• Journal of East-West Nursing Research
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.87-97
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the factors affecting those commitment to a plan for exercise among Korean with chronic diseases by Pender's health promotion model. Methods: The participants in this study were 315 Korean adults over 18 years of age with chronic diseases who were recruited in hospitals or public health centers in Korea. The instruments used in this study were individual characteristics instrument, Rosenberg's self-esteem scale, Ware's perceived health status, Profile of Mood States and Pender's commitment to a plan for exercises scale. Results: The results of analysis showed that Korean adults with chronic diseases were perceived with relatively low commitment to a plan for exercise while they were perceived with moderate self-esteem, health status, and mood. There were significant differences in the commitment to a plan for exercise according to education level and economic level. The positive relationship between self esteem, perceived health status, and commitment to a plan for exercise were significantly correlated. The experience for exercise was the most influential variable on commitment to a plan for exercise accounting for 40.3% among Korean with chronic diseases. Conclusion: For planning a targeted strategy to increase regular exercise among Korean adults with chronic diseases, nurses have to assess the prior experience of exercise of them. These nursing activities lead to improve their quality of life and encourage to control their symptoms.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.314-318
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• 2018

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the health industry are quite common, however, there have only been a few studies regarding physiotherapists, while in Greece, there is an apparent lack of research and data. The aim of this study is to investigate MSDs experienced by physiotherapists in Greece, their causes and specific measures, and good practices followed. Additional emerging risk factors will be examined. Methods: A questionnaire of MSDs followed by individual and workplace characteristics was completed by 252 physiotherapists. It covered the major workplace categories such as public hospitals, private rehabilitation centers, and private practices. Results: Analysis indicated that 89% of the respondents had experienced a work-related MSD; 32.2% of those injuries occurred within the first 5 years of working. The most lumbered physiotherapists were those working as private practitioners and almost half of the injured respondents chose to work while injured. The most common measure taken to tackle work related MSDs was found to be physical therapy sessions. Job satisfaction and psychosocial issues were also identified as side-effects of the economic slowdown. Conclusion: Physiotherapists in Greece were found to suffer from MSDs; workplace musculoskeletal injuries were quite common but under-reported. The body parts most affected were the lower back, the upper back, the shoulders, and the neck. There was a strong correlation between the workplace setting and the number of MSDs. A well-defined occupational safety and health management system and strict administration steering were found to reduce MSDs. The economic slowdown experienced in Greece during the execution of this study placed additional pressure on physiotherapists.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.240-247
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• 2022

Background: Although insomnia and constipation are highly prevalent worldwide, studies examining a possible association between them are lacking. We examined the relationship between insomnia and constipation in shift workers who have a high prevalence of insomnia and other diseases. Methods: This study had a multicenter cross-sectional design and conducted using health examination data including self-reported questionnaires. In total, 12,879 and 4,650 shift workers were enrolled in Severance Hospital and Wonju Severance Hospital, respectively, during 2015-2017. Multivariate logistic regression models and subgroup analysis were performed in each center with the same protocol, using a common data model. Results: The mean age of the total population was 44.35 (standard deviation = 8.75); the proportion of males was 56.9%. Female sex, being underweight and non-smoker were strongly associated with an increased risk of constipation symptom (p < 0.001). Pooled odds ratios (ORs) were calculated using ORs of both centers with weights; there was a significant dose-response relationship (sub-threshold 1.76 [95% confidence interval [CI] 1.62-1.91]; moderate 2.28 [95% CI 2.01-2.60]; severe 4.15 [95% CI 3.18-5.41] in the final model, p for trend < 0.001). Subgroup analysis performed by stratifying sex and pooled ORs showed a similar trend to that of the entire group. Conclusion: We observed a strong correlation between insomnia and constipation in this population. Our findings may help in formulating guidelines and policies to improve quality of life in shift workers through the management of sleep quality and proper bowel function. This study is the first to report this relationship among people working in shifts.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.131-151
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• 1992

