• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.881-892
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• 1998

This study attempts to identify attitudes of community leaders toward mental illness in order to obtain useful information concerning the planning of community mental health services. The community sample consists of 50 community leaders including, civil servants, doctors, herb doctors, school nurses, counselors, village leaders, pharmacists, and pastors. Individuals were asked to give demographic data, their personal attitudes toward mental illness' etiology & prognosis, and toward neighbors who are psychiatric patients. The interview with open questions was used to collect data. According to the study community leaders 82% believed that mental illness could be treated, 66% believed that mental illness was caused by genetic factors and environmental stress, and 76% had negative impressions about mentally ill people such as fear, seclusion, asylum, also crime. Only 28% of mentally ill people were accepted as neighbors in community. 52% of community leaders rejected opening of mental hospital, and thought that the Chunchon community needed facilities such as group homes, or day care centers (30%), however, 34% of the leaders they didn't recognize community mental health. These findings suggest that mental health professionals need to pay special attention to change the attitude of Chunchon community leaders and mental health institutions need to a develop mental health education program for community leaders.

• The Journal of Korea Assosiation for Disability and Oral Health
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2012

Mobile oral exam at the facilities for the disabled in Seoul is to improve the oral health of the disabled who can hardly approach dental clinic. We analyzed 1609 oral exam records at 24 facilities (11 special-education schools, 10 living facilities, 2 mental hospitals, 1 health care facility for the elderly) in 2011. The purpose of this study is to figure out the oral health state of the disabled in facilities in Seoul and to compare with the non-disabled in National Survey 2010 and 2008. 1. Special-education school : DMFT index of age 15 is 5.4 which is higher than 3.6 (DMFT index of age 15) of National Survey in 2010. 2. Living facility : DMFT index of ages 35~44 is 8.4 which is higher than 5.2 (DMFT index of ages 35 ~44) of National Survey in 2008. DT rate is higher (31.3% vs 19.2%) and MT rate is lower (7.6% vs 15.5%). 3. Mental hospital : DMFT index of ages 35~44 is 11.3 which is higher than 5.2 (DMFT indext of age 35~44) of National Survey in 2008. DT rate is significantly higher (50.7% vs 19.2%) and FT rate is lower (35.1% vs 65.3%). 4. Health care facility for the elderly : DMFT index of ages 65~74 is 7.1 which is slightly lower than 8.7 (DMFT index of ages 65~74) of National Survey in 2008. The number of existing natural teeth is similar (16 vs 18).

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.66-72
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• 2014

Although stress has been implicated to be a risk factor that can threaten physical and mental health, there have been no sufficient studies that analyze the different levels of stress among employees working in the different levels of the hospitals. We aim to identify the general characteristics of hospitals at different levels, to compare the stress levels among customer service representatives working in the tertiary care hospitals as well as acute general hospitals. In addition, we also wanted to analyze the relationship between the types of hospitals and the stress level. The work stress was measured using the Korean Occupational Stress scale. Study subjects' demographic characteristics and lifestyle factors were analyzed using analysis of frequency and multiple regression analysis. Our study revealed that the levels of medical facility were significantly associated with the levels of job stress(P=0.043), and the stress levels of employees working in the acute general hospital's medical facilities were higher than those who were working in tertiary care facilities. We also found that those with higher depression level tended to have higher job stress (P<0.001). Therefore, it is urgent to implement some kind of job stress interventions, especially in the acute general hospital's medical facilities. Moreover, further studies including social and policy research are necessary in order to analyze the overall impact of stress on physical and mental health and to reduce health inequalities among healthcare workers.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.84-94
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was done to investigate community attitudes towards people with mental illness and to mental health services. Methods: From August to October of 2006, 474 citizens of Siheung city were asked to give demographic data and their personal attitude toward mental illness and mental health services. Results: The residents of Siheung community showed slightly negative attitudes, with a mean opinion about mental illness score of $93.38{\pm}17.29$. According to the study, health professionals and citizens showed a positive attitude to the establishment of day care centers and residential facilities (62.2% and 55.4% respectively). Civil servants showed negative attitudes (40.4%). There were significant differences in attitudes according to gender, age, education level, occupation, religion, and income. Positive attitudes were found for health professionals and negative attitudes for civil servants. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate a need to provide public information and education for civil servants, and for those who have negative attitudes, in particular, men, people in the younger age group, who have lower education levels, who are Buddhists, monthly renters, who have a monthly income below 1 million won, who have no children and no experience with people who have a mental illness.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.115-129
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• 1971

