• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.477-488
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify the clinical characteristics and risk factors on the occurrence of variant angina, and to examine the predicting factors on the vascular endothelial dysfunction of the patients with variant angina. Methods: A total of 134 patients diagnosed with variant angina were recruited from 2006 to 2008. The degrees of endothelial dysfunction were measured and recorded by the researcher using the values of flow-mediated vasodilation of their brachial arteries and Nitroglycerine-mediated dilation. Subjects' demographic data and risk factors were gathered after obtaining informed consent, and their electronic medical records were reviewed to collect laboratory data. Results: The mean age was $54.2{\pm}9.6$ years and 52% was male patients. More than 50% of the male patients were cigarette smokers and had hypercholesterolemia. 84% of the male patients and 70% of the female patients had more than one risk factor of cardiovascular disease. A stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that smoking and hypercholesterolemia predicted the decrease of flow-mediated vasodilation (Adjusted $R^2$ = .204, p < .001). Conclusion: Tailored educational interventions for smoking cessation and cholesterol management are needed to prevent recurrence of angina attack for patients with variant angina and to prevent cardiovascular disease for middle-aged workers.

• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.146-158
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• 2005

Purpose: This study was to obtain a understanding of breast cancer women with high risk for hereditary cancer syndrome. Method: A micro-ethnography was used, including participation observation, open-ended in-depth interviews. Results: Two major arguments were derived. First, When Korean women at high risk to hereditary breast cancer make a decision about whether to take a genetic test, they are strongly motivated by a desire to preserve close kinship bonds and "family love" among their siblings, parents and children. Second, Even after genetic risk assessment and counseling services, Korean women at high-risk for developing a hereditary breast cancer who have been informed that they are mutation carriers, still hold onto previous beliefs about cancer causation. Their cancer prevention strategies are constructed according to their unchanged perceptions and beliefs about cancer causation. Conclusion: More sensitive genetic counseling program needs to be developed. Referral programs and clinical services must be attentive to cultural values and beliefs otherwise cultural attitudes and practices toward genetic counseling will not change.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.93-102
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• 2018

Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) has been used in shipping and offshore industries for many years, supporting the decision-making process to guarantee safe running at different stages of design, fabrication and throughout service life. The assessments of a risk perspective are informed by the frequency of events (probability) and the associated consequences. As the number of offshore platforms increases, so does the length of subsea pipelines, thus there is a need to extend this approach and enable the subsea industry to place more emphasis on uncertainties. On-board operations can lead to objects being dropped on subsea pipelines, which can cause leaks and other pipeline damage. This study explains how to conduct hit frequency analyses of subsea pipelines, using historical data, and how to obtain a finite number of scenarios for the consequences analysis. An example study using probabilistic methods is used.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.8
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• pp.2941-2959
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• 2022

The fire brigade non-suppression probability model is a major factor that should be considered in evaluating fire-induced risk through fire probabilistic risk assessment (PRA), and also uncertainty is a critical consideration in support of risk-informed performance-based (RIPB) fire protection decision-making. This study developed an optimal integrated probabilistic fire brigade non-suppression model considering uncertainty of parameters based on the Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach on electrical fire which is one of the most risk significant contributors. The result shows that the log-normal probability model with a location parameter (µ) of 2.063 and a scale parameter (σ) of 1.879 is best fitting to the actual fire experience data. It gives optimal model adequacy performance with Bayesian information criterion (BIC) of -1601.766, residual sum of squares (RSS) of 2.51E-04, and mean squared error (MSE) of 2.08E-06. This optimal log-normal model shows the better performance of the model adequacy than the exponential probability model suggested in the current fire PRA methodology, with a decrease of 17.3% in BIC, 85.3% in RSS, and 85.3% in MSE. The outcomes of this study are expected to contribute to the improvement and securement of fire PRA realism in the support of decision-making for RIPB fire protection programs.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.3-32
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• 2020

Under the Korean case law, physicians are obliged to disclose or inform the risk associated with a specific treatment to their patients before they perform the treatment. If they fail to do this, they are liable to compensate pain and sufferings. If the patient can establish that he or she would not have consented at all to the treatment had he or she been informed, the physicians are liable to compensate all the loss incurred by the treatment. In this article, the author examines the legitimacy of this case law from the perspective of legal doctrine as well as its practical affect on the medical practice and the furtherance of self-determination of the patient. The fundamental findings are as follows: The case law that has physicians who failed to inform treatment risk compensate pain and sufferings for the infringement of the right of self-determination seems to be a disguised and reduced compensation of all the loss based on the possible malpractice, which cannot be justified in view of the general principles of tort liability. It is necessary to adhere to the requirements of causation and imputation between the failure to inform treatment risk and the specific patient's consent to the treatment. If this causation and imputation is established, all the loss should be compensated. Otherwise, there shall be no liability. The so-called hypothetical consent defence shall be regarded as a part of causation between the failure to inform and the consent. The suggested approach can preserve the essence of physician-patient relationship and fit for the very logic of informed consent better.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.53-61
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• 2014

