• Health Policy and Management
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.84-87
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• 2017

Catastrophic healthcare expenditure refers to out-of-pocket spending for healthcare exceeding a certain proportion of a household's income and can lead to subsequent impoverishment. The aim of this study was to investigate the proportion of South Korean households that experienced catastrophic healthcare expenditure between 2006 and 2015 using available data from the Korea Health Panel, National Survey of Tax and Benefit, and Household Income and Expenditure Survey. Frequencies and trend tests were conducted to analyze the proportion of households with catastrophic healthcare expenditure. Subgroup analysis was performed based on income level. The results of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey revealed that around 2.88% of households experienced catastrophic healthcare expenditure in 2015 and that this proportion was highest in the low income group. Results also showed a statistically significant increasing trend in the number of households with catastrophic healthcare expenditure (annual percentage change= 0.92%, p-value < 0.0001). Therefore, the findings infer a need to strengthen public health care financing and to particularly monitor catastrophic healthcare expenditure in the low income group.

• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.209-217
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• 2011

Purpose: In this study, eye-health inequity was investigated by analyzing the relationship between household incomes and eye-health of senior citizens. Further, this study suggested the preliminary data for establishment of public eye-health policy in order to improve low income senior citizens' life quality. Methods: The data from the 2009 Survey of Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination were analyzed in this study. The objectives of the KNHNE survey were over 65 year old group (1,668 people). Main factors of eye-health (visual acuity, cataract, pterygium, intraocular pressure, retinophathy, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinophathy, myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and anisometropia prevalence) were analyzed with t-test and chi square test. Results: Low income group revealed that refractive error rate and intraocular pressure were low, however, naked eye visual acuity and corrected visual acuity were high at 0.1 to less than 0.5. On the other hands, in the high income group, there was high prevalence of hyperopia. Cataract mainly occurred at low income group besides group which maximum corrected visual acuity was below 0.8 also highly showed cataract. Moreover, the prevalence of cataract showed that it related with smoking, drinking, occupation, and education level. Conclusions: Results revealed that there was inequity of eye-health which related with socioeconomic status of the elderly. Especially, the prevalence of cataract was correlated with life quality. Consequently, establishment of public eye-health policy seems to be required for eye-health inequity of low income senior citizens.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.246-260
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of obesity, dietary habits, and nutritional status by age among low-income women, using data from the fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007~2009). Subjects were 8,356 women aged 20 and over. The subjects were classified into four groups by age. Dietary data from 24-hr recall methods were used to analyze nutritional status. The prevalence of obesity in the 50~64 years age group was significantly higher than those of the other age groups. Among age groups, malnutrition was the highest in the 65-and-over age group. It appears that women in the 20~29 and 65-and-over age groups were the highest nutritional risk. The percentage of carbohydrates in total energy intake was higher and the percentages of protein and fat were lower in the 65-and-over age group than other groups. Frequency of skipping breakfast was lower in women aged 65-and-over, and moderate physical activity significantly decreased with increasing age. Awareness of dietary guidelines was higher in women aged 30~49 years than other groups, whereas it was lower in those aged 65-and-over years. Adherence to dietary guidelines of 'eating a variety of foods from each food group' was significantly lower in women aged 65-and-over years than those of other groups. However adherence to dietary guidelines of 'eating breakfast everyday with a pleasant mind' was significantly lower in women aged 20~29 years than those of other groups. Therefore, this study shows that low income women have various nutritional problems by age group, and we should support a tailored approach to improve their nutritional status.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.97-108
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• 1988

The purpose of this study is to classify the type of the Korean document chest, mungab through the literature and market survey and to investigate the preference on characteristics of the mungab. It also attempts to find out the aesthetic perception of the type of mungab by using semantic differential scales. A pilot study was conducted to select the types and pictures of the mungab. Three types and six pictures of mungab were selected. Six hundred homemakers of middle and upper class residing in seoul area were selected for the survey and 449 among them were used for data analysis. Data were analyzed using the SPSS program. The major findings are as follows: 1) The esult of pilot test, the presentative characteristics of mungab were classified into naive type, unique type, and elaborate type. 2) it was found that the modernized style of traditional mungab was wood grain and the next one was Najonchiligi. In the characteristics of decoration which was symbolic pattern, Shi-Jang-Saeng was predominant. In wanting style when they buy, the modernized style of traditional Korean chest was predominant, too. 3) Young and low income group preferred modern style using transparent paint and Sa-Goon-Ja, letters in the symbolic patterns of decoration. Old and high income group preferred traditional style using splendid and expensive materials and Ship Jang Saeng in the symbolic decoration. 4) compared with types of mungab in aesthetic perception, modern style of the traditional mungab was evaluated more positively than traditional style. The young and low income group perceived the naive type and unique type positively, but the old and high income group perceived the elaborate type the most positively.

