• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.105-138
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• 2009

Although the decline in fertility rate is generally observed along the history of economic development throughout the world, the continuing decline hitting below the replacement level in Korea over the recent years gathered serious social concerns on the ground that it accelerates the process of population aging. The total fertility rate in Koreareached 2.08 in 1983, and gradually fell to the levels of 1.08 in 2005 and 1.26 in 2007. The policy debate over the role of the government has been focused mainly on the level of theoretical discussion without substantial basis on firm empirical evidence and the determinants of fertility. The objective of the paper is to empirically investigate the fertility effect of the female wage, which is understood as one of the most important determinants of fertility in Koreasince 1980 focusing on one aspect of fertility, namely birth spacing. Using the Korean National Fertility Survey conducted in 2006, I estimate a duration model of first and second births taking into account individual heterogeneity, which turned out to be an important factor to control for. Compared with previous studies in the literature on the Korean fertility, the study has an advantage of using the complete pregnancy history of women in a more representative sample. Unlike the previous studies, the analysis also deals with the endogeneity of marriage by treating a certain age, rather than age at marriage, as the time in which a woman becomes exposed to the risk of pregnancy. The study shares the common problem in the literature on birth spacing of lacking relevant wage information for respondents in a retrospective survey. I estimate the wage series as a function of the basic characteristics using the annual Wage Structure Survey from 1980 to 2005, which is considered as a nationally representative sample for wage information of employees. The results suggest that the increase in female wage by 10 percent leads to a decrease in second birth hazard by 0.56~0.92 percentage points and that the increase in spouse's wage by the equal amount is accompanied by the increase in second birth hazard by 0.36~1.13 percentage points. These estimates are more precisely estimated and of smaller magnitude than those presented by the previous studies. The results are robust to the different specifications of the wage equation. The simulation analysis based on the predicted values shows that about 17% of the change in the second birth hazard over the period 1980 to 2005 was due to the change in the female wage. Although there is some limitation in data, the results can be viewed as one estimate of the role of female wage on the recent fertility decline in Korea. The question raised by the paper is not a normative one of whether a government should promote childbearing but a positive one thatexplains fertility decline. Therefore, if there is a wide consensus on promoting childbearing, the finding suggests that the policies designed to reduce the opportunity cost of women in the labor market would be effective. The recent movement of implementing a wide range of family-friendly policies including child care support, maternity leave, parental leave and tax benefit in developed countries should be understood in this context.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.543-551
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to analyze the experience of the parents who examined the first infant oral examination and to understand how to improve the practical oral examination business. In-depth interviews were held with 10 parents who did the first infant oral examination, and their children's age was less than 18 to 29 months. The following conclusions were obtained by deriving the concepts and categories of the recorded contents. First, the main reason for the unsatisfactory examination of this study was that it was formal. Parents were disappointed in the fact that they did not look at the mouth of the child at the same time as it was fast and they said because it is carried out free of charge, it is more formal than the examination for general dental treatment. Second, most of the participants questioned whether they should resume infant oral examination. Third, it appears that the tooth number or dental terminology in the result notice is difficult to understand. Fourth, the opinion on the improvement of the infant oral examinations was should provided that the oral health management information after examination and the direct oral health management method education at the examination. In addition, we identified the need for parents' oral health care education for infants. Therefore, it has been confirmed that in order for the infant oral examination and young children to be practically carried out, the problems should be improved by collecting opinions of the parents. Also it is necessary to search for efficient business management method through repeated research related to infant oral examination.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.314-322
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• 2010

