• Title/Summary/Keyword: Disparities

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Case Study on an Oral Health Care Program for Older Adults Based on a Public-Private-Academic Partnership

  • Jin-Sun Choi;Soo-Myoung Bae;Sun-Jung Shin;Bo-Mi Shin;Hye-Young Yoon;Hyo-Jin Lee
    • Journal of dental hygiene science
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    • v.24 no.2
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    • pp.115-123
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    • 2024
  • Background: The population of Gangneung City in South Korea has shown a gradual increase in the proportion of individuals aged 65 years and older, and the most frequently reported diseases for several years have consistently been periodontal diseases, including gingivitis and periodontitis. The regional imbalance in the distribution of dental personnel and resources has emerged as a problem of inequality in the use of dental care. It has been advocated to identify areas with disadvantages in dental care and develop public dental policies based on that. This study aimed to develop a customized oral healthcare program for local seniors based on a Public-Private-Academic Partnership, and to evaluate the oral health status of older adults in Gangneung City. Methods: The participants were residents aged 60 years and above in Gangneung City. A questionnaire including general information, systemic health status, and oral health status was administered to the participants. In addition, oral healthcare and education tailored to each individual's health status were provided once or twice based on their oral health status. The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25 for descriptive statistical analysis. Results: Among the older adults in Gangneung City, 75% had at least one prosthesis and exhibited symptoms of gingivitis or periodontitis. Additionally, the modified sulcus bleeding index decreased among participants who underwent the program twice. Over 90% of the participants expressed satisfaction with the program. Conclusion: The program appeared to contribute positively to the oral health promotion among local seniors. Further oral healthcare programs should focus on seniors in rural and old urban areas to reduce disparities in oral health across regions.

Associations between income and survival in cholangiocarcinoma: A comprehensive subtype-based analysis

  • Calvin X. Geng;Anuragh R. Gudur;Jagannath Kadiyala;Daniel S. Strand;Vanessa M. Shami;Andrew Y. Wang;Alexander Podboy;Tri M. Le;Matthew Reilley;Victor Zaydfudim;Ross C. D. Buerlein
    • Annals of Hepato-Biliary-Pancreatic Surgery
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    • v.28 no.2
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    • pp.144-154
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    • 2024
  • Backgrounds/Aims: Socioeconomic determinants of health are incompletely characterized in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). We assessed how socioeconomic status influences initial treatment decisions and survival outcomes in patients with CCA, additionally performing multiple sub-analyses based on anatomic location of the primary tumor. Methods: Observational study using the 2018 submission of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-18 Database. In total, 5,476 patients from 2004-2015 with a CCA were separated based on median household income (MHI) into low income (< 25th percentile of MHI) and high income (> 25th percentile of MHI) groups. Seventy-three percent of patients had complete follow up data, and were included in survival analyses. Survival and treatment outcomes were calculated using R-studio. Results: When all cases of CCA were included, the high-income group was more likely than the low-income to receive surgery, chemotherapy, and local tumor destruction modalities. Initial treatment modality based on income differed significantly between tumor locations. Patients of lower income had higher overall and cancer-specific mortality at 2 and 5 years. Non-cancer mortality was similar between the groups. Survival differences identified in the overall cohort were maintained in the intrahepatic CCA subgroup. No differences between income groups were noted in cancer-specific or overall mortality for perihilar tumors, with variable differences in the distal cohort. Conclusions: Lower income was associated with higher rates of cancer-specific mortality and lower rates of surgical resection in CCA. There were significant differences in treatment selection and outcomes between intrahepatic, perihilar, and distal tumors. Population-based strategies aimed at identifying possible etiologies for these disparities are paramount to improving patient outcomes.

Economic Challenges and Solutions in the Korean Peninsula Unification Process (한반도 통일 과정의 경제적 과제와 해결 방안)

  • Kyong-Seok Hong;Kyoung-Haing Lee;Sang Hyuk Park
    • The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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    • v.10 no.4
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    • pp.437-442
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    • 2024
  • The unification of the Korean Peninsula is not only a national aspiration but also holds significant economic implications. By maximizing the economic synergy between South and North Korea and reconstructing the North Korean economy, balanced development across the peninsula can be promoted. However, the unification process will face various economic challenges, including the substantial costs of unification, integrating different economic systems, and bridging the economic disparity between the two Koreas. This paper aims to analyze these anticipated economic issues and propose systematic and phased solutions. Specifically, it discusses the objective estimation of unification costs and funding strategies, suggests effective integration methods for the disparate economic systems of the two Koreas, and identifies policy tasks to reduce economic disparities. The paper reviews existing studies on unification costs, explores strategies for the balanced development of South and North Korean economies through industrial restructuring and gradual transition to a market economy, and proposes concrete measures such as the expansion of North Korea's social overhead capital (SOC) and the development of human capital. The goal is to establish a solid economic foundation for peaceful unification and create opportunities for the economic resurgence of the Korean Peninsula.

