• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.543-552
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• 2010

The objectives of this study are to examine the current status and problems of herb-drug interaction (HDI) information and information database in Korea and suggest the better way to establish useful HDI database. We collected HDI studies that published in Korea and analyzed according to objective, methods, selection criteria of herbs, number of study, correlation between study subject and frequently used herbal medicine (HM). Then we selected representative HM database on the internet made by Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) among the several databases and analyzed its contents related to HDI. Several HDI studies were carried out from laboratory based research to clinical trials and HM databases have been developed for providing information about different aspects of traditional Korean medicine. But the information of HDI and information database are still far from practical applications because there are no coherence to select study subjects and methods among researchers. So, it is necessary to build up HDI database led by the government for providing systematic HDI information. HDI information database is expected to be able to provide useful evidence for health professionals in prescription and consultation to reduce the chance of adverse effects and improve the quality of medical care.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.247-255
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• 2017

Background: South Korea has experienced problems with excessive pharmaceutical expenditures. In 2010, the South Korean government introduced an outpatient prescription incentive program to effectively manage pharmaceutical expenditures. Therefore, we examined the relationship between the outpatient prescription incentive program and pharmaceutical expenditures. Methods: We used data from the Korean National Health Insurance claims database, which included medical claims filed for 22,732 clinics from 2011-2014 to evaluate associated pharmaceutical expenditures. We performed multiple regression analysis and Poisson regression analysis using generalized estimating equation models to examine the associations between outpatient prescription incentives and the outcome variables. Results: The data used in this study consisted of 123,392 cases from 22,372 clinics (average 5.4 periods follow-up). Clinics that had received outpatient prescription incentives in the last period had better cost saving and Outpatient Prescribing Costliness Index (OPCI) (received: proportion of cost saving, ${\beta}=6.8179$; p-value < 0.0001; OPCI, ${\beta}=-0.0227$; p-value < 0.0001; reference = non-received). Moreover, these clinics had higher risk in the provision of outpatient prescription incentive (relative risk, 2.772; 95% confidence interval, 2.720 to 2.824). The associations were higher in clinics that had separate prescribing and dispensing programs, or had professional staff. Conclusion: The introduction of an outpatient prescription incentive program for clinics effectively managed problems with rapid increases of pharmaceutical expenditures in South Korea. However, the pharmaceutical expenditures still increased in spite of the positive impact of the outpatient prescription incentive program. Therefore, healthcare professionals and health policy makers should develop more effective alternatives (i.e., for clinics without separate prescribing and dispensing programs) based on our results.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.155-163
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• 2004

In our country, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and Coronary heart diseases (CHD) are the leading causes of death. It is well known that CHD is multifactorial, involving environmental factors such as diet, level of exercise and cigarette smoking, and inherited factors. According to the statistical data in 2003, the cause of death with the highest mortality was including hypertension, ischemic heart disease and atherosclerosis, which accounted for $24.7\%$ of total mortality. In spite of, there have been few study reports on the change of biochemical markers and mechanisms concerned. The development of biochemical markers is required for an early diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases that are related with dietary habits of Korean people enjoying mixtures of traditional dietary style and westernized food-styles. Therefore, the most efficient cost-saving biochemical marker was established in this study, through analysis of biochemical markers related with dietary habits which are susceptibly being changed in association to cardiovascular diseases from the pre-disease phase, and through reanalysis and assessment of early diagnosis of and preventive effects of diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases by demographical character including sex, age, and socioeconomic level with use of biochemical markers that are identified and selected among the parameters in consideration of the effectiveness and appropriateness of early diagnosis of diseases. The appropriateness of biochemical markers was reviewed by professionals (medical, pharmaceutical area and food/ nutrition area) and CRP(C-Reactive Protein) and was identified to be possible in Korea. It is thought that these biochemical markers may be used as the basic data for early diagnosis and prevention of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) which may be used for Korean people.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.294-300
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• 2018

