• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.396-401
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• 2020

As the world becomes more globalized, the non-native species issue has emerged as a problem that is growing internationally. In particular, the number of non-native turtles found in the wild has been increasing sharply in South Korea. At least 15 species of non-native turtles, including the red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) first imported in the 1970s, have been found in Korea. On October 15, 2019, an alligator snapping turtle (AST, Macrochelys temminckii) was found in a stream located in Gwangju city, South Korea. The discovery of AST became a big issue in South Korea as the animal is known for its large body size and aggressiveness and was featured widely in the mass media. In this study, to learn the public's perception of non-native species, we examined comments (opinions) to the online news articles about the AST. We collected 1,100 comments from the Internet news articles on the AST. Out of the 1,100 comments, 342 (31.1%) comments were related to non-native species' issues. Most of the respondents (97.7%, n=334) stated that the non-native species are a problem. Forty two comments mentioned potential threats posed by non-native species: non-native species' aggressive nature (n=11, 26.2%) and ecological disturbance (n=31, 73.8%). Lack of responsibility (n=122, 51.7%) was the major causative factor for the introduction of non-native species, and followed by indiscriminate pet trade (n=99, 42.0%), absence of relevant legislation (n=13, 5.5%), and absence of treatment (n=2, 0.8%). Animal registration (n=59, 45.7%) was the most commonly mentioned as the way to deal with the issue of the non-native species' invasion. Our results show that the public is aware of the seriousness of the invasion of non-native species, including AST. This study highlights that researchers and government officials need to consider the public's perception and opinions. We believe that our study can serve as an essential reference for the policy direction and the management of non-native species.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.80 no.2
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• pp.169-178
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• 2017

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of our new video-assisted asthma education program on patients' knowledge regarding asthma and asthma control. Methods: Adult asthmatics who were diagnosed by primary care physicians and followed for at least 1 year were educated via smart devices and pamphlets. The education sessions were carried out three times at 2-week intervals. Each education period lasted at most 5 minutes. The effectiveness was then evaluated using questionnaires and an asthma control test (ACT). Results: The study enrolled 144 patients (mean age, $56.7{\pm}16.7years$). Half of the patients had not been taught how to use their inhalers. After participating in the education program, the participants' understanding of asthma improved significantly across all six items of a questionnaire assessing their general knowledge of asthma. The proportion of patients who made errors while manipulating their inhalers was reduced to less than 10%. The ACT score increased from $16.6{\pm}4.6$ to $20.0{\pm}3.9$ (p<0.001). The number of asthmatics whose ACT score was at least 20 increased from 45 (33.3%) to 93 (65.3%) (p<0.001). The magnitude of improvement in the ACT score did not differ between patients who received an education session at least three times within 1 year and those who had not. The majority of patients agreed to the need for an education program (95.8%) and showed a willingness to pay an additional cost for the education (81.9%). Conclusion: This study indicated that our newly developed education program would become an effective component of asthma management in primary care clinics.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.166-175
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• 2015

Nowadays, in the European countries, landscape is spoken of its importance as often as environment, by those who are engaged in such fields as politics, administration, research and civil society. In Korea, while recognizing such an international trend, academics and administrators have made a series of efforts to reflect landscape concept on a variety of policies. However, it is recognized that the effects of these policies have not been satisfactory. Under these circumstances, this paper aims to examine the complex values and multiple meanings in the landscape, which have been discussed by landscape experts in the European countries. Then, it aims to the explore the future direction of policy and research on the landscape to be pursued in Korea, where there is relatively less interest in the issues of landscape. It is argued that landscape should be approached and understood from a holistic perspective, because it is a very complex concept with multiple meanings that have been coined differently depending on the situation. All the academic fields, involved in the landscape research, should try in co-operation to develop the comprehensive approach rather than the inter- and multi-disciplinary approach to the landscape study. In Korea, moreover, it is also necessary in the legislation to recognize the fact that degradation and retreat in the quality of landscape would make a negative effect on the quality of human daily life. Natural and cultural heritages contained in the rural landscape are also now in danger of disappearing. These heritages, therefore, should become an important subject for research and policy on landscape before the countryside is completely evacuated after the aging population die out. To make this happen, it is very urgent that evaluation and classification of landscape character should be undertaken from the holistic perspective, which is equipped with a methodology overcoming as well as encompassing the boundaries of academic fields. It is also equally very urgent that education on landscape should be provided to the politicians, citizens and students as well as the officials dealing with landscape matters. Finally, government should strive to make the landscape concept penetrate deeply as well as widely into the spatial planning and legislation process while designing and implementing a comprehensive landscape policy at the national level.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.383-394
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• 1999

