• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.833-841
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• 2011

Objectives : The purpose of this study was investigation of quality and quantity of nutritional intake related oral health status among Korean elders. Methods : The nutrient intake and the dietary quality was evaluated on the basis of the Dietary Reference Intakes For Koreans(KDRIs). Chi-square test for Complex Samples was used to determine the relationship between oral health and inadequate nutrient intake in Korean elders. The complex samples general linear model was used to test difference of average value difference of nutrient intake percentage compared to dietary reference intake(DRI), energy intake rate from three major nutrients, average mean adequacy ratio(MAR) and index of nutritional quality(INQ) related oral health status. Age, sex and total energy intake was compensated for this analysis. PASW 18 was used for statistical analysis. Results : We could found the difference of the nutrient intake and the dietary quality related oral health status among Korean elders. Especially, Nutrient intake percentage and component ratio of protein among energy intake rate from three major nutrient was lower as oral health status became worse. The percentage of subjects with nutritional intakes under showed highest level in worst oral health status. As oral health status became worse, average mean adequacy ratio(MAR) was lower and the number of nutrient of which index of nutritional quality(INQ) was under 1 was more. Conclusions : From the result above, this study clearly shows the level of oral health affecting the inequalities of eating and the food for the people. And the various propose of oral health policies is needed for vulnerable groups who needs solution to solve the problem of inequality of food distribution where intensive distribution of nutrition problem occurred. Sufficient, safe, and a variety of healthy food intake is a fundamental right of our people. And also, to apply this policy in reality, institutional arrangements and organizations, and specific performing system will be needed.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.307-313
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• 2010

Purpose : Results of the Korea National Health Screening Program for Infants and Children, which was launched in November 2007, were evaluated for future research and policy development. Methods : Data from a total of 2,729,340 cases were analyzed. Five visiting ages, such as 4, 9, 18, 30, and 60 months, were included. Several parameters such as stunting, obesity, and positive rate of developmental screening were also analyzed. Telephone survey was performed in 1,035 users. For the provider survey, 262 doctors participated in our study. Results : The overall participation rate of users was 35.3%. This participation rate showed a decrement tendency to old age and low income. Only 6.9% of users participated in oral screening. Health screening was performed mainly in private clinics (82.6%). The recall rate of 4 months program users at the age of 9 months was 57.3%. The positive rate of screening was 3.1%, and was higher in the low-income group. By telephone survey, users reported that questionnaires were not difficult (94%) and overall satisfaction was good (73%). Longer duration of counseling was related with more satisfied users. Counseling and health education were helpful to users (73.2%). Doctors agreed that this program was helpful to children (98.5%). Conclusion : Korea National Health Screening Program for Infants and Children was launched successfully. Participation rate should be improved, and a quality control program needs to be developed. More intensive support following this program for children of low-income families may lead to effective interventions in controlling health inequality. Periodic update of guidelines is also needed.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.117-142
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• 2012

This research attempts to explain the influence of educational level inequalities on self-rated health and depression of the elderly. Also, we are focusing whether there is a mediating effect of social support between educational level inequalities and self-rated health depression of the elderly. The data was collected from July, 30 to August, 15, 2009. 631 persons who live in Gangnam-Gu area over 60 years of age were recruited. Frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and multiple regression were employed using SPSS 12.0. The result of this study shows that educational level inequalities have a influence on the self-rated health and depression. It is also verified that social participation variable has a partial mediating effect between educational level inequalities and mental health(self-rated health and depression). This study carried out a positive linear relationship between educational level and health: the higher education, the better the health. And also, the results present the importance of developing adequate intervention programs for the elderly having low educational level to improve social participation and to enhance mental health(self-rated health and depression).

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.324-335
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• 2017

Background: The aim of this study is to analyze determinants of welfare attitudes toward healthcare services in South Korea, using three main theories: self-interest (positive welfare attitudes if the policy fulfills people's personal interests), symbolic attitudes (positive welfare attitudes if the person is politically progressive or egalitarian), and sociotropic perception (positive welfare attitudes if the person experienced positive aggregated collective experiences of societal events and trends regarding the policy). Although the definition of the welfare attitude is rather ambiguous in literatures, in this investigation, we operationalize the concept as the 'willingness to pay higher taxes to improve the level of health care services for all people in Korea' which shows individuals' actional propensity. Methods: We used the health module from the International Social Survey Program 2011 for the analysis (N= 1,391). Five logistic regression models were built successively using two variables for each theory to measure key concepts of self-interest, symbolic attitudes, and sociotropic perceptions as independent variables. Results: The result showed self-interest and symbolic attitudes factors to be strong determinants of welfare attitudes towards healthcare services in South Korea, whereas sociotropic perception factors have inconsistent effects. Conclusion: For a more politically elaborated healthcare reform in South Korea and elsewhere, there needs to be further research on various dimensions and determinants of welfare attitudes to understand popular basis of welfare expansion, especially in the era of inequality.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.219-225
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• 2017

This article examined the condition of medical service utilization and the usage degree for the disabled in Korea, and analyzed factors affecting medical service utilization. This paper offers data for improving the health of disabled Korea residents and for enhancing medical service utilization. We analyzed data for disabled residents aged 19 from the 6th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Results found significant effects depending on gender, age, average monthly income, types of disorders, disability rating, and status of smoking. Concerning gender, men had a higher probability of lacking medical treatment compared with women, had increased probability of having a disability, and smokers had a higher probability of lacking treatment compared with nonsmokers. Therefore, for resolving medically untreated disabled Korean residents, government needs to improve the policy system and to managethe inequality of handicapped welfare work.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.679-690
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• 2020

