• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.22 no.4 s.28
• /
• pp.578-590
• /
• 1989

This study was conducted to assess the equity in the regional insurance scheme through analysis of the computerized data from one regional insurance society and National Federation of Medical Insurance. We analysed the insurance contribution and benefit by the classes based on total and income-related contribution per household. The major findings of this study are as follows : 1. The average proportion of income-related contribution among the total was 39.2% and the upper classes show higher proportion of the income-related contribution. 2. The upper classes show higher health care utilization rate than the lower classes. It suggests that the lower classes have relatively large unmet medical needs. 3. The analysis through the Lorenz curve reveals that there exists transference of contributions from the upper to lower classes. But the cumulative percentage of insurance benefit is smaller than that of the number of the insured. It implies that regional medical insurance scheme in Korea has still some inequity in the context of social security principles.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.28 no.4 s.51
• /
• pp.911-923
• /
• 1995

With increased use of neurotoxic agents in manufacturing industries, hazardous effects of neurotoxic agents pose significant problems in protecting health of workers who work in these industries. A normal range of neurobehavioral performance is required to study hazardous effects of neurotoxic agents among workers. However, such reference for Korean population is not available yet. The objective of this study is to estimate a normal range of neurobehavioral test performance of female workers in Korea. Data for neurobehavioral test performance developed by the World Health Organization were obtained from 165 female workers. Study subjects, 140 production workers and 25 clerks, who voluntarily participated in this study were not occupationally exposed to neurotoxic agents. The mean age and the mean education years of them were 32 years and 10.9 years, respectively Santa Ana dexterity, pursuit aiming, digit symbol, simple reaction time, and Benton visual retention tests among the Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery(NCTB) were included in the evaluation. Subjects were interviewed by a trained interviewer for their detailed occupational history $Mean({\pm}SD)$ performance of the participants were: $45.7{\pm}7.1\;and\;41.9{\pm}6.4$ in the Santa Ana dexterity test of the preferred and non-preferred hands; $45.7{\pm}7.1\;and\;41.9{\pm}6.4$ in correct dot of the pursuit aiming test; $57.7{\pm}16.0$ in the digit symbol test; $274.8{\pm}44.6$ msec in the mean simple reaction time and $70.5{\pm}69.0$ msec in the mean standard deviation of it; and $7.8{\pm}1.7$ in the Benton visual retention test. Most neurobehavioral performance scores were correlated significantly with age and educational level. Educational level was found to be a significant independent variable which was associated with all test scores. Age was significantly associated with scores of pursuit aiming and digit symbol tests.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.37-49
• /
• 1996

The joint diseases threaten modern people's healthy life. They bring about a long pain, an anasarca, loss of joint function or even deformation and rigidity of joint, limiting people's ordinary activities much. The chronic joint patients may be subject to some hypochondria caused by anxiety for their life, social isolation, financial problem and physical disability. Therefore, this population should continue to be duely taken care of by medical personnels. In particular, nurses should adequately help these people to recover and improve their health through suitable adaptations. With such basic conceptions in mind, this study was aimed at reviewing these patients' conditions in their ordinary life before and after a plastic operation for artificial joint replacement as well as their satisfaction with their life. For this purpose, those patients who underwent some plastic operations for artificial joint replacement at university hospitals in Seoul from January 2, 1993 to June 30, 1995 were selected as the population of this study. Among them, 87 people were randomly sampled to answer a questionnaire designed specially. For the surveying tools, Jette's (1980) scale was applied to address the sample people's inconveniences experienced and supports received in their ordinary life, while the scale of Wood, Wylie & Sheafer was used to measure their satisfaction with their life. The collected data were analyzed for percentiles, means, SD, t-test and Pearson's correlations. The results of survey can be summarized as follows ; As a result of t-test the frequencies of other people's support before and after the plastic operation, it was disclosed that those who underwent the operation were supported less frequently. In addition, as a result of t-testing their satisfaction with life before and after the operation, it was found that the operation increased their satisfaction with life significantly. Meanwhile, as a result of t-test inconveniences, frequencies of supports and life satisfaction before and after the plastic operation for artificial knee replacement, it was disclosed that only the inconveniences were significantly reduced after the operation. In contrast, the t-test the variables before and after the plastic operation for artificial hip replacement, it was found that only the frequencies of other people's supports were significant reduced after the operation. Furthermore, the differences 6 months, one year and two years after the plastic operation for artificial joint replacement were t-tested on the variables. As a result, it was disclosed that people's inconvenience, frequencies of supports and life satisfaction were not improved 6 months after the operation but their frequencies of supports decreased significantly one year after, while their inconveniences and life satisfaction were significantly improved two years after. As a result of analyzing the variables with Pearson's correlations, inconveniences and frequency of supports were negatively correlated significantly with the life satisfaction. In conclusion, the plastic operation for artificial joint replacement significantly improved people's living inconveniences, reduced their frequency of other people's support and enhanced their satisfaction with life. To break don the plastic operation for artificial knee replacement improved patients' inconveniences, while the plastic operation for artificial hip replacement not only improved patients' inconveniences but reduced the frequencies of other people's support also. Finally, the finding that the plastic operation for artificial joint replacement brought about the improvement two years after suggests that this period is needed for the patients to adapt themselves to the post-operation conditions.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.27-43
• /
• 1992