Purpose : Through a clinical and retrospective analysis of pediatric patients who visited the Regional Emergency Medical Center of Masan Samsung Hospital from January 2007 to December 2008, we characterized pediatric and adolescent emergency patients to improve emergency care in future. Methods : We reviewed the medical records of 14,065 pediatric patients below 19 years of age. Results : The male to female ratio was 1.5:1, and the most common age group was less than 3 years (49.6%). The peak month was May (10.0%), the peak day of the week was Sunday (24.7%), and the peak time of day was 20:00-0:59 (8.5%). There was no difference in the number of visits per day based on weather (sunny, rain [below 10 mm per day], snow, and fog) or daily temperature difference; however, visits increased on sandy, dusty days and decreased on rainy days with more than 10 mm of rain per day. Based on the international classification of disease (ICD)-10 system, the most common disease code was code R (symptoms, sign, and abnormal clinical laboratory finding) (31.5%), and the most common symptom was fever (13.1%). Final outcomes were discharged (73.8%), admitted (25.7%), transferred (0.4%), and expired (0.1%). In adolescent patients aged 15-9 years, the most common disease code was Injury & Poisoning (code S&T, 36.9%); the most common symptom was abdominal pain (9.6%). Conclusion : Pediatric patients visiting the emergency center were most likely to be male and under 3 years of age and to visit between 20:00 and 21:00 on Sundays and in May, and the most common symptom was fever. Differences between adolescents and pediatric patients showed that adolescents had a higher visiting rate with abdominal pain and a larger temperature difference.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.11-17
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to help prevent the turnover of competent dental hygienists in a bid to boost the efficiency of personnel management for dental health care workers and provide higher-quality oral health services. After relevant literature and data were reviewed, a survey was conducted on dental hygienists, who worked at dental institutes, for approximately four months from September to December 2004 to identify what affected their turnover. The findings of the study were as below: 1. Regarding turnover experience, 39.7 percent of the dental hygienists investigated had such an experience. As to turnover frequency, those who took up another employment once made up the largest group(28.2%), followed by twice(8.0%) and three times(2.9%). The most dominant turnover reason was working conditions(66.7%), followed by seeking being hired by larger institutes(36.2%), pay(21.7%), relationship with dentists(11.6%) and commuting distance(11.6%). 2. As for their hope for turnover, 82.8 percent hoped to take up another employment, and working conditions were cited as the most common reason(44.4%), followed by pay(33.3%), commuting distance(18.1%), marriage(13.2%), health/use of leisure time(11.8%), and commuting time(10.4%). 3. Concerning preference for future workplace, 38.5 percent, the largest group, wanted to work at public health clinics. As to a preferred term of working as dental hygienists, 50.0 percent, the greatest group, hoped to serve as dental hygienists until they are financially secure. 34.5 percent, the second largest group, intended to keep working until they reach the age limit. In regard to their responsibility for family economy, 47.7 percent, the greatest percentage, shouldered the partial responsibility for that, and 31.6 percent assumed no responsibility. 4. As to their intention to quit working as dental hygienists, 61.5 percent were willing to do that, and marriage(29.0%) was singled out as the most frequent reason, followed by working conditions(27.1%), child birth(22.4%), health/housework(18.7%), pay(15.9%) and learning/use of free time(15.0%).

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.439-443
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to prevent excessive use of fluorine toothpaste. To comparatively evaluate the amount used of the fluorine toothpaste in children from 3 to 6 years old, the toothpaste amount was compared according to toothbrush size and toothpaste squeezing method targeting 84 children in 5 child care centers where were located in Hongseong-gun, Chungnam. The toothpaste amount was compared with a method of squeezing to pea-size and a method of smear on toothbrush, targeting 141 students for the Dept. of Dental Hygiene, who are actually carrying out oral health education to targeting children. The statistical analysis was used SPSS 14.0 K for Windows program(Copyright(c) SPSS Inc.). The following results were obtained. 1. The amount of fluorine toothpaste squeezed on toothbrush for children was 0.29 g. The amount of fluorine toothpaste squeezed on toothbrush for adults was 0.34 g. It was surveyed to use the less amount of toothpaste when squeezing to smaller toothbrush (p<0.05). 2. The amount that children aged 3-6 squeezed as the method of squeezing commonly at ordinary times was 0.31g. The amount that was squeezing to pea-size was 0.21 g. The amount that was squeezed by using smear method was measured to be 0.26g. Less amount of fluorine toothpaste was used with the method of squeezing to pea-size and smear method rather than a method of squeezing commonly at ordinary times(p<0.05). 3. As a result of surveying the students of the department of dental hygiene, the amount of having squeezed to pea- size was 0.23 g. It was surveyed to be 0.15 g when having used the smear method. Thus, it was surveyed to use the less amount of toothpaste when using the smear method(p<0.05). 4. Using smaller toothbrush, the amount used of fluorine toothpaste can be reduced. Both smear method and the method of squeezing to pea-size are available for minimizing careless fluorine intake by less used amount of fluorine toothpaste.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.223-241
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to plan a direction for the connection of the area of inquiry in daily life between infants and young children in Korea based on the analysis of the early learning standards for infants aged 0~2, and young children aged 3~4/5 in 17 different states in America. The problem of the study is as follows: What is the content area of cognitive development, science and mathematics of early learning standards regarding age? The data used in this study was collected from a total of 17 states in America in which 12 states classify infants and young children as aged 0~2 and 3~4/5 respectively and 5 states do not classify the age groups. The results obtained from the analysis of the given issues are as follows. First, in the case of the five states that showed the group aged 0~4/5, the contents related to the area of inquiry in daily life of the early learning standards were included in the mathematics and science and a part of these contents were also included in cognitive developments. In the case of the 12 states that classified the groups aged 0~2 and 3~4/5 respectively, the group aged 0~2 included cognitive developments and the group aged 3~4/5 includes mathematics and science. Second, the contents related to the area of inquiry in daily life of the early learning standards in the five states that showed the single group aged 0~4/5 include the contents in order of scientific idea, biology, physics, and the earth and space. In the 12 states that classify different age groups. Third, in the case of the states that separate age groups, the group aged 0~2 include the contents of number and operation, geometry and space while the group aged 3~4/5 include the contents of number and operations, geometry and space, and measurement. The implications of this study was that it is necessary to take into account the linking between development and characteristics of the subjects.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.173-186
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• 2008