Objectives: This study was conducted to identify the factors influencing the mortality of Koreans over the age of 40 by a nested case-control study. Methods: The cohort consisted of the beneficiaries of Korea Medical Insurance Corporation for Government Employees & Private School Teachers and Staff(KMIC) who received health examinations of KMIC in 1992 and 1993 retrospectively. At that time, they were more than 40 years old. The cases were 19,258 cohort members who had died until December 31, 1997. The controls were 19,258 cohort members who were alive until December 31, 1997. Controls were matched with age and sex distribution of the cases. The data used in this study were the funeral expenses requesting files, and the files of health examinations and health questionnaires gathered in 1992 and 1993. To assess the putative risk factors of death, student t-test, chi-square test, multiple logistic regression analysis were used. Results : In multiple logistic regression analysis, independent risk factors of death were as follows; systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, blood glucose, AST, urine glucose, urine protein, alcohol drinking(frequency), cigarette smoking and perceived health status, intake of restoratives and blood transfusion showed positive associations with death; coffee consumption showed negative associations with death; and body mass index and serum total cholesterol showed J-shaped association with death. Conclusions: Regarding the direction of association, the result of analysis on the data restricted to '96-'97 was same as that of '93-'97. But in some variables such as obesity, serum cholesterol, the odds ratios of death in the data of '96-'97 were higer than those of '93-'94, which suggested that the data of '93-'94 was bearing effect-cause relationship. We concluded that it suggested further researches using long-term follow-up data to be needed in this area.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.142-149
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• 2014

Korea conducts a national health screening program to improve and check-up on public health and in recent years, the screening usage has been increased. Given the increased screening usage for radiographic exams, this study predicts the frequency of using radiographic exams and the exposure dose. This study estimates the usage of radiographic exams by isolating radiographic exams from the 2011 analysis of the national health insurance corporation, and estimates the public exposure dose by applying each procedure's dose table from UNSCEAR 2008. As a result of the analysis, in the 2011 National Health Screening, the average exposure dose per person is assumed to be 0.57 mSv, and depending on the type of screening program from the radiographic exam, an examinee could be exposed to between 0.2 mSv and 11.081 mSv. The frequency of using radiographic exposure was found to be 16,005,914 and the exposure dose was 6,311.76 person-Sv. The most frequent exam is the Chest X-ray, which was performed 1,070,567 (69.17%), and the UGI has the highest exposure dose at 5,217.94 person-Sv (82.67%). The outcome is categorized based on gender and age, excluding those under 39 years old. In all age groups, the screening usage and exposure dose are higher in females than in males. In particular, females between 50 and 54 years old have the highest screening usage (1,674,787, 10.5%) and exposure dose (701.59 person-Sv, 11.1%). As UGI accounts for 82.76% of procedures, except when done for medical purposes, if the government supports a voluntary UGI exam (which includes the UGI exam in the National Screening Program) or abolishes it completely, as seen overseas, the cost-effectiveness and validity of the UGI exam, as well as the exposure dose from the National Screening Program will all decrease significantly.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.144-155
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• 1997

