• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.1093-1098
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• 2014

Background: Cancer is a major public health problem both in our country and worldwide due to its disease burden, fatality and tendency for increased incidence. In Turkey, breast cancer ranks first with an incidence of 41.6% and cervical cancer is the tenth most common cancer with an incidence of 4.4%. Objectives and Design: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with 240 women aged from 15 to 65 years admitted to a gynecology-obstetrics outpatient clinic of a private hospital in Gaziantep. Study data were collected by the investigators through a 36-item questionnaire form which was generated using information gathered from similar surveys in the literature. Results: It was determined that 34.6% of women were high-school graduates, and 64.2% had a medium income level. The majority (79.2%) stated that they never performed BSE and 49.5% of them said that they did not know how to do it. Some 79.2% did not know what a Pap smear was and 73.3% had not experienced a smear test ever. Conclusions: In this study, we found that most of the women had insufficient knowledge of breast and cervical cancer, while knowledge and practices increased with the education level. Based on these findings, we suggest that there is a need for planning, implementation and assessment of health policies and healthcare services at the national and regional level and we believe that nurses working in the field of protective health services should develop educational programmes for women with a primary focus on cancer in order to increase awareness among the female population in Turkey.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.70 no.4
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• pp.307-314
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• 2011

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of death and disability worldwide and one of the most prevalent diseases in Korea. We examined trends and risk factors of health care utilization for COPD in Korea. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the database of Patient Surveys from 1990 through 2008, which were nationwide surveys of health services utilization through outpatient department (OPD) visits and hospitalization. Physician-diagnosed COPD patients whose ages were 45 years and older were included. Results: OPD visits and hospitalization of COPD patients between 1990 and 2008 were estimated to be 68,552 and 17,774 persons, respectively. Trends in OPD visits and hospitalization for COPD significantly increased from 1990 through 2008 (p=0.019, p=0.001, respectively). The increment rate for OPD visits was 2.0 fold over those years; for hospitalization it was 3.3 fold. Risk factors for OPD visits for COPD were male gender (odd ration [OR], 1.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.39~1.43), those aged 65 years and older (OR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.47~1.53), residential area other than a metropolis (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.07~1.010) and access to a physician's office (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 1.14~1.21). Risk factors for hospitalization were male gender (OR, 2.15; 95% CI, 2.07~2.23), those aged 65 year and older (OR, 2.86; 95% CI, 2.72~3.00), residential area other than a metropolis (OR, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.90~2.07) and access to a hospital (OR, 2.88; 95% CI, 2.59~3.22) (p<0.001, both). Conclusion: Health care utilization for COPD subjects increased from 1990 to 2008. Risk factors for the utilization were male gender, older age, and residential area other than a metropolis.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.177-188
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• 2013

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feeling of distance of social work practitioners for people living with HIV/AIDS(PLWHA) and to identify related factors. Methods: A total of 409 data were collected as convenience sampling from social welfare service providers. Independent variables were socio-demographic data, AIDS related knowledge, authoritarian personality, prejudice for minority(handicapped, women, foreigner, old aged), cultural competency. Data were analyzed by t-test, ANOVA, multiple regression analysis were conducted. Results: Multiple regression model was developed by integrating the significant variables from univariate analysis. Significant factors of physical distance were social prejudice against handicapped, knowledge about AIDS and critical awareness/knowledge about other culture. And significant factors of social distance were social prejudice against handicapped, knowledge about AIDS, authoritarian personality, critical awareness/knowledge about other culture. At last, we found that social prejudice against handicapped was the biggest factor for physical distance and authoritarian personality was the biggest factor for social distance of social work practitioners. Conclusions: The area of social services for PLWHA have to be expanded. Physical and social distance of professionals to provide services to PLWHA and factors affecting it is necessary to continue research. In addition, on the basis of these findings, specific training programs is need to be developed.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.85-110
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• 2009

The aim of this study was to examine whether health status is different according to employment status and income level in wage-earners. We analyzed wage-earners of 2199 men and 1194 women aged 30-64 years, using data from the 2006 Korean Labor and Income Panel Study(KLIPS). The difference of health status according to employment status and income level was compared with the multiple logistic regression and the standardized concentration index of ill-health. The risk of ill-health was high when waged-earners had low income. The same is true for poor employment status when their employment status was unstable as in manual laborers, irregular workers, temporary, daily workers or part-time workers. furthermore, the wage-earners with lower income and a relatively disadvantageous employment status showed the lowest health status compared to other groups. Ill-health was relatively more concentrated in lower income group and poor employment status. This study identified the existence of health inequality among various employment status of wage-earners. It is suggested that policies that deal with the inequality in social class may have an important impact on the health of the population.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.36-50
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the status quo of hospital-based home care utilization in Korea from 2008 to 2017. Methods: Data from a total of 1,396 medical institutions, 350,390 patients, and 3,563 home care nurses were analyzed using claim data from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service. Results: The number of hospital-based home care agencies decreased from 177 in 2008 to 115 in 2014. This number started to increase in 2015 and reached 179 in 2017. The number of hospital-based home care patients declined from 35,056 in 2008 to a low of 26,848 in 2013. This number started to increase in 2014 and reached 67,863 in 2017. Essential hypertension was the most common disease among hospital-based home care patients from 2008 to 2015. The number of hospital-based home care visits declined from about 500,000 in 2008 to a low of 362,000 in 2013. This number started to increase in 2014 and reached 658,000 in 2017. Conclusion: It is necessary to vigilantly monitor hospital-based home care agencies, patients, and the utilization of services. This may help establish platforms for providing community and home-based nursing services for the super-aged society in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.66-74
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• 2024