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Concerns about regional disparities in heathy eating and nutritional status among South Korean adults are increasing. This study aims to identify the magnitude of regional disparities in diet and nutritional status among Korean adults who completed the 2017 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). SUBJECTS/METHODS: The participants were a nationally representative sample of Korean adults aged 19 years and older from the 2017 KNHANES (n = 6,126). We employed the svy commands in STATA to accommodate the complex survey design. The relative concentration index (RCI), absolute concentration index (ACI) and index of disparity were used to measure regional nutritional inequalities. RESULTS: Overweight and obese adults were more prevalent among the poor than among the rich in urban areas (RCI = -0.041; P < 0.05), while overweight and obese adults were more prevalent among the rich than among the poor in rural areas of South Korea (RCI = 0.084; P < 0.05). Economic inequality in fruit and vegetable intake ≥ 500 g per day was greater in rural areas than in urban areas in both relative size (RCI = 0.228 vs. 0.091, difference in equality = 0.137; P < 0.05) and absolute size (ACI = 0.055 vs. 0.023, difference in equality = 0.032; P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides useful information identifying opposite directions in the relative concentration curves between urban and rural areas. Adult overweight/obesity was more prevalent among the poor in urban areas, while adult overweight/obesity was more prevalent among the rich in rural areas. Public health nutrition systems should be implemented to identify nutritional inequalities that should be targeted across regions in South Korea.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.363-375
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• 2018

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify the influence of children's and caregivers' perceptions of local neighborhood environments on children's physical activities (PAs) and screen-based activities (SBAs) among low-income families. Methods: Secondary data analysis was performed using the data of 171 low-income children attending community child care centers and of their caregivers. Descriptive analysis, factor analysis and logistic regression analysis were employed to analyze data. Results: PAs were insufficient and SBAs were excessive in the majority of children. Children and primary caregivers had moderately negative perceptions of their local neighborhood environments. However these perceptions were not found to affect children's PAs or SBAs significantly. Conclusion: Although perceptions of local neighborhoods were not found to significantly influence children's PAs or SBAs, efforts are needed to make community child care centers and neighborhoods safer and more activity-friendly.

• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.209-217
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• 2011

Purpose: In this study, eye-health inequity was investigated by analyzing the relationship between household incomes and eye-health of senior citizens. Further, this study suggested the preliminary data for establishment of public eye-health policy in order to improve low income senior citizens' life quality. Methods: The data from the 2009 Survey of Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination were analyzed in this study. The objectives of the KNHNE survey were over 65 year old group (1,668 people). Main factors of eye-health (visual acuity, cataract, pterygium, intraocular pressure, retinophathy, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinophathy, myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and anisometropia prevalence) were analyzed with t-test and chi square test. Results: Low income group revealed that refractive error rate and intraocular pressure were low, however, naked eye visual acuity and corrected visual acuity were high at 0.1 to less than 0.5. On the other hands, in the high income group, there was high prevalence of hyperopia. Cataract mainly occurred at low income group besides group which maximum corrected visual acuity was below 0.8 also highly showed cataract. Moreover, the prevalence of cataract showed that it related with smoking, drinking, occupation, and education level. Conclusions: Results revealed that there was inequity of eye-health which related with socioeconomic status of the elderly. Especially, the prevalence of cataract was correlated with life quality. Consequently, establishment of public eye-health policy seems to be required for eye-health inequity of low income senior citizens.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.150-154
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• 2007

Objectives : The aim of this study is to identify factors determining the purchase of private health insurance under the mandatory National Health Insurance(NHI) system in Korea. Methods : The data were collected by the National Cancer Center in Korea. It includes cancer patients who were newly diagnosed with stomach (ICD code, C16), lung(C33-C34), liver (C22), colorectal cancer(C18-C20) or breast(C50) cancer. Data were gathered from the hospital Order Communication System (OCS), medical records, and face-to-face interviews, using a structured questionnaire. Clinical, socio-demographic and private health insurance related factors were also gathered. Results : Overall, 43.9% of patients had purchased one or more private health insurance schemes related to cancer, with an average monthly premium of \65,311 and an average benefit amount of \19million. Females, younger aged, high income earners, national health insurers and metropolitan citizens were more likely to purchase private health insurance than their counterparts. Conclusions : About half of Korean people have supple-mentary private health insurance and their benefits are sufficient to cover the out-of-pocket fees required for cancer treatment, but inequality remains in the purchase of private health insurance. Further studies are needed to investigate the impacts of private health insurance on NHI, and the relationship between cancer patients' burden and benefits.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.593-603
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of early health status on income status as young old adults grow older. Using Korean Retirement & Income Study(KReiS), this study finally included 923 older adults who were fully present from the first wave (2005) to the sixth wave (2015) for 10 years. The results of descriptive analysis show that the difference of income occurs due to the difference of health status at the early old age. In other words, older adults with good health status at the early old age(56 ~ 60 years old) have a relatively higher income level for 10 years compared with older adults with poor healthy status. In multiple regression analysis, the results represent that the better the health condition in early age, the higher the gross individual income, controlling for gender, spouse, and education level. In addition, older adults with good health at early old age stage have higher income level than those with poor health at early old age stage. The difference by health status continues as they are getting old. Therefore, this study suggests several policies and practical alternatives to improve the early health condition and to reduce the negative impact of early health condition on old age income.