• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.71-97
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• 2004

This study conducted a comparative analysis of awareness level of review standards, continuing education, and awareness about the need for speciality and educational courses in order to improve quality of Korean health insurance review work and to present directions for policies of personnel development and continuing education to smoothly perform hospital's insurance claim work and Agency's review work. The analysis unit of the study is individuals, and survey was conducted among hospital's claim officers and Agency' review officers by distributing questionnaires. The major results of the study are as follows: First, it is found that hospital's claim officers and Agency's review officers have conflicting awareness about review standards; more Agency's review officers think that current review standards are universal and reasonable, while more hospital's claim officers believe that they need to be revised. Especially, hospital's claim officers replied that it is possible that review results can differ according to government's policies. Second, there is no significant difference between the two groups in the opinion that there are individual differences in awareness level of review standard. In particular, both groups share the opinion that review results can differ according to officer's interpretation of review standards. Third, Both review officer groups feel the need for further training and continuing education. Fourth, there is no difference between the two groups in the opinion that both groups members should be educated in review related educational institutions. However, while 81.5% of Agency's review officers the education should be offered at the Agency, only 45.2% of hospital's claim officers agreed to it. Fifth, both review personnel do not show any difference in awareness of needed experience to successfully perform review work; both groups replied that three to four years experience is necessary to smoothly perform claim work and review work. This study was tried in order to search for directions to improve Korean insurance review work in quality rather than to explore characteristics themselves of individual factors. In this sense, this study presupposed an intention that the educational subjects for further training and continuing education for the two groups should be the same in order to narrow the awareness gap between hospital's claim officers and Agency's review officers. Thus, this study suggests that it is desirable to offer beginner courses at junior colleges or in undergraduate courses and advanced courses in professional graduate school for six to twelve months. In that a comparison of awareness level of hospital's claim officers and Agency's review officers who are actually in practice should precede appropriate presentation of directions for the qualitative improvement of insurance review work in Korea, the significance of this study lies in comparatively analyzing the awareness level of hospital's claim officers and Agency's review officers and in presenting the establishment of future further training and continuing education.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.108-123
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• 2010

Purpose: We analyzed the characteristics of women who gave birth at an obstetrician and those who received oriental medicine postpartum care, and investigated the level of their satisfaction to obtain fundamental data for Oriental-Western cooperative medicine treatment for postpartum care. Methods: The review was based on a 5-months' data, from August 1 through December 31, 2009. Information on age, labor record, level of education, and occupation of the patients who had received postpartum oriental-western cooperative medicine treatment was based on Electric Medical Record(EMR) of O O Oriental Medicine Hospital. The questionnaires were completed by the patients at the time of their discharge from the hospital. Results: The patients who were admitted to oriental medicine hospitals tended to be primiparae, and they were more likely to be younger women with higher education levels. The level of satisfaction on postpartum care program of oriental medicine hospitals was high. Conclusion: It is necessary to specialize the facilities, dietary formula, and staff training of oriental medicine hospitals through a survey of postpartum patients' demand and satisfaction level. In oriental-western cooperative medicine hospitals, it is needed to specialize the postpartum program for creating demand of premature delivery mothers.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.175-189
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• 2020

Purpose: This study was conducted to develop, validate, and assess the reliability of a questionnaire for nutritional literacy among young Korean adults. Methods: The draft questionnaire contained 65 items in 7 domains (i.e., dietary guideline, nutrition and health, nutrients, 5 food groups [food bicycle], nutrition labeling, portion size, and nutrition management for disease prevention). The authors developed a draft questionnaire based on a literature review. After multiple drafts, 52 items were retained and 13 were eliminated in the 7 domains according to professional advice from 5 nutrition experts. A panel of experts (n = 20) comprised of clinical dietitians and nutrition professors completed the content validity assessment, including quantitative and qualitative feedback. As the results, all items of the portion size were eliminated from the questionnaire. A sample of 211 young adults completed the test-retest reliability assessment. Test-retest reliability was evaluated using intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and inter-item reliability by Cronbach α coefficient. Results: The final questionnaire contained 30 items with 5 questions each on the dietary guideline, nutrition and health, nutrients, 5 food groups (food bicycle), nutrition labeling, and nutrition management for disease prevention. The Lawshe content validity ratio for domains ranged from 0.60 to 1.00. The ICC scores for questions ranged from 0.64 to 0.86. Cronbach's α for domains ranged from 0.83 to 0.90 and for the overall questionnaire was 0.87. Conclusion: The questionnaire showed strong content validity, test-retest reliability, and high inter-item reliability, indicating that it is a useful tool for assessing nutritional literacy of young adults.

