• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.22-30
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• 2021

Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a public health emergency posing unprecedented challenges for health authorities. Social media may serve as an effective platform to disseminate health-related information. This study aimed to assess the extent of social media use, its impact on preventive behavior, and negative health effects such as cyberchondria and information overload. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted between June 10, 2020 and August 9, 2020 among people visiting the outpatient department of the authors' institution, and participants were also recruited during field visits for an awareness drive. Questions were developed on preventive behavior, and the Short Cyberchondria Scale and instruments dealing with information overload and perceived vulnerability were used. Results: The study recruited 767 participants with a mean age of about 45 years. Most of the participants (>90%) engaged in preventive behaviors, which were influenced by the extent of information received through social media platforms (β=3.297; p<0.001) and awareness of infection when a family member tested positive (β=29.082; p<0.001) or a neighbor tested positive (β=27.964; p<0.001). The majority (63.0%) of individuals often searched for COVID-19 related news on social media platforms. The mean±standard deviation scores for cyberchondria and information overload were 9.09±4.05 and 8.69±2.56, respectively. Significant and moderately strong correlations were found between cyberchondria, information overload, and perceived vulnerability to COVID-19. Conclusions: This study provides evidence that the use of social media as an information- seeking platform altered preventive behavior. However, excessive and misleading information resulted in cyberchondria and information overload.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.492-498
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• 2022

Process control systems used in most domestic petrochemical corporates today are based on the Windows platforms. As technology leans toward opened environment, the exposure risk of control systems is increasing. However, not many companies are preparing for various cyberattacks due to lack of awareness and misunderstanding of cyber intrusion. This study investigated the extent of how much exposed the petrochemical process control system is to security threats and suggested practical measures to reduce OT cybersecurity vulnerabilities. To identify the cyber threat status of process control systems, vulnerabilities of the Windows platform, a principal cyber threat factor, have been analyzed. For research, three major DCS providers in Korea and the discontinuation of Windows platform of 635 control systems were investigated. It was confirmed that 78% of the survey subjects were still operating in the discontinued windows platforms, and those process control systems were operated in a state vulnerable to cyber intrusions. In order to actively cope with these cyber threats, legal regulations such as designation of critical infrastructure for major petrochemical facilities which is implemented in advanced countries such as the United States are needed. Additionally, it is necessary to take the initiative in eradicating security threats to the process control systems by aggressively introducing security solutions provided from existing DCS suppliers. This paper was submitted to Professor Ko JaeWook's retirement anniversary issue.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.342-356
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• 2019

Background: The objectives of the study are to find out the effect of the implementing reform in three Central Asian countries, identify its impact on health status and health care delivery systems. This study address to identify strong and weak points of the health systems and provide a recommendation for further health care organization. Methods: A comparative analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects of implemented policy on health care system efficiency and equity. Secondary data were collected on selected health indicators using information from the World Health Organization Global Health Expenditure Database, European Health Information Platform, and World Bank Open Data. Results: In terms of population status, countries achieved relatively good results. Infant mortality and under-5 mortality rate decreased in all countries; also, life expectancy increased, and it was more than 70 years. Regulations of the health systems are still highly centralized, and the Ministry of Health is the main organ responsible for national health policy developing and implementation. Among the three countries, only Kyrgyzstan was successful in introducing a national health system. Distribution of health expenditure between public expenditure and out-of-pocket payments was decreased, and out-of-pocket payments were less the 50% of total health expenditure in all countries, in 2014. Conclusion: After independent, all three countries implemented a certain number of the policy reform, mostly it was directed to move away from the old the Soviet system. Subsequent reform should be focused on evidence-based decision making and strengthening of primary health care in terms of new public health concepts.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.247-257
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• 2022

The presidential election and the inauguration of the new government are a period of the policy window opening. The newly launched government is expected to improve the quality of life of the people. The Yoon Suk-yeol Government is also launched with new expectations with a transitional period in health care. The sustainability of health care in Korea is threatened. The environment of health care and the main policy issues of health care are difficult to secure the necessary finance for health care in spite of the increasing health care burden. Accordingly, the Yoon Suk-yeol Government's health care policy aims to provide intensive support to those in need of health and welfare and to improve the health of the people through investment in health. And for integrating fragmented health care and welfare services and creating people-centered community-based health care, a health care innovation center will be established for the evaluation platform of new delivery and payment systems, a health care development plan will be established for the blueprint of health care, and reorganizing the central & local government should be reviewed. Although we are facing unfavorable situations such as the distribution of the National Assembly, inflation, and the possibility of economic recession, we expect that announced health care policies will be implemented, recognizing that health care innovation is the only way to improve health care sustainability.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.49 no.9
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• pp.379-385
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• 2012

This paper suggests U-healthcare system for individual health management realizing the gateway, client, and Java-based network server by using the vital signal measuring system and android-based mobile platform. This study realized the vital signal measuring system based on the technology to measure the ECG, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, and respiration, etc. And all the information of measurement was transmitted to the mobile gateway using the 3-bite transmission protocol consisting of headers and data. The data transmitted to the mobile gateway was used to examine the mobile client's personal health indexes through the network server. This paper realized and tested the android-based gateway, client, and the broadcasting network server and verified their validity with simulations and actual humans. As a result, the U-healthcare system suggested was proved to be effective in managing each individual's health from short distance and long distance. And it could examine each individual's health conditions in real-time and was found to be advantageous in that it could secure the guardian's mobility.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.374-383
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• 2012

