• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• 제44권3호
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• pp.275-282
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• 2018

Objective: Since certain chemicals are widely applied in a variety of consumer products, exposure via simultaneous use of multiple consumer products can put human health at risk. For this reason, use patterns of consumer products are an important factor inhuman health risk assessment. The aim of this study is to investigate co-use patterns of air-fresheners and deodorizers in Korea in order to estimate potential cumulative exposure. Methods: To collect the information on use patterns of air-fresheners and deodorizers, ten air-fresheners and 14 deodorizers were selected. A total of 3,000 participants were recruited and asked through on line questionnaires whether they had simultaneously used the selected air-fresheners and deodorant products in their daily lives. Results: Among the 3,000 participants, 45.6% had used more than two air fresheners and 46.3% used more than two deodorizers. The most common types of air fresheners used concurrently include liquid and candle types for indoor environments, while those of deodorizers were fabric trigger sprays and refrigerator gels. In addition, 73.7% used more than two products without product categories. Fabric trigger sprays were contained in all of the high-ranking product combinations. Conclusions: This study showed that many consumers concurrently used air-fresheners and deodorizers in their daily routines. For accurate exposure assessment, co-use patterns of consumer products should be further investigated.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제10권3호
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• pp.362-369
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• 2019

Background: Chronic nonspecific symptoms attributed to indoor nonindustrial work environments are common and may cause disability, but the medical nature of this disability is unclear. The aim was to medically characterize the disability manifested by chronic, recurrent symptoms and restrictions to work participation attributed to low-level indoor pollutants at workplace and whether the condition shares features with idiopathic environmental intolerance. Methods: We investigated 12 patients with indoor aire-related work disability. The examinations included somatic, psychological, and psychiatric evaluations as well as investigations of the autonomic nervous system, cortisol measurements, lung function, and allergy tests. We evaluated well-being, health, disability, insomnia, pain, anxiety, depression, and burnout via questionnaires. Results: The mean symptom history was 10.5 years; for disabling symptoms, 2.7 years. Eleven patients reported reactions triggered mainly by indoor molds, one by fragrances only. Ten reported sensitivity to odorous chemicals, and three, electric devices. Nearly all had co-occurrent somatic and psychiatric diagnoses and signs of pain, insomnia, burnout, and/or elevated sympathetic responses. Avoiding certain environments had led to restrictions in several life areas. On self-assessment scales, disability showed higher severity and anxiety showed lower severity than in physician assessments. Conclusion: No medical cause was found to explain the disability. Findings support that the condition is a form of idiopathic environmental intolerance and belongs to functional somatic syndromes. Instead of endless avoidance, rehabilitation approaches of functional somatic syndromes are applicable.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• 제44권2호
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• pp.171-180
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• 2011

Assessing human exposure to food-borne hazards requires standardized assessment tools. The objective of this study was to validate a newly developed dietary assessment questionnaire to assess human exposure to food-borne hazards, which include dietary behavior and food consumption patterns such as eating frequency, types of food containers and cooking methods. A total of 216 adults were recruited for two questionnaire surveys (questionnaire 1 and 2) about 1 week apart with a 3 day diet record. Reproducibility was evaluated by comparing responses from questionnaires 1 and 2, and validity was checked by comparing responses from questionnaire 2 and the 3 day diet record. Comparisons were based on the percent agreement and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. The mean exact agreement of food containers at purchase between questionnaires 1 and 2 was 73.5%, for storing containers it was 71.9%, and for cooking methods it was 83.0%. The mean correlation coefficient for food intake frequency between questionnaires 1 and 2 was 0.71 (range, 0.50-0.83). The mean correlation coefficient of the food intake frequency between questionnaire 2 and the 3 day diet record was 0.21 (range, 0.04-0.48). The exact and adjacent agreement of food intake frequency quartile assessed by questionnaire 2 and the 3 day diet record was 65.4% (range, 51.0-82.1%). Although the correlation coefficient for food intake frequency between questionnaire 2 and the 3 day diet record was low, the exact and adjacent food intake frequency agreement was higher than 50% and reproducibility of the dietary behaviors exceeded 70%. Therefore, the questionnaire developed in this study could be applied to assess diets for the human exposure to food-borne hazards as a qualitative assessment in a large population.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• 제36권5호
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• pp.373-382
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• 2010

