• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.4
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• pp.5-22
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• 1997

The purpose of the study was to development an information delivery system for the home nursing service, to demonstrate and to evaluate the efficiency of it. The period of research conduct was from September 1996 to August 31, 1997. At the 1st stage to achieve the purpose, Firstly Assessment tool for the patients with cerebral vascular disease who have the first priority of HNS among the patients with various health problems at home was developed through literature review. Secondly, after identification of patient nursing problem by the home care nurse with the assessment tool, the patient's classification system developed by Park (1988) that was 128 nursing activities under 6 categories was used to identify the home care nurse's activities of the patient with CAV at home. The research team had several workshops with 5 clinical nurse experts to refine it. At last 110 nursing activities under 11 categories for the patients with CVA were derived. At the second stage, algorithms were developed to connect 110 nursing activities with the patient nursing problems identified by assessment tool. The computerizing process of the algorithms is as follows: These algorithms are realized with the computer program by use of the software engineering technique. The development is made by the prototyping method, which is the requirement analysis of the software specifications. The basic features of the usability, compatibility, adaptability and maintainability are taken into consideration. Particular emphasis is given to the efficient construction of the database. To enhance the database efficiency and to establish the structural cohesion, the data field is categorized with the weight of relevance to the particular disease. This approach permits the easy adaptability when numerous diseases are applied in the future. In paralleled with this, the expandability and maintainability is stressed through out the program development, which leads to the modular concept. However since the disease to be applied is increased in number as the project progress and since they are interrelated and coupled each other, the expand ability as well as maintainability should be considered with a big priority. Furthermore, since the system is to be synthesized with other medical systems in the future, these properties are very important. The prototype developed in this project is to be evaluated through the stage of system testing. There are various evaluation metrics such as cohesion, coupling and adaptability so on. But unfortunately, direct measurement of these metrics are very difficult, and accordingly, analytical and quantitative evaluations are almost impossible. Therefore, instead of the analytical evaluation, the experimental evaluation is to be applied through the test run by various users. This system testing will provide the viewpoint analysis of the user's level, and the detail and additional requirement specifications arising from user's real situation will be feedback into the system modeling. Also. the degree of freedom of the input and output will be improved, and the hardware limitation will be investigated. Upon the refining, the prototype system will be used as a design template. and will be used to develop the more extensive system. In detail. the relevant modules will be developed for the various diseases, and the module will be integrated by the macroscopic design process focusing on the inter modularity, generality of the database. and compatibility with other systems. The Home care Evaluation System is comprised of three main modules of : (1) General information on a patient, (2) General health status of a patient, and (3) Cerebrovascular disease patient. The general health status module has five sub modules of physical measurement, vitality, nursing, pharmaceutical description and emotional/cognition ability. The CVA patient module is divided into ten sub modules such as subjective sense, consciousness, memory and language pattern so on. The typical sub modules are described in appendix 3.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.23-34
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• 2019

The U-Healthcare era has evolved with the development of the Internet of things (IoT) in the early stages of being connected as a society. Already, many changes such as increased well-being and the extension of human life are becoming evident across cultures. Korea entered the growing group of aging societies in 2017, and its silver industry is expected to grow rapidly by adopting the IoT of a super-connected society. In particular, the senior shift phenomenon has resulted in increased interest in the promotion of the health and well-being of the emergent silver generation which, unlike the existing silver generation, is highly active and wields great economic power. This study conducted in-depth interviews to investigate the characteristics of the new silver generation, and to develop the design for a wearable serious game that intends to boost the interest of the elderly in exercise and fitness activities according to their personalized physical training regimes as prescribed by the U-Hospital service. The usage scenario of this wearable serious game for the 'U-silver generation' is derived from social necessity. Medical professionals can utilize this technology to conduct health examinations and to monitor the rehabilitation of senior patients. The elderly can also use this tool to request checkups or to interface with their healthcare providers. The wearable serious game is further aimed at mitigating concerns about the deterioration of the physical functions of the silver generation by applying personalized exercise prescriptions. The present investigation revealed that it is necessary to merge the on / off line community activities to meet the silver generation's daily needs for connection and friendship. Further, the sustainability of the serious game must be enhanced through the inculcation of a sense of accomplishment as a player rises through the levels of the game. The proposed wearable serious game is designed specifically for the silver generation that is inexperienced in using digital devices: simple game rules are applied to a familiar interface grounded on the gourmet travels preferred by the target players to increase usability.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.211-220
