• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.19 no.1 s.19
• /
• pp.85-90
• /
• 1986

This study was conducted in July-August, 1984, to define the causes of chronic gastrointestinal symptoms in rural population and to provide data for the management of such patients. A household survey was conducted to identify all the residents of Youngchun and Sungiu counties in Kyungpook province who were over 20 years of age, had chronic upper gastrointestinal symptoms for over the last 6 months, never had medical examination for the symptoms, and volunteered to participate in the gastroscopic examination. Gastroscopy was done for 106 males and 108 females. Gastric ulcer was found in 16.8% of all the examinees, duodenal ulcer in 15.4%, gastritis in 14.0%, and gastric cancer in 3.7%. No lesion was found by gastroscopy in 52.3%. Gastric ulcer more common in male(26.4%) than in female(7.4%) (p<0.01) and the same was true for duodenal ulcer(20.8% of male, 10.2% of female). Gastric cancer was found in 7.5% of the male while none of the female had gastric cancer. A higher proportion of the female (68.5%) showed normal finding in the gastroscopy than the male(35.9%) (p<0.01). No significant association was found between the upper gastrointestinal symptoms and the gastroscopic findings. The higher prevalence rate of gastric ulcer than that of duodenal ulcer in this study which is the reverse of the study findings of urban area in Korea and western countries may be related in part with the dietary habit and social environment of the rural population. Although early diagnosis is the most important for the treatment of gastric cancer, many of the people with chronic upper gastrointestinal complaints defer the diagnosis and treatment. It is may be due to lack of the knowledge of diseases and the health care attitude of the rural people. A national program for the health education and mass screening for the gastric cancer should be developed.

• Child Health Nursing Research
• /
• v.7 no.3
• /
• pp.322-341
• /
• 2001

The family value is expected to play a crucial role in adjusting a new environment for the family, especially in the critical situation as having a child with cancer in the family. The purpose of the study was to analyze the family values of the family with cancer children in order to offer descriptive data, which will facilitate family adjustment with cancer children. The survey was conducted from July 18, 2000 to August 30, 2000 and the analysis included 309 parents of the children who have been diagnosed as cancer, 18 years of age or less, and treated either hospitalized or at the outpatient clinics. Two instruments were used to measure family value. The modified form of General family value scale was 18 items with a 5 points of Likert response format (Cronbach alpha= .78) and Family value scale was developed for the study with 12 items on a 5 points of Likert response format(Cronbach alpha= .73). The data analysis utilized SAS 6.12 for percentage, frequency, Mean, and t-test of demographic characteristics and mean, F score, ANOVA, and Duncan follow-up test of variable relationships. The study findings were as follows. 1) In General family value, the fathers gave the higher scores to 'The children should live with their parents'(M=4.01), and 'A parents and their children are like one body' (M=3.91). The item with lowest score was 'Its not impossible for man to have extramarital relationship'(M=1.92). The mothers thought the most important items were 'A parents and their children are like one body'(M=3.79), and 'A wife needs to be patient to keep harmony of the family' (M=3.56), and the item with lowest score was 'Its not impossible for man to have extramarital relationship'(M=1.44). 2) The mean scores of the mothers were higher than the fathers for all items in family value with cancer children, while fathers gave more points for items in general family value. Both of parents gave the highest score to 'The health of the family is most important to me'(M=4.85 for fathers, M=4.97 for mothers), and followed by 'The husband and wife need to be patient and understand each other to overcome the difficulties'. The item with lowest scores was 'The parents can have conflicts in making decisions since their child was sick'(M=3.34 for fathers, M=3.37 for mothers). 3) There were significant differences between fathers and mothers in items of General family value; fathers gave more points to the items of 'The children should live with their parents', 'Its essential to hold the ceremony to respect their forefathers', 'Its not impossible for man to have extramarital relationship', 'A woman with two daughters should have one more baby to succeed the generation', 'The husbands are responsible for the household economy', and 'When his mother and wife dont get along, the man should be on his mothers side'. However, there was no significant difference between fathers and mothers in items of Family value with cancer children. 4) The general family value was significantly different by the birth order of cancer children, mothers age, mothers education level, and types of payment. On the other hand, the family value with cancer children was significantly different by the age of cancer children, period of illness, period after completing treatment, family type, the number of family members, and the number of total children.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.61-75
• /
• 2011

