• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.23-43
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• 2002

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine and analyse factors related to the actual status and practice of breast-feeding during an infant period to grasp elements detrimental to breast-feeding and, therefore, provide basic information useful for its effective practice and encouragement. Method: From April 1 to June 30, 2001, this study was carried out with the mothers of 337 who were 6 months old, as of the surveyed date, of infants born in 2002 and registered in Seongju-gun Public Health Center, Gyeongsangbug-do Province. The method for its survey included both of the visiting and telephone interviews, and questions were mainly about the mothers' general characteristics(3 questions), infants' general characteristics(3 questions), environmental characteristics of infant delivery( 4 questions), support to breast-feeding(4 questions), understanding of breast-feeding(5 questions), and feeding type during the 1 to 6-month period after birth. Result: 1. The feeding type during the I-month period after birth showed that the breast-feeding accounted for 42.4%, which was higher than dry milk-feeding(30%) or mixed milk-feeding(26.8%). However, it began to be lower than the dry milk-feeding from the 2-month period after birth. During the 6-month period, the breast-feeding accounted for 28.6% which was lower than 56.5% of the dry milk-feeding. 2. The mothers who were encouraged by their delivery clinic to and were educated to breast-feed infants accounted for 55.4% and 41.4%, respectively, which were relatively low. The understanding of breast-feeding indicated that the responses were positive from the view point of mother ＆ infant health, but negative from mother's physical form. 3. It was shown that the lower the educational background of mother(p〈0.05) and the higher the unemployment of mother(p〈0.001), the higher the positive understanding of breast-feeding, and that the higher the entire support to breast-feeding, the more positive their understanding. 4. It was also shown that the lower the educational background of mother(p〈0.05), the higher the unemployment of mother(p〈0.001), the more the experience in breast-feeding at a delivery clinic(p〈0.01) and the faster the initial feeding(p〈0.001), the higher the rate of breast-feeding. 5. The factor having an effect on breast-feeding included a delivery clinic's encouragement to breast-feed(p〈0.001), understanding of breast-feeding(p〈0.01), father's comment on feeding method(p〈0.05) and mother's employment(p〈0.05). Discussion: In order to encourage the breast-feeding, as shown above, it is required, fist of all, to offer pregnant women an education about importance and excellence of breast-feeding and its appropriate method before delivery in advance to result in a positive comprehension of the breast-feeding. To do that, both the publicity activities and program development designed to encourage the breast-feeding must be performed in advance at the government level. In addition to that, the mother-infant space as ‘rooming-in’ available for breast-feeding immediately after delivery must be prepared on the basis of legal and administrative support. Finally, female employees' leave after childbirth must be performed for the purpose of productive welfare and circumstances also be prepared for breast-feeding, such as a children's home at work.

• Korean Journal of Medical Ethics
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.301-315
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• 2018

Women have been entrusted with responsibility for pregnancy, childbirth, and nurturing by means of socially imposed 'maternity' along with their physical characteristics. Abortion too involves the bodies of women, and women are the ones most affected by it. However, women do not yet have the right of self-determination over their bodies. In the "pro-choice versus pro-life" abortion debate in South Korea, women's self-determination is often treated with less significance than the alleged "respect for life." Moreover, as Korea's declining fertility rate has become a serious social problem, women's perspectives on the issue of abortion have been sidelined. Yet even in this context, there is a double standard between the treatment of disabled and able-bodied women. The purpose of this study is to examine the issue of self-determination, especially for women with disabilities, from the perspective of a capability approach. The following three recommendations are proposed: (a) that the various contextual variables of disabled women are included in the concept of self-determination; (b) that a solid relationship between individuals and communities is established in order to ensure the realization of the right of self-determination for disabled women; and (c) that the discourse of "reproduction rights" (i.e. comprehensive rights of women with disabilities) be expanded.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.729-736
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• 2023

Traditionally, Germany, a conservative welfare state, has pursued a male breadwinner model based on gender division of labor. For a long time, Germany tried to address low fertility through economic support centered on cash benefits, but it was not successful. In 2007, the German government began to shift the paradigm of family policy for work-life balance under the slogan of "A mix of time policy, income transfer, and infrastructure." When the issue of low birth rates emerged as a national concern in Germany, there was a growing social sentiment that not only the government but also private companies should contribute to increasing fertility by providing family-friendly personnel policies and working conditions. Private companies have been voluntarily improving family-friendly working conditions beyond legal obligations, aiming to secure personnel and prevent turnover. Germany's fertility rate is currently rising toward the European average level in 2023, which can be attributed to the government's work-life balance policies and the participation of private companies. In terms of improving work-life balance policies in Korea, it has been proposed to change the perception of the need for fathers to participate in child care, to make parental leave compulsory for men, to guarantee employment for women after childbirth, to expand child care facilities, and to revitalize family-friendly policies in companies.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.27-38
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• 2024

