• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.11-18
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• 2017

Objectives : In an effort to suggest a developmental plan of Traditional Korean Medicine health promotion project(TKM-HPP), this study was conducted to identify the problems experienced by public health Traditional Korean Medicine(PH-TKM) doctors in duty and to analyze successful cases of the health promotion project. Methods : Two PH-TKM doctors in duty at the Public Health Centre branch and Public Health Centre respectively, and one TKM doctor in charge of Public Health Centre participated in the in-depth interview. The research procedure was as follows; 1) inform study objectives and interview questions to participants, 2) in-depth interview with semi-structured questions, and 3) post-confirmation and verification. The interview was recorded and transcripted. In-depth interview was composed of 6 subsections: 1) Introducing participants and share purpose of interview, 2) Confirmation of the job status and difficulty of public health centre, 3) Reflecting and sharing experiences of public health clinic job performance cases, 4) Current status and improvement needs of TKM-HPP, 5) Discussions on improvement of TKM-HPP in public health center, 6) Sharing and reconfirmation of interview results. Thematic analysis was conducted from the narratives. Results : The study showed that; 1) the support from the local government was critical for the successful TKM-HPP and participation of the PH-TKMs; 2) the major problems experienced by PH-TKMs were lack of training for TKM-HPP in the field and lack of knowledge at local government level; 3) the suggestions to provide PH-TKMs with manual to educate residents effectively and redefine roles of PH-TKMs in the project. It also suggests that TKM-HPP model should be developed by the district in a way of reflecting regional characteristics. Conclusions : Firstly, more efforts should be made on the projects rather than medical treatment in public health centers, except for areas where medical institutions are scarce. Secondly, in order to facilitate participation of PH-TKM doctors, each local office should reduce medical care and increase efforts related with projects. Thirdly, the institution has to develop feasible TKM-HPP plans that can be carried out by PH-TKMs by the manual. Lastly, pre-training should be provided to PH-TKMs to understand contents of TKM-HPP related to public health centre work before the placement.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.205-215
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• 2024

Objective: This study aimed to estimate the impact of having and the type of usual source of care on the health literacy of rural residents. Methods: Using data from the 2021 Korea Health Panel Survey, the regression model was estimated, in which the presence and type of usual source of care, categorized as medical institutions and primary care physicians, were incorporated as explanatory variables. The level of health literacy was used as the dependent variable. Additionally, statistical analysis was conducted to compare how socio-demographic backgrounds and the presence and type of usual source of care are associated with health literacy between urban and rural residents. Results: The effect of usual source of care on the level of health literacy was significant only when the service provider was the public health institution. However, this effect was smaller for rural residents than for urban residents. When the usual source of care was an internal medicine or Korean traditional medicine doctor, the level of health literacy increased than the other types of doctor. Conclusion: To improve rural residents' health literacy, it is necessary to enhance access to public health care service and provide education programs.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.65-81
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• 2013

Objectives: The present study was carried out to develop and evaluate comprehensive health care program to prevent infectious disease and promote health in child-care centers by Doctor of Korean medicine. Methods: A nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design study was conducted on 568 children and 85 child care teacher at 12 child care facilities for 12 weeks from July to October 2012. The program was consist of management, education, screening under concepts of traditional preventive medicine, Yangsaeng and Chimibyeong. Children's medical utilization due to infectious disease and attendance means functional status were measured by reports from parents. The Difference in difference(DID) estimator was applied data analysis, and added Zero-inflated negative binomial regression model. Also, attitudes on the infection of teacher was measured and analyzed through t-test. Results: After the intervention, the total medical utilization due to infectious disease decreased, but not significantly. Total absence, early leave and lateness decreased significantly. But, Attitude on the infection of child care teacher was not changed. The parent's satisfaction showed positive overall. Conclusions: The intervention program may be effective in preventing infectious disease and managing health in child-care center partially. To measure long-term effect, long-term study improved is requested.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.17-41
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• 2005

