• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.578-585
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• 2022

Objectives: This study aimed to adapt the survey questionnaire designed by Moens et al. (2021) and determine the validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the survey in a sample of the Saudi population experiencing teleworking. Methods: The questionnaire includes 2 sections. The first consists of 13 items measuring the impact of extended telework during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis. The second section includes 6 items measuring the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on selfview of telework and digital meetings. The survey instrument was translated based on the guidelines for the cultural adaptation of self-administrated measures. Results: The reliability of the questionnaire responses was measured by Cronbach's alpha. The construct validity was checked through exploratory factor analysis followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to further assess the factor structure. CFA revealed that the model had excellent fit (root mean square error of approximation, 0.00; comparative fit index, 1.0; Tucker-Lewis index, 1; standardized root mean squared residual, 0.0). Conclusions: The Arabic version of the teleworking questionnaire had high reliability and good validity in assessing experiences and perceptions toward teleworking. While the validated survey examined perceptions and experiences during COVID-19, its use can be extended to capture experiences and perceptions during different crises.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.4062-4080
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• 2022

COVID-19, a highly infectious disease, has affected the globe tremendously since its outbreak during late 2019 in Wuhan, China. In order to respond to the pandemic, governments around the world introduced a variety of public health measures including contact-tracing, a method to identify individuals who may have come into contact with a confirmed COVID-19 patient, which usually leads to quarantine of certain individuals. Like many other governments, the South Korean health authorities adopted public health measures using latest data technologies. Key data technology-based quarantine measures include:(1) Electronic Entry Log; (2) Self-check App; and (3) COVID-19 Wristband, and heavily relied on individual's personal information for contact-tracing and self-isolation. In fact, during the early stages of the pandemic, South Korea's strategy proved to be highly effective in containing the spread of coronavirus while other countries suffered significantly from the surge of COVID-19 patients. However, while the South Korean COVID-19 policy was hailed as a success, it must be noted that the government achieved this by collecting and processing a wide range of personal information. In collecting and processing personal information, the data minimum principle - one of the widely recognized common data principles between different data protection laws - should be applied. Public health measures have no exceptions, and it is even more crucial when government activities are involved. In this study, we provide an analysis of how the governments around the world reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic and evaluate whether the South Korean government's digital quarantine measures ensured the protection of its citizen's right to privacy.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.113-121
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• 2022

Objectives: This study aimed to compare the quality of life (QoL) of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) before and during coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) and to examine how their QoL is affected by emotional and environmental factors during COVID-19. Methods: Participants in the pre-COVID-19 (n=43) and COVID-19 (n=36) groups were recruited from the same university hospital. The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) 4.0 Child Self-report, the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS), the PedsQL 4.0 Parent Proxy Report, and the Conners' Parent Rating Scale (CPRS) were employed. Independent t-tests, Pearson's correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were conducted. Results: Caregivers assessed the children's QoL more negatively than the children themselves in both groups. Children with ADHD evaluated their physical function more negatively and anxiety was significantly higher in the COVID-19 group. In the COVID-19 group, the PedsQL child self-report was significantly predicted by the CPRS, the CDI, and environmental factors (i.e., relation to child and monthly household income). Conclusion: Children with ADHD in the COVID-19 group had a numerically lower QoL and significantly higher anxiety. To improve QoL, it is important to deal with not only depression but also ADHD symptoms and environmental factors.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.65 no.5
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• pp.230-238
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• 2022