As the result of a survey conducted by the author on the status of tile 12 educational institutions for mentally retarded children in Korea and their quartering facilities as well as on 934 children accommodated in such institutions, the following conclusion has been reached: 1) More than a half (approximately 58 percent) of the facilities for mentally retarded children are concentrated in Seoul. About eighty-three percent of these facilities are private establishments, of which 70 percent have their proprietors concurrently as their superintendents. Although these facilities were first established as many as 22 years ago, it has been only five or six years since education was actually started for mentally restarted children. 2) Out of a total of 179 employes, teachers number 99, there by constituting approximately 57.6 percent. Out of them, however, only 32 teachers or 2.8 percent have special teachers licenses. Thus, each teachers has to take care of an average of 29 children. This is excessive a number of children per teachers in view of the special nature of this education, there by indication how urgent it would be to secure more teachers lot this field. 3) Out of the mantally retarded children investigated 57.6 percent suffer from physical disorder in addition to mental retardation, 53.0 percent from mental alienation illnesses besides retardation, and 25 pent from physical, mental disorders in addition to retardation. It is therefore necessary to maintain medical and nursing facilities together with educational facilities. however, two places have no medical facilities at all, and four other places, without medical personnel, have to receive medical support from nearby hospitals or clinics. 4) The total number of children in the surveyed facilities is 934, who can be broken down into 58.7 percent boys and 41.3 percent for girls. They are classified into 12.5 percent for idiot, 37.7 percent for imbeciles, 32.7 percent for morons, and 17.3 percent for thoes children on borderline. Their average age is 13.9 years. 5) As the result of education, the illiteracy rate of mentally retarded children has decreased from 78.1 percent to 32.1 percent while the percentage of those taking the primary school course has increased for 12.2 per cent to 33.5 percent. As a result, it has been learned that education is definitely necessary for Retarded children though it may be a difficult task. 6) The children who have mentally retarded children among their brothers or sisters constitute 6.3 percent of the total number. The corresponding rate for boys is 3.5 percent while that for girls is a remarkably higher rate 10.6 percent. Through studies on the causes of their mental retardation, it has been learned that 39.6 percent of them is of the inherent type and 35.3 percent is of the environmental type. Control and improvement of health of mothers and children, early diagnosis and early treatment are believed to be very important because they could prevent or alleviant much of these conditions. 7) The storage age of teachers and employes is 35.3 years, an indication that a great proportion of them is experienced in a way or another as their major difficulty or problems in serving with these special school, 22.5 percent cited inadequate payment 24.5 gave the inadequate public understanding, and 22.5 percent pointed out the lack of understanding on the part of give parents.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.301-310
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• 2018

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between physical function (ADL, IADL) and mental function (depression, cognitive dysfunction) and quality of life in the elderly. The subjects of this study were 524 elderly people aged 65 or older who were admitted to 15 care facilities located in D metropolitan city. Data were collected through a personal interview conducted by interviewers that visited each care facility from November 2015 to January 2016. T-tests and ANOVA were used to compare the quality of life score for each independent variable, while multiple regression was used to determine the explanatory power of independent variables that affected quality of life. Quality of life was significantly lower among those of older age, lower educational level, living alone, with lower relationships with children, lower subjective health status, disability, lower ability for mastication, without regular eating habits, without regular exercise, and without regular health checkups. In addition, quality of life was significantly lower in the ADL and IADL, as well as among those with a higher depression level and lower cognitive impairment scores than their respective counterparts. The results of this study suggest that the quality of life among elderly that have been admitted to care facilities is significantly related to physical and mental functions as well as demographic characteristics, health status and health related behavioral characteristics.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.508-517
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• 2021

