• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.70-79
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• 1999

This study attempts to encourage the development of a rehabilitation delivery system as a substitute service for hospitalization such as a community based intermediate facility or home health care. We need substitute services for hospitalization to curtail the length of stay for inpatients due to car accidents. It focused on developing an estimation for early discharge based on a detailed statement of treatment from medical records of 109 inpatients who were hospitalized at General Hospital in 1997. This study has three specific purposes: First, to find the mean length of stay and mean medical expenditure. Second, to estimate the mean of early discharge from the mean length of stay. Third, to analyize the income effect per bed from early discharge. In order to analyze the length of stay and medical expenditure of inpatients the author conducted a micro and macro-analysis with medical expenditure records. To estimate the early discharge we examined with a group of 4 experts decreases in the amount of treatment after surgery, in treatments, in tests, in drug methods. We also looked their vital signs, the start of ROM exercise, the time removel, a patient's visitations, and possible stable conditions. In addition to identifing the income effect due to an early discharge, the data was analyzed by an SPSS-PC for windows and Excell program with a regression analysis model. The research findings are as follows: First, the mean length of stay was 47.56 days, but the mean length of stay due to early discharge was 32.26 days. The estimation of early discharge days was shown to depend on the length of stay. The longer the length of stay, the longer the length before discharge. For example, if the patient stayed under 14 days the mean length of stay was 7.09 while an early discharge was 6.39, whereas if the mean length of stay was 155.73, the early discharge time was 107.43. The mean medical expenditure per day of car accident patients was found to be 169,085 Won, whereas the mean medical expenditure per day was shown to be in a negative linear form according to the length of stay. That is the mean expenditure for under 14 days of stay was 303,015 Won and the period of the hospitalization of 15 days to 29 days was 170,338 Won and those of 30 days to 59 days was 113,333 Won. The estimation of the income effect due to being discharged 16 days was around 2,350,000 Won with a regression analysis model. However, this does not show the real benefits from an early discharge, but only the income increasing amount without considering prime medical cost at a general hospital. Therefore, we need further analysis on cost containments and benefits incending turn over rates and medical prime costs. From these research findings, the following suggestions have been drawn, we need to develop strategies on a rehabilitation delivery system focused on consumers for the 21st century. Varions intermediate facilities and home health care should be developed in the community as a substitute for shortening the length of stay in hospitals. In home health care cases, patients who want rehabilitation services as a substitute for hospitalization in cooperation with private health insurance companies might be available immediately.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.265-271
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• 2017

Background: Health care services effort to provide alternative cardiac rehabilitation (CR) models to serve patients according to their preferences and needs. So, the present study aimed to assess and compare the effects of hospital-based and hybrid CR programs on chest pain intensity and discomfort in cardiac surgery patients. Methods: In this prospective study, 110 cardiac surgery patients were invited to the CR department of a hospital in the western part of Iran between March and July 2016. Patients were divided into two groups: hospital-based and hybrid CR. The hospital-based program included 26 sessions, and the hybrid program included 10 training sessions and exercise. The Brief Pain Inventory and Pain Discomfort Scale were used as research instrument, and data were analyzed using the paired t-test and ANCOVA. Results: The results indicated that both hospital-based and hybrid CR are effective in reducing the chest pain intensity and discomfort of cardiac surgery patients (P < 0.05). In addition, the comparison of scores before and after treatment using ANCOVA shows that no significant differences were observed between the two programs (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Traditional hospital-based CR delivery is still the first choice for treatment in developing countries. However, hybrid CR is as effective as a hospital-based program in reducing pain components and it includes only 38% of the total cost in comparison to hospital-based delivery. So, we recommend using hybrid CR according with the recommendations of American Heart Association about using CR for the management of angina symptoms.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.145-169
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• 2001