The development and management of epidemiology intelligence service (EIS) officer with more specialized competence to cope with and prepare for health threats, including pandemic of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, is a high priority policy issue in Korea. First of all, we need to establish the training goal of EIS officer. It is necessary to establish manpower training and management system with at least three tiers including quantitative and qualitative targets. Second, at least 50% of all EIS officer must secure a physician and secure expertise and competence for epidemic. Third, for the ultimate purpose of EIS officer, the establishment of a public health expert should expand the scope of epidemiologist's work to health and medical care, occupational environment, and various disasters. Fourth, it is essential to expand the epidemiologist training and education program to the level of advanced countries. Especially, the training course should be expanded at least twice of current times. Fifth, it is necessary to independently install and operate the 'EIS Officer Training Center' as a mid- and long-term goal. Stewardship and governance are secured with the organization, personnel, etc. that can fully manage the planning, management, and evaluation of the EIS system. In the future, it will be necessary to establish a systematic and phased operational base of education and training programs for EIS officer, and establish a sustainable implementation system for strategy development. In addition, it is urgent to revise the guidelines for training public health professionals and strengthening competencies, and for establishing professional educational institutions.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.224-232
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• 2013

Background: This study was a comparative analysis of the major curriculum for 2-year, 3-year, and 4-year colleges of the department of health administration in Korea. Methods: Among 45 Korean colleges registered with the department of health administration as of 2012, finally 25 colleges were selected by establishing the department of health administration more than 5 years ago, excluding government's financial support, and taking regional locations into account. Results: First, generally 2-year colleges was not the relationships between organizational philosophy/purposes and major course in comparison to those of 3-year or 4-year colleges. Second, the composition of credits in the major course appears to be higher for 3-year, 2-year, and 4-year colleges, respectively. Third, subjects related to basic medicine and medical records were included more often in 2-year, 3-year, and 4-year colleges, respectively, and health policy issues were covered more in 4-year, 3-year, and 2-year colleges, respectively. Fourth, the number of students per full-time professor in 2-year colleges was much higher than that in 3-year and 4-year colleges, and the employment rate of graduates for 4-year colleges was found to be higher than that for 2-year and 3-year colleges. Conclusion: Although this study has limitations with regard to the selection of research subjects, it provides baseline data for establishing the health administration required for training competent future professionals.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.13-23
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• 2015

This research is intended to inquire any discrepancy depending on the variables such as types, geography and size of hospitals of Korea in order to develop differentiated marketing strategy and to investigate how the aforementioned variables affect the management performance such as the increase in the number of foreign patients, their willingness to re-visit, the increase in profit and etc. The survey for this research was conducted for five weeks from July 10th 2014 to August 30th 2014 with 251 participants in charge of foreign patient attraction for 161 domestic hospitals. As the method of the research, a hypothesis was first established based on previous studies, followed by the incorporation of self-administered questionnaire to confirm the formulated hypothesis. Frequency analysis and ANOVA analysis were used to analyze the result of the survey. The outcome of the research and the implications are as follows. First, according to the demography of the persons-in-charge of foreign patient attraction, the proportion of female was superbly high by 76.5%. As for the age, those in their 30s were highest in proportion. Finally, for the education level, college graduates took up the largest portion by 46.5%. Second, in respect to the hypothesis assuming the difference in performance depending on the types of hospitals, national university-affiliated hospitals showed the highest level of the increase in foreign patients by the average of 3.25. Third, in respect to the hypothesis assuming the difference in performance based on geographical position, it was confirmed that hospitals in Ulsan City experienced the largest growth in the number in foreign patients. Fourth, in respect to the sizes of hospitals, those with 201 to 300 sickbeds showed the highest increase by the average of 3.45. The implication of the above research outcome indicates that while the number of foreign patients visiting Korea for medical purposes is on the rise, the number of professionals in place with necessary knowledge and capacity is insufficient and requires improvement.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.136-144
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• 2011

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze teaching status and knowledge about children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in elementary school teachers. Methods: The participants of this study were 204 elementary school teachers in Busan. From July to September 2010, the researchers collected data by using self-report questionnaires consisted of questions about their teachers' characteristics and teaching status and KADDS (36 items) developed by Sciutto, Terjesen and Frank. Frequency, percentage, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, t-test and ANOVA were used to analyze the data using SPSS WIN 16.0 program. Results: Less than 50% of the participants had previous education on ADHD. According to this experience, there were significant differences in participants' knowledge about children with ADHD (t=4.703, p<.001). For the 36 items, participants had an average of $19.19{\pm}4.58$ points out of a possible 36. Moreover, lack of knowledge about teaching children with ADHD and communication problems with the parents of these children were considered to be the most disturbing factors. Conclusion: These results suggest that networks among teachers, parents and medical care professionals should be established. The results also indicate that educational programs for elementary school teachers should be developed in order to identify and teach children with ADHD appropriately.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.106-116
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• 2020