The purpose of this study is to detect and evaluate the change of urban vegetation of Seoul during 1980s. Large areas covered with agricultural crops or forests were converted to residential and commercial areas, roads, schools, sports complexes, etc. There were also widespreas concerns on the deterioration of the quality of urban vegetation due to severe air pollution, overcrowding of nature parks, and idling of farm lands by land speculators. The image used for this study were MSS(Oct. 4, 1979) and TM(Apr. 26, 1990). The Green Vegetation Index of Kauth & Thomas(1976) was for the analysis. The GVI were resampled with 75$\times$75m grids and overlaid with the jurisdictional boundaries of 22 districts of Seoul. The results were reclassified to 6 classes, class 6 representing grids with the most vigorous vegetation or the best vegetation improvement in 1980s. The finding of this study can be summarized as follows : First, the most vigorous vigorous vegetation, in terms of GVI, of the 1979 image can be found at paddy fields located on alluvial near Han River. Broad-leaf forests located on hilly terrains have higher GVI than conifers located on the upper-parts of mountains. The average GVI of the northern part and southern part of Han River are 3.56 and 3.74, respectively. The main reason why the southern part has higher GVI is that there are more prime agricultural lands. Districts of Kangseo, Yangcheon, and Songpa have the highest percentage of grids of GVI class 6, and the percentages are 3.55 %, 3.47 %, and 2.69 %, respectively. Second, the most vigorous vegetation of the 1990 image can be found at the grass lands of the Yongsan golf club and the Sungsu horse racing track. The GVI of farm lands is lower than forest because most agricultural crops are at the early stage of growing season when the TM image was taken. The size of built-up area is much larger than of 1979. On the other hand, vegetation patches surrounded by developed area become smaller and have stronger contrast to surrounding area. The average GVI of the northern part and southern part of Han River are 3.57 and 3.51, respectively. The main reason why the southern part has lower GVI is the at more large-scale urban development projects were carried out in there during 1980s. Districts of Tobong, Nowon, and Seocho have the highest percentage of class 6, and the perecentages are 16.58 %, 10.14 %, and 8.50% respectively. Third, the change of urban vegetation in Seoul during 1980s are significant. Grids of GVI change classes 1 and 2, which represent severe vegetation loss, occupy 15.97% of Seoul. Three districts which lost the most vegetation are Yangcheon, Kangseo, and Songpa, where the percentages of GVI class 1 are 13.42%, 13.39% and 9.06%, respectively. The worst deterioration was mainly caused by residential developments. On the other hand, the vegetation of some part of Seoul improved in this period. Grids of GVI change classes 5 and 6 occupy 9.83 % of Seoul. Distircts of Jung, Yongsan, and Kangnam have the highest percentage of grids with GVI change classes 5 and 6, and their percentages are 22.31%, 19.17%, and 13.66%, respectively. The improvement of vegetation occurred in two areas. Forest vegetation is generally improving despite of concerns based on air pollution and heavy use by recreationists. Vegetation in open spaces established in riverside parks, large residential areas, and major public facilities are also improving.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
• /
• no.36
• /
• pp.55-80
• /
• 2008