The Process of Utilizing Childcare Support Services for Working Mothers with Children under Age 2 in South Korea (만 2세 이하 자녀를 둔 취업모의 육아지원 서비스 이용 과정)

  • Eunji Kim;Juyeon Han;Seung-Lee Do;Eunsoo Choi;Joonha Park
    • Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
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    • v.30 no.3
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    • pp.267-298
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    • 2024
  • Childcare support for working mothers is crucial for women's smooth transition into society, career development, and well-being. Based on interviews with 10 Korean working mothers with children aged 0-2, this paper explores the process of utilizing childcare support services, psychological experiences, and plans for work-life balance using the grounded theory analysis method. The analysis revealed three categories: the decision-making process before using the childcare services (past), experiences during the use of childcare support (present), and future plans for work-life balance (future). The decision-making process before using childcare support services consisted of the following categories: seeking information about childcare support services, having family discussions during the decision-making process, the proposer and decision-maker of the services, and the final decision on childcare support services. Experiences during the use of services included economic burdens, changes in postnatal career paths, disparities between expectations and the reality of pre- and post-childbirth, discrepancies between expectations and reality in work-family balance, factors affecting of quality of life, and the division of household and childcare responsibilities with husbands. Plans for future work-life balance included categories such as the desire for career advancement, the desire to maintain a career, the desire for temporary or reduced career commitment, and uncertainty regarding future career plans. Finally, the study investigated whether there were differences in the past and present service usage processes and experiences based on plans for future work-life balance. This research suggests the need for multidimensional support for working mothers' work-family balance and well-being, and highlights the need to reduce uncertainty about women's future careers.

Commonalities and Distinctions of Housing Outcomes of Unmarried Young Single Women in Rental Housing Amidst Demographic Cliff (인구절벽 시대의 지역별 미혼 청년 여성 1인 월세 가구의 거주 유사성 및 상이성)

  • Hyunjeong Lee
    • Land and Housing Review
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    • v.15 no.3
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    • pp.1-23
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    • 2024
  • In the face of an impending demographic cliff, this research delves into geographical disparities in socioeconomic statuses and living arrangements of young single women in rental housing and also to explore influential factors of their residential assessment and housing expenditure. From the Korean Housing Survey of 2020, the cross-sectional study identified 847 unmarried female single-person householders aged between 20 and 39 in four districts - Seoul and Gyeonggi-Incheon Area (GIA) of Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA), and metropolises and non-metropolises of non-SMA. The empirical analyses revealed that regardless of regions, most of the respondents were college-educated, salaried employees in late 20s living in a studio flat, seldom bore debt and barely relied on social services. Renters in SMA, employment rate, income and living expenses were higher than those in non-SMA and they resided in small, old but adequate housing with a separate bedroom. In particular, Seoulites suffered from housing cost overburden but most singles in GIA benefited from the lowest housing burden. While the main determinant of residential assessment was livability, housing satisfaction was additionally affected by old housing and the satisfaction with residential environment was also explained by urban amenities. Despite geographical variations, housing expenditure was primarily driven by income and employment.

The Spatial Disparity of Opportunity Potentials in Korea (한국 도시의 경제 $\cdot$ 문화 $\cdot$ 사회 복지적 기회 잠재력의 지역적 격차)

  • Choi, Yoon-Jeong;Lee, Keumsook
    • Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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    • v.8 no.1
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    • pp.91-105
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    • 2005
  • The assessment (or the evaluation) of spatial disparity is the main concern for the study of spatial disparities or spatial inequalities. In order to evaluate the spatial disparity, the regional differences have to be counted quantitatively. Several measurements have been introduced for evaluating the development potentials of each region. Most of them are the composite indices of the socio-economic variables rather than the real potentials of the region. This study attempts to investigate the spatial disparity in Korea. For the purpose, the levels of opportunity potentials of the cities have been calculated by the Potential Model redefined by Lee(1995). The opportunity potentials have been calculated for the educational, cultural, medical service, environmental sectors, income, and consumption sectors, and the spatial patterns of various opportunity potentials have been analyzed. The spatial patterns of opportunity potentials show the severe concentration on the Metropolitan Seoul area through all sectors. The next level concentration appears at the other end of the Keuyng-Bu axis. And the cities relatively high opportunity potential values are distributed along the Keuyng-Bu axis. Remain parts of the country show quietly low opportunity potential values. In particular, the southern-west and the northern-east parts show relatively very low values. This pattern appears for all sectors except for the opportunity potential of the environmental sector. It means that the spatial disparity in Korea have been promoted and enhanced by the national development policies concentrated the investment on the large cities along the Keuyng-Bu axis during the last 40 years.

