• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.37-53
• /
• 2021

Background and objectives: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection globally and is responsible for multiple clinical outcomes, including genital warts and cervical, anal, and oropharyngeal cancers. Despite the well established burden of HPV on both men and women, vaccine uptake among men is critically low in Korea. A preliminary step to combat this issue is to target parents of male adolescents. In the present study, we aimed to assess any change observed in parents' HPV knowledge and attitudes towards male HPV and subsequent willingness to vaccinate their sons following an HPV educational intervention. Methods: On November 14, 2020, a one-time HPV educational session was conducted and parents (n=136) completed self-administered pre-/post-test questionnaires that included previously validated survey items. Paired t-tests were used to evaluate change in HPV-related knowledge, attitudes and intent for HPV vaccination. Results: Following the intervention, participants reported increased scores in HPV and vaccine related knowledge by approximately 4 and 1.5 points, respectively (p<.001). Parents scored higher on perceived benefits of the vaccine, perceived social influence on vaccination decision and perceived severity of diseases caused by HPV infections, whereas lower scores were observed for perceived harm of the vaccine, and difficulties communicating with their sons about sex and HPV vaccination. Following the intervention, those without the intent to vaccinate their sons significantly decreased and those who intended to vaccinate their sons though not in the next six months significantly increased (χ2=33.045, p<.001) Conclusion: Our educational intervention resulted in an increase in HPV-related knowledge with a positive impact on parents' attitudes toward male HPV vaccination. We expect that this study can serve as a pivotal reference to promote the unexplored issue of HPV vaccination among male adolescents in Korea.

• Journal of Drive and Control
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.23-30
• /
• 2020

Driving on irregular and inclined roads using agricultural machinery such as spraying machines or trucks in orchards causes farmer casualties associated with the overturning of agricultural machinery. In addition, the harm to agricultural workers caused by the excessive inhalation of the scattered pesticide frequently occurs during pest control processes. To address these problems, we introduced precision agricultural technology that could selectively spray pesticides only where the fruit is present by recognizing the presence or shape of the fruit in the orchard. In this paper, a 16-channel LIDAR (VLP-16) made of Velodyne was used to identify the shape of fruit trees. Solenoid valves were attached to the end parts of 12 nozzles of the orchard spraying machine for on/off control. The smart spraying machine implemented in this way was mounted on a vehicle capable of autonomous travel and performed selective control depending upon the shape of the fruit trees while traveling in the orchards. This is expected to significantly reduce the amounts of pesticides used in orchards and production costs.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.232-239
• /
• 2021

This study aimed to update suicide-related indicators including suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and the number of suicidal deaths. Based on up-to-date information, we observed the trends of suicide-related indicators. In this study, five data sources were used to observe the trends of suicide-related indicators: Statistics Korea (1983-2019), Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination (KNHANES, '07-13, '15-19), Korean Community Health Survey (KCHS, '08-09, '13, '17), Korean Wealth Panel Study (KOWEPS, '12-19), and Korea Health Panel Survey (KHP, '10-13, '16-17). The suicide rate, which peaked in 2011, declined until 2017 and then started to rise again from 2018, recording a suicide rate of 26.9 per 100,000 people in 2019. The rate of suicidal ideation estimated based on the recently available data was 4.62% (KNHANES, '19), 3.51% (KHP, '16), 2.87% (KHP, '17), and 1.70% (KOWEPS, '19). That of suicide attempt as recent year was 0.43% (KNHANES, '19), 0.07% (KOWEPS, '19). Annual percentage change of death by intentional self-harm was -2.11% (Statistics Korea), and that of suicidal ideation was -14.7% (KNHANES), -2.5% (KCHS), -10.6% (KOWEPS), and -11.3% (KHP). Annual percentage change of suicide attempt was -5.0% (KNHANES), -4.4% (KCHS), and -11.3% (KOWEPS). The lower the income level, the higher the probability of experiencing suicide ideation and suicide attempts. Considering the recent increase in suicide rate in contrast to the continuing decline in suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, continuous data observation and appropriate policies regarding suicide prevention are needed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.71-79
• /
• 2021

