• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.29 no.2 s.53
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• pp.311-329
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• 1996

This study was designed to compare the level of medical utilization between the urban and rural areas of Korea and to explain the differences between the two regions. Data from the National Health Interview Survey performed by the Korean Institute of Health & Social Affairs in 1992 were used for this study utilizing a sample size of 21,841 people. The level of medical utilization such as the number of physician visits and the number of hospital admissions was compared between the regions with ANOVA. Various determinants for medical use were also compared by univariate analysis. Statistical models which included enabling factors, predisposing factors, need factors and region were constructed for bivariate analysis in order to further elucidate the level of medical utilization. The results were as follows: 1. There was greater medical use, both in terms of physician visits and inpatient care in the rural areas in spite of insufficient health resources. The particular reasons for higher medical utilization in rural areas were attributed to a higher number of initial physician visits as well as a longer the length of stay per hospital admission. Therefore, indicators representing the degree of met need (utilization/need) showed no significant difference between rural and urban areas in spite of the fact that the medical need is larger in rural areas. 2. Use of public health facilities received a significant portion of physician visits in the rural area. The government's effort to enhance primary health care through health centers, health subcenters and the nurse practitioner's post in rural areas has contributed to the increase of access to medical care in the rural areas. 3. There were some differences in the socio-demographic characteristics between two regions ; There were more elderly people over the age of 65: unstable marital status, less education and lower incomes also characterized the rural areas. Therefore, among rural people, there were more predisposing factors for medical use. Additionaly, need factors such as poor self-reported health status and high morbidity level were also high in the rural area. 4. In contrast it was learned that, the supply of health resources was mostly concentrated in the urban areas except for public health facilities. Therefore, geographical access to medical care was lower in the rural area both in terms travel time and travel cost. 5. The coefficient of the region variable was insignificant in the regression model which controlled the supply factor only. However, utilization was significantly higher in urban areas if the model included predisposing factors and need factors in addition to the supply factor. The results were interpreted as rural people have greater medical needs.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.64-78
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• 1992

In this study, elementary school students of both urban and rural areas as its subjects were asked to draw 'A beautiful landscape' by employing the perspective representation technique, i. e., the Perception Map, and to write down the elements comprising 'A beautiful landscape' in the questionnaire sheets. By doing so, an attempt was made 1) to analyze whether there are differences in perceiving 'A beautiful landscape' according to the differences of the environment in which they were brought up ; and, if there are differences. 2) to identify them ; and based on that , 3) to present basic data for evaluation on landscape, on its preference analysis and for Park Planning. The summary of this study is as follows ; 1) The main elements, elementary school students think, comprising 'A beautiful landscape' are 25 ones such as Sky(7), Sea(2), Water(2), Topography(5), Plants(5), Animals(3), School(1), Rural village(1). The natural elements showing a difference are ; Water fall in urban areas and School landscape in rural areas ; the artificial elements are ; City groups(Structures, Facilities, Necessities, Transportation means and Space) in urban areas and School groups in rural areas. Especially, in case of rural area children, they regard 'Trees' as an essential element to be 'A beautiful landscape' comparing to those in urban areas. 2) According to the analysis result on the correlation between the elements comprising a beautiful rural landscape and a beautiful ruban landscape, the correlation between boys and girls is high, showing the same trend with any difference. In comparison of urban areas with rural areas, there is no difference between natural elements, but in artificial elements(7 groups without family) the correlation is quite low, showing that all comprising elements are not the same between rural schools and cities, between schools within the same areas, and between schools of different areas. 3) In identifying the names of elements comprising 'A beautiful landscape', Back-Du Mountain and Sorak Mountain are shown the highest frequency in the category of mountains. In the names of trees and flowers, the elementary school children are thought to consider the kinds of trees and flowers they can see always at hand, i. e., those in their school ground where they spend most of their day time. 4) In the analysis of the numbers of comprising elements according to the responses in the questionnaire sheets and in the Perception Map, 'less than 10' is the most frequently counted number of comprising elements by individual students regardless of rural and urban differences. When the total frequency is divided by the number of students, the mean score is 6-7 without any differences between rural and urban areas, implying that there are no differences in the expression ability between urban and rural schools. 5) According to the result of classyfying and analysizing the landscape appeared on the Perception Map by similar elements and by similar scenes, 'A beautiful landscape' thought by elementary school children is defined not as a standardized form but as 11 types such as the landscape of fields, the landscape of a sea, the landscape of a rural village, a type where elements are assembled, the landscape of cities, the landscape of a school, the landscape coming out of a imagination, and other landscape. Both rural and urban children all consider the landscape of mountains and field and the landscape where several elements are assembled as a commonly beautiful one. Among the landscapes showing rural and urban differences, it can be analyzed that urban children regard the landscapes of cities, imagination, and waterfalls as something characteristic, while rural children regard the landscape of schools and rural villages as something characteristic.

