• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.27 no.2 s.46
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• pp.274-285
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• 1994

The effects of resin on the respiratory health have been investigated in 309 workers from four iron and steel foundries and the results compared with those from 122 workers who were not significantly exposed to resin gas and silica dust at the same industries. Phenol-formaldehyde resin was used in the core making and molding processes and workers were exposed to their decomposition products as well as to silica dust containing particulates. The subjects were grouped according to formaldehyde, dust and other gas exposures, and smoking habits were considered also in thi analysis. Standardized respiratory symptom questionnaire was administered by trained interviewers. Chest radiograph, pulmonary funtion tests, and methacholine challenge tests were done. Environmental measurements at the breathing zone were carried out to determine levels of formaldehyde, respiable dust and total dust. Foundry workers had a higher prevalence of symptoms of chronic bronchitis with chronic phlegm and chronic cough when exposed to dust. Exposure to gas was significantly associated with lowered $FEV_1$ and obstructive pulmonary function changes. Exposure to formaldehyde and phenol gas was associated with wheezing symptom among workers, but $FEV_1$ changes after methacholine challenge were not significantly different among different exposure groups. When asthma was defined as the presence of bronchial hyperreactivity with more than 20% decrease in $FEV_1$ after methacholine challenge, 17 workers out of 222 tested had asthma. Fewer asthmatic welters were found among groups exposed to formaldehyde, gas and dust, which indicates a healthy worker effects ill a cross-sectional study. The concentration of formaldehyde gas ranged from 0.24 to 0.43 ppm among studied foundries. The authors conclude that formaldehyde and phenol gas from combusted resin is probably the cause of asthmatic symptoms and also a selection force of those with higher bronchial reactivity away from exposures.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.197-203
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• 2011

Purpose: Pain is the most common and influential symptom in cancer patients. Few studies concerning pain intensity in the terminally ill cancer patients have been done. This study aimed to identify factors related with more than moderate pain. Methods: This study used secondary data of 162 terminal cancer inpatients at the palliative ward of six training hospitals in Korea. Physician-assessed pain assessment was by 10 point numeric rating scale. Substantial pain was defined more than moderate intensity by the Korean National Guideline for cancer pain. The Korean version of the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory was self-administered to assess symptoms. Survival prediction was estimated by the attending physicians at the time of admission. Results: Less than six weeks of predicted survival and more than numeric rating of six for worst drowsiness in the previous 24 h were significantly related to substantial pain (P=0.012 and P=0.046, respectively). The dose of opioid analgesics was positively related to substantial pain (P=0.004). Conclusion: Factors positively related to substantial pain were less than six weeks of predicted survival and considerable drowsiness. Careful monitoring and active preparation for pain are required in terminal cancer patients having those factors.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.307-316
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the levels of relocation stress syndrome (RSS) and influencing the stress experienced by Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients just after transfer to general wards. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 257 patients who transferred from the intensive care unit. Data were collected through self-report questionnaires from May to October, 2009. Data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and stepwise multiple linear regression with SPSS/WIN 12.0. Results: The mean score for RSS was $17.80{\pm}9.16$. The factors predicting relocation stress syndrome were symptom experience, differences in scope and quality of care provided by ICU and ward nursing staffs, satisfaction with transfer process, length of stay in ICU and economic status, and these factors explained 40% of relocation stress syndrome (F=31.61, p<.001). Conclusion: By understanding the stress experienced by ICU patients, nurses are better able to provide psychological support and thus more holistic care to critically ill patients. Further research is needed to consider the impact of relocation stress syndrome on patients' health outcomes in the recovery trajectory.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.70 no.1
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• pp.28-35
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• 2011

Background: The aim of the study was to describe the characteristics, treatments, and outcomes of critically ill patients with pandemic Influenza A/H1N1 2009 at a major medical center in Korea. Methods: This retrospective observational study examined critically ill adult patients with pandemic Influenza A/H1N1 2009, who were admitted to the AMC between August and December 2009. Results: 27 patients with confirmed pandemic Influenza A/H1N1 2009 were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at the Asan Medical Center (AMC). The median age (IQR) was 59 years (41~67), and 66.7% of the patients were older than 51 years. A total of 81.5% of the patients had 2 or more co-morbidities. The median time (IQR) from symptom onset to presentation was 2 days (1~4), and the median time from presentation to ICU admission was 0 days (0~1.5). All patients received oseltamivir (300 mg/day) and 13 patients received triple combination therapy (oseltamivir, amantadine, ribavirin). Twelve patients required mechanical ventilation on the first day of ICU admission. A total of 6 patients (22.2%) died within 28 days of admission. The patients who died had significantly higher acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) II and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores at presentation. There were no significant differences in age, co-morbidities, or antiviral regimens between survivors and non-survivors. Conclusion: Critical illness related to pandemic Influenza A/H1N1 2009 was common in elderly patients with chronic co-morbidities. All patients were given high-dose oseltamivir or triple combination antiviral therapy. Nonetheless, patients with critical illnesses associated with pandemic Influenza A/H1N1 2009 had a death rate of 22.2%.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.197-203
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• 1982