The contents of prescription service were comparatively analysed between health centers(HC) and private clinics(PC). Medical chart review was done for 330 otu-patients diagnosed with upper respiratory tract infection(UR) of 120 adults and 90 children, and gastritis or duodenitis of 120 adults. Emphasis on comparison was the prime cost of medication which used in prescription service. The results were as follows; 1. The prime costs fro the medication per visit of HC group were significantly higher than PC group in all three diseases, and the out of pocket payments of patients per visit were significantly lower in the HC group than PC group. 2. The reason for high prime costs of medication per visit of HC in adult case of URI were due to the idverse use of medication and long prescription period per visit. And high medication costs in children cases of URI in HC group were due to the longer prescription day. In cases of gastritis, the prime cost of medication was also higher because of longer prescription period and the higher prime cost of medication. The proportions of medications for injection in the HC and PC groups showed similar features. 3. In depth analysis of the prescription services showed the differences of the contents of medication. In adults cases of URI, the averaged cost of oral medication was significantly lower in HC group, but that of medication for injection was higher in HC group. In children cases of URI, the averaged cost of oral medication and medication for injection was lower in HC group than in PC group. But in the cases of gastritis it was was higher in HC group than in PC group. The prescription periods were longer in HC group than in PC group in all three diseases. As a conclusion prime medication cost and quality of prescription services of HC group were higher than PC group. In terms of health care the cost containment and quality assurance in physician visit for common disease, public sector utilization is good option for those perspectives. But it should not be generalized unless future study about structure and outcome research for quality assurance.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.207-217
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• 2011

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to garner useful information through a comparative analysis of health behaviors and health states between the young-old and old-old elderly in a rural Korean area. Methods: We define the young-old elderly as those 65 to 74 years of age, and the old-old as those over 70. The survey was administered in October and November of 2009 at senior citizen centers in Sangju City, Kyongsangbuk-do, South Korea. The number of subjects surveyed approximated the demographics of the aged population of the administrative district of centers of 24 eup, myeon, and dong. Results: Compared with the young-old elderly, the old-old were vulnerable to population sociological characteristics. While there were many cases of contraction of diseases, only a small percentage of old-old elderly were engaged in regular exercise. In addition, the old-old elderly lagged behind the young-old in terms of physical activity, mental and oral health, hearing, and vision. Conclusions: The vulnerability of the old-old elderly in terms of physical and mental health needs to be acknowledged as various characteristics of the elderly that appears according an age group. A variety of disease prevention and health promotion programs that focus on the health behavior and status of the young-old and old-old elderly need to be developed and put into practice.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.355-371
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• 2000

The purpose of this study was to explore and compare health-promoting behaviors and its relationships with associated variables between Korean elderly and Korean-American elderly. Study instruments were questionnaire that consisted of socioeconomic characteristics, health-promoting lifestyle patterns. self-esteem and self-efficacy. Data were collected from convenient sample of 150 Korean elderly and 110 Korean-American elderly recruited from senior centers. Collected data were analyzed by t-test. ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficients. The results are followings : 1. In religion, $32.7\%$ of Korean elderly were protestant. while $32.7\%$ of Korean-American. elderly were protestant. $61.3\%$ of Korean elderly were living with their children, and only $17.3\%$ of Korean-American elderly were living with their children. 2. There was no significant difference in the mean HPLP score in two groups. but Korean elderly showed higher practices in health responsibility. exercise. and stress management than that of Korean-American elderly. The subjects showed the highest practices in nutrition(3.14. 3.01), and the lowest practices in exercise (2.14, 1.92). 3. The mean HPLP score of Korean elderly was 2.63, showing significant relationships with age. education and economic status. the score of Korean-American elderly was 2.54, showing significant relationships with education. 4. Self-esteem score of Korean elderly was 2.72 and Korean-American elderly was 2.73. there was no significant difference in two groups. The score of self-esteem of Korean-American elderly was showing significant relationships with presence of spouse. 5. Self-efficacy score of Korean elderly was 3.27 and Korean-American elderly was 3.21. there was no significant difference in two groups. The score of self-efficacy of both groups were showed significant relationships with education. 6. The HPLP of Korean and Korean-American elderly showed(r=.24. r= .49) positive correlations with self-esteem had positive correlations with self-efficacy(r=.42. r=.28). To draw concrete resolution for health promotion of Korean and Korean-American elderly. this study suggests followings for future research : 1. Nursing interventions enhancing exercise and stress management of the elderly must be provided. Especially developing and adopting feasible exercise programs for Korean-American elderly is highly needed. 2. Identifying the influences of culture on their practices of health-promoting lifestyle patterns among Korean. Korean-American and other racial elderly groups.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.750-757
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• 2010

