• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.350-360
• /
• 2010

Objectives: This study was conducted to identify factors that affect medical service performance in rural health sub-centers and to develop a method to improve health sub-center performance that takes advantage of these insights. Methods: This study included 1,242 South Korean health sub-centers that had been in operation at least since December 31, 2009 as units of analysis. After adjusting for population differences between areas, the performance of medical service among health sub-centers was analyzed according to medical services performed per person. We performed t-tests, ANOVA, Scheffe's tests and multiple regression analyses. Results: The following were significant variables affecting the medical service performance of rural health sub-centers: number of hospitals and clinics, presence of community health practitioner posts, distance from health sub-centers to main public health centers, distance from health sub-centers to the nearest emergency medical facilities, and proportion of the local population aged 65 and over. In contrast, the proportion of the local population between ages 0-4 and the placement of public health doctors that had already completed their internship were not significant variables. Conclusions: The medical service performance of health sub-centers located in rural areas is significantly affected by local population and health care environment characteristics, and therefore, it is imperative to develop strategies to provide differentiated service based on these factors.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.60 no.1
• /
• pp.57-63
• /
• 2022

When free-ranging birds are accidentally killed or die, there may be greater potential for their associated ticks to detach, seek alternate hosts, and become established. We examined 711 carcasses of 95 avian species for ticks at a stopover island of migratory birds in the Republic of Korea where only Ixodes nipponensis and I. persulcatus were previously reported from local mammals and vegetation. A total of 16 ticks, I. turdus and Haemaphysalis flava, were collected from 8 fresh carcasses belonging to 5 avian species. Despite their known abundance on migratory birds and mainland Korea, these species had not colonized the isolated insular ecosystem possibly due to the low abundance and diversity of local hosts. The results imply that increasing human impact, such as the anthropogenic mortality of migratory birds and the introduction of non-native mammalian hosts, will increase the potential invasion and colonization risk of ticks. This finding also suggests that tick surveillance consisting of fresh carcasses of dead migratory birds may provide additional information, often ignored in surveillance of ticks on live birds, for the potential introduction of non-native ticks and associated pathogens affecting animal and human health.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Rural Architecture
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.43-50
• /
• 2017

This paper presents improvement of consumer's access and convenience to Farmers Market(Local Food Shop). We analyzed case studies and proposed plans of Local Food Shop and related facilities. The results are described below. Thorough pre-education and public relations with extensive support for agricultural products in the area and external support are necessary. Most importantly, the consuming population was close. These factors were the factors of success. Tourists' visit is effective. Consumer distance should be within 10km. Long distance tourists need a way to attract tourists on weekends. It is an advantage that there are many consumers. And it would be nice to have a market in the vicinity. And it is necessary to develop various activities such as experience activities and programs. Also, a place convenient for cooperation with the government office, public health center, etc. is good. Accessibility is enhanced when ICs of frequent highway and highway are close to cars. As a suggestion of placing a direct sales place, we will set up a place for consumers to collaborate and relax and also consider the convenience of providers. For the convenience of consumers' shopping, including sales outlets, we set up booths for daily necessities and industrial products, and place other agricultural cooperatives (NACF banks), local cafes and farmer restaurants in front. Consider multifunction combined service center for consumers and farmers.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.23-30
• /
• 2022

Purpose: Health examination centers of regional public hospitals are essential facilities for strengthening preventive medical services in local communities. This study is to organize architectural planning data related to function, space, and area composition of health examination center by the size of the regional public hospitals. Methods: The literature review on the function and spatial composition of the health examination center and the drawings of the regional public hospitals were analyzed. Results: The result of this study can be summarized into several points. 1) The function of the health examination center consists of a diagnostic area, patient area, and staff area based on general examination and comprehensive examination. 2) The type of spatial composition of the 300-bed public hospital examination center is a spatial linkage type with examination rooms of the other departments where general examination and comprehensive examination are undifferentiated. 3) The examination center of public hospitals with 500 beds or more is composed of an independent space-separated type with self-installed examination rooms, and general examination and comprehensive examination are divided. 4) The examination center of public hospitals with 300 beds around, the diagnostic area occupies most of the total area, around 80%, but in public hospitals with 500 beds or more, the proportion of diagnostic area drops to 50-60%, and patient area increases to 30-40%. Implications: The examination center planning of public hospitals requires an architectural planning approach to the function and spatial composition according to the size of the hospital.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.13-20
• /
• 2020

