• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제43권4호
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• pp.330-340
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• 2010

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate and explain the socioeconomic inequalities of all-cause mortality after breast cancer surgery in South Korea. Methods: This population based study included all 8868 females who underwent radical mastectomy for breast cancer between January 2002 and June 2003. Follow-up for mortality continued from January 2002 to June 2006. The patients were divided into 4 socioeconomic classes according to their socioeconomic status as defined by the National Health Insurance contribution rate. The relationship between socioeconomic status and all-cause mortality after breast cancer surgery was assessed using the Cox proportional hazards model with adjusting for age, the Charlson’s index score, emergency hospitalization, the type of hospital and the hospital ownership. Results: Those in the lowest socioeconomic status group had a significantly higher hazard ratio of 2.09 (95% CI =1.50 - 2.91) compared with those in the highest socioeconomic group after controlling for all the identifiable confounding variables. For allcause mortality after radical mastectomy, all the other income groups showed significantly higher 3-year mortality rates than did the highest income group. Conclusions: The socioeconomic status of breast cancer patients should be considered as an independent prognostic factor that affects all-cause mortality after radical mastectomy, and this is possibly due to a delayed diagnosis, limited access or minimal treatment leading to higher mortality. This study may provide tangible support to intensify surveillance and treatment for breast cancer among low socioeconomic class women.

• 한국융합학회논문지
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• 제9권9호
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• pp.337-343
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• 2018

본 연구는 주관적 구강건강상태와 구강건강행태 요인들의 기여도에 대한 사회경제적 변화를 조사하였다. 연구자료는 2015년 국민건강영양조사 자료를 이용하였으며, 이분형 로지스틱 회귀분석을 이용하였다. 연구결과 주관적 구강건강상태는 사회경제적 수준이 낮은 경우에서 낮게 나타났다. 이러한 연관성은 인구사회학적 요인들과 구강건강행태를 보정했을 때 연관성은 증가하였다. 또한 각각의 구강 건강 행태요인들을 보정했을 때, 흡연, 칫솔질횟수, 구강위생용품사용, 그리고 구강검진은 사회경제적 구강건강상태의 많은 부분을 설명하였다. 주관적 구강불건강은 사회경제적 상태에서 비롯되지만 이런 차이는 구강건강행태 요인들에 따라 증가되었다. 따라서, 본 연구결과에서 주관적 구강건강상태에서의 사회경제적 불평등은 구강건강증진 행태에 따라 더욱 효과적으로 교정될 수 있음을 시사한다고 볼 수 있다.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권4호
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• pp.1627-1631
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• 2015

Background: Stage at diagnosis is one of the most important prognostic factors of breast cancer survival. Because in the breast cancer case this may vary with socioeconomic characteristics, this study was performed to recognize the relationship between demographic and socioeconomic factors with stage at diagnosis in Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive study conducted on 526 patients suffering from breast cancer and registered in Cancer Research Center of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences from 2008 to 2013. A reliable and valid questionnaire about family levels of socioeconomic status filled in by interviewing the patients via phone. For analyzing the data, Multinomial logistic regression, Kendal tau-b correlation coefficient and Contingency Coefficient tests were executed by SPSS22. Economic status, educational attainment of patient and household head and/or a combination of these were considered as parameters for socioeconomic status. First, the relationship between stage at diagnosis and demographic and socioeconomic status was assessed in univariate analysis then these relationships assessed in two different models of multinomial logistic regression. Results: The mean age of the patients was 48.3 (SD=11.4). According to the results of this study, there were significant relationships between stage at diagnosis of breast cancer with patient education (p=0.011), living place (p=0.044) and combined socioeconomic status (p=0.024). These relationships persisted in multiple multinomial logistic regressions. Other variables, however, had no significant correlation. Conclusions: Patient education, combined socioeconomic status and living place are important variables in stage at diagnosis of breast cancer in Iranian women. Interventions have to be applied with the aim of raising women's accessibility to diagnostic and medical facilities and also awareness in order to reducing delay in referring. In addition, covering breast cancer screening services by insurance is recommended.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제42권3호
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• pp.199-207
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• 2009

