• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.78 no.4
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• pp.326-335
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• 2015

Background: Asian dust is known to have harmful effects on the respiratory system. Respiratory conditions are also influenced by environmental conditions regardless of the presence of pollutants. The same pollutant can have different effects on the airway when the air is dry compared with when it is humid. We investigated hospital visits for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma in relation to the environmental conditions. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study using the Korean National Health Insurance Service claims database of patients who visited hospitals in Chuncheon between January 2006 and April 2012. Asian dust, haze, mist, and fog days were determined using reports from the Korea Meteorological Administration. Hospital visits for asthma or COPD on the index days were compared with the comparison days. We used two-way case-crossover techniques with one to two matching. Results: The mean hospital visits for asthma and COPD were $59.37{\pm}34.01$ and $10.04{\pm}6.18$ per day, respectively. Hospital visits for asthma significantly increased at lag0 and lag1 for Asian dust (relative risk [RR], 1.10; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.19; p<0.05) and haze (RR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.06-1.22; p<0.05), but were significantly lower on misty (RR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.80-0.99; p<0.05) and foggy (RR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.84-0.93; p<0.05) days than on control days. The hospital visits for COPD also significantly increased on days with Asian dust (RR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.05-1.59; p<0.05), and were significantly lower at lag4 for foggy days, compared with days without fog (RR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.75-0.97; p<0.05). Conclusion: Asian dust showed an association with airway diseases and had effects for several days after the exposure. In contrast to Asian dust, mist and fog, which occur in humid air conditions, showed the opposite effects on airway diseases, after adjusting to the pollutants. It would require more research to investigate the effects of various air conditions on airway diseases.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.111-119
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• 1973

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not the delivery of health services effects the health knowledge of the recipients of that service. 10 was hypothesized that the practical application of theory, though health services rendered by public health nursing students during their field experiences. would have a positive relationship with the quantity and quality of health knowledge of the female population of a given community. In April 1970, ninety five women(between an age 15-49) from Koyang-Gun were interviewed regarding their knowledge and attitudes in four areas of health: maternal health, child health. family planning and tuberculosis prevention. After 11 years(Nov. l971), during which time the women received home visits by student nurses, the women were again interviewed using the original questionnaire. Additionally, they were asked where they had received information about each question. During the 1$\frac{1}{2}$ year period the visits were made by a total of 112 students. They visited the community twice a week. The result were as follows: Maternal health There was marked improvement in the knowledge of specific aspects of maternal health such as the proper instruments needed for cutting the cord and nutritional precaution of pregnancy (p<0.05). In each case 42.0 percent of more of this knowledge was attributed to information gained from the nursing students. However even after the nursing students'visits, the knowledge of other general areas of maternal remained poor. Child health There were increases in the knowledge of the respondents for the time to supplement breast feeding and for time to wean infants (p<0.05). In each case 35.0 percent or more of this information was attributed to the student. The increase in knowledge regarding types of immunization was more often attributed to the clinic nurse than to the nursing students. Knowledge of the necessity of booster immunization was poor both before and after the visits by the nursing students. Family planing There were significant increases in correct information regarding the time of I.U.D. insertion (P<0.05) and method of taking the oral pill (P<0.05). More than 42.0 percent of the increase was attributed to the nursing students'visits. However there was a slight decrease in correct information about concept of family planning. Tuberculosis There was a general lack of improvement in all areas concerned with tuberculosis. Two thirds of the respondents felt tuberculosis was hereditary and did not know what B.C.G. was. From this study, it could be concluded that in specific area the health knowledge of the female population studied was positively effected by the visits of the nursing students. The study also, suggests, however, that there was a marked unevenness in the overall increase in health knowledge. This raises serious questions which require further research. Suggested areas for further research are (1) Adequacy of the course content preparing nurses for the field experience. (2) A public health nursing manual for student reference. (3) Where and when specific aspects of health can be taught most effectively.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.185-196
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• 2015

