• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.146-154
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• 2008

Purposes: The purposes of this study are to describe the health problems experienced by VLBW premature infants and their health care services utilization during the first year of life Method: Eighteen mothers of VLBW premature infants completed a survey questionnaire, asking socioeconomic/demographic information, health/developmental problems experienced by their infants, and their use of health care services. Results: Of the 18 infants, 78% experienced respiratory problems such as cold/running nose and wheezing during the first year and 33% experienced gastrointestinal problems such as vomiting, diarrhea and constipation. Twelve (67%) infants visited the emergency department at least one time and 10 infants (56%) were hospitalized at least once during their first year of age. Interestingly, infants without chronic lung disease visited the emergency department more than infants without chronic lung disease (p=.213). Infants living in non-disadvantaged neighborhoods were hospitalized more than infants living in disadvantaged neighborhoods (p=.000). Conclusions: Health care providers should initiate educating mothers, particularly those living in disadvantaged neighborhoods, about post-NICU discharge health care needs of their VLBW premature infants while their infants were still in the NICU so that unnecessary visits to the emergency department and rehospitalizations can be possibly prevented.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.354-360
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• 2001

This study was carried out to investigate the present status of nutrition services for infants in public health centers and the need for nutrition services of health workers and infants mothers. The study subjects were 146 health workers and 197 infants mothers. The results were as follows : At present, the only major nutrition services for infants were vaccination and dental care. Proper nutrition management services were available to infants. Nutrition knowledge scores were 16.8 for health workers and 15.3 for mothers out of 20 possible points. Health workers strongly demanded a well-organized nutrition education program, government support, audio-visual materials and the employment of a community nutritionist. The public health workers, in particular, demanded the development of education programs for breastfeeding and weaning. The infants mothers demanded services of nutrition information and teaching of cooking and menu planning. Based on this, the results suggest that the employment of a community nutritionist and the development of practical nutrition service programs for infants are needed very urgently for public health centers.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.317-327
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to identify small for gestational age (SGA) infants' growth patterns, nutritional status, and associated factors. Methods: This prospective cohort study was conducted at primary-care child health clinics in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The sample consisted of infants who fulfilled the criteria and were born in 2019. The anthropometric data of infants were assessed at birth and at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. Results: A total of 328 infants were analysed. In total, 27.7%(n=91) of the subjects were SGA infants, and 237 of them were not. Significant differences in the median weight-for-age and length-for-age z-scores were observed between SGA and non-SGA infants at birth, 1 month, 6 months, and 12 months. There was a significant difference between the growth patterns of SGA and non-SGA infants. Birth weight and sex significantly predicted the nutritional status(stunting and underweight) of SGA infants during their first year of life. Conclusion: SGA infants can catch up to achieve normal growth during their first year of life. Even though the nutritional status of SGA infants trends worse than non-SGA infants, adequate infant birth weight monitoring and an emphasis on nutritional advice are crucial for maintaining well-being.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.44-52
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compared the growth and development of premature and full-term infants during the 2 years after birth. Method: The participants were 102 infants, 51 each for premature infants, and for healthy full-term infants. Participants in the premature group accounted for 17.5% of all premature infants who were registered at the public health center in G city. Developmental status was evaluated using the Korean Denver II. Results: The catch-up growth of the premature was 100% in weight and in height. Suspicious developmental delay according to the Korean Denver II was 3.9% in normal infants and 31.2% in premature infants. Factors related to the suspicious developmental delay in premature infants were their age and health state at birth. The rate of suspicious developmental delay was higher in infants over 6 months and infants unhealthy at birth. Conclusion: A premature follow-up program, which includes nutrition education to achieve catch-up growth and to prevention obesity, along with continuous developmental screening test for infants and children born prematurely is recommended. Provision for home visits and telephone counseling for premature infants and their families who do not to use the public health center should also be included.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.7-19
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• 2002

This study was to compare mother's postpartum physical health, mental health, and role performance between mothers with fullterm infants and preterm infants over 3 months postpartum period. The study used a correlational and longitudinal design and was secondary data analysis from a large study. A convenience sample of 132 mothers who had fullterm and preterm infants was followed up for 3 times (postpartum 1-2 days, 6 weeks, and 3 months) during the first 3 months postpartum period. Postpartum physical health was assessed by level of fatigue in the morning and in the afternoon, and number of physical symptoms. Postpartum mental health was assessed by positive affect, anxiety, and depression; and postpartum role performance was measured by role functional status. Mothers with preterm infants experienced higher levels of fatigue in the morning, lower positive affect, higher anxiety and higher depression over 3 data collection time points, compared to mothers with fullterm infants. Mothers with preterm infants also resumed lesser self-care activity and social and community activity than the counterparts. It implies that some aspects of preterm birth and caring for preterm infants continue to negatively affect the mother's health outcomes during the postpartum period.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.10-22
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• 2016

