korean language and culture. The HBM has been used in Korea for almost three decades. The predictability of the HBM has varied in Korean studies as in other cultures. Overall, this literature review indicates that the HBM has been found applicable in predicting health and illness behaviours by Korean people. However if the HBM is used in a Korean context, the acquisition of health knowledge is an important consideration. Most new knowledge in the health sciences is originally published in English and less frequently in another foreign language. Most health knowledge in Korea is acquired through the media or from health professionals and its acquisition often involves translation from the original. The selection of articles for translation and the accuracy of translation into language acceptable in the Korean culture become important determinants of health knowledge. As such translation becomes an important part of the context of the HBM. In this paper modifications to the HBM are suggested to accommodate the issues of language and knowledge in Korea.