• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.436-443
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• 2022

Objectives: Previous studies have reported that self-neglect, which may be a sign of elder abuse, can result in suicide among older adults. The signs of self-neglect and its impact on the risk of suicide may differ by gender. Thus, this study explored the association between self-neglect and suicide risk in older Korean adults and examined the potential moderating effect of gender on this relationship. Methods: Data were collected from 356 Korean adults aged 65 or older through an online survey. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the research hypothesis. First, the associations between 4 sub-dimensions of self-neglect (i.e., daily life management issues, personal hygiene issues, financial management issues, and relational issues) and suicidal ideation were examined. Then, the moderating effect of gender on these relationships was investigated by including interaction terms. Results: Self-neglect was significantly associated with suicidal ideation in older adults. Aspects of self-neglect related to daily life management and relational factors were key predictors of suicidal ideation. Gender significantly moderated the effect of the relational dimension of self-neglect on suicidal ideation. The relational dimension of self-neglect was more strongly associated with suicidal ideation in older women than in older men. Conclusions: The findings suggest the importance of screening older adults with signs of self-neglect for suicide risk. Special attention should be paid to older women who experience relational issues as a high-risk group for suicidal ideation. Public programs and support systems should be established to improve daily life management and promote social relationships among older adults.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.203-211
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of disturbance factors of exercise on leisure satisfaction and health-related quality of life in the era of COVID-19 in club members participating in sports for all and use for basic data for continuous exercise to keep and improve health. 353 sports for all club members who consented to the study participated in the study after the purposes and methods of the study were explained. The following conclusions were drawn. The disturbance factors of exercise had significant effects on leisure satisfaction and health-related quality of life in sports for all club members. Moreover, leisure satisfaction had significant effects on health-related quality of life. Although we hope to end COVID-19, we should prepare with Corona. Sports facilities should strive for quarantine and personal hygiene to help sports for all club members' continuous participation in exercise for their healthy life.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.123-132
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify factors related to hand washing practice among adolescents before and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The study was conducted using data from the 15th~16th (2019~2020) Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey, and the subjects of the study were 57,303 and 54,948 people who participated in the 2019 and 2020 study, respectively. The data were analyzed with frequency test, rao-scott 𝑥² test and multiple logistic regression analysis using SPSS 27.0. Results: Changes in the hand washing practice rate were observed before and after the COVID-19 pandemic in all five behaviors; before eating in school, after using the toilet in school, before eating at home, after using the toilet at home, and after returning home. The study found that the hand washing practice rate increased by 1.21-2.43 times after the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, as a result of logistic regression analysis, the hand washing practice rate before and after the COVID-19 pandemic was related to gender, region, school grade, school type, economic status, health status, and personal hygiene education experience. Conclusion: This study confirmed the importance of hand washing education to improve the hand washing practice rate in adolescents. It is necessary to develop and apply an effective youth hand washing education program in consideration of various variables that appeared as significant factors influencing the hand washing practice rate before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.581-590
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the differences in social distancing practices by socioeconomic characteristics according to the national campaign on strong social distancing from March 22 through April 19. The data were obtained from the online survey performed by Embrain from May 13 through May 19. The sample consisted of 1,117 adults aged between 19 and 69. The campaign included six rules: to postpone or cancel unnecessary meeting, to refrain from going out, to keep personal hygiene, to stay home when sick, to ventilate frequently. Social distancing scores were defined as the proportion of items observed on a scale of 10. The multivariate regression analysis showed that type of housing and type of working were significantly related to social distancing scores. Study results imply that customized campaigns are needed for those from lower socioeconomic status.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.244-253
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• 2022