In order to investigate acute drug intoxication trends in the elderly who visited emergency medical center, Data were collected from the records of poisoning patients visited five different hospitals from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007. The analysis was conducted by using 624 cases from these hospitals. The results are as follows. The study was designed to be divided into two categories of elderly and those under age 65. The criteria were as follows ; male to female ratio, those living together with families, past suicide attempts, acute drug intoxication reasons, management, mental status and the level of sobriety on arrival at the medical centers, and monthly distribution. There was no difference between two groups. In conclusion, it is necessary to develop suicide prevention program for the suicide vulnerable group. Accidental poisonings are going to continue. This means that poisoning prevention education programs must also be developed for periodic use.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.509-517
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• 2006

We investigated the change of symptoms and preventive behaviors before and after the Asian Dust events among indoor workers (teachers) and outdoor workers (taxi drivers and bus drivers). On February 2004, we recruited 195 taxi drivers, 135 bus drivers and 93 school teachers. Symptoms and behaviors related the Asian Dust events during 1 week were questioned by self administrated questionnaires. We surveyed pre-event and post-event. The symptom were not changed in bus drivers during the events. In taxi drivers and teachers,'Bad or smoky smell on the air' and 'eye congestion' symptoms were increased during the events. The preventive behaviors were decreased or not changed in taxi drivers and bus drivers. In teachers,'close the window','diminishing the outdoor activities', 'diminishing the going out', 'wearing the sunglasses', 'washing the eyes after going out'. This results suggest that the outdoor worker's guideline during the Asian dust eventsneeds to be developed.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.396-402
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• 2010

Objectives: Self-reported anthropometric values, such as height and weight, are used to calculate body mass index (BMI) and assess the prevalence of obesity among adolescents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of selfreported height, weight, and BMI of the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey questionnaire. Methods: A convenience sample of 137 middle school students and 242 high school students completed a selfadministered questionnaire in 2008. Body height and weight were directly measured after self-reported values were obtained from the questionnaire survey. Sensitivity, specificity, and kappa statistics were computed in order to evaluate the validity of the prevalence of obesity (BMI $\geq$ 95th percentile or $\geq$ $25;kg/$m^2$) based on self-reported data. Results: Self-reported weight and BMI tended to be underestimated. Self-reported height tended to be overestimated among middle school females and high school males. Obese adolescents tended to underestimate their weight and BMI and overestimate their height more than non-obese adolescents. The prevalence estimate of obesity based on selfreported data (10.6%) was lower than that based on directly measured data (15.3%). The estimated sensitivity of obesity based on self-reported data was 69.0% and the specificity was 100.0%. The value of kappa was 0.79 (95% confidence interval, 0.70 - 0.88). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that self-reported height and weight may lead to the underestimation of BMI and consequently the prevalence of obesity. These biases should be taken into account when self-reported data are used for monitoring the prevalence and trends of obesity among adolescents nationwide.

• The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.79-89
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• 2003

Purpose: This research with one group pre-post design was carried out to test the practical feasibility to administrate the Music Movement program developed for the stroke patients. Subjects: 12 stroke survivors at "J" Public Health Center in Seoul. were participated in. The average age was 68 years old, the ratio of sex was almost 5.8:4.2, the duration of was almost over 1 year. Method: Music Movement program was conducted for 2 hours ${\times}$ 1day ${\times}$ 6 weeks. The contents of Music Movement program were consisted of the preparatory activities, main activities and the wrap up activities. The preparatory activities are ice braking, greeting, explanation of the aims of music movement program, and introduction of stroke disease and ROM exercise. The main activities are the body motions with singing and playing musical instruments. The wrap up activities are stretching and joints and discussion of home activities. Data Collection: The outcome variables are muscle strength, finger pinch power, ROMs, flexibility, depression, and life satisfaction. Depression was measured by CES-D(Kim, I. J., 1999), life satisfaction by ladder scale(McDowell & Newell, 1996), and ADL state(Holbrook & Skilbeck, 1983). Data Analysis: SPSS/PC 10.0 for Window was used. Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test was used to analyze outcome measures. The level of statistical significance was set at p<.05. Results: This program was effective to decrease the depression level of subjects(p<.05). The muscle strength, hand grip power, ROMs, life satisfaction, and rehabilitation state of the subjects were slightly increased but no significant differences were found between the pre and post test. Additionally every patient replied that they were very satisfied and expressed their appreciation for this program very much. Of course they strongly want to continue to participate in and meet the peer group again. Conclusion: Considering these results, the practical feasibility of Music Movement program can be supported. Therefore, this Music Movement program can be examined with the quasi-experimental design with control group and ongoing reviews. After that, this program would be applied in public health centers, medical institutes, and welfare centers for the rehabilitation of stroke patients.