• Health Policy and Management
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.120-128
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• 2024

From February to now 2024, there continues to be controversy over the expansion of admission number to medical school. Some of the controversy arises from a mix of present and future time points. In the present time point, the controversy over whether physicians are some shortages or not has various aspects. Some aspects are presented as evidence of the physician shortage and others as non-shortage. Also, the presenting evidence of shortage is being disputed, and so is the evidence of the contrary. This controversy over whether there is a shortage or not in the present time point makes it difficult to reach a consensus. In 10 years, the shortage of doctors will increase due to the rapid increase in the elderly population, so the admission number of medical schools will need to be increased. However, the increase must be such that there is minimal deterioration in the quality of medical education. More admission numbers should be allocated to medical schools with a high quality of medical education. This study suggests that large-scale medical schools increase the admission number by 20%-30%, and small-scale medical schools increase the admission number by 40%-50%, if so, the total increasing number is 760 to 1,066. If the 2,000-person increase is enforced, the quality of medical education must be carefully evaluated and the results should be reflected in adjusting the admission number of medical schools. In 20 years later, the admission number of medical schools will have to be reduced. This is because the physician supply is changing to a linear function and the physician demand (medical care demand) is changing to a quadratic function. Even if the current number is maintained, there will be an excess of doctors from 2048, so the medical school admission number must be reduced and its size will be reduced to about 2,000, a 30% reduction from the current number. Because the same reduction rate for all medical schools will result in many small-scale medical schools, the M&A (mergers and acquisitions) strategy should be considered with 40 medical schools and 12 Korean medical schools. In Korea, the main contributor to estimating physician demand is the change in population structure. Due to the rapid decrease in the total fertility rate, future population projections are uncertain. The recent rapid increase in healthcare utilization should be reexamined in the forecasting of physician demand. Since the various factors that affect the estimate of doctor supply and demand are unclear, the estimate of physician supply and demand must be continuously conducted every five years, and the Health Care Workforce Committee must be established and operated. The effects of increasing the admission number of medical schools should be evaluated and adjusted annually.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.4379-4386
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• 2013

Projection of cancer incidence is essential for planning cancer control actions, health care and allocation of resources. Here we project the cancer burden at the National and State level to understand the magnitude of cancer problem for the various calendar years from 2011 to 2026 at 5-yearly intervals. The age, sex and site-wise cancer incidence data along with populations covered by the registries were obtained from the report of National Cancer Registry Programme published by Indian Council of Medical Research for the period 2001-2004. Pooled age sex specific cancer incidence rates were obtained by taking weighted averages of these seventeen registries with respective registry populations as weights. The pooled incidence rates were assumed to represent the country's incidence rates. Populations of the country according to age and sex exposed to the risk of development of cancer in different calendar years were obtained from the report of Registrar General of India providing population projections for the country for the years from 2001 to 2026. Population forecasts were combined with the pooled incidence rates to estimate the projected number of cancer cases by age, sex and site of cancer at various 5-yearly periods Viz. 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026. The projections were carried out for the various leading sites as well as for 'all sites' of cancer. In India, in 2011, nearly 1,193,000 new cancer cases were estimated; a higher load among females (603,500) than males (589,800) was noted. It is estimated that the total number of new cases in males will increased from 0.589 million in 2011 to 0.934 million by the year 2026. In females the new cases of cancer increased from 0.603 to 0.935 million. Three top most occurring cancers namely those of tobacco related cancers in both sexes, breast and cervical cancers in women account for over 50 to 60 percent of all cancers. When adjustments for increasing tobacco habits and increasing trends in many cancers are made, the estimates may further increase. The leading sites of cancers in males are lung, oesophagus, larynx, mouth, tongue and in females breast and cervix uteri. The main factors contributing to high burden of cancer over the years are increase in the population size as well as increase in proportion of elderly population, urbanization, and globalization. The cancer incidence results show an urgent need for strengthening and augmenting the existing diagnostic/treatment facilities, which are inadequate even to tackle the present load.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.304-315
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• 2012

