• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.50 no.2
• /
• pp.157-167
• /
• 2024

Background: Several previous studies have shown that commuting is a source of stress for undergraduate students. However, few studies have investigated the effect of commuting on academic stress among undergraduate students, and there has been little awareness of the environmental impact of commuting. Objectives: To evaluate the associations between commute type and/or time and academic stress among undergraduate students in South Korea, focusing on environmental sustainability. Methods: We conducted an online survey and obtained information on commute types, commute times, and academic stress from 510 undergraduate students aged ≥19 years. Academic stress was comprised of five sub-categories of stress, and total academic stress ranged from 5 to 25 points. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the associations between commute type and commute time and academic stress. Furthermore, the students were grouped into 21 categories based on their transportation mode for commuting. CO₂ emission factors per each commuting category were calculated using the transportation type's CO₂ emission data from previous studies. Spearman's correlation analysis was used to confirm the correlation between CO₂ emission factors and total academic stress. Results: Students using home-to-school transportation without transfers (vs. walking) showed a significantly higher total academic stress of 2.19 points (95% CI: 0.58, 3.80). In contrast, students using school-to-home transportation without transfers (vs. walking) showed a significantly lower total academic stress of 1.96 points (95% CI: -3.55, -0.38). Moreover, students using transportation with lower CO₂ emission factors had lower academic stress scores (home-to-school: correlation coefficient = 0.507, p<0.001; school-to-home: correlation coefficient = 0.491, p<0.001). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that both commute type and time are significantly associated with academic stress among South Korean undergraduate students. When students select environmentally-friendly transportation, they may not only improve their mental health but also improve climate resilience.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.19 no.4
• /
• pp.715-723
• /
• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between perceived health status and health-promoting behaviors in female college students. Method: Data were collected from December 10 to 31. 2007. In 160 female college students, perceived health status was measured using the Medical Outcomes Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and health-promoting behaviors using the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP). Results: The major findings of this study were as follows: 1) The mean scores of the level of health promoting behaviors, physical health status, and mental health status were 2.44 (SD=0.39), 51.9 (SD=8.03), and 42.56 (SD=10.77), respectively. 2) Health-promoting behaviors were correlate with physical health status (r=-.361) and mental health status (r=.498). 3) Health-promoting behaviors were significantly associated with allowance and mental health in capability, which explained 28.9% of variance in health-promoting behaviors. Conclusion: The results suggest that it is necessary to strengthen female college students' practice of exercise and responsibility for health in order to improve their health promotion behaviors. Also, the results of this study give useful information for designing interventions and program development for female college students' appropriate health promoting life.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.449-456
• /
• 2013

Objectives : The objectives of this study were to investigate the handwashing and practice of health science college students and emphasize the importance of handwashing and infection control precaution to the students. Methods : This study was conducted by 586 health science college students through self-reported survey. All data were analyzed using SPSS/PC 13.0 program. Results : 1. Female students washed hands more frequently(7 times per day) than male students(6 times per day). Female students washed hands for 39 seconds in the meanwhile male students washed hands for 28 seconds. 2. Handwashing after using toilet accounted for 79.6% and 72.0% in female and male students, respectively. 3. Most of the handwashing was performed with faucet water (82.1%). The others were tepid water (54.3%), running water (98.1%) and water with soap bar (66.7%). 4. The reason for not practicing handwashing was due to annoyingness (36.3%). Conclusions : Health science college students' tended to wash their hands frequently. However, there existed a gap between the handwashing perception and practice in the previous reports because the observed practice was different from self-estimated perception.

