• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.64 no.4
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• pp.644-664
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• 2021

Objective : Since the enactment of the Special Act on Korean Medical Residents, neurosurgeons working at training hospitals have been performing the duties of residents, in addition to their existing patient care responsibilities, which include surgery, education, and research. This study explores the relationships between work intensity, work-life balance, and burnout experienced by Korean neurosurgeons. Methods : The participants (n=451) were neurosurgeons working at training hospitals throughout Republic of Korea. Data on socio-demographic characteristics (including objective and subjective work environment), work intensity, work-life balance, and burnout were gathered using self-report questionnaires completed between March 1 and December 20, 2019. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson's correlations, and multiple regression analysis. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 25 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) was used for the analyses. Results : The work intensity, work-life balance, and burnout levels of neurosurgeons were 3.95, 3.57 (on a scale from 1 to 5) and 4.60 (on a scale from 1 to 7); and 280 (62.1%) of 451 neurosurgeons were found to be experiencing burnout. By controlling for the socio-demographic characteristics, the effects of work intensity and work-life balance on burnout were analyzed. Work intensity (B=0.314), work-life balance-family and leisure (B=0.216), work-life balance-growth (B=0.147), job stress (B=0.133), and satisfaction with human relationships (B=-0.069) were shown to be significant (all p<0.05), and they were found to affect burnout in the abovementioned order. The overall explanatory power was 58.3% (p<0.05), and the explanatory power with the addition of independent variables such as work intensity and work-life balance was 14.5% (p<0.05). Conclusion : This study showed that Korean neurosurgeons working at training hospitals experienced a high level of work intensity and job stress, and low work-life balance. Additionally, nearly half of the neurosurgeons were found to experience burnout related to factors such as work intensity, work-life balance, job stress, and satisfaction with human relationships. In particular, these factors seem to have deteriorated further after the implementation of the Special Act on Korean Medical Residents. These very high levels of burnout among Korean neurosurgeons who care for patients with both brain and spinal diseases may have a very important impact on patients' health. Therefore, it is recommended that the Korean Neurosurgical Society and the Korean government make efforts to improve the factors that affect burnout among Korean neurosurgeons.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.713-718
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• 2021

This study was conducted to clarify the role and importance of dental hygienists in improving patient satisfaction in dental medical institutions, and to improve the social position, working conditions, and environment of dental hygienists. This study evaluated the impact of dental hygienists on dental satisfaction, revisits, and doctor recommendations for patients who had received prosthodontic treatment at dentistry in the last 10 years. This study analyzed the data from 166 survey questionnaires from June 1, to July 2, 2020. For data analysis, the SPSS Ver 23.0 program was used to calculate frequency and percentage, mean and standard deviation of the variables, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis. As a result, the average quality of medical services provided by dental hygienists among prosthetics was 4.05, the average dental satisfaction was 4.27, the average revisit was 3.97, and the average recommendation was 4.01. As a result of Pearson's correlation analysis, there was a significant positive correlation between each variable (P<0.01). As a result of multiple regression analysis, the level of knowledge appeared as a factor affecting dental satisfaction (P<0.05). The factors influencing both the revisits and the intention to recommend were the level of knowledge and the level of education (P<0.05).

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.357-366
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• 2021

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to verify the level of ethical consciousness and decision-making of dental hygiene students in pandemic as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: This study included 249 college students who were interested in new infectious diseases. They completed a questionnaire on a 5-point scale, and data were analyzed by independent t-test, ANOVA, and correlation. Results: The perception of COVID-19 was moderate at 3.42 points. This was higher among males, first graders, emergency management students, those who received education and experienced self-quarantine. The level of ethical consciousness was moderate (3.89 points), which was higher in sophomores, emergency management students. Ethical decision-making was moderate, with a score of 3.44, and was higher in those with first grade, field practice training, and self-quarantine experience. The level of perception positively correlated with ethical consciousness (α=0.310, p<0.01). In addition, as the degree of ethical consciousness increased, the degree of decision-making also increased (α=0.539, p<0.01). Conclusions: In a crisis, involving the spread of COVID-19, providing prospective dental hygienists accurate information and an experience similar to that faced by patient is necessary for raising the level of ethical consciousness and decision-making.