In December 1990, Occupational Safety and Health Law was amended to reinforce employer's responsibilities on employees' health and safety. Among the amended law it was important to expand the role of an occupational health nurse to the role of an occupational health manager. An occupational health manager should take charge of coordinating periodic health examination and environmental hazard evaluation, providing primary care, monitoring employees' health status, giving the workplace walk-through, selecting safe protection equipment, providing health information, counseling and health education, independently. This position of occupational health nurse is equivalent to the role of doctors or occupational hygienists. In 1991, government made a master plan to prevent occupational disease and injury. Under the plan, Korea Industrial Nursing Association (KINA) was established in 1994 with the purpose of improving health services and upgrading career opportunities for members. Therefore, this study was designed to analyze the transition of occupational health nursing education with the changes of law and policy in Korea between 1991 and 1996. In details, it was to analyze the rate of school providing occupational health nursing practice based lecture, lecture hours, lecture contents in undergraduate curriculum, program contents of graduate school, kinds of continuing education, etc. For this purpose, we conducted survey two times. In February 1991, baseline study was conducted with all nursing programs in Korea (19 BSN programs and 43 nursing departments of junior college). From April to May in 1996, the second survey was conducted with all nursing programs (38 BSN programs and 69 junior colleges). The first response rate was 66.1% and the second was 40.6%. Structured questionnaires were mailed to the deans or the community health nursing faculties. In the case of graduate school, telephone survey was conducted with 10 school of public health or environmental health area. Data from the yearbook of Industrial Safety Training Institute (ISTI), the history of Korea Industrial Health Association, and the journals of KINA were also included in the analysis. As the results, we found that there were remarkable improvement in undergraduate and graduate programs, obligatory as well as voluntary continuing education in terms of occupational health nursing expertise between 1991 and 1996. 1) The number of school providing occupational health nursing practice-based lecture was increased with the rate from 7.3% to 25.6%. The rate of school giving over 15 class-hours was increased from 33.3% to 46.6%. 2) Content areas were composed of introduction of occupational health, occupational epidemiology, industrial hygiene, occupational disease and injury, law and policy, health education, concept of occupational health nursing, role of occupational health nurse, occupational health nursing process, etc. Of content areas, occupational health nursing process was more emphasized with the increased rate from 43.9% to 88.4%. 3) In the case of graduate school, occupational health programs were increased from 4 to 10. One of them has developed occupational health nursing program as an independent course since 1991. 4) The law increased educational hours from 28 hours to 36 hours for introductory course at the time of appointment, and from 14 hours to 24 hours every 2 years for continuing education. Course contents were Occupational safety and health law, introduction of occupational health, health education methodology, planning and evaluation, periodic health exam, occupational disease care, primary care, emergency care, management, industrial environment evaluation, etc. In 1996, Korea Industrial Nursing Association has begun to provide continuing education after Industrial Safety Training Institute. 5) Various educational programs in voluntary base were developed such as monthly seminar, CE articles, annual academic symposium, etc. It was shown that changes of law and policy led rapid growth of occupational health nursing education in various levels. From this trend, it is expected that occupational health nurse expertise be continuously to be enhanced in Korea. Legal and political supports should proceed for the development of occupational health nursing in early stage.

• Korean Security Journal
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• no.41
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• pp.387-408
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• 2014

South Korea already became an aging society, and is now in the process of becoming an aged society. With increasing elderly population, elderly safety issues such as traffic accidents and elderly suicides are becoming important problems. Elderly victimization are increasing, and elderly safety accident is also becoming an imporotant social problem. The police is doing various activities for elderly safety. The police is conducting programs for the elderly, such as a prevention program for fraud against elderly, and safety checks and traffic safety education for preventing elderly traffic accidents. Also, there's a program of providing regular visits for a lone elderly, expansion of CCTV network and fingerprint registration to prevent elderlies with Alzheimer's disease going missing. However, these programs are not done on a national scale, but rather limited to local police stations. The purpose of this study is to seek police roles for enhancing elderly safety, due to lack of police activity in this area. Recommendation for police roles in enhancing elderly safety is to first conduct routine crackdowns on fraud against elderly and also conduct education programs for preventing fraud. Also, crimes such as elderly abuse is lead by elderly protection agencies, but considering elderly abuse is a crime, the police should take a leading role. Also, to prevent elderly suicide, meticulous management of elderlies with high suicide risk is necessary, and elderly protection areas should be designated to prevent traffic accidents. Also, elderlies should be induced to turn in their driver's license. To conduct these matters of elderly safety, an organization exclusively charged with elderly safety is necessary. Elderly safety is a broad concept, and since police alone cannot handle the task of ensuring elderly safety, the police should take on a leading role in cooperative efforts with various institutions of the government, non-profit organizations and the community to establish a social saftey net for elderly safety.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2017