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to examine the job performance of dental coordinators and their perception of their job to lay the groundwork for utilizing dental personnels more efficiently. The subjects in this study were dental coordinators who worked at selected dental hospitals and clinics in Seoul, Gyeonggi province and Incheon. A survey was conducted to gather data from May 1 to August 8, 2005 and answer sheets from 108 respondents were analyzed. The findings of the study were as follows: 1. As for the length of service, 43.5 percent of the dental coordinators investigated had worked at dental institutes for five years or more, which was followed by less than two years(19.5%) and three years to less than five years(19.4%). Concerning the length of service as dental coordinators, 39.8 percent had served for less than two years, and 19.4 percent had worked for two years to less than three years and for five years or more respectively. Regarding the name of position, 38 percent were called team leaders, and 30.6 percent were called coordinators. As to duties, the largest group of them that stood at 30.6 percent were in charge of receiving, and in regard to department, the largest group, 57.4 percent, belonged to the treatment backup department. 2. Concerning education, the greatest number of them, 45.4 percent, had received education at private institutes, and 73.1 percent found it necessary for dental coordinators to take an authorized qualification test. 43.5 percent, the largest group, looked upon the central government as the best organization to authorize their qualifications and 70.8 percent believed that what they learned enabled them to perform their job successfully. As to the necessity of follow-up education as a means to improve job performance, 96.3 percent consented to it. As for the reason, 63.9 percent considered that necessary to enhance their own ability and 22.2 percent were in want of systematic education. Regarding educational expenses, 29.6 percent were subsidized by the dental institutes where they had worked and 25.9 percent had totally been responsible for that. Regarding a required course, medical service and marketing was most widely pointed out(66.7%), followed by theory and practice(65.7%) and introduction to dentistry(57.4%). As to what sort of education they wanted to receive more, dental service and marketing was selected the most, followed by practical health insurance(35.2%). 3. In regard to what type of job they performed as dental coordinators, 88.9 percent were in charge of appointment in the field of customer service, and 87.9 percent paid attention to having good manners as service providers in the area of self-management. In the field of hospital affairs, 81.3 percent were in charge of receiving. 4. As to their awareness of dental coordinator job, the largest group took pride in the job they performed ($3.99{\pm}0.76$), and the second largest group believed that dental coordinators made a great contribution to hospital management ($3.92{\pm}0.70$). The third largest group gave a great weight to their own job ($3.91{\pm}0.84$) in light of overall dental duties and the fourth largest group found themselves to get along with other employees regardless of position ($3.86{\pm}0.74$). The fifth largest group believed their job was of great use for promoting the oral health of patients ($3.76{\pm}0.75$), and the sixth largest group thought the future of dental coordinators was promising($3.74{\pm}0.86$). 5. In regard to their perception by age group, those who were older had a better opinion on every item of their job in general. Their age made a statistically significant difference to their view of the weight of dental coordinator job(P < 0.001) in light of overall dental duties, of being approved and trusted by managers(P < 0.01), of social awareness of dental coordinator, and of being understood and approved by other employees and dentists. Their pride in current job and their satisfaction with the name of their position were statistically significantly different according to their age as well. Besides, their age made a statistically significant difference to their opinion about whether or not there was an age limit to their occupation and about their contribution to hospital management (P < 0.05). 6. As for their perception by type of job, the dental hygienists were generally most satisfied with their job, followed by nursing aids and others. There was a statistically significant gap among their opinions about whether to make a job-related decision on their own(P < 0.001). the weight of their job in terms of overall dental duties, whether their job improved their ability, whether their job made a great contribution to enhancing the oral health of patients, whether their job was understood and approved by other employees(P < 0.01), social awareness of their job, whether they conflicted with other employees during job performance, and whether dental hospitals or clinics offered a self-development opportunity for them to take their ability to another level(P < 0.05). And their satisfaction with current pay was statistically significantly different as well.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2004

