• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.13-23
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• 1979

A study was carried out from October 1977 to September 1978 in order to develope health care delively system which will meet to rural area in Korea. For the study objective a model of health care delivery system of Myun (township) area was developed which is adopted the net-work of village health voluntary worker who will play the role of bridge for communication related with health and illness between families or village people and health subcenter, and :he model health care delivery system net-work was set in the area of Soodong Myun, Yangju Gun. which is the rural health demonstration area of Ewha Womans University since 1972. The activities and attitude of 22 village health voluntary workers were observed and analized. during the study period. The results are as follows; 1. For the field activities of village health voluntary workers. a guide line which is described with specific behavioral objectives was developed and used for not only training of the workers but also evaluation of their field activities. 2. During the study period, the number of 971 village people were served primary health care service by village health voluntary worker and the service was classified largely into symptomatic medications (92%) and preventive measures (8%). 3. Comparative percentage of the number of 894 symptomatic cases cared by village health voluntary workers to 5,695 cases of patient treated by Soodong Health Subcenter during the same period was 15.7%. 4. Annual utility rate of village health voluntary worker by Myun total people was 16.1% but utility rate by Rie was varied from 38.2% to 2.8% which shown there were considerable differences in each Rie. In order to settle the village health care service, the obstructive factors of utility should be detected and their counter measure must be taken. 5. As the health need of village people increases, it is expected that the supplement of drug excluding present sit basic drugs is inevitable, but considering the ability of village health voluntary worker, the selection of additional drugs and education, plan should be carefully studied. 6. It is desirable that a financial resource for supplementary purchase of first aid kit, drugs and materials whould be alloted from village public fund like Saemaeul Women's Club fund, which has already practiced in a few villages in the study area. 7. As pointed out by village health voluntary workers, in order to improve the village health, village leaders should be in the center of it and the cooperation of whole village people is a core of healthful village development, and it is reasonable that the health subcenter backs up these voluntary health activities by village people in techniques. 8. It seems effective that a supplementary education for village health voluntary worker be accomplished by a planned education through regular meetings like worker's monthly meeting and irregular post guide when Myun Health Workers can handle the problems found during the round trip of villages. 9. It is desirable that village health voluntary workers, who are recommended by a civil voluntary organization like Saemael Woman's Club, are charged by natural villagc unit, are given a function of village health care service and used through basic education at health subcenter. 10. It is advisable that the village health voluntary worker's service is compensated not by a form of money, but by other way such as an exemption of medical fee of worker herself or her families in health subcenter can be one method. 11. Daily health activities of each village health voluntary worker should be reported to health subcenter by biweekly or monthly in order to get not only for basic data of the program but also for evaluation the program. It is recomandable that the report form should be simple and clear enough for village health voluntary worker to fill it effectively. 12. Village health care service should be developed into a Saemaeul Movement in which village people actively participate. For this, the appointed function of village health voluntary worker should be absorbed into those of living Environment Betterment Section or Family Planning Section of Saemaeul Women's Club or it is desirable that establish a new section, Village Health Promoting Section and make it involve the appointed functions of those sections mentioned above.

• Korean Journal of Rural Living Science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.21-32
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• 1999

To investigate the status of farmers health management for health promotion, and for checking the effect of village health care center during 1 year, 746 subjects were selected with cluster method in 8 provinces of Korea. The most frequent group was 40th of age (39%) : elementary school graduates (32%) The self-conscious of health status tested with CMI (Cornell Medical Index) questionnaire, the subjects in the village of health care center had lower health status than those of conventional village. The farmers living in the village with health care center had longer agricultural work (p＜0.05) and more frequency of spraying pesticides in the fields. The subjects of living the village of health care center were frequently exercise (34%) with health appliance use methods (30%), but the duration time of exercise was similar, Dietary habits and agricultural work condition were similar between two groups. For the fatigue recovery, steeping and bathing were most favorite methods, but exercise was lowest. It was significantly different between 2 groups the fatigue recovering methods, the subjects of village with health care center were more doing exercise (p＜0.01), less sleeping (p＜0.01) than those of conventional village. The working condition of self-estimated of farmers was not good, only 8.7% was thought pleasant condition. Of the various health factors, exercise, nutrition, and working situation would be more important. Considering on farmers exercise, it was very weak point for health management. The foundation and leading of the Farmers health care center was encouraged to farmers. For more effective operations, the experts education, easy and funny exercise program, and health promotion committee for administrators would be needed. The better systemic and continuous exercise programs should develop for associating livelihood. Funding for this project provided by the ministry of health and welfare of Korea.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.85-93
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• 1984