Myocarditis was previously attributed to an epidemic viral infection. Additional harmful reagents, in addition to viruses, play a role in its etiology. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine-induced myocarditis has recently been described, drawing attention to vaccine-induced myocarditis in children and adolescents. Its pathology is based on a series of complex immune responses, including initial innate immune responses in response to viral entry, adaptive immune responses leading to the development of antigen-specific antibodies, and autoimmune responses to cellular injury caused by cardiomyocyte rupture that releases antigens. Chronic inflammation and fibrosis in the myocardium eventually result in cardiac failure. Recent advancements in molecular biology have remarkably increased our understanding of myocarditis. In particular, microRNAs (miRNAs) are a hot topic in terms of the role of new biomarkers and the pathophysiology of myocarditis. Myocarditis has been linked with microRNA-221/222 (miR-221/222), miR-155, miR-10a^*, and miR-590. Despite the lack of clinical trials of miRNA intervention in myocarditis yet, multiple clinical trials of miRNAs in other cardiac diseases have been aggressively conducted to help pave the way for future research, which is bolstered by the success of recently U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved small-RNA medications. This review presents basic information and recent research that focuses on myocarditis and related miRNAs as a potential novel biomarker and the therapeutics.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.56-62
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• 2022

Despite current regulations requiring social distancing due to coronavirus disease 2019, problem-based learning (PBL) requires student interaction to achieve common goals and enhance critical thinking and deep learning abilities. Social presence in the online education environment reduces both perceptions of physical distance and psychological distance in interactions. This study aimed to compare PBL activities between in-person and videoconferencing classes, and to investigate social presence and learning satisfaction in a videoconferencing PBL environment. The PBL consisted of six modules for both the first and second years of Chonnam National University Medical School. As social distancing was strengthened, the second class of the fifth module in both years was converted to an online format and the fifth module was excluded. The first four PBL modules were conducted as in-person classes, but the last PBL module was administered via videoconferencing. After the final PBL module, 100 (81.3%) first-year medical students and 90 (79.6%) second-year students were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire on social presence and learning satisfaction. There were no significant differences in the small group activities of tutorial sessions between in-person and videoconferencing classes. In the online videoconferencing class, students who had favorable attitudes toward the tutors' social role and interactions with peers showed high satisfaction with their learning. In conclusion, online videoconferencing allows students to simultaneously perceive their interactions with others and social presence, even at a distance. Tutors can enhance a sense of online community and collaborative learning as facilitators of online PBL.

• Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.156-165
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• 2021

Background: This study aimed to determine: the perspectives of the patient cohort that underwent telehealth consultation and shoulder rehabilitation during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the differences in the patients' perspectives with the two different telehealth video applications (apps) used in the study. Methods: This is a prospective study carried out during the COVID lockdown period of April to July 2020. Thirty consecutive patients from the orthopedics department of a tertiary institute in India underwent their first-ever session of a video app-based (Zoom or WhatsApp) telehealth consultation with shoulder rehabilitation exercises on a handheld mobile, tablet, or laptop device. After the virtual consultation, the patients were sent a validated telehealth usability questionnaire (TUQ) to evaluate their perspectives. Scores obtained from the TUQ were the primary outcome measure. Results: The study was completed by 30 patients (16 men and 14 women) with an average age of 56 years (range, 20-77 years). The patients who contacted us during the lockdown period with either a stiff shoulder or a conservatively treated shoulder fracture were included in the study. The average TUQ score was 13.6 (median, 14.5; range, 6-21) out of a maximum of 21 points. Eighty percent of the patients were satisfied and found the telehealth service useful. Use of the Zoom app scored significantly higher (median, 17; average, 15.6) than the WhatsApp app (median, 8.5; average, 9.6) (p=0.004). Conclusions: Patients who received telehealth consultation and shoulder rehabilitation were overall satisfied. Telehealth apps with advanced video calling features such as Zoom should be preferred for higher patient satisfaction.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.368-377
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• 2022