A Geographic Information System(GIS) is a system that captures, stores, analyzes, manages and presents data with reference to geographic location data. In the later 1990s and earlier 2000s it was limitedly used in government sectors such as public utility management, urban planning, landscape architecture, and environmental contamination control. However, a growing number of open-source packages running on a range of operating systems enabled many private enterprises to explore the concept of viewing GIS-based sales and customer data over their own computer monitors. K telecommunication company has dominated the Korean telecommunication market by providing diverse services, such as high-speed internet, PSTN(Public Switched Telephone Network), VOLP (Voice Over Internet Protocol), and IPTV(Internet Protocol Television). Even though the telecommunication market in Korea is huge, the competition between major services providers is growing more fierce than ever before. Service providers struggled to acquire as many new customers as possible, attempted to cross sell more products to their regular customers, and made more efforts on retaining the best customers by offering unprecedented benefits. Most service providers including K telecommunication company tried to adopt the concept of customer relationship management(CRM), and analyze customer's demographic and transactional data statistically in order to understand their customer's behavior. However, managing customer information has still remained at the basic level, and the quality and the quantity of customer data were not enough not only to understand the customers but also to design a strategy for marketing and sales. For example, the currently used 3,074 legal regional divisions, which are originally defined by the government, were too broad to calculate sub-regional customer's service subscription and cancellation ratio. Additional external data such as house size, house price, and household demographics are also needed to measure sales potential. Furthermore, making tables and reports were time consuming and they were insufficient to make a clear judgment about the market situation. In 2009, this company needed a dramatic shift in the way marketing and sales activities, and finally developed a dedicated GIS_based market analysis and sales management system. This system made huge improvement in the efficiency with which the company was able to manage and organize all customer and sales related information, and access to those information easily and visually. After the GIS information system was developed, and applied to marketing and sales activities at the corporate level, the company was reported to increase sales and market share substantially. This was due to the fact that by analyzing past market and sales initiatives, creating sales potential, and targeting key markets, the system could make suggestions and enable the company to focus its resources on the demographics most likely to respond to the promotion. This paper reviews subjective and unclear marketing and sales activities that K telecommunication company operated, and introduces the whole process of developing the GIS information system. The process consists of the following 5 modules : (1) Customer profile cleansing and standardization, (2) Internal/External DB enrichment, (3) Segmentation of 3,074 legal regions into 46,590 sub_regions called blocks, (4) GIS data mart design, and (5) GIS system construction. The objective of this case study is to emphasize the need of GIS system and how it works in the private enterprises by reviewing the development process of the K company's market analysis and sales management system. We hope that this paper suggest valuable guideline to companies that consider introducing or constructing a GIS information system.

