• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.11-27
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• 2019

Dementia is major epidemic disease of the 21st century in the world. Dementia is one of the major issues in public health globally. Also in Korea, the estimated prevalence of dementia was 8.7%(0.47 million) in 2010, the number will reach the 1 million mark in 2024, it will become a 15.1%(2.71 million) by 2050. Among Koreans aged 65 or older, 725,000 are estimated to be suffering from dementia in 2017. Against dementia, Korea developed three National Dementia Plans in 2008, 2012, and 2016. The 1st plan was came into effect in 2008 and focused on prevention, early diagnostic, development and coordination of infrastructures and management, and improving awareness. The 2nd plan was launched in 2012, addressed the same priorities but had a stronger focus on supporting family members. In 2012 the Dementia Management Act established a statutory basis for organization of the National Dementia Plans. Under the Dementia Management Act, the government is required to produce a comprehensive plan for dementia every 5 years. The Act also orders that the government should register the dementia patients and collect statistics on epidemiology and the management of the dementia conditions. The Dementia Management Act of Korea required the operation of the National Institute of Dementia and Metropolitan/Provincial Dementia Centers to make and carry out dementia management plans throughout the nation. The Act also mandate to establish Dementia Counselling Centers in every public health center and the National Dementia Helpline. The 3rd National Dementia Plan of 2016 aims to build a dementia friendly community to ensure people with dementia and their carer live well. This plan focus on community-based prevention and management of dementia, convenient and safe diagnosis, treatment, and care for people with dementia, the reduction of the care burden for family care-givers of people with dementia, and support for dementia research through research, statistics and technology. In 2017, Moon's government will introduce the "National Dementia Responsibility System," which guarantees most of the burden caused by dementia. This plan include that the introduction of a ceiling on self-pay for dementia diseases, expansion of the application of dementia care standards through alleviating the support criteria for long-term care insurance for mild dementia, expansion of dementia support centers, expansion of national and public dementia care facilities. In the meantime, Korea has accomplished many accomplishments by establishing many measures related to dementia and promoting related projects in a short time, but there are still many challenges.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2017

Objectives: In this study, we analyzed vision statements of the 6th community health plan of local government in Korea. Methods: We examined vision statements letters, missions and strategy plans, and long-term missions of 6th community health plans of 229 local government in Korea. We also analyzed the numbers of vision letters, sentence examination, word frequency, each vision statement with frequency analysis, chi-square test, and one-way ANOVA. Results: Among 229 local government, 172(75.1%) of local government had the number of letters (Korean) less than 17 of vision statements, and there were a significant differences according to type of community health centers (p<0.05). Figuration (37.1%) were the most used in an expression of vision statement sentence, and special characters (43.2%) were the most used language except Korean. The most commonly used words of vision statement in order of frequency were 'health', 'happiness', 'with', 'citizen', 'city', '100 years old' etc. Chungcheong provinces and Daejeon metropolitan city had a highest score in directionality on phrase evaluation, and there were a significant differences according to regional classes of local government (p<0.01). Gyeongsang provinces, Ulsan, Daegu, and Busan metropolitan cities had a highest score in future orientation and sharing possibilities on phrase evaluation, and there were a significant differences according to regional classes of local government (p<0.01). Conclusions: Vision is one of the most important component of community health plan. We need more detailed 'vision statement guideline' and the community health care centers of local government should effort to make more clear and complete their vision.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.159-175
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• 2002

