• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제54권5호
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• pp.360-369
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• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate public preferences regarding allocation principles for scarce medical resources in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, particularly in comparison with the recommendations of ethicists. Methods: An online survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 1509 adults residing in Korea, from November 2 to 5, 2020. The degree of agreement with resource allocation principles in the context of the medical resource constraints precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic was examined. The results were then compared with ethicists' recommendations. We also examined whether the perceived severity of COVID-19 explained differences in individual preferences, and by doing so, whether perceived severity helps explain discrepancies between public preferences and ethicists' recommendations. Results: Overall, the public of Korea agreed strongly with the principles of "save the most lives," "Koreans first," and "sickest first," but less with "random selection," in contrast to the recommendations of ethicists. "Save the most lives" was given the highest priority by both the public and ethicists. Higher perceived severity of the pandemic was associated with a greater likelihood of agreeing with allocation principles based on utilitarianism, as well as those promoting and rewarding social usefulness, in line with the opinions of expert ethicists. Conclusions: The general public of Korea preferred rationing scarce medical resources in the COVID-19 pandemic predominantly based on utilitarianism, identity and prioritarianism, rather than egalitarianism. Further research is needed to explore the reasons for discrepancies between public preferences and ethicists' recommendations.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제8권11호
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• pp.253-264
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• 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed a number of restrictions on the lives of people and services, forcing them to adopt a "New Normal" way of living. Contactless technologies provide a mechanism to reduce the risk of infection, encouraging people to use touchless payment methods. The aim of this study is to develop an integrated framework based on the Health Belief Model and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology to justify the use of mobile payment during the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam. Based on a survey of 434 samples, the proposed conceptual model was empirically justified using structural equation modeling (SEM). This study found that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, enjoyment, perceived severity, and perceived susceptibility significantly and positively influenced behavioral intention of using contactless payment technologies. In addition, this study discovered that effort expectancy, perceived severity, and perceived susceptibility all have a positive impact on performance expectancy, while enjoyment triggered users' effort expectancy. By adding novel insights into the literature on the acceptance of technology during the pandemic, this study makes a major contribution to justifying how contactless payment technologies can reduce the risk of getting infected by COVID-19.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제44권6호
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• pp.384-391
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• 2021

The recent appearance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has affected millions of people around the world and caused a global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It has been suggested that uncontrolled, exaggerated inflammation contributes to the adverse outcomes of COVID-19. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of the innate immune response elicited by SARS-CoV-2 infection and the hyperinflammation that contributes to disease severity and death. We also discuss the immunological determinants behind COVID-19 severity and propose a rationale for the underlying mechanisms.

• 한국콘텐츠학회논문지
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• 제21권10호
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• pp.679-689
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• 2021

본 연구는 임금근로장애인의 코로나19로 인한 직장 내 어려움과 생활만족도의 관계에서 고용안정성의 매개효과, 그리고 장애중증여부에 의한 조절된 매개효과를 확인하는 데 목적을 두었다. SPSS 25ver, PROCESS macro를 활용하여 분석을 실시한 결과, 코로나19로 인한 직장 내 어려움은 임금근로장애인의 고용안정성을 통해 생활만족도에 부적 영향을 미쳤다. 즉 임금근로장애인이 경험하는 코로나19로 인한 직장 내 어려움 수준이 고용안전성을 통해 생활만족도를 저해하는 것으로 나타났다. 그리고 이러한 변수들 간의 관계에서 장애중증 여부의 조절효과는 나타나지 않았다. 이는 코로나19로 인한 직장 내 어려움은 장애 정도와 무관하게 임금근로장애인의 고용안정성, 생활만족도를 감소시키는 것으로 해석할 수 있다. 이러한 결과를 토대로 본 연구는 팬데믹 상황에서 임금근로장애인의 생활만족도, 고용안정성 증진을 위한 제도적 시사점들을 논의하였다.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• 제21권3호
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• pp.237-244
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• 2021

Background: This study aimed to analyze Twitter users' emotional tendencies regarding oral surgery procedures before and after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic worldwide. Methods: Tweets posted in English before and after the COVID-19 pandemic were included in the study. Popular tweets in 2019 were searched using the keywords "tooth removal", "tooth extraction", "dental pain", "wisdom tooth", "wisdom teeth", "oral surgery", "oral surgeon", and "OMFS". In 2020, another search was conducted by adding the words "COVID" and "corona" to the abovementioned keywords. Emotions underlying the tweets were analyzed using CrystalFeel - Multidimensional Emotion Analysis. In this analysis, we focused on four emotions: fear, anger, sadness, and joy. Results: A total of 1240 tweets, which were posted before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, were analyzed. There was a statistically significant difference between the emotions' distribution before and after the pandemic (p < 0.001). While the sense of joy decreased after the pandemic, anger and fear increased. There was a statistically significant difference between the emotional valence distributions before and after the pandemic (p < 0.001). While a negative emotion intensity was noted in 52.9% of the messages before the pandemic, it was observed in 74.3% of the messages after the pandemic. A positive emotional intensity was observed in 29.8% of the messages before the pandemic, but was seen in 10.7% of the messages after the pandemic. Conclusion: Infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, may lead to mental, emotional, and behavioral changes in people. Unpredictability, uncertainty, disease severity, misinformation, and social isolation may further increase dental anxiety and fear among people.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• 제25권2호
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• pp.95-104
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• 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the trends and characteristics of infection-related patient safety incident reporting before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Korea, and to provide basic data for preventing infection-related patient safety incidents and improving their management. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of secondary national data (Patient Safety Reporting Data) was conducted. In total, 517 infection-related patient safety incidents reported from 2018 to 2021 were analyzed. Changes in the number of reports before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and differences in variables related to infection-related patient safety incidents were analyzed using the chi-square test and independent t-test in SPSS 29.0. Results: This study found that infection-related patient safety incidents decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to before the pandemic. Furthermore, incident-related characteristics, such as the type of healthcare organization, severity of harm, and post-incident actions, changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: The many changes in the infection control system and practices during the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to a decrease in the reporting of infection-related patient safety incidents. It is hoped that longitudinal studies on patient safety incidents related to the pandemic and analytical studies on factors influencing patient safety incidents will continue to be conducted to prevent and improve patient safety incidents.