Objectives: We investigated the factors related to health examination behaviors, sociodemographic aspects and lifestyles of elderly persons with different social backgrounds, and compared sexual and regional differences in urban and rural elderlies. Methods: The total study subjects(464 individuals) from urban(236) and rural areas(228), recruited by a stratified cluster random sampling were interviewed and examined about their sociodemographic profiles, daily lifestyles, subjective health status, conditions concerning use of medical resources, hearing acuity, visual acuity and ADL(activity of daily living), and whether they receive health examination or not. For statistical analysis, Chi-square test was used for sexual and regional comparisons among the groups who have been given a health examination and the one who have not. Results: In urban areas, the rate of having underwent health examination was 54.5% in men and 46.9% in women, and in rural areas, it was 59.8% in men and 42.7% in women, showing its higher rate in men than in women in both areas. For regional differences between the group who have taken a health examination and the one who have not, there was a significant difference in terms of age, family pattern, current job, monthly household income, owning a house, drinking status, eating habit, subjective health status, whether they have taken outpatient medical service for the recent 3 months or not, anxiety for the health, and IADL conditions according to whether the community is rural or urban. In multiple regressions, the influential factors on the health examination behaviors were selected such as having their own house, their family doctor, amnesia, urinary incontinence and chronic disease in urban districts. But in rural districts, the variables were selected such as having or not of their family doctor, urinary incontinence, anxiety for the health, educational level, their own house and chronic disease. Conclusions: It is suggested that the approach to the health examination of an older patient requires substantial consideration of highly variable individual sociodemographic characteristics involving regional attributes as well as their daily life styles, subjective health status, status of performing health examination, physical health status and ADL conditions.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.9
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• pp.4517-4525
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• 2016

Background: Sperm DNA damage is underlying aetiology of poor implantation and pregnancy rates but also affects health of offspring and may also result in denovo mutations in germ line and post fertilization. This may result in complex diseases, polygenic disorders and childhood cancers. Childhood cancer like retinoblastoma (RB) is more prevalent in developing countries and the incidence of RB has increased more than three fold in India in the last decade. Recent studies have documented increased incidence of cancers in children born to fathers who consume alcohol in excess and tobacco or who were conceived by assisted conception. The aetiology of childhood cancer and increased disease burden in these children is lin ked to oxidative stress (OS) and oxidative DNA damage( ODD) in sperm of their fathers. Though several antioxidants are in use to combat oxidative stress, the effect of majority of these formulations on DNA is not known. Yoga and meditation cause significant decline in OS and ODD and aid in regulating OS levels such that reactive oxygen speues meditated signal transduction, gene expression and several other physiological functions are not disrupted. Thus, this study aimed to analyze sperm ODD as a possible etiological factor in childhood cancer and role of simple life style interventions like yoga and meditation in significantly decreasing seminal oxidative stress and oxidative DNA damage and thereby decreasing incidence of childhood cancers. Materials and Methods: A total of 131 fathers of children with RB (non-familial sporadic heritable) and 50 controls (fathers of healthy children) were recruited at a tertiary center in India. Sperm parameters as per WHO 2010 guidelines and reactive oxygen species (ROS), DNA fragmentation index (DFI), 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxy guanosine (8-OHdG) and telomere length were estimated at day 0, and after 3 and 6 months of intervention. We also examined the compliance with yoga and meditation practice and smoking status at each follow-up. Results: The seminal mean ROS levels (p<0.05), sperm DFI (p<0.001), 8-OHdG (p<0.01) levels were significantly higher in fathers of children with RB, as compared to controls and the relative mean telomere length in the sperm was shorter. Levels of ROS were significantly reduced in tobacco users (p<0.05) as well as in alcoholics (p<0.05) after intervention. DFI reduced significantly (p<0.05) after 6 months of yoga and meditation practice in all groups. The levels of oxidative DNA damage marker 8-OHdG were reduced significantly after 3 months (p<0.05) and 6 months (p<0.05) of practice. Conclusions: Our results suggest that OS and ODD DNA may contribute to the development of childhood cancer. This may be due to accumulation of oxidized mutagenic base 8OHdG, and elevated MDA levels which results in MDA dimers which are also mutagenic, aberrant methylation pattern, altered gene expression which affect cell proliferation and survival through activation of transcription factors. Increased mt DNA mutations and aberrant repair of mt and nuclear DNA due to highly truncatred DNA repair mechanisms all contribute to sperm genome hypermutability and persistant oxidative DNA damage. Oxidative stress is also associated with genome wide hypomethylation, telomere shortening and mitochondrial dysfunction leading to genome hypermutability and instability. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report decline in OS and ODD and improvement in sperm DNA integrity following adoption of meditation and yoga based life style modification.This may reduce disease burden in next generation and reduce incidence of childhood cancers.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.47-64
