• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.274-276
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• 2015

Since the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak in the Republic of Korea (hereafter Korea) began on May 11, 2015, a total of 186 persons have been infected by the MERS coronavirus, 38 of whom have died. With this number, Korea becomes second only to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the ranking of cumulative MERS cases. In this paper Korea's unique experience of an outbreak of MERS will be summarized and discussed briefly.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.335-347
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• 2015

Objectives This study aims to overview traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment guidelines for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in order to facilitate the use of Korean medicine (KM) treatment in pandemic diseases. Methods We compared the characteristics between SARS and MERS, and overviewed the Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment guidelines for SARS and MERS. We assessed the efficacy of simultaneous administration of herbal medicine and Western medicine on SARS by studying Cochranes 2012's Systematic Review Studies. Results and Conclusions Based on wen bing (warm diseases) of KM as well as TCM, KM treatment can be an alternative for pandemic diseases such as SARS and MERS considering the Korean's characteristic environment.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.33-46
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• 2019

Purpose: Individuals suspected Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) are continuously surfacing in Korea. study the Korean public's knowledge, attitude, and preventive behaviors related to MERS as well as the factors that affect preventive behaviors for MERS. Methods: The study used a descriptive research design, and included 196 men and women aged 20 to 65 years. Data were collected through Internet surveys and self-reported questionnaires from December 1 to 30, 2017. Results: Among the participants, 88.7 percent knew cough etiquette, 84.7 percent had education about cough etiquette, and 52.6 percent had received education on MERS. The average scores for knowledge of MERS was $73.60{\pm}18.78$; attitude of MERS, $2.22{\pm}0.92$; and preventive behaviors for MERS, $62.43{\pm}16.11$. egression analysis showed that higher knowledge of MERS (${\beta}=.34$, p<.001) and higher attitude of MERS (${\beta}=.05$, p=<.001) resulted in increased preventive behaviors, people with MERS education increased preventive behaviors (${\beta}=.21$, p=.003). Conclusion: the awareness and knowledge of MERS for promoting related preventive behaviors. Therefore, education content that considers the characteristics of the target population should be organized and expanded multiple channels.

• Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 2017

Objectives The purpose of this study was to evaluate psychological effects of an outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), a newly emerged infectious disease, on doctors. Methods After the MERS outbreak was over, we conducted an online survey of doctors who worked at the hospitals in which exposure to MERS cases had been confirmed or who were directly involved in MERS diagnosis and treatment. The Patient Health Questionnaires-9 (PHQ-9) and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) assessment methods were used to assess the severity of depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms among the 64 doctors participating in the survey. Results The results of the survey indicate that 26.6% (n=17) of participants exhibited depressive symptoms and 7.8% (n=5) had post-traumatic stress symptoms. The doctors employed at hospitals with MERS cases had higher PHQ-9 and IES-R mean scores than those in doctors were not so employed. In contrast, there was no significant difference in those test scores between doctors who participated directly in MERS diagnosis and treatment and those doctors who did not. Conclusion The survey demonstrated that 28.1% (n=18) of doctors involved in MERS care suffered from depressive or posttraumatic stress symptoms, even though the MERS infection was being controlled. Working at a hospital with MERS cases was the primary determinant of the adverse psychological outcomes among doctors ; however, direct participation in the diagnosis and care of MERS patients was not significantly related to such outcomes.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.111-119
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• 2017

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of stress on psychosocial wellbeing at the time of an outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome(MERS) and to investigate the effect of resilience as a mediator on the relationship between stress and psychosocial wellbeing. Methods : Perceived Stress Scale, Psychosocial Wellbeing Index Short Form, and the Conner-Davidson Resilience Scale was implemented for 156 medical persons who worked at the hospital in which exposure to MERS cases had been confirmed and 127 ordinary people. We conducted a Pearson correlation coefficient and a hierarchical multiple regression to confirm the effect of stress on psychosocial wellbeing and the mediating effect of resilience between stress and psychosocial wellbeing. Results : The higher the perceived stress, the lower the psychosocial wellbeing in both healthcare workers and the public. The higher the perceived stress, the lower the resilience and the research results showed that there was a partially mediating effect of resilience in the relationship between stress and psychosocial wellbeing. Conclusions : This study demonstrated that the degree of individual resilience can indirectly give a positive effect on the psychosocial wellbeing when people under the stress by MERS shows adverse effects on psychosocial wellbeing. This suggests that clinical intervention and psychosocial approach aiming at strengthening resilience is important to maintain mental health during crisis development.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2016