• Women's Health Nursing
• /
• v.7 no.4
• /
• pp.518-535
• /
• 2001

Nursing practices should be based on the understanding of human beings. In order to understand human beings, it is important to study the lifestyles and thoughts of people in their natural environment. In this sense, the cultural aspects of a society need to be studied for a culture-bound nursing service. Child care, which is an important element of nursing, is also strongly influenced by the culture of a society. Therefore, a cultural study is necessary to understand the child-rearing practices of any society. The major purpose of this dissertation is to provide basic foundations for developing a culture-based theory for nursing intervention through studying traditional cultural elements of child care in Korean society. The study examined child-rearing practices in a small village on Koje Island in the southern part of Korea. It utilized ethnographic methodologies including participatory observations and in-depth interviews. The study participants were 9 Korean mothers living on Koje Island. The average age was 52. The data were collected between July in 1998 and December in 1999. The average number of interviews per person was 7-8, and the duration of each interview was approximately 2 hours. The data were analyzed using the Spradley Analytical Method. The following 9 major child-rearing aspects of mothers on Koje Island were discovered as a result of the study: 1. Firstly, mothers on Koje Island were mostly concerned about the "Old Birth Goddess' Curse", especially during their child's early years. This concern was evidenced by their careful behavior when their child was very young and by their praying to the Old Birth Goddess not to be jealous of their babies. 2. Secondly, they wished their children to live a different and better life than themselves. It was represented by their strong motivation toward their children's education as well as their expectation for their children's success. In traditional Korean culture, Korean people think that the rise and fall of the household depend on their offsprings. Therefore, Korean mothers wish their children attain to a higher level of social status through education. 3. Third, mothers are concerned about their children's righteousness. Mothers on Koje island expect their children to live with discretion, justice, strength, respect, harmony, and to do their best in life. 4. Next was an 'anticipation of their children's happy marriage'. The attributes of this category were an 'anxiety about their children's married life', and 'an expectation of a good spouse for their children'. Because Korean people believe that only a son can continue the bloodline of a family, especially Korean mothers have a great concern of the possibility of their daughters not having a son after marriage. Also they have different expectations toward their daughter-in-laws than son-in-laws. 5. Korean mothers also derived their satisfaction from their son. It was characterized by 'excessive affection toward their son', 'dependency on their son', and 'being afraid of their married daughter having a girl like themselves'. Korean society has been a patriarchy. Therefore, a son is beloved as someone who will take care of his old parents, be in charge of ancestral rites, and provide a daughter-in-law who can conceive a son. 6. The sixth category concerned 'the differences in their expectations for their children'. The attributes in this category were 'different expectations depending on their children's gender', 'different expectations depending on their children's ability', and a 'great sympathy toward children with low abilities'. Korean mothers expect their son to become better than their daughter. 7. The seventh category was related to their 'roles in child-caring practices'. Traditionally a child was raised in an extended family system in Korea So it was not the sole duty of a mother to bring up the child. Korean mothers used to receive much help rasing children from their in-laws, and family members. On the other hand, many children grew up by themselves, because their mothers were very busy taking care of housework. Furthermore, many children also grew up in poverty. 8. Mothers also had issues related to 'conflicts in child rearing'. They were characterized by 'lack of understanding', 'rudeness of children', and 'giving vent to one's anger'. 9. Finally, mothers regretted not doing their best in child-rearing practices. It was characterized by a 'bitter feeling of repentance', 'feeling irritated', and 'feeling of unsatisfaction'.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.20
• /
• pp.8607-8612
• /
• 2014

Background: Breast cancer patients experience a variety of altered appearance - such as loss or disfigurement of breasts, discolored skin, and hair loss - which result in psychological distress that affect their quality of life. This study aims to evaluate the impact of socioeconomic status on the altered appearance distress, body image, and quality of life among Korean breast cancer patients. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at advocacy events held at 16 different hospitals in Korea. Subjects were eligible to participate if they were 18 years of age or older, had a histologically confirmed diagnosis of breast cancer, had no evidence of recurrence or metastasis, and had no psychological problems at the time of the survey. Employment status, marital status, education, and income were assessed for patient socioeconomic status. Altered appearance distress was measured using the NCI's cancer treatment side effects scale; body image and quality of life were measured by the EORTC QLC-C30 and BR23. Means and standard deviations of each outcome were compared by socioeconomic status and multivariate linear regression models for evaluating the association between socioeconomic status and altered appearance distress, body image, and quality of life. Results: A total of 126 breast cancer patients participated in the study; the mean age of participants was 47.7 (SD=8.4). Of the total, 83.2% were married, 85.6% received more than high school education, 35.2% were employed, and 41% had more than $3000 in monthly household income. About 46% had mastectomy, and over 30% were receiving either chemotherapy or radiation therapy at the time of the survey. With fully adjusted models, the employed patients had significantly higher altered appearance distress (1.80 vs 1.48; p<0.05) and poorer body image (36.63 vs 51.69; p<0.05) compared to the patients who were unemployed. Higher education (10.58, standard error (SE)=7.63) and family income (12.88, SE=5.08) was positively associated with better body image after adjusting for age, disease stage at diagnosis, current treatment status, and breast surgery type. Similarly, patients who were married and who had higher education had better quality of life were statistically significant in the multivariate models. Conclusions: Socioeconomic status is significantly associated with altered appearance distress, body image, and quality of life in Korean women with breast cancer. Patients who suffer from altered appearance distress or lower body image are much more likely to experience psychosocial, physical, and functional problems than women who do not, therefore health care providers should be aware of the changes and distresses that these breast cancer patients go through and provide specific information and psychosocial support to socioeconomically more vulnerable patients.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.44 no.5
• /
• pp.416-427
• /
• 2011

