• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2019

The first hospice care center in Korea dates back to the East West Infirmaries (Dongseodaebiwon in the Korean language) of the Goryeo period in the early 11th century. It has been 50 years since hospice care was introduced in Korea. Initially hospice care was provided in the private sector, including those with a religious background, and its development was slow. In the 1990s, related religious organizations and academic associations were established, and then, a full-swing growth phase was ushered in as the Korean government institutionalized hospice care in the early 2000s. As a result, enhanced quality of hospice care service could be provided, which meant better pain management and higher quality of life for late stage cancer patients and their families. Still, the nation lacked a realistic reimbursement system which was needed to for financial stability of the affected patients. However, the national health insurance scheme began to cover hospice palliative expenses in 2015. In 2016, the Act on Decisions on Life-Sustaining Treatment for Patients in Hospice and Palliative Care or at the End of Life was legislated, allowing terminally-ill patients to refuse meaningless life-sustaining treatments. As the range of diseases subject to hospice palliative care was expanded, more challenges and issues need to be addressed by the service providers.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.237-245
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• 2019

The aim of this article is to introduce articles of the special issue on 'Revitalization Conditions on Crisis on Industrial Regions: Experience from Europe and the Republic of Korea, and to explore policy alternatives to crisis on industrial regions on the basis of policy diagnoses and prescriptions. In the existing research, diagnoses of such Korean regions are quantitatively focused upon industry, employment, plant, consumption, investment, real estate, and labour market, and are qualitatively based upon external environment and functional, structural and spatial characteristics. Prescriptions of such regions emphasize the establishment of a law and an institutional fix, financial supports, jobs' creation, industrial diversification, the intensification of urban foundation throughout the urban revitalizaion. In the policy development for these regions, it is required to link the industrial sector to social, educational, political and welfare sectors, and furthermore the collaboration of inter- and intra-ministry and the active participation of provincial and local governments are needed.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.177-186
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• 2021

This study examined the effects of the firm characteristics of the manufacturing industry on the female employment ratio. Three hypotheses regarding female employment ratio, were tested for 5,729 firms that could use financial data among the firms listed on the KOSPI from 2011 to 2019, in terms firm size, listing period, and foreign ownership. Follwing the analyses, three hypotheses were mostly adopted. It was found that as the size firm and foreign ownership ratio increased, the female employment ratio increased in the number of regular and permanent contract employees, fixed-term employees, and total employees. As for the listing period, the higher the value, the lower the female employment ratio in the number of regular and permanent contract employees, fixed-term employees, and total employees. These research results may be used as basic data for gender equal employment policies such as Affirmative Atcion for Gender Equal Employment.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.100 no.4
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• pp.722-732
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• 2011

Firms initiate philanthropic activities to improve social welfare that is beyond the scope of their responsibility towards society. Forestry activities, among other philanthropic areas, simultaneously improve corporate environment and social performance and provide the opportunity to cooperate for a large number of employees. Firms can effectively contribute to forest conservation with their financial and human resources. To encourage participation of more firms, we need to understand how and why firms engage in such activities. This study aims to explore different types of philanthropic forestry activities that these firms undertake. Corporate philanthropic activities can be categorized as donation, in-house project, or collaboration according to the governance type. We analyzed Yuhan-Kimberly's forestry campaign to investigate how and why the firm engaged in each type. We also propose some practical implications for firms, government, and non-profit organizations to invigorate firm's participation in philanthropic forestry activities.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.19-34
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• 2022

There are growing concerns about debt insolvency among youth and low-income households. The deterioration in household debt quality among young people is due to a combination of sluggish employment, an increase in student loan burden and an increase in high-interest loans from the secondary financial sector. The purpose of this study was to explore the possibility of household debt default among young borrowers in Korea and to predict the factors affecting this possibility. This study utilized the 2021 Household Finance and Welfare Survey and used random forest algorithm to comprehensively analyze factors related to the possibility of default risk among young adults. This study presented the importance index and partial dependence charts of major determinants. This study found that the ratio of debt to assets(DTA), medical costs, household default risk index (HDRI), communication costs, and housing costs the focal independent variables.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.269-278
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• 2022