Objectives: This study aimed to develop a valid social contact survey instrument and to verify its feasibility for use among Korean adults. Methods: The Delphi technique was used to develop an instrument to assess social contacts, which was then applied in a cross-sectional pilot study. A panel of 15 medical professionals reviewed the feasibility and validity of each item. The minimum content validity ratio was 0.49. Thirty participants used the developed measure to record contacts during a 24-hour period. Results: After a systematic review, the survey instrument (parts I and II) was developed. Part I assessed social contact patterns over a 24-hour period, and part II assessed perceptions of contacts in daily life and preventive behaviors (hand hygiene and coughing etiquette). High validity and feasibility were found. In the pilot study, the 30 participants had a combined total of 198 contacts (mean, 6.6 daily contacts per person). The participants' age (p=0.012), occupation (p<0.001), household size (p<0.001), education (p<0.001), personal income (p=0.003), and household income (p<0.001) were significantly associated with the number of contacts. Contacts at home, of long duration, and of daily frequency were relatively likely to be physical. Assortative mixing was observed between individuals in their 20s and 50s. Contact type differed by location, duration, and frequency (p<0.001). Conclusions: The developed social contact survey instrument demonstrated high validity and feasibility, suggesting that it is viable for implementation.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.289-304
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand and describe the illness experience of married Korean women with epilepsy. Methods: Data were collected during 2015~2016 through individual in-depth interviews with 12 married women with epilepsy. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed using Giorgi's phenomenological analysis to uncover the meaning of the illness experience of the participants. Results: The study results showed that the illness experience of married Korean women with epilepsy was clustered into a specific description of situated structure and a general description of situated structure. Six themes from 20 meaning units were identified: 1) Undermined self-esteem with stigma of being epileptic; 2) Limited social interaction; 3) Suffering sorrow as a 'disqualified being'; 4) Shuttling back and forth across the boundary between healthy and epileptic; 5) Desperate struggle to meet the expectation of given role; 6) Self-empowering through self-restriction and realization. Conclusion: The findings from this study show that both the enacted and felt stigma of epilepsy impact on the life of married Korean women with epilepsy. Although the participants face social and interpersonal restriction and prejudices, they try their best to fulfill their role rather than to be cared for as patients. As the stigma and hardships of the participants are related to lack of knowledge, health professionals should focus not just on clinical intervention but also on providing targeted educational programs and counseling for these women to dispel the stigma of the disease and to increase their quality of life.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 1977

Primary function of health record is that as tool of communication between the health processionals with the mutual goal, the promotion of health care standard. Studies have been carried out world over oil tile subject, among those, Weed's Problem-Oriented Health Record is considered a paramount achievement. This study was designed to assess tile possibility of implementing tile problem-oriented health record system through ail experiment in order to provide data for nurse administrators infiltrating reformation of recording system and format. Record of 29 patients admitted at Korea University Hospital, Seoul, from March through June, 1976 for 4 to 14 days were sampled. Nursing notes were recorded by research assistants; senior nursing student trailed extensively by the researcher oil Problem-Oriented Records, oil Problem Oriented Nursing Record format (experimental group) and analysis were carried out comparative, with that of traditional nursing records noted by other nursing personnel (control group) on the same patient. Attitude towards Problem Oriented Nursing Record system and format were attained through questionaries responded by the 51 research assistants. Results are as fellows: Comparative analysis revealed that: 1. Assessment of patients' health problems recorded significantly more in traditional records. 2. Focus of health Problem differed; traditional records slowed significantly higher frequency in medical and procedure as focus while problem oriented records on nursing focus problems. 3. Problem- Oriented records were better organized, Mean value scores of attitude towards Problem- Oriented Records revealed that: Positive value scores on all 4 categories: 1) Assessment of nursing needs, 2) Nursing care planning 3) Patient progress assessment and 4) Tool of teaching and learning revealed that the Problem-Oriented Nursing Record is positively accepted by tile respondents. Recommendation Further experiments on implementation of Problem- Oriented Health Record are recommended: experiment involving all health professionals, in larger scope and longitudinal.