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The Relationship between Socioeconomic Status and Gastric Cancer Screening in the Population of a Metropolitan Area (일 광역단위에서의 사회경제적 수준과 위암 수검률과의 관련성)

  • Oh, Hyun-Suk;Kim, Sun A;Kweon, Sun-Seog;Rhee, Jung-Ae;Ryu, So-Yeon;Shin, Min-Ho
    • Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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    • v.38 no.3
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    • pp.174-181
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    • 2013
  • Objectives: Socioeconomic status plays an important role in health care and disease prevention. This study aimed to examine the association between socioeconomic status, measured by education levels and household income, and gastric cancer screening. Methods: A total of 21,220 community-dwelling adults aged 40 to 69 years within a defined geographic area participated in a community health survey in 2009 and 2010. The survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire by trained investigators who visited the subjects' households directly. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between self-reported participation in gastric cancer screening and socioeconomic variables (education and household income). Results: The gastric cancer screening rate was 52.1% for subjects in their forties, 63.7% for those in their fifties, and 67.3% for those in their sixties. In multivariate analysis, higher education and income levels were associated with higher rates of gastric cancer screening (high school vs. elementary school: odds ratio [OR] 1.41, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.26-1.58; highest income quartile vs. lowest income quartile: OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.44-1.84). The gradient between income and screening rate was more pronounced in the population aged 40 to 49 years than in the other age groups. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that lower socioeconomic status is associated with decreased participation in gastric cancer screening. Our findings suggest that the screening program should be focused on low-income and less-educated populations, especially among younger adults, to reduce health disparities.

Oral Health and Occupational Status among Korean Adults (우리나라 성인의 직업 수준에 따른 구강건강불평등 현황)

  • Shin, Bo-Mi;Bae, Soo-Myoung;Yoo, Sang-Hee;Shin, Sun-Jung
    • Journal of dental hygiene science
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    • v.16 no.3
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    • pp.225-234
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    • 2016
  • The purpose of this study was to determine the oral health condition and behavioral status of Korean adults according to occupational status. The subjects were 7,676 adults, aged between 19 and 64 years, who completed both oral examination and questionnaire survey, among those who indicated that they were currently participating in economic activities, according to the data from the Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Occupational class and employment status were selected as measures of occupational status. Complex-samples logistic regression models were used to assess the associations among oral health, behavioral, and occupational statuses. We found a significant occupational class-related difference in the oral health and behavioral statuses of both the men and women. In particular, the prevalence odds ratios of untreated dental caries in manual workers were 1.19 and 1.67 times higher than in non-manual workers, for men and women, respectively. As for oral health condition and behavioral status according to employment status, the health risk in temporary employment workers was higher than that in permanent employment workers. As for the prevalence odds ratios of the risk of dental caries, the highest values were observed for tooth brushing fewer than 3 times per day, not undergoing oral examinations, and chewing difficulty complaints. The risk of dental caries for agricultural, forestry, and fishing workers for both men and women was found to be the highest among other workers. Thus, strategies to promote workplace oral health in the microscopic and macroscopic perspectives should be developed to constantly monitor oral health problems, and to identify vulnerable social groups within occupational groups and the related factors that mediate oral health differences.

A Study on the Health Care Satisfaction and Attitude of Elementary School Students - by the presence or absence of nurse teacher - (초등학생의 보건관리 만족도와 태도에 관한 연구 - 양호교사 유무를 중심으로 -)