A study was carried out in order to obtain the status of student sickness and medical care in University Health Service, Ewha Womans University. This study was based on the clinical records of University Health Service and hospitals 'for student insurance pay claims during the year of 1981. And the findings from the study were as follows; 1. A total number of student patients cared at University Health Service in 1981 was 9,822 and the incidence rate of primary cared was 773 per 1,000 students. 2. A total number of student patients cared at hospitals was 393 and the incidence rate of secondary cared was 31 per 1,000 students and 5 student out of 31 per 1000 was cared under the haspitalization. 3. The evacuation rate of student patients from University Health Service to hospital was 393 out of 9,822 student primary cared or 4.0 percent. 4. The order of 5 major diseases of primary cared in University Health Service was respiratory system diseases (36.6%), Digestive system diseases (17.4%), Skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases (16.0%), Symptoms and undetermined diagnosis (13.7%) and Nerve and sensory organ diseases (12.0%) respectively. 5. The disease order of student patients(333) cared in hospitals as out-patients was Skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases (40.3%), Nervous and Sensory organ disease (19.2%), Digestive system diseases (10.8%) respectively. 6. The disease order of student patients (60) cared in hospitals as in-patients was Digestive system diseases (35.0%), Respiratory system diseases (13.3%), Nerve and sensory organ diseases (10.0%), Infectious and parasitic diseases (10.0%), and Symptom and Undetermined diagonsis (10.0%) respectively. 7. The evacuation rate of student patients in University Health Service to hospital was varied according to disease groups; the lowest rate was the diseases evacuated to Internal Medicine Department 1.5% or 75 out of 5,072 patient primary cared and the highest rate was Neuropsychiatry department 63.7% or 7 out of 11 patients. 8. The monthly distribution of student patients in University Health Service was the highest in September (17.9%) and April (15.5%) each semester. 9. The monthly number of student patients treated in hospitals was the range 20 to 40 in out patients and 2 to 9 in in-patients. 10. The hospital ill days per case were $4.3{\pm}5.0$ days in out-patients and $9.7{\pm}9.5$ days in in-patients.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.125-135
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• 2002

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of depression, discomfort, spirituality, physical care, and opioid use on pain with terminally ill cancer patients in the hospice units. Method : The convenient sample of this study consisted of 58 terminally ill cancer patients at three hospice units in university-affiliated hospitals. Patients were interviewed with structured questionnaires. The data was analyzed using ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multivariate multiple regression. Result : The results of this study were as follows : 1) The mean age of the participants was approximately 57 years. Regarding diagnosis, stomach cancer showed the highest frequency (24.1%), followed by lung cancer (17.2%) and rectal cancer (13.8%). Regarding motivation for admission to the hospice unit, the majority of the participants indicated pain control (67.2%), followed by spiritual care (39.7%), and symptom relief (27.6%). 2) The mean pain level measured by VAS was 5.13 (${\pm}2.61$). Regarding pain type, the highest pain frequency the participants experienced was deep pain (53.4%), followed by multiple pain (20.7%), intestinal pain (17.3%), and neurogenic (5.2%) and superficial pain (3.4%). 3) Regarding the factors influencing pain, the pain level was significantly affected by the depression level (P<0.01) and the opioid use (P<0.01). Conclusion, In summary, the higher the level of pain the terminally ill cancer patents had the higher the depression level as well as the opioid use. Thus, health care professionals need to continuously provide holistic care for them to die comfortably.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.23-33
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to identify attitudes of middle managers toward employees with psychological problems and to determine factors affecting their attitudes. Methods: A questionnaire with Community Attitudes Toward Mentally Ill (CAMI) scales was administered to 161 middle managers working in small and medium-sized enterprises based in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. Results: There are four separate subscales on the CAMI. Mean score for authoritarianism was $35.0{\pm}4.4$, benevolence $23.0{\pm}4.8$, social restrictiveness $32.3{\pm}4.9$ and community mental health ideology $27.2{\pm}5.1$ According to multiple regression analysis, middle managers with no experience of learning mental illness through mass media or higher levels of depression symptom were more authoritative and less benevolent towards employees with psychological problems. The experience of meeting a patient with mental problem contribute to positive attitudes toward people with mental illnesses in social restrictiveness subscale and community mental health ideology subscale among CAMI. Conclusion: This study suggests that experience of having patients with mental problems and information on psychological problems will have great influence on attitudes of middle managers toward employees with psychological problems. It might be important to help middle manager manage their depression because their depression also affects their attitudes toward employees with psychological problems.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.15-31
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• 2000