This study investigated the association among parental socioeconomic level, overweight, and eating habits with diet quality in Korean sixth grade school children. A 3-day dietary survey was conducted, and a questionnaire and anthropometric data were collected from the Korean child obesity cohort (320 boys and 345 girls). The children were classified into two groups (low or high level) based on monthly household income and paternal and maternal education status. Lower maternal education status was associated with a higher risk for overweight in girls (odd ratio, 1.91; 95% confidence interval 1.07-3.44), whereas belonging to a higher socioeconomic group in terms of parental income or parental education level resulted in the consumption of significantly more fruit. Boys did not show significant differences in the intake of most nutrients or diet quality regardless of socioeconomic status. However, girls in the lower socioeconomic group had a lower food habit score (higher frequency of breakfast skipping and ramen noodle consumption), diet quality, and intake of nutrients (carbohydrate, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber) than those in the higher socioeconomic group. Therefore future nutrition policies and interventions should support parents and children with lower socioeconomic status to develop health-related behaviors that may prevent childhood overweight.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.171-182
• /
• 2009

This study was performed to investigate socioeconomic factors relating to obesity and inadequate nutrient intake in women in low income families residing in Seoul. The subjects were 125 women (aged 41-87 y) recruited from the local health center for free health examination for low income families. The socioeconomic status such as educational level, income level, and housing condition were poor. For subjects aged less than 65 years, the prevalence of obesity was 44% based on BMI (${\geq}\;25\;kg/m^2$), 48% based on WHR (${\geq}\;0.85$), and 50% based on waist circumference (${\geq}\;80\;cm$) and for those more than 65 years, these were greater and 57%, 81%, and 79%, respectively. The main food sources of daily diet were vegetables, grains, and fruits. Energy and other nutrient intake was not adequate for all subjects and the inadequacy was more profound in the elderly, showing percentages of subjects whose intake was less than EAR were greater than 50% for all nutrients except for iron and below RI were also greater than 50% for all nutrients. The prevalence of obesity and nutrient inadequacy were not associated with socioeconomic status in subjects aged less than 65 years, however, obesity was associated with household income and nutrient inadequacy was related to education (vitamin A) and housing status (protein, phosphate, and iron) in the elderly. After adjustment for ages, in the elderly, OR for obesity (BMI ${\geq}$ 25, OR = 12.601; 95% CI = 2.338-67.911) and central obesity (WC ${\geq}$ 80 cm, OR = 4.778; 95% CI = 1.103-20.696) were greater in subjects who earned less than 500 thousand Won per month than who earned more. For inadequate nutrient intake, the OR for inadequate intake of Vitamin A (OR = 4.555; 95% CI = 1.491-13.914) was greater in subjects with no education than those educated. Subjects without her own house had greater risk for inadequate intake for protein (OR = 3.660; 95% CI = 1.118-11.981), phosphate (OR = 3.428; 95% CI = 1.157-10.158), and iron (OR = 3.765; 95% CI = 1.205-11.766) than subjects possessing her house. In elderly females in low income families, the socioeconomic status was associated with the risk for obesity (income level) and inadequate nutrient intake (education level and housing status). More attention on these groups should be given for prevention of obesity and inadequate nutrient intake.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.703-712
• /
• 2002

