• Health Policy and Management
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.106-128
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• 2007

The Korean health care system is under great controversy. Over the last 30 years, main goal of health policies was to pursue equal access of health care services. However, another goal of health policies laid on efficiency and Quality of care, it had lower priorities. Superficially, controversy stems from priority setting among goals of health care system, equity, efficiency and quality. At a deeper level, arguments arise from disagreement and confusion about the values of Korean health care system. One of the value spectrums believes that health care is the basic right of human beings, therefore it should be produced and distributed on need approach, and needs are known to be decided by professionals. If we accept need approach, health care is a pubic good. Another value of spectrums considers that health care should be distributed on demand approach. Demand approach means that health care is a consumption good on the positive economics, while normative judgement believes that health care is a public good. In equity aspect, health care is considered as a public good. Over the last several years, some of scholars proposed health care reform based on the principle of competition which is based on demand approach. Others argue that the competition principle based on demand approach is not appropriate for the reform proposal, because health care has to be approached on need base. If we do not make explicit values we should adopt, consensus building for reform is nearly impossible. From this perspective, this article will review an ideology and reality in health policies in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.556-569
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• 2016

Purpose: This study aimed to provide baseline data on the health care of children and the demand for visiting health care services in one region in efforts to support the implementation of visiting health care services for vulnerable children. Methods: Seventy-three children and their caregivers from the vulnerable social group and 82 children and their caregivers from the general group were selected as research participants. The data were collected through home visiting survey by professional nurses. Results: Children from the vulnerable social group were at higher risk of poor health care than the general group. Regarding home safety, vulnerable children were more likely to be exposed to unsafe conditions. With respect to nutrition, developmental play, developmental screening test, and home safety, visiting health care services were in demand for caretakers. Conclusion: These results indicate that to promote health care and safety conditions for vulnerable children, it is necessary to implement visiting health care programs that include the management of vaccination, medical check-up, growth and development, home safety, and nutrition. These findings can be used as the baseline data for the development of visiting health care programs for vulnerable children.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.136-160
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• 2005

Before introducing the national long-term care insurance in 2008, the want for long term care service has to be estimated and analysed. This study estimates the demand and analyses what determines the want of long term care service. This study investigated data of 3f6 elderlies, that was collected by age stratified random sampling. The elderies resided in Onyang 4 - dong (urban area) and Dogo-myun (rural area) In the city of Asan. The researchers visited the elderlies and their care giver, and assessed their demand for the long term care service and examined physical, mental, socio-economic status by the assessment tools for Korean Long-Term Care System. $64\%$ of the those who are entitled to be served refuse the long term care service. $26.7\%$ of them wants for home care service and $7.9\%$ want facility care service. It is estimated that the want of home care service are three or four times as much as that of facility care service. The demand for long term care service is 5.155 times higher for those who live in rural area (p=0.000), 3.040 times higher for those who do not have spouse(p=0.057), and 3.356 times higher for the people who is in medicaid than medical insurance(p=0.029). However, income(p=0.782), means(p=0.614), living alone(p=0.223), number of family to live with (p=0.341) and age of the elderly(p=0.420) are not related with the demand of long term care service. The assessment tools for Korean Long-Term Care System for need evaluation of the long term care service can reflect the demand well.(p=0.024) If medical care will cover $80\%$ of total cost, the willingness to pay of the out of pocket money of the people with medical insurance is 67,400 Korean Won(66.77 US$) for the home care service and 182,500 Korean Won(180.78 US$) for the facility care service. There is possibility that long term care demand is still small after Introducing the long term care Insurance due to the care given by family members. When developing service delivery system of long term care insurance, rural area has to be given more consideration than urban area because of the higher demand. The people who do not have spouse or are in medicaid have to be given special consideration as well.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.28 no.2 s.50
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• pp.450-461
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• 1995

This paper tested by using Micro TSP, an empirical econometric analysis to approve officially a hypothesis of price elasticity of the demand for medical care services in Korean national medical insurance and the economic effect of health care delivery system with time-series datas of Medical Insurance Statistical Yearbook$(1981\sim1993)$. The results suggest that the Korean medical insurance system shows moral hazard due to the change of coinsurance and the economic effect according to intervention of the health care delivery system, but it is different by insurers regardless of the same structure of the medical insurance scheme.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.129-139
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• 2024

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the differences in nurses' psychosocial work environment (PWE) in integrated nursing care wards (IWs) with higher nurse staffing and general wards (GWs) with lower staffing, and to analyze the effect of PWE on their health outcomes. Methods: Data were collected from 151 nurses in IWs and 156 nurses in GWs at a tertiary hospital in Seoul in 2023. The Korean version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire III was used to measure PWE and health outcomes. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the effect of PWE on health outcomes. Results: The most negative aspects of the nurses' work environment were found in the work demand domain. IW nurses (vs. GW nurses) reported lower work demand, better work organization and job contents, and a more positive work-individual interface. Nurse health outcomes were also better in the IWs. Lower work demand and better work-individual interfaces were positively associated with improved health outcomes, while ward type (IW vs. GW) was not significantly related to health outcomes. Conclusion: Reducing work demand by expanding integrated nursing care services nationwide and improving nurse staffing in GWs is crucial for improving health outcomes.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.81-93
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• 2018

