• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.445-450
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• 2023

Background: The impact of COVID-19 infection on workers' work function persists even after the acute phase of the infection. We studied this phenomenon in Japanese workers. Methods: We conducted a one-year prospective cohort study online, starting with a baseline survey in December 2020. We tracked workers without baseline work functioning impairment and incorporated data from 14,421 eligible individuals into the analysis. We estimated the incidence rate ratio for new onset of work functioning impairment due to COVID-19 infection during follow-up, using mixed-effects Poisson regression analysis with robust variance. Results: Participants reporting infection between January and December 2021 showed a significantly higher incidence of new work functioning impairment (adjusted incidence rate ratio: 2.18, 95% confidence interval: 1.75-2.71, p < 0.001). The formality of the recuperation environment correlated with a higher risk of work functioning deterioration in infected individuals (p for trend <0.001). Conclusion: COVID-19-infected workers may continue to experience work difficulties due to persistent, post-acute infection symptoms. Companies and society must urgently provide rehabilitation and social support for people with persistent symptoms, recognizing that COVID-19 is not just a transient acute infection.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.222-226
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• 2014

Background: Focusing on the respiratory function for health effect indices, we conducted a cross-sectional study on workers who did and did not handle toner to compare the longitudinal changes. Methods: Among 116 individuals who worked for a Japanese business equipment manufacturer and participated in the study, the analysis included 69 male workers who we were able to follow up for 4 years. We categorized the 40 workers engaged in toner-handling work as the exposed group and the 29 workers not engaged in these tasks as the referent group, and compared their respiratory function test results: peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), vital capacity (VC), predicted vital capacity (%VC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second ($FEV_1$), and forced expiratory volume in 1 second as a percent of forced vital capacity ($FEV_1%$). Results: The cross-sectional study of the respiratory function test results at the baseline and at the $5^{th}$ year showed no statistically significant differences in PEFR, VC, %VC, $FEV_1$, and $FEV_1%$ between the exposed and referent workers. Also, respiratory function time-course for 4 years was calculated and compared between the groups. No statistically significant differences were shown. Conclusion: Our study does not suggest any toner exposure effects on respiratory function. However, the number of subjects was small in our study; studies of larger populations will be desired in the future.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.34-44
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• 2016

Background: Little is known about how chemical water quality is associated with ecological stream health in relation to landuse patterns in a watershed. We evaluated spatial characteristics of water quality characteristics and the ecological health of Dongjin-River basin, Korea in relation to regional landuse pattern. The ecological health was assessed by the multi-metric model of Index of Biological Integrity (IBI), and the water chemistry data were compared with values obtained from the health model. Results: Nutrient and organic matter pollution in Dongjin-River basin, Korea was influenced by land use pattern and the major point sources, so nutrients of TN and TP increased abruptly in Site 4 (Jeongeup Stream), which is directly influenced by wastewater treatment plants along with values of electric conductivity (EC), bacterial number, and sestonic chlorophyll-a. Similar results are shown in the downstream (S7) of Dongjin River. The degradation of chemical water quality in the downstream resulted in greater impairment of the ecological health, and these were also closely associated with the landuse pattern. Forest region had low nutrients (N, P), organic matter, and ionic content (as the EC), whereas urban and agricultural regions had opposite in the parameters. Linear regression analysis of the landuse (arable land; $A_L$) on chemicals indicated that values of $A_L$ had positive linear relations with TP ($R^2=0.643$, p < 0.01), TN ($R^2=0.502$, p < 0.05), BOD ($R^2=0.739$, p < 0.01), and suspended solids (SS; ($R^2=0.866$, p < 0.01), and a negative relation with TDN:TDP ratios ($R^2=0.719$, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Chemical factors were closely associated with land use pattern in the watershed, and these factors influenced the ecological health, based on the multimetric fish IBI model. Overall, the impairments of water chemistry and the ecological health in Dongjin-River basin were mainly attributes to point-sources and land-use patterns.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society of Environmental Biology Conference
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• 2004.12a
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• pp.68-69
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• 2004

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.177-188
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• 2010

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine factors related to smoking behavior, and to develop multilevel communication strategies for smoking cessation. Methods: This paper reviewed theories and empirical findings with currents ecological models to develop communication strategies. Theory comparison was also performed to identify important mediators in the process of smoking cessation. Results: Factors that have been identified to influence smoking behavior ranges from individual perception, attitudes and self efficacy toward smoking to organizational norms, regulations, community capacity, media advocacy and public smoking regulation policy. In order to address these multi-level determinants of smoking behavior, objectives and strategies for smoking cessation intervention were developed utilizing ecological perspectives to cover intrapersonal, interpersonal(mainly family member and peers), organizational and community/public policy level factors. Conclusion: Multilevel approaches have advanced the existing knowledge on determinants of health behaviors. New direction of research focusing on testing multilevel intervention approaches should be expanded to inform the efficacy of applying social ecological models to health behavior change process.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.7
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• pp.87-99
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• 2006

