• PNF and Movement
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.93-103
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• 2016

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the factors that increase fall risk in the residential environment and the perceived fall risk among community-dwelling elderly through comparisons between fallers and non-fallers. Methods: The subjects were 95 community-dwelling elderly aged 65 years and over residing in the metropolitan city of Ulsan. A structured questionnaire consisting of items on sociodemographics and health- and fall-related characteristics was used and data were collected from July to August 2015. The data were analyzed with the SPSS/WIN program. Results: Among recent fallers, 38.9% had diagnosed diseases when the fall occurred, 56.87% were fearful of a recurrent fall, and 86.5% stated that they were increasing their carefulness but that had led to a decrease in activity. There were significant differences between elders who had fallen at least once and elders who had no falls in age, health status, depression, the experience of falling, fear of falling, diseases, and medications. Conclusion: The results indicate a need to assess risk factors to identify older adults with a high risk for falling and the need to develop multifactorial intervention programs that consider both environmental and perceived risk factors as well as physical risk factors to reduce and prevent falls among the elderly.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.56-63
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• 2013

Children are particularly vulnerable to adverse health effects associated with heavy metal exposure. The goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between proximity to an industry complex and blood lead and urinary cadmium levels for children aged 7-13 who lived in Ulsan where a big petrochemical complex is located. We conducted a questionnaire survey to collect data including sociodemographics, daily habits, residential environment, etc. We also analyzed blood lead and urinary cadmium levels using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). Data were analyzed using regression analysis. All statistical analyses were conducted with SAS software version 9.2. We calculated distance by using a Geographic Information System (ArcGIS version 10.0). The geometric mean blood lead level was 1.55 ${\mu}g/dL$ (boys: 1.59 ${\mu}g/dL$, girls: 1.51 ${\mu}g/dL$), and the geometric mean urinary cadmium level was 0.51 ${\mu}g/g$ creatinine (boys: 0.45 ${\mu}g/g$ creatinine, girls: 0.58 ${\mu}g/g$ creatinine). In the results of regression analyses, we found that urinary cadmium levels significantly decreased as distance between residence and industrial complex increased after adjusting for age, gender, income, passive smoking and the length of residence. This result was opposite to that for lead levels. Our observations support the hypothesis that urinary cadmium levels in children are related to their proximity to an industrial complex.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.17-31
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• 2015

Objectives: This paper aims to identify the health related behaviors patterns and its associated factors among marriage immigrant women in Korea, and discusses their application to health promotion strategies. Methods: The study participants were 7,591 immigrant wives in Gyeonggi province who participated in health examinations conducted by the Korea Association of Health Promotion in 2011-2013. The participants completed self-administered questionnaires on sociodemographics, psychological characteristics, health status and health care factors, and health related behaviors. Results: A 3-latent-class model of health behaviors was identified related to 'lack of physical activity', 'abnormal diet', and 'not experienced medical check-up': 'high risk class', 'middle risk class', and 'low risk class'. Most of the participants belong to 'middle risk class'. Country of origin, age, length of stay, number of children, work status, health insurance status, and unmet health care needs were associated with problematic health behaviors in middle risk health behavior class. Conclusions: Health promotion and intervention programs for marriage immigrant women and their family members need to consider the health behavior patterns of physical inactivity, abnormal diet and no medical check-up and develop multiple behavior intervention with pre-existing program modification.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.1-11
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• 2003

The main purposes of this study were to investigate the content of health behaviors and to examine factors influencing the health behaviors of the elderly. Data regarding the health behavior of 126 people over 65 years of age living in community settings were used. All subjects were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic variables, health behaviors, present chronic disease, subjective health status, a scale for worthy life, a scale for self-esteem, and a scale for loneliness. Health behaviors included 27questions on diet, exercise, stress-coping, smoking, drinking, a regular medical check-up, social activities, etc. The data analysis procedure included stepwise regression using health behavior as the dependent variable, and sociodemographics, illness, and psychosocial variables as independent variables. Stepwise regression revealed that factors such as feelings of worthy life($\beta$＝-0.350, p＜0.0001), communicating with otjers or the lack there of ($\beta$＝0.183, p＜0.05), and self-esteem($\beta$＝0.196, p＜0.05) were independently and significantly associated with health behaviors. For example, individuals who showed higher levels of worthy life and who had confiding relationships with others tended to practice more health behaviors. Subjects who had a higher level of self-esteem showed the same tendency. These results suggest the necessity of a intervention that considers psychosocial aspects should be included in care of the elderly so as to promote positive health behavior.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.27-38
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• 2018