Background: Issues concerning with the classification accuracy of Korean Outpatient Groups (KOPGs) have been raised by providers and researchers. The KOPG is an outpatient classification system used to measure casemix of outpatient visits and to adjust provider risk in charges by the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service in managing insurance payments. The objective of this study were to refine KOPGs to improve the classification accuracy and to evaluate the refinement. Methods: We refined the rules used to classify visits with multiple procedures, newly defined chemotherapy drug groups, and modified the medical visit indicators through reviews of other classification systems, data analyses, and consultations with experts. We assessed the improvement by measuring % of variation in case charges reduced by KOPGs and the refined system, Enhanced KOPGs (EKOPGs). We used claims data submitted by providers to the HIRA during the year 2012 in both refinement and evaluation. Results: EKOPGs explicitly allowed additional payments for multiple procedures with exceptions of packaging of routine ancillary services and consolidation of related significant procedures, and discounts ranging from 30% to 70% were defined in additional payments. Thirteen chemotherapy drug KOPGs were added and medical visit indicators were streamlined to include codes for consultation fees for outpatient visits. The % of variance reduction achieved by EKOPGs was 48% for all patients whereas the figure was 40% for KOPGs, and the improvement was larger in data from tertiary and general hospitals than in data from clinics. Conclusion: A significant improvement in the performance of the KOPG was achieved by refining payments for visits with multiple procedures, defining groups for visits with chemotherapy, and revising medical visit indicators.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.35-41
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• 1979

Of 42 children, 21 in male and 21 in female, whose ages ranged from 2 to 5 years old, the response of young children to their initial series of dental visits was examined. The results were as follows; 1. With continued experience, the child's response improved, indicating desensitization to dental stress. 2. Experience may reduce the general amount of negative response by allowing the child to accurately distinguish between stressful and non-stressful procedures.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.47-60
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• 2012

Sino-Japanese relations suffered a great setback during the premiership of Koizumi $Jun'ichir{\bar{o}}$ (2001-2006). Although many factors, such as dispute over the resources of the East China Sea or Japan's anxiety about China's growing military expenditures, are accountable for this situation, it was Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni Shrine that became a symbol of the controversies between the two countries. The Yasukuni issue triggered a real eruption of profound anti-Japanese feelings among the Chinese people. While commentators in China accused Koizumi of glorifying militarism and whitewashing the atrocities committed by Japanese soldiers during the Second World War, the Japanese public started perceiving China's "exaggerated" reaction as a convenient diplomatic tool used by China to apply pressure on Japan in other bilateral disputes. On the one hand, spontaneous protests against Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni Shrine constituted a great constraint in China's diplomacy towards Japan, but on the other, they also became an ideal pretext for adopting a tougher stance in Chinese foreign policy. In this paper, I examine different points of view on the Yasukuni issue. After describing the Japanese background of the visits to the controversial shrine, I analyze various interpretations of China's reaction to the problem. Although emotions dominated discourse on the Yasukuni issue both in Japan and China, some pragmatic attempts to use this problem can still be seen. Besides being a side-effect of Koizumi's strong personality, the Yasukuni issue could be used either as a tool of factional struggle in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or as an instrument of Chinese foreign policy towards Japan.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.324-332
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• 2016

Objectives: The annual average of PM10 in Seoul was $45{\mu}/m^3$, which surpasses the WHO annual guidelines ($20{\mu}/m^3$). Most previous analyses of the effects of PM exposure have been retrospective studies using single hospital data, and fewer studies have attempted to address the relationship of PM10 and hospital costs. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of the concentration of PM10 on hospital visits, admissions and hospital costs in patients with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Methods: Medical data from the National Health Insurance Service and the monthly average of PM10 from National Institute of Environmental Research were used to identify the effects of PM10 on hospital visits, admissions and hospital costs. We applied Poisson regression and linear regression to perform the analysis. Results: The relative risks for admissions per $10{\mu}/m^3$ increase in PM10 were 23.11%, 10.2% and 6.9% increases for acute bronchiolitis, asthma and bronchitis, respectively. The relative risk for hospital visits per $10{\mu}/m^3$ increase in PM10 were 10.4%, 6.7% and 5.9% for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and chronic sinusitis, respectively. For cardiovascular disease, the relative risk for admissions per $10{\mu}/m^3$ increase in PM10 were 2.2% and 2.1% increases in angina and acute myocardial infarction, respectively. A $10{\mu}/m^3$ increase in the monthly average of PM10 corresponded to 170,723,000 won (95% CI: 125,587,000-215,860,000 won), 123,636,000 won (95% CI: 47,784,000-199,487,000 won) and 78,571,000 won (95% CI: 29,062,000-128,081,000 won) increases in hospital costs for asthma, acute tonsillitis and chronic sinusitis, respectively. Conclusion: Hospital admissions for respiratory and cardiovascular disease were associated with PM10 levels. PM10 exposure is also associated with increased costs for respiratory diseases.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.931-939
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the importance of brushing before sleeping by comparing the use of oral care products, frequency of dental clinic visits, and oral conditions between individuals who brush and do not brush their teeth before sleeping using data from the 5th and 6th Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey (KNHANES). Methods: Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 21.0 on data files obtained according to a complex sampling design, and a significance level of <0.05 was set. General characteristics of the participants and year were analyzed using chi-square analysis. Data on the oral conditions, use of oral care products, and frequency of dental clinic visits were analyzed using logistic regression and linear regression. Results: Individuals who brushed their teeth before sleeping showed greater use of oral care products and more frequent dental clinic visits, oral examinations, preventive treatment, and treatment for simple caries (p<0.05) than individuals who did not. Individuals who did not brush their teeth before sleeping showed higher prevalence of permanent teeth caries and periodontal disease, as well as chewing and speaking problems (p<0.05), than those who bushed before sleeping. Conclusions: Individuals who do not brush before sleeping exhibit poorer oral health and lower use of oral care products and frequency of recent dental treatment than those who brush before sleeping. Therefore, it is necessary to alter the government's active policy and improve education about the importance of brushing before sleeping to improve oral health.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.48-55
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• 2011