• Food Science and Industry
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.128-139
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• 2022

Although edible insects are attracting attention as future alternative food because of their nutritional, eco-friendly, and economic advantages and functionality, consumption is low, so measures to promote consumption are needed. The problems in edible insect consumption were identified as the aversion to the edible insects, lack of publicity for edible insects newly registered in the Food Code, and difficulties in continuously supplying high-quality edible insects and selling products. To solve these problems, it is necessary to establish effective public relations plans for new edible insects and develop processing methods for improving their taste and flavor, education content about edible insects, and products interesting to the target age. In addition, it is necessary to establish a one-stop cluster that can perform quality control of harmful substances and nutrients, purchase raw materials, sell products, educate, and publicize.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.73-78
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• 2022

Since Traditional Korean medicine (TKM) doctors use various knowledge systems during treatment, diagnosis results may differ for each TKM doctor. However, it is difficult to explain all the reasons for the diagnosis because TKM doctors use both explicit and implicit knowledge. In this study, an upgraded random forest (RF)-based evaluation tool was proposed to extract clinical knowledge of TKM doctors. Also, it was confirmed to what extent the professor's clinical knowledge was delivered to the trainees by using the evaluation tool. The data used to construct the evaluation tool were targeted at 106 people who visited the Sasang Constitutional Department at Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital at Gangdong. For explicit knowledge extraction, four TKM doctors were asked to express the importance of symptoms as scores. In addition, for implicit knowledge extraction, importance score was confirmed in the RF model that learned the patient's symptoms and the TKM doctor's constitutional determination results. In order to confirm the delivery of clinical knowledge, the similarity of symptoms that professors and trainees consider important when discriminating constitution was calculated using the Jaccard coefficient. As a result of the study, our proposed tool was able to successfully evaluate the clinical knowledge of TKM doctors. Also, it was confirmed that the professor's clinical knowledge was delivered to the trainee. Our tool can be used in various fields such as providing feedback on treatment, education of training TKM doctors, and development of AI in TKM.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.246-255
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• 2022

This study aimed to identify the influence of caring character and knowledge of COVID-19 on interpersonal caring behavior of clinical nurses. The subjects were nurses working at one tertiary hospital in Seoul and two general hospitals in Gyeonggi province. The data were collected from October 15 to November 5, 2021. A total of 130 nurses participated in the online survey. The collected data were analyzed by performing stepwise multiple linear regression using SPSS/Win 27.0. As a result, the factors affecting the interpersonal caring behavior of clinical nurses were caring character (β=.50, p<.001), age (β=-.24, p=.002), and job satisfaction (β=.16, p=.040), and they explained 36.0% of caring behavior (F=24.49, p<.001). Therefore, it is necessary to improve caring character and job satisfaction to enhance the interpersonal caring behavior of clinical nurses. More efforts of the hospital should be made to provide caring character building education and to increase job satisfaction of clinical nurses.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.48-60
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• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the sex-associated differences in the dietary intake of gastric cancer patients in Korea. Methods: Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) the 7^th (2016-2018) were analyzed in the present study. The subjects included 122 gastric cancer patients aged over 40 years (75 male, 47 female). General characteristics (age, marital status, household income, education, food security, comorbidities, alcohol drinking, and smoking), anthropometric characteristics (height, weight, body mass index, and blood pressure), blood biochemical characteristics [fasting plasma glucose (FPG), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, triglyceride, total cholesterol, and HDL-cholesterol)], and quantity and quality of dietary intake were compared between male and female participants. Results: Males had higher rates of having a spouse, prevalence of hypertension, alcohol drinking, and smoking than females. The proportion of males with a normal range of FPG, BUN, and HDL-cholesterol was lower than that in females. The total cholesterol levels above the normal range were higher in females than in males. We also found that females had a higher percentage of intakes below the estimated energy requirement (EER) and intakes below the estimated average requirement (EAR) for carbohydrates, niacin, phosphorus, and iron than males. The index of nutritional quality (INQ) for phosphorus and folate, nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR) for vitamin C, thiamine, niacin, folate, calcium, and phosphorus, and the mean adequacy ratio (MAR) were lower in females than males. Conclusions: In Korean gastric cancer patients, management of comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertriglyceridemia, lowering FPG, and raising HDL-cholesterol level management is required for males, whereas management of lowering total cholesterol and raising hematocrit is required for females. The quantitative and qualitative nutritional intakes were poor in gastric cancer patients, especially in females, who had a lower nutritional intake than males. We suggest that nutritional interventions are needed to improve the overall nutritional intake in both male and female gastric cancer patients. In particular, we propose that support is urgently needed for females whose nutritional intake is lower than that of males. In addition, family, social, and national support for nutritional management of female gastric cancer patients is highly necessary.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.252-262
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• 2023