In this study, a real-scale fuel-cell room of volume 1.36 m³ is constructed to confirm the explosion characteristics of hydrogen-air mixture gas in a hydrogen-powered house. A volume concentration of 40% is applied in the fuel-cell room as the worst-case scenario to examine the most severe accident possible, and two types of doors (made of plastic sheet and wood) are fabricated to observe their effects on the overpressure and impulse. The peak overpressure and impulse based on distance from the ignition source are experimentally observed and assessed. The maximum and minimum overpressures with a plastic-sheet door are about 20 and 6.7 kPa and those with a wooden door are about 46 and 13 kPa at distances of 1 and 5 m from the ignition source, respectively. The ranges of impulses for distances of 1-5 m from the ignition source are about 82-28 Pa·s with a plastic-sheet door and 101-28 Pa·s with a wooden door. The amount of damage to people, buildings, and property due to the peak overpressure and impulse is presented to determine the safe distance; accordingly, the safe distance to prevent harm to humans is about 5 m based on the 'injuries' class, but the structural damage was not serious.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.129-143
• /
• 2022

Background: Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) has been widely used as an effective medical treatment for pain and for postoperative analgesia. However, improper dose errors in intravenous (IV) administration of narcotic analgesics from a PCA infusion pump can cause patient harm. Furthermore, opioid overdose is considered one of the highest risk factors for patients receiving pain medications. Therefore, accurate delivery of opioid analgesics is a critical function of PCA infusion pumps. Methods: We designed a microbalance method that consisted of a closed acrylic chamber containing a layer and an oil layer with an electronic balance. A commercially available infusion analyzer (IDA-5, Fluke Co., Everett, WA, USA) was used to measure the accuracy of the infusion flow rate from a commercially available smart PCA infusion pump (PS-1000, UNIMEDICS, Co., Ltd., Seoul, Korea) and compared with the results of the microbalance method. We evaluated the uncertainty of the flow rate measurement using the ISO guide (GUM:1995 part3). The battery life, delay time of the occlusion alarm, and bolus function of the PCA pump were also tested. Results: The microbalance method was good in the short-term 2 h measurement, and IDA-5 was good in the long-term 24 h measurement. The two measurement systems can complement each other in the case of the measurement time. Regarding battery performance, PS-1000 lasted approximately 5 days in a 1 ml/hr flow rate condition without recharging the battery. The occlusion pressure alarm delays of PS-1000 satisfied the conventional alarm threshold of occlusion pressure (300-800 mmHg). Average accuracy bolus volume was measured as 63%, 95%, and 98.5% with 0.1 ml, 1 ml, and 2 ml bolus volume presets, respectively. A 1 ml/hr flow rate measurement was evaluated as 2.08% of expanded uncertainty, with a 95% confidence level. Conclusion: PS-1000 showed a flow accuracy to be within the infusion pump standard, which is ± 5% of flow accuracy. Occlusion alarm of PS-1000 was quickly transmitted, resulting in better safety for patients receiving IV infusion of opioids. PS-1000 is sufficient for a portable smart PCA infusion pump.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.209-223
• /
• 2022

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused significant changes. This study aimed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on patients with chronic pain. Methods: Patients with chronic pain from 23 university hospitals in South Korea participated in this study. The anonymous survey questionnaire consisted of 25 questions regarding the following: demographic data, diagnosis, hospital visit frequency, exercise duration, time outside, sleep duration, weight change, nervousness and anxiety, depression, interest or pleasure, fatigue, daily life difficulties, and self-harm thoughts. Depression severity was evaluated using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between increased pain and patient factors. Results: A total of 914 patients completed the survey, 35.9% of whom had decreased their number of visits to the hospital, mostly due to COVID-19. The pain level of 200 patients has worsened since the COVID-19 outbreak, which was more prominent in complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Noticeable post-COVID-19 changes such as exercise duration, time spent outside, sleep patterns, mood, and weight affected patients with chronic pain. Depression severity was more significant in patients with CRPS. The total PHQ-9 average score of patients with CRPS was 15.5, corresponding to major depressive orders. The patients' decreased exercise duration, decreased sleep duration, and increased depression were significantly associated with increased pain. Conclusions: COVID-19 has caused several changes in patients with chronic pain. During the pandemic, decreased exercise and sleep duration and increased depression were associated with patients' increasing pain.

