• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.173-180
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• 2018

Objectives: Immunization is considered one of the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions protecting communities from preventable infectious diseases. The Korean government set up a dedicated workforce for national immunization in 2003, and since then has made strides in improving vaccination coverage across the nation. However, some groups remain relatively vulnerable and require intervention, and it is necessary to address unmet needs to prevent outbreaks of communicable diseases. This study was conducted to characterize persistent challenges to vaccination. Methods: The study adopted a qualitative method in accordance with the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research checklist. Three focus group interviews were conducted with 15 professionals in charge of vaccination-related duties. The interviews were conducted according to a semi-structured guideline, and thematic analysis was carried out. Data saturation was confirmed when the researchers agreed that no more new codes could be found. Results: A total of 4 main topics and 11 subtopics were introduced regarding barriers to vaccination. The main topics were vaccine hesitancy, personal circumstances, lack of information, and misclassification. Among them, vaccine hesitancy was confirmed to be the most significant factor impeding vaccination. It was also found that the factors hindering vaccination had changed over time and disproportionately affected certain groups. Conclusions: The study identified ongoing unmet needs and barriers to vaccination despite the accomplishments of the National Immunization Program. The results have implications for establishing tailored interventions that target context- and group-specific barriers to improve timely and complete vaccination coverage.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.327-340
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• 2017

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the barriers to promoting physical activity among obese children from low-income families using community child care (CCC) centers. Methods: This study employed an exploratory-descriptive qualitative research using focus group interviews. The participants were recruited from CCC centers, and 4 focus group interviews were conducted with 10 overweight and obese children and 14 primary caregivers. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed using content analysis. Results: The barriers to promoting physical activity were classified into three areas: 1) individual, a lack of will for physical activity; 2) interpersonal, a change in communicative mean with the peer group, absence of parental monitoring due to work-family balance, and an absence of consistent rules; and 3) organizational, lack of physical activity programs and human resources, and confined space for physical activity. Conclusion: The physical activity of children in low-income families is influenced by a range of ecological barriers. These findings can be used to develop tailored intervention to prevent and manage childhood obesity in low-income children.

• Journal of East-West Nursing Research
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.104-113
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of emotional labor of nursing personnel working in comprehensive nursing service ward and to suggest the way service improvement can be achieved. Methods: A total of 28 nurses working in comprehensive nursing service ward were divided into four groups to conduct focus group interview. All interviews were recorded and transcribed after the interview to perform data analysis in the order of data classification, topic categorization, and keyword derivation. Results: The five categories of subjects and relating keywords drawn from the focus group interviews are as follows: 1) Emotional labor experience: suppressing emotions, expressing emotions or actions that are different from reality, 2) Situations of emotional labor: verbal abuse and assault, sexual harassment, personal needs and errands, 3) Responses to emotional labor: responding directly, responding directly, receiving senior's help, using the organizational system, persevering, 4) Problems caused by emotional labor: work exhaustion, job change intention, job stress, 5) Protection plan against emotional labor: manual or education for nurses, education for patients and carers, compensation, tough sanctions though system strengthening. Conclusion: This study shows that although nurses working in comprehensive nursing service ward generally experience high levels of emotional labor, the problem solving of them relies mainly on personal response. Therefore, it is necessary to develop various measures to protect nurses in an organizational level response, thus to improve the comprehensive nursing service system.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.129-137
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• 2021

This study is a qualitative study conducted using focus group interviews to examine the mixed offline and online education experience of nursing students in the context of Covid-19. The subjects of this study included 7 students enrolled in the Department of Nursing at J City V University, and focus group interviews were conducted with sufficient explanation and written consent for the study. The contents of the interviews were recorded, and the interview contents were directly transcribed directly after the interview. Research results were derived through content analysis. As a result of the study, 5 domains, 10 categories, and 24 subcategories were derived from the experiences of nursing college students on mixed lectures. The 5 domains included 'mixed lectures,' 'tasks,' 'tests,' 'motivation,' and 'improvement.' The contents of each domain derived from this research result are expected to be used as basic data in the design of the on/offline mixed lectures in the future.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.384-389
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• 2023

Background: Exposure to welding fume is associated with adverse effects on worker health. The use of various control measures can reduce levels of exposure and the resulting health effects. However, little is known about the factors that may influence workers' use of control measures in the workplace and their perceived intervention needs. This study aimed to investigate workers' and other stakeholders' views on ways to improve the use of welding fume control measures in Australian workplaces. Methods: We conducted a series of online focus group discussions and individual interviews with participants who have some occupational involvement in welding, whether as workers, employers or industry representatives, union representatives, or regulators. A semi-structured question guide was used, and all discussions and interviews were recorded and transcribed for analysis. Results: Five focus group discussions and five individual interviews were conducted with a total of 21 participants. Three major themes emerged. The first addressed the current awareness of welding fume harms and concern about exposure; the second focussed on the current use of control measures, and barriers and facilitators to their use; and the last centred around intervention needs and the contents of a potential effective intervention. Conclusion: Improving the use of control measures to prevent exposure to welding fume requires knowledge around the barriers and facilitators of control, use, and the intervention needs of stakeholders. This study has provided such knowledge, which will facilitate the design and implementation of an intervention to reduce welding fume exposure and ultimately protect the health of workers.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.306-319
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• 2013