The government has been constructing and supplying public rental housing to ordinary people in order to stabilize housing since 1989. However, the public rental houses initially supplied to ordinary people are at high risk for safety accidents due to the deterioration of the facilities. Therefore, this study is aimed to propose a solution to solve the life safety hazards of the old rental housing complex as a follow-up study of Analysis of Accident Patterns and Hazard Factor for Life Safety in Rental Housing Complex. Types of life safety accidents that occur in public rental housing complexes are sliding, falling, crash, falling objects, breakage, fire accidents, traffic accidents and criminal accidents. The types of safety accidents that occur in rental housing complexes analyzed in this study are sliding, crashes, falling objects, and fire accidents. Although the incidence of safety accidents such as falling, breakage, traffic accidents and crime accidents in public rental housing complexes is low, these types are likely to cause safety accidents. The method of this study utilized interviews and seminar results, and it suggested ways to solve the life safety hazards in rental housing complexes. Interviews were conducted with residents and managers of rental housing complexes. Seminars were conducted twice with experts in construction, maintenance, asset management, housing welfare and safety. Through interviews and seminars, this study categorizes the life safety hazards that occur in rental housing complexes by types of accidents and suggests ways to resolve them as follows. (1) sliding ; use of flooring materials with high friction coefficient, installation of safety devices such as safety handles, implementation of maintenance, safety inspections and safety education, etc. (2) falling ; supplementation of safety facilities, Improvement of the design method of the falling parts, Safety education, etc. (3) crash ; increase the effective width of the elevator door, increase the effective width of the lamp, improve the lamp type (U type ${\rightarrow}$ I type), etc. (4) falling objects and breakage ; design of furniture considering the usability of residents, replacement of old facilities, enhancement of safety consciousness of residents, safety education, etc. (5) fire accidents ; installation of fire safety equipment, improvement by emergency evacuation, safety inspection and safety education, etc. (6) traffic accidents ; securing parking spaces, installing safety facilities, conducting safety education, etc. (7) criminal accidents; improvement of CCTV pixels, installation of street lights, removal of blind spots in the complex, securing of security, etc. The roles of suppliers, administrators and users of public rental housing proposed in this study are summarized as follows. Suppliers of rental housing should take into consideration the risk factors that may arise not only in the design and construction but also in the maintenance phase and should consider the possibility of easily repairing old facilities considering the life cycle of rental housing. Next, Administrators of rental housing should consider the safety of the users of the rental housing, conduct safety checks from time to time, and immediately remove any hazardous elements within the apartment complex. Finally, the users of the rental housing needs to form a sense of ownership of all the facilities in the rental housing complex, and efforts should be made not to cause safety accidents caused by the user's carelessness. The results of this study can provide the necessary information to enable residents of rental housing complexes to live a safe and comfortable residential life. It is also expected that this information will be used to reduce the incidence of safety accidents in rental housing complexes.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.17-32
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• 1995

The purpose of this study was to improve upon school health by understanding the present status of school health and escpecially to investigate the performance rate of regular health instruction. 261 schools, including middle and high schools enrolled in the Busan Educational Association, were sent Questionnaires. Data was collected from the 25th of January to the 10th of April, 1994. 229 subjects who responded to the Questionnaires were finally analyzed as samples. Among them, 127 were school nurses and 102 were teachers acting in a school health capacity. The results of this study are summerized as follows: Of the teachers holding additional school health responsibilities, $85.6\%$ worked in private schools. Many of them $(74.5\%)$ were formally dissatisfied with their ability to provide care because $85.3\%$ of them had never studied any school health. Some of them$(30.4\%)$ didn't know about the annual school nursing budget and $23.5\%$ of them hadn't taught any health education to students. In spite of this fact, they were placed in charge of a school health activity against their own will. There were statistically significant differences in the performance of school health affairs between nurses and teachers holding additional school health (p<0.001) as follows: annual school nursing budget, Health Program Planning and Evaluation, annual purchase price for medicines, average students cared for per day, average students who held at least one consultation per month and extra. Surely, the self-confidence of school nurses was higher than that of teachers with school health as an assigned responsibility. This was demonstrated by a significant statistical difference (p<0.01) in the responses by the two groups. $88.2\%$ of the school nurses and $73.5\%$ of teachers for school health thought that regular health instruction was necessary. But regular health education had been performed only by $32.8\%$ of respondents. Among them, 84% were school nurses and $16\%$ were teachers holding additional school health. Of the persons who performed regular health education, $69.3\%$ used less than $60\%$ of the health content of the athletic textbook. And $64\%$ of them said teaching materials were insufficient. Most of them $(69.4\%)$used home made lesson plans. which they compiled from various sources. There was a significant difference in the formality of the health lesson according to the concern of the school principal (p<0.01) and there was a significant difference in performing health education between school nurses and teachers holding additional school health (p<0.001) It appears that there are a lot of problems with providing school health care using people who are untrained. In a word, school health nurses with professional training are needed in order to perform the qualitative management for the health of the students. These days, regular health education is an indispensable part in making students improve their self-care abilities. Therefore a more effective and better defined program should be prepared for regular systematic health education. To resolve these problems, present laws and regulations related to school health should be revised considering the specialist's request for the improvement of school health. In addition, the concern and financial support of the government are essential.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.83-102
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• 1995

