• 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.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.154-168
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• 2023

Background: Legal regulations and fees have been established in Korea to provide visiting oral health care services to individuals with long-term care insurance (LTCI). However, beneficiaries of this service are very limited. Therefore, to improve the Korean system we propose a comparative analysis with the Japanese system. Methods: This study is a descriptive analysis based on secondary data, such as statistics, laws, and service record forms from Korea and Japan. The most recent institutional documents were obtained through a Google search. The variables investigated were financial resources of LTCI, co-payment structure, monthly limit of LTCI benefits, care levels of LTCI, service providers, service costs, contents of service, and the number of cases of service. Results: In both Korea and Japan, LTCI is financed through a combination of taxes and insurance premiums. However, the monthly limit for receiving LTCI services in Japan is about 2.4 times higher than in Korea. Visiting medical and dental treatment is also possible in Japan. Furthermore, nursing staff can provide daily oral health care services according to dental hygienists' instruction unlike Korea. Oral health care services in Korea are focused on oral hygiene and prevention of oral diseases, while Japan additionally provides oral function screening, patient education for oral health management, and training for nursing staff to enhance oral function, eating, and swallowing of the patients. Conclusion: We concluded that the possibility of visiting dental treatment, differences in monthly limit of LTCI benefits, oral function assessment and guidance, as well as collaboration with other healthcare professionals contributed to the difference in the frequency of utilization of visiting oral health care services between Korea and Japan.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.267-275
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• 2023

Background: Physical therapy (PT) plays an important role in the recovery of function following anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty (aTSA). While several PT protocols have been published for these patients, there is no standardized protocol for aTSA rehabilitation. This lack of standardization may lead to confusion between patients and physicians, possibly resulting in suboptimal outcomes. This study examines how PT protocols provided by academic orthopedic surgery programs vary regarding therapeutic goals and activities following aTSA. Methods: PT protocols for aTSA available online from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education accredited orthopedic surgery programs were included for review. Each protocol was analyzed to evaluate it for differences in recommendation of length of immobilization, range of motion (ROM) goals, start time for and progression of therapeutic exercises, and timing for return to functional activity. Results: Of 175 accredited programs, 25 (14.2%) had protocols publicly available, programs (92%) recommended sling immobilization outside of therapy for an average of 4.4±2.0 weeks. Most protocols gave recommendations on starting active forward flexion (24 protocols, range 1-7 weeks), external rotation (22 protocols, range 1-7 weeks), and internal rotation (18 protocols, range 4-7 weeks). Full passive ROM was recommended at 10.8±5.7 weeks, and active ROM was 13.3±3.9 weeks, on average. ROM goals were inconsistent among protocols, with significant variations in recommended ROM and resistance exercise start times. Only 13 protocols (52%) gave recommendations on resuming recreational activities (mean, 17.4±4.4 weeks). Conclusions: Publicly available PT protocols for aTSA rehabilitation are highly variable. Level of evidence: IV.

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.44-56
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• 2024

Purpose : This study sought to explore intensive care unit (ICU) nurses' perceptions regarding the disclosure of patient safety incidents (DPSI) and identify the relationship between the perception of DPSI and communication barriers. Methods : This study used a descriptive research design. A total of 110 ICU nurses from a tertiary hospital were surveyed online between September 14 and October 5, 2022. The mean DPSI score ranged between 1.0 and 4.0, with a higher score indicating a higher perception of DPSI. Results : The mean score for ICU nurses' perceptions of DPSI was 2.92 (SD=0.37). Among the characteristics of ICU nurses, differences were observed in perceptions of DPSI according to gender, age, total work experience, and ICU work experience. Communication barriers among ICU nurses were negatively correlated with negative results as a sub-factor of perceptions of DPSI. Ambiguity in the nurse's position, lack of confidence, differences in perspectives with patients, and inadequate nurse-patient relationships as sub-factors of communication barriers exhibited a negative correlation with negative results as a sub-factor of perceptions of DPSI. Conclusions : ICU nurses' perceptions of DPSI and the sub-factors related to communication barriers are negatively related to DPSI. To improve ICU nurses' perceptions, open and non-punitive circumstances, staff education, practical guidelines, and support systems are required.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.897-916
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• 2014

