• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.253-259
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• 2013

Purpose: Radiographs is an integral part of patient management in dentistry, despite their detrimental effects. As the literature pertaining to radiation protection among Indian dental practitioners is sparse, exploring such protection is needed. Materials and Methods: All private dental practitioners in Mangalore, India were included in the study. A structured, pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire was employed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, practices, previous training, perceptions towards the need to spread awareness, and willingness to gain and implement knowledge about radiation hazards and protection. Information regarding each respondent's age, gender, education, and type and duration of practice was collected. Results: Overall, 87 out of 120 practitioners participated in the study. The mean knowledge, attitude, and practice scores were $9.54{\pm}2.54$, $59.39{\pm}7.01$, and $5.80{\pm}3.19$, respectively. Overall, 25.3% of the respondents had undergone training in radiation protection, 98.9% perceived a need to spread awareness, and 94.3% were willing to improve their knowledge. Previous training showed a significant correlation with age, sex, and duration of practice; attitude was significantly correlated with education and type of practice; and knowledge scores showed a significant correlation with type of practice. Conclusion: Although the knowledge and practices of respondents were poor, they had a positive attitude and were willing to improve their knowledge. Age, sex, and duration of practice were associated with previous training; education and type of practice with attitude scores; and type of practice with knowledge scores. The findings of this study suggest a policy is needed to ensure the adherence of dental practitioners to radiation protection guidelines.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.6141-6145
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• 2013

Background: The objective of the study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and behaviors of the practicing dentists regarding tobacco cessation counseling (TCC) in Chhattisgarh state and also the barriers that prevent them from doing so. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted among dental practitioners of Raipur district, Chhattisgarh state (India). The sampling frame was registration with the State Dental Council and practicing in Raipur district. A questionnaire was personally administered and the practitioners were given explanations regarding how to complete it. Only descriptive statistics were calculated (SPSS version 16 for Windows). Results: Based on the responding dentists' self reports, 76% were not confident in TCC, 48% did not assume TCC to be their responsibility, 17% considered that it might have a negative impact on their clinical practice, whereas 24% considered it might take away precious time from their practice, 25% considered TCC by dentists to be effective to a considerable extent and 80% considered TCC activities are not effective due to lack of formal training, 69% considered dental clinics as an appropriate place for TCC but 82% thought there must be separate TCC centre and 100% of the dentists wanted TCC training to be a part of practice and that it should be included in dental curriculum. Some 95% of them were of the view that tobacco products should be banned in India and 86% responded that health professionals must refrain from tobacco habits so to act as role models for society. Conclusions: Dental professionals must expand their armamentarium to include TCC strategies in their clinical practice. The dental institutions should include TCC in the curriculum and the dental professionals at the primary and the community health care level should also be trained in TCC to treat tobacco dependence.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.563-572
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• 2006

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate community health practitioners' knowledge of, use patterns of, and attitudes toward CAM. Method: The subjects of this study were 817 community health practitioners (CHPs) from 9 Provinces in Korea selected through convenient sampling. They completed and submitted self-report questionnaires at the annual meeting of CHPs or sent completed questionnaires to us by mail. Result: Of the CHPs, 8.1% had a certificate of CAM-related education program, and 39.9% worried about the efficacy of CAM. They knew about massage (74.0%), finger pressure (68.1%), hand acupuncture (67.8%), diet (65.5%) and herb (64.7%). They had used herb (43.3%), massage (36.8%), hand acupuncture (32.7%) and vacuum (31.2%) with positive effects and recommended residents to use them. Attitude toward CAM tended to be positive in those with certificates of CAM, those with high academic qualification, those aged 40 or below, and those working in Chungcheong-do. Conclusion: This study showed that CHPs were interested in CAM while they worried about the therapeutic effects of it. Further studies to draw cross-sectional and national data on the use patterns of CAM from the various population and standardized instruments to investigate the types of CAM were suggested.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.46 no.sup1
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• pp.35-42
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• 2013

