• The Journal of Fisheries Business Administration
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.71-83
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• 2011

An ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) approach becomes more important as an alternative management method for a sustainable development of fisheries domestically and internationally. Many methods of applying a practical EBFM to fisheries management have been investigated, and considerable attention has been given to developing effective indicators of the present status of and changes in ecosystems and putting them to practical use. Among ecosystem indicators, developing socioeconomic indicators for EBFM is particularly important. This is because socioeconomic factors have direct effects on ecosystems, and ecosystems have direct effects on socioeconomic factors. Therefore, it is imperative that socioeconomic indicators are developed and evaluated in order to predict changes in ecosystems and to provide advice for effective fisheries management. This study is aimed to develop socioeconomic indicators which can be combined with biological and ecological indicators, in order to conduct the ecosystem-based fisheries assessment. In terms of socioeconomic indicators, five socioeconomic criteria were considered as important attributes of socioeconomic changes. These criteria include economical production, business conditions, income, market, and employment indicators. For evaluation of newly developed socioeconomic indicators, the Traffic Light System (TLS) method was used. In addition, on the basis of the application of developed indicators to the Korean large purse seine fishery, the socioeconomic conditions of the fishery and the usefulness of the indicators were evaluated and management implications were discussed.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.431-438
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• 2007

Objectives : The aim of this study is to summarize the current conditions and implications of health inequalities in South Korea. Methods : Through a literature review of empirical studies and supplementary analysis of the data presented in the 1998, 2001, and 2005 KNHANEs, we evaluated the extent and trends of socioeconomic inequalities in both health risk factors, such as smoking, physical activity, and obesity, and outcomes, such as total mortality, subjective poor health status by self-reports and metabolic syndrome. Relative risks and odds ratios were used to measure differences across socioeconomic groups, and the relative index of inequality was used to evaluate the changes in inequalities over time. Results : We found clear inequalities to various degrees?in most health indicators. While little change was observed in mortality differences over time, the socioeconomic gaps in risk factors and morbidity have been widening, with much larger differences among the younger population. Conclusions : Socioeconomic inequalities are pervasive across various health indicators, and some of them are increasing. The trends in socioeconomic inequalities in health should be carefully monitored, and comprehensive measures to alleviate health inequalities are needed, especially for young populations.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.267-275
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• 2005

Evidence on the relation of socioeconomic position (SEP) with health and illness is mounting in South Korea. Several unlinked studies and individually linked studies (longitudinal study) showed a graded inverse relationship between SEP and mortality among South Korean males and females. Based on the mortality relative ratios by occupational class reported in the published papers of South Korea and western countries, the magnitude of the socioeconomic inequality in mortality in South Korea seems to be similar to or even greater than that in western industrialized countries. A potential contribution of health related selection, health behaviors and psychosocial factors to explain this socioeconomic inequality in mortality was discussed. It was suggested that early life exposure measures would demonstrate a greater ability to explain socioeconomic inequalities in all-cause mortality than the above pathway variables in South Korea. This is based on the cause-specific structure of mortality among the South Korean population who have a relatively greater proportion of stomach cancer, hemorrhagic stroke, liver cancer and liver disease, and tuberculosis, which share early life exposures as important elements of their etiology, than western countries. However, the relative contribution of early and later life socioeconomic conditions in producing socioeconomic inequality in health may differ according to the outcome, thus remains to be investigated.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.391-400
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• 2005

Objective : This study examined the socioeconomic differentials for the health and health related behaviors among South Korean middle school students. Methods : A nationwide cross-sectional interview survey of 3,449 middle school second-grade students and their parents was conducted using a stratified multi-stage cluster sampling method. The response rate was 93.3%. The socioeconomic position indicators were based on self-reported information from the students and their parents: parental education, father's occupational class, monthly family income, out-of-pocket expenditure for education, housing ownership, educational expectations, educational performance and the perceived economic hardships. The outcome variables that were measured were also based on the self-reported information from the students. The health measures included self-rated health conditions, psychological or mental problems, the feelings of loneliness at school, the overall satisfaction of life and the perceived level of stress. The health related behaviors included were smoking, alcohol drinking, sexual intercourse, violence, bullying and verbal and physical abuse by parents. Results : Socioeconomic differences for the health and health related behaviors were found among the eighth grade boys and girls of South Korea. However, the pattern varied with gender, the socioeconomic position indicators and the outcome measures. The prevalence rates of the overall dissatisfaction with life for both genders differed according to most of the eight socioeconomic position indicators. All the health measures were significantly different according to the perceived economic hardship. However, the socioeconomic differences in the self-rated health conditions and the psychosocial or mental problems were not clear. The students having higher socioeconomic position tended to be a perpetrator of bullying while those students with lower socioeconomic position were more likely to be a victim. Conclusions : The perceived economic hardships predicted the health status among the eighth graders of South Korea. The overall satisfaction of life was associated with the socioeconomic position indicators. Further research efforts are needed to explore the mechanisms on how and why the socioeconomic position affects the health and health related behaviors in this age group.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1-22
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• 2008

