• International Journal of Quality Innovation
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.99-117
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• 2008

High-tech industry has been the principal economic source for Taiwan in recent years. The characteristics of high-tech industries in Taiwan are changeable product markets, short product life cycles and high company attrition rate. In the globalization trend, the high-tech industry has gradually increased corporate competitiveness and reached the goal of sustainable operations through knowledge management, knowledge sharing and new product research and development. Firms have aggressively strengthened and integrated their internal and external resources and enhanced knowledge sharing to increase industry operational performance. Effectively strengthening the knowledge management operation and performance evaluation of knowledge sharing in Taiwan's high-tech industry has become a critical issue. In the selection of knowledge sharing Key Performance Indicators (KPI), this research divided the knowledge sharing indicators into representative strategic indicators such as organizational knowledge learning, organizational knowledge resources, organizational information capacity and organizational knowledge performance through screening using Factor Analysis. The characteristics of the constructs were interdependent. This research calculated and adjusted the correlation among the key performance knowledge sharing indicators using ANP and determined the relative weight of knowledge sharing.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.169-176
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• 2007

Objectives : This study was conducted to elicit quality weights for 42 EQ-5D health states with the time trade-off (TTO) method from the general population of South Korea. Methods : We selected the same EQ-5D health states as those in the UK MVH study. The Korean version of EQ-5D questionnaire and TTO method were used for the valuation process. We interviewed 500 people as a representative sample of the general population in Seoul and Gyeonggido. The result was compared with those from UK, Japan, and USA by Spearman's rank correlation and t-test. Results : TTO values for 42 EQ-5D health states and 'unconscious' state were obtained from the general South Korean population. The best one was '11112' state and the worst one was 'unconscious' state. The states worse than death were '33323', '33333', and 'unconscious' states, which had negative TTO values. There was a strong correlation between TTO values of the EQ-5D health states and those of their corresponding states from UK, Japan, and USA (Spearman's correlation coefficient: 0.885, 0.882, and 0.944, respectively, p <0.001). However, absolute TTO values of most EQ-5D health states were significantly different from those of their corresponding states in other foreign studies (UK : 41/42, USA : 32/42, Japan : 15/17). Conclusions : We found that the Korean general population TTO values for EQ-5D health states were different from those of other foreign studies, suggesting that a specific Korean valuation set should be developed and used for economic evaluation studies in South Korea.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8265-8270
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• 2016

Purpose: A cost-utility analysis was performed to assess the cost-utility of neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimens containing doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (AC) versus paclitaxel and gemcitabine (PG) for locally advanced breast cancer patients in Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study in Namazi hospital in Shiraz, in the south of Iran covered 64 breast cancer patients. According to the random numbers, the patients were divided into two groups, 32 receiving AC and 32 PG. Costs were identified and measured from a community perspective. These items included medical and non-medical direct and indirect costs. In this study, a data collection form was used. To assess the utility of the two regimens, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) was applied. Using a decision tree, we calculated the expected costs and quality adjusted life years (QALYs) for both methods; also, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was assessed. Results: The results of the decision tree showed that in the AC arm, the expected cost was 39,170 US$ and the expected QALY was 3.39 and in the PG arm, the expected cost was 43,336 dollars and the expected QALY was 2.64. Sensitivity analysis showed the cost effectiveness of the AC and ICER=-5535 US$. Conclusions: Overall, the results showed that AC to be superior to PG in treatment of patients with breast cancer, being less costly and more effective.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.23-27
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• 2020