Purposes: This study has the purpose to the improvement of health promotion for local residents through delivery of high-quality medical service by improving imbalance of medical use and seeking an improvement plan for accessibility of effective medical service by understanding the pattern of medical use by region. Methodology: As for the method, this study derived results at the significance level of p<0.05 through chi square test(χ² test) and Generalized Estimating Equation(GEE) SAS 9.4 version by using the data of the 7th Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing 2018. Findings: Study results show that local residents use medical service such as hospitalization care and outpatient visit more as compared to the residents in Gyeonggi-do/large or medium-sized cities. The more the number of chronic disease, the more they select hospitalization care rather than outpatient visit. Results also show that patients engaged in labour tend to select outpatient treatment rather than hospitalization treatment. Meanwhile, severity of disease turned out to be higher amongst medical care beneficiaries than that of national health insurance patients when comparing the types of medical security. Practical Implications: In stead of solving the problem of the difference in medical use by region from the aspect of income and economic level, an integrative solution shall be provided putting viewpoint on the social phenomenon suited to the changes of the times. This study suggests a plan for using a health and medical community care center that acts as a gate keeper of regional medical service.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.243-251
• /
• 2020

In this study, we investigated pesticide residues in 207 agricultural products distributed by direct trade in the northern area of Gyeonggi Province. A total of 94 general agricultural products and 113 eco-friendly agricultural products collected from local grocers and cooperative stores were analyzed by multiresidue method for 263 pesticides using GC (gas chromatography)/ECD (electron capture detector), GC/NPD (nitrogen phosphorus detector), GC-MS/MS (tandem mass spectrometry), LC (liquid chromatography)/PDA (photodiode array detector), LC/FLD (fluorescence detector), LC-MS/MS. All samples showing pesticide residues were general agricultural products collected from local food stores. The pesticide residue levels of 14 samples (6.8%) were below the maximum residue limits (MRLs) and one of them (0.5%) exceeded the MRLs. Sixteen pesticides were detected from samples of the following produce items: spinach, young cabbage, perilla leaves, mallow, cucumber, chives and water dropwort. The safety of the detected pesticides was assessed by monitoring the daily intake estimate (EDI) and the daily intake allowance (ADI) based on the amount of pesticides detected. The ADI percentage range (the ratio of EDI to ADI) was 0.0134-61.6259% and there was no health risk connected with consuming agricultural products in which pesticide residues were detected.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.15-23
• /
• 2016

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to evaluate the productivity changes of 18 public health centers in Gangwon-do from 2006 to 2013 using the Malmquist Productivity Index(MPI). Methods : Data were collected from Statistics Korea from 2006 to 2013. The input variables were the numbers of medical, nursing and administrative personnels. The output variables were the performances of health promotion programs. Along with the traditional input-oriented DEA analysis, the MPI was calculated. Results : First, among the 18 public health centers, the productivity index of 14 public health centers was increased. Second, the annual productivity showed a 6% increase. Third, the productivity improvements were mainly caused by Scale Efficiency Change. Conclusions : Improving the productivity of public health centers requires the support and external policies of the national and local government. Internally, public health centers need to maintain scale optimization of the center. Additionally, efforts should be made to effectively use limited resources.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.10
• /
• pp.4401-4408
• /
• 2015

