• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.467-475
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• 2023

Background: To mitigate the spread of Covid-19, nurses infected with the virus were required to isolate themselves from their families and community. Isolated patients were reported to have experienced mental distress, posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, and suicide. Though studies have reported the psychological impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, less is known about the lived experiences of nurses who survived Covid-19 infection in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: A descriptive phenomenological approach was used to study the lived experiences of registered nurses who survived Covid-19 disease. In-depth interviews were conducted among nurses diagnosed with Covid-19 from two hospitals in Kenya between March and May, 2021. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to recruit registered nurses. Data were analyzed using Giorgi's steps of analysis. Results: The study included ten nurses between 29 and 45 years of age. Nurses' experiences encompassed three themes: diagnosis reaction, consequences, and coping. Reactions to the diagnosis included fear, anxiety, and sadness. The consequence of the diagnosis and isolation was stigma, isolation, and loneliness. Nurses coping mechanisms included acceptance, creating routines, support, and spirituality. Conclusion: Our findings aid in understanding how nurses experienced Covid-19 infection as patients and will provide evidence-based content for supporting nurses in future pandemics. Moreover, as we acknowledge the heroic contribution of frontline healthcare workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, it is prudent to recognize the considerable occupational risk as they balance their duty to care, and the risk of infection to themselves and their families.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.99-111
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• 2024

Objectives : Anxiety is an important mental health symptom associated with healthcare utilization. This research aims to identify the demographic, socio-economic, and health-related factors associated with the use of Korean medicine (KM) treatments in adults experiencing anxiety. Methods : We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using the Korea Health Panel Annual Data 2019. Logistic regression models were employed to examine the relationships between KM utilization and various factors such as economic activity, perceived stress levels, and presence of physical discomfort. The study sample included 552 adults experiencing anxiety. Results : Among the subjects, 19.20% were using both conventional treatment and KM treatment. The analysis revealed that individuals engaged in economic activities were more likely to use KM treatments compared to those who were not (odds ratio [OR] = 2.207, 95% confidential interval [CI] = 1.316 to 3.699). Additionally, individuals reporting high levels of pain or discomfort showed a significantly higher likelihood of using both KM and conventional medical services (OR = 2.933, 95% CI = 1.645 to 5.231). Musculoskeletal conditions were the most common reason for KM utilization among the study participants. Conclusion : The findings suggest that economic activity and the severity of physical discomfort significantly influence the use of KM treatments among adults with anxiety. These insights could inform healthcare policy and the integration of KM services into broader health management strategies for anxiety.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.61-74
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• 2004

Objectives：This study was performed to introduce a psychoeducational family therapy model for the families of schizophrenic patient and to investigate the effect of this model on the changes in coping style and depressive symptoms of the family members, and in perception of emotional support by families and depressive symptoms of patients. Methods：Nine preschool children, 3-5 years old, experiencing physical injuries caused by attack from a psychotic patient at kindergarten, were evaluated for psychological assessments；Intelligence test, MSSB(MacArthur Story-Stem Battery), H-T-P test(House-Tree-Person test). And their parents completed rating scale, KPI-C(Korean Personality Inventory for Children about children’s psychological conditions). Results：With respects to the contents and emotional reactions of MSSB, 9 preschool children showed generally high levels of anxiety, depression, avoidance, aggression, probably related to the traumatic experiences. Even though children couldn't verbally report directly about their traumatic experiences, in both MSSB, structured play narrative assessment tool, and HPT, free drawing and association test, they demonstrated psychiatric problems through reenactment plays, regardless of clinical diagnoses. Conclusion：Present study allowed us the chance to see beyond the outer pathological behaviors of PTSD in preschool children, through deeper evaluations of their mental representation. These preliminary data suggest deep understanding of internal representation would be of help for thorough evaluations and treatment plan for preschool children, experiencing severe trauma.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.47-67
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• 2007

Objectives : This study was aimed to investigated the warning signs and its relationship with the other characteristics in acute stroke patients. Methods : 225 acute stroke patients were recruited at the Department of Cardiovascular and Neurologic Diseases (Stroke Center) of Kyung Hee University Oriental Hospital from October 2005 to September 2006. We evaluated their stroke type with brain MRI, their warning signs, and general characteristics such as age, sex, past history, risk factors, etc. Results : 225 subjects were included in the final analysis. In the subjects' general characteristics, the most common etiology of stroke was small vessel occlusion. In the assessment of the subjects' warning signs, the frequency of tension felt at the cervical area was highest followed by blepharospasm, sensory dysfunction (one side of numbness, tingling sensation, dead sensation), one side paralysis or weakness, etc. After analyzing etiology, cerebral hemorrhage had more facial spasm sign and hypertension than cerebral infarction. On the other hand, cerebral infarction had more diabetes and sensory dysfunction (one side of numbness, tingling sensation, dead sensation) than cerebral hemorrhage. Among stroke locations, subjects with their brain lesion in the cortex had more warning sings of motor dysfunction such as one side paralysis, or weakness. Multiple lesions showed a close relationship with smoking habit and were more common in males than in females. The under 65 years old group were more commonly associated with alcohol consumption, accidental mental stress and blepharospam than the over 65 years old group. In the group of under 65 years old, males more commonly had lesions in occipital lobe, alcohol consumption and smoking habit than females. Otherwise, females more commonly had vision dysfunction and blepharospasm than males. In the group of over 65 years old, males more commonly had cortex lesion than females. On the other hand, Females more commonly had accidental mental stress than males. Conclusions : We observed various warning signs and their distribution in acute stroke patients. The subjects' brainlesions and their etiology seemed to affect the features of the warning signs. Hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia were also related to etiology of stroke and some habitual problems such as smoking and drinking seemed to reduce the age of stroke ictus. Although a concrete conclusion can hardly be drawn from this study, it reminds physicians of the importance of warning signs which appear among their patients.

