• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.35-42
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• 2014

In this study we analysed frequency and importance of tasks, and education needs of 114 people working in dental clinics to be a reference of dental hygiene curriculum development. The results are as follow: The order of performance frequency is management support, preventive dental treatment, dental treatment assistance and oral health education, and the order of importance level of tasks and education needs is management support, dental treatment assistance, preventive dental treatment and oral health education. There is no statistically significant difference of performance frequency by general characteristics. The tasks considered most important level depending on general characteristics are oral health education in age of 40s (p<0.05), dental treatment assistance in dental hygienists (p<0.05), management support in women (p<0.05), dental hygienists (p<0.05), and more experienced workers (p<0.05). The most need for Educations depending on general characteristics are oral health education in women (p<0.05), dental treatment assistance in women (p<0.001) and dental hygienists (p<0.001), and management support in Seoul region (p<0.05). The importance of tasks and education needs have correlations. The results showed management support and dental treatment assistance are considered important in dental clinics and most needed job competency for dental hygienists.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.61-66
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• 2010

Purpose: Recently, Department of Nuclear Medicine have an interest in Video Display Terminals (VDT) syndrome including musculoskeletal disorders, ophthalmologic disorders, trouble of electromagnetic waves and stress disorders occur to VDT workers as the growing number of users and rapid pace of service period supply in large amount. This study research on the actual condition for VDT syndrome in Nuclear Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH), discover the problem and draw a plan of upcoming improvement. The aim of this study establish awareness about VDT syndrome and is to prevent for it in the long run. Materials and Methods: Department of Nuclear Medicine, SNUH is composed Principle part, Pediatric part and PET center. We estimated risk factors visit in each part directly. Estimation method use "Check list for VDT work" of Wonjin working environment health laboratory and check list is condition of VDT work, condition of work tables, condition of chairs, condition of keyboards, condition of monitors, working position, character of health management and other working environment. Analysis result is verified in Department of Occupational and Environment, Hallym University Sacred Heard Hospital. Results: As a result of analysis, VDT condition of Department of Nuclear Medicine, SNUH is rule good. In case of work tables, recent of things are suitable to users upon the ergonomical planning, but 15% of existing work tables are below the standard value. In case of chairs are suitable, but 5% of theirs lost optimum capacity become superannuated. The keyboards are suitable for 98% of standard value. In case of monitors, angle control of screen is possible of all, but positioning control is impossible for 38%. In case of working position, 10% is fixed positioning for long time and some of the items researched unsuitable things for standard. At health management point, needed capable of improvement. Also, other working condition as lighting, temperature, noise and ventilation, discovered the problem, but is sufficient to advice value. Conclusion: VDT syndrome is occurrences of possibility continuously, come economical expensive about improvement, is inherent in various causes and originate without your knowledge. So, there is need systematic management system. In Nuclear Medicine, VDT syndrome make it better that constant interest and effort as improvement of ergonomical working environment, improvement of working procedure, regular exercise and steady stretching, and can be prevented fairly. This promote physical and mental condition of worker in top form in comfortable working environment, so this is judged by enlargement of operations efficiency and rising of satisfaction ratings of the inside client.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.308-322
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• 2002