• Perspectives in Nursing Science
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.11-17
• /
• 2018

Purpose: Many Korean college students suffer from physical inactivity and mental health problems. However, it has not been sufficiently reported how this lack of exercise and health-related behavior affect their health. The present study was performed to identify the relationships among physical activity level, health-promoting behavior, and physiological variables in Korean undergraduate and graduate students. Methods: Participants were 115 undergraduate and graduate students from one university in Seoul. The Pearson's correlation analysis was performed using SPSS for Windows. Results: Physical activity level had significant positive correlations with health-promoting behavior (r=.32, p=.001) and exercise self-efficacy (r=.25, p=.008), and health-promoting behavior had a significant correlation with depression (r=-.33, p<.001) and exercise self-efficacy (r=.44, p<.001). Additionally, physical activity level had significant correlations with triglyceride (r=-.20, p=.034) and vitamin D (r=.20, p=.029) levels. The high density cholesterol level had significant negative correlations with systolic blood pressure (r=-.33, p<.001), diastolic blood pressure (r=-.29, p=.002), and vitamin D (r=-.20, p=.035) levels. Conclusion: Physical activity level or health-promoting behavior had significant relationships with the health status of college students. Strategies need to be developed to improve health-promoting behaviors among college students.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.95-104
• /
• 2022

Purpose : This study aimed to investigate the effects of health science majors' communication skills on their adjustment to college life. Methods : The subjects were 336 college students majoring in health science at colleges located in Busan. The survey's questionnaire comprised 38 items, including 15 items for communication skills and 19 items for adjustment to college life. Results : In the gender-based comparison of communication skills and adjustment to college life, female students had better communication skills, with overall higher scores than male students for the understanding others and communication. In the age-based comparison of communication skills and adjustment to college life, students aged 21 to 22 showed the best communication skills, while students aged 18 to 20 exhibited the least communication skills. In terms of adjustment to college life, those aged 25 or older scored the highest, and those aged 21 to 22 scored the lowest. In the school-year-based comparison of communication skills and adjustment to college life, third- and first-year students showed the best and least communication skills, respectively. Overall, third- and fourth-year students were more adjusted at adjusting to college life than first- and second-year students. Third-year students also scored the highest in academic adjustment, whereas second-year students scored the lowest. In terms of relationships between the students' communication skills and their adjustment to college life, communication skills were positively correlated with the following subdomains: understanding of others, self-expression, and communication. Communication skills also showed a positive correlation with adjustment to the college environment, including personal-emotional adjustment. Conclusions : The present study found that communication skills did not significantly affect health science majors' adjustment to college life. However, given that communication skills are an essential factor for effective work performance and greater job satisfaction, it is recommended that colleges provide students with relevant education and experiences to help them enhance communication skills while in school.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.732-746
• /
• 1999

This study investigated college students' health status, health attitudes, and eating and general health practices. They then were compared to the students' degree of health consciousness. Four hundred college students in Pusan participated in this study, of which 203 were young men and 197 young women. While college students considered that they were generally healthy, there were a number of negative health factors, such as fatigue and stress, particularly amongst the young women. They were not particularly concerned about or active in taking care of their health. There were, for example, problems of smoking and drinking among the young men, and a lack of exercise among female students. Female had more eating problems than male frequency and consistency in the quantity of meals, overeating, and snacking. On the other hand, women seemed to show more possibilities for improving the food habits. Health status did not appear to co vary significantly with the degree of health con sciousness. However, the higher the level of health concern, the more interest in health information and weight gain anxiety students had, and the more active measures in health care they took. Students who had high or moderate concern for health practiced more desirable eating habit than students who lacked this concern. In conclusion, educational programs which can increase concern for health among college students should be prepared in order to maintain their bodily health now and in the future. If such programs were developed with gender differences in mind, making college students take a positive attitude towards health issues and management of their own health, it would be more effective.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.47-55
• /
• 2023

PURPOSE: This study compared the preferences of students majoring in physical therapy (PT) and those of physical therapists regarding various PT fields. METHODS: Two hundred and sixty-two participants (students: 161, physical therapists: 101) were recruited, and their preferences for seven fields of the PT (musculoskeletal system, nervous system, children and adolescents, cardiopulmonary system, sports, and pelvic and women's health) were surveyed using a Likert five-point scale. An independent t-test was conducted to compare the preference scores of each field between the PT student and physical therapist groups. RESULTS: PT for the musculoskeletal system was the most preferred by PT students and physical therapists. In contrast, PT for children and adolescents had the lowest preference. A comparison of the preferences of various PT fields in the two groups revealed PT students to have a significantly higher preference for PT on the musculoskeletal system, children and adolescents, and the nervous system compared with the physical therapists. CONCLUSION: These results could provide the basic information for various PT fields.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.75-82
• /
• 2015