• Culinary science and hospitality research
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.139-154
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• 2015

This study examined the causal relationship between work environment and job satisfaction/turnover intention through statistical analyses using the statistics programs SPSS(18.0) and AMOS(18.0) of over 268 business owners operating small sized Chinese restaurants in the Busan and Gyeongnam area. Research results found that among the business owners of small sized Chinese restaurants, 130 were owner/chefs (48.5%), 63 engaged in hall serving (23.5%), and 75 were in delivery (28.0%). It was also found that while the physical environment had a positive effect on work pride and economic satisfaction, sale stress had no effect on work pride and economic satisfaction. In addition, the physical environment and mental labor environment showed a positive effect (+) on turnover intention, although job satisfaction (work pride, economic satisfaction) showed a negative effect (-) on turnover intention. Such result leads to the conclusion that for business owners of small sized Chinese restaurants, sale stress experienced during the course of business serves as a factor weakening job satisfaction while increasing turnover intention to a greater extent of the physical environment (kitchen facilities and hall facilities). Thus, it seems that practical business training, such as service training, is a greater necessity for business owners of small sized Chinese restaurants, as opposed to an improvement of restaurant facilities.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.51-58
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• 2001

Entomopathogenic fungus, Paecilomyces japonicus, has been commercially used as medicinal purpose . The silkworm, Bombyx mori, as an optimal host for the fungi, has been selected and used for the production of the fungal fruit bodies. In current method, newly molted fifth instal larvae should be exposed to the adverse stress environment of high temperature (3$0^{\circ}C$), high relative humidity ( 90%), and starvation for 24h for better fungal inoculation to the host insects. In this study, an alternative method using chemical agent, dexamethasone (DEX: an eicosanoid biosynthesis inhibitor), was tried to get the immunodepressive effect on the larvae to elevate the inoculation rate of the fungi to the silkworm without any harsh rearing environment. DEX (100$\mu\textrm{g}$) showed significantly synergistic effect on the hemocyte lethality of the fungus, and was effective to decrease cellular immune responses measured by the number of hemocyte microaggregation and phenoloxidase activity of the fifth instar larvae in response to the fungal injection. A detergent of 0.05% Triton-X was effective to increase the in- oculation rate of the fungi to the larvae and used in all fungal spraying solutions. Without any environ- mental stress treatment, only DEX (100$\mu\textrm{g}$) injection to the fifth instar larvae followed by the fungal spray was effective to get the inoculation rate equivalent to the current fungal spray method requiring harsh rearing environment. These results suggest that the inoculation of P. japonicus can be elevated by the help of DEX and that the silkworms use eicosanoids to elicit cellular immune response against fungal pathogen.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.933-942
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• 1997

There has recently been an increased interest in women's health from, various disciplines, with different perspectives presented according to each profession's academic background. This has led to many instances of incorrectly defining, or misinterpretation, of the issues even among professionals. Nurse scholars as well as practitioners who work in women's health care need to have a clear conceptual understanding of women's health in order to build a body of knowledge, delineate curricular activities, and set directions for professional nursing interventions. In addition, a conceptual model that may be directly utilized in practice is needed to maintain and promote women's health issues. The purpose of this study was to apply a Hybrid model, analyzing conceptual definitions and discussions related to women's health gathered from review of the literature. Further to compare analyticals the concepts and properties observed from field work, so as to present a final definition of women's health and, build a conceptual framework for a united comprehensive perspective on the concept as well as on nursing practice. Data collection and analysis consisted of a theoretical stage, field work stage, and final analysis. A heterogeneous group of professionals and lay persons, 39 in all, participated in the field work. Study findings Include several subconcepts under the concept of women's health : a woman's whole life, holistic health, quality of life, awareness of being a woman, individual nursing, self care ability, reproductive health, and family health. Thus, a comprehensive definition was built, 1. e., "Women's health care be defined as improvement in the quality of life of women through attainment of holistic health throughout the life span. With reproductive health at the core, the concept is directly related to family and national health, and includes taking care of one's own health based on awareness of being a woman and utilizing self care activities. Women's health care issues are unique and allow various responses, therefore women's health professionals need to apply individual approaches to reach solutions in attaining holistic health and improving quality of life." The constructual factors of women's health were found to be reproductive functions, diseases more common in woman, self actualization, mental health, women's health policies, sexuality, midlife changes, and marital relations, with each factor having more than three properties. Positive factors affecting women's health were found to be a normal childbearing process, a healthy lifestyle, active health management, health information, support, and resources, and interpersonal relationships. Negative factors were found to be overwhelming role stress, cultural oppression, gender inequality, distorted sexual identity, economic difficulties, misuse and/or abuse of substances, and stress. The model of women's health may be visualized as a balance scale set upon a woman's life, supporting 4 concentric circles. The innermost circle and second circle incorporate conceptual definitions of women's health, and the outer two circles represent the constructional factors and properties of women's health. Each circle has its own color that symbolizes the conceptual meaning. Positive and negative factors are represented as weights at either end of the scale, and are affected by nursing intervention, i. e., health and wellness increase when positive factors are stronger, whereas disease and illness increase when negative factors are stronger. This model is only a preliminary effort and requires much discussion and testing to be further developed. Continuous research is also required.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.97-109
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• 2010