Objectives : This study was conducted to examine the differences in the association of intellectual capital with organizational effectiveness of nursing organizations between public and private hospitals. Methods : A total of 166 nurses (82 of public hospital and 84 of private hospital) were recruited for the survey. Nurses' job satisfaction, organizational commitment, intellectual capital, sociodemographics, work-related factors, and health status were measured. Results : Nurses of public hospitals reported significantly higher scores in human capital, customer capital, job satisfaction, emotional engagement, and transactional commitments than did those of the private hospital. Human capital private and structural capital were significantly associated with nurses' job satisfaction in both public and private hospitals. Customer capital was positively associated with the emotional and transactional commitment in the public hospital, while, structural capital was associated with transactional and normative commitment in the private hospital. Conclusions : We could confirm that the nurses' intellectual capital is important the effectiveness of nursing organizations in both public and private hospitals.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.164-173
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• 2024

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of postpartum depression (PPD) and stress, as well as factors influencing PPD, among women in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional online survey and recruited participants during postpartum visits to the Clinic of Gynecology and Obstetrics in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. Data collection was done using Arabic versions of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, and a sociodemographics and obstetric history questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted, including multiple linear regression using a stepwise method. Results: Data from the 270 participants showed low levels of postpartum depressive symptoms with a mean score of 2.54±4.5 and low levels of perceived stress with a mean score of 2.49±6.2. While 94.4% of the participants reported low levels of stress and PPD, 5.6% reported elevated levels (≥10 for PPD, ≥14 for stress). The stepwise regression analysis showed significant results (p<.001), accounting for 34% of the variance in PPD. The factors significantly influencing PPD included the type of family, stress, number of abortions, disease during pregnancy, and family income. Importantly, perceived stress emerged as a factor influencing PPD. Conclusion: Although the majority of participants exhibited low levels of PPD, about 1 in 18 showed elevated levels. The identification of significant influencing factors highlights the need for targeted interventions to effectively address mental health concerns in postpartum women.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.595-605
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• 2010

Objectives : A precedent research has documented that occupational stress is closely associated with increased the risk of fatigue and decreased in job satisfaction. This study was conducted in an effort to assess the relationship of occupational stress to self-perceived fatigue and job satisfaction by using job strain model. Methods : The number of respondents was 122 dental hygienist who work in dental clinic and period of the investigation was July 2009 through september 2009. A structured questionnaire was employed to evaluate the participants' sociodemographics, job-related factors, health-related behaviors, occupational stress, job satisfaction and self-perceived fatigue. Occupational stress and self-perceived fatigue were assessed using the Korean Occupational Stress Scale-Short form (KOSS-SF) and the Multidimensional Fatigue Scale (MFS), respectively. Results : In job strain model, the ratio of Q2(High Strain Job) group that more susceptible to disease by stress than other group was 16% and the proportion of high fatigue group(Q3, Q4 group) and low job satisfaction group(Q3, Q4 group) was 48%, 45% respectively. In logistic regression analyses, a High Strain Job group was associated with higher odds of react factor(fatigue, job satisfaction) and the odds was down by 3.3%~7.5% after adjustment for age, smoking, alcohol drinking, regular exercise. So the effective strategy for fatigue, job satisfaction reduction for dental hygienist requires additional program focusing on innovated work environment that provide a enough leisure time and exercise program considering the personality traits. Conclusions : The results of this study suggest that occupational stress is a determinant predictor of self perceived fatigue and job satisfaction. Thus, a stress management program for the reduction of occupational stress, and the promotion of dental hygienist impact assessment health and quality of life is strongly recommended.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.655-660
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• 2016