Current Korean medical system is evaluated as inefficient and the government is planning a new medical development plan to provide guaranteed life-long medical service and more efficient medical system Korean medicine also needs to participate as the primary medical provider and strengthen public recognition. The needs for active participation are essential to prevent irrational medical policies and Korean medicine can exercise medical merits. When the doctors of Korean medicine are recognized as the primary medical provider, not only social rights are served but also provide medical service to less privileged sector of the society. This calls for the establishment of system for attending physician and public health doctor from Korean medicine. Another important issue is the establishment of public medical service at the government level. Doctors of Korean medicine should be posted at the national health center and other public hospitals. Revision of the current policies on Korean medicine must be made to yield concrete outcome of the public Korean medicine service as well as cooperation between the conventional allopathic medical community and the Korean medical community

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.271-296
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• 2010

Objective: Poisonous Medicinal herbs can be considered as a risk factor to public health unless they are prescribed by Doctor of traditional Korean medicine. The proper method to manage them should be prepared to prevent risk factors caused by misuse and abuse of the poisonous medicinal herbs and enhance public health. Methods: In this dissertation (paper), the definition, scope, management status, data about pharmacology and toxicity and media release regarding adverse reaction were understood after organizing documents, laws and regulations concerning poisonous medicinal herbs. Also, management methods are suggested by analyzing related examples and regulations in China, Japan and Hong Kong, where the use of herbal medicine is general. Results: Methods for items for poisonous medicinal herbs, safety information management, management based on standardization of traditional processing methodology and reorganization and revision of related laws and regulations are established. Conclusion: Proper laws and regulations are not yet established to manage poisonous medicinal herbs in Korea. In this regard, it is urgent to establish laws and regulations which can apply independently. The purpose of the laws and regulations should be to enhance management of poisonous medicinal herbs and prevent incidence of addiction and death, improving the public health.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.103-111
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• 2011

Objectives: The study was investigated to assess efficacy for home visiting treatment using Traditional Korean Medicine (TKM). Methods: The traditional medical doctor of Um-Sung health center has treated the 109 patients and they also answered the questionnaires of home visiting treatment using TKM before and after. The questionnaires were composed of flexibility, pain, health behavior, perception of health, satisfaction, cognition of TKM, etc. The questionnaires were analyzed by use of paired t-test and chi-square test. Results: They have significantly improved the flexibility (p<.001), pain (p<.001), health behavior (p<.001), and the perception (p<.001) of health after home visiting treatment. It was also brought to improve about the perception of TKM, and showed a good satisfaction and the improvement of health. Conclusion: Home visiting treatment using TKM is helpful to improve the health based on these results. We need to systemize the research for the activation of home visiting treatment using TKM.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.25-29
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• 2012

Objectives : This article reviews a solution preventing the illegal distribution of herbal medicine in common use for food and medicine and risks on public health by conducting safety management of food and medicine. Also, this article would like to contribute to improvement of public health treating diseases in compliance with accurate diagnosis and prescription of Oriental Medicine Doctor("OMD")'s. Methods : An approach in this research can be categorized into two : first, to examine the current administrative situation and problems of herbal medicine in common use for food and medicine based on policy documents of Ministry of Health and Welfare and Korea Food and Drug Adminstration("KFDA") and academic articles of the herbal medicine;second, to find reasonable administrative solutions to solve the problems. Solutions : A solution is to strengthen the management level of herbal medicine in common use for food and medicine by selecting 117 items as target items requiring concentrated management. In case herbal medicine is imported for food, KFDA strengthens the quality management level of herbal medicine by making use of inspection frequency at random, collecting and verifying herbal medicine on the market. However, KFDA decides to maintain current different quality specification system of food and medicine reflecting a civil complaint that quality specification of food and medicine should separately managed according to the purpose of use. Herbal medicine as medicine that is functioned as treating diseases and alleviating symptoms, unlike herbal medicine for food, can cure all kinds of diseases by recovering inner balance of human body, making use of other properties of herbal medicine. Medicine has its own properties. If a doctor uses properties of medicine appropriately, he cures diseases. If a doctor uses herbal medicine inappropriately. he may damage human body. Thus, whether side effects of medicine depend on a doctor who uses herbal medicine. Conclusions : All herbal medicine will be supplied into the market after strict safety control of manufacturers of herbal medicine according to the revised Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, beginning in April, 2012. Thus, people can take safer and more reliable herbal medicine through strengthening safety management of herbal medicine and improving quality and transparency in the distribution system. Herbal medicine should appropriately be prescribed by licensed OMD because herbal medicine is used to treat diseases and alleviate symptoms, unlike herbal medicine for food.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.667-671
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• 2013