In recent years, health care cost containment concerns have resulted in an increase in outpatient (or same-day) surgery. Many procedures previously performed on an inpatient surgery basis have been shifted to outpatient settings. Anesthesia for outpatient surgery is exactly the same as inpatient anesthesia, except that the primary concern is the selection of patients who can be discharged safely on the day of surgery. The anesthesiologist should have a sound rational basis for choice of pharmacologic agents that are geared to expeditious patient discharge from the hospital. Cost concerns aside, outpatient surgery has many additional advantages in the pediatric setting. It minimizes the length of time the child is hospitalized, decreases separation anxiety, promotes parental involvement in the child's postoperative care in the more congenial environment of home, and decreases risk of nosocomial infection and iatrogenic illness.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.96-112
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to determine how often toddlers and preschoolers in kindergartens have accidents and what factors affect the accident rate. The study population consisted of 150 children who were attending at nursery schools and 150 children who were attending at kindergartens. The data was collected from ten nursery schools and five kindergartens from five districts in Daegu. The questionnaires were distributed to teachers of participating nursery schools and kindergartens to be completed using nursing care records in the institutions and by interviewing children's parents about all of the accidents happened in a previous year. Data were collected during the period of August 1 through 31, 2002. The results of the study are as follow: 1. Among 300 children, 282 had 506 accidental injuries during the study period. 2. The month, the day and the time with the highest accident rate were April. Monday, and between 2 and 4 o'clock in the afternoon, respectively. 3. Locations where the injury took place most included nursery schools or kindergartens, around the homes of the children, and inside the home. 4. Most accidents were occurred due to lack of carefulness of the children, and the most prevalent forms of injury was abrasions. 5. Most frequently injured part of the body was legs of the children. 6. Most injuries were healed within three days and required first aid measures to disinfect the wound. Mostly, these were performed by family members at home. Some children go to the hospital to suture the open wound. Most frequent type of complication was scar formation and the cost of the treatment ranged from 9,000 to 30,000 won. 7. Children's age. sex, birth order. personality. type of family composition. type of residency. father's occupation, father's age, and mother's age were significantly related to the frequency of injury among children. Children who were in nursery schools and kindergartens need their assessment for accident involving condition according to seasons, time. place. This study provided a very useful and important data to prepare accident prevention education program and accident prevention strategies, and to develop Injury Surveillance System.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.13-20
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• 2010

Purpose : Because infants who have been hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) are usually ill or premature, they are hospitalized repeatedly after their discharge. We intended to survey the frequencies and the medical costs of those rehospitalizations. Methods : The NICUs of 7 major hospitals were included. The subjects were 3,451 infants that were admitted to the NICU from July 2005 to June 2006, and discharged to home. The frequency, causes, mean cost and distribution and proportion of National Health Insurance coverage and non covered costs were analyzed. Results : The rate of rehospitalization after discharge from the NICU over 1 year was 14.8%. If multiple cases are considered as individual cases, it is 21.7%. The major causes of admission were pneumonia (15.8%), bronchiolitis (14.5%), gastroenteritis (10.4%), urinary tract infection (6.3%) and sepsis (6.3%). The mean cost for each admission was 1,652 thousand won. The mean cost of National Health Insurance coverage was 1,170 thousand won and non covered coat were 472 thousand won 70.9% and 28.6% respectively. Conclusion : The ratio of rehospitalization of infants after their discharge from the NICU over 1 year was approximately 20% and it means that follow-up management of these infants is very important and meticulous concerns after discharge should be given. However the rehospitalization and the non-coverage proportion of National Health Insurance cost is considerably high. It strongly implies that National Health Insurance should cover much more proportion, and personal cost exemption should be proceeded in case of rehospitalization of infants after discharge from the NICU.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.5-18
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• 2015

This descriptive study investigates the need for, satisfaction with, and availability of local healthcare services for elderly individuals. The subjects included 210 individuals aged 65 years over, and data were analyzed using SPSS. The subjects reported the limited availability of local healthcare services but a high level of satisfaction with and a strong need for these services. The subjects used these services mainly for their vaccination and perceived cost-effectiveness as the most important factor motivating their decision to use these services and a lack of publicity as the most important factor discouraging their use. Spouses, jobs, and health conditions showed significant differences in the level of satisfaction and availability, and diseases showed significant differences only in the need. These results suggest that local healthcare centers should provide services that many elderly patients can use through outreach services, connections to local communities, and active publicity instead of expanding service types.