A number of recent studies have shown that occupational stress is closely associated with increased fatigue and decreased job satisfaction. This study was designed to assess stress in workers in the field of EIA (environment impact assessment) from July 2009 through september 2009, and questionnaires were uesd to analyze the stress scores and identify the primary factors influencing stress in this occupation. The number of respondents was 272 working in the Capital (Seoul and Kyunggido), Chungcheongdo, Jejudo area. A structured questionnaire was used to evaluate the participants' socio-demographics, job-related factors, health-related behaviors, occupational stress, reaction factor (self-perceived fatigue, job satisfaction) and buffer factor (social support). Occupational stress and self-perceived fatigue were assessed using the Korean Occupational Stress Scale-Short Form (KOSS-SF) and the Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (MFS), respectively. The analysis revealed a strong correlation between occupational stress, job satisfaction, and social support, with occupational stress being associated with an increased risk of fatigue and decreased job satisfaction. In the multiple regression analysis(stepwise), the main factors influencing occupational stress were found to be job satisfaction, supervisor, fatigue, working time, no. of personnel, career. The results of this study suggest that occupational stress is a determinant predictor of self perceived fatigue and job satisfaction. Thus, a strong recommendation is made for a stress management program for reduction of occupational stress, and for the development of relevant experts on the health and quality of life of environment impact assessment workers.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.191-201
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify relationships of periodontal disease and health related quality of life (HRQoL) in pregnant women. Methods: The participants in this study were 129 pregnant women. Data were collected using questionnaires of characteristics of the participants and subjective perception of periodontal disease and a dentist's assessment of periodontal disease. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression. Results: The physical QoL showed significant negative correlation with subjective perception of periodontal disease (r=-.21, p=.013). Mental QoL had significant negative correlations with subjective perception of periodontal disease (r=-.32, p<.001) and objective periodontal disease (r=-.34, p<.001). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that pregnant women who had a history of abortion and had higher subjective perception of periodontal disease tended to report lower levels of physical QoL. Pregnant women whose age are between 30-34 years and higher subjective perception and objective periodontal disease tended to report lower mental QoL. Conclusion: To improve HRQoL of pregnant women, nurses should pay attention on the status of periodontal disease. Careful assessment of oral healthy behaviors and proper intervention for oral health of pregnant women are needed to enhance HRQoL of pregnant women.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• 제18권3호
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• pp.94-102
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to review existing assessment tools for patients with low back pain and improve them through combination. A total of 314 patients with low back pain participated. Their condition was assessed using the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire (ODQ), the Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale (QBPD), and the Back Pain Functional Scale (BPFS). Rasch analysis was applied to identify inappropriate items, item difficulties, and the separation index. In this study, the 'sex life' item of the ODQ (10 items) and the 'sleeping' item of the BPFS (12 items) showed misfit statistics, whereas all items of the QBPD (20 items) were appropriate. After combining the ODQ, QBPD and BPFS, Rasch analysis was applied. The 'pain intensity', and the 'sex life' item of the ODQ and the 'throw a ball' item of QBPD showed misfit statistics. These 3 items were retained for further analysis. The remaining 42 combined ODQ-QBPD-BPFS items were arranged according to difficulty. For all subjects, the most difficult item was 'pain intensity', whereas the easiest was 'take food out of the refrigerator'. As the separation index of 42 combined ODQ-QBPD-BPFS was higher than that of the three questionnaires separately, difficulty of items varied with some need for rearrangement. The results of this study confirmed the possibility and need for a new back pain disability assessment tool, and produced one. Further study is needed to refine the questionnaire in consideration of psychosocial and occupational factors.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• 제44권4호
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• pp.301-314
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• 2018

Objectives: The aim of this study was to introduce the overall progress of exposure assessment to humidifier disinfectant (HD); to present participants' demographic characteristics, exposure characteristics to humidifier disinfectant, and exposure classification; and furthermore to compare those characteristics between survivors and non-survivors. Methods: An assessment of environmental exposure to HD was conducted using modified HD-specific questionnaires that had been previously validated. We analyzed the data from 4,482 participants who had been potentially exposed to HD and had registered with the KEITI (Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute) from September 2016 to May 2018 (the fourth survey). Environmental exposure assessments were performed as follows: 1) contact with participants, 2) environmental exposure assessment though face-to-face interviews, 3) assessment review and coding, and 4) exposure rating. Results: Overall, survivors made up 77.1% (3,457 subjects) and non-survivors made up 22.9% (1,025 subjects). When compared with the survivors, non-survivors had a higher proportion of subjects aged >60 years and subjects who answered as suffering lung damage and having purchased HD because it is "Beneficial to health" (p<0.05). For the exposure characteristics compared to survivors, non-survivors had a higher proportion of cases of distance from humidifier to face being less that one meter and the spray direction being toward the face (p<0.05). Overall, respondents who used the "Oxy Ssak Ssak New Gaseupgi Dangbun", "Aekyung Gaseupgi Mate", "Homeplus Gaseupgi Chungjungje", and "E-Mart Gaseupgi Salgyunje" products made up 66.1, 12.3, 4.0, and 3.6%, respectively, and 72.5% of respondents used products with PHMG as the active chemical. When compared with survivors, non-survivors had a higher proportion of use of "Oxy Ssak Ssak New Gaseupgi Dangbun" but a lower proportion of use of products with CMIT/MIT, PGH, or PHMG as the active chemical. Conclusions: This study provided demographic characteristics and exposure assessment for applicants who have been injured by HD. In spite of the limitations of performing past exposure assessment through a questionnaire survey, such as recall bias, useful results may be obtained by comparing survivors with non-survivors. Further studies such as the exposure rating method and so on are necessary to assess past exposure to HD.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• 제2권1호
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• pp.68-84
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• 1995