Objectives : This cross-sectional study aims to investigate the differences in general health status (GHS) and physical care burdens (PCB) of inpatient groups in long-term care hospitals (LTCH). Methods : The data of 228 patients were analyzed by integrating the electronic medical record (EMR) data of 2016, recorded by the nurses of hospitalized patients in the hospital. Results : There was a statistically significant difference in the GHS between the high-medical demand group and the other groups, but there was no difference in the GHS among other groups. The overall PCB was higher in the high-medical demand group than in the middle-medical demand, and cognitive impairment groups, but not in the problem behavioral group. Conclusions : The current classification of patient groups has shown limitations in terms of the basis of differential benefits of the groups. In particular, the PCB of the problem behavior group was not different from that of any group; hence, it should be adjusted through further study. To control the surge of medical care costs, it is necessary to improve the irrationality of the LTCH pay system in terms of the integration and continuity for elderly care.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.411-416
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• 2015

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to identify oral health status and oral health care needs of elderly patients in long-term care hospital. Methods: Oral health examination was carried out by a dentist and questionnaire was completed by direct individual interview by a dental hygienist for 245 elderly patients in seven long-term care hospitals in Daegu from March 12 to April 16, 2011. Results: Those who need dental care were 188(76.7%) and was done by oral health examination by a dentist. 93 patients(38.0%) wanted dental care and 63 patients(25.3%) need dental care. The most important dental service in the elderly patients was denture and prosthetic service. As demand for denture and prosthetic service exceeds the supply, but only 35.9 percent of the elderly received the dental care service by the estimation of the caregivers. Conclusions: It will be necessary to establish the customized dental care service for the elderly patients in long term care hospitals. The oral health education for the caregivers is very important and the continuing education program must be implemented in the future.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.148-157
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to provide the basic data for developing a program for effective intervention for home health care need of postpartum mothers and newborn babies. The subjects were 104 women. The data were collected from march, 2003 to June, using a 81 item questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS program for frequency, Mean, ANOVA. The results were as follow. 1. The mean of care needs of newborn babies was higher than that of physical demand of Postpartum mothers. The mean of physical demand of Postpartum mothers was $3.99\pm.42$. The mean of care needs of newborn babies was $4.11\pm.50$. 2. The most highest mean of physical demand of Postpartum mothers was wound care for caesarean section and episiotomy($4.53\pm.66$), and then breast engorgement care($4.38\pm.71$). The most highest mean of care needs of newborn babies was emergency care methods($4.58\pm.52$), and then infection control $4.51\pm.56$). 3. 66.3% of postpartum mothers positively desired consultation hospitals centered home care need during postpartial periods. 4. Influential variables of home health care need was postpartial periods. they wanted the first week after delivery, more freqently visiting of home care nurse. 37.5% of postpatial mothers wanted visiting within 1 weeks after delivery. 31.7% wanted 2 times/week. In conclusion, it is necessary to study to make a program in nursing of home health care for postpartum mothers, and to keep on studying repeatedly in order to raise the number of objects and to find related variables.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.202-209
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• 2018

Health care has two different facets. One is commodity and another is a right of human being. Health care as a commodity is utilized by demand approach in market. Demand is determined by economic factors such as price and income. From the last third of the 19th century until the early 1920s, priority of sickness insurance was replacing the income that workers lost as a result of illness and injury. By the 1920s, the capacity of applied biological and medical science was remarkably developed. Development of medical science stimulated the cost of medical care, and the burden of increased medical care cost required new role of medical care security system. In 1942, Beveridge report was published in United Kingdom, and health care was considered as a right of human being. In 1948, United Nations declared heath care as a right in the Universal Declaration of Human Right. In most countries introduced new medical care security policy based on health care as a right. The viewing health care as a commodity must be shifted toward need based care as a right. Need were understood to rest on demographic, epidemiological, scientific, and medical knowledge factors. Bring needed care to the population could best be achieved institutionally by a hierarchy of provider organizations, guided by planning bodies, which would provide comprehensive benefits. In Korea, health care in social health insurance (SHI) is considered as a commodity not a right. However, health policies under SHI must be need approach based on health care as a right. Mismatch between health policies and ideology of SHI made big troubles. It is important to realize ideology of SHI for good health policies.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.24-33
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• 2008

Purpose: To analyze health programs of the PHCP (Primary Health Care Posts) Method: From August 2006 to July 2007, data on the general quality and health program of the PHCP was requested by official letter and replies were received via E-mail. From December 8 to December 30, 2007, data from 1,268 (66.8%) PHCP out of 1,897 PHCP were analyzed using SPSS 12.0 Win program. Results: The average population covered by each PHCP is 878.3 people. For the health and special programs, Community Health Practitioners report high motivation for programs on health promotion, management of chronic illness, social welfare (40-50%). Demand by the residents was reported at 10% and increases in the health of the residents were attributed to high interest and demand. Volunteer work was 83.3% for bathing, 54.5% for equipment support and 46% for exercise programs. As elders make up 30% of the population in rural areas, there is an increasing demand for volunteer work in bathing programs. Conclusions: As the number of elders in the population increases and there is an increased need for more medical treatment for older people who are sick, the role of PHCP must be strengthened to include visits to homes of community residents. Where financial support for the PHCP is difficult, it is necessary to develop sound data on demographic characteristics of the population in order to develop efficient and effective health promotion programs. The finding that 54.7% of the population need management of chronic illness has difficulty in seeing a physician indicates a need to enhance the health care delivery system by strengthening the role of the Community Health Practitioners and including them in the civil service system to ensure stability of the PHCP.