• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2020

Background: Childbirth represents a significant transition for women, with physical and psychological sequelae. Reentry to the workplace during the postpartum period is understudied, with implications for maternal well-being and job-related outcomes. This study's aim was to examine selected pregnancy, childbirth, and return-to-work correlates of overall self-rated health within the first month of work reentry after maternity leave. Methods: Between December 2016 and January 2017, we surveyed women employed at a large, public Midwestern university who had given birth in the past five years (N = 249) to examine self-rated overall health in the first month of work reentry. Using ordinal logistic regression, we examined whether physical or psychological health problems during pregnancy, childbirth complications, length of maternity leave, and depression and anxiety at work reentry were related to overall health. Results: Women who experienced depression (odds ratio [OR] = 0.096 [95% confidence interval {CI} = 0.019 to 0.483, p = 0.004]) and anxiety (OR = 0.164, [95% CI = 0.042 to 0.635, p = 0.009]) nearly every day reported worse health at work reentry than those with no symptoms. Controlling for demographics and mental health, women who experienced medical problems during pregnancy (OR = 0.540 [95% CI = 0.311 to .935, p = 0.028]) were more likely to report poor health, while taking a longer maternity leave (OR = 14.552 [95% CI = 4.934 to 42.918, p < 0.001]) was associated with reporting better health at work reentry. Conclusion: Women who experience medical complications during pregnancy, return to the workplace too soon after birth, and experience mental health symptoms are vulnerable physically as they return to work.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.429-438
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• 2017

The main objectives of this study are to examine the effects of self-rated health on depression and to examine the moderating effect of satisfaction with social relationship and leisure on relationship between self-rated health and depression in the elderly with chronic illness. To do this, we analyzed 4,831 elderly people with chronic illness using the 10th Korea Welfare Panel data in 2015. To investigate the moderating effects of variables, we conducted a hierarchial regression analysis and confirmed the change $R^2$. As a result of that, first, subjective health, satisfaction with social relationship and satisfaction with leisure had a direct impact on depression. The results show that the better self-rated health of the elderly is, the higher satisfaction with social relationship is and the higher satisfaction with leisure is, the lower depression is. Second, it was found that satisfaction with social relationship and leisure was moderating variables in the relationship of subjective health and depression. This shows that the approach to the subjective aspect of the parties is important rather than the quantitative approach to the social interaction or leisure life. Based on this results, this study has proposed the implications and limitations of it and suggestions for further study.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.129-137
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• 2019

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between self-rated oral health, self-rated health, and quality of life (QOL) among older population from the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES VII-1, 2016). Data of 1,866 older adults (Mean age 69.5 years) were analyzed with hierarchical logistic regression analyses with IBM SPSS 23.0. Over 87.7% of the subjects rated their oral health as fair or poor. Women and less educated participants more likely to report their perceived oral health as poor (p<.05). Older participants who rated their general health positively were more likely to rate their oral health as good (F=19.04, p<.001). Elders who had bad perceived health (OR: 2.86, 95% CI: 1.5~5.5), had carries in permanent teeth (OR: 2.68, 95% CI: 1.67~4.32) and anxiety or depression (OR: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.42~2.57) had negative oral health perception after controlling for covariates. In conclusion, perceived oral health and QOL were associated with each other in Korean older adults. Therefore, it is recommended to approach holistic strategy for improve health and quality of life in the elderly population.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.22-31
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• 2011

Objectives: We examined gender differential changes in employment-related health inequalities according to occupational position (professional/nonprofessional) in South Korea during the last decade. Methods: Data were taken from four rounds of Social Statistical Surveys of South Korea (1995, 1999, 2003, and 2006) from the Korean National Statistics Office. The total study population was 55435 male and 33913 female employees aged 25-64. Employment arrangements were divided into permanent, fixed-term, and daily employment. Results: After stratification according to occupational position (professional/nonprofessional) and gender, different patterns in employment - related health inequalities were observed. In the professional group, the gaps in absolute and relative employment inequalities for poor self-rated health were more likely to widen following Korea's 1997 economic downturn. In the nonprofessional group, during the study period, graded patterns of employment-related health inequalities were continuously observed in both genders. Absolute health inequalities by employment status, however, decreased among men but increased among women. In addition, a remarkable increase in relative health inequalities was found among female temporary and daily employees (p = 0.009, < 0.001, respectively), but only among male daily employees (p = 0.001). Relative employment-related health inequalities had clearly widened for female daily workers between 2003 and 2006 (p = 0.047). The 1997 Korean economic downturn, in particular, seemingly stimulated a widening gap in employment health inequalities. Conclusions: Our study revealed that whereas absolute health inequalities in relation to employment status increased in the professional group, relative employment-related health inequalities increased in the nonprofessional group, especially among women. In view of the high concentration of female nonstandard employees, further monitoring of inequality should consider gender specific patterns according to employee's occupational and employment status.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.518-527
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the factors influencing health-related quality of life among spouses of older adults with dementia based on an ecological model. Methods: This study used data from the 2015 Korean Community Health Survey with the subjects of 541 spouses of older adults with dementia. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, ANOVA, and hierarchical multiple regression. Results: In this study, 26.5% of quality of life was explained by employment status, physical activity, perception of stress, perception of depressive symptom, self-rated health status, self-rated oral health status, and contact with neighbors. Conclusion: To develop more effective nursing intervention for improvement of quality of life, it needs to consider not only the individual system related factors but also community system related factors including contact with neighbors.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.245-257
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• 2015

