• Health Policy and Management
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.131-138
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to compare the health status of South Korea with those of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries and examine the trends. Position vAlue for Relative Comparison (PARC) was used as a gauge for comparison, and five sectors of the health care system were measured: demand, supply, accessibility, quality, and cost. The Mann-Kendall test was used as a statistical analysis method to examine trend of PARC values obtained from 2000 to recent years. According to the results, the demand, supply, accessibility, and quality sectors were higher than the OECD average, while the cost was lower than the average. However, there is a recent trend of sharp increases in health care costs. Some indicators: health employment, quality of primary care and mental health care were lower than the OECD average, and health determinants showed a worsening trend. Therefore, policy-makers need to take this into account and make efforts for sustainable health care.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.696-705
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• 1994

This study was done to provide a basis for home health care management for women following Cesarean delivery. Furthermore it was initiated as an possible application of home health care in the future. In this study, client selection criteria was developed by the researcher and assessment tools for home health care, recording system and problem oriented recording system were revised from Jun's(1993) methods. The selection criteria tool for home health care for women who had a Cesarean delivery was structured and consisted of five areas : physical status, functional status, psychological-emetional status, educational needs status and environmental status. The structured assessment tool consisted of general items, obstetric history, past medical history, methods of feeding, medications taken before ad-mission, laboratory results, discharge instructions, discharge medications, family tree, economic status, environmental status, a map, health assessment of women and their newborns. The visit note consisted of the date : nursing problems : nursing process including initial assessment : nursing goals : visit plan : health status of the postpartum women and their newborn : nursing diagnoses : nursing implementation evaluation : summary : next visit plan and revision. The problem oriented recording system consisted of the date, problem numbers, nursing diagnoses, problem appearance date, problem resolution date. The results of the research are as follows : The seven cases having had a Cesarean delivery were discharged on an average on the 5th day after the Cesarean birth. The total number of home visits was 13. According to Cordon's functional health patterns the total possible nursing diagnoses was 34 diagnoses for the methers and their newborns. Among the 34 diagnoses, there were 13 diagnoses in the health perception /management pattern, 7 in the psychosocial health perception / management pattern, 8 in the psychosocial self-perception, 2 in the nutrition / metabolism pattern of physical function, 2 in the knowledge deficit of newborn management, anxiety related to newborn management, knowledge deficit related to disease process of new-born, anxiety related to disease process of newborn anxiety related to prognosis of baby's condition, knowledge deficit related to newborn jaundice each appeared once. The changes in the number of nursing diagnoses was related to not the number of visits but to the number of nursing diagnoses decreasing. The con-tent of the home health care was categorized ac-cording to assessment, direct care, counseling, education, family care. The recommendation based on the results of this research are Home health care nurses for Cesarean postpartum women and their neonates requires comprehensive knowledge of pregnancy, delivery, and the postpartum period and of the neonate so that they can provide appropriate care and holistic views. Most of cases terminated after the second visit, this outcome may be related to the subjects being discharged on the 5th day after delivery. Therefore, study done with earlier discharge after delivery may have different outcome. It is very hard to assess psychological aspects that need follow-up and to develop communication channels.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.126-138
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• 2010

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of assistive products usage on activity of daily living for the beneficiary older adults people in Korean long-term care insurance system. The study subjects were divided to assistive products users and non-users among the beneficiary older adults based on Korean long-term care insurance system to compare function improvement of the activity of daily living. Methods : In national wide 12 community elderly care center enrolled the National Health Insurance Corporation, The numbers of 281 beneficiary older adults(long-term care Grade I: 66, Grade II: 58, Grade III: 157) participated in this study. This survey assessment tool for activity of daily living was used the long-term care assessment instrument of the physical functions in the law of Korean long-term care insurance. The function items of Activity of daily living were included in clothing, washing, tooth brushing, bathing, eating, posture converting, stand sitting, move sitting, out of room, using toilet, controlling of stool, controlling of urine, washing hair. According to independence to complete dependence functioning level, remarks pointed 1 to 3 points. The data were analyzed by chi-square, two-way anova using SPSS V. 12.0. Results : The results appeared that the mean score of the functions in activity of daily living of assistive products users was a 27.60, and that of non-users was a 30.66. Assistive products were not effected in Grade I and II recipients, but that effected in Grade III recipients. Conclusion : Preparing for activation of assistive products based Korean long-term care insurance system, the result application as follows is possible. The usage of assistive products could improve the function of daily living activity in older adults. Related to Grade III beneficiary elderly people were improved function in activity of daily living by using assistive products, it is necessary to extend coverage the non-eligible elderly people in Korean long-term care insurance system.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.1042-1054
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• 2006

