• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.92-102
• /
• 2022

This study suggests a variety of ways to prevent narcotic crimes, recurrence of such crimes, rehabilitation, and improve the public awareness of using the narcotics by adopting cultural contents, highlighting how dangerous, harmful and they are easily accessible, as well as the reality in Korea nowadays, where it cannot any longer be seen as a drug-free state. Precedent research, the actual case studies, and interviews followed by the "Musical Mission" explain that anyone can easily become a criminal or family to the criminals, and the adolescent is the age group that experience the most rapid increase in initiating such illicit drugs by using cultural content to help prevent and improve awareness among the public to expose the deadly effect of the substances. More efforts are required to remove the frame of criminals off the active drug users, as they are those who only need to be cared and are the same members of our society after all by demonstrating new ways to change such perspectives. I wish that it will become a social mandatory for those who produce the social contents to urge more support for the drug users through TV advertisements, dramas, movies, documentaries, and musicals etc.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.1-12
• /
• 2021

Purpose: Growing evidence indicates that adolescents from multicultural families are more vulnerable to drug use than those from non-multicultural families. This study aimed to compare the factors associated with the habitual drug use among adolescents from multicultural and non-multicultural families. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed. Data were obtained from the 14~15th (2018~2019) Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. Overall, 91,443 multicultural (n=1,725) and non-multicultural adolescents (n=89,718) were included. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, univariate analysis, and logistic regression analysis. Results: The multicultural adolescents engaged in more habitual drug use than did non-multicultural adolescents. In both groups, those who currently drank, experienced violent victimization, had sexual experiences, and did not live with their family were at greater risk of engaging in habitual drug use. The odds ratios of these factors were higher in multicultural adolescents than in non-multicultural adolescents. In non-multicultural adolescents, those who were boys, had experienced depression and suicidal ideation, perceived their body image as normal, overweight, or obese, and had poor subjective health status were at greater risk of engaging in habitual drug use. Conclusion: These results highlight the need to develop customized strategies for adolescents from both multicultural and non-multicultural families to reduce and prevent their habitual drug use.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.63-77
• /
• 2019

Traditional wastewater research mainly focuses on 1) estimating the amount of waste entering sewage treatment facilities, 2) evaluating the treatment efficiency of sewage facilities, 3) investigating the role of sewage treatment effluent as a point source, and 4) designing and managing sewage treatment facilities. However, since wastewater contains a variety of chemical and biological substances due to the discharge of human excreta and material used for daily living into it, the collective constituents of wastewater are likely a reflection of a community's status. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), an emerging and promising field of study that involves the analysis of substances in wastewater, can be applied to monitor the state of a defined community. WBE provides opportunities for exploiting indicators in wastewater to fulfill various objectives. The data analyzed under WBE are those pertaining to selected natural and anthropogenic substances in wastewater that are a result of the discharge of metabolic excreta, illicit or legal drugs, and infectious pathogens into the wastewater. This paper reviews recent progress in WBE and addresses current challenges in the field. It primarily discusses several representative applications including the investigation of drug consumption across different communities and the management of community disease and health. Finally, it summarizes established indicators for WBE.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.361-382
• /
• 2022

The third opium war may have already started, not only due to illicit opioid trafficking from the Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle on the international front but also through indiscriminate opioid prescription and opioid diversion at home. Opioid use disorder (OUD), among unintentional injuries, has become one of the top 4 causes of death in the United States (U.S.). An OUD is defined as a problematic pattern of opioid use resulting in clinically significant impairment or distress, consisting of 2 or more of 11 problems within 1 year, as described by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Observation of aberrant behaviors of OUD is also helpful for overworked clinicians. For the prevention of OUD, the Opioid Risk Tool and the Current Opioid Misuse Measure are appropriate screening tests before and during opioid administration, respectively. Treatment of OUD consists of 3 opioid-based U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved medications, including methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone, and non-opioid-based symptomatic medications for reducing opioid withdrawal syndromes, such as α₂ agonists, β-blockers, antidiarrheals, antiemetics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and benzodiazepines. There are at least 6 recommendable guidelines and essential terms related to OUD. Opioid stewardship programs are now critical to promoting appropriate use of opioid medications, improving patient outcomes, and reducing misuse of opioids, influenced by the successful implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs. Despite the lack of previous motivation, now is the critical time for trying to reduce the risk of OUD.