Purpose: This study evaluates the effectiveness of providing frailty prevention services by living support workers through a case of community resource connection centered on living support workers to revitalize frailty prevention programs for vulnerable elderly people. Methods: This is a research study using secondary data from a neighborhood health-sharing project among the integrated health promotion projects of one public health center in Daegu Metropolitan City. To assess frailty effects pre-assessments were conducted in August, and post-assessments were conducted in November. Frailty was measured using a 20-item frailty instrument used in home healthcare projects. Data were analyzed using the chi-square, independent t-test, and paired t-test. Results: Preliminary measurements showed that older elderly had higher frailty scores than younger elderly. However, among the elderly aged 75 or older the total frailty score decreased statistically significantly from 5.97 points to 5.30 points (t=3.03, p=.003). Conclusion: The older elderly showed greater effect of frailty prevention than the younger elderly.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.46-55
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• 2024

Objective: This study was conducted to provide basic data for the establishment of effective health policies for the unmet medical experience that may occur among the elderly depending on whether they live in a singleperson household or not. Methodology: This study used data from the 8th National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2019-2020) and excluded cases with missing values in variables for the total number of respondent participants of 15,469. Finally, 2,850 subjects aged 65 or older were selected for final analysis. This study examined the relationship between experiences of unmet medical needs, attempting to confirm the relationship between single-person households and unmet medical needs through subgroup analysis considering gender, age, and household income. Results: According to the results, in the case of single-person households, the odds ratio (OR) for unmet medical needs was significantly higher at 1.60 times (95% CI: 1.16-2.21). Upon conducting subgroup analyses for gender, age, and household income quintiles, the OR was significantly higher at 2.24 times (95% CI: 1.14-4.41) for males and 1.48 times (95% CI: 1.02-2.14) for females, statistically significant in both cases. For individuals aged 65-69, the OR was significantly higher at 1.90 times (95% CI: 1.04-3.47), but for those aged 70-74 and over 75, it was not statistically significant. In the case of households with 'low' income, the OR was higher at 1.62 times (95% CI: 1.16-2.26), and for 'middle' income, it was significantly higher at 3.21 times (95% CI: 1.08-9.51). Conclusion: This study confirmed that the experience of unmet medical care is high among men who make up single-person households and low-income seniors. Therefore, this study suggests that policies to expand medical services and support welfare for single-person households should be established to resolve these problems, showing that health policies that take into account individual and regional characteristics are needed to improve medical accessibility for single-person households.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.95-116
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• 2006

According to rapid increase of the population of senior citizens, there has been growing concern of Long-Tenn Care(LTC) services recently. Long-Tenn Care services, however, haven't been established systematically in Korea and the supply of LTC services is not sufficient despite the increase in the current social demand. This study aims to estimate the 'Willingness to Pay(WTP)' for LTC insurance which the government plans to introduce by means of social insurance, using Contingent Valuation Method(CYM). In addition, this study analyzes the factors affecting WTP for LTC insurance. An interview survey was carried out to derive WTP for LTC from 450 people who lived in Seoul aged 20 and above during the period from 16th to 21st of June 2003. Double-Bounded Dichotomous Choice Method was applied among several CVMs available to estimate both use value and no-use value of goods. There was pilot survey carried out prior to the main survey. The results show that the average monthly. WTP for LTC provided in home and residential setting is 18,192Won and 19,293Won, respectively. In the case of home care, WTP goes higher depending on reliability of LTC insurance policy and need for LTC insurance, as well as marital status, education and average monthly income. On the contrary, WTP is conversely affected by higher age and higher bids. In the case of institutional care, the factors affecting WTP are similar to those of home care, except age. This study followed NOAA's suggestions generally and the value derived through survey could be reliable. However, there can be the least bias in the process of survey because the CVM should be used under the supposed circumstances. Despite those limitations, it can be concluded that the amount the citizens are willing to pay for LTC is high enough to meet the costs needed to provide LTC.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.619-629
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to examine the current status of patents related to dietary life of the elderly in Korea. Using Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service, patents registered between 2002 and 2013 were searched with the key words including 'elderly or the aged' and 'food, meal, or dietary life.' The search results showed 1,438 patents, and 500 patents meeting the research purpose were selected and analyzed. They were divided into two categories: 'patents on foods' and 'patents on products and services related to dietary life.' The former was further divided into four subgroups as follows: foods for health promotion, foods for disease prevention, foods for the people with difficulty in swallowing and masticating, and others. Also, the latter was divided into products or services. The results showed that patents on foods accounted for about 90%, of which the patents on foods for health promotion were ranked as the highest (40%). The number of patents on products and services related to dietary life was relatively small, indicating that the technology development has been focused on foods. Therefore, the technology for products and services related to dietary life should be actively developed as well as that for foods to improve the quality of life for the elderly in the future.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.67-74
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to describe a non-face-to-face dementia prevention and physical activity program in small rural villages during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The study used a case report provided by a primary healthcare post in Gyeonggi-do in 2020. Results: The program was "From head to toe, stay healthy", which was largely divided into dementia prevention ("Dementia Zero Zone") and physical activity ("The less fat, The healthier body"). Five elderly people aged 75 and over participated for preventing dementia, and 13 residents joined the health promoting programs over 80 times in total. This program was designed one-to-one customized and person-centered program, including counseling, education, and health services. The program participants responded that the amount of physical activities was increased even under strict social distancing and they felt less isolated and less depressed. Moreover, the number of screening for dementia was increased with this program. Conclusion: This case has shown the applicability of a new approach to sustain health promotion programs in the context of limited interaction with rural nurses. Under the challenging environment that requires adaptation to information and communication technologies (ICTs), it will be necessary to solve not only technical problems but also digital literacy issues of rural residents.