Research on the welfare state or income inequality has been concerned with variations in inequality between societies or families. These studies tend to view the family as a unit of shared interests where incomes are pooled and distributed equally. This study makes a theoretical and empirical case for why it is important to look at economic dependency within the family in comparative welfare state research. Using the Luxembourg Income Study data this study examined married women's dependency on their husbands' earnings in 16 western industrialized countries. The constructed measure for married women's level of economic dependency followed the procedure of Sørensen & McLanahan(1987), which stated : "her dependency is measured by the extent to which a woman's standard of living(as determined by her share of income) is derived from a transfer from her husband." The finding suggested that married women's economic dependence was lowest in Scandinavian countries. On the contrary, in Southern Europe countries most married women were dependent on husbands' earnings. In Netherlands, Austria, Germany where the share of part-time work among married women was high, married women's economic dependence was also high. This showed the women's labor force participation did not mean that the majority of couples were equal with respect to earnings, nor that a major shift in the sexual division of labour has taken place. This paper analysed the causal relationship between the married women's economic independence and the welfare state by using Ragin(2000)'s Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis. This analysis considered the various conditions of the welfare state : namely, left power, union mobilization density, women's mobilization, public service sector employment and generous support on the family. The result showed that powerful union, high level of women's mobilization and the generous support on the family were necessary conditions for 'relatively high' level of married women's economic independence.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.44 no.5
• /
• pp.824-829
• /
• 2011

In recent years, there has been an increasing public concern about fecal contamination of water, air and agricultural produce by pathogens residing in organic fertilizers such as manure, compost and agricultural by-products. Efforts are now being made to control or eliminate the pathogen populations at on-farm level. Development of efficient on-farm strategies to mitigate the potential risk posed by the pathogens requires data about how the pathogens prevail in livestock manure composts and organic fertilizers. Microbiological analysis of livestock manure composts and organic fertilizers obtained from 32 and 28 companies, respectively, were conducted to determine the total aerobic bacteria count, coliforms, Escherichia coli count and the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Cronobacter sakazakii. The total aerobic bacteria counts in the livestock manure composts and organic fertilizers were in the range of 7 to $9log\;CFU\;g^{-1}$ and 4 to $6log\;CFU\;g^{-1}$, respectively. In the livestock manure composts, coliforms and E. coli were detected in samples obtained from 4 and 2 companies, respectively, in the range of 2 to $5log\;CFU\;g^{-1}$ and $2log\;CFU\;g^{-1}$. In the organic fertilizers, coliforms and E. coli were detected in samples obtained from 4 and 1 companies, respectively, in the range of 1 to $3log\;CFU\;g^{-1}$ and $2log\;CFU\;g^{-1}$. In 3 out 32 compost samples, B. cereus was detected, while other pathogens were not detected. In 28 organic fertilizers, no pathogens were detected. The complete composting process can result in the elimination of pathogens in livestock manure compost and organic fertilizer. The results of this study could help to formulate microbiological guidelines for the use of compost in environmental-friendly agriculture. This research provides information regarding microbiological quality of livestock manure compost and organic fertilizer.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.66-73
• /
• 2016

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of psychosocial factors related to functional dyspepsia(FD) and their effects on quality of life(QOL) in firefighters. Methods : This study examined data collected from 1,217 firefighters. We measured psychological symptoms by Patient Health Questionnaire-9(PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder questionnaire(GAD-7), Korean Occupational Stress Scale(KOSS), Ways of Coping checklist(WCCL), Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale(RSES) and World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale abbreviated version(WHOQOL-BREF). Chi-square test, independent t-test, Pearson's correlation test, logistic regression analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis were used as statistical analysis methods. Results : For the group with FD, the male participants showed significantly higher frequency(p=0.006) compared to the female participants. The group with FD had higher scores for depressive symptoms(p<.001), anxiety (p<.001), and occupational stress(p<.001), and did lower scores for self-esteem(p=.008), quality of life(p<.001) than those without FD. The FD risk was higher in the following KOSS subcategories: job demand(OR 1.94, 95% CI : 1.29-2.93), lack of reward(OR 2.47, 95% CI : 1.61-3.81), and occupational climate(OR 1.51, 95% CI : 1.01-2.24). In the hierarchical regression analysis, QOL was best predicted by depressive symptoms, self-esteem, and occupational stress. Three predictive variables above accounts for 42.0% variance explained of total variance. Conclusions : The psychosocial factors showed significant effects on FD, and predictive variables for QOL were identified based on regression analysis. The results suggest that the psychiatric approach should be accompanied with medical approach in future FD assessment.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
• /
• v.41 no.6
• /
• pp.455-470
• /
• 2021

