• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.13-25
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• 2014

This research was performed to investigate the characteristics and determination factors on tertiary hospital inpatients. The used data was the four waves of Korea Health Panel(2008, 2009, 2010, 2011), and the number of subjects was 4,430 cases of tertiary and general hospital admission. The statistical methodology used in the study is the logistic regression model. The significant affecting factors in utilizing tertiary hospital admission were gender, marital status, education, household income, residence region and ICD-10 classification. Man, graduating college/university, married, high-income were socio-economic affecting factors in tertiary hospital admission. Medical need factor of ICD-10 classification and residence region of inpatients was also significant affecting factors in tertiary hospital admission. The 81.4% of inpatients at tertiary hospital had chronic disease and the 12.9% of inpatients readmitted, the 68.2% had a selecting doctor and the only 26.7% of inpatients reinforced by private medical insurance. This study recommended the Korean government to provide proper rule for tertiary hospital admission in order to improve the equity and efficiency of health care system.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.407-414
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare birth outcomes between Korean women and immigrant women. Methods: Medical records were reviewed retrospectively from 201 immigrant women and 201 Korean women who delivered babies at K women's hospital in U city from January 2006 to December 2009. Maternal outcomes related factors included nationality, age, obstetric history, delivery type, indications of cesarean section, and complications of pregnancy and delivery. Principal neonatal outcomes were birth weight, Apgar scores, and complications of newborns. Results: Immigrant women were younger and had fewer pregnancies, abortions, and surviving children than Korean women. The rate of primary cesarean section and its indication in immigrant women were not significantly different from Korean women. However, immigrant women's newborn were more likely to have low birth weight and meconium staining. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate less equity of immigrant women in women's health care, although immigrant women's babies had lower Apgar score and more meconium staining. Nurses should help immigrant women cope with labor process effectively to prevent adverse health outcomes for their newborns.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.143-171
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• 2006

There has been 10 years since the Health Promotion Act was legislated. The government began to establish a health promotion fund on the basis of Health Promotion Act in 1995, and to manage and operate the fund from 1998. It is evaluated that health promotion program have had various outcomes in many aspects. First, there has been growing awareness of the impotance of health promotion through the establishment of Health Plan 2010 and the effort to actualize the Plan. Second, the importance of securing health equity and identifying health determinants have been recognized during the planning process of Health Plan 2010. Third, the health promotion program have mainly focused on improving healthy life style of the population. As a result, desirable health behavior change of the population could be expected from the result of 2005 National Health and Nutrition Survey. Fourth, public health centers began to play a crucial role in implementing health promotion programs, and began to build infrastructure for health promotion programs. Fifth, management efficiency of private health related organizations have been improved. Finally, training for health promotion personnel and their participation in the program could be the foundation for the higher level of outcome achievement from the health promotion programs. Important challenges for future health promotion would be identification of the determinants and risk factors of health, formulating plan of regional health promotion programs, building infrastructure for health promotion, creation of specific action model by public health center, development of health promotion program for the elderly, conducting research for evidence concerning major factors reducing the need for health care through prevention disease activities, and establishment of evaluation and feed back system for health promotion programs.

• Proceedings of The Korean Society of Health Promotion Conference
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• 2005.09a
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• pp.153-195
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• 2005

There has been 10 years since The Health Promotion Act was legislated. The government began to establish a health promotion fund on the basis of Health Promotion Act in 1995, and to manage and operate the fund from 1998. It is evaluated that health promotion program have had various outcomes in many aspects. First, there has been growing awareness of the impotance of health promotion through the establishment of Health Plan 2010 and the effort to actualize the Plan. Second, the importance of securing health equity and identifying health determinants have been recognized during the planning process of Health Plan 2010. Third, the health promotion program have mainly focused on improving healthy life style of the population. As a result, desirable health behavior change of the population could be expected from the result of 2005 National Health and Nutrition Survey. Fourth, public health centers began to play a crucial role in implementing health promotion programs, and began to build infrastructure for health promotion programs. Fifth, the outcomes of health promotion programs by public health centers and private health organizations have been increasing. Finally, training for health promotion personnel and their participation in the program could be the foundation for the higher level of outcome achievement from the health promotion programs. Important challenges for future health promotion would be identification of the determinants and risk factors of health in Korea, establishment of local health promotion plan, building infrastructure for health promotion, creation of specific action model by public health center, development of diverse health promotion programs and health promotion program for the elderly, conducting research for evidence concerning major factors reducing the need for health care through prevention disease activities, and establishment of evaluation and feed back system for health promotion programs.