This study was carried out to examine the interest in menu and food purchase of housewives living in Yosu, Chonnam. The survey was conducted by questionnaire including question about general characteristics of the subjects, meal planning and food purchase from October to November in 2000. The major general characteristics of subjects are summarized as follows: The forties was 39%, having a job was 44.5%, a high school education was 53.0%, and 1~2 million won in monthly household income was 50.1%. A couple with children was 75% and a 3~4 headed family was 57%. An apartment resident was 67% and one's own house was 67%. The higher the education level was, the higher the percentage of menu preparation and necessity was significantly (p<0.0001). On grocery purchase, the percent of planned purchase was higher than that of impulse purchase, which was higher in housewives without a job. The subject's favorite place for grocery purchase was a traditional market. The higher the age of subjects and the lower the education level of subjects were, the higher the grocery purchase at a traditional market was. However, the younger subjects and subjects with higher education level preferred to purchase groceries in a mart stores in an apartment, and supermarkets in order (p<0.0001). The factors to be considered during purchasing grocery were freshness of materials, price, nutrient, and taste in order. The results of this study showed that it is necessary to educate older person for importance of planning menu and encourage housewives with a job to plan grocery purchase to provide nutritionally adequate meals at reasonable coast.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.48 no.6
• /
• pp.507-518
• /
• 2015

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the association of food security with the total and individual flavonoid intakes among Korean adults. Methods: Study subjects were 13,454 men and 19,563 women aged 19 years and older who participated in the 2007~2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Subjects were classified into food-secure and food-insecure groups using the answers to a self-reported question on food sufficiency of subjects' household. The total and individual flavonoid intakes were calculated by linking 24-h dietary recall data of subjects with a flavonoid database. Mean differences in dietary outcomes by food security status, and major food sources of total flavonoids were examined. Results: In this cross-sectional study, 5.8% of male adults and 6.6% of female adults were in food insecure households. Mean daily intakes of total flavonoids, flavonols, flavones, flavanones, flavan-3-ols, isoflavones, and proanthocyanidins were significantly lower in food-insecure groups than food-secure groups among both male and female adults. The differences were maintained in total flavonoids, flavones, flavanones, and flavan-3-ols after adjusting for total energy intake. Mean intakes of fruits and vegetables were significantly lower in food-insecure groups and the total flavonoid intake from fruits and vegetables was also significantly lower in food-insecure groups. The major food sources of total flavonoids were apples (20.7%), mandarines (12.0%), and tofu (11.5%) in the food-secure group, and apples (14.9%), tofu (13.3%), and mandarines (12.6%) in the food-insecure group. Conclusion: This study showed that food insecurity was associated with lower intakes of flavonoids and reduced intakes of fruits and vegetables in a representative Korean population.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.49 no.4
• /
• pp.247-257
• /
• 2016

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between instant noodle intake and metabolic factors in Korean adults. Methods: Study subjects were 5,894 (male 2,293, female 3,601) aged 19~64 years who participated in the 2013~2014 KNHANES. Information on frequency and consumption of instant noodles was obtained by the food frequency questionnaires method in KNHANES (Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey), and subjects were classified according to age, sex, and instant noodle consumption (INC). Results: The frequency and consumption of instant noodles was 1.2 times/week and 1.2 servings in subjects. High INC group (${\geq}1$ serving/week) was significantly younger in age compared with the low INC group (< 1 serving/week). However, the high INC group had significantly higher waist circumference, metabolic factors (triglyceride, cholesterol, and HDL-cholesterol), and dietary intake (energy intake, fat, and sodium density) compared with the low INC group. Hyperglycemia showed association with higher risk of highest quartile of INC after adjustments for multiple confounding factors, including age, gender, household income, education, smoking, and alcohol compared with the lowest quartile (OR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1-1.8). In female, abdominal obesity showed association with higher risk of highest quartile of INC after adjustments for multiple confounding factors compared with the lowest quartile (OR: 1.6, 95% CI: 1.2-2.2). Conclusion: Consumption of instant noodles was associated with increased prevalence of abdominal obesity and hyperglycemia in women. These findings suggest an association of instant noodle consumption status with metabolic risk.