• Health Policy and Management
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• 제28권3호
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• pp.240-250
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• 2018

By the end of 2017, in a world of 7.6 billion people, there were inequalities in healthcare indices both within and between nations, and this gap continues to increase. Therefore, this study aims to understand the current status of regional inequalities in healthcare indices and to find an action plan to tackle regional health inequality through a geo-economic review in Korea. Since 2008, there was great inequality in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy by region in not only metropolitan cities but also districts in Korea. While the community health statistics from 2008-2017 show a continuous increase of inequality during the last 10 years in most healthcare indices related to noncommunicable diseases (except for some, like smoking), the inequality has doubled in 254 districts. Furthermore, health inequality intensified as the gap between urban (metropolitan cities) and rural regions (counties) for rates of obesity (self-reported), sufficient walking practices, and healthy lifestyle practices increased from twofold to fivefold. However, regionalism and uneven development are natural consequences of the spatial perspective caused by state-lead developmentalism as Korea has fixed the accumulation strategy as its model for growth with the background of export-led industrialization in the 1960s and heavy and chemical industrialization in the 1970s, although the Constitution of the Republic of Korea recognizes the legal value of balanced development within the regions by specifying "the balanced development of the state" or "ensuring the balanced development of all regions." In addition, the danger of a 30% decline or extinction of local government nationwide is expected by 2040 as we face not only a decline in general and ageing populations but also the era of the demographic cliff. Thus, the government should continuously operate the "Special Committee on Regional Balanced Development" with a government-wide effort until 2030 to prevent disparities in the health conditions of local residents, which is the responsibility of the nation in terms of strengthening governance. To address the regional inequalities of rural and urban regions, it is necessary to re-adjust the basic subsidy and cost-sharing rates with local governments of current national subsidies based mainly on population scale, financial independence of local government, or distribution of healthcare resources and healthcare indices (showing high inequalities) overall.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제44권1호
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• pp.22-31
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• 2011

Objectives: We examined gender differential changes in employment-related health inequalities according to occupational position (professional/nonprofessional) in South Korea during the last decade. Methods: Data were taken from four rounds of Social Statistical Surveys of South Korea (1995, 1999, 2003, and 2006) from the Korean National Statistics Office. The total study population was 55435 male and 33913 female employees aged 25-64. Employment arrangements were divided into permanent, fixed-term, and daily employment. Results: After stratification according to occupational position (professional/nonprofessional) and gender, different patterns in employment - related health inequalities were observed. In the professional group, the gaps in absolute and relative employment inequalities for poor self-rated health were more likely to widen following Korea's 1997 economic downturn. In the nonprofessional group, during the study period, graded patterns of employment-related health inequalities were continuously observed in both genders. Absolute health inequalities by employment status, however, decreased among men but increased among women. In addition, a remarkable increase in relative health inequalities was found among female temporary and daily employees (p = 0.009, < 0.001, respectively), but only among male daily employees (p = 0.001). Relative employment-related health inequalities had clearly widened for female daily workers between 2003 and 2006 (p = 0.047). The 1997 Korean economic downturn, in particular, seemingly stimulated a widening gap in employment health inequalities. Conclusions: Our study revealed that whereas absolute health inequalities in relation to employment status increased in the professional group, relative employment-related health inequalities increased in the nonprofessional group, especially among women. In view of the high concentration of female nonstandard employees, further monitoring of inequality should consider gender specific patterns according to employee's occupational and employment status.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• 제9권7호
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• pp.459-465
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• 2015