Background: Guideline for practice is useful because it can be the standard for assessment and way to improve quality. We need to take account of expert opinion and consensus as well as scientific evidences to develope practice guideline because it should be practical. Delphi method has been developed to gather opinions from experts fairly. This study was designed to develop practice guideline and apply it to practices as a method to improve quality in primary medical care. Methods: Hypertension(in adults over 18 years old) was selected as a target problem. Self questionnaires about management of hypertensive patients were developed by a researcher with advice of 11 experts. The questionnaires were designed to response as a 5 pont scale. The results of previous questionary were given to respondents in second and third questionnaires. If needed, the questionnaires were changed on the previous responses. The items with medium greater than or equal to 4 point in 1st and 2nd responses were accepted in guideline. The items with medium lesser than or equal to 3 point were questioned again about whether they can be excluded or not. The criteria for assessment was made with reference to guideline and applied to 85 hypertensive patients of 9 family practitioners. At 3 months after practice guideline had been given to family practitioners, performance of same practitioners was assessed with 36 new hypertensive patients. Results: 23 professors in family medicine, 22 family practitioners and 6 cardiologists, responded among 50, 50, 15 respectively. Practice guideline with 33 items was developed as a result of 3 times questionaires. The difference of responses between professors in family medicine, family practitioners and cardiologists was not significant. Performance of practice was improved in diagnosis, history taking about 6 fields, laboratory examination and decision making about time of pharmaceutical prescription. It was not improved in physical examination, life style modification, method of pharmaceutical prescription, choice of initial antihypertensives and history taking about duration of disease and diet habit. It was decreased in history taking about psychosocial factors. The assessment scores were low in history taking, physical examination and life style modification before and after use of practice guideline. Conclusion: Practice guideline for hypertension could be developed by Delphi method. Performance of practice improved partially after use of guideline.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• 제10권1호
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• pp.32-43
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to identify the long-term effects of the self-help program for arthritis patients. The subjects were 126 patients who have participated in the 6-week self-help program from 1997 to 2000, agreed to participate in this study by telephone interview and responded the mailed questionnaires. The measurement tools of this study were all self-reported questionnaires such as Numerical Pain Rating Scale, the number of pain sites, Korean Health Assessment Questionnaire, Numerical Fatigue Rating Scale, CES-D depression scale, Self-efficacy scale, Social support scale. The repeated measure ANOVA revealed the significant differences among the pre post follow-up pain and fatigue. Whileas there were no significant differences the pre post follow-up pain site and physical functioning. And there were also no significant differences the pain, pain site, fatigue and physical functioning among three groups according to the duration of follow-up. These results suggested that the follow-up program after the self-help program was completed would be helpful for the physical wellbeing of arthritis patients.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.215-227
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• 2005

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to develop a Korean Health Literacy Assessment Tool (KHLAT) and to encourage researchers in the public health education field to look at the concept of health literacy as one of the possible strategies to design and develop more effective health education campaigns in Korea. Methods: Data with 117 sample subjects was collected from various classes such as continuing adult classes and undergraduate classes. REALM, well-known and widely used health literacy tool in the US, was translated and modified for cultural considerations. The Korean modified version of the REALM was administrated to the targeted subjects who were asked to fill the survey questionnaires. Results: The findings appear to be consistent with the OCED reading literacy among Koreans. Health literacy among Korean seems to be more serious problem than we have expected before and this could be a major obstacle to effective health public education campaigns. Conclusions: In order to develop better public health education materials as well as health education programs, it may be critical for us as health educators to inform future physicians as well as practicing physicians of the important link between health literacy and the effective health education(or communication). It is now time for us to make sincere efforts in understanding health literacy one of effective strategies toward improving the public health.