• IEMEK Journal of Embedded Systems and Applications
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.82-94
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• 2007

Wireless sensor networking technology is one of the basic infrastructures for ubiquitous environment. It enables us to gather various sensory data such as temperature, humidity, gas leakage, and speed from the remote sensor devices. To support these networking functions, IEEE WPAN working group makes standards for PHY and MAC, while ZigBee Alliance defines the standards for the network, security, and applications. The low-rate WPAN was emerged to have the characteristics of network resilience, low cost, and low power consumption. It has a broad range of applications including, but not limit to industrial control and monitoring, home automation, disaster forecast and monitoring, health care. In order to provide more intelligent and robust services, users want voice-based solutions to accommodate to low-rate WPAN. In this paper, we have evaluated voice quality of an IEEE 802.15.4 standard compliant voice node. Specifically, it includes the design of a voice node and experiments based on the prediction of voice quality using the E-model suggested by ITU-T G.107, and the network communication mechanisms considering beacon-enabled and nonbeacon-enabled networks for real-time voice communications.

• KIPS Transactions on Computer and Communication Systems
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.15-26
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• 2013

IP-based Wireless Sensor Networks (IP-WSNs) are gaining importance for their broad range of applications in health-care, home automation, environmental monitoring, industrial control, vehicle telematics and agricultural monitoring. In all these applications, mobility in the sensor network with special attention to energy efficiency is a major issue to be addressed. Because of the energy inefficiency of networks-based mobility management protocols can be supported in IP-WSN. In this paper we propose a network based mobility supported IP-WSN protocol called Multicasting-based inter-Domain Mobility Management Scheme in Sensor-based Fast Proxy Mobile IPv6 Networks (mSFP). Based on [8,20], We present its network architecture and evaluate its performance by considering the signaling and mobility cost. Our analysis shows that the proposed scheme reduces the signaling cost, total cost, and mobility cost. With respect to the number of IP-WSN nodes, the proposed scheme reduces the signaling cost by 7% and the total cost by 3%. With respect to the number of hops, the proposed scheme reduces the signaling cost by 6.9%, the total cost by 2.5%, and the mobility cost by 1.5%. With respect to the number of IP-WSN nodes, the proposed scheme reduces the mobility cost by 1.6%.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.31-42
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• 2002

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to evaluate the present status of hospice palliative care programs in Korea as a basic database for standardization of hospice palliative care. Method : The data was collected from July to October, 2001. The instrument used for this study was the questionnaires which was consisted of the general characteristics of organization, recipient of service, manpower, contents of service, financial conditions and facilities. Sixty-four hospice palliative care programs answered the questionnaires, confirmed by telephone. Results : They were 40 hospital-based hospice palliative care programs and 24 nonmedical hospice palliative care programs. 11 Hospital-based hospice palliative programs have isolated unit or hospital affiliated free standing hospice. 6 Non-hospital hospice palliative programs have a free standing hospice. Major subjects of hospice palliative program were terminal cancer patients but patients with non-terminal illness were also included. Only 24 of 64 hospice palliative programs had all of the essential professionals : physicians, nurses, social workers, and clergies. Home hospice palliative care programs have a referral system in hospital based (89.7%) and nonmedical programs (73.7%). 24hr hospice are were provided in 26 hospital-based (65.0%) and 9nonmedical programs (37.5%). There were rooms for family in half of hospital-based programs. 73.9% of hospice palliative care programs have financial problems. 62.0% of Hospice palliative care programs need financial support from government. Conclusion : 64 Hospice palliative care programs provided hospice palliative services but had many problems in manpower, quality of care and facility. For improving the quality of terminal patients' life and promoting the cost effectiveness of health care resources, it is necessary to consider the standardization and institutionalization of hospice palliative care.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.87-100
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• 2012

Smart wear integrates computing technology into fabric or a garment for additional functionality. This research explored the attitudes and opinions of the use of smart wear from the viewpoint of caregivers. Thirty two individuals including care providers of children and adult family members with health problems participated in focus group interviews. Participants reported being interested in smart wear because of the potential to detect the location (GPS) of a dependent (e.g., child, elderly) and to monitor vital signs. Participants indicated perceived advantages of smart wear such as identifying geographical location and effectiveness. Perceived concerns mentioned were privacy/security issues and accuracy of data. Participants taking care of dependents without a specific disease were hesitant to adopt and pay for smart wear. However, caregivers of elderly individuals expressed positive adoption intentions and willingness to reasonably pay for smart wear. They indicated expectations that potential insurance would provide coverage for cost savings. Caregivers expressed the need of specific requirements for future adoption such as customizability, and comfort/safety. Specific to smart wear clothing, most respondents preferred it be an undershirt or a jacket with a sensor located in the shoulder area. The findings from this study can be used in product development, promotion and marketing of smart wear.