• 한국응급구조학회지
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• 제25권3호
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• pp.189-200
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• 2021

Purpose: We aimed to provide effective emergency medical services (EMS) response strategies for coping with high acuity patients during the pandemic by analyzing the influence of the COVID-19 and social distancing on EMS. Methods: In this retrospective observational study, we analyzed the distribution of high acuity patients transported by Daejeon 1-1-9 EMS during the COVID-19 pandemic period, between February 1, 2020 and October 31, 2020 and the same period in 2019, as well as the level 3 social distancing enforced period, between July 27, 2020 and October 31, 2020. Results: The EMS dispatches decreased by 17% during the observed COVID-19 pandemic period compared to the same period in 2019. The number of cases with cardiac arrest and positive prehospital stroke scale rose by (p<.001). Patients with cardiac arrest, trauma, and positive prehospital stroke scale increased by during the level 3 social distancing period. Conclusion: Unlike the decreased EMS call volume and patient transports during the COVID-19 pandemic, cardiac arrest cases and the severity of high acuity patients tended to increase. We suggest that EMS systems should contrive a response strategy considering the collateral effect of major epidemics on the incidence rate of high acuity patients.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제8권5호
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• pp.1011-1017
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• 2021

An effective measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is wearing masks in public places. This solution is highly recommended in many countries all over the world. The objective of this study is to identify the antecedents of citizens' intention to purchase masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the current study analyzes attitudes toward mask-purchasing, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, to assess their impact on intention to purchase masks. In total, six variables are examined: attitude toward mask-wearing, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, and the intention to wear masks. Data are collected from 243 respondents in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. They were processed through by factor analysis and multiple regressions. The results report that all three factors positively affect citizens' intention to buy masks in the following ascending order: Attitude toward mask-purchasing, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Our study is the first research that applies TPB to investigate citizens' intention to purchase masks to during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, this study provides guidelines to the Vietnamese public managers to combat COVID-19 through the purchase of masks. Shopkeepers would be well advised to observe the intentions of consumers toward masks.

• 유통과학연구
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• 제20권1호
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• pp.77-85
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• 2022

Purpose: The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered several herd purchase behaviors, and online shopping has been considered a health-related preventative behavior. Thisstudy aimsto the relative impact of health threat beliefs concerning Covid-19 (perceived susceptibility and perceived severity) and herd mentality on consumers' online shopping post-adoption disconfirmation and continuance intention of online shopping. Research design, data and methodology: An internet survey was conducted with Vietnamese consumers, and upon screening, usable data of 292 responses were analyzed using PLS-SEM. Results showed that while herd mentality positively affects disconfirmation, health threat beliefs including perceived susceptibility and perceived severity of Covid-19 do not. Results: Results also provided further support for the notion that disconfirmation is a crucial determinant of post-adoption continuance intention. Moreover, herd mentality also has a significantly negative influence on online shopping post-adoption continuance intention. Conclusions: The research provides evidence supporting the role of herd mentality and post-adoption disconfirmation in driving consumers' intention to continue online shopping. However, the research shows that neither the perceived susceptibility of Covid-19 nor the perceived severity of Covid-19 has significant impact on post-adoption disconfirmation, adding mixed evidence to the application of health belief theory in technology (such as online shopping) adoption.

• Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.75-101
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• 2024

This study investigates the variation in anxiety levels across income classes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. The research is based on data from nationally representative surveys conducted in 2017 and 2021, and it employs a multilevel mixed-effects ordered logistic model. The unique aspect of this investigation lies in its utilization of the Cantril ladder, a commonly employed tool in public opinion research, to gauge anxiety levels. Participants are prompted to assess their present life circumstances concerning their daily worries and anxieties. The empirical findings provide evidence that individuals in provinces with higher exposures to COVID-19 reported heightened anxiety levels. Furthermore, the results highlight a consistent association between higher household income and lower levels of anxiety. Notably, individuals from the highest income group experienced a substantial decline in anxiety levels during the pandemic. When examining specific income classes, the study reveals heightened anxiety among women in higher-income brackets and among lower-income households residing in urban areas. Furthermore, regarding macroeconomic circumstances, the results illustrate a positive correlation between economic prosperity and anxiety levels among members of low-income households. The study also uncovers a positive connection between income inequality and self-assessed anxiety within upper-middle and high-income brackets.