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• 2021

The global spread of COVID-19 around the world has not only affected many parts of our daily life but also has a huge impact on many areas, including the economy and society. As the number of confirmed cases and deaths increases, medical staff and the public are said to be experiencing psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, and stress. The collective tragedy that accompanies the epidemic raises fear and anxiety, which is known to cause enormous disruptions to the behavior and psychological well-being of many. Long-term negative emotions can reduce people's immunity and destroy their physical balance, so it is essential to understand the psychological state of COVID-19. This study suggests a method of monitoring medial news reflecting current days which requires striving not only for physical but also for psychological quarantine in the prolonged COVID-19 situation. Moreover, it is presented how an easier method of analyzing social media networks applies to those cases. The aim of this study is to assist health policymakers in fast and complex decision-making processes. News plays a major role in setting the policy agenda. Among various major media, news headlines are considered important in the field of communication science as a summary of the core content that the media wants to convey to the audiences who read it. News data used in this study was easily collected using "Bigkinds" that is created by integrating big data technology. With the collected news data, keywords were classified through text mining, and the relationship between words was visualized through semantic network analysis between keywords. Using the KrKwic program, a Korean semantic network analysis tool, text mining was performed and the frequency of words was calculated to easily identify keywords. The frequency of words appearing in keywords of articles related to COVID-19 emotions was checked and visualized in word cloud 'China', 'anxiety', 'situation', 'mind', 'social', and 'health' appeared high in relation to the emotions of COVID-19. In addition, UCINET, a specialized social network analysis program, was used to analyze connection centrality and cluster analysis, and a method of visualizing a graph using Net Draw was performed. As a result of analyzing the connection centrality between each data, it was found that the most central keywords in the keyword-centric network were 'psychology', 'COVID-19', 'blue', and 'anxiety'. The network of frequency of co-occurrence among the keywords appearing in the headlines of the news was visualized as a graph. The thickness of the line on the graph is proportional to the frequency of co-occurrence, and if the frequency of two words appearing at the same time is high, it is indicated by a thick line. It can be seen that the 'COVID-blue' pair is displayed in the boldest, and the 'COVID-emotion' and 'COVID-anxiety' pairs are displayed with a relatively thick line. 'Blue' related to COVID-19 is a word that means depression, and it was confirmed that COVID-19 and depression are keywords that should be of interest now. The research methodology used in this study has the convenience of being able to quickly measure social phenomena and changes while reducing costs. In this study, by analyzing news headlines, we were able to identify people's feelings and perceptions on issues related to COVID-19 depression, and identify the main agendas to be analyzed by deriving important keywords. By presenting and visualizing the subject and important keywords related to the COVID-19 emotion at a time, medical policy managers will be able to be provided a variety of perspectives when identifying and researching the regarding phenomenon. It is expected that it can help to use it as basic data for support, treatment and service development for psychological quarantine issues related to COVID-19.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.6089-6098
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• 2015

This study purposes to identify the effects of performance of public health services (PHS) and personal characteristics on community image to public hospitals. The subjects of this study were 33 public hospitals and 1,789 community residents. The data of '2011 Public hospital evaluation programme' were utilized in this study. The personal characteristics consisted of nine items which were gender, age, education, occupation, monthly incomes, medical security, use experience, health state, and location type. The PHS performance consisted of five items which were number of doctors, number of nurses, total number of staff, budget per 1,000 community residents, and amount of activities per 1,000 community residents. The cronbach's alpha of community image instrument was 0.916. As the results of logistic regression, the significant variables of community image, were age (OR=0.34, 95% CI=0.19-0.60), education (OR=3.03, 95% CI=1.60-5.76), use experience (OR=0.57, 95% CI=0.40-0.81), health state (OR=0.69 95% CI=0.49-0.96), location type (OR=2.10, 95% CI=1.11-3.99), and amount of activities per 1,000 community residents (OR=0.58, 95% CI=0.35-0.96). Community image is very important to public hospitals. The workforce and budget related PHS were significantly demanded to improve community image. The Central and Local government should support to public hospitals to perform PHS effectively.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.33-53