Purpose: Previous evaluation studies of the visiting nursing program explained an average change of the participants' health status, without considering socio-ecological characteristics and their impacts. However, these factors must affect individual health problems and lifestyles. For effective and appropriate community based programs, the Geographical Information System(GIS) can be utilized. GIS is a computer-based tool for mapping and analyzing things that happen on earth, and integrates statistical analysis with unique visualization. The purpose of this study was to evaluate visiting nursing care and to advocate the usefulness of planning and evaluating visiting nursing programs using Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis(ESDA) with GIS technology. Methods: One hundred eighty-four elderly participants with cerebrovascular risk factors who lived in 13 areas of one community received visiting nursing care. The data analyzed characteristics of pre-post change and autocorrelation by ESDA using GIS technology. Results: Visiting nursing care showed an improvement in the participants' lifestyle habits, and family management ability and stress level, while the improvements were different depending on the regions. The change of family management ability and stress level correlated with neighborhoods (Morgan's I=0.1841, 0.1675). Conclusions: Community health providers need to consider the individual participant's health status as well as socio-ecological factors. Analysis using GIS technology will contribute to the effective monitoring, evaluation and design of a visiting nursing program.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.576-590
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• 1996

Advanced countries such as the USA and Japan are eagerly seeking ways to improve health and welfare of the elderly. One of the services is home health care service using the telephone. Various types of services using the telephone have been developed, improved and are being utilized ranging from the basic consulting to emergency response systems in the area of health care for the elderly. A demonstration project was launched to study the feasibility of a consulting system and telemedicine for the elderly using the public phone system in Korea. For this project, a gathering site for the elderly was selected and those who visited this place were interviewed to find out what kinds of services they wanted and what kind of system they needed to provide the required services. Based on the users' requests and the surrounding environment, a telephone consulting facility was established at the Research Institute of Nursing Science at Seoul National University and consulting personnel was recruited, trained and posted at the center. An Application program for home health care nurses to use when they visited the patients at their homes was developed. This system operates on a notebook Computer and allows nurses to communicate with a doctor at a local hospital through a modem and telecommunication line. These systems were implemented for three months and problems which developed during operation of the systems were identified and progressively modified. Through system evaluation, it was found that a consulting system using phone service will be an invaluable system for the welfare of the elderly in the future. But in order to meet the elderly's need, more services than mere consultation are needed. That is, communication with physicians and hospitals are needed. Thus, when there is any need for physicians' attention, physicians or hospitals should be contacted directly. Similarly for telemedicine, when the home health care nurse visits elderly patients she can assess the patient's problem and provide nursing care, access a physician or hospital to refer her patient to or consult directly using the telecommunication the system. The above mentioned system is a basic form of futuristic telemedicine for the elderly and those who have chronic disease problems. This kind of system will be of great value when it is used on the national information super-highways in the future. In order to get to that stage, of course, this project needs great improvement in the technical, academic, and legal aspects.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.48-67
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• 2006

The aim of the study was to examine levels of satisfaction with health care in North Korea and to identify factors associated with it using a convenience sample of North Korean refugees in China. Data from the 2004 Survey of Health Seeking Behavior of North Korean Households conducted by the Center for Refugee and Disaster Response, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health were used. The study subjects were 273 North Korean refugees whose length of stay in China was less than 3 months. Factor analysis was used to extract factor dimensions from the 12 satisfaction items. Bivariate (t test and ANOVA) and multiple regression analyses were used in examining factors associated with satisfaction with health care use in North Korea Overall, satisfaction level was low ($2.36{\pm}0.36$, score range: 1-5). Of the three-factor dimensions, physician skills scored the highest $(2.93{\pm}0.36)$, followed by drug availability $(2.51{\pm}0.07)$ and general cleanliness $(1.66{\pm}0.55)$. In the multiple regression analysis, having a usual source of care was significantly associated with patient satisfaction. Respondents who identified primary care (section) doctors as their usual source of care tended to be less satisfied than those with the city or county hospital as their usual source of care. County residents tended to report a lower degree of satisfaction with general cleanliness than city residents. Among socioeconomic characteristics, the number of household assets positively predicted satisfaction with drug availability. North Korean residents appear to be dissatisfied with their medical care. It may reflect some inadequacies in the North's universal health care system to meet the healthcare needs of its people.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.55-65
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• 2024