• Journal of International Academy of Physical Therapy Research
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.701-707
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• 2014

This study was carried out survey to compare using status of physical therapy for elderly persons between urban and rural area in Honam. There were 16 places consisting of general clinics, departments of family medicine, pain medicine, and orthopedics that run outpatient physical therapy. This study distributed 636 questionnaires in total and collected 400 responses. Regionally, 200 responses out of 311 questionnaires from Gwangju and 200 responses out of 325 questionnaires from Jeollanam-do and Jeollabuk-do were collected. Regionally speaking, Gwangju was 62% while Jeollanam-do and Jeollabuk-do regions were 88%, indicating patients in rural areas employed more public transportation, which was statistically significantly different. There was a difference between urban and rural areas with regard to questions regarding improvement with physical therapy. Factors related to the number of physical therapy visits per week that showed a significant difference between urban and rural areas found by the linear regression analysis result were working hours, whether the patient exercised or not, and pain stress. This result suggest that it is necessary to reduce working hours and pain stress experienced by rural elderlies as well as to encourage regular exercise via national polices.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.73-83
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between the physical environment and mental health of the adolescents in urban and rural areas. This study was performed using the questionnaire survey method. The research subjects were high school students in Seoul and Jeollabuk-do rural areas. The questionnaire inquired about the housing, neighborhood, and school environments, and these contents were depended on previous studies. The survey was conducted from August 27 to September 6, 2013, and 446 data were collected. They were analyzed with the SPSS 12.0 program. The main results are as follows. 1) The urban adolescents evaluated physical environment to be better than rural adolescents. Specifically, the urban adolescents evaluated 'facility/accommodation', 'security/health', 'amenity' of the housing environment, 'disorder', 'comfortability', 'nature awareness' of the neighborhood environment, and 'noise', 'overcrowding', and 'security' of the school environment to be higher. 2) The urban adolescents' self-esteem was significantly higher than rural ones. 3) The physical environment factors, which had effects on adolescents' mental health, are different depending on the areas, and so adolescents' physical environment would be designed by the local environment conditions.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.297-308
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• 2008

Previous research on elderly care in rural areas has focused on inter-generational support, ignoring the possibility of elderly care among community members in the rural areas of Korea. This study attempts to explore the roles and potentials of community-based elderly care in rural areas where nearby family or formal services are unavailable. For this purpose, data was collected from the elderly in three Korean rural villages using qualitative case study methods. Each village was studied as a separate case study and in-depth interviews with the elderly in each village were conducted. All interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim for the analysis. The data was analyzed using the Reflective Qualitative Analytic Technique. Results showed that rural elderly in all three villages had lunch, talked, and played together; almost everyday in the winter. However, the nature of care among rural elderly varied depending on the characteristics of the rural community (the traditional rural, the rural mixed with the urban, and the neighboring rural with the urban). Specifically, the use of mutual aids (providing food, repairing housing, and checking personal safety by telephone or visit, etc.) was most consistent at the traditional rural village. Because both the rural village mixed with the urban and the neighboring rural village with urban have better access to many aids and programs from formal institutions, mutual aids among community members decreased compared with the traditional rural village. However, regular group activities such as sports, dancing or debate help to provide pleasure and integrate the community. These results suggest that community relationships as a substitution for social support provide by family or formal services can be utilized in rural areas.