This present study was conducted to reduce problems by analyzing training and work of sex education counselors and to come up with ways of improving sex education counseling. A survey was performed in 57 subjects at health centers who finished training on sex education counseling in Taegu Metropolitan City and cities, kuns, and gus of Kyongsangbuk Province from December, 1999 to February, 2000 on general characteristics, items relating to the work of sex education, and ways of improving work. The results are as follows. Out of the sex education counselors, there were 55 females, taking 99% out of the total counselors, and the average age of these counselors was 42 years. There were 26 nurses, and their government grade was level 7 in 36 and level 6 in 14. The members who had finished sex education counseling at each public health center was 2.1 counselors at an average. Among those had finished sex education training, 30 was not in sex counseling. When analyzed the answers given by 27 sex counselors who were counseling at the time and the results are as follows. As for the amount of work, 15 answered to have too much work and 1 little; as for having pride on being a sex education counselor, 18 answered to felt pride and 7 so-so; as for materials for sex education and counseling, 25 answered to use videos, 23 books, 10 pictures, 8 beam projectors, and 7 slides. All of the subjects answered to have other responsibilities besides sex education and counseling, and the satisfaction felt on having other responsibilities was 6 satisfied, 12 average, and 2 dissatisfied. The proportion of work load in sex education counselors was other work besides sex education 76.2%, sex education at schools 7.6%. collecting sex education materials 5.7%, counseling of adolescents 4.9%. development of sex education materials 3.5%, and administrative work related to sex education 3.1%. The biggest problem of their work was over-load in 9 respondents, lack of sex education materials in 8, lack of training in 6, and shortage of professionals in 2. As for the answer on the ways of improving matters related to work of sex education counselors, the most frequent answer was that the organizations responsible for sex education needs to be more professional and systematic, followed by dividing the work load so that they could concentrate on developing education materials and sex education and counseling. Thus, the results of the present study indicated that in order to utilize human resources efficiently, the speciality of counselors needs to be considered when making personnel transfers among health centers, and continued activity as a sex education counselor needs to promoted by reducing other overloading tasks. And systematic re-training of the counselors needs to be done, and education manuals that are diverse and realistic to applicable to the children, who are to be the subjects of sex education, need to be developed and distributed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.2597-2606
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• 2014

Background: There is a scarcity of information about the proportion of the adult Saudi population that meet the recommended guidelines of physical activity (PA) to reduce cancer risk. Moreover, their awareness about the role of PA in cancer prevention is unclear. Objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed at estimating the proportion of adult Saudis meeting the PA guidelines, specifically those recommended by American Cancer Society (ACS) for cancer prevention, and to assess the public awareness about the role of PA in cancer prevention. Materials and Methods: Using a multistage sampling method, 2,127 adult Saudis of both genders were recruited from 6 urban and 4 rural primary health care centers in Al Hassa, Saudi Arabia. Participants were personally interviewed to gather information about their sociodemographic characteristics, searching activity about PA and cancer, and the time spent in leisure time PA (moderate and vigorous)/week using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire with show cards. Finally, items about the role of PA in cancer risk reduction were inquired. Results: Of the included participants, 11.6% met the recommendations for cancer prevention (${\geq}45$ minutes of moderate-vigorous PA activity/${\geq}5$ days/week or 225 minutes/week). Multivariate regression showed that being male (AOR=1.49, CI=1.09-2.06), <20 years of age (AOR=3.11, CI=2.03-4.76), and unemployed (AOR=2.22, CI=1.57-3.18) were significant predictors for meeting PA recommendations for cancer prevention. Only 11.4% of the sample indicated correctly the frequency and duration of PA required for an average adult to be physically active and while >70% of them indicated the role of PA in prevention of hypertension, coronary heart disease and lowering elevated blood cholesterol, only 18.6% and 21.7% correctly mentioned the role of PA in reducing colon and breast cancer risk, respectively. Poor knowledge was found among those with less than college education and aged ${\geq}50$ years. The level of knowledge was significantly positively correlated with total leisure time PA of the participants. Conclusions: A minority of adult Saudis in Al Hassa was aware about the role of PA in cancer prevention and engaged in sufficient LTPA for cancer risk reduction benefits, highlighting the need for public health actions to include policies and programs that address factors deterring their participation in LTPA and increasing their awareness with remedies to manage the prevalent misconceptions.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2015