Purpose: This study was conducted to develop and test the effects of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) education program for nursing students. Methods: This study used a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design. A total of 71 undergraduate nursing students who had completed a fundamental nursing course and were in their third or fourth year of university participated in this study (experimental group n=38, control group n=33). The COVID-19 education program was developed according to the stages of analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. The program consisted of three weekly sessions that each lasted about two hours. The data were collected from February 26 to March 26, 2022 and were analyzed using the chi-squared, Fisher's exact, and independent t-tests. Results: Knowledge about COVID-19, knowledge about personal protective equipment and attitudes toward COVID-19 were not significantly different between the experimental and control groups. However, significant differences were found between the experimental and control groups regarding their confidence in COVID-19 patient nursing care (t=3.02, p=.004). Conclusion: It was confirmed that the developed program was effective in enhancing the confidence of nursing students in performing nursing for COVID-19. Therefore, it is proposed that the education program developed in this study be used as part of an infection control education program to improve nursing students' abilities to respond to emerging infectious diseases, including COVID-19.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.444-455
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• 2022

Purpose: This study explored the meaning of the social perceptions of nurses in online news articles during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: A total of 339 nurse-related articles published in Korean online newspapers from January 1 to December 31, 2020, were extracted by entering various combinations of OR and AND with the four words "Corona," "COVID," "Nursing," and "Nurse" as search keywords using BIGKinds, a news database provided by the Korea Press Foundation. The collected data were analyzed with a keyword network analysis and topic modeling using NetMiner 4. Results: The top keywords extracted from the nurse-related news articles were, in the following order, "metropolitan area," "protective clothing," "government," "task," and "admission." Four topics representing keywords were identified: "encouragement for dedicated nurses," "poor work environment," "front-line nurses working with obligation during the COVID-19 pandemic," and "nurses' efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19." Conclusion: The media's attention to the dedication of nurses, the shortage of nursing resources, and the need for government support is encouraging in that it forms the public opinion necessary to lead to substantial improvements in treating nurses. The nursing community should actively promote policy proposals to improve treatment toward nurses by utilizing the net function of the media and proactively seek and apply strategies to improve the image of nurses working in various fields.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.205-217
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• 2023

Purpose: This study sought to identify the levels of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) knowledge, anxiety, nursing professionalism, and clinical practicum stress, and the factors influencing this stress in nursing students. Methods: A cross-sectional and descriptive study was conducted with the participation of 140 junior and senior nursing students recruited from three nursing colleges in Busan and Gyeongsangnam-do. Data analysis was performed using independent t-tests, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression using the SPSS/WIN 26.0 program. Results: The study arrived at a mean score of 63.18±13.89 for clinical practicum stress, which showed a significant difference based on the perceived health status and reasons for admission to nursing school. Anxiety and professionalism exhibited a noteworthy correlation with clinical practicum stress. The significant predictors of clinical practicum stress among nursing students were perceived health status (β=.39, p<.001), anxiety (β=.25, p=.033), and the reasons for admission to nursing school (β=.17, p=.012). The total explanatory power of these variables was 23.0% (F=6.28, p<.001). Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that it is necessary to provide effective education to promote nursing professionalism during a pandemic. It is also necessary to develop and include various programs in the curriculum that strategically intervene to prevent anxiety in pre-service nurses. This would reduce the stress in the clinical practice of nursing students when faced with new infectious diseases in the future.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.247-260
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• 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the characteristics and competencies of practice experienced by public health center nurses(PHNs) during the early response phase of the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: PHNs were recruited from public health centers(PHC) in ten cities in Korea, using purposive sampling. They participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews from December 21, 2020, to February 18, 2021. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results: Three themes and nine categories were drawn from the findings. The three themes that emerged from the data analysis were as follows: 'Handling expanding work scope and overwhelming workload beyond prepared competencies, willing to go anywhere.', 'Performing tasks of cooperation and communication required in the disaster management administrative system.', 'Demonstrated proficiency in clinical nursing practices, but recognized the need for further development of leadership and administrative capabilities.' Conclusions: The experiences of the subjects' have implications for the development of content for community nursing education that cultivates basic competencies to respond to real pandemic situations during undergraduate education. It is proposed that it would be necessary to establish a support system for developing specialized competencies in public health nursing.