• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.89-103
• /
• 2024

Objectives: This study analyzed an online survey targeting women and Korean medicine doctors who participated in the Yeosu City Postpartum Health Center Support Project. Through this, we would like to discuss the direction of support for postpartum health care support projects and new policies to encourage childbirth. Methods: In this study, we examined the results of an online survey from 73 women and 29 Korean medicine doctors. We examined 39 items, including basic information, childbirth-related items, Korean medicine treatment-related items, business satisfaction, and policies, answered by 73 women and 29 Korean medicine doctors who responded to the online survey. Results: The average age of women was 33.62±4.19 years, and the average age of Korean medicine doctors was 49.82±8.60 years. Musculoskeletal pain appeared most commonly in both maternal and Korean medicine doctors' online surveys. The visit date from the date of delivery was 36.87±27.06 days. Gungguijohyeol-um and Boheo-tang were widely used. The survey score of women whose main symptoms improved after taking herbal medicine was 3.04±1.15 points, and the survey score of Korean medical doctors was 4.13±0.74 points. The positive response to the policy was 73.7% for satisfaction with the overall policy to encourage childbirth, 54.8% for perceived support, and 65.7% for reduction of economic burden. Conclusions: Women who participated in the postpartum health care support project and received Korean medicine treatment and Korean medicine doctors who performed Korean medicine treatment were very satisfied. The most frequent postpartum symptom was musculoskeletal pain. The degree of improvement in main symptoms after taking herbal medicine was higher among Korean medicine doctors than among women. Among childbirth policies, the areas that should be prioritized are childbirth support projects and postpartum care projects.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.11 no.3
• /
• pp.102-120
• /
• 2001

This paper examines the current situation and major impacts of e-business on healthcare industry: hospital, pharmaceutical, medical device and health-related internet sectors. Of the 137 samples collected with mail survey, the utilization rate of B2C e-commerce is 31.4% and B2B is 13.1%. And 74.5% of respondents remains the first development stage which represents the simple advertisement such as the one-way information offering. The key obstacle of expansion of health care e-commerce turns out to be the illogical and outdated medical-related law and institution. Finally, policy recommendations are proposed based on the evaluation of the current policy implemented by government.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.175-191
• /
• 2005

Sweden has one of the world's most progressive and comprehensive childcare systems; synonymous with quality, it is the envy of many other countries. The purpose of this study was to investigate background factors important to the development of the Swedish childcare system and the current childcare policy and system. This study found that underpinning the Swedish childcare system is not only the expectation that men and women will participate equally in the workforce, child rearing, and domestic life but also an awareness of the right of children to development and education. Implementation of the Swedish childcare policy has provided for easy access and affordable childcare centers following principles of childcare universalism. This provides practical suggestions for the Korean childcare policy and system.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.217-222
• /
• 2021

Background: The reaction of nurses to the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) during the fourth industrial revolution era remains questionable. Understanding Florence Nightingale's achievements may provide valuable lessons that will be helpful to contemporary nurses. Aims: To understand Nightingale's nursing philosophy and methods and provide suggestions for future nursing practice, education, research, and health policy. Source of evidence: Literature. Discussion/Conclusion: Just as Nightingale captured the situation of her time and introduced latest scientific methods, modern nurses need to learn from Nightingale's drastic actions to meet social needs. Nursing can regain a solid humanistic foundation by returning to core values of nursing and humanities, while simultaneously adopting state-of-the-art technologies. Implications for Nursing Policy: AI-driven technologies will advance nursing services and provide greater human-centered and personalized care by eliminating iterative and labor-intensive tasks. Nursing educational policy should support the advancement of nursing curricula to develop AI competencies and specialists within the nursing field.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.127-144
• /
• 2013

The low birth rate in Korea reflects the declining desire to have children in this country due to rising emphasis on personal lifestyle. Since this phenomenon has accelerated, boosting the birth rate has become one of the most important policy tasks in Korea. The purpose of this research was to perform a case study based on women's lived experience to understand how the childbirth encouragement policy promoted by the government in order to boost the birth rate has affected the perception of childbirth among women. The findings are as follows : First, the effect of the childbirth encouragement policy on women's perceptions has been fairly low. Second, the social environment for encouraging childbirth is inadequate. Third, the economic burdens associated with childbirth and child care are still significant. Finally, the impact of the childbirth encouragement policy on changes in the perceptions of childbirth has been minimal. Based on these findings, various motivations for changes in the perceptions of childbirth among women were identified, leading to the following conclusion: Establishing a long-term childbirth encouragement policy is an effective way to boost the childbirth rate.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.1-26
• /
• 2009

Objectives : To identify target areas and set priorities among those areas identified for national quality evaluation. Methods : Target areas were identified from: i) analysis of the national health insurance claims data, mortality and prevalence data ii) various group surveys, including representatives from 22 medical specialty associations, 19 physician associations, QI staffs in hospital, civil organizations, and commissioners of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service(HIRA) ⅲ) literature reviews and RAM(RAND/UCLA appropriateness method). The priority areas for national quality evaluation represented the full spectrum of health care and the entire life span. The criteria for selecting the priority areas were impact, improvability, and measurability. The priority areas were divided into three categories : short-term, mid-term, long-term. Results: Based on the group surveys and the data analysis, 46 candidates were selected as quality evaluation priority areas. 13 areas were selected as having a short-term priority areas: tuberculosis, community acquired pneumonia, stroke, ischaemic heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, chronic lower respiratory disease(asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), intensive care unit, emergency room, nosocomial infection, use of antibiotics, multiple medication and renal failure. This results suggested that we need to enlarge the target priority areas to the chronic diseases in short-term. Conclusions: The priority areas identified from the study will assist healthcare quality associated institutions as well as HIRA in selecting quality evaluation areas. It is required to develope and implement strategies for improving the quality of care within the next 5 years.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.77-95
• /
• 2006