A commitment to physical activity is necessary for personal health, and is a primary goal of physical activity practitioners. Effective practitioners rely on theory and research as a guide to best practices. Thus, sound theory, which is both practical and parsimonious, is a key to effective practice. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature in search of such a theory - one that applies to and explains commitment to physical activity in the form of sport and exercise for youths and adults. The Sport Commitment Model has been commonly used to study commitment to sport and has more recently been applied to the exercise context. In this paper, research using the Sport Commitment Model is reviewed relative to its utility in both the sport and exercise contexts. Through this process, the relevance of the Investment Model for study of physical activity commitment emerged, and a more parsimonious framework for studying of commitment to physical activity is suggested. Lastly, links between the models of commitment and individuals' participation motives in physical activity are suggested and practical implications forwarded.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-30
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• 2000

One form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), oriental medicine has developed differently from the western medicine under its own environment and history. Western medicine was introduced to Korea about 120 years ago. But unfortunately, there still is an indisputable lack of cooperative movement between oriental medicine ＆ western medicine. However, the market share of CAM has grown markedly in most industrialized countries (the United States, Europe, Australia, and Asia). In these countries, alternative medicine such as acupuncture and herbal remedies was adopted as a "complementary" therapies of mainstream medicine, to calm the symptoms of terminal illness. Recently in Korea, there was a movement to cooperate oriental medicine ＆ western medicine. However, until this time in Korea, there was a conflict between oriental medicine ＆ western medicine. They blame each other. Such as "Other side is guilty of improper evaluation of patients, possibly suppressing effective therapies of their own side and profit-motivated". Though most western medicine practitioners criticize oriental medicine, the level of adopting alternative forms of health care by the public and by some western medicine practitioners will continue to increase. Therefore oriental medicine ＆ western medicine share a mutual responsibility to apply evidence-based practices, to seek scientific empirical proof through planned interventions, and to increase the quality of health care.lity of health care.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.15-26
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• 2018

Objectives : This study aimed to evaluate the factors related to the experience of unqualified dental practice. Methods : We interviewed 19,961 adults aged 30 years and over using the 2013 Community Health Survey data. To determine the independent factors related to experience of unqualified dental practice, odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using multiple logistic regression analysis. Results : The experience of dental treatment by unqualified dentists was significantly higher in women, older people, families with less than 1 million won household income. It was lower scores in diabetes health education while The worse the subjective oral health and the required dental care was significantly higher in those who did not experience dental treatment. Conclusions : The likelihood of experiencing unqualified dental practice was higher in diabetes patients from vulnerable classes, such as women, the elderly, and those with poor educational background or low income.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.233-246
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• 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of cultural competency and cultural nursing competence educational needs of public health nurses (PHNs) and community health practitioners (CHPs) and to uncover the difference between the two groups. Methods: The subjects of this study were 217 PHNs and 165 CHPs. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, an independent two-sample t-test, the x² test, one-way ANOVA, and the Scheffé test were used for data analysis. Result: There was no statistically significant difference between the cultural competency of CHPs (4.27±1.00) and that of PHNs (4.10±1.07) which were at a moderate level. Among the subareas, cultural awareness and sensitivity were above average, but cultural skills and knowledge showed relatively low scores. There was no statistically significant difference between the cultural nursing competence educational needs of CHPs (3.85±0.65) and PHNs (3.90±0.70) and these were at a relatively high level. Among the subareas, knowledge of key concepts, cultural communication, and attitudes and skills were above average. Conclusion: The results of this study highlight the need to develop and implement educational programs to enhance the cultural competency of PHNs and CHPs nationwide using various teaching-learning methods.

