• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.56 no.3
• /
• pp.205-211
• /
• 2023

Cancer management has become a major policy goal for the government of the Korea. As such, the government introduced the National Cancer Control Plan (NCCP) to reduce the individual and social burdens caused by cancer and to promote national health. During the past 25 years, 3 phases of the NCCP have been completed. During this time, the NCCP has changed significantly in all aspects of cancer control from prevention to survival. The targets for cancer control are increasing, and although some blind spots remain, new demands are emerging. The government initiated the fourth NCCP in March 2021, with the vision of "A Healthy Country with No Concerns about Cancer Anywhere at Any Time," which aims to build and disseminate high-quality cancer data, reduce preventable cancer cases, and reduce gaps in cancer control. Its main strategies include (1) activation of cancer big data, (2) advancement of cancer prevention and screening, (3) improvement in cancer treatment and response, and (4) establishment of a foundation for balanced cancer control. The fourth NCCP has many positive expectations, similar to the last 3 plans; however, cross-domain support and participation are required to achieve positive results in cancer control. Notably, cancer remains the leading cause of death despite decades of management efforts and should continue to be managed carefully from a national perspective.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.59-67
• /
• 2024

Objectives : This study aims to systematically examine the determinants of the intention to take herbal medicine among individuals with experience in Korean medicine. Methods : This study utilized the 3,245 respondents from the 2020 Korean Medicine Utilization and Herbal Medicine Consumption Survey who reported having used Korean medical services; the responses were selected through a complex sample analysis, and analytics techniques including frequency analysis, Rao-scott chisquare test, and logistic regression were used to analyze the responses. Results : The results of data analysis reveal that the intention to take herbal medicine in the future among these individuals was significantly influenced by factors such as enrollment in private health insurance, the facility environment of Korean medical institutions, and treatment outcomes. Conclusions : Therefore, it is imperative for Korean medical institutions to continuously try reasonable action strategies, including improving medical facilities/environments and building institutional mechanisms among medical staff and members to enhance the quality of Korean medical services. Additionally, the Ministry of Health and Welfare needs to make policy efforts to reduce patients' medical expenses, such as reducing the co-insurance rate in the pilot project of applying health insurance to herbal medicine.

• Women's Health Nursing
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.337-347
• /
• 2023

Purpose: Despite the health impacts of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) beginning in the early stages of life, there is little research on the perception of EDCs among Korean mothers, who are primarily responsible for protecting children. This study aimed to explore how mothers with young children perceived EDCs for their concerns, the issues they faced, and the way they dealt with them. Methods: An exploratory qualitative design was utilized. Twelve mothers who were recruited from snowball sampling participated in voluntary interviews. Individual in-depth interviews lasting approximately 47 to 60 minutes were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis as suggested by Graneheim and Lundman. Results: Four categories, 10 subcategories, and 25 condensed meaning units were identified by interpreting mothers' underlying meanings. The four categories were 'Knowledgeable yet contrasting ideas regarding EDCs,' 'Negative health impact, but more so for children,' 'Inaction or trying to minimize exposure,' and 'Need for early, reliable resources and social change.' Mothers were knowledgeable about EDCs and actively needed further education and support. While they tended to focus more on the health impact of EDCs on their children and were optimistic about their health risks, paying less attention to their preventive behaviors. Conclusion: Healthcare professionals must consider mothers' perceptions of EDCs in future education and interventions regarding EDCs impact on women's life stages such as puberty, pregnancy, and childrearing. Also preventive strategies that can be applied to their daily lives are needed.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.69-81
• /
• 2023

Objectives : The purpose of this survey is to investigate the current status of violence that occurred in Korean medicine clinics targeting medical staff. Methods : First, questionnaires were developed to investigate the actual situation of violence against medical personnel occurring within Korean medicine clinics. The questions consist of five items on the characteristics of the respondent, ten items on identifying the actual state of violence against Korean medical workers, two items on relevance to COVID-19, two items on related legal issues, and three items on policies. The survey was conducted online from 16 November 2021 to 30 November 2021. Results : Total 519 Korean medical doctors responded to the questionnaire, and 314 (60.50%) responded that they had experienced violence demage while working. While the female staffs experience significantly more violence (𝜒²=18.398, p <0.001) and sexual violence (𝜒²=74.855, p <0.001) than the males, the males tend to be more exposed to physical assault than the female (𝜒²=3.900, p = 0.048). Conclusion : Through this study, we identified the situation of violence against medical staffs in Korean medicine clinics, and concluded that it should be necessary to establish strategies for the prevention and management of violence in a social and institutional way.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.57 no.4
• /
• pp.399-406
• /
• 2024

Objectives: This study developed a causal relationship model of herb use from observational data and analyzed the direct and indirect effects of herb use on health according to the model. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 400 participants aged 26-59 years, selected through multistage random sampling. The instruments used for data collection included demographic information, herb use, health literacy (HL), perceived social support, societal values, and attitudes toward herb use. The conceptual model, hypothesized based on prior evidence, was tested using confirmatory factor analysis through structural equation modeling. Path coefficients were estimated using the maximum likelihood method. Results: The final model utilized empirical data, which showed that perceived social support had the most significant impact on herb use. This was followed by HL, positive attitudes toward herbal remedies, and societal values, with coefficients of 0.31, 0.18, and 0.16, respectively. When analyzing variables that indirectly affected herb use, it was clear that positive attitudes, perceived social support, and societal values significantly influenced herb use through HL, with influence coefficients of 0.08, 0.16, and 0.04, respectively. Together, these variables accounted for 68% of the variance in herb use. Conclusions: The findings from this study can be utilized to develop and implement strategies that guide the use of herbal products, ultimately aiming to improve human health.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.57 no.5
• /
• pp.421-434
• /
• 2024