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.13-23
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• 2019

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to determine whether appreciative inquiry (AI) is an effective intervention for increasing the positive psychological capital and organizational commitment of new nurses. Method : The study used a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The participants were 60 new nurses in a tertiary hospital in Seoul. The experimental group received 2 classes of AI education and in-unit AI activities. The control group received the existing education program. Results : There was no statistically significant difference in the positive psychological capital and organizational commitment between the experimental group and the control group over time. Satisfaction with the AI education scored 3.69, which was higher than the average. The reason why the experimental group members were satisfied with the program was that AI education helped them to adapt and the in-unit AI activities made staff more cooperative and the atmosphere of the unit more positive. Conclusion : When applying AI activities to new nurses to promote positive psychological capital and organizational commitment, it is necessary to provide a workshop in which the participants can fully concentrate on education and to extend the period of use to one year in order to maintain the effect of AI activities.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.74-84
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop content for safety education to prevent hospital safety accidents among hospitalized children and to investigate the status of safety education performed by nurses. Methods: First, the Delphi method was used, with 18 experts, to develop educational contents for preventing safety accidents. Second, an exploratory survey was performed of the actual status of safety education for preventing safety accidents among hospitalized children using a questionnaire developed based on the Delphi method. The participants of this study were 159 nurses with at least 6 months of work experience. Results: The educational content developed through the Delphi method for preventing safety accidents among hospitalized children contained seven domains (falls, injury, electric shocks/burns, suffocation/aspiration, poisoning/abuse, kidnapping, medical devices) with 44 topics. The item mean of nurses'perceptions of the importance of child safety education was 4.18, and the actual performance score was 3.72, which was a statistically significant difference (t=11.58, p<.001). Conclusion: These seven comprehensive domains of accident prevention education for hospitalized children are expected to be useful for interventions to support the safety of hospitalized children.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.530-535
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• 2008

Evidence for the effects of different health behaviors, including diet, in elderly diabetes is currently limited. The aim of this study was to compare the quality of diet and health behaviors in Korean elderly T2DM patients, using a glycemic control. T2DM elders(>65 yr, n=48) were recruited and categorized by the concentration of glycated-hemoglobin HbA1c; subjects with HbA1c<7% were the good control(GC) group, and subjects with $HbA1c{\geq}8%$ constituted the poor control(PC) group. General characteristics, self-management behavior questionnaires, and 3-d diet records were all collected and assessed. No significant differences in general characteristics between GC and PC were detected, with the exception of a higher level of education in GC(p<0.05). A twofold longer duration of diabetes was observed in PC as compared to GC(p<0.01). The GC group did exercise for a longer time(p<0.001), and had an earlier beginning of diabetes self-management education (DSME) by healthcare practitioners using a team teach as compared with the PC group(p<0.05). The total dietary quality index(p<0.001) and individual index for carbohydrate(p<0.001) or vegetables and fruit(p<0.05) were better in GC than in PC. Therefore, the earlier DSME including intensive exercise and balanced diet selection should be expected to improve glycemic control in diabetic Korean elders.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.321-340
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• 2022

Objectives: This study established a practical direction for the prevention and management of metabolic syndrome by evaluating the health status, nutrition intake level, and diet quality according to metabolic syndrome and related drug treatment in Korean adults. Methods: The data from the 2017 KNHANES (Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) was analyzed. The analysis included 2,978 adults, classified into the normal, metabolic syndrome (MetS), metabolic syndrome with medicines (MetS-M), and without medicines (MetS-noM) groups. The nutrient intake, NAR (nutrient adequacy ratio), INQ (index of nutritional quality), and DDS (dietary diversity score) were analyzed. Results: The mean BMI was significantly higher in the MetS group than in the normal group for all subjects. Subjects of the MetS group tended to consume less energy and major nutrients, while males aged 50 ~ 64 and all females showed less intake of nutrients in the MetS-M group. The energy intake ratio was within 55 ~ 65 : 7~ 20 : 15 ~ 30 of KDRI (Korean Dietary Recommended Intake), but the carbohydrate energy ratio of all subjects aged 50 to 64 was over 65%. The NAR of the major nutrients was lower in the MetS-M group, the average INQ was around 0.8, especially the INQ of calcium and vitamin A was less than 1, and the total DDS score was less than 4 points. Conclusions: This study confirmed that the nutrient intake and diet quality differed among subjects diagnosed with metabolic syndrome and managed with medical care. The intakes of energy and many nutrients, the quality of diets, and the diversity of food groups in the MetS-M group were lower than in the normal group. Therefore, these will be an important basis for establishing a specific direction of diet education for preventing and managing metabolic syndrome according to gender, age, metabolic syndrome, and drug treatment.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.206-211
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• 2016