In South Korea, female individuals in their forties show a high rate of incidence, with approximately 13% of the patients being <40 years. This statistic is more than twice as high as that in Western countries. It is therefore necessary to identify the risk factors for breast cancer incidence by age and economic activity participation status. Women aged 30 to 59-whether breast cancer patients or those in the control group and having no breast cancer-were appraised from the sample cohort database. The data were analyzed using the statistical software R36.2. To identify the factors affecting breast cancer incidence, the degree of association was determined with HR and 95% CI by means of cox regression analysis. As for the socio-demographic variables, the older the individual, the higher the risk of breast cancer incidence becomes. As for the economic activity variables, those who were dependents (unemployed) and who had higher income (medium and high) were at higher risk of breast cancer incidence, which was statistically significant. The income-adjusted HR (model 1) for breast cancer development associated with the economic activity was 1.452 (95% CI, 1.19-1.77). The body mass index and alcohol intake-adjusted HR (model 2) was 1.431 (95% CI, 1.18-1.74). One needs to pay attention to policy plans regarding women's quality of life, as well as to the risk of breast cancer incidence by their economic activity. In other words, policies need to give post care, instead of focus on early detection and cancer treatment.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.159-187
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• 2010

The main purpose of this paper is to attempt an alternative measurement and analysis of poverty considering income as well as time in order to present an effective antipoverty policy. Based on Korea Welfare Panel Study (2005), the income poverty, time poverty, and double poverty of household in which householders were under 60 years were measured. Moreover this paper found that households experiencing the time poverty might be faced with additional income poverty because of the necessity to purchase care services in the market to compensate for the time. As a result of the analysis, income poverty rate is 9.5%, time poverty rate is 15.7%, and time-adjusted income poverty rate is 10.8%. And low-educated single parents with young children are more likely to experienced income as well as time poverty. Therefore, this paper proved that the 'welfare to work' policy without considering situations in household could be faced with the limit. Furthermore, this paper suggests that social welfare policy should aim at minimizing the tradeoffs among different works and activities, and then support to improve the quality of life.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.21-28
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• 2005

In order to investigate the differences in nutrient intakes and eating habits between people living alone and people living together with family or others by age group, dietary survey data of the subjects aged 20 years or older from 2001 Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey were analyzed. Living status of the subjects was defined as 'single' when the subjects' household member was one person. Age, gender, income, education were adjusted during the comparative analysis. The subjects living alone had diets with lower score of nutritional adequacy ratio and lower quality, and drank more alcoholic beverages when compared with the subjects living together. Females were more greatly affected in dietary intakes by living alone situation than males. Of the four age groups, a group with ages from 30 to 39 years showed less nutrient intake patterns in persons living alone than in persons living together, but the rest three groups with ages from 20 to 29, from 50 to 64, and 65 or older did not show any significant differences. Eating habits of the subjects living alone, such as skipping meals, kinds of snacks, dining-out, were worse as a whole than the other. In conclusion, single living particularly of females or of 30 to 39 years of age group had negative influences on dietary intakes and behavior. There may be statistical errors if socioeconomic and demographic factors such as age, gender, income, and education are not controlled in the population study investigating the effect of living alone on dietary intakes. Further studies will be needed to know the age-specific reasons for the worse nutrient intakes of single living persons.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.205-212
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• 2019

Background: Sleep disorder is a precursor to depression, which is one of the psychological factors associated with periodontal disease that, in turn, affects general and periodontal health. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between sleep duration, depression, and periodontitis in older people aged over 65 years. Methods: A total of 2,002 older adults aged 65 years or older were included in the study. Their general and health aspects, including smoking, drinking, diabetes, hypertension, and depression, were investigated. Periodontitis was examined using the Community Periodontal Index (CPI). Data were analyzed through a complex sampling design method. Frequency and crossover analyses were conducted to investigate the relationship between depression and periodontitis. To investigate the effect of depression on periodontitis, a logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: Regarding depression and participants' general characteristics, statistically significant differences were found in sex, economic activity, smoking habit, and CPI (p<0.05). In the presence of depression, the odds ratio for periodontitis was 1.84, and the adjusted odds ratio for age, sex, economic activity, residence type, household income, education level, smoking habit, drinking, hypertension, and diabetes was 1.72, representing a significant difference (p<0.05). Conclusion: This study examined the relationship between depression and periodontitis in older persons and confirmed a significant correlation. As the population of older adults increases, we should pay attention to their mental and oral health as well as systemic diseases. Various programs for the health promotion of older persons need to be implemented to improve the quality of life of older people.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.449-457
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• 2004

