• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.361-374
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• 2010

Using the first wave of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing, this research examines the effect of elderly parent's financial structure on private income transfers from their adult children. The results show that low income elderly households are more likely to receive income transfers from their children. Generally, Korean elderly households were found to have very low liquidity in their asset structure, as the average household holds over 90% of their assets in real estate. However, it seems that the parents' potential income based on their real estate assets is unimportant in determining children's transfer decisions. Rather, the parents' labor income is found to be a key factor in children's income transfer decisions.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.395-424
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• 2010

Using in depth interviews with phenomenological method, we explored subjective meaning of a participant assets-building program for low-income families. The research participants are 6 families who consisted of 30 low-income and low-wealth families in participating asset-building program. Findings indicate that we can find out a criteria of classify among low-income families. That are single mom family, single father family and grandparent family, and normal family. It could be useful to evaluate the policy of assets-building.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.97-111
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• 2007

Children from low-income families are vulnerable to variable psychological and emotional stress related to financial issues and dysfunctional families. The subjects were 15 1st to 3rd graders who were low on the Self Esteem Scale (SES). They were attending an after-school center for elementary school students. They participated in three art therapy groups from April to October 2005. Children's depressive symptoms and self-esteem were assessed using the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) and an observational check-list. Results showed that the group art therapy program brought about significant effects on increasing self-esteem of the children and reducing depressive symptoms, showing that group art therapy can facilitate emotional and psycho-social growth of children from low-income families and can be developed in family-based community programs.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.302-316
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• 2023

Objectives: The study aim was to identify changes in the nutritional status of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic according to household income and demographic characteristics. Methods: Study participants were 2,408 adults aged 65 and over who participated in the 2019-2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). To examine changes in nutrient intake levels resulting from COVID-19, data of 2019 and of 2020 were compared. Study participants were divided into three groups based on household income level to compare these changes. The changes were compared according to household income level, age group, and household type. Results: Percentages of recommended intakes for energy, protein, and most micronutrients were the lowest for the low-income group of both males and females in 2020. The Mean Adequacy Ratio (MAR) score was the lowest for the low-income group in both years. When comparing nutrient density for 2019 and 2020 by income group, the male low-income group experienced a decrease in nutrient densities of vitamin A, thiamine, calcium, and iron. For the same group, a decreased percentage for energy intake from protein was noted. Fruit intake was lowest in the low-income group for both males and females. Low-income males had the lowest intake levels for meat, fish, eggs, and legumes in both 2019 and 2020 and the lowest milk and milk product intake levels in 2020. Older adults living alone or single older adults with children had lower MAR scores than those living with a spouse. Older adults living alone experienced decreases in energy and thiamine and iron intake levels in 2020 compared to their intake levels in 2019. Conclusions: Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, nutrition intake levels worsened for older adult males in the low-income group and older adults living alone. This finding shows the need for a more systematic nutritional support strategy for the vulnerable older adults population in national disaster situations.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.467-481
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• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the biochemical characteristics, intake of energy, and nutrients by household income levels of Korean adolescents aged 12 to 18 years. Methods: Data from the 6th (2013 ~ 2015) Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHNES) were used for the study. A total of 1,839 (966 boys, 873 girls) subjects were included, and they were divided into four income groups according to their household income level. We examined general characteristics (gender, region of residence, skipping or not-skipping breakfast, lunch, dinner, frequency of eating-out), anthropometric characteristics (height, weight, weight status), biochemical characteristics (fasting plasma glucose, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, triglycerides, cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, hemoglobin, and hematocrit), the quantitative intake of energy and nutrients using the Korean Dietary Reference Intakes (KDRI), and the qualitative intake evaluated by the nutrition adequacy ratio (NAR) and mean nutrition adequacy ratio (MAR) of the four groups. Results: There were significant differences by income group within the region of residence and the rate of skipping breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The low-income group had a higher rate of skipping breakfast, lunch, and dinner. According to the income group, there was a difference in the height of boys, and there was no difference in the weight and obesity of boys and girls. In the biochemical characteristics, only the hematocrit of girls showed differences by income group. The quantitative intake of energy and nutrients compared with KDRI differed by income group. There were differences in energy, carbohydrates, proteins, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and phosphorus levels in boys and protein, vitamin A, niacin, and sodium levels in girls. The qualitative intake of energy and nutrients examined using NAR and MAR also differed according to the income group. The NAR showed differences in calcium in boys and vitamin C and calcium in girls. The MAR revealed differences in both boys and girls by income group. Conclusions: Among adolescents in the low-income group, the rate of skipping meals was high, and the quantitative and qualitative intake of energy and some nutrients was low. It is suggested that the nutritional intake can be improved by lowering the rate of skipping breakfast, lunch, dinner. We suggest that even just providing breakfast in schools can be considered highly effective in improving the rate of avoidance of skipping meals and improving nutrient intake. Also, we suggest that it is necessary to improve the food environment, food availability, and food accessibility through national and social support for low-household income adolescents.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.44 no.8
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• pp.79-87
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to estimate the minimum monthly food cost for the low income population. The food consumption data of 9,311 individuals from the 2001 Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey was used. The monthly food cost was calculated using the Consumer Food Price Database for the year 2001 provided by the Public Health Nutrition Laboratory, Seoul National University. The low income population (n = 1,310) was characterized as older age, lower income, smaller family size, lower education level, and lower energy intake as compared with the total population (n = 8,001). The estimated food cost showed that men in the low income population needed 15% more money for purchasing food to maintain the energy intake level at the average energy intake level of men in the total population. It was also estimated that women in the low income population needed 9% more money for purchasing food to maintain the energy intake level at the average energy intake level of women in the total population. There were differences in monthly food costs depending on the sex and age, and family size. The results of this study could be used as basic information to establish minimum food cost for the low income population in Korea.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.3-13
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• 2018