The present study was conducted to examine the degree of variation in length-of-stay (LOS) among health care institutions participating in 17 diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) payment system and to find out hospital characteristics affecting the variation. Electronic medical claims data for treatments of severity classification '0' of 17 DRGs provided for two $years(2003{\sim}2004)$ were collected. For each DRG, the degree of variation in average LOS among health care institutions were analyzed using the random effect model. For DRGs showing significant differences in LOS, multiple regression analyses were performed to find out factors associated with LOS. Significant variations in LOS were observed 9 DRGs including unilateral/bilateral lens procedures, adult/child tonsilectomy, other anal procedures, bilateral adult/child herniorraphy, unilateral child herniorraphy, and hysterectomy, and hysterectomy using laparoscopic procedure. Among the 9 DRGs, five DRGs were selected to investigate the factors explaining for the variation. It was observed that the location of institution was significant predictors for all five DRGs. Within the same DRGs, LOS was significantly shorter among the institutions located in Seoul than those in other areas. As compared to clinics, hospitals and general hospitals/tertiary care institutions showed significantly longer LOS for DRGs of lens procedures, tonsilectomy, and other anal procedures. It is recommended that the institutions located in other than Seoul area benchmark the strategies of the institution in Seoul in efficiently managing LOS. Also, significant variation within the same severity classification such as other anal procedures implies the imminent need for improvement of patient classification system.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.19-36
• /
• 2010

Fee for long-term care insurance in Korea are determined in proportion to resources utilized according to severity rather than based on categorization of beneficiaries in consideration of the characteristics of resource utilization. This adoption is based on the assumption that as beneficiaries of long-term care insurance, characteristically, demands social services rather than needs medical treatments, the characteristics of beneficiaries and the quality of utilized resources are comparatively homogenous. Therefore, the proposition is that the size of resource consumed by beneficiaries in the same grade is identical. However, even in the same grade, the level of utilized resources is different depending on the characteristic of beneficiaries. In this regard, this study is to examine whether there are differences in the volumes of utilized resources depending on the characteristics of beneficiaries even in the same grade. We analyzed time study data for 2003, 2005, 2006 which conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs. To look at differences in the volumes of utilized resources, we identified characteristics of beneficiaries that influence utilized resource volumes and categorized services provided by facilities into the rehabilitation treatment category, the problematic behavior category, and the physical malfunction category. Then, we examined each service in consideration of service difficulty levels and wage weights. The result of examination showed that differences in utilized resource volumes exist in all three grades depending on the characteristics of beneficiaries. Especially, in the first grade with a high level of seriousness, utilized resource volumes were different for those three service categories and the problematic behaviour category considered dementia was found to consume the largest volume of resources. Moreover, there was the inversion phenomenon of utilized resources volumes between the grades. This result indicates that utilized resource volumes are different even in the same grade depending on the characteristics of beneficiaries and it is required to consider case-mix for reflection of the volumes of utilized resources depending on the characteristics of beneficiaries.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.36 no.5
• /
• pp.691-700
• /
• 2006

Purpose: This study was done to analyze variations in unit staffing and recommend policies to improve nursing staffing levels in intensive care units (ICUS). Method: A cross-sectional study design was used, employing survey data from the Health Insurance Review Agency conducted from June-July, 2003. Unitstaffing was measured using two indicators; bed-to-nurse (B/N) ratio (number of beds per nurse), and patient-to-nurse (P/N) ratio (number of average daily patients per nurse). Staffing levels were compared according to hospital and ICU characteristics. Result: A total of 414 institutions were operating 569 adult and 86 neonatal ICUs. Tertiary hospitals (n=42) had the lowest mean B/N (0.82) and P/N (0.76) ratios in adult ICUs, followed by general hospitals (B/N: 1.34, P/N: 0.97). Those ratios indicated that a nurse took care of 3 to 5 patients per shift. Neonatal ICUs had worse staffing and had greater variations in stafnng ratios than adult ICUs. About 17% of adult and 26% of neonatal ICUs were staffed only by adjunct nurses who had responsibility for a general ward as well as the ICU Conclusion: Stratification of nurse staffing levels and differentiation of ICU utilization fees based on staffing grades are recommended as a policy tool to improve nurse staffing in ICUs.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.437-449
• /
• 2001

Purpose: To understand the development of nursing education of North Korea after 1945. Method: First, collecting primary sources published in NK. Second, collecting secondary sources published in South Korea. Third, interview with South Korean medical personnels who visited NK. Forth, interview with medical personnels who escaped NK. Result: After 1945 NK increased health care facilities in short time and had the policy of training medical personnel in short time. Nursing education was focused on the basic practice. NK could begin free medical treatment for the laborer in 1947. Post Korean War restoration and free medical treatment system of national level in 1950s and 1960s served to the health promotion of NK population. The medical personnel training policy continued and the number of R.N. in NK had increased 13 times in 15 years. NK has tried to increase the quality of health care service and medical personnel since 1970s. Nursing education in medical colleges is three-year course but 6 month training courses in general hospitals continue. They focus on primary prevention and oriental medicine in nursing curriculum reflecting the characteristics of NK medial care. But English and high technology is very poor, and there is no computer related curriculum. Conclusion: nursing education in NK has developed reflecting the changes of NK society and health care since 1945. After 1980s NK is in deep economic depression and it is hard to recover from the state with their hands. In this state, we cannot expect the development of nursing education in NK.