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG)-based payment on the length of stay and the number of outpatient visits after discharge in for patients who had undergone caesarean section. Methods: This study used the health insurance data of the patients in health care facilities that were paid by the Fee-For-Service (FFS) in 2001-2004, but they participated in the DRG payment system in 2005-2007. In order to examine the net effects of DRG payment, the Difference-In-Differences (DID) method was adopted to observe the difference in health care utilization before and after the participation in the DRG payment system. The dependent variables of the regression model were the length of stay and number of outpatient visits after discharge, and the explanatory variables included the characteristics of the patients and the health care facilities. Results: The length of stay in DRG-paid health care facilities was greater than that in the FFS-paid ones. Yet, DRG payment has no statistically significant effect on the number of outpatient visits after discharge. Conclusions: The results of this study that DRG payment was not effective in reducing the length of stay can be related to the nature of voluntary participation in the DRG system. Only those health care facilities that are already efficient in terms of the length of stay or that can benefit from the DRG payment may decide to participate in the program.

• CELLMED
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.13.1-13.6
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• 2013

The objective of the current study was to find out the effect of Integrated Amrita Meditation Technique (IAM) on blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR) and IgA. One hundred and fifty subjects were randomized into three groups IAM, Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) and Control. Baseline values were collected before giving the training for all the subjects and the IAM and PMR groups were given training in the respective techniques. BP, HR, RR and IgA were recorded manually at 0 h, 48 h, 2 months and 8 months after the first visit. HR was found to be reduced in the IAM group 48 h onwards and the fall sustained till 8 months (p < 0.05). IAM group showed significant drop when compared to the PMR group and control group in all the subsequent visits (p < 0.05). RR decreased significantly in the IAM group in the third and fourth visits (p < 0.05). RR of IAM showed significant decrease when compared to PMR and control from the third visit onwards. IgA showed significant increase in comparison with PMR and control in the third and fourth visits. BP did not show any difference in any of the visits. There was subject dropout from randomization to completion of the study, in all the three groups. The significant decrease in HR and RR and increase in IgA in the IAM group when compared to the PMR and control group shows the efficacy of the technique in reducing the physiological stress indicators for up to 8 months.

• Convergence Security Journal
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.19-24
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• 2015

As the Internet usage such as Web3.0, future internet, and internet of things increases, the big data through information exchange between the users and web servers increases. Analyzing those web data, the commercial web sites use the analytic results for marketing and campaign, and non-commercial web sites also use the results to improve the user's services satisfaction. In this paper, the quantitative index is presented to analyze the web sites, and optimized web site design method is also presented through the correlation analysis of index and significance test. From the results for 138 web sites, it is observed that strong plus(+) correlation for visits-unique visitors and page views-average visit duration exists. We also observe the minus(-) correlation between bounce rate and page views per user(or ratio of new visits). In specific, to reduce the bounce rate for users, the strategy to increase the page views and ratio of new visits rather than visits and unique visitors is needed.