The aim was to evaluate the prevailing ergonomic and psychosocial conditions regarding low back injury in an automobile assembly system. This study consisted of two parts. In the first part of the study, analytic biomechanical model and NIOSH guidelines were applied to evaluate risk levels of low back injury for automobile assembly jobs. Total of 246 workers were analysed. There were 20 jobs having greater back compressive forces than 300kg at L5/S1. Also, there were 44 jobs over Action Limit with respect to 1981 NIOSH guidelines. This might in part be explained by the ergonomic conditions of the company analysed generally being good, with a relatively low duration of 'combined' extreme work posture. The relationship between psychosocial factors and low back injury was examined in the second part of the study. It has recently been recognized that overall reaction to working conditions was influenced by a range of factors, some of which were physical and some psychosocial. The psychosocial environment surrounding the work place may contribute to the perception of risk and eventual ill-health. A battery of questionnaires concerning the psychosocial stress based on PWI(Psychosocial Well-being Index) and musculoskeletal pain symptoms at low back was completed by 246 workers at the same plant. Results showed that 207 out 246 workers experienced the symptoms and 27 workers were diagnosed as patients. Two groups(low stressed, high stressed) based on PWI score had no significant relationships with both symptoms and results of diagnosis. However, sensitivities for symptoms and diagnosis by PWI were 91.3% and 92.6% respectively. Finally, relationships between physical work load and psychosocial stress were analysed. Specifically, some postural factors {vertical deviation angle of forearm, horizontal deviation angle of upperarm, vertical deviation angle of thigh, etc) were highly correlated with psychosocial stress. The results illustrated that PWI scores were associated with some physical workloads. However, psychosocial stress levels couldn't be well related with the pain symptom as well as the actual incidence of low back injury since pain or discomfort regarding low back injury were more complex than that of other musculoskeletal disorders.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.147-154
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• 2018

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a contested illness with ill-defined boundaries. There is no clearly defined cut-point that separates FM from non-FM. Diagnosis of FM has been faced with several challenges that occur, including patients' health care-seeking behavior, symptoms recognition, and FM labeling by physicians. This review focuses on important but less visible factors that have a profound influence on under- or over-diagnosis of FM. FM shows different phenotypes and disease expression in patients and even in one patient over time. Psychosocial and cultural factors seem to be a contemporary ferment in FM which play a major role in physician diagnosis even more than having severe symptom levels in FM patients. Although the FM criteria are the only current methods which can be used for classification of FM patients in surveys, research, and clinical settings, there are several key pieces missing in the fibromyalgia diagnostic puzzle, such as invalidation, psychosocial factors, and heterogeneous disease expression. Regarding the complex nature of FM, as well as the arbitrary and illusory constructs of the existing FM criteria, FM diagnosis frequently fails to provide a clinical diagnosis fit to reality. A physicians' judgment, obtained in real communicative environments with patients, beyond the existing constructional scores, seems the only reliable way for more valid diagnoses. It plays a pivotal role in the meaning and conceptualization of symptoms and psychosocial factors, making diagnoses and labeling of FM. It is better to see FM as a whole, not as a medical specialty or constructional scores.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.27 no.1 s.45
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• pp.74-83
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• 1994

To investigate the sleeping patterns and gastrointestinal disorders of shift workers, the author studied 434 female workers who worked at textile industry ill Taejon city from September 1,1992 to September 31,1992. Shift pattern were divided into 3 categories ; 3 shift(shifts per 8 hours), 2 shift(day and night shift) and day work. The results obtained were as follows : 1 The average sleeping hours when adjusted for the education level of the total study subjects was 6.1 hours. That of 3 shift workers was 6.1 hours, 2 shift workers was 6.0 hours, but that of day workers was 6.5 hours. There were no significant difference among the shift workers. 2. For the 3 shift workers, the average physiologic adjusted duration in day shift (2.2 days) was shorter than that of night shift(2.7 days) and there were significant difference among the rotating shift works (p<0.001). The sleeping problems in day shift was less than those of night shift (p<0.001). 3. 44.9% of 3 shift workers, 39.3% of 2 shift workers and 33.1% of day workers complained gastrointestinal symptoms when adjusted for the age, education level, job tenure, work post. And the rates of gastrointestinal symptoms complained increase with job tenures (p<0.001). 4. The most frequent gastrointestinal diseases were gastitis and gastric ulcer with 14.2% , Irritable bowel syndrome with 3.1 %, duodenitis and duodenal ulcer with 2.1% and combined gastrointestinal disease with 2.1%. Age, eating habit, amount of coffee per day, job tenure, work post and shift pattern showed no significant difference with the gastrointestinal diseases when adjusted for the age. According to the above results, the author suggested that the shift pattern and job tenure can affect to the sleeping problem and gastrointestinal symptoms.