• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.578-592
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of public officials working for the Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) response in community health centers in South Korea. Methods: A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted using data collected from three focus groups and two individual interviews. Results: The participants performed quarantine tasks in a poor working environment with several problems, such as significant workload, lack of manpower, and inappropriate compensation system. Participants experienced obstacles in performing quarantine works, which had the lack of the detailed quarantine guidelines, work support and cooperation system. Participants suffered from civil complaints. Participants endured sacrifices in their personal lives while partaking in COVID-19 response work without holidays, and subsequently experienced health problems. And also participants said that it was necessary to secure expertise and effective communication for infectious disease management. Conclusion: The study results suggest that policies are required that are aimed to improve the working environment and the recruitment of experts in infectious diseases. In addition, the job stress related to the COVID-19 response by public officials in community health centers must be evaluated, and the relation of their job stress to physical and mental problems, as well as psychosocial stress, must be examined.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.164-173
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• 2022

This study aimed to explore the themes and parameters of environmental health behaviors based on Rogers' protection motivation theory through a systematic mapping review. Using a systematic approach, a literature review was conducted of articles that adopted Rogers' protection motivation theory. A total of 11 articles on protection motivation theory using participants and environmental health as outcomes were identified in a search of CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Eric, PsycARTICLES, PubMed, and RISS between September 1 and September 8, 2021. Themes related to the environment and personal behaviors between 2002 and 2021 were extracted. The parameters based on protection motivation theory were identified through systematic mapping as fear appraisal, rewards of maladaptive response, severity, vulnerability, costs of adaptive response, response efficacy, self-efficacy, and intention. Self-efficacy and response efficacy considerably affected environmental health behaviors. Emotional fear appeal related to environmental hazards motivates an internal process that alters the threat appraisal and their coping appraisal. Environmental behavior perception and intention influenced on environmental health behaviors with small effect sizes. Therefore, a deeper understanding of the severity of environmental health issues could lead to the development of helpful, effective, and intensive interventions to promote healthcare among the vulnerable population.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.334-339
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• 2022

The digital response is an excellent infection prevention and control measure to minimize person-to-person contact when a respiratory infectious disease is rapidly spreading. However, few studies have explored the reasons for the development and utilization of these technologies. Here, we analyze documents by the Korean government, existing research, and news articles to provide a qualitative review of the digital response, and new concepts explored by Korea during coronavirus disease 2019, to apply them for the next infectious disease outbreak.

• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.129-146
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• 2007

The disaster preparedness system in Korea has been developed in spite of many obstacles, but there are still many problems for response to various kinds of disasters in 21th century. Disaster response system in Korea was focused on policy, administration, hardwares in the past. But in the future it is necessary to change the system to adapt the global needs about the human based disaster response system and capacity to assist the international disaster by official assistance and research for that field. Because nearly all the disasters are associated with the safety, welfare, injury, disability and survival of human, health disaster preparedness and response system should be a important part in the whole disaster system considering the common value of human right to disaster preparedness for human.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.599-609
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• 2020

Objectives: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) first emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and has rapidly become a global pandemic with over 26.4 million confirmed cases and approximately 871,000 fatalities worldwide as of this writing. In the Republic of Korea, disease clusters frequently occurred in long-term care hospitals where the majority of residents are elderly with underlying medical conditions. Despite the fact that public health authorities and local community health centers have put tremendous efforts into preventing the spread of disease, positive cases have continued to occur. Thus, the Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention rapid response team decided to conduct an environmental investigation of a long-term care hospital to identify whether environmental contamination has remained and contributed to the spread of COVID-19. Methods: An environmental investigation was conducted at Hospital A. The characteristics of the facility and its HVAC system were assessed by checking the layout and interviewing the people in charge. A total of 64 surface samples were collected from areas of concern, including patient rooms, toilets, elevators, and nurses' station. These samples were tested by a regional health and environmental research institute using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results: All samples from Hospital A were confirmed to be negative. Through interviews with high-level personnel at the regional community health center, we found that extensive disinfection is frequently performed on potentially contaminated areas in Hospital A in accordance with government guidelines. Conclusion: The environmental control measures implemented in Hospital A had been sufficient for mitigating the risk of further infection, suggesting that such measures may also be effective for other long-term health care facilities.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.174-183
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• 2021

Background: Toluene diisocyanate (TDI) is a highly reactive chemical that causes sensitization and has also been associated with increased lung cancer. A risk assessment was conducted based on occupational epidemiologic estimates for several health outcomes. Methods: Exposure and outcome details were extracted from published studies and a NIOSH Health Hazard Evaluation for new onset asthma, pulmonary function measurements, symptom prevalence, and mortality from lung cancer and respiratory disease. Summary exposure-response estimates were calculated taking into account relative precision and possible survivor selection effects. Attributable incidence of sensitization was estimated as were annual proportional losses of pulmonary function. Excess lifetime risks and benchmark doses were calculated. Results: Respiratory outcomes exhibited strong survivor bias. Asthma/sensitization exposure response decreased with increasing facility-average TDI air concentration as did TDI-associated pulmonary impairment. In a mortality cohort where mean employment duration was less than 1 year, survivor bias pre-empted estimation of lung cancer and respiratory disease exposure response. Conclusion: Controlling for survivor bias and assuming a linear dose-response with facility-average TDI concentrations, excess lifetime risks exceeding one per thousand occurred at about 2 ppt TDI for sensitization and respiratory impairment. Under alternate assumptions regarding stationary and cumulative effects, one per thousand excess risks were estimated at TDI concentrations of 10 - 30 ppt. The unexplained reported excess mortality from lung cancer and other lung diseases, if attributable to TDI or associated emissions, could represent a lifetime risk comparable to that of sensitization.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.625-638
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• 1999