Given the concern about the reduction in birth rate in Korea today, the objective of this study was to examine the association between Work·Family Compatibility policy and parenting stress, focusing on sex and occupational groups. Data from the 13th year Panel Study on Korean Children were analyzed by descriptive statistics, a one-way analysis of variance, and Duncan's post hoc test. The results of this study were as follows: First, the most commonly used aspect of the Work·Family Compatibility policy among both males and females was flextime, irrespective of occupational types. Also, flextime was the most used policy among professional workers. Second, regarding the use of related systems and parenting stress, it was found that all respondents perceived above average parenting stress. Specifically, the parenting stress scores of male users of flextime were higher than those of family care leave users. The parenting stress of military personnel were the lowest among males' occupational groups. Among females, the parenting stress scores of maternity leave users were higher than those of shorter workweek user. Diverse discussions and implications were suggested about promoting the usage of Work·Family Compatibility policy.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.141-157
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• 2020

This study analyzed the content of national-level curriculum documents for the purpose of reviewing the overall status of population education in elementary and secondary schools in South Korea. Based on the results of the analysis, directions for the future of population education at school were proposed. Both the 2007-Revised Curriculum and the 2009-Revised Curriculum contain the contents of population education as a 'Cross-curricular learning topic' in the general curriculum influenced by the low birth rate and ageing society, yet not in the current 2015-Revised Curriculum. Furthermore, when the curriculum documents for the ten common subjects corresponding to the 'National Common Basic Curriculum' proposed by the 7th Curriculum were examined, only 'Home Economics' curriculum at the secondary school level and 'Social Studies' curriculum at the elementary and the secondary school levels adequately reflected the subject goals, characteristics, contents and achievement standards that correspond to those of population education. Based on the results of the curriculum analysis, the following five directions for population education at school are drawn. First, the purpose of population education at school should be stated using gender-neutral terms of 'response to low-birth and aging society' and it has to be emphasized that it is not to intervene in natural childbirth. Second, the subject which deals directly with the goals, content elements, and achievement standards of population education should be designated as the leading subject for population education. Third, with its inter-disciplinary nature, population education should be able to provide quality contents for convergence education. Fourth, the government should provide policy support to the leading subjects for population education so that more high schools may select the subjects as elective courses. Fifth, teacher education should be improved to enhance teachers' perceptions on population. This study asserts that 'Home economics,' which deals with human daily lives, is an optimal subject that can reflect population education in connection with real life. To this end, policy support should be provided for 'Home economics' so that it may fulfill the mission as a leading subject of population education.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.111-132
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• 1999

This correlational descriptive study sought to define the relationship between the experience of Sanhujori, Korean tradition non-professional postpartal care after delivery and abortion and present physical symptom distress of arthritis female who visited to outpatient clinic of rheumatic internal medicine at three hospital located in Seoul, Pusan, Chongju, Korea. Data from a convenience sample of 98 women who orally agreed to be respondent were collected from September 1, 1998 to October 31, 1998 for two months by way of interview with semi-structured questionnaire. Data analysis consisted of frequency, percentage, mean, S. D., Pearson Correlation Coefficient, t-test, ANOVA and Scheffe test as a post hoc by SPSS. The results of the study were as follows ; Mean age of participants as 52.8 years and mean number of children 3.3. Mean frequency of child birth was 3.1 times per woman, 67.4% of respondents had menopause, 57.0% did not have Sunhujori after abortion. The health status implies the subjective health status women perceived, which came from the three points of view of the present, comparative with other of same age and changed after delivery. The respondents of 76.1% perceived them as unhealthy and the main sites of physical symptom distress were upper & lower extremities including knee and hand 34.8%, shoulder 26.5%, waist 22.4%. Women perceived the etiology of the arthritis as 'did Sanhujori wrongly' 36.7%, 'aging process' 24.5%, 'stress' 16.3%, 'overwork' 15.3%, 'Immunocompromize' & 'physical constitution' 7.1% respectively, 'character' 3.1%, 'genetic' 2.0%, 'malnutrition' 1.0%. The mean period of Sanhujori after delivery was 20.4 at the first child and 18.1 at the second child. The higher frequency of child birth, the shorter period of Sanhujori. For the subjective evaluation of whether the women did Sanhujori well or not, the rate of 'did Sanhujori well' was the highest rank in the first child and the rate of 'did not particularly Sanhujori well' was the highest rank in the last child. There was a significant positive correlation between physical function disability and rheumatoid arthritis symptom at the level of 1% of significance statistically(r=.406). And a positive correlation between physical function disability and Sanhubyung symptom at the level of 5% of significance statistically(r=.224). There was a significant positive correlation among rheumatoid arthritis symptom, Sanhubyung symptom and menopause symptom at the level of 1%-5% of significance statistically. Most of all, the correlation between Sanhubyung symptom and menopause symptom was the higher than others. There was a negative correlation between the present physical symptom distress and experience of Sanhujori(r=.-130), however it was not significant statistically. However, there was a positive correlation between subjective health status and experience of Sanhujori at the level of 1% of significance statistically(r=.328). In conclusion, this finding reconfirmed the positive relationship between the perceived health status and experience of Sanhujori after delivery among women of arthritis. It provides a challenge to the professional care givers to study further on the effects of Sanhuiori after abortion or delivery on the physical symptom distress from the variouis aspects through the cross-sectional and longitudinal research. The strategy for the development of the appropriate intervention for primary prevention of sequele after childbirth and quality of care for desirable health outcomes for postpartal women with considering deeply on the relationship between women's health and postapartal care.