Background: The indiscriminate use of pesticides in Nigeria may have harmful effects on reproductive health of farmers. Objectives: This study assessed the awareness of reproductive health, serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone, estradiol, progesterone and sperm characteristics of male farmers occupationally exposed to pesticides. Methods: Eighty four male farmers were recruited for the study. Structured questionnaire was used to obtain the socio-demographic data. Blood and semen samples were collected from the subjects in the morning for hormonal assays and semen analysis using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method and SQAV sperm quality analyzer. Data were analyzed using chi square, Student's-t-test, and Regression analysis. Results: Serum FSH (p<0.01), LH (p<0.005) and Estradiol (p<0.001) were significantly higher while prolactin (p<0.02) and testosterone (p<0.001) were significantly lower among pesticides exposed farmers than nonexposed subjects. Some 34/84 (40.5%) of the pesticides exposed farmers had serum testosterone levels below the lower limit of the reference range. Those with low testosterone levels (p<0.001), also had FSH (p<0.05), LH (p<0.001) and Estradiol (p<0.002) significantly lower than those with normal testosterone levels. The sperm count among pesticides exposed farmers; total motility and percentage morphology were significantly lower than non-pesticides exposed subjects. Some 14/84 (16.7%) of the pesticides exposed farmers had sperm count below 15 million/mL (oligozoospermia). More than 70% of the farmers were not aware of the reproductive health risks associated with pesticides and only 23.8% of the farmers were using protective devices. Conclusions: Deliberate efforts to improve awareness, knowledge, personal hygiene, and interventions necessary to lessen both pesticides exposure and health risks by adopting safe practices are suggested.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.161-172
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• 2022

Purpose : The study was to promote patient safety by analyzing the effect of dental hygienist's perception of patient safety culture on infection control activities. Methods : The study is based on a survey of 210 dental hygienists in total working in dental settings. To find out infection control activities according to patient safety culture awareness, there were 6 general characteristics, 3 teamwork within the department, 2 infection control systems, 4 surface management, 9 equipment washing, disinfection, and laundry management, 4 infectious wastes, and 3 personal protection phrases.The data was analyzed using the SPSS version 20.0, and p<.05 was adopted to decide on significance. Results : The longer dental hygienists have worked n the dental settings, the more active they become in infection control activities. Among the different types of dental care settings, general (university) hospitals had the largest number of infection control activities, followed by dental clinics, and network dental clinics, in descending order. The dental settings possessing a higher number of dental hygienists were found to conduct more infection control activities than other dental settings. In addition, it was found that when a dental setting adopts a patient safety policy across all the units in the hospital, more systems and procedures for patient safety tend to be established, and that stricter management response to error leads to improvement of infection control activities. Conclusion :In order to enhance infection control activities, infection control activity programs should develop and implement periodic reinforcement of infection control education. regular monitoring of infection control activities.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.381-387
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• 2006

This study was conducted to evaluate sanitary managment practices of institutional foodservice employees in Daejeon and Chungnam areas, and to suggest a guideline for an effective safety & sanitary managment of the institutional foodservice. The subjects consist of 782 employees in 80 institutional foodservice, respectively. The collected data was processed using the SPSS V.10.0 package for descriptive analysis. The results of this study were summarized as follows. The employees were female(97.2%), over 41 age(68.1%), high school(51.0%), less than 1-5 years(52.8%) of total career in the institutional foodservice. Employment status was contract(64.2%) and cook's certification w3s not applicable(80.1%). The institutional foodservice was over 1,000 number(65.0%) of average serving per day and operations format was direct(69.6%) management and 11-20 number of employees for cooking were 58.2%. Employees(96.0%) were received sanitation training and 82.4% of them have been monthly educated. Sanitation training instructor was dietitian 91.6%. The rating of sanitary management practices was food handling 4.36/5.00, food products management 4.32/5.00, personal hygiene 4.31/5.00, equipments and tools handing 4.18/5.00. The employees, who were educated in the sanitation training, presented significantly higher rates of the sanitary management practices than of the uneducated employess. Therefore, the institutional foodservice operations will have to pay special attention to sanitation training program of the employees. The suitable methods of sanitation training must be developed to improve the practical use of sanitary management by employees and institutional foodservice. Also, to enhance these practices, it is necessary to establish the countermeasure to care for safety & sanitary management of the institutional foodservice.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.83-90
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• 2024