Background: After the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in January 2020, Korea has experienced three waves in 2020. This study aimed to analyze changes in health care utilization according to the period of the 1st to 3rd waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We analyzed 3,354,469,401 national health insurance claims from 59,104 medical facilities between 2017 and 2020. Observed-to-expected ratios (O:E ratio) with data from 2017 to 2019 as expected values and data from 2020 as observed values were obtained to analyze changes in medical utilization. T-test was used to test whether the difference of observed and expected values was statistically significant. Results: In 2020, the O:E ratio was 0.894, indicating a decrease in health care utilization overall during the pandemic. The O:E ratio of the 1st wave was 0.832, which was lower than those of the second (0.886) and third (0.873) waves. Health care utilization decreased relatively more among outpatient, women, children and adolescents, and health insurance patients. And health care utilization decreased more in small medical facilities and in Daegu and Gyeongbuk during the first wave. During the pandemic, the O:E ratios of respiratory diseases were 0.486-0.694, while chronic diseases and mental diseases were more than 1.0. Conclusion: Health care utilization decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic overall, and there were differences by COVID-19 waves, and by the characteristics of patients and medical facilities. It is necessary to understand the cause of changes in health care utilization in order to cope with the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.33-51
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• 2007

The disabled population is a vulnerable group, having very complex medical conditions, but little is known about differences in the level of access by type of disability. This study was performed to investigate the differences of health care utilization by the type of disability. The database was constructed from registry of the disabled and health insurance and medical aid claims data submitted to the Korea Health Insurance Cooperation during in the year 2003. The disability classified three groups according to the Disabled Welfare Act; physically disability with external dysfunction, physically disability with organic disease, and mentally disability. There were huge differences in health care utilization by the type of disability. For the inpatient care, those with a mental disability were more likely to utilize health care services in terms of average visit number of medical facilities and visit days per case, but the treatment amount per case was the highest in physically disabled with organic disease. For the outpatient care, those who the physically disabled with organic disease were more likely to utilize health care services in terms of average visit number of medical facilities, treatment amount per case, and the treatment days per case. Also, those who physically disabled with organic disease were more likely to utilize general hospital for both inpatient and outpatient care, and spent more out-of-pocket expenditure. As the number of persons with disabilities rises, the need to consider new approaches to protecting their health grows increasingly. Especially, Korean health care system should be refined to be more responsive to the needs of the type of disability.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.379-381
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• 2019

Korea's healthcare is in great danger of sustainability. In 2020, the baby boomer will begin to be older, and there is no promise that the total fertility rate of 1.0 or less will rebound, and Korea's economic growth rate is predicted to be less than 2%. Together with these phenomena, Plan for Benefit Expansion in Nation Health Insurance (Moon Jae-in Care) will seriously threaten the sustainability of health insurance finance. In addition, health care in Korea has many problems: excessive medical utilization, rapidly increasing elderly medical costs, concentrating patients into big hospitals, low healthcare personnel but many healthcare facilities and equipment, bad quality of primary and mental care, and fast-growing health expenditure. For sustainability, healthcare of Korea should be reformed. The direction of the reform is people-centered and integrated healthcare in the community which is composed of empowering and engaging people, strengthening governance and accountability, reorienting the model of care, coordinating services, and creating an enabling environment.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Rural Architecture
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.95-102
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• 2013

Recently (2010), South Korea's aging rate is 11%. and expected to be 32.3% in 2040, and Japan's aging rate in 2010 is 23%, and in 2040 is expected to be 34.5%. As aging progresses, it is increasing with the elderly person with dementia. However, elderly welfare facilities are insufficient. To take care stability of elderly people with mental and physical disabilities, we need to prepare a lot of welfare facilities for the elderly. Whenever physical conditions and service needs change of the disability elderly, Elderly are forced to move to the other facility. They move from familiar places, beloved local base to unfamiliar places. They are under a lot of stress in order to adapt to new environment. This research is to check out the possibility of the systems and the effectiveness of various services and the flexibility of management in Japan. Takurosyo is responsible for a variety function of elderly medical welfare facilities. Within a short time, our country, has entered into a super-aged society, elderly health and welfare facilities are needed. However, because it requires enormous financial, it is difficult to build a new building in reality, However, if remodeling existing buildings, We can build many low-cost small-scale multi-functional welfare facilities such as the takurosyo. Such that facility would be available to us.