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to suggest factors related with the job satisfaction of interviewers who participated in Community Health Survey (CHS) in Jeonbuk province. Methods: An interview survey was carried out, targeting all 70 interviewers who were working at Jeonbuk CHS from Oct. 20 to Oct. 31. 2011. Results: As a result of carrying out a univariate analysis of job satisfaction factors by general characteristics, this study found out that interviewers at the age below 40 showed a higher emotional factor-related score than interviewers at the age over 40, and interviewers having participated a statistic survey more than 6 times showed a higher emotional factor-related score than interviewers having participated a statistic survey less than 5 times. As a result of carrying out a multiple regression analysis of factors by general characteristics, this study found out that as interviewers were older, they showed a lower emotional factor-related satisfaction score and job performance factor-related satisfaction score, and their job satisfaction score was higher when a single interviewer conducts a survey than when more than 2 interviewers conduct a survey. Conclusions: The interviewer's job satisfaction score was relatively low. This results strongly suggest that it is necessary to understand their job performance environment and work environment most of all. It is expected that the results of this study will be used as basic data needed to increase the job satisfaction of interviewers from CHS and improve the quality of survey data.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.12 no.7
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• pp.357-364
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• 2014

The aim of the study was to identify the effects of a social-support-based walking program for residents in rural areas. Data were collected from 120 residents who are residential in Chungcheongnam-do and participated in walking program at community health centers from March and September 2013. Collected data included body mass index, body fat mass, and skeletal muscle mass and physical Activity. The data were analyzed using a paired t-test with SPSS19.0. This study showed that a 7-month walking program had positive effects on the physical health index, representing reductions in the body mass index(t=-12.418, p<.001), body fat mass indes(t=13.031, p<.001) and an improvement in the skeletal muscle mass(t=-12.642, p<.001). Health behavior index; dietary practice guideline score(t= -4.324, p<.001), physical activity day(t=-8.715, p<.001), high risk drinking day(t=6.298, p<.001) were improved through walking program. These results indicated that the walking program for the community was effective in improving the health status of the participants. Therefore, I suggest that the development and running of various social-support-based walking program be required by applying the results.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.28-34
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• 1983

In spite of the world-wide increase of incidence of pesticide poisoning due to greater use of pesticides, the epidemiological study of pesticide poisoning in Korea has been grossly neglected. The author gained access to the medical records for two year period (1981 through 1982) from local clinics, hospitals and health centers of Kyungpook area to investigate the status of the pesticide poisoning. During these two years, there were 1,618 cases of documented pesticide poisoning, of which in 1981 were 765 and in 1982 were 853. Those in the twenties decade of age was the most frequent and the male(70%) was more liable than the female (30%). In view of manner of poisoning, occupational poisoning was 27.8%, accidental 5.6%, and suicidal 66.6%. There are three distinct groups which make up the large majority of both fatal and nonfatal cases; young children who accidentally ingest pesticides, young to middle age adult who are occupationally poisoned, and middle age to older adults who suicidally ingest pesticides. The seasonal distribution of these poisonings disclosed the peak month to be July, with August next, followed by June and September. Only 11% of cases occurred during the three-month winter season of December to February. Thus pesticide caused poison- ing was primarily a summer and early fall occurrence. During these two years, average of 67 cases of poisoning was observed monthly. Of the pesticide poisoning documented, 49% were treated with poisoning patients from local clinic and 43% from hospital. The case fatality rate of occupational poisoning was 0.9%, accidental 5.6% and suicidal 20.3%. The mean overall case fatality rate was 14.1%. Annual incidence of pesticide poisoning was 25.4 per 100,000 population in the study area. There is a nationwide need for more reliable date on pesticide poisoning. This need can only grow more acute with the passage of time because of the increasing importance of pesticides as a cause of morbidity and mortality.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.463-476
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• 2016