Purpose: The 2015 Korean Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreaks resulted in 186 cases, with 8% (15 persons) of these being nurses. This study aimed to examine MERS-CoV infection status of clinical nurses and to evaluate perception for infection control. Methods: We investigated the MERS-CoV infection status of nurses using MERS-CoV press release data. We examined and analysed perception for Infection control of 121 nurses of the three MERS intensive therapeutic hospitals in July 2015. Results: One to six nurses per hospital in total 8 health care facilities were infected with MERS-CoV. They mainly had short clinical careers and were unaware of infection possibility. The personal and organizational infection control levels that nurses perceive were low and the relationship between two levels was statistically significant. Conclusion: For promoting health protection and infectious disease management competency of nurses, it is necessary to prepare institutional system for controlling infectious disease.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.179-188
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• 2017

Purpose: This study examined post-traumatic stress (PTS) and the factors affecting it among general hospital nurses after the MERS(Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) epidemic. Methods: Data were collected from 170 nurses who worked at general hospitals since the first reported MERS outbreak. The IES-R-K assessed PTS. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Results: The mean PTS level was 7.80 points (range: 0~88); 7.1% of the participants were at a high risk. Nurses who had been in contact with patients suspected or diagnosed with MERS had high post-traumatic levels; those who had been quarantined during the MERS outbreak had relatively higher PTS levels. Shift-work nurses had higher PTS levels than those with fixed working hours. Above charge' nurses stress levels were higher than staff nurses' stress levels. The results showed that factors including contact with an MERS-suspected or diagnosed patient, position at work, and working status of MERS-affected nurses explained 16% of the PTS. Among the main variables, nurses' above charge position was the greatest factor affecting PTS. Discussion: It is necessary to develop intervention studies and programs considering these variables. Furthermore, development and implementation of differentiated programs should be done considering the position of above charge nurses.

• Kidney Research and Clinical Practice
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.111-116
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• 2017

The Korean Society of Nephrology participated in the task force team consisting of government authorities and civilian experts to prevent and control the spread of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 2015. The Korean Society of Nephrology MERS Task Force Team took an immediate action and drafted 'the clinical recommendation for hemodialysis facilities' to follow when the first and the only confirmed case was reported in the hemodialysis unit. Owing to the dedicated support from medical doctors, dialysis nurses, and related medical companies, we could prevent further transmission of MERS infection successfully in hemodialysis units. This special report describes the experience of infection control during MERS outbreak in 2015 and summarizes the contents of 'the clinical practice guideline for hemodialysis facilities dealing with MERS patients' built upon our previous experience.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.143-146
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• 2015

Since 2012, outbreaks of the Middle East respiratory coronavirus (MERS-CoV) have been reported, including the Republic of Korea. To date, most of the people infected with the virus are adults. Herein we describe the clinical characteristics of cases of MERS-CoV infection among children. As of October 29, 2015, MERS-CoV has caused 34 pediatric infections, which accounts for 2.1% of all cases. The median age was 13 years (range 9 months to 17 years) and where gender has been reported (n=33), 57.6% cases were male. About half of the patients were asymptomatic and the majority of the symptomatic patients had respiratory symptoms. In general, the clinical outcome in children was favorable. Among the four patients who died of progressive pneumonia, three had documented comorbidities. MERS-CoV infection in children has a lower incidence and mortality compared to adults.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.252-260
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• 2018

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the relationships between the level of knowledge, attitude and compliance of preventive behaviors of the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) among nursing students. Methods: The study sample consisted of 219 nursing students. Through the use of a structured questionnaire, data collection was conducted from June 1st to June 30th 2015. The descriptive statistics, independent t-tests and Pearson's correlation coefficient were employed to analyze the data. Results: The score of the MERS-related knowledge was 9.15 out of 13. The participants had a positive attitude toward the MERS. The level of MERS-related knowledge was high in the case of temporary school closure or break in clinical practice because of the clinical training in hospitals that MERS occurred (t= 2.42, p= .016). The compliance level of the preventive behavior for MERS was high in female students (t= -2.11, p= .036), in the case of temporary school closure or break in clinical practice due to the clinical training in hospitals that MERS occurred (t = 3.29, p= .001), and in students that had MERS-related education for prevention (t = 2.80, p= .006). The MERS-related knowledge was positively correlated with the level of compliance for preventive behavior (r= .18, p= .009). Conclusion: To prevent MERS infection in nursing students, the level of knowledge on MERS should be enhanced so that they can practice preventive behaviors against it. Additionally, the MERS infection control education should include etiology and treatment products based on the MERS response guideline issued by the Centers for Korea Disease Control and Prevention.