This study aimed to examine the operation of the Home Economics education courses in the graduate schools of education, and to find out how graduate students perceive them. Data were collected with the use of handbooks issued by 11 graduate schools of education located in Seoul, and through telephone conversations with the administrative staff. To determine how graduate students majoring in Home Economics perceive their Home Economics courses, a survey was conducted among the graduate students in 10 graduate schools of education, and a total of 131 accomplished questionnaires were used for data analysis. The results of the study are as follows. First, all 11 graduate schools aimed to retrain their teachers, enhance their professionalism, and produce home economics education experts. The Home Economics Education courses come in two strands; a teacher's course and a major course. Most of the schools require a total of 30 credits. All Schools lack professors. Only 3 graduate schools have a home Economics Department in the College of Education. All graduate schools are offering a teacher's course based on a teacher's certification system. In a major course, Home Economics education has the largest number of subjects, with Clothing and Textiles and Food and Nutrition being given greater emphasis, and Consumer Economics, Home Economics Management, Child Care, and Family and Housing Studies being given less emphasis. Second, they mostly regard the graduate school of education as producer of experts, followed by producers of teachers and teacher re-trainers. Those who were majoring in Home Economics Education in college, and the teachers, are more interested in teacher re-training, while the non-teachers and those who were not majoring in Home Economics Education are more interested in producing teachers. They are less satisfied with the operation of the graduate school of education. But they are generally satisfied with the Home Economics Education course. Graduate students registered the lowest satisfaction with a major course, especially experimental subjects. For a teacher's course, the graduate students who are not teachers exhibited higher satisfaction, whereas the teachers showed lower satisfaction. But teachers registered more satisfaction with the practical use of major subjects in the educational field, thinking that their major was a big help in their work at a school. As for what has to be improved with regard to the Home Economics Education course, many cited the necessity of securing a good faculty and expanding the major subjects.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.772-783
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• 2015

This study focuses on horticultural activities using colorful food to reduce diets unbalanced in vegetables and to increase emotional intelligence. Horticultural activities using colorful food vegetables were based on 'Health in Daily Life' in the '7th Kindergarten Curriculum'; to improve the dietary habits of the young children, the program was also linked with a parents' education program. The research was conducted with a total of 70 children from classes for four-year-olds in three child-care centers located in Seoul. The horticultural activities based upon nutrition education included activities using colorful food vegetables and nutrition education. For the nutrition education group, only nutrition education was provided, while neither horticultural activities nor nutrition education were provided to the control group. The study was conducted from September to December 2011. A total of twelve sessions were conducted once a week for 60 minutes each. According to the result, after the horticultural activities with colorful food vegetable were conducted, both the nutrition education group and horticultural activity & nutrition education group showed improvements in 'Nutrition Knowledge' compared to the control group. Regarding 'Unbalanced Diet Behaviors', the horticultural activities & nutrition education group showed meaningful decreases compared to the control group. Moreover for preference of fruits and vegetables, the horticultural activities & nutrition education group revealed meaningful improvements. In conclusion, colorful food vegetable horticultural activity could be an effective approach to resolve the imbalance of health caused by unbalanced diets as children who participated in the colorful food vegetable horticultural activities continued to respond spontaneously to the colors of vegetables and fruits and showed joy and kept voluntarily eating them.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.112-119
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• 2003