In order to develop some indicies for the evaluation of village health worker's activities and to find out personal characteristics and other factors that affect the activities, an interview survey was conducted to thirty seven village health workers (VHW) in Sunwon, Naega and Bulun townships in Kangwha county, where the Community Health Project of Yonsei University, College of Medicine, has been implemented for the past ten years. In addition, daily activity records of the VHW's were also analyzed. The results are summarized below: First, meeting attendance rates, number of regular family visits, number of antenatal care visits and number of family planning visits were identified as the most meaningful criterion for the evaluation of the village health worker's activities. Second, personal factors that significantly affect the village health worker's activities were identified as age, educational background, living with in-laws, religion, presence of preschool child in the family, holding leader's position of village woman's association concurrently, and duration serving as a VHW. The more aged and the more educated VHWs were the more effective. Those VHWs who were living with in-laws, without preschool child in the family, holding the leader's position of the village woman's association, and the longer service duration were the more effective. Other factors that affect the VHW's activities were the number of households in the target village and the number of natural villages in the target villages. It showed that the smaller the size of number of households and natural villages, the higher the degrees of the effectiveness of the VHW.

• Journal of Agricultural Extension & Community Development
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.591-629
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• 2011

The purpose of this research is to examine how the village community centers are being used and find how to improve leisure activities of elders in rural areas by using them. In order to achieve the purpose of this research, we did convenience sampling from elders using 92 village community centers in one of the counties in Gyeong-gi province, and did field survey to 343 persons. The collected data was analyzed by SPSS 18 program, and the results are as follows: The survey on population sociological peculiarity of elders using village community centers shows that most of elders are over 70 years old. As for health conditions, there are more elders who are physically weaker than healthy elders. And the survey shows that most of the elders are suffering from illness such as hypertension, arthritis, neuralgia, and indigestion so such programs related to health are critically required. First, the survey on using village community centers by elders in rural areas shows that they think the village community centers are important for them and use them often. Most of respondents said that they use the village community center so as to meet friends, to enjoy leisure, and to spend time in rural areas where they have difficulty enjoying cultural facilities. Meanwhile, some people dislike to use the village community centers mainly because there is few programs for leisure or each one has a different personality or they don't have enough money to pay for the membership fee. Second, according to the survey on leisure for the elders in village community centers, there are few leisure programs. For men, they spend time by playing Baduk, Janggi, Hwatu and drinking. Meanwhile, women spend time by meeting with friends, listening to radio and TV watching. There are almost nothing to improve leisure activities such as hobby, recreation and health etc. Male elders using centers are suffering from health problems, economic difficulty, and lack of leisure activities, meanwhile, female elders are suffering from loneliness, health problems, and economic difficulty. Third, according to the survey on improving the leisure program of village community center, elders preferred health related programs to improve leisure activities. The most necessary leisure activities in village community center are hobby classrooms, health programs and group travelling. They preferred health related programs for leisure in village community center. Based upon the reality described above, improving the village community centers as leisure facilities is considered to be important for the welfare well of elders in rural areas.

• Annals of Geriatric Medicine and Research
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.149-159
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• 2016

Background: Since the mid-20th century, the ways in which social networks and older adults' health are related have been widely studied. However, few studies investigate the relationship between self-rated health and position in a complete social network of one entire Korean rural village. This study highlights use of a complete network in health studies. Methods: Using the Korean Social Life and Health Project, the population-based data of adults aged 60 or older and their spouses in one myeon in Ganghwa island (Ganghwa-gun, Incheon, Korea), Incheon, Korea (with a 95% response rate), this study built a $1,012{\times}1,012$ complete social network matrix of the village. The data were collected from 2011 to 2012, and 731 older adults were analyzed. The ordered logistic models to predict self-rated health allowed us to examine social factors from socio-demographic to individual community activities, ego-centered network characteristics, and positions in a complete network. Results: From the network data, 5 network components were identified. Even after controlling for all other factors, if a respondent belonged to a segregated component, the probability that he or she reported good health dropped substantially. Additionally, high in-degree centrality was connected to greater self-rated health. Conclusion: This finding highlights the importance of social position not only from the respondents' point of view but also from the entire village's perspective. Even if a respondent maintained a large social network, when all of those social ties belonged to a segregated group in the village, the respondent's health suffered from this segregation.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.285-295
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• 2004

Purpose： The purpose of this study was to investigate the expectations toward a tele-health surveillance system by residents of an information network village. Method： A descriptive study was conducted using interviews with a questionnaire. Of the households in the village, 24 were selected for inclusion in a pilot study. All of the residents from these households, for a total of 67, participated in the survey. Result： Expectations for promotion of health by a tele-health surveillance system were higher in residents with higher level of education. Expectations for effectiveness of disease management and promotion of health status by a tele-health surveillance system were higher in residents with family history or experience with emergencies. The higher scores for health knowledge and health concerns were associated with higher expectations for effectiveness of disease management and promotion of health by a tele-health surveillance system Conclusion： Analysis of the characteristic of the residents should precede implementation of a tele-health surveillance system in any location as expectations for tele-health surveillance system differ according to the characteristics.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.377-385
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• 2009

