• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2019

This study was designed to examine agro-healing services and programs provided and operated by farms in Korea. The results of the analysis of the agro-healing programs and operation of farms were as follows. The purpose of the operation of farms was to raise productivity by managing farms in a cooperative way through agricultural production, education and healing, and to raise income by processing and selling agricultural products. It was difficult to access farms by public transport and thus visitors had to use their own cars. The size of farms varied. The main resources utilized in the surveyed programs were plants, rural environments and landscapes, and agricultural products. The programs were conducted using resources that were commonly found in rural areas. Facilities on each farm were equipped with facilities (indoor and outdoor learning place, gardens, vegetable gardens, orchards, etc.) and convenience facilities (parking lots, drinking fountains, kiosks, etc.) to support program operation. However, facilities for the handicapped and accommodation facilities were insufficient. The programs operated on each farm utilized agricultural resources, farm produce, and rural resources and were classified into activities such as making, feeling, and growing. The average number of people who operated the family-centered program was 2-3, having qualifications such as welfare horticultural therapists, forest interpreters, experience instructors, and social workers. In addition, they had expertise in medicinal food, dietary life, and social welfare, and they also had essential expertise required to operate programs.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.86-97
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• 1978

The mobile medical service has been operated for many years by a number of medical schools and hospitals as a most convenient means of medical service delivery to the people residing in such area where the geographical and socioeconomic conditions are not good enough to enjoy modern medical care. Despite of official appraisal showing off simply with numbers of outpatients treated and medical persons participated, however, as well recognized, the capability (in respect of budget, equipment and time) of those mobile medical teams is so limitted that it often discourages the recipients as well as medical participants themselves. In the midst of rising need to secure medical service of good quality to all parts of the country, and of developing concept of primary health care system, authors evaluated the effectiveness of and problems associated with mobile medical servies program through the community diagnosis of a village (Opo-myun, Kwangju-gun) to obtain the information which may be halpful for future improvement. 1. Owing to the nationwide Sae-Maul movement powerfully practiced during last several years, living environment of farm villages generally and remarkably improved including houses, water supply and wastes disposal etc. Neverthless, due to limitations in budget time and lack of knowledge (probably the most important), these improvements tend to keep up appearances only and are far from the goal which may being practical benefit in promoting the health of the community. 2. As a result of intensive population policy led by the government since 1962, there has been considerable advances in understanding and the rate of practicing family planning through out the villages and yet, one should see many things, especially education, to be done. Fifty eight per cent of mothers have not received prenatal check and the care for most (72%) delivery was offered by laymen at home. 3. Approximately seven per cent of the population was reported to have chronic illness but since only a few (practically none) of the people has had physical check up by doctors, the actual prevalence of chronic diseases may reach many times of the reported. The same fact was observed also in prevalence of tuberculosis; the patients registered at local health center totaled 31 comprising only 0.51% while the numbers in two neighboring villages (designated as demonstration area of tuberculosis control and mass examination was done recently) were 3.5 and 4.0% respectively. Prevalence rate of all dieseses and injuries expereinced during one month (July, 1977) was 15.8%. Only one tenth of those patients received treatment by physicians and one fifth was not treated at all. The situation was worse as for the chronic patients; 84% of all cases either have never been treated or discontinued therapy, and the main reasons were known to be financial difficulty and ignorance or indifference. 4. Among the patients treated by our mobile clinic, one third was chronic cases and 45% of all patients, by the opinion of doctors attended, were those who may be treated by specially trained nurses or other paramedics (objects of primary care). Besides, 20% of the cases required professional managements of level beyond the mobile team's capability and in this sense one may conclude that the effectiveness (performance) of present mobile medical team is quite limitted. According to above findings, the authors would like to suggest following for mobile medical service and overall medicare program for the people living in remote country side. 1. Establishment of primary health care system secured with effective communication and evacuation (between villages and local medical center) measures. 2. Nationwide enforcement of medical insurance system. 3. Simple outpatient care which now constitutes the main part of the most mobile medical services should largely be yielded up to primary health care unit of the village and the mobile team itself should be assigned on new and more urgent missions such as mass screening health examination of the villagers, health education with modern and effective audiovisual aids, professional training and consultant services for the primary health care organization.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2002.04a
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• pp.91-99
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• 2002