Background: Cancer is a primary source of concern in Thailand and other countries around the world, including the Asian-Pacific region. Evidence supports that an important contributing cause of cancer and other chronic illnesses such as stroke, diabetes, and hypertension is excessive alcohol consumption. Studies conducted in Thailand reveal a worrisome rise in the number of new and regular drinkers in communities. Therefore, actions for primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of problem drinking are necessary. In recent years nurses in North East Thailand have been developing and implementing the Khon Kaen Family Health Nursing model to embed disease prevention in communities through the actions of family health nurses and local family health leaders. Aim: The aim of this qualitative research was to better understand the experiences of the local family health leaders using this model and to synthesize lessons learned. Materials and Methods: As part of a participatory action research approach involving analysis of focus group discussions and individual interviews, the experiences of 45 family health leaders were synthesized. Results: Four main themes were identified, namely: i) Family first: role modeling beginning at the personal and family level. ii) Local leverage: using village community forums to reduce alcohol drinking. iii) Gentle growth: making the first step and treading gently; and iv) Respect, Redemption, Rehabilitation: valuing the person to re-integrate them in the village society. Conclusions: As alcohol consumption in the village declined significantly following the prevention program, these findings illuminate how low-tech integrated prevention approaches may be very useful, particularly in rural communities. The lessons learned may have relevance not only in Thailand but in other countries seeking to prevent and mitigate behavior that conduces to diseases such as cancer.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.130-137
• /
• 2022

Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, appropriate management of sequelae and treatment of infectious symptoms became increasingly important healthcare issues. Although the practice guidelines and treatment cases based on the East Asian traditional medicine have been reported, there are rare studies on the use of Korean medicine in Korea. Therefore, this study aimed to present the progress of non-contact Korean medical treatment for infected patients at a local public health center using retrospective chart review. A total of 18 patients were prescribed with 5 days of herbal decoction and medicine extract covered by the national health insurance. With the questionnaire form, the progression and improvement of symptoms before and after treatment were evaluated using the numerical rating scale (NRS), and the treatment satisfaction and opinions were obtained. The symptoms such as cough (5.56±2.23 to 2.89±2.14), sputum (6.11±1,75 to 3.28±2.47), sore throat (6.06±2.70 to 1.47±1.62), anorexia (5.56±2.63 to 1.94±2.21), nausea (3.75±1.71 to 1.17±1.11), diarrhea (3.40±2.63 to 1.50±1.51), chest tightness (4.93±2.46 to 2.29±2.30) and fatigue (6.44±1.79 to 2.67±1.88) all improved according to the NRS, and the satisfaction with herbal medicine treatment on a 5-point Likert scale was 4.24±0.90. No side effects and adverse reactions were reported. Thereupon non-contact Korean medical treatment can be concluded that it effectively reduces the COVID-19 infection mild symptoms in restrictive extent. Since the retrospective data does not include a control group, the more confirmative data is needed by multicenter and large-scale controlled clinical study afterwards.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
• /
• v.30 no.4
• /
• pp.99-110
• /
• 2013

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate factors related to prostate disease and follow-up procedure on health examination program in Gangwon-do. Methods: The studied population was 16,501 male aged 40 or more, who underwent screening tests for prostatic disease in 2011 health examination program designed for the low income residents in Gangwon-do. The screening tests included prostate specific antigen (PSA), international symptom score (IPSS), and maximal flow rate (Qmax). We conducted chi-square test for trend, two independent samples t-test, and binary logistic regression to find out the relationship between prostate cancer or benign prostatic hyperplasia and risk factors such as age, PSA level, and IPSS. Results: The number of subjects who turned out positive for PSA level (> 3.8ng/ml) was 971 men accounting for 5.9%. The result of post survey on them showed that 511 subjects (52.6%) got the urology check-up: 156 (30.5%) were diagnosed as normal, 286 (56.0%) as benign prostatic hyperplasia, and 69 (13.5%) as prostate cancer. The detection rate for prostate cancer was 8.8% when PSA level was between 3.81 and 9.99g/ml, and was 30.6% when PSA level was more than 10.00ng/ml. The rates of further testing varied depending on the communities from 26.7% to 68.2%, which was mainly affected by the role of local health center. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that enhanced quality control of local health center and empowerment of screening agency would increase the effort of coupled institutions between public and private sectors.