The aim of this study was to know the current management status in Korean medical clinics (KMC) and the awareness of Korean medicine doctor. The simple random extraction method from the membership list of 'The Association of Korean Medicine' in 2010 was used for survey. The questionnaire which had used in 2008 was revised, and those were sent to each KMC by mail. A total of 107 data were acquired and frequency analysis was conducted. The result showed that the annual average employees working in each KMC was 2.9 persons and the number of daily outpatient was 33.8 person in 2010. The proportion of sales covered by medical insurance at KMC has been increasing annually as 42.9%, 43.5%, and 44.8% of total sales, whereas the uninsured sales was 57.1%, 56.5%, and 55.2% of total sales in 2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively. All of the responders recognized that the current situation of Korean medical service market was not good and the reason was mainly resulted from undeveloped medical technique, popularized use of functional foods for health and alternative medical care by Western medicine. To expand Korean medical service, the expansion of sales covered by public health medical insurance, government support and advertizement for public relation were needed.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.13-24
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• 2018

Objectives : According to the data from the 2016 Yearbook of Traditional Korean Medicine, 10 out of 12 medical schools of Korean medicine are offering medical ethics. Medical ethics has become essential in Korean medicine education, but there has been no agreement on the content of education yet, so initial discussions are necessary with respect to the content and methods of education. Methods : In this study, basic data were collected by searching papers, reports, books, and media articles on medical ethics related to Korean medicine education, and by studying the website of medical schools of Korean medicine nationwide. Based on the collected data, the status of medical ethics lectures were determined and compared with the current state of medical ethics lectures by western medical schools. The contents suitable for medical ethics education at medical schools of Korean medicine were discussed. Results : The topics of the medical ethics include: the basic concepts of medical ethics, the ethics of birth, the ethics associated with genetics, the ethics associated with death, and the ethics regarding doctor-patient interaction, the ethics of medical research, medical rationing ethics, ethics between medical staffs, medical law and ethics, philosophical base of medical ethics, ethics of doctor as professional, and moral personality formation of doctor. The contents of medical ethics in traditional Korean medicine reflected views on the human body and life based on "Huangdi's Internal Classic"and medical ethics from the viewpoints of Buddhism and Confucianism. Conclusions : Medical schools of Korean medicine are medical training institutions, and medical ethics education is essential to become a Korean medicine doctor as professional worker, medical practitioner, and biomedical researcher. There is no fundamental difference in the basic principles of medical ethics in both western and Korean medicine, and there are differences in contents depending on the clinical practice. The contents of medical ethics on clinical practice should be modified for Korean medicine doctors, and traditional Korean medicine ethics would be set up upon that. In the national licensing examination, medical ethics needs to be added as one part so that all the ethical problems related to the clinical situation can be solved.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.59-80
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• 2014

The Medical Affairs Law regulates that Medical Doctor and Korean Medical Doctor(KMD) can practice in the boundary of each licence. But there is no clear provision to explain what practice in the boundary of MD's permitted region and what is KMD's. Moreover practice over the boundary of licence could be punished as a violation of the Law. KMD's use of medical devices have been objects of legal conflicts in the field. Because there is no clear provision in the Law, judical precedents have played the role as practical and final regulations. In this study, analyses on some judical precedents could show some rationales whether an issued KMD's use of medical devices is in the boundary of license. The courts considered the theories based on the practice, the level of required specialty and education, and the probability of danger to a patient. The judical precedents should be reviewed more precisely in the respects that it is adaptable in "the written law system"and it is desirable to divide boundaries between MD's and KMD's.