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of clinical trainings in improving empathy in dental students by analyzing changes in empathy level before and after clinical training. Third grade dental students at Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) participated for 2 years. They had clinical training for 3 weeks in pediatric dentistry at JBNU Dental Hospital. Then, 20 items of the modified form of Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Profession Students Version were done twice, before and after clinical training. The students who had lectures and role-playing were in the experimental group, while those who had no additional trainings were in the control group. Out of 69 students, 35 were in the experimental group and 34 were in the control group. Empathy level has increased after clinical training in both groups, but only the experimental group showed a significant increase (p = 0.0052). It also showed a significant increase in specific items (No. 6, 9, 10, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20) compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Clinical trainings such as lectures and role playing might have increased empathy levels related to standing in patient's position. Therefore, it is necessary to consider, try, and evaluate various types of clinical training rather than common education to improve dental students' empathy.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.60-68
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• 2023

Purpose: For the dignity of patients nearing the end of their lives, it is essential to provide end-of-life (EoL) care in a separate, dedicated space. This study investigated the utilization of specialized rooms for dying patients within a hospice unit. Methods: This retrospective study examined patients who died in a single hospice unit between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2021. Utilizing medical records, we analyzed the circumstances surrounding death, the employment of specialized rooms for terminally ill patients, and the characteristics of those who received EoL care in a shared room. Results: During the 1,825-day survey period, deaths occurred on 632 days, and 799 patients died. Of these patients, 496 (62.1%) received EoL care in a dedicated room. The average duration of using this dedicated space was 1.08 days. Meanwhile, 188 patients (23.5%) died in a shared room. Logistic regression analysis revealed that a longer stay in the hospice unit was associated with a lower risk of receiving EoL care in a shared room (odds ratio [OR]=0.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.97~0.99; P=0.002). Furthermore, a higher number of deaths on the day a patient died was associated with a greater risk of receiving EoL care in a shared room (OR=1.66, 95% CI 1.33~2.08; P<0.001). Conclusion: To ensure that more patients receive EoL care for an adequate duration in a private setting, additional research is necessary to increase the number of dedicated rooms and incorporate them into the hospice unit at an early stage.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.22-35
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• 2022

Purpose: Physician's occupational burnout has been a very important issue that can cause negative consequences not only for individual's physical and mental health, but also for patient's health and the overall national healthcare system. For the reason, this study confirmed how consultation length and the number of outpatients affect physician's occupational burnout in the medical environment. Methodology: In the study, the data of '2020 Korean Physician Survey' conducted by Korean Medical Association(KMA) was used for the analysis, and a total of 4,215 physicians were selected as study samples. The differences in the degree of occupational burnout according to the physicians' general characteristics were confirmed through uni-variate analysis, and also a regression analysis was conducted to confirm the effects of consultation length and the number of outpatients on physician's occupational burnout. Findings: As a result. the overall degree of physician's occupational burnout decreased(𝛽=-0.051, p<0.01) as the consultation length increased. Specifically, the physician's emotional exhaustion increased(𝛽=0.051, p<0.01), while the reduction of accomplishment decreased(𝛽=-0.131, p<0.001). Furthermore, the overall occupational burnout decreased(𝛽=-0.047, p<0.01) as a proportion of advice and education during the consultation increased, and it had an effect on the decrease in depersonalization(𝛽=-0.045, p<0.01) and the reduction of accomplishment(𝛽=-0.065, p<0.001). At last, as the number of outpatients increased, the overall occupational burnout increased(𝛽=0.041, p<0.05) with more emotional exhaustion(𝛽=0.095, p<0.001), depersonalization(𝛽=0.065, p<0.001), and less reduction of personal achievement(𝛽=-0.081, p<0.001). Practical implication: Consequently, it is necessary to prevent physician's occupational burnout by ensuring sufficient consultation length and providing a medical environment to treat an appropriate number of patients. Therefore, national policies should expand health insurance coverage and compensate medical fees for sufficient consultation length that both patients and physicians can satisfy. It will ultimately contribute to ensuring the patients' health and improving the quality of national healthcare services.