We studied the nutritional status of on mentally handicapped children living at home or in institutions since early teenage years are nutritionally important. The subjects of 7 to 12 year old mentally retarded children attenending a special education school in Seoul were surveyed with questionnaires as well as 2-day dietary recall records, with the help of persons of their care-giver when needed. Among the 64 children,54.7% are living in institutions and the rest of them are living at home. They were ranged from the trainable (64.1%) , the educable (26.6%) , and the non-trainable (9.4%) . Their average daily intake of energy intakes (%RDA) was 2,070.1 kcal (94.1%) , Ca 603.9 mg (75.5%) , Fe 11.1 mg (92.5%), Vt.A 507.5 RE (84.6%) , Vt. B$_2$.1g (88.2%), niacin 14.1 g (93.6%) and Vt. C 58.2 g (83.1%) . Their average intakes of these nutrients were significantly higher in subjects of institutions than at home. The nutrients consumed at a much higher level than the RDh of the normal children were Vt. B, (1.6 g,146.8%) and protein (75.3g, 136.9%) . The higher percentage of children at home were under consumed of several nutrients (< 75% RDA) than ones in institutions. When comparing the degree of handicap, energy and nutrient intakes except Vt. C were highest in educable children than trainable ones or Dawn's children. MAR of the diets of the subjects was 0.84. Children at home showed lower MAR as well as NAR of each nutrients, whereas children belonged to INQ < 1 were less at home. Handicapped children at home were snacking higher amount relative to their calorie intake and too frequently, that may lead to their poor nutrition. There was positive correlations between factors of nutrition and physical and dietary behaviors, but there were no correlations between factors of nutrition and health-related habits. Nutritional caring mentally handicapped children in institutions seemed to be more effectively managed.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.194-205
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• 2019

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the dietary behaviors of preschoolers in Daejeon using the Nutrition Quotient for Preschoolers (NQ-P). Methods: The study subjects were recruited from child-care centers and kindergartens located in Daedeok-gu, Daejeon between August and September 2018. A total of 411 preschoolers aged 3 ~ 6 years were included in the data analyses. A questionnaire of NQ-P, which consisted of 14 checklist items on dietary behaviors, was completed by the parents or guardians of the study subjects. The NQ-P scores and its three factors, including "balance", "moderation", and "environment" factors, were calculated according to sex, age, and weight status. Differences in the NQ-P scores and their factors according to sex, age, and weight status were tested using a student's t-test. Results: The mean NQ-P score of the total subjects was $58.5{\pm}9.2$, which was within the medium-low grade. The NQ-P score was $58.5{\pm}9.4$ in boys and $58.6{\pm}9.0$ in girls (p = 0.955). The NQ-P score was similar regardless of the age groups ($57.8{\pm}9.4$ in 3 ~ 4 years vs. $59.2{\pm}9.0$ in 5 ~ 6 years, p = 0.124), whereas subjects aged 5 ~ 6 years showed a significantly higher scores of environment factors than those aged 3 ~ 4 years ($67.9{\pm}16.8$ vs. $61.7{\pm}17.3$). The mean score of the moderation factor was lower in the overweight/obese children compared to the non-overweight/obese children ($46.6{\pm}13.3$ vs. $51.0{\pm}16.2$, p = 0.012). Compared to children aged 3 ~ 4 years, children aged 5 ~ 6 years had higher intakes of vegetable dishes and processed meat. The overweight/obese group showed a higher consumption of processed beverages than the non-overweight/obese group. Conclusion: The current study indicates that the dietary behaviors of preschoolers residing in Daejeon need to be improved. These findings suggest that nutrition education or health interventions targeting young children is necessary for improving their nutritional health status.