• Journal of Communications and Networks
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.419-427
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• 2015

There have been increases in the elderly population worldwide, and this has been accompanied by rapid growth in the health-care market, as there is an ongoing need to monitor the health of individuals. Wireless body area networks (WBANs) consist of wireless sensors attached on or inside the human body to monitor vital health-related problems, e.g., electrocardiograms (ECGs), electroencephalograms (EEGs), and electronystagmograms (ENGs). With WBANs, patients' vital signs are recorded by each sensor and sent to a coordinator. However, because of obstructions by the human body, sensors cannot always send the data to the coordinator, requiring them to transmit at higher power. Therefore, we need to consider the lifetime of the sensors given their required transmit power. In the IEEE 802.15.6 standard, the transmission topology functions as a one-hop star plus one topology. In order to obtain a high throughput, we reduce the transmit power of the sensors and maintain equity for all sensors. We propose the multiple-hop transmission for WBANs based on the IEEE 802.15.6 carrier-sense multiple-access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) protocol. We calculate the throughput and variance of the transmit power by performing simulations, and we discuss the results obtained using the proposed theorems.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.127-137
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the treatment outcomes according to the socioeconomic factor of patients who visited the emergency room. Methods: This study conducted frequency analysis, percentage analysis, and Fisher's exact test analysis method, using the R 4.1.2 program based on the 2019 data from the Korea Health Panel. Results: Among the treatment results of 1,648 patients, 392 patients were hospitalized or transferred to other hospitals, 845 were discharged after treatment, 224 were discharged, and 7 died. The Fisher's exact test of treatment outcomes and socioeconomic factors was not statistically significant for status of the worker and employment relationship, but was significant for the housing, household, economic activity, and insurance types, and marital status and education. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that it is necessary to conduct follow up studies on socioeconomic factors to provide basic data that can contribute to fairness and equity in the health care field.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.65-72
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• 2024

Objectives: Protecting people against financial hardship caused by illness stands as a fundamental obligation within healthcare systems and constitutes a pivotal component in achieving universal health coverage. The objective of this study was to analyze the prevalence and determinants of catastrophic health expenditures (CHE) in Iran, over the period of 2013 to 2019. Methods: Data were obtained from 7 annual national surveys conducted between 2013 and 2019 on the income and expenditures of Iranian households. The prevalence of CHE was determined using a threshold of 40% of household capacity to pay for healthcare. A binary logistic regression model was used to identify the determinants influencing CHE. Results: The prevalence of CHE increased from 3.60% in 2013 to 3.95% in 2019. In all the years analyzed, the extent of CHE occurrence among rural populations exceeded that of urban populations. Living in an urban area, having a higher wealth index, possessing health insurance coverage, and having employed family members, an employed household head, and a literate household head are all associated with a reduced likelihood of CHE (p<0.05). Conversely, the use of dental, outpatient, and inpatient care, and the presence of elderly members in the household, are associated with an increased probability of facing CHE (p<0.05). Conclusions: Throughout the study period, CHE consistently exceeded the 1% threshold designated in the national development plan. Continuous monitoring of CHE and its determinants at both household and health system levels is essential for the implementation of effective strategies aimed at enhancing financial protection.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.275-296
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• 2012

Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University The national health insurance system in Korea is characterized as relatively high out-of-pocket payments, which are the principal source of catastrophic health expenditure (CHE). The objectives of this study are to estimate the incidence of household CHE and to clarify the characteristics that affect the occurrence and recurrence of household CHE using the Seoul Welfare Panel Survey database for 2008 and 2010. Thresholds to estimate CHE were 10% and 20% of the total household income (T/X), and 25% and 40% of the income excluding food share (T/Y). Determinants of the occurrence and recurrence of CHE at the threshold of T/X=10% were analysed using multiple logistic regression models. Out of the 3,665 households that responded in 2008 survey, households with CHE were 12.07% (T/X${\geq}$10%), 5.34% (T/X${\geq}$20%), 6.84% (T/Y${\geq}$25%), and 4.44% (T/Y${\geq}$40%). Risk factors associated with household CHE included living with a spouse, non-Medicaid beneficiary, householder unemployment, low household income, the number of disabled members, poor subjective health, and the number of chronic diseases. A total of 41.78% of households with CHE in 2008 repeatedly experienced CHE in 2010. Risk factors of CHE recurrence included decreased household income and an increase in chronic diseases over the two time periods, the number of members with disability or chronic diseases, and the presence of cancer patients in 2008. Households with lower socioeconomic and health status had a higher financial burden on health care than do their counterpart households. There is a need to enhance society-wide financial protection from health spending among vulnerable citizens in Seoul, particularly, households with low income, disabled members or cancer patients.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.48-56
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• 2019

Purpose: As an interest in the elderly medical expenses increases, elderly people are increasingly purchasing indemnity private health insurance. Authors tried to investigate factors of having the indemnity private health insurance among the elderly people aged 65-75 years. Methods: We conducted panel logit regression analysis on 2,465 subjects as of 2016 using Korean Health Panel from 2010 to 2016. The dependent variable was whether to enroll in the indemnity private health insurance. The explanatory variables included socio-demographic characteristics, economic factors, health status, and health behaviors. Findings: As a result of the analysis of factors of purchasing indemnity private health insurances, it was analyzed that people with larger family, educated, pensioner, high household income or no disability were more likely to have indemnity private health insurance. Practical Implications: Considering the results of this study, the factor of purchasing indemnity private health insurance among elderly people were more likely to be their economic than demographic characteristics such as sex, age, and marital status. Policy makers should make efforts to reduce the burden on the elderly medical expense and to improve equity of medical use through institutional improvement such as raising age limit and lowering premium of indemnity private health insurance and expansion of public health insurance.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.1-19
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• 2007

This study focused on finding the variation of medical service utilization and medical payments of the patients died by three, cancers, stomach, breast, and colon cancer. For this study, data of the one-year episodes of the health insurance subscribers died in 2004 were selected. The frequency of medical visits, the lengths of slays, the days of outpatient visits, the total period of medical services and the total medical payments were compared by the characteristics of the suppliers and utilizers. The data of the patients died by cerebrovascular diseases and cancer in 2004 were selected. To select the dead by cerebrovascular diseases and cancer in 2004, were matched the 2004 reimbursement data of all medical institutions to the data of funeral fee payment by the National Health Insurance Corporation from January 2004 to May 2005 for the death in 2004. The results of the analysis were as follow. The variation of medical service utilization of the dead by cancers were not small in Korea. The current study found that the variation of medical care utilization was influenced by the factors of suppliers, such as types and locations of medical institutions and the factors of users, such as sex and age. It was suspected that the reimbursement by fee-for-service contributed to the variation quite a lot, but we could not compare the variation between the different reimbursement systems in Korea. The results of the study suggested that tile factors of suppliers and utilizers should he reviewed to reduce the under use and over use expressed by variations of medical service utilization. The processes of care, effective communication and management system should be investigated for the equity of medical service utilization. Additionally, prospective payment could he recommended to reduce the high variation of medical service Use. To find the variation caused by under use and over use, further study need to control the severity of diseases, socio-economic status of the users and the system factors.