• Health Policy and Management
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.217-224
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• 2021

The objective of this study is to investigate the healthcare status of South Korea and other member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) using OECD health statistics 2020. We employed the position value for relative comparison index to measure the healthcare status in five following components: demand, supply, accessibility, quality, and cost. The Mann-Kendall test was used to analyze for increasing or decreasing trend of the position value for relative comparison values from 2000 to the recent year. Results showed that Korea was positioned above than the OECD median values in most of components, but lower than the median values in certain indices including healthcare employment, primary care, and mental health care. This study sheds some light on healthcare issues to be improved and the policy-makes can take into account for prior setting process.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.93-98
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• 2021

To develop policies regarding fertility and pregnancy that will be effective in preventing further declines in fertility rates in the context present-day Korea, current policies in Japan were analyzed and compared with those now being implemented in Korea. This study was structured to involve (a) comparison of maternal health projects in Korea and Japan, and (b) comparison of infertility support policies based in regional cities in Korea and Japan. Korea's Health Plan 2030 emphasizes strengthening healthcare for high-risk pregnant women, expanding investments to benefit vulnerable groups, and establishing a support system for infertile couples. In Japan, government programs involving treatment targeting infertility specifically were implemented nationwide in 2006. Wide dissemination of accurate knowledge related to pregnancy is emphasized. Also, counseling centers specializing in infertility were established by 67 local governments. We have confirmed that Korean policies include decentralization, while Japan is implementing the central government's infertility policy uniformly in all regions. Japan also adjusted its policy out of concern that problems related to infertility and childbirth will worsen due to the social disaster of COVID-19. The results indicate that providing additional support for psychological counseling may be preferable to increasing the number of in-vitro fertilization procedures. The physical burden on women may be minimized by benchmarking policies in Japan. Step-by-step application of these procedures should be systematically supported to achieve the best results.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.43-67
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• 2017

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility to utilize image data recorded and accumulated from CCTV at child care centers. Methods: Literature reviews, consultations and workshops with scholars studying child development, legal professionals, and engineers, focus group interviews with professionals working with young children, and surveys targeting parents, directors and teachers were implemented. Results: It was found the big data from CCTV at child care centers can be used to make policies and implement research as a secondary data set after anonymization. Extracting implicit and useful data from images stored on CCTV is technically feasible. Also, it can be legally guaranteed to analyze the data under the condition of acquiring informed consents. Conclusion/Implications: It was likely to utilize image data from CCTV at child care centers as a secondary data set in order for policy development and scholarly purposes, after overcoming obstacles of the budget for additional infrastructures and consents of information holders.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.57-68
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to examine working mothers'parenting behavior as related to job characteristics, day care quality and psychological well-being. The subjects of this study were 202 working mothers of 3-to-6 year old children enrolled in day care centers. Data were gathered via questionnaires responded by mothers. As results, both mother's psychological well-being and parenting behaviors were positively related to job characteristics such as husband's support and work place policy and day care Quality Most significantly, the relations between husband's support as well as day care Quality and mother's behaviors were completely mediated via mother's psychological well-being. This study demonstrated that working mothers'psychological well -being is an important mediating variable in predicting positive child-rearing behaviors.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.59-84
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to investigate the determinants of policy demand for elderly care in aged Korea. The data from the first wave of KLoSA (Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing) aged over 45 were used (n=10,165). The major findings were as follows: First, human capital, social capital, and socioeconomic variables influenced on the expected demand for elderly care by government, controlling the expectations of future life and society. Second, the effects of determninants on the expected demand for elderly care by government varied by the level of human capital, social capital, and socioeconomic variables, including ADL and IADL, familial support by children, public transfers, and age. Based on the empirical results, the implications for welfare mix of elderly care were provided.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.469-479
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• 2010

Using data from the 2001 National Long-Term Care Survey database, this study analyzed gender differences in factors affecting caregiver burdens of spouse caregivers in Korea. Multiple regression was used to estimate factors influencing caregiver burdens of caregiving wives and caregiving husbands respectively. The results showed that there was a significant variability in predictors of caregiver burdens of spouses who take care of the impaired elderly. ADL functional status of care recipients and social support were significant for both the caregiving wives model and caregiving husbands model in influencing caregiving burdens. It was noticeable to report that a caregiver's self-rated health status, monthly caregiving expenses, a care recipient's self-rated health status were unique predictors for the caregiving wives model. These findings suggest that it is vital for planners and providers to take gender differences in spousal caregiving into account when designing and formulating community-based long-term care service programs.