• Integrative Medicine Research
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.60-66
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• 2014

Background: Medically unexplained symptoms (MUSs) are common in primary care. Atpresent, there are no proven, comprehensive treatments available in primary care forpatients with MUSs. However, MUS has parallels with "subhealth" or Mibyeong from tradi-tional East-Asian medicine, and thus, Mibyeong interventions could be effective in treatingMUS. Unfortunately, studies on Mibyeong and its intervention methods are relatively rare.Methods: We administered a web-based survey to 17,279 Korean medicine (KM) practitionersregistered with the Association of Korean Medicine. The response rate was 4.9% (n = 849).Based on the responses received, we assessed how much they agreed with concepts relatedto Mibyeong on a 7-point scale from "do not agree" to "strongly agree." Respondents werealso asked to indicate how frequently they encountered various subtypes and patterns ofMibyeong, and how frequently they use listed intervention methods.Results: Data from 818 respondents were analyzed after excluding those with no clinicalexperience. On average, respondents were male general practitioners aged between 30 yearsand 49 years, working or living in metropolitan areas such as Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi-do. Responses did not differ by demographics. Respondents generally thought that Mibyeongreferred to subjective or borderline findings without certain disease, and that Mibyeong hasvarious subtypes and patterns. Subtypes included fatigue, pain, and digestion problems; pat-terns were either deficiencies (e.g., qi, blood, and yin deficiency) or stagnations (e.g., liver qidepression and qi stagnation). Decoction was the most frequently used type of interventionfor Mibyeong of all items listed, followed by acupuncture and moxibustion. Patient educa-tion was also recommended, suggesting healthy eating, promoting healthy environment,and exercise.Conclusion: We were able to provide preliminary results on KM practitioners' recognition ofand interventions for Mibyeong, but further research is needed to develop a detailed defi-nition of Mibyeong and its myriad subtypes and patterns, and evaluations of the efficacy ofMibyeong interventions.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• no.39
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• pp.83-113
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• 2008

The purpose of the study is to explore the mental health social workers' experiences concerning client's self-determination by grounded theory, one of the qualitative method. Although a lot of previous studies has proved that the practitioners have suffered from the ethical considerations in their practice, on which the matter of client's self-determination is centered, little attention is paid to deep exploration of practitioners' real experience about those aspects. To carry out the research question, first, through literature reviews focusing on clarify the underlying issues about client's self-determination, three intrinsic clues are found out; incompetence, medical benefits, the harm to the third party. Data obtained by in-depth interview with 10 participants are analyzed by employing the methode developed by Corbin and Strauss, which could categorize the raw data into several high-level concepts and constructs. The findings of the study show that most practitioners would consider the clients as the intrinsic subject of self-determination. Therefore, in practice, they are trying to support the client's self-determination even within the some constraints. In addition, they also experience the clients' latent potential in actualizing autonomy and self-determination, and identifies the positive effect of self-determination not only on the client's self-help and mental health but also on the practitioners themselves. The results of the study clearly suggests that it is critical to provide the practitioners with adequate ethical education and training to help them to overcome their ethical suffering concerning clients self-determination.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.239-254
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• 2003

Purposes： The purposes of this study were to investigate the smoking cessation counselling activities among community health practitioners(CHP) and to identify the predictors of their smoking cessation counselling activities. Method： A descriptive-correlation study using self-administered questionnaires was conducted. Questionnaires were mailed to all the CHP in a community. A total of 330 CHPs participated in this survey. Results： Of the CHPs surveyed, 245(74.2％) returned completed questionnaires. Most CHPs(90.7％) believed that if a health professional advises their patient to quit, the patient's chances of quitting smoking are increased. While the majority of CHPs “asked, advised, and assessed” their clients, a minority of CHPs “assisted, arranged, and recorded”. In the final stepwise multiple regression model, attitude about smoking cessation policies and counselling activities, self-efficacy of smoking cessation counselling knowledge and skills, and perceived barriers of smoking cessation counselling activities were identified as significant predictors of smoking cessation counselling activities among CHPs. Conclusion： Smoking cessation counselling activities are not a routine part of CHP practice. Efforts should be made to increase the self-efficacy of smoking cessation counselling knowledge and skills among CHPs. Helping CHPs to overcome their barriers to smoking counselling may open up new channels for smoking intervention.