Objectives: Schizophrenia is an organic disease and a severe mental disorder with a relatively high risk of relapse. The rising rate of schizophrenia relapse has motivated researchers and academics to innovate and develop interventions aimed at relapse prevention. This bibliometric study sought to examine the publication trends in schizophrenia relapse prevention from 1973 to 2023, assess the contribution of international collaborations across various journals, identify the most influential authors and articles, and forecast future developments in this field. Methods: The study included 683 articles obtained from the Scopus database, analyzed using VOSviewer software, and visualized with Tableau. Results: Reports of schizophrenia relapse prevention strategies have increased significantly over the last 3 decades. However, fluctuations persist, as evidenced by the annual number of publications ranging from 25 to 40 within the past 5 years. Nevertheless, this increasing trend underscores the sustained interest in this area of research. Regarding contribution size, the United States produced the largest volume of publications on this subject. John M. Kane authored the most articles, while Stefan Leucht exhibited the highest h-index. Frequently used keywords in this field include "relapse AND schizophrenia" AND "prevention." Conclusions: These results represent an important reference for determining the current state of research on schizophrenia relapse prevention and future research directions.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.321-331
• /
• 2008

Purpose: Purpose of this study was to explore the process of menopause experiences in middle-aged women. Method: The grounded theory methodology by Strauss & Corbin was the basis for this study. The participants were 15 middle-aged women selected by theoretical sampling. The data were collected by in-depth interviews using audiotape recording analyzed simultaneously by the constant comparative method described in Strauss and Corbin's methodology. Results: Experiencerelated to menopause in middle-aged women is caused by cognition of the aging process, difficult problems in family that occur with limitation of social activity, and perception of changingseasons. The central incident of menopause in middle-aged women was loss of the woman's identity. Intervening conditions, which are action/interactional strategies for menopause, are related to social support. Action/interactional strategies related to menopause management included medical treatment, mind control, and participation in social activity. Experiencerelated to menopause in middle-aged women resulted in comfort or discomfot of physical and emotional condition. Conclusion: The findings of this study may contribute to the development health promotion strategy for middle-aged women. There is need to develop family support systems and preventive nursing interventions to avoid negative coping strategy.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.138-152
• /
• 2005

Purposes: The purposes of this study are to investigate the definition, components, prevalence, and associated factors of metabolic syndrome and suggest the management strategies for workers. Method: This study was conducted by literature review. Results: Metabolic syndrome by the NCEP-ATP III is the clustering of three or more of five conditions: abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, low levels of HDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high glucose(blood sugar). The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome by modified NCEP-ATP III in South Korean workers was about 20 to 25%. Metabolic syndrome is caused by many associated factors, namely, age, family history, socioeconomic status, job strain, shift work, psychosocial distress, bad health behaviprs and so on. Conclusions: To prevent metabolic syndrome at worksites, multifactorial risk factor assessments and preventive approaches are required. Socioeconomic factors such as education, working status should be nationally importantly considered for the health inequality of workers. Occupational health nurse, at first, can start weight control, smoking cessation program. stress management, the improvement of work environment. Next stage, early diagnosis and treatment for metabolic risk group can be performed.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.67-77
• /
• 2016

Objectives: The study was to propose strategies and directions how to manage the hypertension and diabetes in communities. Methods: The survey data from 606 patients with hypertension or diabetes based on Community Health Survey, 2013 were analyzed and the hypertension and diabetes projects in communities for last 10 years were reviewed. Results: The patients visiting the primary clinics had statistically significant lower rates than those of teaching hospitals in physician's recommendation experience, perception level of attention from doctors, self-efficacy and health habit practice level. Since the Hypertension and diabetes registration and management system in 2007, there have been several trials for management of hypertension and diabetes such as Chronic diseases management system on the primary clinics, Community based primary medical care pilot projects, Post-national health screening management, and Pilot project on reimbursement for chronic diseases care services. Conclusions: The upmost urgent task might be to have a support system for patients' self care affiliated with primary clinics. To achieve it, it is necessary to expand the current Hypertension and diabetes registration and management system into nation and to find a way to attract the active participation from primary clinics.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.75-91
• /
• 2007

Objectives: It is known that the majority of middle schoolers spend the substantial amount of time using the Internet. Despite the fact, little is known about which factors are related to an increase in Internet use and what could be the consequences of excessive Internet use. The aim of this study was to explore factors affecting an increase in Internet use among elementary schoolers representing the population of South Korean elementary schoolers. Method: Secondary data obtained from the Korea Youth Panel Survey were analyzed longitudinally. Results: The average minutes spent using the Internet was 73.43 in the first wave, and was 92.17 in the second wave. Also, the percentage of those who experienced illegal behaviors on the Internet was 22.86% in the first wave, and was 30.92% in the second wave. Second, increased Internet use was strongly associated with an attack tendency, depression, suicidal ideation, stress, and delinquent behaviors. Finally, gender(being female), and increased attacking tendency, and smoking experiences successfully predicted an increase in Internet use one year later. Conclusions: It is necessary to provide education programs to young people and to develop preventive strategies for them. Through providing education programs, children can form desirable attitudes regarding the Internet use. Through providing intervention strategies, children can prevent from experiencing negative consequences due to excessive Internet use.