Burden of disease analysis provides a unique perspective on health by integrating fatal and non-fatal outcomes, yet allows the outcome of two classes to be examined separately. Although many studies have shown the inequality in health outcomes across socioeconomic status (SES), an analysis and comparison of Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY) between different socioeconomic groups has been rare. This paper calculates the DALY and analyzes the distribution of DALYs for different SES. This study draws from 3,278 cases from the survey on "The Livelihood and Welfare Needs of the Elderly (2004)". It first provides a comprehensive assessment of the burden of 10 chronic diseases of the elderly based on DALY. Then this paper analyzes inequalities in the burden of disease by the levels of SES such as education, income, family size, occupation, and subjective economic conditions. For the elderly, the burden of disease is the highest for hypertension, arthritis and cancer. DALY rate per 1,000 people for the most socio-economically disadvantaged group is expressed as a multiple of the standardized rate for the least disadvantaged group (Rate Ratios). Family size is strongly related to. the difference in the burden of disease between SES groups, and the elderly Who live alone have higher DALY rate than those who live with their family. Other significant variables related to SES groups include subjective economic conditions, occupation, elderly income, and household income.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.61-69
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• 2010

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine socioeconomic inequalities in oral health and to investigate the extent to which socioeconomic disparities in oral health are attenuated by oral health related consciousness and behaviors. Methods: We used data from the third 2006 Korea National Oral Health Survey(KNOHS) and a total of 3,457 subjects aged over 18 years were analyzed. The dependent variable was periodontal conditions which is devided into dichotomy, that is, health and ill-health, using the Community Periodontal Index(CPI) in KNOHS. Socioeconomic status(SES) were measured by educational attainment, income and residential area. Age, gender, oral health consciousness(self-assessed oral health status, concern about oral health and self-perceived dental treatment needs and behaviors(brushing, use of dental floss and dental visits) were adjusted in binary logistic regression analysis. Results and Conclusion: The results show that oral health consciousness and behaviors do not mediate the relationship between SES and periodontal health and there might be limitations to attenuate socioeconomic disparities in oral health only by changing of either oral health consciousness or(and) behaviors. Our findings suggest that more definite oral health policies and dental health education among adults with lower education will need in order to improve oral health.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.42 no.3
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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 the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.275-288
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to investigate the cognitive differences among the aged who have different living conditions. 91 free-meal receivers and 86 people with stable lives were asked about their living conditions and cognitive function by using K-MMSE. All data were analyzed by SPSS 10.0 package. Free meal receivers had poorer socioeconomic status than the subjects who had stable lives. Cognitive function of free meal receivers was lower than the people with stable lives in the most cognitive factors. Especially age of 50 to 64, pre-aged group, who had been receiving free meals, showed lowest cognitive level than the other age groups. Among 7 cognitive factors, there was the greatest difference in attention and calculation between 2 groups. Percentage of 'conclusive dementia' among the free meal receivers was statistically higher than the people with stable lives and that of 'conclusively normal' was statistically lower in free meal receivers comparing with the people with stable lives. Moreover, socioeconomic factors like income, former job, marital status, housing and education, blood pressure and physical activity were significantly related to the subject's cognitive function.

• Journal of the Korean housing association
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.31-40
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• 2003

This study was intended to examine the effects of socioeconomic status on housing values, norms, and behaviors of young households. The purpose was accomplished using the Life Style Survey of 2001 in Ulsan, and the data from 370 households were analyzed. The importance of household income and current housing size which are used as a proxy for socioeconomic status in explaining housing values, norms, and behaviors were once again confirmed in this study, even if there were some other significant variables. This implies that housing values, norms, and behaviors tend to change according to the socioeconomic characteristics of the households under the conditions of controlling demographic ones.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.79-90
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• 2017

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of malnutrition and to explore its association with socioeconomic and social support factors among Korean elderly in the community. Methods : The study sample was a weighted population of 10,160 elderly who participated in the 2014 Korean Elderly Living Conditions and Welfare Survey. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the association socioeconomic and social support factors have with malnutrition. Results : Of the Korean elderly 18.6% were at risk of malnutrition. Being uneducated (OR=1.40) and having a lower household income (OR=1.97) were significantly associated with malnutrition even after adjusting for other socio-demographic and health-related covariates. Elderly who lived alone (OR=1.86) and who had poor relationships with their children (OR=1.97) were at much higher risk of malnutrition than their counterparts. Their having poor relationships with acquaintances and poor social participation were also associated with malnutrition. Conclusions : Socioeconomic and social support resources are important factors in the nutritional status of the elderly.