Objectives: This study is to draw the design of the program which is improve school health promotion participation by applying the Social Ecological Model based on the literature review on the health promotion. Methods: Literature review was carried out based on 5 factors of social ecological model using computer search engines of Google, ProQuest, and Riss4U. Results; Social Ecological Model is consist of individual, interpersonal, institutional/organizational, community, and policy. Individual sphere is drawn from Health Belief Model, interpersonal sphere is Social Support Theory, institutional/ organizational sphere is institutional resources theory, community sphere is community model, and policy sphere is Social Marketing Theory. The literature review show that the important variables affecting health promotion exist in each sphere. Individual sphere has social economic status, age, sex, sensitivity and specificity of illness, self-efficacy. Interpersonal sphere has support and use of family, friend and neighbor. Institutional/Organizational sphere has environment service reliability and utility. Conclusions: Community sphere has distance, neighborhood safety, interrelationship among institutions. Policy sphere has cost, legislation advertisement, lobby and concern and leadership of Institution.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.796-804
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• 2006

The objective of this research was to develop ecological multi-metric models using natural fish assemblages for a diagnosis of current stream health condition, and apply the model to nationwide lotic ecosystems of the Geum River, the Youngsan River, and the Sumjin River. The ecological stream health model was based on the index of biological integrity (IBI), which was originally developed in North American streams by Karr (1981), and the Rapid Bioassessment Protocol (RBP), which was scientifically established by the US EPA (1999). The metric numbers and metric attributes were partially changed for the regional applications, so the scoring criteria was modified for the assessment. Overall, metric values, based on the IBI calculations, reflected conventional water quality characteristics, based on nutrient regime, and agreed with results of staticeco-toxicity tests. Some stations impaired in terms of stream health were identified by the IBI approach, and also major key stressors affecting the stream health were identified by additional evaluations of physical habitats. Our preliminary results suggested that biological integrity in stream ecosystems was largely disturbed by habitat degradation as well as chemical pollutions. This new approach would be used as a key tool for ecological restorations and species conservations in the degraded aquatic ecosystems in Korea and applied for elucidating major causes of ecological disturbances. Ultimately, this approach provides us an effective management strategy of stream ecosystems through establishments of ecological networks in various watersheds.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.118-124
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• 2014

Background: Satisfactory completion of mine safety training is a prerequisite for being hired and for continued employment in the coal industry. Although training includes content to develop skills in a variety of mineworker competencies, research and recommendations continue to specify that specific limitations in the self-escape portion of training still exist and that mineworkers need to be better prepared to respond to emergencies that could occur in their mine. Ecological models are often used to inform the development of health promotion programs but have not been widely applied to occupational health and safety training programs. Methods: Nine mine safety trainers participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews. A theoretical analysis of the interviews was completed via an ecological lens. Each level of the social ecological model was used to examine factors that could be addressed both during and after mine safety training. Results: The analysis suggests that problems surrounding communication and collaboration, leadership development, and responsibility and accountability at different levels within the mining industry contribute to deficiencies in mineworkers' mastery and maintenance of skills. Conclusion: This study offers a new technique to identify limitations in safety training systems and processes. The analysis suggests that training should be developed and disseminated with consideration of various levels-individual, interpersonal, organizational, and community-to promote skills. If factors identified within and between levels are addressed, it may be easier to sustain mineworker competencies that are established during safety training.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.61-72
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• 2011

Purpose: To investigate the behavioural factors of the health promotion for caregivers based on a socio-ecological model. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional descriptive study using a self administered questionnaire. The survey was conducted in 219 people chosen through convenient sampling between September and December 2008. The collected information included general characteristics, individual, interpersonal, community, policy level. Results: For the statistical analysis, the t-test was used for the health promotion according to the general characteristics and to each level of the socio-ecological model, by assessing the high and low values and dividing them into mean points. The influence elicited by different health promotion factors was determined using the hierarchical multiple regression. At the individual level, the factors influencing health promotion in caregivers included perceived seriousness, perceived benefits, and self efficacy. Social support was important at interpersonal level, and the use of community resource was relevant for the community level. We found no statistically significant factors relating to the policy level. Conclusions: In conclusion, the socio-ecological models seems appropriate for explaining health promotion and its associated factors in caregivers. We suggest that, for caregivers, strategies should be developed for their social support and to offer information about how to use community resources in relation with factors relating to the individual level.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• no.31
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• pp.41-48
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• 2002

The purpose of this study is to suggest healthcare facilities as ecological architecture. The physical environmental health of human mainly depends on the Quality of architectural natural environment, so it is very important to prepare healing environment on the healthcare setting. This study proceeds to search planning factors of healthcare facilities in ecological architecture through configuration of three main goals. It also explain the importance of ecological planning methods, and suggest a way of architectural planning of health-care facilities in future, through the study of the features and analysis of application methods. The future hospital should provide reduction of the effect on environments, increasing amenity, healing landscape. To create healthcare facilities ecological is essential not only to human health but also human survival.