• Journal of The Korean Digital Architecture Interior Association
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.109-117
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to present our elderly welfare policy and welfare facilities for the elderly and to propose the future direction of policy for the elderly with comparison to that of Japan. The comparative study results of Korea and Japan are as follows: As the basis of elderly welfare, care insurance for the elderly is now fixated in the two countries. On the other hand, for quantitative expansion in Korea, the quality level has been gone down. Due to qualitative evaluation, the growth of facilities has slowed and material welfare providers was also a decline in the number of operators. Two countries in the field of community welfare in recent years has been actively promoting. It is the most important to solve the social welfare problem with local councils who know the area, which is a part of the future to focus and to support. Due to huge construction investment of facility, there is the burden of operators. This facility is appropriate for an extension of the home. However, it is in the hard economic times. Until now, the number of people in a room is at least four according to the legal standard of Korea, there are a few private rooms. On the other hand, in Japan, unit-care was phased since 2002 and private rooms have been expanded. In Japan, health center for the elderly plays an important role with special elderly nursing home among facilities for the elderly. Health center provides services that are recovering, nursing, and caring to support independence for the elderly after acute phase of treatment. As treatment and care, the aim of health center is to return the elderly to home. On the other hand, there are a few health centers for returning the elderly to home in Korea. Furthermore, in Japan, a project for preventive care has been begun. The project is needed in Korea.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.276-286
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• 2018

Purpose: To explore trends of women's health in nursing research by analyzing articles on women aged 13 years or older that were published in Korean Journal for Women Health Nursing from 2010 to 2015. Methods: Seven focus areas were identified and modified to reflect integrative conceptual models of women's health: maternity care, menstrual concerns, health problems in women, gender influences on health risks, social influences on women's health, women and health care policy, and sexual health and violence against women. A total of 383 studies were analyzed according to these seven focus areas. Results: Health problems in women, maternity care, and societal influences on women's health were the most widely studied topics in Korean women's health. There was increased attention to societal influences on women's health and gender influences on health risk. However, these areas are still limited in nursing research. Only 1% of these studies were in area of women's health policy. Conclusion: More studies in area of sexual health and violence against women are needed. Studies in area of women and health care policy are also needed to improve women's health in Korea.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.26-43
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• 2019

Purpose:The objective of this study was to identify the conceptual constructs of patient centeredness from the perspective of patients and family members in Korea, and to compare them with those included in the Picker Institute framework. Methods: Two focus group discussions were conducted. Each focus group consisted of six participants who had experienced being either a patient or a caregiver. We carried out a thematic analysis, and then compared the contents of our focus group discussions with the components of patient-centered care outlined by the Picker Institute. Results: Six conceptual constructs of patient centeredness emerged from the focus group discussions. Five of these overlapped with those outlined by the Picker Institute: 1)respect for patients' values, preferences, and needs, 2) coordination and integration of care, 3) information, communication, and education, 4) physical comfort, and 5) emotional support and alleviation for fear and anxiety. A new component that was not mentioned in the Picker Institute framework emerged from this study: "ease of making a complaint." Currently, "involvement of family and friends" and "continuity and transition" were not prominent components of patient centeredness according to our focus group discussions. Conclusions: This study presents the conceptual constructs of patient centeredness, five of which overlap with those outlined by the Picker Institute, and provides a qualitative basis of the patient experience survey currently being implemented by the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service in Korea.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.374-378
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• 2019

After the announcement of Moon Jae-in Government's plan (Moon's Care) for Benefit Expansion in National Health Insurance in August 2017, it is necessary to monitor the effects of the policy, especially household out-of-pocket payments (OOP). This paper aims to observe the current status and trend of OOP in Korea. Current health expenditure (CHE) was 144.4 trillion won in 2018, which accounts for 8.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) increased 9.7% from the previous year. Although GDP's share of CHE has been close to the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, the public fund's share was 59.8% of the total in 2018, which was lower than the OECD average of 73.5%. OOP's share was 32.9% in 2018, which decreased from 37.4% in 2008. The share of OOP of non-covered services was 20.0% in 2018, which decreased from 22.9% in 2008. The share of cost-sharing with third-party payers was 12.9% in 2018, which decreased from 14.5% in 2008. The OOP of non-covered services was significantly decreased in hospital and inpatient curative care, but the OOP of non-covered services was significantly increased in the medical clinic. The effect of Moon's Care was not showed in OOP through the results of 2017 and 2018, but further monitoring is needed because the Moon's Care is progressing and the observational period is short.