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• 1988

This study aimed at developing a desirable family planning policy and strategy by examining the current status of family planning practice in rural Korea and by indentifying the crucial factors which affect fertility control behavior. For this purpose, an analytical study was conducted, using the survey data collected in July 1985, on an interview basis, on 1, 440 married women living in the Soyi, Wonnam and Maingdong townships of Eumseong County(in North Chungcheong Province). This study population has the typical characteristics of rural areas, and the results of the analysis can be summarized as follows: 1. In regard to the demographic characteristics of the study population : their average age at marriage was 23.7, they had an average of 2.6 children( 1.3 boys, 1.3 girls) :10% experienced the death of their child (ren) :14% had spontaneous abortion(s) :4% weathered stillbirth(s) :35% went through induced abortion (s) : and 5.5% were currently pregnant. The average of their ideal numbers of children was 2.2, while 44% felt that they must have a son. 2. Looking at the contact rate with medical & health institutions, over the past 1 year, the visit rate to health subcenters was 43.7%, while 26.9% visited the (county) health center :59.6% had been to private clinics : and 41.5% went to the Soonchunhyang - Eumsung hospital : thus showing a relatively high rate of accessibility. 3. The utilization rate of family planning services was 76.5%, with tubectomy being the most prominent method at 52.3%, while the informants were health workers in 54.2% of the acceptors. Of the 8.4% who discontinued the use of contraceptive methods, only 26% did so due to want for pregnancy, natural infertility (meno - pause), or other reasons, while the remaining 74% stopped usage on account of side effects, failure in the methods themselves, and inconvenience of use, thus pointing to a situation where the proper choice of family planning methods have not yet been made. It can be noted that there is a strong motivation for early birth stopping as 35.3% practice family planning even with only one child, of which 38.3% have had sterilization operations. According to results of a multiple regression analysis, among the variables affecting contraception usage the most significant variable was the number of sons. 4. 34.8% experienced induced abortions. It was shown as a result of multiple regression analysis that the number of children and attitudes toward induced abortions extensively affected their frequency of abortions conducted. 5. In the regard to the relation between family planning and induced abortions, 33.7% of the women used both, while 52.0% of them used only the former(family planning), with only 1.4 % utilizing solely the latter(abortion), and 12.9% totally abstaining from fertility regulation : again, the discriminant analysis indicated that the choice of family planning and/or induced abortion was determined by the number of children and attitudes toward induced abortion. In view of the above mentioned results, the following are some comments and suggestions concerning problems related to the current family planning policies, in Korea : 1. It is difficult to expect a further quantitative expansion in family planning program operations, as there has been an excessive supply of target-oriented sterilization operations on women. From a maternal and child health care point of view, it will be desirable to have a diversification of service points in the future where family planning methods may be properly chosen, so that choices of methods which suit the mothers' characteristics and tastes may be made by the individuals themselves by strengthening their quality of family planning information services. 2. Along with the strengthening of the qualitative improvement of family planning services policies must be implemented to effectively promote the moral (ethical) deterrents to induced abortions and to preference for sons. From a maternal care standpoint, the social permissive norm toward induced abortion must be modified, and the bias towards son must be analyzed as the women with more daughters have a lower rate of family planning acceptance. Such changes in attitudes, however, can not be hoped to be accomplished with ad hoc policies, but will only be possible when an enhancement of the women's status(within the society) is brought about in a long - term perspective.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.57-95
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• 1972