Today, suicide by self-poisoning of prescribed or non-prescribed drugs on purpose has been increasing and is a major cause of mortality. It is very important to treat promptly and properly for saving the lives from those suicides. There is neither an organization such as poison control center nor measurement in S. Korea, though. The object of this study was to evaluate information of frequently used substances for suicide attempt in S. Korea. Our results also can provide healthcare provider including pharmacists and doctors, etc and contribute to increasing health and welfare for Korean. From June $1^{st}$ 2006 to April $30^{th}$ 2012, we retrospectively studied patients visiting emergency room due to suicide attempt. We collected information of underlying disease, history of past medical condition and suicide attempt, ingredient and getting route of ingesting substances, emergency treatment, and outcome by reviewing electronic medical record. We also evaluated actual treatment of self-poisoning and made guide information about antidote medication for S. Korean healthcare provider. Among total 242 cases of suicidal attempts, cases ingesting substances including prescription, non-prescription drugs and agricultural chemicals were 86.4%. The most frequently used drugs for suicide attempt were sedatives-hypnotics (53.6%), followed by analgesics (16.7%) and antidepressants (12.4%). Analgesics including acetaminophen and aspirin were most in teenagers but sedatives-hypnotics including benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepine (zolpidem) and antihistamine were most in other ages including elderly people. Most frequently used antidote was activated charcoal (62.7%) and specific antidotes for some substances (acetaminophen, aspirin, agricultural chemicals) were also treated properly, accompanying with medication for supportive care. In conclusion, the most used substances for suicide attempt were sedatives-hypnotics and treatments for self-poisoning in emergency room were appropriate based on existing references. Therefore, information of frequently used substances and antidote reflecting these results will be useful for South Korean healthcare provider.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.252-260
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• 2021

For frailty management, the importance of resistance exercise has been emphasized, and various devices have been developed. Recently, digital weight control technology that converts electromagnetic resistance to a digital weight is attracting attention, but there are no reports confirming the effectiveness and safety of the device for seniors in Korea. This study conducted a biomechanic-based ergonomic analysis of an elderly-friendly exercise device utilized in digital load control technology to suggest a direction for development. Twenty seniors (age: 62.40 ± 2.09 years) were included. The load of the device was classified into three levels, and the muscle activity and heart rate were assessed during three experimental motions. A questionnaire based on the International Organization for Standardization 9241-11 was adopted to evaluate the stability, operationality, efficiency, and satisfaction with the software and device. The program could be divided into three exercise intensities that can be utilized in the field depending on whether the exercise load, muscle activity, and heart rate were consistent. The monitor size needed to be enlarged to make the menu Korean, reduce the device size, and minimize noise. Considering these findings, the development of an advanced age-friendly exercise device by improving the size, display, and noise is suggested.

• Journal of the Institute of Convergence Signal Processing
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.151-158
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• 2019

Patients with disabilities from various reasons such as disasters, injuries or chronic illness or elderly with limited body motion range due to aging are recommended to participate in rehabilitation programs at hospitals. But typically, it's not as simple for them to commute without help as they have limited access outside of the home. Also, regarding the perspectives of hospitals, having to maintain the workforce and have them take care of the rehabilitation sessions leads them to more expenses in cost aspects. For those reasons, in this paper, a home-based remote rehabilitation system using motion recognition is developed without needing help from others. This system can be executed by a personal computer and a stereo camera at home, the real-time user motion status is monitored using motion recognition feature. The system tracks the joint range of motion(Joint ROM) of particular body parts of users to check the body function improvement. For demonstration, total of 4 subjects with various ages and health conditions participated in this project. Their motion data were collected during all 3 exercise sessions, and each session was repeated 9 times per person and was compared in the results.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.470-478
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• 2012

This study was conducted to investigate dietary factors, bone status, and bone loss in postmenopausal women in rural areas. A total of 189 women participated in the follow-up study after two years. Radius, Tibia, and Phalanx SOS (Speed of Sound) was measured on two occasions 2 years apart by ultra-sonic-metry, and % body fat was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis at the baseline and after 2years. Dietary intake data were collected 4 times at different season by 24-hour recall method, and then calculated as average. Bone density of radius decreased by 4.2% during the two year period. When the subjects were divided into three groups, by bone decline level during two years, the lowest bone loss group had higher potassium and vegetable intake than other groups. Age and calcium intakes showed significant correlation with bone decline rate at tibia. In multiple regressions, the baseline SOS, vitamin A, vegetables and eggs intakes were found to be significant factors for tibia bone decline. In conclusion, dietary factors, such as higher vegetable intake, seem to affect the changes in bone mineral density in more favorable way. Therefore, efforts are needed to enhance the access to nutritional care for rural elderly postmenopausal women.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.59-72
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors affecting the intention to use healing farming by setting aged readiness, rural healing supply condition, and rural healing service as independent variables. This study has been started based on the idea that it is necessary to provide healing service through healing agriculture to the rapidly increasing elderly people and urban people who need mental rest. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to find out the various factors influencing intention to use healing agriculture through empirical analysis. Second, we want to examine whether the variables influenced the intention to use more. Third, based on the results of these tests, we suggest the policy for activation of healing agriculture by examining the factors necessary for the promotion of physical and mental health of the elderly in the aging society and the revitalization of healing agriculture for the mental healing of the urban people. For this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted for men and women over 30 years old, and the final 356 copies were analyzed. The validity of the research hypothesis was verified by linear regression analysis. The results of the analysis are as follows. First, the physical preparation, emotional preparation, and economic preparation of aged care preparations were found to have a significant effect on intention to use. Second, natural landscape, accessibility, and stability of rural healing supply conditions were found to have a significant effect on intention to use. But economics and expertise were dismissed. Third, crop cultivation, animal medication and healing facilities of rural healing service were proved to have significant influence on intention to use. In order to increase the utilization of healing agriculture, it is necessary for the consumer to be well prepared for aging. In rural healing supply conditions, accessibility and safety should be provided for healing facilities in rural healing services.And to increase the intention to use it.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.735-754
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• 2012