There is a considerable community between Eight Constitution Medicine and disease ecology in that they examine the relationship between humans and environment in terms of genetic, environmental and cultural factors, in addition to the factor of germs. In this respect, the purpose of this research aims to investigate the community between Eight Constitution Medicine, a branch of Eastern Medicine and disease ecology in geography. The research method is to analyse the clinical results from 647 patients and the data from a field survey on the Yeonggwang-gun County, Jeollanam-do Province. The results are summarized as the following: First, geographical distribution of patients varies depending on the type of physical constitution; it is also divided into two types, an oceanic type and an inland type. Second, it is highly probable that there is a significant relation between a vulnerable disease in association with a type of physical constitution and patient's native place; there are diseases that are not associated with all the patients who have the same constitution; they might be incurred by the eating or life habits in association with the characteristics of geographical environment. Third, the case study of Yeonggwang-gun County, Jeollanam-do Province, with a focus on the mutual relationship among the three factors. shows that patients, who share in common the eating or life habits that coincide with their own personal types of constitution, maintain a good health condition; if not, they tend to be exposed to a various kinds of disease. Because the study on the community between Eight Constitution Medicine and disease ecology is now at the early stage, diverse types of approaches should be tried to be applied in the future.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.620-627
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors associated with medical care utilization, the level of recognition, satisfaction, revisit and recommendation after implementing the expanded health insurance coverage of dental scaling. A questionnaire survey was conducted and analyzed among 608 adults living in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do April 1st to 30th, 2014. The results of the survey are as follows: 76.9% of the respondents know the expanded health insurance coverage, which is influenced by educational background and monthly income. The level of satisfaction, revisit and recommendation intention is affected meaningfully by educational background. Two factors, high school graduate or less and dental hygienist, meaningfully affect patients' satisfaction with scaling, and recommendation from others and Internet searching contribute to revisit. High school graduate or less is also one of the factors affecting the intention of recommendation, along with recommendation from others, Internet searching, scaling by a dental hygienist, and oral hygiene education before scaling. Summing up the results, patient's satisfaction and intention to recommend are high when dental hygienists provide oral hygiene instruction prior to scaling. This study suggests that dental hygienists help patients feel comfortable before treatment by building rapport with them. In addition, it is required that consistent efforts for quality improvement in scaling be sustained, that the patient's needs be identified to increase their satisfaction with scaling, and that studies to verify relevant factors be conducted.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.489-498
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to examine whether there is a difference in the awareness of death based on happiness (since attitude or way of life differs among the general public, depending on the perception of death), and to investigate whether there is a difference in the interest in hospices between a group with a high happiness index and a group with a low happiness index. A survey was conducted on 200 men and women aged over 20 who participated in a walking event held in a metropolitan city on April 22, 2017. The survey consisted of eight demographic items: gender, age, education, occupation, marital status, family cohabitation, religion, and health status. It included 29 questions regarding happiness and nine questions regarding the perception of death. For the statistical tests, a chi-square test, an independent sample t-test, correlation analysis, and canonical correlation analysis were performed on the items of the survey based on a happiness index. The results of the study showed that, for a suitable place for death, medical institutions was the highest score (46.3%) for the group with a low happiness index, and own house was highest (59.4%) for the group with a high happiness index. This was a significant difference. It is thought that management systems should be supplemented by professional manpower, educating people so as to increase the utilization rates of home-based hospice as a way for patients to die in a comfortable and familiar place because, for Korea, death is much more common in hospitals. It is also necessary to increase the awareness of death and to make effective use of hospices through individual and various other approaches, considering the demographics of the subjects.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.416-426
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• 2016