The main objective of this paper is to examine the working conditions of physical therapists and to investigate the level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment under different working conditions. A survey was conducted through structured questionnaire for the physical therapists working in Busan area, and data from 175 therapists were utilized in the final analysis. Survey items included general characteristics of the therapists(sex, age, education, marital status, religion, income, career years, etc.), their working conditions(kinds of organizations they work in, location of PT room, weekly working hours, average number of patients, number of co-workers, equipments/facilities, etc.), and organizational effectiveness measured in terms of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Major results are as follows: 1) As for the general characteristics of the surveyed physical therapists, male(51.4$\%$) slightly exceeded female(48.6$\%$) and majority(more than 90$\%$) was 20-39 in age. Also, there were more single(57.7$\%$) than married(42.3$\%$), and 54.9$\%$ of the respondents had religion while 45.1$\%$ did not. In terms of the ranks in their organizations, only a few of them(6.9$\%$) were managers, and monthly salary mostly ranged from $\￦$1,000,000 to $\￦$2,500,000. More than half of them worked in various kinds of hospitals, with the remaining in health centers or social welfare institutions. 2) In regard to the working conditions of the respondents, 19.4$\%$ of PT rooms were located in basement areas while the remaining 80.6$\%$ in first to third floors. 34.3$\%$ of them treated 15 patients or less per day, whereas 25.1$\%$ treated 31 patients or more. Also, 52$\%$ recorded physical therapy charts periodically. As for the equipments and facilities, 25.1$\%$ felt 'sufficient' and 40$\%$'insufficient.' 3) The respondents provided various kinds of suggestions for the improvement of their working conditions, where the most important were 'salary raise' and 'reduction of working hours.' In addition, their requests to the PT Association included 'permission of opening of independent practice,' 'permission of legal specialty,' and 'vitalization of the Association.' 4) The comparative analysis of job satisfaction and organizational commitment among different characteristics of the respondents revealed that there was no significant difference between male and female, but in terms of age, the group of 40 or older was highest in both aspects. Besides, therapists who had 15 or more years of hospital career reported higher job satisfaction and organizational commitment than the others. It was also found that the level of organizational commitment increased as the rank of the respondents got higher. There were no significant differences in terms of marital status and religion. 5) Comparison with regard to working conditions showed that therapists employed in university hospitals, health centers and social welfare institutions felt higher job satisfaction and organizational commitment than those in community hospitals and clinics. Also, respondents who worked in basement areas had significantly lower job satisfaction than otherwise. The length of weekly working hours did not really affect the level of job satisfaction, but it was important to maintain 'regular working hours' for the hospitals to improve the employees' organizational commitment. As for the number of patients per day, 'medium level' (21-25 patients) had highest scores in both aspects. And, finally, sufficiency of equipments and facilities was found to be important for the improvement of organizational commitment.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.4-17
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• 2000

Purpose : This study aimed to investigate and to evaluate the present conditions of hospice programs in Korea for supplying data useful in making policy in hospice, which is not institutionalized yet. Method : For this purpose we surveyed 59 hospice programs regarding the general characteristics, manpower, patients, services, financial conditions, and facilities. Thirty-seven hospice programs answered the questionnaires. Result : They were 11 tertiary hospitals, 11 other hospitals, 3 clinics, 12 home care hospice, and 1 freestanding hospice. Only 9 hospice programs have all of the essential professionals: physicians, nurses, social workers, clergies, and volunteers. In some hospice programs, volunteers who had not been trained for hospice provided services to terminal patients. More than half of the hospice said they provided services to the patients who lost their consciousness and were not suitable for hospice care. 16% of the hospice said they did not keep the patients' record. Some hospitals including tertiary hospitals provided such intensive care as radiotherapy, TPN, injections to hospice patients. Many hospice programs other than hospitals didn't charge patients for hospice care. 60% of the hospice said they suffered from financial problems. Most of the hospice wards were not built for hospice use at first. So they did not have such supplementary facilities as dayroom, waiting room, special bathing facilities etc. Conclusion : For improving the quality of terminal patients and promoting the cost effective use of health care resources, it is necessary to consider the institutionalization of hospice. The institutionalization of hospice programs can improve the quality of hospice care and the standardization of the hospice program can hasten its institutionalization.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.182-227
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• 1998

Korean government decided to adopt an explicit population control policy in 1961 and from the following year the establishment and operation of the national family planning programme was included in each of the Five-Year Economic Development Plans that began in 1962. This policy was pursued in the understanding that without proper population control measures korea could not be able to achieve economic development. Korean national family planning programme is characterized by contraceptive target system through public health network with distribution of free contraceptives by family planning field workers and clinical contraceptive services such as IUD, vasectomy and tubaligation at designated clinics by the government. In addition, IE&C activities by the Planned Parenthood Federation of Korea and programme evaluation and research by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs contributed to the development of the government programme. Between 1960 and mid 1980s the nation's total fertility rate was reduced from 6.0 to population replacement level of 2.1 and thereafter it has been maintained at 1.6 to 1.7 of below replacement level. With a short period of less than three decades fertility transition was completed in Korea. It is estimated that if the current level of below replacement fertility continues, the population in Korea stabilize at around 52.78 million people by the year 2028, and it will begin to decrease thereafter. Under this circumstances, the government adopted new directions and strategies of the population policy in June 1996, focused primarily on population quality and social welfare than on demographic arenas. In spite of over 80 percent of high contraceptive prevalence among married women, high incidence of induced abortions is maintained. Moreover, the prevalence of sex selective induced abortions using procedures to determine the sex of the fetus has resulted in an imbalance in the sex ratio at birth. In order to overcome those problems associated with reproductive health new policy for population quality control and health promotion programme should be highly strengthened in the future.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.139-171
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• 2018