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationships among health promoting behaviors, Health Locus of Control(HLOC), and response patterns to HLOC in Korean elderly. The sample was composed of 162 healthy elderly ranging in age from sixties to eighties. The instruments for this study were modified Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile (45 items, 4 scales), and Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (18 items). For the in data analysis, SPSS PC$^{＋}$ program was uilized for descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, t-test, ANOVA and Stepwise multiple regression. The results of the study are as follows : 1. The total mean score for the HPLP was 2.411 (range 1-4), and the mean scores on the subscales were 3.324 for nutition, 2.709 for interpersonal support, 2.495 for exercise,2.225 for health responsibility, 2.205 for self actualization, 2.026 for stress management. 2. The mean scores for the HLOC in the elderly were HLOC-I : 23.531, HLOC-P : 21.914, HLOC-C : 18.667. 3. The response patterns of the HLOC identified eight types, pure internal, pure powerful others, pure chance, double external, believers in control, yea sayer, nay sayer and complex control. The “believers in control” was the largest group (22.8%), and “yea sayer” was the next largest group(17.9%). The “nay sayer”(5%) was the smallest group. 4. Demographic variables, such as education, economic status, religion and the perception of the health status showed strong connections to health promoting behaviors. 5. The HLOC-I and health promoting behavior were correlated positively(r＝.165, P＝.017), but the HLOC-P, the HLOC-C and the health promoting behavior were not correlated at the level of statistical significance. 6. There was not significant difference in health promoting behavior depending on the response patterns of the HLOC(F=1.171, P=.108). But, there were significant differences in two subscales of health promoting behavior exercise (F=3.279, P=.002), and stress management (F=3.165, P＝.003). 7. Education, the perception of the health and economic status explained 21.0% of the variance for health promoting behaviors. These results suggest that several demographic factors are important factors in predicting the level of health promoting behaviors in elderly. So to enhance the health promoting behavior, nurses should use the different nursing strategies depending on the demographic characters of the elderly.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.38-50
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• 2002

The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship among injury prevention practices, health locus of control, and response patterns to HLOC of the elderly. Subjects were 121 healthy elderly. The data had been collected from November 5 to 18 in 2001 and analyzed with descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation and stepwise multiple regression. Health locus of control and injury prevention practices were measured by using MHLC scale and an instrument created by the researcher on the basis of the results of literature review respectively. The results of this study were as follows: The mean score of injury prevention practices was 2.80 and the mean scores for the health locus of control were internal health locus of control : 17.25, external health locus of control : 16.09, and chance health locus of control : 14.26. The response patterns of the HLOC identified were six types; pure internal, pure powerful others, pure chance, double external, believers in control, and complex control. The 'pure internal' was the largest group(35.5%), and the 'believers in control' was the next(31.4%). The relationship between internal health locus of control and the injury prevention practices of the elderly revealed a significant correlation(r=.215, p=.018). The relationship between external health locus of control and the injury prevention practices of the elderly revealed a significant correlation (r= .208, p=.022). There was significant difference between response patterns of the health locus of control and injury prevention practices(F=2.393, p=.042). There were significant differences between injury prevention practices and general characteristic factors, which were education, family type, administration of medication, injury experience, ADL, and self-directed search for health information. Self-directed search for health information, injury experience, and education explained 16.7% of the variance for injury prevention practices. The above results may be used as the basic data for seeking more efficient way of improving safety of the elderly.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.128-137
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of sympathetic reactions to public service advertisement video messages produced for health campaigns. To this end, based on the empathy response scale proposed by Campbell & Babrow (2004), the empathy response to the images of nine health campaigns with themes of smoking cessation, tuberculosis, and suicide triggered fear of health risks and health behaviors (information seeking, preventive actions). As a result of the analysis, among the factors of empathy reaction, the reality of the message creative, the match of emotions, and the identification of the characters in the video each played a role in raising fear, and it is rather fear that logically understanding the situation that causes health problems through the health campaign video It was found that it played a role in reducing health information seeking behavior. On the other hand, it was found that the higher the degree of interest, such as sympathy for the characters in the video, among the factors of the sympathetic response to the health campaign, the higher the intention of preventive action to reduce the health risk.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.265-278
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• 2014

Microbes such as bacteria, fungi, archaea, protists, and viruses are ubiquitous and people are exposed to them continuously. Endotoxin is a component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria and a potent proinflammaotry substance. When a person is exposed to environmental endotoxin, an innate immune response is initiated upon the initial recognition and this response produces various inflammatory mediators and recruits inflammatory cells to the exposed tissues. A purified chemical form of endotoxin is called lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and the lipid A portion of the molecule is a biologically active moiety. Exposure to endotoxin may result in various complex health effects depending on time, route, and dose of exposure, as well as host susceptibility. Gene-environment interactions play important roles in health effects of endotoxin exposure, e.g. development or aggravation of asthma. To accurately assess exposure to endotoxin in environmental or epidemiologic studies, methods of sampling, extraction, and analysis must be carefully selected since the selected methods may substantially affect analytical results and there is no internationally-agreed standard method to date. The lack of a standardized method hampers the establishment of exposure-response relationships. While an internationally-agreed health-based exposure limit does not exist, the Dutch Expert Committee on Occupational Safety recently recommended $90EU/m^3$ as a health-based occupational exposure limit. The current article reviews various scientific issues on how we measure environmental endotoxin and the health effects of endotoxin exposure.