A recent survey investigated that there were over one thousand un-controlled closed landfills(1,072 sites) in Republic of Korea. Most of these landfills were constructed before 1986. Waste management act were not promulgated at that time, so they usually do not have dranage system and leachate treatment facility. Also, considerable attention has been received to landfill leachate pollution, leachate has an adverse impact on the surrounding environment such as soil, groundwater, and water supply source. According to the result of survey for closed landfill management, it was reported that 875 sites out of 1,072sites(81.6％) have no leachate treatment facility and 630 sites out of 1,072sites(58.7％) have been used for farm lands and residence. Consequently it is hard to do postclosure care continuously in most of cases and these uncontrolled landfills have contaminated farm lands and residence. The average age of these landfills are ranged mostly between 2 to 15 years. Much time and advanced technology are needed to remediate these uncontrolled landfills, therefore the survey for present status of closed landfill sites is required and suitable treatment processes should be prepared. With this point of view, We has been investigated to find out the present status of closed landfill, problems of post management and discussed plans for remediation and reuse. Remedial actions of un-controlled landfill have been carried out the many cities since 1997 upto now. Most frequently applied technology were reuse after excavation and there were several cases to capping in the surface of landfill and to construct subsurface barriers. It is considered that landfills in use have a possibility not to be controlled because of inadequate construction and improper management. Therefore remediation of uncontrolled landfills and recovery technology should be develop continuously Especially, it has been expected that resource technology of landfill gas as a energy has some advantages in controlling odors in the site area and accelerating stabilization of landfills with the energy.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.67-80
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• 2006

This study conducted research on the actual state of community-oriented services for elderly rural inhabitants and their desire related to them to develop a local community service network model suitable to the characteristics of rural longevity villages. The research was conducted on 906 elderly people over 65 living in 20 rural longevity villages through questionnaires assessing filming and economy, economic activity, health care, learning and leisure activities as well as asking their wants and needs relative to local community services. As a result, it was found rural elderly people showed a high desire for local community services such as health, transportation and economy activity. In addition, they were mainly cultivating farm products as their economic activity and showed a high demand in the future as well. Most were found to take a walk in the healthcare field and showed a high demand for health examinations, health education, health consulting, hot spring bathing and basking in the woods. Respecting learning, social and leisure activities, they were mostly found to watch TV and do house chores, and showed a high desire for village environment repair, traditional farm music, visiting and tourism. With the above results, it is expected that the desire of rural elderly for such services can be satisfied, and the development of a local community service network model suitable to the characteristic of a local community is recommended.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.23 no.8
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• pp.22.1-22.8
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• 2020

Background: High demand and low supply of fishmeal due to overexploitation of fisheries resources have resulted in a dramatic increase in the price of this ingredient. Olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) commercial feed contains approximately 60% fishmeal and limited success has been achieved in identifying sustainable alternative protein sources for this species. Methods: An on-farm feeding trial was conducted to compare a basal diet containing 65% as the control (CONT) with two experimental diets replacing 10% of fishmeal by animal protein (AP₁₀) or 20% of fishmeal by animal and plant protein (APP₂₀). Sub-adult olive flounder averaging 327 ± 9.3 g (mean±SD) were fed one of the three diets in triplicate groups for 16 weeks. Results: Weight gain, specific growth rate, feed efficiency, protein efficiency ratio, and survival were not significantly different among fish fed all the experimental diets (P > 0.05). Also, non-specific immune responses (superoxide dismutase and lysozyme activity), serum biochemical parameters, and intestinal villi length were not significantly different among fish fed all the experimental diets (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Therefore, based on growth performance, non-specific immune responses, serum biochemical parameters, and intestinal histology, dietary animal and plant protein mixtures could replace up to 20% of fishmeal in the diet of sub-adult olive flounder.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.445-454
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• 2019

This study was conducted to find out physical changes in the blood pressure and saliva cortisol of patients with high blood pressure and diabetes after participating in agro-healing activities. The saliva cortisol and blood pressure of 14 males and females aged 49.79±10.48 on average were measured after participating in agro-healing activities. The saliva collection system was used, and their satisfaction level for the program was also surveyed. Changes in the values before and after participating in the agro-healing activities were compared and analyzed. The cortisol concentration, a stress hormone, was reduced from 6.76nmol/L before the program to 4.86nmol/L after the program, down by 1.9nmol/L, which was a statistically significant difference (z=-3.170, p<.01). In addition, the cortisol concentration was gradually reduced through the entire program from Session 1 to Session 7. Changes in the blood pressure of subjects before and after participating in agro-healing activities were examined, and the total systolic and diastolic blood pressure continuously decreased after participating in agro-healing activities through the entire program from Session 1 to Session 7. Their systolic blood pressure was reduced statistically significantly (z=-1.947, p<.05). Also, participants' satisfaction was analyzed and it was found that more than 95% of participants answered 'satisfied' and 'very satisfied' with agro-healing activities. Therefore, these results indicate that agro-healing activities performed in the healing-farm had a positive impact on the cortisol concentration and blood pressure of patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure. In addition, their high satisfaction for this program seemed to improve the psychological and physiological conditions of subjects.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2022