Objectives : Research on the gender differences of health among older Korean people has been limited compared with the research for other stages of life. This study first examined the patterns and magnitude of the gender differences of health in later life. Second, we examined the gender differences in the health of older men and women that were attributable to differing socioeconomic conditions. Methods : Using the nationally representative 2005 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the gender differences in disability and subjective poor health were assessed by calculating the age adjusted and gender-specific prevalence. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess if the differences between the men and women for health could be explained by differential exposure to socioeconomic factors and/or the differential vulnerability of men and women to these socioeconomic factors. Results : Our results indicated that older women were more likely than the men to report disability and poor subjective health. The health disadvantage of older women was diminished by differential experiences with socioeconomic factors, and especially education. The differences shrink as much as 43.7% in the case of disability and 35.4% in the case of poor subjective health by the differential exposure to educational attainment. Any differential vulnerability to socioeconomic factors was not found between the men and women, which means that socioeconomic factors may have similar effect on health in both genders. Conclusions : Differential socioeconomic experience and exposure between the men and women might cause gender difference in health in old age Koreans.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제41권3호
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• pp.186-194
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• 2008

Objectives : This study describes trends in the socioeconomic disparities in breast cancer screening among US women aged 40 or over, from 2000 to 2005. We assessed 1) the disparities in each socioeconomic dimension; 2) the changes in screening mammography rates over time according to income, education, and race; and 3) the sizes and trends of the disparities over time. Methods : Using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) from 2000 to 2005, we calculated the age-adjusted screening rate according to relative household income, education level, health insurance, and race. Odds ratios and the relative inequality index (RII) were also calculated, controlling for age. Results : Women in their 40s and those with lower relative incomes were less likely to undergo screening mammography. The disparity based on relative income was greater than that based on education or race (the RII among low-income women across the survey years was 3.00 to 3.48). The overall participation rate and absolute differences among socioeconomic groups changed little or decreased slightly across the survey years. However, the degree of each socioeconomic disparity and the relative inequality among socioeconomic positions remained quite consistent. Conclusions : These findings suggest that the trend of the disparity in breast cancer screening varied by socioeconomic dimension. Continued differences in breast cancer screening rates related to income level should be considered in future efforts to decrease the disparities in breast cancer among socioeconomic groups. More focused interventions, as well as the monitoring of trends in cancer screening participation by income and education, are needed in different social settings.

• 한국도로학회논문집
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• 제15권3호
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• pp.93-101
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• 2013

PURPOSES : This study is to investigate the relationship of socioeconomic characteristics and road network structure with traffic growth patterns. The findings is to be used to tweak traffic forecast provided by traditional four step process using relevant socioeconomic and road network data. METHODS: Comprehensive statistical analysis is used to identify key explanatory variables using historical observations on traffic forecast, actual traffic counts and surrounding environments. Based on statistical results, a multiple regression model is developed to predict the effects of socioeconomic and road network attributes on traffic growth patterns. The validation of the proposed model is also performed using a different set of historical data. RESULTS : The statistical analysis results indicate that several socioeconomic characteristics and road network structure cleary affect the tendency of over- and under-estimation of road traffics. Among them, land use is a key factor which is revealed by a factor that traffic forecast for urban road tends to be under-estimated while rural road traffic prediction is generally over-estimated. The model application suggests that tweaking the traffic forecast using the proposed model can reduce the discrepancies between the predicted and actual traffic counts from 30.4% to 21.9%. CONCLUSIONS : Prediction of road traffic growth patterns based on surrounding socioeconomic and road network attributes can help develop the optimal strategy of road construction plan by enhancing reliability of traffic forecast as well as tendency of traffic growth.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제52권4호
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• pp.214-223
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• 2019