Objectives This study is to analyze current guidelines for health check-ups in infants and children, and to develop better guidelines based on oriental medicine. Methods We analyzed The Manual of 2015's Health Examination for Infants and Children which is a Korean Developmental Screening Test for Infants and Children (K-DST). The statistics from the test was collected from 2010 to 2014 to figure out the problems of Health Examinations for Infants and Children. 20 articles from 2000 to 2014 from RISS, NDSL were also analyzed. Results The current guidelines for health examinations in infants and children didn't include major pediatric diseases such as allergy and asthma. Also, the pediatrics health education materials were mainly focused on hypernutrition but not so much on nutrition deficiency. The number of the centers for Health Examinations for Infants and Children was 52.2% of the number of NIP-Participating medical institutions for infants and children. Conclusions Oriental medicine can be useful to prevent major pediatric diseases and to promote general health in pediatrics. By legislating 'Geon-a-beop', which is a law for infants and children, we can increase the number of medical centers for infants and children to get health check-ups. Currently, there are 9,769 Korean medical institutions, and the rate of traditional medical doctors of public health doctors was 25.5%. Weak Children Questionnaire is developed, considered to be more useful when it is developed with 5-point scale rather than 2.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.62 no.5
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• pp.149-154
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• 2019

The World Health Organization recommends that infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life to provide optimal nutrition in this critical period of life. After this, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to 2 years of age or beyond. For nonbreastfed infants, infant formula is an available option to provide the nutrition needed. Infant formula is usually prepared from industrially modified cow's milk and processed to adjust for the nutritional needs of infants. However, cow's milk is one of the most common causes of food allergy, affecting 2%-5% of all formula-fed infants during their first year of life. One strategy to prevent cow's milk allergy in nonbreastfed infants is the use of partially hydrolyzed formula (pHF) in high-risk infants, which are infants born in families with atopic disease. However, based on an epidemiological study, approximately half of the infants who develop allergy are not part of the at-risk group. This is because the non-at-risk group is significantly larger than the at-risk group and the non-at-risk infants have approximately 15% risk of developing allergies. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of partially hydrolyzed whey formula (pHF-W) in nonbreastfed infants and determine whether pHF-W can prevent atopic disease in high-risk infants and can be used as routine starter formula regardless of the allergy risk status.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.315-326
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• 1995

This study was performed to find variables which affect oral health care of infants. The subjects were 439 infants and their mothers who live in suburban area. Oral examinations for the infants were conducted and the questionnairs were given to infants' mothers. Toothbrushing frequency, oral hygiene score, the percentage of filled teeth among decayed teeth, and dental treatment experience of infants were used as dependent variable, respectively. Demographic, socio-economic variables and the other variables which might affect oral health care of infants were used as independent variables. Correlation analysis and analysis of variance were used for the independent variables of toothbrushing frequency, oral hygiene score, and the percentage of filled teeth among decayed teeth of infant. Chi-Square and Student's t-test were used for the dependent variables of dental treatment experience of infant. The obtained results were as follows; 1. Toothbrushing frequency of mother and internal locus of oral control of mother were the factors which affect toothbrusing frequency of infants. 2. Oral health belief of mother was the factor which affect oral hygiene score of infants. 3. Age of infant was the factor which affect the percentage of filled teeth among decayed teeth. 4. Age of infant and educational level of infant's mother were the factors which affect the infants' consumption of dental treatment.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.401-411
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• 2017

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the use of oral hygiene products in infants. Methods: From October 2015 to December 2015, astructured questionnaire survey was conducted for infants and parents about the infants' oral hygiene product use from 0 to 4 years of age in Seoul and other metropolitan areas. Results: The use of oral tissues for infants and children was more frequent in infants, with less than four uses of oral tissues per 10 infants. The overall amount of toothpaste usage among infants was lower than those of infants whose parents are high school or college graduates. The number of oral tissues used per infant per week was less among infants who sucked less than 4 times per 10 infants. The frequency of use of infant mouthwash per week in every 10 infants was less than those who swallow mouthwash less than once. The number of mouth rinses after the use of oral tissues for infants was high in boys, and the number of infants who sucked oral tissues was less than 4 times when used 10 times. The number of mouth rinses after the use of toothpaste was less for infants with college-graduate parents. The factors affecting the number of mouth rinsings after using oral tissues for infants were gender and sucking frequency. Conclusions: In this study, the oral hygiene products for infants were found to differ and affect the usage, the frequency of use, and the number of mouth rinses according to the general characteristics of infants' and parents and the use of oral hygiene products.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.118-128
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• 2024

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the health concerns of parents regarding their premature infants and to identify changes in these concerns during perinatal period and after discharge. Methods: This was a retrospective study performed at a single tertiary center that enrolled 119 premature infants who were discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and visited the outpatient pediatrics department between December 2018 and October 2021. Data on the concerns of 176 parents regarding enrolled premature infants' health from before birth to 1 week after NICU discharge were obtained from outpatient records. The t test and with the chi-squared test were used to analyze the data for this study. Results: The consistently greatest focus of parents' health concerns was the respiratory system. The second focus of parents' health concerns before discharge was the central nervous system. However, during the first week after NICU discharge, the gastrointestinal system was the second-most frequent focus of parents' health concerns among parents of infants without diseases related to prematurity and infants with older gestational ages. Conclusion: The results of this study offer insights into the health concerns among parents of premature infants. Parental health concerns about premature infants vary over time, from before birth to post-discharge, necessitating supportive interventions to enhance parental understanding of their child's health status.