This study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of service by maternity aids concerning maternal and child health in improving simultaneously infant mortality, contraception and vital registration among expectant mothers in rural Korea, where there is less apportunity for maternal and child health care. It is unrealistic to expect to solve this problem in rural Korea through professional persons considering the situation of medical facilities and the socioeconomic condition of residents. So, we intended to adopt a system of services by maternity aids who were educated formally among indigenous women. After the women were trained in maternal and child health, contraception, and registration for a short period, they were assigned as a maternity aids to each village to help with various activities concerning maternal and child health, for example, registration of pregnant women, home visiting to check for complications, supplying of delivery kits, attendance at delivery, persuasion of contraception, and invitation for registration and so on. Mean-while, four researchers called on the maternity aids to collect materials concerning vital events, maternal child health, contraception and registration, and to give further instruction and supervision as the program proceeded. A. Changes of women's attitude by services of maternity aid. Now, we examined to what extent' such a service system to expectant mothers affected a change in attitude of women residing in the study area as compared to women of the control area. 1) In the birth and death places, there were no changes between last and present infants, in study or control area. 2) In regard to attendants at delivery, there were no changes except for a small percentage of attendance (8%) by maternity aid in study area. But, I expect that more maternity sids could be used as attendants at delivery if they would be trained further and if there was more explanation to the residents about such a service. 3) Considering the rate of utilization of sterilized delivery kit, I am sure that more than 90 percent would be used if the delivery kit were supplied in the proper time. There were significant differences in rates between the study and the control areas. 4) Taking into consideration the utilization rate of the clinic for prenatal care and well baby care, if suck facilities were installed, it would probably be well utilized. 5) In the contraception, the rate of approval was as high as 89 percent in study area as compared to 82 percent in the control area. 6) Considering the rate of pre-and post-partum acceptance on contraception were as much as 70 percent or more, if motivation to use contraception was given to them adequately, the government could reach the goals for family planning as planned. 7) In the vital registration, the rate of birth registration in the study area was some what improved compared to that of the control area, while the rate of death registration was not changed at all. Taking into account the fact that the rate of confirmation of vital events by maternity aids was remarkably high, if the registration system changed to a 'notification' system instead of formal registration ststem, it would be improved significantly compared to present system. B. Effect of the project Thus, with changes in the residents' attitude, was there a reduction in the infant death rate? 1) It is very difficult problem to compare the mortality of infants between last and present infants, because many women don't want to answer accurately about their dead children especially the infants that died within a few days after birth. In this study the data of present death comes from the maternity aides who followed up every pregnancy they had recorded to see what had happened. They seem to have very reliable information on what happened in first few weeks with follow up visitits to check out later changes. From these calculaton, when we compared the rate of infant death between last and present infant, there was remarkable reduction of death rate for present infant compare to that of last children, namely, the former was 30, while the latter 42. The figure is the lowest rate that I have ever heard. As the quality of data we could assess by comparing the causes of death. In the current death rate by communicable disease was much lower compare to the last child especially, tetanus cases and pneumonia. 2) Next, how many respondents used contraception after birth because of frequent contact with the maternity aid. In the registered cases, the respondents showed a tendency to practice contraception at an earlier age and with a small number of children. In a comparison of the rate of contraception between the study and the control area, the rate in the former was significantly higher than that of the latter. What is more, the proportion favoring smaller numbers of children and younger women rose in the study area as compared to the control area. 3) Regarding vital registration, though the rate of registration was gradually improved by efforts of maternity aid, it would be better to change the registration system. 4) In the crude birth rate, the rate in the study area was 22.2 while in the control area was 26.5. Natural increase rate showed 15.4 in the study area, while control area was 19.1. 5) In assessment of the efficiency of the maternity aids judging by the cost-effect viewpoint, the workers in the Medium area seemed to be more efficiency than those of other areas.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 1976

Introduction Recently, changes in the patterns and concepts of maternity care, in both developing and developed countries have been accelerating. An outstanding development in this field is the number of deliveries taking place in hospitals or maternity centers. In Korea, however, more than 90% of deliveries are carried out at home with the help of untrained relatives or even without helpers. It is estimated that less than 10% of deliveries are assisted by professional persons such as a physician or a midwife. Taking into account the shortage of professional person i11 rural Korea, it is difficult to expect widespread prenatal, postnatal, and delivery care by professional persons in the near future, It is unrealistic, therefore, to expect rapid development of MCH care by professional persons in rural Korea due to economic and sociological reasons. Given these conditions. it