Objectives: Equity in financial protection against healthcare expenditures is one the primary functions of health systems worldwide. This study aimed to quantify socioeconomic inequality in facing catastrophic healthcare expenditures (CHE) and to identify the main factors contributing to socioeconomic inequality in CHE in Iran. Methods: A total of 37 860 households were drawn from the Households Income and Expenditure Survey, conducted by the Statistical Center of Iran in 2017. The prevalence of CHE was measured using a cut-off of spending at least 40% of the capacity to pay on healthcare services. The concentration curve and concentration index (C) were used to illustrate and measure the extent of socioeconomic inequality in CHE among Iranian households. The C was decomposed to identify the main factors explaining the observed socioeconomic inequality in CHE in Iran. Results: The prevalence of CHE among Iranian households in 2017 was 5.26% (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.04 to 5.49). The value of C was -0.17 (95% CI, -0.19 to -0.13), suggesting that CHE was mainly concentrated among socioeconomically disadvantaged households in Iran. The decomposition analysis highlighted the household wealth index as explaining 71.7% of the concentration of CHE among the poor in Iran. Conclusions: This study revealed that CHE is disproportionately concentrated among poor households in Iran. Health policies to reduce socioeconomic inequality in facing CHE in Iran should focus on socioeconomically disadvantaged households.

• 한국응급구조학회지
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• 제26권1호
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• pp.129-138
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• 2022

Purpose: To analyze the frequency of emergency room visits according to socioeconomic factors of emergency room visitors. Methods: In this study, frequency analysis, percentage analysis, and x² test were performed using the SPSS 23.0 program based on the 2018 data from the Korea Health Panel. Results: Among 1,648 participants included in this study, 1,279 visited the emergency room only once in the past year, while 369 visited the emergency room more than once. The relationship between frequency of emergency room visits and socioeconomic factors was analyzed using x² test, and no statistically significant relationship was noted between emergency room visits and education, economic activity, insurance type, and individual quartile income. However, a significant relationship was noted between emergency room visits and being handicap and living in households with quintile income. Conclusion: The study determined the relationship between frequency of emergency room visits and socioeconomic factors. A follow-up study analyzing socioeconomic factors of outpatient departments, 119 ambulance transport services, and frequency of emergency room visits among chronically ill patients is needed to provide basic data for establishing health policies among different socioeconomic strata.

• 한국치위생학회지
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• 제22권5호
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• pp.417-424
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• 2022

Objectives: This study aimed to find a way to solve oral health inequality in old age by understanding the effect of the socioeconomic level of the elderly on oral health. Methods: We used data from the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A chi-square test was performed to investigate differences in oral health according to socioeconomic status and demographic and oral health-related factors. Socioeconomic status and oral health inequality were analyzed using multiple logistic regression. Results: The average number of teeth in the elderly was 17.20, which is insufficient for the minimum number of teeth required for mastication. In the analysis of the correlation between socioeconomic status and oral health inequality, education level, income level, and home ownership were factors influencing the oral health of the elderly; education level was found to have the strongest effect. Conclusions: Oral health inequality according to socioeconomic status was confirmed, and it is necessary to measure the level of oral health inequality with active efforts at the government level to resolve the gap in oral health by social class.

• 예술인문사회 융합 멀티미디어 논문지
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• 제8권10호
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• pp.471-479
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• 2018

This paper on the socioeconomic role of One Dollar Campaign project initiated by Rwanda Diaspora in the reconstruction of the country after 1994 genocide against Tutsi tends to show how Rwanda Diaspora contributes to the socioeconomic development of their home country. The 1994 genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda has destroyed the country and the Rwandan society; and rebuilding the trust, unity, hope and socioeconomic status of genocide survivors in particular and of all Rwandans in general had to engage all Rwandans wherever they were. The focus of this paper is to assess the change on socioeconomic status of the beneficiaries of the one dollar campaign project initiated by Rwanda Diaspora which aimed to help genocide survivor orphans to have a shelter. The results showed that the amount of money contributed by Rwanda Diaspora for this project is of paramount importance as it exerts a positive impact on genocide orphan survivors' daily life, change of their socioeconomic status and to the country's development in general.