Objectives: Environmental, social and personal factors influence eating patterns. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between unhealthy food outlets within a residential area and obesity using nationally representative Korean survey data and data from the Census on Establishments. Methods: Data on the food intakes and socioeconomic variables of a total of 9,978 adults aged ${\geq}19$ years were obtained from the 2013-2014 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Geographic locations of restaurants were obtained from the 2013 Census on Establishments in Korea. Administrative area was categorized into tertiles of count of unhealthy food outlets based on the distribution of number of unhealthy food outlets among all urban (Dong) and rural (Eup or Myun) administrative districts in Korea. Multilevel logistic regressions model were used to assess the association between the number of unhealthy food outlets and obesity. Results: People living in the district with the highest count of unhealthy food outlets had higher intakes of fat (45.8 vs. 44.4 g/day), sodium (4,142.6 vs. 3,949.8 mg/day), and vitamin A (753.7 vs. $631.6 {\mu}gRE/day$) compared to those living in the district with the lowest count of unhealthy food outlets. A higher count of unhealthy food outlets was positively associated with frequent consumption of instant noodles, pizza, hamburgers and sandwiches, sweets and sour pork or pork cutlets, fried chicken, snacks, and cookies. Higher exposure to unhealthy food outlets was associated with increased odds of obesity (1st vs. 3rd tertile; OR 1.689; 95% CI 1.098-2.599). Conclusions: A high count of unhealthy food outlets within a residential area is positively associated with the prevalence of obesity in Korea. The results suggest that food environmental factors affects the health outcomes and interventions aiming to restrict the availability of unhealthy food outlets in local neighborhoods may be a useful obesity prevention strategy.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.513-538
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• 2013

As a childcare program of TaeHwa Christian Women's Institution in 1921, the childcare system in Korea was incepted. Since then, the political foothold of childcare system has steadily been advancing to provide high quality services to young children. In almost a hundred-year-history of public childcare in Korea, depending on the changes enforced on the related laws and regulations and varying perspectives over time, the administration office accountable for childcare policies has been authorized to the Ministries of Health, Social Affairs, Education, Labor, Home Affairs, Rural Development Administration, and/or others. But as of 1991, under the enactment of Infant and Child Care Act, it was changed to be administered by the unified authority of the Health and Social Welfare Ministry. Then, in 2004 and 2007, its statutory authority, respectively, transferred to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and back to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. Staring of the Infant and Child Care Act in 1991, Korean childcare policies have been managed by the dual systems of the Education Ministry and the Health and Social Welfare Ministry each holding jurisdiction over kindergartens and childcare centers, respectively. Faced with the recent marked decline of birth rate, diverse childcare policies are currently implemented in the pursuit of finding means to enhance the quality of childcare and to develop policies for the restoration of the low birth rate. This study presented distinct features of current childcare policies and discussed about future directions and challenges of these policies.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.1-11
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• 1993

Most developing countries are experiencing rapid urbanization and the associated growth of industry and services. Cities are currently absorbing two-thirds of the total population in the developing world. Korea has about 85 percent of urban dwellers. World population will shift from being predominantly rural to predominantly urban around the turn of the century. Although cities play a key role in development process and make more than a proportionate contribution to national economic growth, especially cities are also the main catalysts of economic growth in developing countries, they can also be unhealthy, inefficient, and inequitable places to live. Most developing countries are increasingly unable to provide basic environmental infrastructure and services, whether in the megacities or in secondary urban centers. Of particular concern is the strain on natural resources brought by the increasing number of people, cars, and factories. They are generating ever greater amounts of urban wastes and emissions. They also exceed the capacity of regulatory authorities to control them and of nature to assimilate them. The environmental consequences are translated into direct negative impacts on human health, the quality of life, the productivity of the city, and the surrounding ecosystems. Environmental degradation threatens the long tenn availability and quality of natural resources critical to economic growth. Cities, with their higher and growing per capita energy use for domestic, industrial, and transport purpose also contribute a disproportionate share of the emission leading to global warming and acid rain. An important priority is to develop strategic approaches for managing the urban environment. The design of appropriate and lasting strategic responses requires first an understanding of the underlying causes of urban environmental deterioration, it is necessary that longer tenn objectives should be set for urban area to avoid irreversible ecological damage and to ensure lasting economic development. As a means to the preventive policies against the adverse effect, environmental impact assessment (EIA) serve to identify a project's possible environmental consequences early enough to allow their being taken into consideration in the decision making process for urban planning. This paper describes some considerations of EIA for urban planning-scoping, assessment process, measurement and prediction of impacts, pollution controls and supervision, and system planning for environmental preservation.