• The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.100-108
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare healthy life style and chronic disease management between urban and rural older adults. Methods: The study employed a comparative and descriptive survey design. Data were collected from 154 older adults living independently in communities (79 from urban and 75 from rural areas) using structured questionaries from 24 July, 2010 to 14 August, 2011. Results: Perceived health status was significantly lower in urban older adults than those in rural areas ($x^2$=13.27, p = .001). Frequency of regular health examination was better in the urban group than the rural group ($x^2$=4.71, p = .030). Among older adults with hypertension, medication noncompliance was higher, and participation rate in disease management education was lower in the rural group than the urban group ($x^2$=6.43, p = .040; $x^2$=23.51, p<.001, respectively) and the same as arthritis. Conclusion: Rural older adults had more problems with health and disease management in this study, might be, due to difficulties in access to health care services than urban residents. More tailored programs of disease management as well as health service programs and staffing should be developed in rural areas. For urban older adults, meal preparation program and more opportunities producing income may be needed.

• Journal of Agricultural Extension & Community Development
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.355-363
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to develop a culture and leisure resources scale and examine the validity of the scale. The culture and Leisure resources scale was developed and identified its validity by exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and correlation analysis. The culture and leisure resources scale consisted of four factors, which were 'personal resources', 'support staff resources', 'facility resources', and 'program resources'. Those four factors indicated the reasonable fit indices from confirmatory factor analysis. In addition, this scale showed convergent validity with the satisfaction of cultural and leisure environment and the satisfaction of one's cultural and leisure life. The result of scale score comparison between rural and urban areas showed that culture and leisure resources in rural areas were less abundant than those in urban areas. Furthermore, while the variables which affected the satisfaction of urban residents' were mainly 'personal resources', the variables in case of rural residents' were mainly 'program resources' and 'facility Resources'. The culture and leisure resources scale can be used for policymakers practicably to evaluate regional level of culture and leisure resources, to compare between regions and to find policy priorities for improving the quality of leisure, especially for disadvantaged areas with less resources.

• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.333-347
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study was intended to examine the importance and role of social capital in the local community, and empirically identify the relationships among the social capital, community spirit, resident satisfaction, and community participation of the residents of urban-rural complex areas. Methods: This study conducted a survey was conducted with residents of the urban-rural complex areas to collect data, and the data were statistically and empirically analyzed to verify the hypothesis. Results: As a result of the study, first, networks and trust as local social capital were found to have positive effects on local attachment. Second, networks and trust were found to have positive effects on social ties. Third, local attachment and social ties were found to have positive effects on resident satisfaction. Finally, community participation was found to have moderating effects on the relationship between social ties and resident satisfaction. Conclusion: Through this study, the importance and role of local social capital in urban-rural complex areas, where regional problems are highly likely to occur, were reviewed, and basic data necessary to solve the social problems at hand in urban-rural complex areas and promote continuous development were provided can be said to be the significance of this study.

• The Korean Journal of Franchise Management
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.21-41
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• 2015

The purpose of the study is to review the real situations of the income-gap between urban and rural areas which is focused on as one of the biggest issues revealed in the process of Chinese economic development and to find out which factors will alleviate or deteriorate such income-gap, also to find out such factors will effect differently on the regional characteristics. To analyze it, six factors such as industrialization-ratio, urbanization-ratio, tertiary industry-ratio, the level of both governmental educational support and agricultural support, and Chinese dual-economic structure are considered as explanatory variables, and OLS regression analysis was implemented to the factor data for the period of 1986-2007 about Chinese 31 districts(castles and cities). The results of the analysis show that both industrialization factors and urbanization factors affect significantly to alleviate income-gap between urban and rural areas, and as predicted, they also shows that dual-economic structure between urban and rural areas is the most biggest factors to enlarge the above mentioned income-gap. However, in accordance to the different level of economic development in eastern, central, and western districts the study shows that such factors will affect them differently respectively. The contents are as follows; In eastern district governmental educational support factor will affect the most great influence to alleviate the income-gap, in central district industrialization factor will affect the most great influence to alleviate the gap, and western district governmental agricultural support factor will affect the most great influence to alleviate the gap. Therefore, in solving the issue of income-gap between urban and rural areas in China we recommend that it is necessary for more differential policy in considering regional characteristics than unilateral policy to Chinese whole areas.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.261-275
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• 1994

The annual ring widths of tree and the vertical distribution of fine roots were investigated at 33 sites of pitch pine forests in Seoul, its vicinity and rural areas. The annual ring widths among 16 - 20 year-old pitch pines in urban areas were significantly lower than those in rural areas. The annual ring widths for the latest 5 years (1985-1989) for the age class of 11-20, 21-30 and 31-40 year old pines increased in the following order for all the age classes: urban areas< suburbs