Objectives: Professional firefighters face various health hazards and are required to maintain both physical and mental fitness to effectively mitigate crises and respond to emergencies. Moreover, the long working hours and shift work of this profession impact sleep quality. This study investigated the quality of sleep and its associated factors among firefighters in Bangkok, Thailand. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of firefighters affiliated with the Bangkok Fire and Rescue Department, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Thailand between January 2023 and March 2023. A cluster random sampling technique was utilized to distribute 600 questionnaires to firefighters in 15 fire stations. The questionnaire addressed demographic, work-related, and environmental factors. Sleep quality was assessed using the Thai version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Data analysis involved both descriptive and inferential statistics. Bivariate and multiple logistic regressions were performed. Results: The response rate was 78.7% (n=472), and 44.1% of the firefighters reported poor sleep quality (PSQI score >5). Sleep quality was statistically associated with conflicting family relationships (odds ratio [OR], 1.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1 to 2.9), additional part-time jobs (daytime, OR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.3 to 4.4; or nighttime, OR, 4.3; 95% CI, 1.1 to 16.7), noisy sleeping areas (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.8), and the availability of adequate bedding (OR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.8 to 4.9). Conclusions: Poor sleep quality among firefighters was associated with various personal, work-related, and environmental factors. Organizations should promote policies that improve sleep quality through good sleep hygiene practices and facilities.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2024

Objectives: This study investigated the need for nutrition education aimed at improving the health of residents and users of social welfare facilities for persons with disability and aimed to provide basic information for developing a nutrition education program that meets the needs of the field. Methods: Altogether, 249 employees working in social welfare facilities for people with disabilities were included in the study. Data on the health status of residents/users, meal management, nutritional education, nutritional education needs, and awareness of nutritional education were obtained through online surveys. A descriptive analysis was conducted to analyze the demographic characteristics, needs, and perceptions of the respondents, and independent t-tests and χ² tests were performed to analyze and compare the differences between residential and daycare facilities. Results: The majority of residents/users of social welfare facilities for persons with disabilities have developmental disabilities. When educating residents with residents/users of social welfare facilities, 'personal hygiene' was the most necessary topic, followed by 'obesity management' education. Regarding the methods of providing education, face-to-face lectures demonstrated a high demand. They responded that when nutrition education experts provide nutrition education to people with disabilities, they must understand 'the physical characteristics of persons with disabilities' and have the ability to determine appropriate nutrition for such people. The most appropriate nutrition program training would be twice a year, lasting 30 min to 1 h per training session. Conclusions: It will present a direction for operating a nutrition education program for persons with disabilities that meets their needs of social welfare facilities and ultimately contribute to the establishment and activation of nutrition education tailored to welfare facilities for such individuals in Korea.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.25-32
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• 2024

Purpose: This study utilizes big data from the 8th (2021) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to determine first, the relationship between chewing discomfort in the elderly and some systemic diseases and second, whether oral diseases and oral health problems are related to systemic diseases. Since this may have an impact, we aim to provide basic data to facilitate the expansion and emphasize the importance of integrated health management education. Methods: Original data from the 8th (2021) National Health and Nutrition Survey, conducted by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, were analyzed using SPSS Version 21.0 (IBM). A complex sample frequency analysis was conducted to confirm the general and health-related characteristics of the study subjects, and a complex sample cross-analysis was conducted to determine chewing discomfort according to both general and health-related characteristics. Complex sample multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the effect on chewing discomfort. Results: In order to analyze the factors that affect chewing discomfort, the general characteristics that showed significant differences in chewing discomfort were adjusted for age, personal income, education level, basic livelihood security, high blood pressure, subjective health status, and subjective oral health. It was found that the condition had a statistically significant effect on chewing discomfort. Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrate that high blood pressure, subjective health status, and subjective oral health status affect chewing discomfort; hence, measures such as developing and operating programs to improve national oral health are needed. We hope that our study will be used as basic data for research into chewing discomfort and systemic diseases in the elderly.