As the society is being industrialized, the fast-paced economic development that has caused substantial increase in cerebrovascular and coronary artery diseases and the industrial development and increased use of means of transportation have resulted in the rapid rise of incidents in external injuries as well. So the pubic has become acutely aware of the need for fast and effective emergency care delivery system. The goal of emergency care delivery system is to meet the emergency care needs of patients. The emergency care delivery system is seeking to efficiently satisfy the care needs of people. Therefore the purpose of this study is designed to develop an effective programs for emergency care delivery system in Korea. The following specific objectives were investigated. This emergency care delivery system must have the necessary man power, for transfering the patients, communication net work, and emergency care facilities. 1) Man power Emergency care requires n0t only specialized traning in the emergency treatment but also knowledge and experience i11 other related area, so emergency care personnel traning program should be designed in order to adapt to the specific need of emergency patients. It will be necessary to ensure professional personnel who aquires the sufficient traning and experience for emergency care and to look for legal basis. We have to develop re-educational programs for emergency nurse specialist. They should be received speciality of emergency nursing care so that they will work actively and positively in emergency part. Emergency medical doctor and nurse specialist should be given an education which is related in emergency and critical care. Emergency care personnel will continue to provide both acute and continuing care as partner with other medical team. 2) Transfering the patients. Successful management of pre-hospital care requires adequate traning for the emergency medical technician. Traning program should be required to participate in a actual first aids activites in order to have apportunities to acquire practical skills as well as theoretical knowledge. The system of emergency medical technician should be remarkablly successful with first responder firefighters. Establishing this system must add necessary ambulances operating at any given time. It will be necessary to standardize the ambulance size and equipment. Ambulance should be arranged with each and every fire station. 3) Communication net work. The head office of emergency commumication network should be arranged with the head office of fire station in community. It is proposed that Hot-line system for emergency care should be introduce. High controlled ambulance and thirtial emergency center should simultaneously equip critical-line in order to communication with each other. Ordinary ambulance and secondary emergency facility should also simultaneously equip emergency-line in order to communication with each other. 4) Emergency care facilities. Primary emergency care facilities should be covered with the ambulatory emergency patients-minor illness and injuires. Secondary emergency care facilities should be covered with the emergency admission patients. Third emergency care center should be covered with the critical patients who need special treatments and operation. Secondary and third emergency care facilities should employ emergency medical doctor and emergency nurse specialist to treat in-patients with severe and acute illness and multiple injuires. It should be fashioned for a system of emergency facilities that meets emergency patients needs. Provide incentives for increased number of emergency care facilities with traning in personal/clinical emergency care. 5) Finance It is recommended to put the finance of a emergency care on a firm basis. The emergency care delivery system should be managed by the government or accreditted organizations. In order to facilitate this relevant program the fund is needed for more efficient and effective emergency researchs, service, programs, and policy. 6) Gaining understanding and co-operation of pubic It is also important to undertake pubic education to improve understanding of first aids and C. P. R of individuals, communities and business. It is proposed that teachers and health officers be certified in C. P. R. The C. P. R education can be powerful influence save lives. Lastly appropriate emergency care information must be provided to the pubic for assisting them in choosing emergency care.