The 「Act on Remedies for Injuries from Medical Malpractice and Mediation of Medical Disputes」(hereinafter referred to as 'the Act on Mediation of Medical Disputes') provides that the state should compensate the victims of medical accidents occurred irresistibly in childbirth despite that health and medical service personnel fulfilled their duty of care for their damage within the range of its budget(Article 46 of the Act on Mediation of Medical Disputes). Given that victims of medical accidents could expect demage recovery only through lawsuits thus far, this act can be said to be a groundbreaking act. However, However, as 30% of the costs for such medical accident compensation projects are borne by those who have records of childbirth among the founders of health and medical institutions (Article 21 of the Act on Mediation of Medical Disputes), there has been a question about whether doctors are held responsible despite that the accidents such as the deaths of mothers and newborn babies occurred irresistibly without doctors' fault. However, recently, the Constitutional Court ruled that 'the range of founders of health and medical institutions' and 'share ratios of finances for compensation' in Article 46 (3) of the Act on Mediation of Medical Disputes' related to the imposition of the share of costs are institutional (Constitutional Court ruling dated April 26, 2018, 2015Heonga13, hereinafter referred to as 'the ruling in the case'). Although the ruling in the case was made based on only the principle of statutory reservation and the principle of ban on comprehensive authorization, this paper added a practical judgment. This paper proved that the share of costs in this case has the nature of burden charges in pursuit of study and does not infringe on the property rights of the founders of health medical institutions even in light of the principle of proportionality because there is a legitimate reason for imposing the burden charge. The imposition of the share of costs in the system for compensation for medical accidents occurred irresistibly is against the principle of liability with fault in part. However, the medical accident compensation projects are rational a national policy for the victims of medical accidents and the medical world clearly gains some benefits from the effect to terminate medical disputes. The expansion of finances for compensation through the payments of the share of costs will reduce the suffering and misunderstanding of victims of medical accidents occurred in the process of childbirth and will be very helpful to the construction of stable treatment environments of medical workers by quickly establishing the medical accident compensation projects as such.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.85-90
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• 2015

Purpose: Time of operation has been reduced and accuracy of operation has been improved since C-arm, which offer real-time image of patient, was introduced in operation room. However, because of the contamination of patient, C-arm could not be used more appropriately. Therefore, this study is to know factors of controlling exposure dose, image quality and the exposed dose of health professional in operation room. Materials and methods: Height of Wilson frame (bed for operation) was fixed at 130 cm. Then, Model 76-2 Phantom, which was set by assembling manual of Fluke Company, was set on the bed. Head/Spine Fluoroscopy AEC mode was set for exposure condition. According to detector size of C-arm, the absorbed dose per min was measured in the 7 steps OFD (cm) from 10 cm to 40 cm (10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 cm). In each step of OFD, the absorbed dose per min of same diameter of collimation was measured. Moreover, using Nero MAX Model 8000, exposure dose per min was measured according to 3 step of distance from detector (20 cm, 60 cm, 100 cm). Finally, resolution was measured by CDRH Disc Phantom and magnification of each OFD was measured by aluminum stick bar. Result: According to detector size of C-arm, difference of absorbed dose shows that the dose of 20 cm OFD is 1.750 times higher than the dose of 40 cm OFD. It means that the C-arm, which has smaller size of detector, shows the bigger difference of absorbed dose per min (p<0.05). In the difference of absorbed dose in the same step of OFD (from 20 cm to 40 cm), the absorbed dose of 9 inch detect or C-arm was 1.370 times higher than 12 inch' s (p<0.05). When OFD was set to 20 cm OFD, the absorbed dose of non-collimation case was approximately 0.816 times lower than the absorbed dose of collimation cases (p<0.05). When the distance was 20 cm from detector, exposed does includes first-ray and scatter-ray. When the distance was 60 cm and 100 cm from detector, exposed does includes just scatter-ray. So, there was the 2.200 times difference of absorbed does. Finally, when OFD was increased, spatial resolution was 4 to 5 step was increased. However, low contrast resolution was not relative. Moreover, there was 1.363 times difference of magnification (p<0.05). Conclusion: When C-Arm is used, avoiding contamination of patient is more important factor than reducing exposed dose of health professional in operation room. Just controlling exposure time is just way to reduce the exposed does of workers. However, in the case, non-probability influence could be occurred. Therefore, this study proved that the exposed dose will be reduced if the factors such as using small detector size of C-arm, setting OFD from 20 cm to 25 cm and non-collimating. Moreover, dose management of C-arm in the non-interesting area will be considered additionally.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.489-495
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• 2023