• Proceeding of Spring/Autumn Annual Conference of KHA
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.102-107
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• 2008

The National Rental Houring has been built for solving the lack of house for the low-income group. However the national rental housing that the low-income group didn't feel aliention' we should improve the quality of National Rental housing. The purpose of this study aims to identify the facts for improving the social integra as the preference of Rental lived in Gwangju. The findings are as follows. The residents had marginal characteristics such as low income, the aged and were satisfied with the residential environment so they want to stay there as long as they can. However, they were dissatisfied with the scale of housing, housing facilities. Therefore, It is important to improve housing condition witch they enhance their self existence.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.815-824
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• 2013

This study divides female consumers according to eco-friendly attitudes and the purchase frequency of eco-clothing products; in addition, it analyzes the characteristics of each group in terms of LOHAS lifestyles, the attitudes for eco-clothing products, and satisfaction. Eco-clothing attitudes of female consumers were lower than eco-friendly attitudes. A total of 360 female consumers were divided into 4 group according to purchase frequency and the eco attitude, Type 1: survival (33.0%), Type 2: wellbeing (25.6%), Type 3: curious (15.0%), Type 4: LOHAS (26.4%); in addition, age, income, marit alstatus, occupation, LOHAS lifestyle and shopping places were differentiated by type. Type 1 (low eco attitude and low eco-clothing purchase) were composed of the youngest, college students, low income, low level of LOHAS lifestyles and low level of eco-clothing attitude. Type 2 (high eco attitude and low eco-clothing purchase) were interested in healthy eating & exercise among LOHAS lifestyles; in addition, Type 1 & 2 showed alow level of eco-clothing satisfaction. Type 3, low eco attitude and high eco-clothing purchase, were characterized with high expenditures on clothing relative to income as well as lower levels of family activities and leisure life than LOHAS Type 4. Type 4 (high eco attitude and high eco-clothing purchase) were the oldest group and mostly composed of married workers (the highest income) with the highest LOHAS lifestyles and the highest level of eco-clothing satisfaction.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.189-198
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the We Start center visiting intervention program on the positive changes in the developmental areas and literacy interests of young children from low-income families. The subjects were 195 young children (109 in the experimental group, M=71.7 months; 86 in the control group, M=73.3 months) living in We Start areas (Ansan, Gwangmyeong, and Suwon cities) of Gyeonggi-do. The We Start center visiting intervention programs were conducted for 30-34 weeks in each city, and pre-tests and post-tests were conducted before and after the intervention programs. The instruments used were the developmental checklist and the literacy interests test The developmental checklist consisted of 7 domains (personality & sociality; language, reading, & writing; scientific thinking; mathematical thinking; arts; social learning; and physical development). The literacy interests test consisted of 2 factors (interest in literacy and interaction during activity). The scores on the developmental checklist showed positive changes in several domains (personality & social development; language, reading, & writing ability; scientific thinking; and social learning), but not in mathematical thinking, arts, and physical development. Second, the results of the literacy interests test showed positive effects on interaction during activity and the total score. In conclusion, the We Start center visiting program for young children from low-income families is an effective early intervention program to end the intergenerational transference of poverty in Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.67-83
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• 2011

The purposes of this study were to a develop a preventive tailored early intervention program and to investigate the effects of the program on the quality of parenting for low income families. The subjects were eighty five infants, aged 13 to 32 months, and their mothers. Of the 85 mother-infant dyads, 42 dyads were randomly assigned to the experimental group and 43 dyads to the control group. To prevent the risks of the adverse development of infants from low income families a tailored intervention program was created based upon the transactional model. This emphasized the quality of the home environment and of the daily mother-infant interaction. The risk factors were assessed and progress monitoring was undertaken for the preventive tailored intervention treatment. In order to assess the effects of the program, HOME, the NCAST Teaching Scale and the Parenting Stress Index/Short From were used. The collected data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, ANCOVA, and the McNemar test. The experimental group showed a significant increase in performance and higher scores than the control group on the scores from HOME, and the NCAST Teaching Scale and significant decrease and lower scores in the Parenting Stress Index(SF).

• Child Studies in Asia-Pacific Contexts
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.33-47
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of picture book reading intervention activities on language development of low-income children. The subjects were 60 children in low-income families, aged 5, selected from 24 child care centers located in three cities nearby Seoul, South Korea. The experimental group had received intervention program for 8 weeks, two days a week, and three teachers conducted the intervention program for 30 to 40 minutes for each session. The intervention program was administered to the children with picture book reading activities in the first session, followed by providing more extensive activities in the second session. Afterwards, the study allowed the children to take one picture book to read at home. To evaluate the effect of the picture book reading intervention program, this study utilized instruments called the Preschool Receptive-Expressive Language Scale and the Concepts about Print. Significant differences found between the two groups. The experimental group showed higher scores compared with the control group in the post-test of expressive language development. Also, children in the experimental group showed a significant increase in the concepts about print after the intervention program was administered. In conclusion, findings indicate several changes in positive outcomes after implementation of the picture book reading intervention program.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.127-135
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• 2016

Improving farming activity competence of farm households has recently been considered one of the most important factors for increasing farm income. However, few studies examine the relationship between farm income and farming activity competence of farm households directly due to the lack of an available dataset. In this study, we examine the relationship between farm household technical managerial competence and farm household income based on the nearly 30,000 farm households consulting data gathered by the Rural Development Administration, RDA. The major findings of this study are as follows: firstly, statistically significant differences in agricultural and farm household income exist between farm households categorized by farm activity competence levels in terms of technique and management. Secondly, a technically and managerially competent farm household group (high-rank farm household) has 2.2 times higher agricultural income and 1.9 times higher farm household income than the technically and managerially incompetent farm household group (low-rank farm household). Thirdly, farm household technical-managerial competence is one of the major factors that affect agricultural and farm household income. Regarding technical competence, agricultural income and farm household income increased by approximately 1,390,000 won and 1,530,000 won, respectively, as technical points increased by one point. However, with respect to managerial competence, agricultural income and farm household income increased by approximately 1,320,000 won and 2,070,000 won, respectively, as managerial points increased by one point.