• Journal of Korean Clinical Health Science
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.1115-1125
• /
• 2018

purpose : The purpose of the study is to investigate opinion on the legalization of the actual work of clinical dental hygienists. Methods : A self-reported questionnaire was completed by 171 dental hygienists in Busan and Gyeongnam from December 1, 2017 to January 31, 2018. Structured questionnaires were uesd for analysis. The collected data was analyzed using IBM SPSS. Statistic 20.0. Results : The first, assist of dental treatment, Second, dental health care education and consulting duties, and third priority preventive duties were found to be the most important duties in the dental office. Currently, it was investigated perform in a lot of workplace. Preventive treatment tasks include scaling, teeth polishing, applying fluoride and assist of dental treatment include preparation for medical care, preparation for implant surgery, preparation for oral surgery, implant surgery assistant and patient care training, and preparation for periodontal surgery. Conclusion : As a result, the dental hygienist performing a lot of dental assist tasks, oral health education counseling and preventive duties. Nonetheless, clinical dental hygienists are outlaws due to the disparity between practical and legal duties. Therefore, it is urgent to legislate actual duties of dental hygienist so that experts can fully exercise the competency of the public in promoting dental health. Relevant governments and related organizations should take reasonable measures to solve this problem.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.144-152
• /
• 2016

Purpose: This study compares beneficiaries of Korean Medicaid with those under the National Health Insurance program, seeking to understand how each group utilizes their healthcare. Methods: Data were obtained from a Health Promotion Survey in 2005. Health status was measured by the respondents' perception of health. Health service utilization included the availability of healthcare services, the type of healthcare institution, and intent to revisit. Predisposing and enabling factors, as well as health care needs were used for this study. Results: Compared to National Health Insurance beneficiaries, Medicaid beneficiaries reported lower levels of health status and fewer enabling factors. They had more chronic diseases and disabilities. Education level, existence of chronic diseases, exercise patterns, and disabilities were associated with health status. Conclusion: We found that Medicaid beneficiaries had fewer resources and higher levels of health needs. As Medicaid is reformed, policy makers and administrators should understand healthcare utilization behaviors of Medicaid beneficiaries and the factors hindering access to care.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.138-150
• /
• 2012

The purpose of this study was to examine the regional disparity of ambulatory health care utilization considering spatio-temporal variation in South Korea during 1996-2008(precisely, in 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005, and 2008) using bayesian hierarchial spatio-temporal model. The spatial pattern uses an intrinsic gaussian conditional autoregressive (CAR) error component. Ornstein-Uhlenbeck method was applied to detect the temporal patterns. The results showed that substantial temporal-geographical variation depending on diseases exists in Korea. On the Contrary to the pattern of total outpatient utilizations, for example, the areas that chronic diseases distributed relatively high were most in rural where the proportion of elderly population was higher than in the urban. Chungcheongnam-do, Junlabuk-do, and Kyeongsangbuk-do had higher risks in hypertension, whereas arthritis was higher risk in the Kyeonggi-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, Junlanam-do, and Junlabuk-do. The results of this study suggested that the effective health intervention programmes needed to alleviate the regional variation of health care utilization. These outcomes also provided the foundation for further investigation of risk factors and interventions in these high-risk areas.

• Journal of Research and Publication Ethics
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.13-18
• /
• 2021

Purpose: This paper aimed to examine the ethical considerations that are the basis for many functions in the healthcare field. The key ethical values in global health, as well as future considerations imperative to this area, were observed. Research design, data and methodology: The current study utilized the past literature studies that were examined in the field of global health. An overview of the role of ethics in the healthcare field, as well as important considerations that needed to be taken into account in order to provide advancements in this area, were investigated. Results: Ethics are an important set of principles that guides humankind into the right conduct or action to better society and each other. Ethical values are one of the pinnacle points for any healthcare provider, as healthcare is not only considered from the aspect of patient health and well-being, but also in its role of keeping ethical guidelines to achieve the best possible care for a patient. Conclusions: A comprehensive understanding of healthcare is needed in order to tackle next generational challenges in global health. These ethical considerations will inevitably play a significant role in harnessing the patient-healthcare professional relationships as well as care for the shortening of a global disparity on healthcare.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.205-215
• /
• 2022

Background: The purpose of this study is to identify the factors infecting the medical care utilization from a new perspective by newly classifying the categories of administrative districts using the urban decline index and medical vulnerability index as indicators. Methods: This study targeted 150,940 people who used medical services using the 2015 cohort database (DB), 2010-2015 urban regeneration analysis index DB, and 2014-2015 public health and medical statistics DB. The decline of the region was classified using the urban decline index typed using k-means clustering and the medical vulnerability index typed using the quantile score calculation. Regression analysis was performed 3 times with medical expenditure, length of stay, and the number of outpatient visits as dependent variables. Results: There were 37 stable region (47.4%), 29 health vulnerable region (37.2%), and 12 decline region (15.4%). The health vulnerable region had lower medical expenditure, fewer outpatient visits, and a higher length of stay than the stable region. The decline region was all higher than the stable region but had no significant effect. Conclusion: The factors that cause the health disparity between regions are not only factors related to individual health behavior but also environmental factors of the local community. Therefore, there is a need for a systematic alternative that properly considers the resources within the community and reflects the characteristics of the population.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.17-26
• /
• 2024