  • Park, Dong-Kwon;Park, Young-Soo
    • The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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    • v.1 no.2
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    • pp.49-71
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    • 2000
  • The purpose of this study was to serve as a basis for school health care of better quality, by making a comparative analysis of the health care satisfaction and attitude of elementary school students in consideration of their general characteristics and the presence or absence of nurse teacher. The subjects in this study were 919 selected six graders in 16 elementary schools in the city of Tongduchun, Koyang and Euijungbu, Yangju-kun and Yeunchun-kun. A survey was conducted with questionnaire designed for measurement of health care satisfaction and attitude. As a result of analyzing the data collected from June 1 through 15, 2000, the conclusions were as follows. 1) As for the general characteristics of the students investigated, the subjects included 513 boys(55.8%) and 406 girls(44.2%). The schools where 390(42.4%) students attended were located in municipal area, and the schools where 529(57.6%) students attended were located in kun area. 608(66.2%) students had a nurse teacher at their schools, while 311(33.8%) students had no nurse teacher. 498(54.2%) had an experience to use the health room this year, but 421(45.8%) had no such an experience. Their mean school life satisfaction was scored $3.42{\pm}.71$, above the average. And their health condition was rated $3.81{\pm}.87$, which implied they tended to be in good health. 2) The mean satisfaction at the health room operation was scored $3.33{\pm}.71$, above the medium level. What they were most satisfied with($4.02{\pm}1.08$) was, among the health room facilities, that there were beds. But they expressed the least satisfaction($2.83{\pm}1.17$) at the location of health room. The presence or absence of nurse teacher made a significant difference to their satisfactionat health room operation, because the students in schools with nurse teacher showed greater satisfaction($3.42{\pm}.72$) than the others in schools with no nurse teacher did($3.15{\pm}.66$). 3) Concerning their attitude to use the health room in case of disease or accident occurrence, a lot of students in schools with a nurse teacher, who had ever suffered from indigestion, headache or traumatic injury, used the health room. In schools with no nurse teacher, there was a tendency to talk to their class teachers(p<.001). The recognition of the necessity for health counseling was generally on a medium level. The counselor whom they wanted to discuss health problem with was family or friend in the largest cases. Few students discussed with class teachers in case there was a nurse teacher in school. Instead, some of them discussed with friend, family or nurse teacher, and there was a significant difference between them(p<.001). 4) The mean satisfaction at health, sanitation and environmental management was rated $3.20{\pm}.90$, above the average. The classroom lighting gave them the best satisfaction with $3.67{\pm}1.07$, but the satisfaction at toilet cleanness and disinfection was not good with $2.83{\pm}1.19$. By the presence or absence of nurse teacher, those who had a nurse teacher expressed better satisfaction at water supply facilities including hot water than the others who had no nurse teacher did(p<.001). But no significant difference was observed in the other items. 5) The health education satisfaction was rated $3.19{\pm}.99$, which was on a medium level. By item, the mean satisfaction level was $3.36{\pm}1.19$ at nurse teacher's explanation about treatment, $3.13{\pm}1.15$ at the frequency of health education, and $3.08{\pm}1.16$ at the explanation on the cause of disease. By the presence or absence of nurse teacher, the students with nurse teacher showed significantly better satisfaction at every factor0(p<.001). 6) Regarding health education attitude, their recognition of the need for school health education was scored $3.89{\pm}.96$. Those who had a nurse teacher felt it more necessary($3.96{\pm}.92$), yet the others who had no nurse teacher felt its necessity a little less($3.74{\pm}1.01$). The most preferred thing for them to learn in health education was first aid, followed by sex education, obesity prevention, safety accident prevention in school and outdoors, smoking-related health, good use of leisure time, and environmental pollution cause in the order named. According to the presence or absence of nurse teacher, there was a significant difference in sex education(p<.01), but no significant disparities were found in the other factors. The most preferred person who would offer health education was a lecturer from the outside(45.8%) and nurse teacher(45.4%). Their preference for class teacher as a person in charge of health education was just 8.8%. But the presence or absence of nurse teacher didn't produce any differences to their preference for a person in charge of health education.

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Exploring the Role of Vocational Education for the Social Integration in Preparation for the Reunification of the Korea Peninsula (남·북한 통일대비 사회통합을 위한 직업교육의 역할 탐구 -통일 독일의 사회적 통합 사례분석을 중심으로-)

  • Lee, Sung-Kyun
    • The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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    • v.16 no.7
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    • pp.382-397
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    • 2016
  • This study focuses on the lessons and implications of Germany's measures for the social integration after the reunification, and especially the Germany's measure on labor reproduction for the economic stability of East Germany. This analysis indicates, whether South Korea is going to achieve gradual and peaceful reunification or absorb North Korea due to its sudden collapse, that the reunification, in any case, requires the social integration through economic stability of both North and South. In order to ensure national reconciliation, recovery of homogeneity, and establishment of identity for the economically stable social integration, the new integration of educational system is necessary. Especially, the objective of this study is to find the role and direction of vocational education for the stability of the North Korea's labor market and economic life in order to socially integrate South Koreans with its Northern counterparts. First of all, this study examined a priori example of the experiences during West Germany's social integration process, i.e. the vocational education promotion process for the social stability and economic life. It figured out the problem of vocational education for the integrity as well as analyzed the vocational education differences and integration promotion system between East & West Germany. Even though East and West Germany showed their disparities in each vocational education, they corroborated each other by finding one similar system such as bifurcation, which lead to the integration of the labor market and new vocational education policy for the economic stability. Despite the West Germany's support for the socio-economic integration, nevertheless, the East Germany's capacity turned out to be insufficient, which resulted in the failure of the policy. Based on above discussion, this study intended to suggest the efficient solutions of vocational education for the internal reunification of South and North Korea by promoting the independence and self-support of North Koreans and leading the stability of labor market and economic for the future reunification.