Energy absorption distribution according to lead shielding for 511 keV ${\gamma}$ ray was evaluated using a Monte Carlo simulation in PET/CT. Experimental method was performed about the depth of skin surface(0.07), lens(3) and the depth(10) was conducted by using ICRU Slab phantom. Difference of energy absorption distribution according to lead thickness and effect of air gap according to distance of lead and phantom. As a result, study showed that using a lead shielding makes high energy distribution by backscatter electron. As a distance between lead and phantom increased, energy absorption distribution gradually decreased. 9 cm or more air gap should exist to prevent effect of backscatter electron which reaches skin surface, when 0.25 mmPb shielding is used. Also 1 cm or more air gap was needed to prevent the effect in 0.5 mmPb. If air gap was not concerned, 0.75 mm or more lead thickness was necessary to prevent effect of backscatter electron.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• 제38권5_3호
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• pp.953-966
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• 2022

Since aerosols adversely affect human health, such as deteriorating air quality, quantitative observation of the distribution and characteristics of aerosols is essential. Recently, satellite-based Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) data is used in various studies as periodic and quantitative information acquisition means on the global scale, but optical sensor-based satellite AOD images are missing in some areas with cloud conditions. In this study, we produced gap-free GeoKompsat 2A (GK-2A) Advanced Meteorological Imager (AMI) AOD hourly images after generating a Random Forest based gap-filling model using grid meteorological and geographic elements as input variables. The accuracy of the model is Mean Bias Error (MBE) of -0.002 and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 0.145, which is higher than the target accuracy of the original data and considering that the target object is an atmospheric variable with Correlation Coefficient (CC) of 0.714, it is a model with sufficient explanatory power. The high temporal resolution of geostationary satellites is suitable for diurnal variation observation and is an important model for other research such as input for atmospheric correction, estimation of ground PM, analysis of small fires or pollutants.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.79-84
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• 2013

According to the statistics of occupational accidents in 2009, the scaffolds and work platforms were main objects causing fall accidents in construction sites. But many workers install and use the work platforms on the mobile scaffolding without considering about safety standards. We had conducted a nationwide survey about how workers obey safety standards for the work platforms of the mobile scaffolding. As the result of a survey, no one follow a gap standard between materials of work platforms and installation of toe board. And it is a low proportion that comply with the install of safety guard rails and the use of stoppers. This is lack of consciousness for the safety certification and regulations. For safe use a mobile scaffolding, It is needed to educate a manager on the safety standards and to develop a product to install and dismantle easily.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• 제54권3호
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• pp.285-314
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• 2020

The healthcare environment is becoming increasingly dependent on health information technology (HIT), with healthcare providers, patients, and other people engaged in the field producing and sharing information to improve healthcare delivery. This focus has raised the issue of Health Information Infrastructure (HII) to the forefront of policy, design, and law. While several studies have examined each element of HII, little attention has been paid to the overall infrastructure as a collection of technologies, institutions, standards, and practices. In order to fill the gap, this study focuses on medication reconciliation as an example of the wider phenomenon of HII. In particular, the study examines a medication reconciliation process (MRP) as an example to understand the key challenges facing the development of HII, how the challenges are interrelated, and how they can be met as a whole. Following a mixed methodology, involving workflow study, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews, the study examines "data friction" along technical, institutional, regulatory, and legal dimensions. This study constitutes one of the first efforts to comprehensively investigate health information infrastructure and how technology and other dimensions in infrastructure are interrelated. The study therefore contributes to a better understanding of HII and the practical challenges that hinder the seamless flow of information in the healthcare environment.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• 제14권1호
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• pp.77-96
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• 2010

Objectives : This paper recommends a global budget based payment system for reimbursing oriental medical services in the national health insurance. Methods : We analyzed previous research outcomes related to oriental medical services and payment system We reviewed the experiences of other countries' global budget system in terms of their strength and weakness. In addition, we developed a reimbursement method for oriental medical services based on global budget. Results : Our reviews focused on global budget system of Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and Taiwan. The estimation of global budget in the national health insurance was described in two scenarios. First scenario was to allocate oriental medical services in scale after signing a contract for global budget. In this case, 4.16% of the national health insurance expenditure was allocated for the oriental medical services. Second scenario was to estimate the global budget in a historical context. As a result, the first scenario in total budget was higher than the second, and we proposed a retrospective adjustment method for the gap between the budget and the actual expenditure Conclusions : The payment system for oriental medical services is recommended to shift from fee-for-service to global budget.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.261-267
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• 2021

