• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.179-190
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• 2019

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the mediating effects of health promotion behaviors on the correlation between self-perceived health and medical care utilization among older adults. Methods: This study used data from a. Data were analyzed with frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and hierarchical multiple regression. Mediation analysis was performed according to the Sobel test. Results: The self-perceived health and some health promotion behaviors in older adults had a statistically significant effect on medical care utilization. Only the nutritional management of health promotion behaviors had a mediating effect on the relation between the self-perceived health and medical care utilization of older adults. Conclusions: The nutritional management of older adults was confirmed as an important factor to health promotion and prevention. This study was meaningful in that it identified the political directions for establishing health care policy for the older adults.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.25-52
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• 1993

Variation in the utilization of medical services is a very important issue in cost containment and quality assurance of health care. Practice variation directly affects health care expenditure especially in fee-for-service system, which is the payment system of health insurance in Korea. In addition to cost issue it is generally accepted that variations in medical practice and the cost of inpatient care suggest the possibility of inappropriate quality of care. This study is to closely examine the patterne and degrees of variation in cost structure of inpatient care among types of hospital and individual hospitals in some tracer diseases, and also to inquire into the service items which contribute much to the variation of total medical care cost. Foru common diseases, i.e. Cesarean Section, appendectomy, cataract extraction and pediatric pneumonia, were selected as tracer diseases. In most tracer diseases there were statistically significant differences in total medical care cost among hospitals in same type of hospital as well as among types of hospital(p<0.01). When total medical care cost were subdivided into the types of service, cost of medication and diagnostic examination varied the most prominenly. When the cost of medication were subdivided again, cost of parenteral antibiotics showed the most prominent variation. Of total medical care cost, medication was most contributory to the variation of total medical care cost(58.1~82.3%), and cost of antibiotics was most contributory to the variation of medication cost(63.9~92.2%). The results of study implicated that reducing the variation of medication may plays a significant role in containing the cost of inpatient care. In order to sort out the factors affecting practice variations including drug prescription pattes further researches are required.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.426-435
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• 2000

Objectives : To determine the relationships among quality, satisfaction, value and purchase intention in health care service. Methods : The data were gathered from out-patients who had used hospital services. They were asked to assess service quality, satisfaction, service value, and purchase intention. A total of 557 usable questionnaires were gathered. The data were analyzed using SAS version 6.12. The analysis methods employed in the study were confirmatory analysis and covariance structural analysis. Results : Service quality exhibited a significant and positive relationship with satisfaction, service value, and purchase intention. Furthermore, satisfaction had a significant and positive relationship with purchase intention. And finally, service value had a significant and positive relationship with both satisfaction and purchase intention. Based on these findings, it is evident that satisfaction was a mediator between service quality and purchase intention. Also service value played a mediating role between service quality and satisfaction. Conclusions : These results suggest that service quality is an antecedent of satisfaction and sonics value, and exerts a stronger influence on purchase intentions than satisfaction and service value do. Thus, managers may need to emphasize service quality in health care.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.61-73
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• 2016

Objectives : The aim of this study was to investigate the satisfaction determinants of rehabilitation care group inpatients in rehabilitation long-term care hospitals. Methods : A survey was conducted with 262 patients from 6 rehabilitation long-term care hospitals located in Busan Kyungnam. Data were collected from June 2016 to July 2016 with a structured questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS 23.0. Results : The significant factors affecting the overall satisfaction score were disease group and 5 quality indices of medical services(Medical service quality, Rehabilitation services quality, Hospital reputation, External physical environment, and Internal physical environment). Additionally, the significant factors affecting intention to revisit were age, disease group, length of hospital stay and the 5 quality indices of medical services. Conclusions : The results of this study indicate that rehabilitation long-term care hospitals should try to improve the overall satisfaction of inpatients, especially focusing on the internal physical environment and the quality of the rehabilitation services and medical services, which will lead to a high level of intention for patients to revisit.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.409-418
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the costs and benefits of home nursing care services between public health centers (PHC) and private hospitals. Method: Participants were 105 patients who had received home nursing care services from a private hospital or public health center. From a societal perspective, the researcher identified the costs and benefits of the services using performance data and calculated the net benefit and benefit/cost ratio. Result: The net benefit of the home nursing care service based in the PHC was 165.9 million won and benefit/cost ratio was 2.0, while the net benefit of the home nursing care services by the private hospital was 141.1 million won and benefit/cost ratio was 1.7. Both types of programs were economically validated. Conclusion: Home nursing care services were basically efficient as the results showed a positive net benefit. A cost-benefit analysis indicated that the PHC-based home nursing care services were more efficient than that of the private hospital. With limited human resources and management standards in public health centers, results suggest the need for a more systematic management of the home nursing care service to improve the health of this vulnerable community population.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.89-99
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the effects of visiting nursing services in long-term care (LTC) insurance on changes in health status and physical functions among the elderly. Methods: We analyzed survey data on the living status and welfare needs of the elderly from 2008 and 2011 using the difference-in-difference method with propensity score matching. Results: The subjects were 76 elders including 38 visiting nursing service users(intervention group) and 38 home-based LTC service users (control group). Results from DID analysis confirmed that the subjective health status level of the intervention group was 2.2 points higher (p=.044) and the depression level was 0.3 point lower (p=.039) than the control group. In addition, the intervention group's ADL score was 1.9 (p=.027) and IADL 3.9 (p=.030), showing that their health was deteriorated less. Conclusion: Visiting nursing service in LTC insurance was associated with delayed deterioration of subjective health status, depression, ADL and IADL. These findings suggest the need of rebuilding visiting nursing service programs focusing on prevention services, which will be more contributive to elderly health care and the reduction of social costs.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2002