Although the number of dual low-income families continues to increase, working mothers are suffering from difficulties from housework and child rearing due to the economic difficulties and poor residential environment. By understanding the needs about community space and child-care support services, this study will look into planning cooperative child-care environments for dual low-income families with infants and children. Through purposive sampling this research targeted 151 dual income families with an average monthly income level of 1-3 in Seoul. The collected data was analyzed by frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, and independent sample t-test using SPSS. The research results are as follows: According to the review, respondents responded positively to cooperative child-care. Out of the 20 general community spaces, the need for an indoor playground, recreation room, day nursery, separate garbage and reading room ranked high. Overall, 21 child-care community spaces and 11 child-care support services were generally rated highly.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.507-520
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to analyze the changes in the housing instability of low-income households through their residential mobility. The concept of housing instability is measured by taking into consideration of housing types, number of moves, period of homelessness, and housing affordability index. The result of this study shows that housing instability of low-income households owned their homes is mainly caused from their old housing built in at least 1980, and that of tenant households is due to the heavy burden of rent-to-income ratio. By using multinominal logit model, the study finds that low-income tenant households are more likely to move upwards as they are man-headed, aged and relatively high-income if we categorize residential mobility into four types: upwards, equivalent, trade-off, and downwards migration. Considering that the share of homeowners moving downwards increases while the share of tenants moving upwards decreases as they reside increasingly nearby Seoul, the study finds that low-income households living in big cities are no better off to improve their residential instability for themselves than the low-incomes in local small and midium cities. Furthermore, both low-income owners and tenants are less likely to move downwards as the ratio of single-family housing in former residence increases. Such finding has a policy implication that government needs to maintain affordable single-family housing stock rather than supplying excessive unaffordable multi-family housing in order to enhance residential instability of low-incomes households.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2017.10a
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• pp.138-145
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• 2017

As that experienced in other developing countries, Mongolia has already faced multilateral side issues for two decades due to economic growth that created Ger areas or internationally 'Slum', public housing and living conditions for low-income citizens, on the basis of rapid migration from rural areas to urban. Ger areas appear to be the main cause of environmental pollution problems and impending comfortable living conditions of the city's residents by covering more than half area of Ulaanbaatar city. Also, the spread of the Ger areas has many side issues such as prevention of urban development and unaesthetic. Most inhabitants of the areas are on low-incomes, and living in the detached houses or felt yurts (Ger) usually build within a low budget, by themselves or unprofessional people, and by using materials of poor quality. Therefore, Ger areas are an inevitable issue that requires effective, proper and immediate housing policy coordination under the government and even the housing market. Unfortunately housing policies, laws, and projects adopted by Mongolian government have shown inefficient results. The government housing policies, unlike other developing countries did not target low-income households' housing which is the priority issue for two decades. But only in 2014, the Long-term housing policy with the strategy for affordable housing initiated the housing policy for low-income households. This policy has five main broad directions such as redevelopment of Ger area, the land readjustment, public rental housing, new settlements and new city and reconstruction for old apartments, which are rather general and would require tremendous financial resources if each of the directions is implemented simultaneously without prioritization. Therefore this research aims to suggest the efficient and adequate housing policy direction for the low-income households in Ger area based on achievement of other developing countries' strategies, performances and generic characteristic with explanatory models. Also, this research adopts a literature analysis method that uses various research reports, related papers in domestic and international journals, and theses by experts, researchers, public institutions, and agencies.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.389-397
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• 2022

Objectives: This study examined the effect of out-of-pocket (OOP) payment reduction on the potential utilization of low-value magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) across income groups. Methods: We conducted an experimental vignette survey using a proportional quota-based sample of individuals in Korea (n=1229). In two hypothetical vignettes, participants were asked whether they would be willing to use MRI if they had uncomplicated headache and non-specific low back pain, each before and after OOP payment reduction. To account for the possible role of physician inducement, half of the participants were initially presented with vignettes that included a physician recommendation for low-value care. The predicted probability, slope index of inequality (SII), and relative index of inequality (RII) were calculated using logistic regression. Results: Before OOP payment reduction, the lowest income quintile was least likely to use low-value MRI regardless of physician inducement (36.7-49.6% for low back pain; 30.5-39.3% for headache). After OOP payment reduction, almost all individuals in each income quintile were willing to use low-value MRI (89.8-98.0% for low back pain; 78.1-90.3% for headache). Absolute and relative inequalities concerning potential low-value MRI utilization decreased after OOP payments were reduced, even without physician inducement (SII: from 8.15 to 5.37%, RII: from 1.20 to 1.06 for low back pain; SII: from 6.99 to 0.83%, RII: from 1.20 to 1.01 for headache). Conclusions: OOP payment reduction for MRI has the potential to increase low-value care utilization among all income groups while decreasing inequality in low-value care utilization.