This study intended to identify dental hygienists' knowledge and extent of awareness and performance of patient's personal information protection. In addition, this research was conducted to contribute to medical centers' preparation of measures to strengthen the personal information protection by identifying the factors affecting dental hygienists' extent of performance related to the patient's personal information protection. After explaining the purpose and meaning of the research to the survey participants and gaining their consent, a self-administered survey was conducted from November 7, 2014 to June 30, 2015. The data on 210 dental hygienists in Busan city and Gyeongsangnam-do province was used for analysis. As a result, in dental hygienists with more than 10 years experience, the extent of the performance was significantly high (p<.05). In positions higher than a senior manager, the extent of knowledge was high (p<.01) and the extent of performance was significantly high (p<.05). In hospitals with more than 10 to 20 workers, the extent of awareness was significantly high (p<.05). Regarding the correlation of knowledge and the extent of awareness and performance, a high level of knowledge showed a positive correlation of the extent of awareness and performance (p<.01). As a result of a survey regarding what effects dental hygienists' knowledge and extent of awareness of patient's personal information protection have on dental hygienists' extent of performance, it was found that knowledge (.231) and the extent of awareness (.212) are factors affecting the extent of performance. Therefore, to increase the extent of dental hygienists' performance of patient's personal information protection, there is a need to improve the knowledge of patient's personal information protection and change its awareness. To change the awareness of patient's personal information protection, there is a serious need to carry out education targeting dental hygienists.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.12 no.10
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• pp.467-476
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• 2014

This study aims to determine the effects of mental health on obesity among Korean adolescents. The data in this study were obtained from the 2013 Korean Youth Health Risk Behavior Web-based Survey conducted in 70,354 adolescents aged twelve to eighteen (35,575 males and 34,779 females) from June 1 to 30, 2013. The variables included age, the economic status of household, academic achievement, health status, perceived happiness, perceived stress, satisfaction of sleeping, perceived depression, and suicidal ideation and the data were processed using t-test, chi square test, and logistic regression analysis. The general characteristics affecting obesity for both Korean male and female adolescents included age (p<0.001), the economic status of households (p<0.001), academic achievement (p<0.001), and health status (p<0.001); the variable of mental health affecting obesity was suicidal ideation among females (p<0.05). It is expected that female adolescents' experience of suicidal ideation can be used as information to predict the likelihood of obesity in managing an obesity program for adolescents and it is necessary to provide obesity education suitable for age and to include obesity guidance in consideration of gender and the economic status.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.153-169
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• 1996

This study was designed to identify, describe and classify orientations of cancer patient's family members to death and to identify factors related to their attitudes on death. Death to the male is understood as a comprehensive system and believed to be highly subjective experience. Therefore attitude on death is affected by personalities. As an attempt to measure the subjective meaning toward death, the unstructured Q-methodology was used. Korean Death Orientation Questonaire prepared by Kim was used. Item-reliability and Sorting-reliability were tested. Forty five cancer patients' family members hospitalized in one university medical center in Seoul were sampled. Sorting the 65 Q-itmes according to the level of personal agreement ; A forced normal distribution into the 11 levels, were carried out by the 45 P-samples. The demographic data and information related to death orientation of the P-sample was collected through face to face in depth interviews. Data was gathered from August 30 till September 22, 1995. The Z-scores of the Q-items were computed and principal component factor analysis was carried out by PC-QUANL Program. Three unique types of the death orientation were identified and labeled. Type I consists of twenty P-samples. Life and death was accepted as people's destiny, They firmly believed the existence of life after life. They kept aloof from death and their concern was facing the and of the life with dignity, They were in favor of organ donation. Type II consists of Nine P-Samples. They considered that death was the end of everything and did not believed the life after life. They were very concerned about the present life. Type III consists of Sixteen P-samples. They regarded the death as a natural phenomena. And they considered that the man is just a traveller and is bound to head for the next life which is believed to be free of agony, pain or darkness. They neither feared death nor its process. Their conserns were on the activities to prepare themselves for the eternal-life after death. Thus, it was concluded that there were three distinctiven type of attitudes on death among cancer patient family members, and their death attitudes were affected by demographic and socio-cultural factors such as sex, education, and religion.