Purpose: This study analyzed the retention factors of Korean community health practitioners who sustained over 20 years based on a multi-dimensional framework. This study suggests global implications for nurses working in rural or remote areas, even during a worldwide pandemic. Methods: The participants were 16 Korean community health practitioners who worked in rural or remote locations for over 20 years. This study identified nurses' key retention factors contributing to long service in rural and remote areas. This is a qualitative study based on the narrative method and analysis was conducted using grounded theory. A semi-structured questionnaire was conducted based on the following: the life flow of the participants' first experience, episodes during the work experience, and reflections on the past 20 years. Results: First, personal 'financial needs' and 'callings' were motivation-related causal conditions. The adaptation of environment-work-community was the contextual condition leading to intervening conditions, building coping strategies by encountering a lifetime crisis. The consequences of 'transition' and 'maturation' naturally occurred with chronological changes. The unique factors were related to the 'external changes' in the Korean primary health system, which improved the participants' social status and welfare. Conclusion: Considering multi-dimensional retention factors was critical, including chronological (i.e., historical changes) and external factors (i.e., healthcare systems), to be supportive synchronously for rural nurses. Without this, the individuals working in the rural areas could be victimized by insecurity and self-commitment. Furthermore, considering the global pandemic, the retention of nurses is crucial to prevent the severity of isolation in rural and remote areas.

• Journal of Technology Innovation
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.65-103
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• 2023

With the recent surge in the share of data-based economic activities, there have been vibrant discussions on the data economy. Yet, few extant works provide a framework for systematically analyzing the transition to the data economy by major industries in Korea. By reviewing the existing literature, we first summarize the main characteristics of the data economy as building platforms, the greater importance of predictive power, and the increased use of new analytics. Next, based on such understanding, we provide a comparative analysis regarding the degree of data-based activities in Korea's financial, real estate, and medical sectors. We find that the speed at which, and the content of the data economy characteristics being realized were different for the different sectors. These findings suggest that differentiated policy approaches by major industrial sectors such as finance, real estate, and medical care are needed to improve economic productivity and increase welfare through the spread of the data economy.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.443-448
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• 2023

Over the past five years, the number of patients with sleep disorders has increased by about 250,000 from 840,000 in 2017 to 1.09 million in 2021. In addition, sleep disorder is a factor that causes dementia risk factors, and furthermore, the population with sleep disorder is a very important policy issue in terms of stable health insurance financial management in the future in terms of national health management in the super-aging trend. Therefore, this study aims to establish an efficient treatment environment in medical institutions responsible for the current status of polysomnography and effective reimbursement policies for the recently increasing population with sleep disorders, and appropriate sleep management policies for future sleep disorders through correct implementation. We are trying to find out the actual condition and improvement plan through interviews with related organizations and experts.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.67-76
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• 2023

Objectives: Previous studies have reported that people with disabilities are more likely to be impoverished and affected by excessive medical costs than people without disabilities. Public transfer income (PTI) reduces financial strain in low-income households. This study examined the impact of PTI on catastrophic health expenditures (CHE), focusing on low-income households and households with Medical Aid beneficiaries that contained people with disabilities. Methods: We constructed a panel dataset by extracting data on registered households with disabilities from the Korea Welfare Panel Study 2012-2019. We then used a generalized estimating equation model to estimate the impacts of PTI on CHE. A subgroup analysis was carried out to assess the moderating effects of family income levels and health insurance types. Results: As PTI increased, the odds ratio (OR) of CHE in households that contained people with disabilities decreased significantly (OR, 0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.89 to 0.94; p<0.001). In particular, PTI effectively reduced the likelihood of CHE for low-income households (OR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.81 to 0.89; p<0.001) and those who received medical benefits (OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.68 to 0.89; p<0.001). Conclusions: This study highlights the positive effect of PTI on decreasing CHE. Household income and the health insurance type were significant effect modifiers, but economic barriers seemed to persist among low-income households with non-Medical Aid beneficiaries. Federal policies or programs should consider increasing the total amount of PTI targeting low-income households with disabilities that are not covered by the Medical Aid program.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.87-91
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• 2023

Most advanced countries that are members of the World Physiotherapy have established a 4-year education system or specialized graduate school system for physical therapists based on national standards. They have also expanded their laws and systems to provide physical therapists with the autonomy and independence to offer services in their clinics. However, compared with developed countries in North America and Europe, there are issues with the autonomy and independence of physical therapists in Korea related to national regulations. Social status and recognition of the profession are also lagging. Korea is expected to become a super-aged society by 2025. To reduce the financial burden of healthcare and welfare on the government, it is necessary to extend the time spent by older adults on independent activities and minimize their time spent using medical services. To achieve this goal and maximize the active life of older adults, a plan to efficiently use licensed physical therapists in the country should be prepared. Korea should increase the license utilization rate of physical therapists to reduce waste at the national level and increase the professional hope of the younger generations of physical therapists. To create a healthcare policy focusing on the use of physical therapy personnel, similar to that in advanced countries, it is necessary to unify educational systems and produce excellent physical therapists. Providing professional autonomy can help physical therapists develop a sense of job satisfaction. Outstanding talent will choose physical therapy as a profession if they can see hope for their future careers, and if physical therapy services in Korea are similar to those delivered in advanced countries, physical therapy in Korea can develop into a healthcare service that people desire.