Purpose: This study was intended to gain an in-depth understanding of and explored the experiences and meanings of participating in care services among community-dwelling older adults. Methods: A focus group interview approach was adopted. Twenty older adults were interviewed from November to December 2021 using semi-structured interview questions. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Three main themes and seven sub-themes emerged for the elderly people living alone. One main theme was "ambivalence of elderly care services," the second was "desperate need for care services," and the third was "positive changes and expectations experienced with care services." For the elderly people living with their families, two main themes and four sub-themes were identified. One main theme was "care services met within the family system," the second was "needs for care services outside the family system." Conclusion: We aim to provide a basis for strengthening the quality of elderly community care services in the mid- to long-term and establish a system of close linkages between necessary services by understanding the needs of elderly people who live alone or with their families.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.45-51
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• 1996

The Korea Information Infrastructure aims at the construction of an advanced national information infrastructure, consisting of communication networks, computers, databases and multimedia terminals. In the emerging information society, a well-established national information network plays a crucial role in enhancing economic efficiency and creating national wealth. Till 2015, government plans to construct an Information Superhighway Network and to provide a telecommunication service for speedy transmission of multi-media typed information and development of various applied programs, which help government's commitment to establish nationwide infrastructure to perform a leading role as a high level information society in the 21st century. In the field of health education, the research monograph contains three main parts: health education and information, acceptability of health education; development of health education management information system. In the most remote areas, it can bring high-quality health care where none is now available. In global health care, it can enhance and standardize the quality of medical care throughout the world. Before enlarging the establishment of the health education network system, the issues from this study should be considered to improve the health status through the introduction of information technology and applications in health care.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.27 no.3 s.47
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• pp.437-445
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• 1994

The objective of this study was to evaluate outcome for the patients of the intensive care unit, using APACHE III prognostic system. We prospectively collected the information of 429 patients in intensive care units at 2 tertiary care hospitals and 4 secondary care hospitals in PUSAN who had been admitted from December 1, 1993 to February 28, 1994. The results were as follows. 1. APACHE III scores were various from 0 to 173. But the distribution of the scores were similar between tertiary care hospitals and secondary care hospitals. 2. The mortality rate significantly increased as APACHE III score rised (p<0.001). Within the interval of same score, generally, the mortality of operative patients was higher in secondary care hospitals but in the case of nonoperative patients higher in tertiary care hospitals. 3. When the tertiary care hospitals compared with secondary for ratio of the predicted mortality rate to the actual mortality rate, there was little difference. 4. When we compared the 6 hospitals, one hospital had significantly better results and another hospital was significantly inferior (p<0.05).

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.347-352
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• 2020

Background: Low self-esteem can be an issue among health-care workers due to the hierarchical medical system. Health-care workers are also in a high pressure environment that can lead to stress and burnout. This study was conducted to estimate the proportion of health-care workers with low self-esteem, high stress, and burnout and the factors associated with these in a private hospital in Bangalore city. Methods: This cross-sectional study included a random sample of health-care workers of various cadres - doctors, nurses, nursing aides, technicians, and workers in ancillary departments such as laundry, dietary, central sterile supply department, and pharmacy, with probability proportional to size. Rosenberg Scale for Self-esteem, Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale, and Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure were used as study tools. Results: Among the 306 health-care workers, there were high levels of low self-esteem (48.4%), stress (38.6%), and burnout (48.7%), with the lowest levels being among doctors. Those aged younger than 30 years had significantly lower self-esteem and greater stress. Conclusions: Health-care workers with low self-esteem were nearly thrice more likely to suffer high stress, Odds Ratio (OR) = 2.84 (1.36-5.92), and those who were stressed had more than three times higher chance of experiencing burnout, OR = 3.6 (2.02-6.55). Path analysis showed that low self-esteem among health-care workers had a direct effect on burnout, as well as an indirect effect through stress (mediator variable). This study indicates the need for screening and counseling for low self-esteem, stress, and burnout as part of a periodic medical examination of all cadres of health workers.