Purpose: This study was performed to investigate the present condition of drug abuse and its association with depression, self-rated health and health behaviors by job status in Korean adults. Methods: Data were derived from the study on four addiction problem and suicide in 2014. Multiple logistic regression was used to analyze patterns of drug abuse according to depression, self-rated health and health behaviors. Results: The prevalence of drug abuse during the past year was 17.1% of the 4,018 subjects. About 3.3 times risk for drug abuse was found among individuals who had high depression scores. The risk of drug abuse was higher among those who were smoking (OR:1.46, 95% CI:1.17~1.83), drinking more frequently (OR:1.30, 95% CI:1.07~1.58), sleeping insufficiently (OR:1.31, 95% CI:1.03~1.67), eating irregularly (OR:1.45, 95% CI:1.19~1.76). Drug abuse problem was detected more seriously among employed than unemployed adults. Conclusion: Health-related behaviors, such as smoking, drinking, sleeping, eating should be considered simultaneously when designing strategies to deal with drug abuse problem, and it is important to understand the interaction between drug abuse and mental health. Furthermore, workplace based intervention can be effective in solving drug abuse problem.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.277-289
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• 2016

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the cross-sectional association of company size and self-rated health using representative data on Korean workers. Methods: We used the data from 2,884 wage workers collected by Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (17th). The association between company size and self-rated health was analyzed using logistic regression with covariates including demographic characteristics, work environment, job satisfaction, and health-related behaviors. Resulst: Odds ratio (OR) for better health status among workers in large-sized company was 1.351 (CI. 1.054~1.731), compared to workers in small-sized company. We performed three separate models stratified by firm size (small, medium, and large companies). Occupation variables showed different effect on health depending on firm sizes. OR for better health of white-color job (referred to blue-color job) was 1.693 in medium-sized company model but it was 0.615 in large company model. OR for better health of the workers working shift work showed 0.606 in large company model but it was not significant in small and medium company models. Conclusion: We found that small-sized company workers have significantly poor self-rated health compared to large-sized firm workers. This study revealed that there exist differences among health related factors depending on firm sizes.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.199-211
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• 2023

Purpose : Rapid population aging in South Korea is emerging as serious social problems, and interest in the health-related quality of life of the elderly is also increasing. Therefore, this study attempted to provide basic data to develop measures to improve the health-related quality of life of the elderly by identifying the impact of the elderly's dietary lifestyle on the health-related quality of life. Methods : Utilizing raw data from the Korea national health and nutrition examination survey spanning from 2011 to 2020, this study focused on individuals aged 65 and above. After excluding cases with missing data, 12,731 individuals were included in the final analysis. Various statistical methods including frequency analysis, t-tests, ANOVA, Scheffé test and hierarchical regression analysis were performed using SPSS 25.0 for windows. The statistical significance level (α) was set at .05. Results : The main results of this study were as follows. Firstly, dietary lifestyle exhibited variations depending on gender, age, education level, individual income, basic livelihood type, household type, self-rated health status, and chewing difficulty (p<.001). Secondly, there were disparities in health-related quality of life (as measured by the EQ-5D index) based on gender, age, education level, residence, individual income, basic livelihood security, self-rated health status, and chewing difficulty (p<.001). Thirdly, the EQ-5D index showed that elderly individuals' dietary lifestyle adversely impacted their health-related quality of life (F=353.74, p<.001). Conclusion : Therefore, it is necessary to prepare policies to improve the health-related quality of life by maintaining a proper diet for the elderly, and customized support and management is required taking into account the elderly's gender, age, education level, individual income, basic livelihood security, household type, self-rated health status, chewing difficulty etc.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.72-83
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• 2009

Purpose: This study was to investigate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and risk factors in elderly people (old vs oldest-old) with arthritis. Methods: The Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA) was used with a sample of 1,084 elderly people with arthritis aged 65 or above. Results: We found that the prevalence of depressive symptom was greater for oldest-old people (66.7%) compared to old people (56%). Significant differences between old people and oldest-old people were found for education, living with spouse, number of generation, regular exercise, body mass index (BMI), ADL limitation, self-rated health, and depression. Significant differences existed between depression and non-depression in terms of all variables except region and BMI among old people. But, among the oldest people, ADL limitation and self-rated health showed differences. The Logistic regression analysis revealed that religion, medical comorbidity, ADL limitation, self-rated health were significantly associated with depressive symptoms in old people. But, in oldest-old people, none of the variables were associated with depressive symptoms. Conclusion: The findings show that there are age differences in depression and related factors in elderly people with arthritis. Longitudinal studies, which covered depressive symptom severity and which are controlled for a large number of potential confounders, will need to complement the results of this study in the future.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.76-88
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the degree of sleep quality and its associated factors in adults. Methods: The data was collected from 986 adults aged 19 to 64 by convenience sampling. Subjects completed a questionnaire composed of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Beck Depression Inventory, and other questions that self-rated health and sociodemographic variables. Statistical methods used included descriptive statistics, simple logistic regression, and multiple logistic regression analyses. Results: The global PSQI score was 5.7. About 45% of the subjects were poor sleepers (global PSQI score >5). Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that factors significantly associated with sleep quality were depression and poor self-rated health in young and middle-aged adults. Depression was the most significant associated factor. The presence of a spouse was also associated with sleep quality in young adults. Conclusion: These findings suggest that people with poor sleep quality should have their health carefully screened for depression. In addition, we recommend the development of a nursing program for improving sleep quality.