• The Journal of Churna Manual Medicine for Spine and Nerves
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.47-54
• /
• 2021

Objectives This review was conducted to study use of Aconitum herbal medicine for pain control in musculoskeletal disease. Methods Musculoskeletal disease is a major factor of social cost increase and physical disability. Various drugs, surgery and imaging are being overused regardlessly. Aconitum herbal plants are one of the most toxic Korean traditional herbs. However, they could be utilized effectively on patients with appropriate processing and decocting time. We searched Korean medicine literature to see various features of aconitum herbal plants and tried to find the utilization of the plants in effective way for pain control in musculoskeletal disease. Results Aconitum herbal plants needs to be used carefully because of intoxication which could lead to severe damage to human body. Processing of these toxic plants could minimize the harm and raise the benefits, such as relieving various types of pain and positive inotropic action. Further studies with clearer evidence and discovering aftereffects of processing in more details are needed. Conclusions Aconitum herbal plants could dedicate to controlling pain in musculoskeletal disease with various forms and appropriate processing.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.22-40
• /
• 2022

The goal of this study was to estimate the possible scattering distance of deicer from the highway and the impact range of deicer on soil quality in terms of plant growth. Among the major elements (Ca²⁺, Cl^- and Na⁺) of deicer, Ca²⁺and Cl^- are usually applied as fertilizer to soil. Therefore both elements (Ca²⁺and Cl^-) were not appropriate for a tracer of deicer at the agricultural area. In this study, SAR (sodium adsorption ratio) of soil was proposed as an alternative tracer to confirm the distribution of the deicer around the highway areas. Because deicer is the main anthropogenic source of Na⁺ around the highway areas and does harm to the physical properties of soil and plant growth through the destruction of soil aggregate, SAR would be an recommendable tracer to access the distribution of deicer as well as adverse effect on soil quality at highway areas. The influence range of deicer based on SAR of soil was estimated to be less than 20 m distance from the highway even though the possible flying distance of deicer was found to be more than 100 m from the highway. However the deicer seriously deposited within 10 m from the highway.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
• /
• v.55 no.3
• /
• pp.210-221
• /
• 2020

Spinal block procedures are useful methods that reduce the need for surgical treatment. In addition to their therapeutic aspects of pain relief, in many patients, they are also used for diagnostic purposes to distinguish from symptoms originating from extra-spinal areas. Therefore, these procedures are the most basic technique for orthopedic surgeons dealing with diseases from limbs and spine. On the other hand, despite the simplicity of the instruments and drugs used, the overall understanding of them and the lack of knowledge of the possible side effects and complications can cause serious harm to the patient at the beginning of the trial. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the types of drugs used in the spinal block procedures, pharmacokinetic properties, and the side effects of each drug. In addition, efforts should be made to identify their indications, as well as advantages and disadvantages of each procedure to avoid possible complications. The purpose of this review was to provide basic knowledge and skills necessary for lumbar spinal block procedures as well as provide the reader with the ability to perform themselves.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.55 no.1
• /
• pp.19-27
• /
• 2022

This study estimated the direct and indirect socioeconomic costs of 238 diseases and 22 injuries from a social perspective in Korea from 2007 to 2015. The socioeconomic cost of each disease group was calculated based on the Korean Standard Disease Classification System. Direct costs were estimated using health insurance claims data provided by the National Health Insurance Service. The numbers of outpatients and inpatients with the main diagnostic codes for each disease were selected as a proxy indicator for estimating patients' medical use behavior by disease. The economic burden of disease from 2007 to 2015 showed an approximately 20% increase in total costs. From 2007 to 2015, communicable diseases (including infectious, maternal, pediatric, and nutritional diseases) accounted for 8.9-12.2% of the socioeconomic burden, while non-infectious diseases accounted for 65.7-70.7% and injuries accounted for 19.1-22.8%. The top 5 diseases in terms of the socioeconomic burden were self-harm (which took the top spot for 8 years), followed by cirrhosis of the liver, liver cancer, ischemic heart disease, and upper respiratory infections in 2007. Since 2010, the economic burden of conditions such as low back pain, falls, and acute bronchitis has been included in this ranking. This study expanded the scope of calculating the burden of disease at the national level by calculating the burden of disease in Koreans by gender and disease. These findings can be used as indicators of health equality and as useful data for establishing community-centered (or customized) health promotion policies, projects, and national health policy goals.