• International Commerce and Information Review
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.23-42
• /
• 2006

Services, despite the difficulty of its exact definition, can be defined as deeds, efforts, or performances by economical bodies, attributing to four unique characteristics - intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity, and perishability. This study aims to research the global competition and problems of the local professional services, especially educational services and health services, and to suggest some devices for increasing the exportation of both educational services and health services. Educational services and health services were reserved in the multilateral negotiation to open the WTO parties' markets because of its national public benefits. But it is indispensable to open our local market by the bilateral FTA negotiation. Legal restrictions, therefore, related to both education and health should be erased according to the basic rule of the market competition, and it is advisable to control the national public benefit of these services by enacting the different legal systems. For recovering from minus balance of payment in the educational services or health services, furthermore, it is necessary to drive rather some offensive exporting policies than the defensive policy against supply from the foreign countries. In conclusion, the korean Foreign Trade Act and other relative acts should be revised, and both educational services and health services should be contained within the definition of "the international trade" for the governmental benefits of supporting the services exportation.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.123-140
• /
• 2001

Hypotheses In health services research are becoming increasingly more complex and specific. As a result, health services research studies often include multiple independent, intervening, and dependent variables in a single hypothesis. Nevertheless, the statistical models adopted by health services researchers have failed to keep pace with the increasing complexity and specificity of hypotheses and research designs. This article introduces a statistical model well suited for complex and specific hypotheses tests in health services research studies. The covariance structure modeling(CSM) methodology is especially applied to regional relevance indices(RIs) to assess the impact of health resources and healthcare utilization. Data on secondary statistics and health insurance claims were collected by each catchment area. The model for RI was justified by direct and indirect effects of three latent variables measured by seven observed variables, using ten structural equations. The resulting structural model revealed significant direct effects of the structure of health resources but indirect effects of the quantity on RIs, and explained 82% of correlation matrix of measurement variables. Two variables, the number of beds and the portion of specialists among medical doctors, became to have significant effects on RIs by being analyzed using the CSM methodology, while they were insignificant in the regression model. Recommendations for the CSM methodology on health service research data are provided.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.241-242
• /
• 2023

As part of efforts to internally strengthen the research ethics capacity of the Korean Academy of Health Policy and Management, we have compiled research ethics issues that are frequently encountered in public health researches. Firstly, when reusing research reports or dissertations as papers, efforts should be made to avoid unfair duplicate publication. Compliance with the institutional review board exemption process is required, and additional efforts should be devoted during the text recycling process to prevent self-plagiarism or unjust duplicate publication.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.33-38
• /
• 2003

Objectives : To assess the difference in the volume of psychiatric treatments provided to health insurance inpatients, compared with those on medical assistance(the medical aid program) Korean psychiatric hospitals, and to determine factors which affect the volume of the services. Methods : 21 psychiatrists, from 3 Korean psychiatric hospitals recorded the frequencies psychiatric treatments provided to inpatients in one week (February 18-24, 2002). The records of 329 patients were analyzed through t-tests, and random effectmixed model analyses to define the difference between the two groups, and to find other factors affecting the volume of service. Results : A significant difference in the volume of psychiatric treatments provided was observed between the health insurance and medical assistance groups. The variation in the volume of service between hospitals was prominent, and other factors (gender, agegroup, length of stay and mental disorder)were also found to be significant. The patients on medical assistance received only 70% of the psychiatric treatments of those on health insurance. Conclusions : More effort is required to improve the methods of payment to increase the level of fee scheduling for medical assistance. Further studies on the mechanisms causing these differences in the volume of service are required.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.418-427
• /
• 2015

Purpose: Focus group interviews were conducted to explore the current status and barriers of health care services in nursing home from the viewpoint of staffs taking care of nursing home residents. Methods: A qualitative thematic analysis using the focus group interview method was used. A total of 32 health care professionals (19 nurses and 13 social workers) from thirteen nursing homes in South Korea attended (5 focus groups) in 2014. Results: The two main themes were identified: 'minimal health care services that left personal care needs unmet' which has three subthemes of 'stereotyped and fragmented care by types of care providers', 'medically-oriented health care services' and 'health care services mixed with social or recreational programs'; and 'barriers to proper and timely care in nursing homes' with four subthemes including 'unmet care needs due to cognitive dysfunction or lack of expression', 'care guides or tools not suitable for long-term care facilities', 'health care needs that are beyond the facility's care boundary', and 'care delay due to lack of understanding on the older adult's status'. Conclusion: The findings from this study should help health care policy makers to recognize the factors that influence health care services and provide direction for nurses and other staffs involved in supporting health care services for nursing home residents.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.556-569
• /
• 2016