Radiation shielding facilities are constructed in locations where diagnostic radiation generators are installed, with the aim of preventing exposure for patients and radiation workers. The purpose of this study is seek to compare and validate the trend of attenuation thickness of lead, the primary material in these radiation shielding facilities, at different maximum tube voltages by Monte Carlo simulations and measurement. We employed the Monte Carlo N-Particle 6 simulation code. Within this simulation, we set a lead shielding arrangement, where the distance between the source and the lead sheet was set at 100 cm and the field of view was set at 10 × 10 cm². Additionally, we varied the tube voltages to encompass 80, 100, 120, and 140 kVp. We calculated energy spectra for each respective tube voltage and applied them in the simulations. Lead thicknesses corresponding to attenuation rates of 50, 70, 90, and 95% were determined for tube voltages of 80, 100, 120, and 140 kVp. For 80 kVp, the calculated thicknesses for these attenuation rates were 0.03, 0.08, 0.21, and 0.33 mm, respectively. For 100 kVp, the values were 0.05, 0.12, 0.30, and 0.50 mm. Similarly, for 120 kVp, they were 0.06, 0.14, 0.38, and 0.56 mm. Lastly, at 140 kVp, the corresponding thicknesses were 0.08, 0.16, 0.42, and 0.61 mm. Measurements were conducted to validate the calculated lead thicknesses. The radiation generator employed was the GE Healthcare Discovery XR 656, and the dosimeter used was the IBA MagicMax. The experimental results showed that at 80 kVp, the attenuation rates for different thicknesses were 43.56, 70.33, 89.85, and 93.05%, respectively. Similarly, at 100 kVp, the rates were 52.49, 72.26, 86.31, and 92.17%. For 120 kVp, the attenuation rates were 48.26, 71.18, 87.30, and 91.56%. Lastly, at 140 kVp, they were measured 50.45, 68.75, 89.95, and 91.65%. Upon comparing the simulation and experimental results, it was confirmed that the differences between the two values were within an average of approximately 3%. These research findings serve to validate the reliability of Monte Carlo simulations and could be employed as fundamental data for future radiation shielding facility construction.

• 한국노년학
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.1359-1375
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• 2010

Expecting the expansion of the elderly population under long-term home care with the coming of the aged society, this study purposed to propose a prevention and self-reliance support model and to get practical implications for minimizing dependency on care benefits and enhancing the effectiveness of prevention and self-reliance support. Research methods employed for this study were: first, reviewing theoretical literature for clarifying the concept of prevention and self-reliance support in providing long-term care benefits for the elderly; second, identifying factors hindering prevention and self-reliance support through analyzing standard long-term care use plans and documents related to long-term care benefits at elderly welfare centers to which the research subjects belonged; and third, surveying care benefit users on factors hindering their use of prevention and self-reliance support and their needs in the use of care benefits. Based on the results of the three types of qualitative research, we proposed directions for prevention and self-reliance support modeling and suggested practical implications for enhancing the effectiveness of prevention and self-reliance support. For this study, we collected documentary materials and conducted in-depth interviews with the participants with the consents and cooperation of managers and professional social workers at day care centers and elderly welfare centers in D City. According to the results of this study, literature review suggested that long-term care prevention and self-reliance support should be provided in a way of 'strengthening user-centered support systems,' which support elderly long-term care beneficiaries' right to lead a life as the subject of their own life. Document analysis found the absence of benefits related to health and medicine and lack of social support systems for prevention and self-reliance support, and the results of in-depth interviews suggested the necessity to strengthen services related to elderly long-term care beneficiaries' prevention and self-reliance, and the keen needs of the long-term care elders for prevention and self-reliance included: ① loneliness, anxiety, fear; ② missing for and worry about children and people; ③ moving, outing; ④ health and medical services, rehabilitation programs; ⑤ desire to use day care; ⑥ inconvenience of house structure; ⑦desire for meal menus; and ⑧ the occurrence of disuse syndrome. Based on these results, we suggested the base of prevention and self-reliance support modeling with three axes: ① strengthening user-centered support systems; ② strengthening support systems connected to health and medicine; and ③ strengthening social support systems.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.27-45
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• 1990