is reasonable that an educated village women could used as a "maternity aid", serving simple and technically easy roles in the MCH field, if we could give such a women incentive to do so. The midwife and physician are assigned difficult problems in the MCH field which could not be solved by the village worker. However, with the application of the village worker system, we could expect to improve maternal and child hoalth through the replacement of untrained relatives as birth attendants with educated and trained maternity aides. We hope that this system will be a way of improving MCH care, which is only one part of the general health services offered at the local health centre level. Problems of MCH in rural Korea The field of MCH is not only the weakest point in the medical field in our country hut it has also dropped behind other developing countries. Regarding the knowledge about pregnancy and delivery, a large proportion of our respondents reported having only a little knowledge, while 29% reported that they had "sufficient" knowledge. The average number of pregnancies among women residing in rural areas was 4.3 while the rate of women with 5 or more pregnancies among general women and women who terminated childbearing were 43 and 80% respectively. The rate of unwanted pregnancy among general women was 19.7%. The total rate for complications during pregnancy was 15.4%, toxemia being the major complication. The rate of pregnant women with chronic disease was 7%. Regarding the interval of pregnancy, the rates of pregnancy within 12 months and within 36 months after last delivery were 9 and 49% respectively. Induced abortion has been increasing in rural areas, being as high as 30-50% in some locations. The maternal death rate was shown 10 times higher than in developed countries (35/10,000 live births). Prenatal care Most women had no consultation with a physician during the prenatal period. Of those women who did have prenatal care, the majority (63%) received such care only 1 or 2 times throughout the entire period of pregnancy. Also, in 80% of these women the first visit Game after 4 months of gestation. Delivery conditions This field is lagging behind other public health problems in our country. Namely, more than 95% of the women deliveried their baby at home, and delivery attendance by a professional person occurred only 11% of the time. Attendance rate by laymen was 78% while those receiving no care at all was 16%. For instruments used to cut the umbilical corn, sterilized scissors were used by 19%, non-sterilized scissors by 63% and 16% used sickles. Regarding delivery sheets, the rate of use of clean sheets was only 10%, unclean sheets, vinyl and papers 72%, and without sheets, 18%. The main reason for not using a hospital as a place of delivery was that the women felt they did not need it as they had previously experience easy deliveries outside hospitals. Difficult delivery composed about 5% of the total. Child health The main food for infants (95%) was breast milk. Regarding weaning time, the rates within one year, up to one and half, two, three and more than three years were 28,43,60,81 and 91% respectively, and even after the next pregnancy still continued lactation. The vaccination of children is the only service for child health in rural Korea. As shown in the Table, the rates of all kinds of vaccination were very low and insufficient. Infant death rate was 42 per 1,000 live births. Most of the deaths were caused by preventable diseases. Death of infants within the neonatal period was 83% meaning that deaths from communicable diseases decreased remarkably after that time. Infant deaths which occurred without medical care was 52%. Methods of improvement in the MCH field 1. Through the activities of village health workers (VHW) to detect pregnant women by home visiting and. after registration. visiting once a month to observe any abnormalities in pregnant women. If they find warning signs of abnormalities. they refer them to the public health nurse or midwife. Sterilized delivery kits were distributed to the expected mother 2 weeks prior to expected date of delivery by the VHW. If a delivery was expected to be difficult, then the VHW took the mother to a physician or call a physician to help after birth, the VHW visits the mother and baby to confirm health and to recommend the baby be given proper vaccination. 2. Through the midwife or public health nurse (aid nurse) Examination of pregnant women who are referred by the VHW to confirm abnormalities and to treat them. If the midwife or aid nurse could not solve the problems, they refer the pregnant women to the OB-GY specialist. The midwife and PHN will attend in the cases of normal deliveries and they help in the birth. The PHN will conduct vaccination for all infants and children under 5, years old. 3. The Physician will help only in those cases referred to him by the PHN or VHW. However, the physician should examine all pregnant women at least three times during their pregnancy. First, the physician will identify the pregnancy and conduct general physical examination to confirm any chronic disease that might disturb the continuity of the pregnancy. Second, if the pregnant woman shows any abnormalities the physician must examine and treat. Third, at 9 or 10 months of gestation (after sitting of the baby) the physician should examine the position of the fetus and measure the pelvis to recommend institutional delivery of those who are expected to have a difficult delivery. And of course. the medical care of both the mother and the infants are responsible of the physician. Overall, large areas of the field of MCH would be served by the VHW, PHN, or midwife so the physician is needed only as a parttime worker.