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the relationship between the socioeconomic status and oral health of adults. Methods: Data from the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016-2018) were analyzed, and 13,199 adults aged 19 years or older were selected as study subjects. Various oral health indicators were used to analyze the effect of socioeconomic status on oral health. Disparities in oral health according to socioeconomic status were analyzed using the complex sample chi-squared test and multiple logistic regression analysis. Results: A statistically significant difference was observed between income level, medical aid, and all oral health indicators, which indicated that the lower the income level, the lower the oral health level (p<0.001). Furthermore, all oral health indicators displayed statistically significant differences, with the exception of the prevalence of dental caries and education level. The lower the education level, the lower the oral health level (p<0.001). Therefore, the oral health level of adults presented significant differences according to different socioeconomic status indicators. Conclusions: To prevent oral health inequalities, the government and local governments need to intervene not only in the field of health care but also in the social determinants. Additionally, concerted efforts should be made to eliminate oral health disparities by improving policies and systems.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.20-25
• /
• 2021

Purpose: The ability to access clinical trials for cancer treatment is important. This study investigated whether regional differences exist in oncologic clinical trial protocols conducted in South Korea. Methods: Records of all approved oncologic clinical trials conducted in 2019 were downloaded from the Republic of Korea Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The study covered Seoul, the capital area, other metropolitan cities, and provincial areas. Descriptive statistics summarized the distribution patterns of clinical trials by region. Results: A total of 202 oncologic clinical trials were conducted in 63 institutions in 2019. Of these protocols, 186 (92%) were available in Seoul, 120 (59%) in the capital area, 64 (32%) in metropolitan cities, and 66 (33%) in provincial areas. More regional differences in protocol availability were observed in domestic trials, investigator-initiated trials, phase 1 and 2 trials, and smaller-scale trials. Conclusion: Most oncologic clinical trials were conducted in medical institutions located in Seoul, with the rest conducted in the capital area, metropolitan cities, and provincial areas. The findings reveal clear differences in protocol availability between Seoul and the other regions. Measures designed to improve geographical access to oncologic clinical trials may be needed given their growing importance in cancer treatment.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.44 no.4
• /
• pp.141-148
• /
• 2011

Annual epidemics of seasonal influenza occur during autumn and winter in temperate regions and have imposed substantial public health and economic burdens. At the global level, these epidemics cause about 3-5 million severe cases of illness and about 0.25-0.5 million deaths each year. Although annual vaccination is the most effective way to prevent the disease and its severe outcomes, influenza vaccination coverage rates have been at suboptimal levels in many countries. For instance, the coverage rates among the elderly in 20 developed nations in 2008 ranged from 21% to 78% (median 65%). In the U.S., influenza vaccination levels among elderly population appeared to reach a "plateau" of about 70% after the late 1990s, and levels among child populations have remained at less than 50%. In addition, disparities in the coverage rates across subpopulations within a country present another important public health issue. New approaches are needed for countries striving both to improve their overall coverage rates and to eliminate disparities. This review article aims to describe a broad conceptual framework of vaccination, and to illustrate four potential determinants of influenza vaccination based on empirical analyses of U.S. nationally representative populations. These determinants include the ongoing influenza epidemic level, mass media reporting on influenza-related topics, reimbursement rate for providers to administer influenza vaccination, and vaccine supply. It additionally proposes specific policy implications, derived from these empirical analyses, to improve the influenza vaccination coverage rate and associated disparities in the U.S., which could be generalizable to other countries.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.17 no.7
• /
• pp.696-706
• /
• 2017

This study is to examine health care utilization and morbidity of disabled and non-disabled children in Korea to evaluate the health disparities. We used medical claim data of 2010 from the National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort data. As a result of the analysis, the disabled children are not in good health condition because they have more frequency of medical service use, hospitalization rate, and more number of diseases and spent more on medical expenses than non-disabled children. Patterns of the most frequent disease differ from significantly between disable and non-disabled. Disabled children had a higher prevalence of selected birth defects and selected health conditions associated with physical disability and a lower prevalence of selected infection disease than children without disability. In conclusion, Health policy changes that would extend the access to health service for children with disabilities characterized by frequent medical care, hospitalization, excessive medical expenditure and complex diseases.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
• /
• v.7 no.4
• /
• pp.243-249
• /
• 2007

It has passed 40 years since dental hygiene was introduced to Korea. At this time, We hereby demonstrate the findings from the survey on the academic definition and developmental direction of dental hygiene. This survey has been conducted on dental hygiene majoring students, dental clinic hygienists of health & medical care and related professors in the dental field. The findings show that there exists a big disparity in defining the academic scope of dental hygiene among students, clinical dental hygienists of health & medical care and university professors. Accordingly, we suggest that the academic scope of dental hygiene should be explained in a uniform definition. In addition, the results of this survey suggest that they feel that the status of dental hygiene is really behind other study fields, in view of such high response thereto. For development of dental hygiene study and enhancement of its social status, the joint professional study by private, government and scholars should be immediately promoted and a wide variety of programs for dental hygiene should be continuously implemented under the auspices of government and academic world.