Two opposing views prevail regarding the economic impact of rural out-migration on the rural areas of origin. The optimistic neoclassical view argues that rapid rural out-migration is not detrimental to the income and welfare of the rural areas of origin, whereas Lipton (1980) argues the opposite. We developed our own alternative model for rural to urban migration, appropriate for rapidly developing economies such as Korea's. This model, which adopts international trade theories of nontraded goods and Dutch Disease to rural to urban migration issues, argues that rural to urban migration is caused mainly by two factors: first, the unprofitability of farming, and second, the decrease in demand for rural nontraded goods and the increase in demand for urban nontraded goods. The unprofitability of farming is caused by the increase in rural wages, which is induced by increasing urban wages in booming urban manufacturing sectors, and by the fact that the cost increases in farming cannot be shifted to consumers, because farm prices are fixed worldwide and because the income demand elasticity for farm products is very low. The demand for nontraded goods decreases in rural and increases in urban areas because population density and income in urban areas increase sharply, while those in rural areas decrease sharply, due to rapid rural to urban migration. Given that the market structure for nontraded goods-namely, service sectors including educational and health facilities-is mostly in monopolistically competitive, and that the demand for nontraded goods comes only from local sources, the urban service sector enjoys economies of scale, and can thus offer services at cheaper prices and in greater variety, whereas the rural service sector cannot enjoy the advantages offered by scale economies. Our view concerning the economic impact of rural to urban migration on rural areas of origin agrees with Lipton's pessimistic view that rural out-migration is detrimental to the income and welfare of rural areas. However, our reasons for the reduction of rural income are different from those in Lipton's model. Lipton argued that rural income and welfare deteriorate mainly because of a shortage of human capital, younger workers and talent resulting from selective rural out-migration. Instead, we believe that rural income declines, first, because a rapid rural-urban migration creates a further shortage of farm labor supplies and increases rural wages, and thus reduces further the profitability of farming and, second, because a rapid rural-urban migration causes a further decline of the rural service sectors. Empirical tests of our major hypotheses using Korean census data from 1966, 1970, 1975, 1980 and 1985 support our own model much more than the neoclassical or Lipton's models. A kun (county) with a large out-migration had a smaller proportion of younger working aged people in the population, and a smaller proportion of highly educated workers. But the productivity of farm workers, measured in terms of fall crops (rice) purchased by the government per farmer or per hectare of irrigated land, did not decline despite the loss of these youths and of human capital. The kun having had a large out-migration had a larger proportion of the population in the farm sector and a smaller proportion in the service sector. The kun having had a large out-migration also had a lower income measured in terms of the proportion of households receiving welfare payments or the amount of provincial taxes paid per household. The lower incomes of these kuns might explain why the kuns that experienced a large out-migration had difficulty in mechanizing farming. Our policy suggestions based on the tests of the currently prevailing hypotheses are as follows: 1) The main cause of farming difficulties is not a lack of human capital, but the in­crease in production costs due to rural wage increases combined with depressed farm output prices. Therefore, a more effective way of helping farm economies is by increasing farm output prices. However, we are not sure whether an increase in farm output prices is desirable in terms of efficiency. 2) It might be worthwhile to attempt to increase the size of farmland holdings per farm household so that the mechanization of farming can be achieved more easily. 3) A kun with large out-migration suffers a deterioration in income and welfare. Therefore, the government should provide a form of subsidization similar to the adjustment assistance provided for international trade. This assistance should not be related to the level of farm output. Otherwise, there is a possibility that we might encourage farm production which would not be profitable in the absence of subsidies. 4) Government intervention in agricultural research and its dissemination, and large-scale social overhead projects in rural areas, carried out by the Korean government, might be desirable from both efficiency and equity points of view. Government interventions in research are justified because of the problems associated with the appropriation of knowledge, and government actions on large-scale projects are justified because they required collective action.