The proportion and role of public sector in health care industry is very small in Korea. Asymmetric distribution of health care resources is one of the major health care concerns. This issue is so important that it raises a question of accessibility, availability, continuity of care and equity of rural area people's health care utilization. To solve these problems and to satisfy the basic demand of oriental medical service in rural areas, the oriental public health doctors were placed in rural health centers since 1998. The main objectives of this study are twofold: to measure the cognition and attitude of health center directors on the strategies for utilizing oriental public health doctors and to provide basic data for improving the health manpower management program. Data have been collected by way of the self-administrative questionnaires. Developing the questionnaire, the literature review on the previous studies and delphi method were carried out. The response rate was 38.7%. The results of this study are summarized as follows; 1. community people respond positively on the oriental medical service activity in health center. 2. In regard to workloads of oriental public health doctor, 'appropriate' was 81.1% and 'burdensome' was 18.2%, respectively. 3. The 94.0% of respondents thought that the oriental medical service will be continued. 4. To activate oriental medical service in health center, the sufficient budget and provision of aid workers is a necessity. 5. The 75.5% of health center directors respond positively on the allocation of oriental public health doctor to health sub-centers. 6. Health center directors agreed that oriental public health doctor should perform the clinical service as well as prevention and health promotion activity. These results recommend that oriental medical service in health center should be continued gradually, and oriental public health doctors working at health center perform their work efficiently. Undoubtedly, their activity should be more focused on health promotion and disease prevention than daily patient care. For achieving this objective, more support of governmental policy is essential for utilizing oriental public health doctor and better health of the rural area community people.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.813-832
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• 2009

As accessibility to health-care service in less populated rural areas is geographically limited and demand for public health-care by the aging is increasing, a new approach for health-care service such as a home care service is becoming more popular. For a home care service, health-care personnels directly visit to location of health-care clients. Such changes in provision of health services require developing innovative and scientific approaches for efficient allocation of health resources and managing services by public health-care organizations. The purpose of this study is to formulate a location model for visiting health-care districting for the rural elderly and to develop an Automated Zoning Procedure (AZP) to solve this model. Mobility, workload balance and contiguity criteria are considered in the model. Three different objective functions are evaluated; 1) minimizing the sum of network distance between the unit areas in a district, 2) maximizing spatial interaction between the unit areas in a district, and 3) minimizing tour distance that visits each unit area exactly once in a district. The AZP for solving the model is developed and applied to a rural area. The application results demonstrate that the AZP can generate different districting systems for each objective functions.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.97-110
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• 2023

Purpose: This study sought to determine the effect of the competence of nurses and their, work environment on the quality of nursing service in long-term care hospitals using the Donabedian model as a theoretical framework. Methods: This descriptive investigative study analyzed nursing competency, the work environment, and nursing service quality in a group of 182 nurses directly in charge of patient care at long-term care hospitals in special cities, metropolitan cities, and small and medium-size cities. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS/WIN 27.0 version. Results: In long-term care hospitals, nurses' competence (r=.674, p<.001) and work environment (r=.444, p<.001) were correlated with quality of nursing service, and the nurses' competence was correlated with the work environment (r=.443, p<.001). The factors affecting the quality of nursing service in long-term care hospitals were competence, the work environment, and the age of nurses. Conclusion: In this study, both competence and the work environment of nurses were observed to be important factors in improving nursing service quality in long-term care hospitals. Therefore, efforts aimed at enhancing these factors are necessary to ensure the high quality of nursing service in these hospitals.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.182-196
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• 2010

Purpose: This study examined potential determinants of gender differences in utilization of health care services among Korean adults. Methods: The study population was 21,647 adults ${\geq}$25-years-of-age who had responded to a health interview survey conducted as part of the 2005 National Health and Nutrition Surveys. Relative gender differences in the use of each health service were assessed using chi-square test and sex ratios. The contribution of potential factors of sex differences in the use of health services was evaluated by comparing the odds ratio and sex ratio before and after adjustment for such variables. Results & Conclusions: More females had visited a physician and been admitted to hospital, but hospitalization time was longer for males. Adjustment for poor self-rated health, number of chronic disease and limit of full term for ADL led to a reduction in the odds ratio of females compared to males for health service utilization. However, adjustment for socioeconomic factors (household income, education, occupation, and health insurance) magnified the gender difference concerning length of hospitalization. Factors that explain gender-related differences in utilization of health care services are concluded to be different health needs and socioeconomic status.