Background: The series of serious industrial accidents in recent years at contractors to large companies has highlighted risk outsourcing as a real and urgent problem. This study aims to review the difference in the degree of risk exposure and the occurrence of industrial accidents depending on the type of company relations. Among in-house contractors, the focus will be on those handling hazardous chemicals that include companies for which outsourcing requires approval. Methods: This study uses the 9th wave of the Industrial Safety and Health Survey (2018). For determining the degree of risk exposure, the occurrence of industrial accidents, and industrial accident rate, multivariate, logistic, and fractional logit, regression analyses were used, respectively. Results: First, In-house contractors' degree of risk exposure is higher than that of the client companies. In particular, this gap is even greater for companies dealing with chemicals. Second, among only those that handle hazardous chemicals, in-house contractors do show a significantly higher rate of industrial accident occurrence. Third, In-house contractors have a significantly higher rate of industrial accidents from diseases than client companies. Conclusion: The analysis supports the intent of the legal amendment that strengthens the protection of in-house contracted workers who handle hazardous chemicals. Second, the results of this study suggest that safety and health management must go beyond legal compliance and ensure that it has substance and effectiveness. Last, there should be policy consideration is necessary to reduce attempts to hide industrial accidents.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• 제34권4호
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• pp.204-214
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• 2023

Digital therapy using extended reality (XR) holds great promise for addressing the mental health needs of adolescents and young adults. This study addresses a notable research gap in South Korea by systematically reviewing XR-based digital therapy for the mental health of South Korean adolescents and young adults. We analyzed 26 studies encompassing various aspects, including study type, publication date, research field, research methodology, data sources, program types, program content, sample characteristics, target population, assessment tools, and program effectiveness. Notably, 46.15% of the studies employed an experimental design, whereas over 53% utilized non-experimental approaches. Experimental studies lacked a genuine design, standardized questionnaires, and control variables. Similarly, non-experimental studies failed to report specific literature selection criteria. Consequently, future studies should adopt rigorous methodologies to enhance reliability and validity. Moreover, over 85% of the 26 studies focused solely on virtual reality and did not incorporate augmented or mixed reality. This study identifies the limitations of the previous research. These findings emphasize the need for structured investigations to advance the development of XR-based digital therapy to promote mental health in adolescents and young adults in South Korea.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제53권4호
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• pp.236-244
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• 2020

Objectives: Although the World Health Organization (WHO) initiative "My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene" has been lauded as effective in preventing hospital-associated infections, little is known about healthcare workers (HCWs)' hand hygiene behavior. In this study, we sought to assess knowledge and attitudes towards the concepts in this initiative, as well as associated factors, among Vietnamese HCWs at a general hospital. Methods: A structured questionnaire was administered to HCWs at a central Vietnamese general hospital in 2015. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with HCWs' knowledge and attitudes towards hand hygiene. Results: Of 120 respondents, 65.8% and 67.5% demonstrated appropriate knowledge and a positive attitude, respectively, regarding all 5 hand hygiene moments. Logistic regression indicated better knowledge of hand hygiene in workers who were over 30 years old, who were direct HCWs (rather than managers), who had frequent access to clinical information, and who received their clinical information from training. Those who worked in infectious and tropical disease wards, who had frequent access to clinical information, and who received information from training were more likely to have a positive attitude towards hand hygiene than their counterparts. Conclusions: Although many Vietnamese HCWs displayed moderate knowledge and positive attitudes towards the WHO hand hygiene guidelines, a key gap remained. Regular education and training programs are needed to increase knowledge and to improve attitudes and practices towards hand hygiene. Furthermore, a combination of multimodal strategies and locally-adapted interventions is needed for sustainable hand hygiene adherence.