In this study, we have observed the airborne radon levels in the subway cabins before and after platform screen doors (PSD) installation. The measurements have been conducted at Seoul metropolitan subway lines in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The mean concentration of the radon inside subway cabins were increased by approximately 53% from $20.1Bq/m^3$ to $30.8Bq/m^3$ by installing PSD. After PSD installation, measured values for the different lines were rather different, and varied between 8.2 and $76.5Bq/m^3$. And mean radon concentrations were in the decreasing order for subway lines 5, 6, 7, 8, 3, 4, 2, 9 and 1. It was also found that the indoor radon concentrations in the subway cabins were highly dependent on the management approach of a ventilation system at the subway stations. By assuming an average of $720\;h\;year^{-1}$ and $2,880\;h\;year^{-1}$ spent in subway cabin, effective doses to passengers and employee were estimated. The expected annual effective dose, in case of an equilibrium factor of 0.4, were $0.07mSv\;y^{-1}$ and $0.26mSv\;y^{-1}$, respectively.

• Convergence Security Journal
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.119-124
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to examine the current status and future prospects through the Classification of sports and ICT convergence technology for the health. Sports and ICT convergence technology could be classified into three types-sports and virtual reality, wearable devices, application and platforms. First, the application of virt ual reality technology gives a user the feeling of reality, fun, and flow through the sensing technology. And this was extended to 'Gamification' concept, gamification of the Nike Plus has become a catalyst in the spread of wea rable devices market. Second, the fastest growing sector in the wearable device area is the health and sports. Chin ese and start-up companies as well as global ICT companies is competing for expanding the pool by releasing the fitness-related wearable devices. Third, the building of platform that can utilize the health and exercise-related dat a collected through the application is expanding.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.256-264
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• 2021

Purpose: This study investigated the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on women's health nursing clinical practicums in undergraduate nursing schools in Korea during the spring 2020 semester. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey on clinical practicum teaching experiences in the spring 2020 semester was distributed to members of the Korean Society of Women Health Nursing (KSWHN) who taught undergraduate nursing. One faculty member from each of 203 institutions was requested to respond and there were no duplicate participants. Seventy-nine participants (38.9%) responded and 74 responses were analyzed. Descriptive statistics were presented for all survey items. Results: Fifty-two faculty members (70.3%) belonged to universities and 22 (29.7%) taught at colleges. Thirty-eight (51.4%) answered that their institutions had affiliated teaching hospitals. More than half (52.7%) conducted hospital-based clinical practicums either entirely (n=20) or partially (n=19), whereas the rest of them (47.3%) conducted clinical practicums at school or home via online teaching. The typical teaching methods for offline or online education were case conferences, tests or quizzes, scenario studies, nursing skill practicums, (virtual) nursing simulations, and simulated patient education. Most of faculties (93.2%) supported the development of an educational platform to share educational materials and resources, such as case scenarios. Conclusion: Nursing faculty members utilized various teaching methods to enhance clinical skills and mitigate limited clinical exposure during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. The KSWHN should move forward to develop an education platform and modalities for members who face many challenges related to the accessibility and quality of nursing education contents.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.601-616
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• 2022

In the era of the fourth industrial revolution technology, the inclusion of personalized nutrition for healthcare (PNH), when establishing a healthcare platform to prevent chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease, pulmonary disease, and inflammatory diseases, enhances the national competitiveness of global healthcare markets. Furthermore, since the government experienced COVID-19 and the population dead cross in 2020, as well as numerous health problems due to an increasing super-aged Korean society, there is an urgent need to secure, develop, and utilize PNH-related technologies. Three conditions are essential for the development of PNH technologies. These include the establishment of causality between obesity genome (genotype) and prevalence (phenotype) in Koreans, validation of clinical intervention research, and securing PNH-utilization technology (i.e., algorithm development, artificial intelligence-based platform, direct-to-customer [DTC]-based PNH, etc.). Therefore, a national control tower is required to establish appropriate PNH infrastructure (basic and clinical research, cultivation of PNH-related experts, etc.). The post-corona era will be aggressive in sharing data knowledge and developing related technologies, and Korea needs to actively participate in the large-scale global healthcare markets. This review provides the importance of scientific evidence based on a huge dataset, which is the primary prerequisite for the DTC obesity gene-based PNH technologies to be competitive in the healthcare market. Furthermore, based on comparing domestic and internationally approved DTC obese genes and the current status of Korean obesity genome-based PNH research, we intend to provide a direction to PNH planners (individuals and industries) for establishing scientific PNH guidelines for the prevention of obesity.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.103-106
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• 2010

We develop a theoretical framework for international cooperation that can be used for the elimination of asbestos-related diseases(ARDs). The framework is based on the similarities in the temporal patterns of asbestos use and occurrence of ARDs in diverse countries. The status of each nation can be characterized by observing asbestos use and ARD frequency therein using a time window. Countries that supply technology for prevention of ARDs can be classified as donors and countries that receive these technologies as recipients. We suggest identification of three levels of core preventative technologies. Development of a common platform to gather and manage core preventative technologies will combine the strengths of donor countries and the needs of recipient countries.