This study explores various issues of appearance management behavior for plus-size women in Korea with a focus on clothing. In-depth interviews and focused group interviews were conducted with 24 plus-size women. The interviews were recorded and the transcripts were analyzed based on grounded theory. Discomfort was the main phenomenon involving the experience of plus-size women related to appearance management. Psychological as well as physiological/physical discomfort, unmet needs (regarding clothing) and inconvenient shopping experiences were frequently mentioned. Causal conditions for discomfort were obesity, social stigma, and an underdeveloped clothing market for plus-size consumers. Interviewees developed strategies to cope with discomfort (suppressing clothing need, loss of interest in clothing, diversion from clothing needs, sole focus on physical comfort, dress-up and increase in shopping channels, and change in shopping patterns) that depended on contextual conditions (such as duration of obesity and attitudes of people) close to the interviewees. The discomfort of interviewees decreased or continued depending on if they became ambivalent about their obese condition, lost weight, or utilized plus-size specialty stores.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.974-990
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to explore practical meanings of convergence education and to seek ways of implementing it in school science education. The study adopted focus group interview method in order to elicit science teachers' perceptions and practical knowledge related to various ways of integrating educational aims and contents from the perspectives of science education. Two focus group interviews were held with four science teachers with the themes of the concept and potential of convergence education, and the implementation and systemic support, respectively. The qualitative data was analyzed by deriving major themes comprising teachers' perception on convergence education: they are 1) related concepts and rationales, 2) contents, methods, and assessment, 3) the characteristics of the science subject that make it suitable for convergent education, 4) teacher perception and professionalism required for implementing convergent education, and finally 5) environmental conditions for putting the idea into practice. Based on this result, the study discusses conceptual and practical issues for implementing convergence education in ways that contribute to overcoming the problems of the traditional educational system and reorienting science education towards the future society.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.288-294
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• 2020

Purpose: This study aimed to comprehensively examine middle-aged male taxi drivers' perceptions of the risk of cardiovascular disease. Methods: A qualitative method was used, with focus group interviews. The participants were middle-aged male taxi drivers who had been driving for more than ten years and for more than six hours daily. Results: The data were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. Middle-aged male taxi drivers' perceptions of the risk of cardiovascular disease were categorized into three main themes: "individual perceptions of cardiovascular disease", "possibility of behaviors for cardiovascular disease" and "motivations of behaviors for cardiovascular disease". Six sub-themes were extracted as follows: "perception of vulnerability", "perception of seriousness", "perception of profitability", "perception of disability", "self-awareness" and "advancing toward health care". Conclusion: It is necessary to invigorate support systems through measures including education, counseling, and web-based programs to prevent cardiovascular disease in middle-aged male taxi drivers.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.544-554
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• 2013

Purpose: This study was designed to describe the burnout experiences of nurses counseling people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in hospital-based counseling services in Korea. Methods: A qualitative research technique with focus group interviews was used and the data were collected in 2012. Participants were 13 counseling nurses from 16 medical hospitals in South Korea who had worked full-time for more than six months as a counseling nurse for PLWHA. The 13 nurses made up 68.4% of all 19 official HIV counseling nurses in South Korea. Data were collected using focus group interviews and analyzed with the content analysis methodology of Downe-Wamboldt. Results: Burnout experience of counseling nurses for PLWHA was analyzed for two domains-causes of, and effects of burnout. Each domain was classified into three categories; personal, job-related, and relationships. Further 17 sub-categories and 47 concepts were discovered. Conclusion: In this study various causes and effects of burnout experienced by nurses counseling PLWHA were identified. These findings can be used in developing effective strategies for nurses, administrators, and health policy makers to solve the burnout of counseling nurses. Further research is required to develop detailed and practical job description for nurses counseling PLWHA.

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.1-14
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• 2011

Purpose: This study was aimed to understand and describe the Korean critical care advanced practice nurses' work experience. Methods: Data was collected through 2 focus group interviews that were held in two different university hospitals in Seoul, Korea. All interviews were recorded and transcribed, and data were analysed using modified qualitative content analysis. Results: Ten themes were drawn from data analysis. They are "Various and complex tasks", "Excellency of advanced nursing practice", "Pressure and responsibility accompanied with pride", "Role identity confusion", "Role conflict", "Leaping and evolving role", "Gap between role and outcome evaluation", "Underestimated outcomes", "Where are my outcomes?" "Searching for outcomes: publicize the role". Conclusion: The results of this study help to understand the role of Korean critical care advanced practice nurses and to guide to outcome evaluation of their role effectiveness. Developing qualitative outcome indicators, cost-effectiveness ananlysis of Korean critical care advanced practice nurses' role, and accumulation of evidences through researches on outcome evaluation will be needed to successfully settle down advanced practice nursing in Korea.