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze economical efficiency of home care service by comparing a cost-utility ratio(CUR) between home care and hospitalization. Method: The analytic framework of this study was constructed in 5 stages: Identifying the analytic perspectives, measurement of costs, measurement of utility, analysis of CUR, and sensitivity test. Data was collected by reviewing medical records, home care service records, medical fee claims, and other related research. Result: The mean of the annual total cost was 23,317,636 Won in home care and 73,739,352 Won in hospital care. QALY was 0.389 in home care and 0.474 in hospital care, so CUR was 299,712,545 QALY in home care and 777,841,266 QALY in hospital care. Conclusion: The findings affirmed that home care had an economical efficiency in the aspect of utility compared to hospitalization. Therefore, the findings of this study can be used to develop a governmental health policy or to expand the home care system. In addition, the cost-utility analysis framework and process of this study will be an example model for cost-utility analysis in nursing research. Therefore, it will be used as a guideline for future research related to cost-utility analysis in nursing.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.1-11
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• 2016

Objective : The purpose of this study is to analyze research trends on the cost-effectiveness in acupuncture for patients with allergic rhinitis. Methods : The literature and research in allergic rhinitis was searched in electronic databases, such as National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database(NHS EED) and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews(CDSR). The general characteristics and the results of each economic analysis such as incremental cost-effectiveness ratios(ICERs) were extracted. Results : In total, thirty seven studies were searched, and two studies were analyzed. They were cost-utility analysis(CUA)s that measured quality-adjusted life years(QALYs). One study showed that the ICER was €22,798 per QALY and was robust in sensitivity analysis. Another showed that the ICER was between €31,241 and €118,889 from society's perspective and between €20,807 and €74,585 from a third-party payer's perspective. Conclusions : Any generalization of these results needs to be made with caution given the specific effects of acupuncture and the difference of cost data in the various countries. Further studies are needed on this topic in order to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness clearly.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.20
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• pp.8993-9004
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• 2014

Background: The incidence rate and the treatment costs of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are high, especially in Thailand. Previous studies indicated that early detection by a surveillance program could help by down-staging. This study aimed to compare the costs and health outcomes associated with the introduction of a HCC surveillance program with no program and to estimate the budget impact if the HCC surveillance program were implemented. Materials and Methods: A cost utility analysis using a decision tree and Markov models was used to compare costs and outcomes during the lifetime period based on a societal perspective between alternative HCC surveillance strategies with no program. Costs included direct medical, direct non-medical, and indirect costs. Health outcomes were measured as life years (LYs), and quality adjusted life years (QALYs). The results were presented in terms of the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) in Thai THB per QALY gained. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were applied to investigate parameter uncertainties. Budget impact analysis (BIA) was performed based on the governmental perspective. Results: Semi-annual ultrasonography (US) and semi-annual ultrasonography plus alpha-fetoprotein (US plus AFP) as the first screening for HCC surveillance would be cost-effective options at the willingness to pay (WTP) threshold of 160,000 THB per QALY gained compared with no surveillance program (ICER=118,796 and ICER=123,451 THB/QALY), respectively. The semi-annual US plus AFP yielded more net monetary benefit, but caused a substantially higher budget (237 to 502 million THB) than semi-annual US (81 to 201 million THB) during the next ten fiscal years. Conclusions: Our results suggested that a semi-annual US program should be used as the first screening for HCC surveillance and included in the benefit package of Thai health insurance schemes for both chronic hepatitis B males and females aged between 40-50 years. In addition, policy makers considered the program could be feasible, but additional evidence is needed to support the whole prevention system before the implementation of a strategic plan.