Objectives : This study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of 'village health worker training program' which aimed to build community participatory health promotion capacity of community leaders in villages of low developed country and to develop methods for further development of the program. Methods : The intervention group were 134 community leaders from 25 barangays (village). Control group were 149 form 4 barangays. Intervention group participated 3-day training program. Questionnaire was developed based on 'Health Promotion Capacity Checklist' which assessed capacity in 4 feathers; 'knowledge', 'skill', 'commitment', and 'resource'. Each feather was assessed in 4 point rating scale. Capacity scores between intervention group and control group were examined to identify changes between the pre- and post-intervention periods. A qualitative evaluation of the program was conducted to assess the appropriateness of the program. The program was conducted in Tuguegarao city, Philippine in January, 2009. Results : The result showed significant increases in the total health promotion capacity and each feather of health promotion capacities between pre and post assessment of intervention group. But there was no significant change in that of control group. Participants marked high level of satisfaction for preparedness, selection of main subjects and education method. Qualitative evaluation revealed that training program facilitated community participatory health promotion capacity of participants. Conclusions : This study suggested that the Village health worker training program is effective for building health promotion capacity of community leaders and it can be a main method for helping low developed countries with further development.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.121-131
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• 2024

Objective: This study is to design an intervention model for local residents to manage their oral health on their own. By establishing an autonomous participatory network without the intervention of external experts, it is possible to actively practice toothbrushing and use preventive services. Method: This is a case report study, and oral health education was conducted after interviews with 8 members of the Health Plus Village Committee in the N region of Hongcheon-gun and 156 residents of the senior center. Result: To foster oral health guardians in the community and to change behavior by actively sharing information and communicating with residents. It was confirmed that the Health Plus Village Committee was influential in spreading information, means, and interest about toothbrushing practices and preventive dental services to neighbors. Conclusion: In order to implement continuous resident-led oral health projects, resident-led village projects led by the Health Plus Village Committee should be activated through repeated empowerment education.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.218-229
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• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to suggest the direction of the Healthy Village project for rural residents in accordance with the prolonged COVID-19 by investigating the digital environment for major health problems, the role of a health leader, necessary projects, and non-face-to-face projects for Healthy Village members in the COVID-19 epidemic. Methods: Telephone interview surveys were conducted with 585 residents from November 30, 2020 to December 21, 2020. Results: Health problems perceived by residents were in the order of concerns about infection (48.5%), depression (32.5%), difficulties in using medical services (9.4%), and lack of exercise (7.7%). The role of the health committee in the COVID-19 situation was "encouraging people to follow quarantine rules" with 91.3%. As a necessary health village project, there was a high demand for the provision of health products and mental health projects. 17.9% said that there is a computer or smart device connected to the Internet in their home, and 42.2% said that there is someone in the village who can easily get help if there is a problem in accessing and using Internet information. 36.9% were able to watch videos, and 22.2% were able to use the Internet through public facilities. Conclusion: In a public health crisis, where the provision of public health and medical services to rural residents is not smooth, it is necessary to manage health and quarantine through health leaders in the village, and it is required to establish a digital environment infrastructure that can conduct community participatory health village projects in a non-face-to-face environment.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 1993

The objective of this study is to review the role and function of the village health worker in the wake of the recent social changes in Korea. The stud}' also aimed at' elucidating' the characteristics of the village health worker organizations developed through community participation in this country. The study methods employed were: a review of literature and other existing information related to VHW's activities ; the use of Questionnaire and interview with VHW's on their activities in one selected county in 1992. The major findings obtained are as follows: 1. So far the community health care activities have been carried out by medical colleges, foreign aid agencies and religious organizations with a view to improving health care for the population in rural area. 2. The VHWs employed by the local community health services received remuneratiorin cash or in kind. However, presently no remuneration is paid to VHWs employed by the government village health projects. The training for VHWs is organized by County Health Center once a year for 1-2days regardless of pre-employment or refresher. 3. The needs of care for maternal and child health and family planning has been decline due to the decrease of the target population, but on the other hand, the needs of care by VHW for prevention of infectious diseases, health of the aging, management of geriatric diseases, prevention of poisoning of pesticides and environmental sanitation has beer increased. 4. It was felt strongly that the training for VHWs should be strengthened by means of developing a problem-solving oriented educational program in order to improve practical skills of VHWs.