Smoking is accountable for the fatality of a substantial number of persons and increases the likelihood of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Although data have shown high prevalence rates of cigarette smoking in Saudi Arabia, relatively little is known about the broader scope. The objectives of this study were to investigate socio-demographic factors, patterns of use and cessation behavior associated with smoking in Saudi Arabia (KSA). The study utilized a cross-sectional, multi-step design of sampling. Residents (N=1,497; aged 15 years and older) were recruited from seven administrative areas in Southwest Saudi Arabia. A pretested questionnaire was utilized to obtain data on participant cigarette smoking, including their daily use, age, education, income, marital status and employment status. The current study is the first of its kind to gather data cessation behavior of Saudi subjects. With the exception of 1.5% females, all the respondents were male. The majority of the respondents were married, had a university level of education, were employed, and were younger than 34 years old. The same trends were also observed among smokers' samples. The current prevalence of cigarette smoking was 49.2% and 65.7% of smokers had smoking at less than 18 years of age. The mean daily use amongst smokers was 7.98 cigarettes (SD=4.587). More than 50% of the study sample had tried at least once to quit smoking. However, 42% of the smokers participating had never. On the other hand, about 25% of the respondents were willing to consider quitting smoking in the future. Modeling of cigarette smoking suggested that the most significant independent predictors of smoking behavior were geographic area, gender, marital status, education, job and age. Considerable variation in smoking prevalence was noted related with participant sociodemographics. Findings recommend the necessity for control and intervention programs in Saudi community.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.234-245
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• 2009

Nutritional assessment for the elderly can identify health status and morbidity. However, development of Nutritional Risk Index (NRI) remains limited for elderly because of difficulties in understanding physiological mechanism of elderly. This study was performed to analyze and develop Nutritional Risk Index for Korean elderly Women (Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index, GNRI). Based on literature review, factors for NRI were identified and indices were assessed by a cross-sectional survey. The survey involved Korean elderly women (${\geq}$60, n = 94) in Gwangju area, and sociodemographics, lifestyle characteristics, health conditions, dietary intakes based on 24h- recall, anthropometric measures (wt, ht, BMI, waist, hip, WHR, body protein, body fat, abdominal fat, and triceps skinfold thickness), and clinical biochemistry parameters (systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, total protein, albumin, prealbumin, hemoglobin, hematocrit, fasting blood glucose, HbAlc, ferritin, Zn, Ca, Na, K, Vit E, Vit $B_{12}$, folate, C-reactive protein) were examined relation to nutritional risk index. Based on literature review and data analyses, three NRIs were categorized (NRI I, NRI II, NRI III) and used for further analysis. NRI I was related to having metabolic syndrome, NRI II was related to serum albumin and body weight, and NRI III was related to food habit and health concerns. Abdominal fat (%) of elderly was correlated with each NRIs. NRI II was correlated with nutritional deficiency and higher tendency of inflammatory response, and NRI III was correlated with nutritional status which tend to be lower on aging (protein, folate, Vit $B_{12}$). NRI can serve as a useful tools in assessing health risk and nutritional status. Some modification of items in NRI and validity study are need to apply to Korean elderly.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1313-1323
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• 2016

To study the full health effects of parental radiation exposure on the children of the atomic bomb survivors, the Radiation Effects Research Foundation developed a cohort of 76,814 children born to atomic bomb survivors (F1 generation) to assess cancer incidence and mortality from common adult diseases. In analyzing radiation-associated health information, it is important to be able to adjust for sociodemographic and lifestyle variations that may affect health. In order to gain this and other background information on the F1 cohort and to determine willingness to participate in a related clinical study, the F1 Mail Survey Questionnaire was designed with questions corresponding to relevant health, sociodemographic, and lifestyle indicators. Between the years 2000 and 2006, the survey was sent to a subset of the F1 Mortality Cohort. A total of 16,183 surveys were completed and returned: 10,980 surveys from Hiroshima residents and 5,203 from Nagasaki residents. The response rate was 65.6%, varying somewhat across parental exposure category, city, gender, and year of birth. Differences in health and lifestyle were noted in several variables on comparison across city and gender. No major differences in health, lifestyle, sociodemographics, or disease were seen across parental exposure categories, though statistically significant tests for heterogeneity and linear trend revealed some possible changes with dose. The data described herein provide a foundation for studies in the future.