A Care farm is known to have positive effects on various people in psychological, physical, and social aspects. However, care farm services for the disabled, transportation disadvantaged, and socially disadvantaged are limited. This study conducted a demand survey in order to provide basic data for development of the Agro-Healing Virtual Reality Therapy(AVRT) system. The respondents were the ordinary person(n=127) and the disabled person(n=72), and the survey items consisted of 4 categories and 20 items, including intention to use AVRT, requirements for use, factors to be considered when developing the system, and content and program preferences. The intention to use a AVRT was found to be at a high level of 80% or more by respondent characteristics. In addition, similar results were shown in all items such as virtual reality experience, willingness to use, appropriate use time, and willingness to pay by respondent characteristics, and correlation by item was determined through correlation analysis. As for the conditions of use, both sides preferred rural types and were found to have the purpose of healing. However, there were concerns about dizziness in common between system use, and in the case of the disabled person, there were difficulties in purchasing expensive equipment. In the development of the AVRT system, the part of sensory priority, important technology level, and color preference were evaluated, and the preference of content and programs to be developed in the system was identified. Fruit, vegetables, flowers, and animals preferred mandarin, tomato, tulips, and dogs first, horticultural healing preferred harvest management for the ordinary person, plant cultivation for the disabled person, and forest healing and animal education preferred walking and dog-related programs. However, agricultural work was found to be a program with high preference for making processed foods for the ordinary person and creating an animal breeding environment for the disabled person. The result of this study is expected to provide reference data that can be suggested for the development of Agro-healing Virtual Reality Therapy system.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.118-124
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• 2020

Background: The poultry industry in Pakistan has flourished since the 1960s; however, there are scarce data regarding the impact of occupational exposure on the pulmonary health of farm workers in terms of years working in the industry. The objective of the present study was to assess the effect of poultry environment on the health of occupationally exposed poultry farmers in countries of warm climatic regions, such as Pakistan. This study will also show the effect of exposure to poultry facilities on the health of poultry farmers in the context of low-income countries with a relatively inadequate occupational exposure risk management. Materials and methods: The lung function capacity of 79 poultry workers was measured using a spirometer. Along with spirometry, a structured questionnaire was also administrated to obtain information about age, height, weight, smokers/nonsmokers, years of working experience, and pulmonary health of farm workers. The workers who were directly involved in the care and handling of birds in these intensive facilities were considered and divided into four groups based on their years of working experience: Group I (3-10 months), Group II (1-5 years), Group III (6-10 years), and Group IV (more than 11 years). The forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and the FEV1/FVC ratio were considered to identify lung function abnormalities. Statistical analysis was carried out using independent sample t test, Chi-square test, Pearson's correlation, and linear regression. Results: Based on the performed spirometry, 68 (86 %) of workers were found normal and healthy, whereas 11 (14 %) had a mild obstruction. Of the 11 workers with mild obstruction, the highest number with respect to the total was in Group IV (more than 11 years of working experience) followed by Group III and Group II. Most of the workers were found healthy, which seems to be because of the healthy survivor effect. For the independent sample t test, a significant difference was noticed between healthy and nonhealthy farmers, whereas Chi-square test showed a significant association with height, drugs, and working experience. Linear regression that was stratified by respiratory symptoms showed for workers with symptoms, regression models for all spirometric parameters (FVC, FEV1, and FEV1/FVC) have better predictive power or R square value than those of workers without symptoms. Conclusion: These findings suggest that lung function capacity was directly related to years of working experience. With increasing number of working years, symptoms of various respiratory problems enhanced in the poultry workers. It should be noted that most of the poultry workers were healthy and young, the rationale being that there is a high turnover rate in this profession. The mobility in this job and our finding of 86% of the healthy workers in the present study also proposed healthy worker survivor effect.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.23-30
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• 2023

This study was conducted to analyze the correlation between egg breakage rate and cumulative external forces on eggs during the egg transfer system in 12 commercial layers farms. The commercially available electronic egg device was used to detect the external forces on eggs during egg collection systems. In addition, egg breakage rate per farm was collected. It was found that the external force on eggs were greater in the order of washer and dryer connection part, conveyor connection part, transfer, sorter, collecting elevator, packer, egg transfer connection part, and egg tray. A positive relationship between the external forces on eggs during egg transit system and the incidence of cracked eggs per farm was noted. The external forces on eggs varied from 5G to 38G depending on the location and the egg breakage rate ranged from 3.2 to 14.5% per farm. Although efforts to produce eggs with high eggshell quality are considered important, extra care should be made to lower the external forces on eggs during the egg transfer system from laying house to egg packing center.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.20 no.8
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• pp.466-479
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to explore the possibility of jobs for people with developmental disabilities in social farming and to derive job-creation plans. To this end, we analyzed the cases of social farms targeted for people with developmental disabilities among overseas social farming activities. And we visited and observed 5 social farms in Korea and interviewed the person in charge. The content of the study was to grasp the meaning and possibility of social farming as a job for people with developmental disabilities, and to explore ways to create a sustainable job for people with developmental disabilities in social farming. As a result of the study, social farming in Korea is in its infancy, and most of the activities are centered on agricultural experiences focused on healing and care for people with developmental disabilities. In the future, it was concluded that continuous agricultural education and activities are sufficient as suitable agricultural jobs for people with developmental disabilities. Based on these results, this study proposed a job model for people with developmental disabilities in social farming. The job model presented in this study is largely divided into a healing-oriented experience model, a care-oriented protective work model, and a social job model. In addition, a smart farm model and a plant factory model were added to the social job model.