Korean society in the 2000 has experienced new many social and spatial issues such as the process of neoliberalism and changes in urban and spatial policies, the development of information and communication technology and reconfiguration of informational social space, radically increasing foreign immigrants and transformation to multicultural society, global warming and environmental injustice, and these new issues have promoted development of social geography in Korea. In addition to a review on them, this paper provides a review on empirical researches on traditional issues which have been dealt with in social geography in the 2000 in Korea. Even though there have been numerous sub-issues, they can be divided into two categories: one is urban and communal social geography including urban housing and residential segregation, urban social problems such as poverty, crime, education, health care, social welfare, urban and rural community building, identity, sense of place, and social movement; the other is social geography of population and migration, including population movement, aged society and social welfare for elderly people, and foreign immigrants and formation of multicultural social space. As some difficult conditions such as path-dependent process of neoliberalism, transformation toward informational, aged, and multicultural society would continue, so social geography in Korea to tackle with these external conditions should deepen its theoretical insights and widen its research issues.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.188-195
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of aromatherapy on stress using meta-analysis. Methods: Meta-analysis was done with 21 published studies, and data were analyzed with the SAS 9.1 program. Results: Fifty eight effect size was estimated with data from 21 published studies. Overall mean effect size (ES), and mean effect size of dependence variables according to the type of intervention and subject and according to the total amount of time spent in aromatherapy were estimated. Overall mean effect size of the effects of aromatherapy was .593, and the subjective stress (.983) was most effective in the physiological faculty, followed by mean effect size of cortisol (.648) and pulse (.40). On the other hand, mean effect size of systolic blood pressure (.490) was moderate, and that of diastolic blood pressure (.401) was not large. Mean effect size of elderly (.706) cancer patients was considerable(.337). There were significant differences depending on the subjects. With regards to the types of aromatherapy, the effect size of aroma massage combined with inhalation therapy was .590, and there were no significant differences between the intervention methods. With regards to the time of intervention, $20{\sim}30$ minutes spent in aromatherapy was .730, and there were no significant differences between the times of intervention. The relationship between the effect size and intervention frequency was r=.349 and showed significant difference. Conclusion: This result suggests that aromatherapy is an effective intervention to reduce stress for subjects. Nursing intervention protocol by using aromatherapy should be developed and applied in clinical and community settings. Further studies on the effects of aromatherapy on stress should be done by using meta-analysis.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.14-25
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• 2001

Purpose : To determine whether there exist gender differences in pain in Korean cancer patients and whether the depression and performance that are often expressed differently between men and women with cancer interact with pain. Method : The results of survey were collected from 140 in- and out-patients (78 male and 62 female) who had cancer treatment at one of the university hospital in Seoul for four months from February of 1999. The severity and interference of pain were examined with the self-reported survey based on Korean version of Brief Pain Inventory (BPI-K). Demographic and clinical information for all patient were compiled by reviewing their medical records, and the level of depression was examined with the Korean version of Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-K). Usual statistical methods, e.g., frequences, means and SDs were used to characterize the sample. The chi-square tests for categorical data and t-test for numerical data were used for group comparison. And the correlation between variables were performed using Pearson correlation coefficient. Resuts : 1) The mean scores of the worst pain for last 24-hours measured with the pain severity of BPI-K were 5.77 in male and 6.45 in female. The pain interference of BPI-K in men was in the order of mood (5.49), enjoy (5.36), and work (5.00), and in women were work (7.48), enjoy (7.16), and mood (6.53). 2) In pain severity, significant difference was found between men and women in the average pain for last 24-hours (t=-2.130, P=.035). In pain interference, significant difference was found between men and women in activity (t=-2.450, P=.015), mood (t=-2,321, P=.022), walk (t=-2.762, P=.007), work (t=-4.946, P=.000), relate (t=-2.595, P=.010), sleep (t=-2.071, P=.040), enjoy (t=-3.198, P=.001). 3) It was found that the items of pain and depression are significantly correlated in men but not in women. Men also exhibited higher correlation in the items of pain and performance status than women. Conclusions : Women report significantly greater average pain for last 24-hours and for all items of pain interference than men. Pain and depression are significantly correlated in men. The results of this study suggest that gender differences in pain should be considered for planning effective pain management program.