Purpose: This study aimed to provide baseline data on the health care of children and the demand for visiting health care services in one region in efforts to support the implementation of visiting health care services for vulnerable children. Methods: Seventy-three children and their caregivers from the vulnerable social group and 82 children and their caregivers from the general group were selected as research participants. The data were collected through home visiting survey by professional nurses. Results: Children from the vulnerable social group were at higher risk of poor health care than the general group. Regarding home safety, vulnerable children were more likely to be exposed to unsafe conditions. With respect to nutrition, developmental play, developmental screening test, and home safety, visiting health care services were in demand for caretakers. Conclusion: These results indicate that to promote health care and safety conditions for vulnerable children, it is necessary to implement visiting health care programs that include the management of vaccination, medical check-up, growth and development, home safety, and nutrition. These findings can be used as the baseline data for the development of visiting health care programs for vulnerable children.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.45-70
• /
• 2009

Outbreaks of health risks such as the Influenza A virus (H1N1) are continuing, which highlights the immediacy of risk control strategies to reduce public's fear and protect the safety of the society. Evidence suggests that success for risk management is basically dependent on the public's willingness to adopt health behaviors recommended by experts, and the behavioral intention relies on their risk perception. Understanding of how individuals think of and feel about health risks is thereby important. This article aims to provide insights for future study on health-risk perception. The main streams and recent developments of theorizing and research on health risk perception are reviewed. The issues, such as (1) health risk perception is an important component for shaping relevant health policies as it reflects public trust of the institutions managing health risks, (2) despite this significance, however, few attempts have been made to address the meaning of 'perceiving health risks' in health services research, are shed light on. On the basis on the critical discussion of the contributions and the limitations of the literature, this article finishes with a few of research agendas by three levels of analysis in risk perception research.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.44-55
• /
• 2019

Purpose: To investigate whether changes in Medical Aid (MA) status are associated with unmet need and catastrophic health expenditure (CHE). Methods: Data from the 2010 to 2014 Korea Health Panel (KHP) were used. The impact of changes in annual MA status ('MA to MA,' 'MA to MA Exit,' 'MA Exit to MA,' and 'MA Exit to MA Exit') on unmet need (all-cause and financial) and CHE (10% and 40% of household capacity to pay) were examined using the generalized estimating equation (GEE) model. Analysis was conducted separately for MA type I and II individuals. Results: In 1,164 Medical Aid type I individuals, compared to the 'MA to MA' group, the 'MA to MA Exit' group had increased likelihoods of all-cause and financial unmet need. This group also showed higher likelihoods of CHE at the 10% standard. The 'MA Exit to MA Exit' group showed increased likelihoods at the 10% and 40% CHE standards. In 852 type II recipients, the 'MA to MA Exit' group had higher likelihoods of CHE at the 10% standard. Conclusions: Type 1 MA exit beneficiaries had higher likelihoods of all-cause and financial unmet need, along CHE at the 10% standard. Type I 'MA Exit to MA Exit' beneficiaries also showed higher likelihoods of CHE at the 10% and 40% standards. In type II recipients, MA exit beneficiaries had higher likelihoods of CHE at the 10% standard. The results infer the importance of monitoring MA exit beneficiaries as they may be vulnerable to unmet need and CHE.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.11 no.3
• /
• pp.372-377
• /
• 2020

Infection risks of handling specimens associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by public health laboratory services teams were assessed to scrutinize the potential hazards arising from the work procedures. Through risk assessments of all work sequences, laboratory equipment, and workplace environments, no aerosol-generating procedures could be identified except the procedures (mixing and transfer steps) inside biological safety cabinets. Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) such as surgical masks, protective gowns, face shields/safety goggles, and disposable gloves, together with pertinent safety training, was provided for laboratory work. Proper disinfection and good hand hygiene practices could minimize the probability of SARS-CoV-2 infection at work. All residual risk levels of the potential hazards identified were within the acceptable level. Contamination by gloved hands was considered as a major exposure route for SARS-CoV-2 when compared with eye protection equipment. Competence in proper donning and doffing of PPE accompanied by hand washing techniques was of utmost importance for infection control.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.18 no.10
• /
• pp.1722-1728
• /
• 2008

The natural course of chronic hepatitis B (CH-B) virus infection is reportedly variable, and the long-term outcomes in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative chronic hepatitis B infection are distinct from HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis. However, the molecular virological factors that contribute to the progression of liver disease in the south Indian setting remain largely unclear. We prospectively studied 679 consecutive patients for HBsAg, HBeAg, anti-HBe, and HBV DNA by qualitative PCR. Randomly selected samples were subjected to bidirectional sequencing to reveal core/precore variants. Of the total 679 chronic HBV cases investigated, 23% (154/679) were replicative HBV carriers. Furthermore, amongst the 560 HBV DNA samples analyzed, 26% (146/560) were viremic. Among the 154 HBeAg positive cases, HBV DNA was positive in 118 cases (77%), significantly (p<0.001) higher than the anti-HBe positive (7%) (28/406) cases. Significant increase in liver disease (p<0.01) with ALT enzyme elevation (p<0.001) was observed in both HBe and anti-HBe viremic cases. Interestingly, low frequencies of mutations were seen in the precore region of the HBV strains studied. HBV precore and core promoter variants were less often detected in subjects with "e" negative chronic HBV infection and, therefore, may not have a prognostic role in determining liver disease sequelae in this part of tropical India.