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Obesity, which is a known risk factor for many chronic diseases, has also been associated with vitamin D deficiency. This study explored the relationship between serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations and adiposity measures in a general Korean population using the most recent, nationally representative survey data. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The study sample consisted of 4,771 Korean adults (${\geq}19years$) who participated in the fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys. Serum 25(OH)D was determined by radioimmunoassay. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and total body fat content were measured as adiposity measurements. Total body fat content was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS: The serum 25(OH)D level was significantly higher in men than in women. Serum 25(OH)D concentration was positively correlated with energy intake, and it was negatively correlated with total body fat content (P < 0.0001) and percentage body fat (P < 0.0001) after adjustment for age in both sexes, while was inversely correlated with BMI only in women. In multivariable regression analysis, serum 25(OH)D was inversely associated with the total body fat content after adjustment for age, BMI, education, region, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and energy intake only in men (P = 0.0047). However, the serum 25(OH)D concentration was not associated with WC or BMI, indicators of adiposity after adjustment for potential risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Serum 25(OH)D concentration was independently associated with the total body fat content in a general Korean population, but it may be not associated with the indicators for estimating adiposity, such as WC or BMI.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.39 no.7
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• pp.661-673
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• 2006

Ssireum, the traditional Korean sport, is very popular at both amateur and professional levels. Ssireum players are prone to be obese which related to the chronic disease in their later life. The purpose of the study was to compare the anthropometric measurements, quality of diet, and blood parameters of Ssireum players with those of subjects who were matched body mass index, gender and age. Participants in the 3 groups, Ssireum players (SP, n=15), regular moderate exerciser (RME, n=15, >3 times /wk, >20 min/time) and intermittent light exerciser (ILE, n=14) groups. Anthropometric measurements included height, weight, fat mass (by Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry), lean body mass, triceps and thigh skin-fold thickness, mid-arm, waist, hip and thigh circumference. Dietary assessments were accomplished using 3-days food records, diet quality index (DQI), dietary variety score (DVS). Blood levels of lipids, leptin and insulin were analyzed. As a results lean body mass and mid-arm circumference were significantly higher in Ssireum players than those of other groups (p<0.01). Total body fat, trunk fat, abdominal skin fold thickness and waist-hip ratio were significantly lower in SP group than those of other groups (p<0.01). DVS were higher however, dietary quality was low in Ssireum players than in other groups. There were no differences among the 3 groups in regard to blood total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and glucose levels however, leptin level was low in Ssireum players. These results indicate that Ssireum players had significantly higher lean body mess and lower body fat when these were compared with regular moderate exerciser and intermittent light exerciser. Blood leptin levels of Ssireum players were low but blood lipid profiles were not significantly different.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.47-55
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• 2014

Background: Korea is considered to have an integrative health system where both western medicine and Korean (traditional) medicine are officially recognized and provided. Although Korean medicine has been covered by National Health Insurance over 20 years, equity in the utilization of Korean medical care has rarely been examined. Methods: We examined medical care utilization and expenditure of outpatient Korean medicine using panel fixed effects model to remove selection bias. Then we compared it with pooled ordinary least square (OLS) model. This study used Korea Health Panel data, which provides accurate information on out-of-pocket health care payment, including non-covered medical services. Results: Principal findings indicate that the frequency of the utilization of Korean medicine is related with unobservable individual choices different from western medicine, so the panel fixed effect model is appropriate. But pooled OLS model is better fitted for the expenditure of Korean medicine, after controlling for western medical care expenditure. After adjusting for the selection bias, socioeconomic status (income, education) was significantly associated with the expenditure of Korean medicine, but not with the frequency of the utilization of Korean medicine. Conclusion: This study shows that expenditure of Korean medicine utilization is inequitable across socioeconomic groups, which implies that health insurance coverage of Korean medicine is not sufficient.