Background: The use of health functional food (HFF) is increasing and will continue to rise worldwide. Concerns about HFF-drug interactions are increasing as HFF are becoming more widely used. Therefore, awareness of consumers' perceptions and behaviors associated with HFF use may help health care providers improve their communications with patients. Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the characteristics, perceptions, and behaviors associated with HFF use in South Korea. Method: The online survey was conducted from September 21th to October 7th, 2013. With the aid of Social Network Service (SNS) and google, the questionnaire was posted online on internet website targeting people aged 15 years or older so that self-reported data covering 4 domains were collected from 257 Koreans. Results: A total of 257 people responded the questionnaire. Among them, 81.3% reported experiences of HFF use. Female were more likely than male to use HFFs. There were no differences in demographic characteristics between HFF users and non-users in relation to age, education, and household income. Higher level of education was associated with high-level perception of HFF function (OR 3.9, 95% CI 1.48, 10.1) and a positive relationship was observed between the maximum number of HFFs used concurrently and age of the respondents. Among the HFF users, 42.6% reported concurrent HFF-medication use. However 73.3% of them did not disclose their use to physician or pharmacist and only 30.2% were informed about potential drug-HFF interactions. Pharmacy was most commonly reported as the source from which the respondents were informed about potential interactions. Conclusion: Many people had used HFF and medications concurrently while not being informed about potential HFF-drug interactions. Pharmacists and physicians should be vigilant for risk of the interactions and actively determine whether the patient is using an HFF before prescribing and administrating medications.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.265-271
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• 2014

Objective: This study aims to explore the perception of off-label use of medications and the provision of informed consents from the general public's perspective. Methods: The study subjects (n=291) were recruited from 7 cities in Korea through a convenience sampling method. The self-administered questionnaire with 13 items was issued and collected. The study subjects who have had a pharmaceutical job were excluded. Results: The total of 231 respondents was included. Only 23% of respondents were familiar with the concept of off-label use of medications. Eighty five percent of respondents (n=196) stated that the prescribers should explain the off-label use of a medication to their patients. The preferred method for delivering the message was the oral explanation (n=122, 53%), followed by oral explanation plus a pamphlet (n=94, 41%). The safety issue is the most concerned aspect regarding the off-label drug use, also effectiveness and insurance coverage. The majority of respondents (n=217, 94%) agreed that the prescriber should get a consent from patients before prescribing medications for off-label use. They preferred written consent to oral consent (140 vs. 77). Conclusion: This study demonstrated general publics are infrequently aware of off-label use of medications. It is important to raise public awareness of the off-label use of medications and to openly discuss its pros and cons for safe and effective drug therapy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6389-6392
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• 2013

Background: Cervical cancer is one of the ten most frequent cancers in Turkey. We here examined knowledge about cervical cancer in relation to Papanicolaou (Pap) testing among female primary health care workers in Hatay, a city is located in the south of Turkey. Materials and Methods: The study was completed on 261 women healthcare workers who were or had been sexually active and who accepted to participate to the study. The participants gave verbal informed consent and thereafter questionnaires prepared by the investigators were administered by personal interview. Results: Only 30.3% (n=79) of the participants regularly had a gynecologic examination. While 87.4% (n=228) of the participants reported that they had already heard about the Pap smear test, only 45.2% (n=118) had undergone this test. It was determined that had undergone an average of $1.66{\pm}0.89$ times (1-4) within the last five years. Some 56.0% (n=117) of the participants were well informed about the Pap smear test (p<0,001) and 81.1% (n=63) of the participants who regularly had gynecological examinations (p<0,001) had this test. Conclusions: For the early diagnosis of the cervical cancer, regularly having a Pap smear test is crucial. Healthcare workers should also demonstrate sensitivity about this issue. We think that the importance of the issue should be re-highlighted by organizing in-service training for female primary healthcare workers. Studies are warranted to determine the psychosociological factors that cause individuals to not have the test.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.17
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• pp.7407-7411
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• 2014

The incidence of urban female breast cancer has been continuously increasing over the past decade with unknown etiology. One hypothesis for this increase is carcinogen exposure from tobacco. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the risk of urban female breast cancer from tobacco smoke exposure. The matched case control study was conducted among Thai females, aged 17-76 years and living in Bangkok or its surrounding areas. A total of 444 pairs of cases and controls were recruited from the Thai National Cancer Institute. Cases were newly diagnosed and histologically confirmed as breast cancer while controls were selected from healthy women who visited a patient, matched by age ${\pm}5$ years. After obtaining informed consent, tobacco smoke exposure data and information on other potential risk factors were collected by interview. The analysis was performed by conditional logistic regression, and presented with odds ratio (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals(CI). From all subjects, 3.8% of cases and 3.4% of controls were active smokers while 11.0% of cases and 6.1% of controls were passive smokers. The highest to lowest sources of passive tobacco smoke were from spouses (40.8%), the workplace (36.8%) and public areas (26.3%), respectively. After adjusting for other potential risk factors or confounders, females with frequent low-dose passive smoke exposure (${\leq}7$ hours per week) from a spouse or workplace had adjusted odds ratio 3.77 (95%CI=1.11-12.82) and 4.02 (95%CI=1.04-15.50) higher risk of breast cancer compared with non-smokers, respectively. However, this study did not find any association of breast cancer risk in high dose passive tobacco smoke exposure, or a dose response relationship in cumulative passive tobacco smoke exposure per week, or in the active smoker group. In conclusion, passive smoke exposure may be one important risk factor of urban female breast cancer, particularly, from a spouse or workplace. This risk factor highlights the importance of avoiding tobacco smoke exposure as a key measure for breast cancer prevention and control.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.41 no.10
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• pp.1243-1254
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• 2009

The paper discusses the methodology and the use of probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) for nuclear power plants from a European perspective. The increasing importance of risk-informed approaches in the nuclear oversight process observed in many countries has contributed to increasing attention to PSHA methods. Nevertheless significant differences with respect to the methodology of PSHA are observed in Europe. The paper gives an overview on actual projects and discusses the differences in the PSHA-methodology applied in different European countries. These differences are largely related to different approaches used for the treatment of uncertainties and to the use of experts. The development of a probabilistic scenario-based approach is identified as a meaningful alternative to the development of uniform hazard spectra or uniform confidence spectra.