This study examines the trend changes in keywords and topics of STEAM education from 2009 to 2020 to derive future development direction and education implications. Among the collected data, 42 cases of Ministry of Education's documents, 1,534 cases of articles, and 880 cases of abstract of researches were selected as research subjects. Keyword analysis, keyword network and topic modeling were performed for each stage of STEAM education policy through the Python program. As a result of the analysis, according to the STEAM education policy stage, there were differences in the frequency and network of keywords related to STEAM education by media. It was confirmed that there was a difference in interest in STEAM education policy as there were differences in keywords and topics that were mainly used importantly by media. Most of the topics of the Ministry of Education's documents were found to correspond to topics derived from articles. The implications for the development direction of STEAM education derived from the results of this study are as follows: first, STEAM education needs to consider ways to connect multiple topics, including the humanities. Second, since the media has a difference in interest in STEAM education policy, it is necessary to seek a cooperative development direction through understanding this. Third, the Ministry of Education's support for core competency reinforcement and convergence literacy for nurturing future talents, the goal of STEAM education, and the media's efforts to increase the public's understanding of STEAM education are required. Lastly, it is necessary to continuously analyze the themes that will appear in the evaluation process and change STEAM education policy.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
• /
• v.46 no.3
• /
• pp.131-143
• /
• 2021

Objectives: This study aimed 1) to investigate high school students' reliability on COVID-19 responses in schools and private academies and 2) to identify the differences in COVID-19 prevention practice. Methods: This cross-sectional survey collected data from 200 high school respondents, using an anonymous online questionnaire designed by the Yonsei Global Health Center, from July 2 to 17, 2020 in this study. Chi-square tests were conducted to analyze the differences in preventative practices and practice rates between schools and private academies. Binary logistics regression analysis was conducted to identify the factor affecting the reliability of COVID-19 response. Results: These high school students reliabilityed the schools' COVID-19 response more than the private academy. In addition, students who studied only at school did more COVID-19 prevention practices than students who studied both at school and academy. There was a significant difference in avoiding public transportation (p=.028), sitting in one row while having a meal (p=.011) in the practice rates depending on the schools' COVID-19 response. A significant difference in Covering the mouth when coughing and sneezing (p-.041) was also found in the practice rates depending on the private academies' COVID-19 response. Conclusion: The reason why schools were more reliable than private academies was that there are health teachers. Because schools are supervised by the ministry of education, the Ministry of education and local government need to work together to manage and monitor the COVID-19 response in the academies through cooperation between two organizations. In addition, it is necessary to arrange a temporary circulation health teacher who will provide the COVID-19 prevention education at the academies.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
• /
• v.46 no.4
• /
• pp.280-294
• /
• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of social capital characteristics, socio-demographic characteristics, physical condition, and health behavior characteristics on health-related quality of life of the elderly in Korea. Methods: T-test, one-way ANOVA, and regression analysis were performed by applying a complex sample design to 57.787 people aged 65 and over using the 2019 Community Health Survey. Results: First, as a result of complex-sample T-test and ANOVA analysis, it was found that there were differences in health-related quality of life according to social capital characteristics, physical condition & health behavior characteristics, and socio-demographic characteristics. Complex Sample Regression Analysis Results, the explanatory power of the model was 28%. When living in the metropolitan area, living in an apartment building, having a spouse, having a higher household income, economic activity, higher educational attainment, increase sleeping time, walking time, frequent binge drinking, health checkup, networking, trust, and social participation showed higher health-related quality of life. When people were older, their gender was female, higher BMI, number of chronic diseases, and severe stress that showed lower health-related quality of life. Conclusions: It was proved that the factors affecting the health-related quality of life of the elderly are not only physical condition and health behavior factors, but also social capital and socio-demographic characteristics. It was found that the role as a member was important.