Objective : To examine whether any correlation between tendency towards depression and tenderness at special acupuncture points exists, thus to explore the potential diagnostic property of acupuncture points. Methods : A total 31 subjects were included in this study. They filled out questionnaires about their mental [Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Stress Response Inventory (SRI), Profile of Mood States (POMS)] and physical (fatigue due to overexertion, and food accumulation) symptoms. Identical weight around Alarm points (CV17, CV12, ST25, CV5, CV4, and LR13) and transport points (BL14, BL20, BL21, BL22, BL25, and BL27) was given using an algometer and the subjects rated their pain on an 11-point numerical rating scale. Heart rate variability (HRV) was also measured. Results : The subjects were divided into two groups, normal and depressive tendency groups with a cut-off point of nine on BDI. The depressive tendency group reported significantly higher values in SRI, POMS, and questionnaire for fatigue due to overexertion. In the pressure pain measurement, depressive tendency group had more pressure pain at CV12, left side of BL20, BL14, BL22 and both sides of BL21, BL25, BL27, significantly (each p<0.05). The data of HRV did not show significant differences between groups. Conclusions : People with a tendency towards depression may be prone to stress, negative mood, and fatigue due to overexertion. In addition, they may be more likely to develop tenderness at alarm points and transport points compared with healthy people. Further research is needed to confirm this finding.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.41-45
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• 2007

Objective : The present study investigates patterns of consumption of alcohol, cigarettes, and over the counter drugs (OTC) in Korean patients with PTSD and psychiatric patient controls and healthy controls from multicenter hospital samples. Method : Data were collected from 18 hospitals nationwide. Patients with PTSD were compared with nonpsychotic psychiatric disorders control and healthy control subjects on psychometric measures of consumption of alcohol, cigarettes, and OTC drugs. Result : Ninety-three patients with PTSD, 73 patients with psychiatric disorders control, and 88 healthy control subjects were enrolled. There were significant differences in the frequency of alcohol drinking among the three groups ($X^2$=12.93, df=6, p=0.044). Only 3.2% of healthy control subjects drank alcohol more than 4 times a week, but 43.9% of PTSD group and 46.5% of mental disorder controls drank alcohol more than 4 times a week, respectively. Regarding cigarette smoking, there were no differences among the three groups. There were significant differences in uses of OTC drugs among the three groups; 16.7 % in the PTSD group, 14.9% in the psychiatric control group and 1.3% in the heath control group, respectively ($X^2$=11.31, df=2, p=0.004). Conclusion : In this study, patients with PTSD showed significant differences in the frequency of consumption of alcohol and OTC drugs, as compared with healthy controls. However, there were no differences between the PTSD and psychiatric patient control groups. Since all subjects were enrolled from hospital based sample, results may differ in the community samples. Further studies will be needed for the evaluation of substance uses in these groups.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.233-240
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• 1999

The purpose of this study was to make a comparison in perceived stressor and psychopathology among premenstrual, menstrual and postmenstrual phases, in high school girls. Three hundred forty-one high school girls(164 academic school girls, 177 art school girls) participated in this study. Global assessment of recent stress(GARS) scale and symptom checklist-90-revised(SCL-90R) were used to measure perceived stressors and psychopathology. The scores of perceived stressor relevant to change in relationships were significantly higher during the premenstrual and the postmenstrual phases than during the menstrual phase. However, no significant differences were found in psychopathology among three mentstrual phases. Scores of perceived stressor relevant to change or no change in routine were significantly higher in academic school girls than in art school girls. The scores of obsessive-compulsion subscale and positive symptom total were significantly higher in academic school girls than in art school girls. In conclusion, a perceived stressor was higher during the premenstrual and the postmenstrual phases than during the menstrual phase in adolescents, but psychopathology was not related to the menstrual cycle. These results indicated that the psychopathology in adolescent girls might be influenced by other factors than menstrual cycle.