Objective : The objective of this study is to analyze various factors of how mental health, self esteem, and stress affect health living conditions aimed at college students who have a low level of self-awareness. This study can provide college students the vitality lifestyle by developing and applying customized healthy living program. Furthermore, it can benefit preventing disease and improving health condition. Method : This study is aimed at college students in Daegu. The research subjects' distributions consist of male of 138 and female of 144, which totaled 282. The collected data was analyzed by SPSS 18.0, statistical program.4 Results : The result of the study indicated that the main factors that affect self esteem, stress, and mental health condition are allowance and part time jobs. It shows that health characteristic doesn't have relationship with self esteem. However, stress are mental health have a close relationship with drinking, health conditions, sleeping hours, and exercise. Conclusion : College Students should manage and lead healthy living style as a role model of family and society; as a result, healthy living style in the college becomes very important time period in the life time. Therefore, college students need to improve self esteem and reduce stress in order to benefit their mental health. College faculty members also need to put an effort on educational health programs regarding the practice of healthy life such as campaign for antismoking, moderating in drink, and exercising.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.624-633
• /
• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the sexual behavior, health risk related to reproductive health, and characteristics of sexual experience among college students in Korea. Methods: Six thousands college students were selected through proportional quota sampling based on region, college, and gender. Structured questionnaires were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics and chi-square test were used to describe the data. Results: Thirty eight percent (N=2,285) of the participants reported sexual intercourse. The mean age of first time sexual intercourse was 19.3 years old. Respondents reported the following health risks such as smoking, drinking, not exercising, no regular meal patterns, chronic disease status, and weight loss over 10 kg in the past three months showed significant differences by sexual intercourse experience (p<.01). Among those who had sexual intercourse experiences, 7.1% of them reported having a history of STDs and 11.6% reported a pregnancy or pregnancy of one's partner. Conclusion: The findings of this study reflect the current trends of sex behaviors among college students and correlations between health risks related to reproductive health and sexual intercourse experiences. Developing reproductive health education programs based on the findings and providing the programs to college students through a school nurse is suggested.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Health Science
• /
• v.3 no.3
• /
• pp.378-389
• /
• 2015

Purpose. The actual status of wearing toric soft contact lenses was investigated to learn why it is not used although it is required. Materials and Methods. This study has studied 64 contact lens wearing the local college students, Gyeongsangnam-do who are 20.17(${\pm}0.70$)years old, by measuring their refractive power and over-refractive power with auto refractometer(HRK-8000A, Huvitz, Korea). In addition to that, a survey was done to figure out why they do not wear toric soft contact lenses, the purpose of using toric soft contact lenses, whether they have astigmatism or any knowledge about it, the kinds of contact lens, whether they are willing to buy corrective lenses, and how they are satisfied after purchasing them. Results. 17 students (21.9%) said they experienced light-spread; 9 students (14.1%)said that they have dizziness when they wear contact lens all day long. In the survey to see whether they had astigmatism or not, 37 students (57.8%) said they had it. For the reason they do not wear toric soft contact lenses, 33 students (51.6%) said that "they were prescribed regardless of astigmatism in the optometrist." To the question asking if they are willing to buy toric soft contact lenses according to the existence of astigmatism, 51 students (79.6%) answered they are. 31 students (48.4%) said they heard a description about astigmatism at the time of purchase for contact lens. Conclusion. As the ways for any people who need to correct astigmatism to wear corrective lens, enough education about astigmatism and consistent follow-up management are needed, where the role of optometrist is considered important.