• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.21
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• pp.9427-9432
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• 2014

Background: Delayed presentation of symptomatic breast cancer is a public health issue in Iran, making a major contribution to low survival. Despite the importance of this problem, current knowledge is insufficient to inform interventions to shorten patient delay. The aim of this study was to explore factors influencing patient delay in Iranian women with self-discovered breast cancer symptom. Materials and Methods: This qualitative study was conducted during 2012-2013. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit 20 Iranian women with self-discovered symptoms of breast cancer who attended the Cancer Institute of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth audiotaped interviews, which were transcribed and analyzed using conventional content analysis with MAXqda software version 10. Findings: Content analysis of the data revealed four main themes related to the delay in seeking medical help including: 1) attributing symptoms to the benign conditions; 2) conditional health behavior; 3) inhibiting emotional expression; and 4) barriers to access to health care systems. Conclusions: These results suggest that patient delay is influenced by complex and multiple factors. Effective intervention to reduce patient delay for breast cancer should be developed by focusing on improvement of women's medical knowledge, managing patients' emotional expression and reform of the referral system.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.10-17
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• 2022

South Korea is not a wasteland of publicly funded health care-instead, it has a good medical social security system known as the national health insurance (NHI). The NHI of Korea has three unique features; (1) low premiums, low insurance fees, and low coverage; (2) obligatory designation of medical institutions; (3) and allowance of non-benefit services. These features have made hospitals and doctors interested in profit-seeking. However, the commercialization of medical institutions has taken place in both private- and public-established sectors. A basic problem of commercialization is the co-existence of the obligatory designation of medical institutions and non-benefit services. The problem became worse in the Kim Dae-Jung government because it officially permitted non-benefit services. Since 2000, the Korean government has consistently pursued benefit extension policies, but the coverage rates of the NHI have stagnated. In addition, premiums and current medical expenses have markedly increased because policy-makers have emphasized accessibility to the NHI, while ignoring important principles of medical social security such as a needs-based approach and patient-referral system. In order to resolve the commercialization problem, the obligatory designation of medical institutions to the NHI should be changed to a contract system, and non-benefit services should be prohibited at NHI institutions. We must re-establish the patient-referral system via a needs-based approach. We also need to build a primary healthcare system and public health policies. We should make a long-term plan for healthcare reform.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2015

This study intended to measures for high performance and for identifying competitive advantages by examining the relation between the competence and performance of the first special hospitals for which the law has now been in effect for 3 years. Furthermore, the members of special hospitals were also surveyed on measures to improve the special hospital system in order to activate it. A total of 80 special hospitals participated in this study, and 171 people responded to a survey on the special hospital system. According to the results of the multiple regression analysis the relation between the competence and performance after establishing a hypothesis that special hospital competence would have an effect on organizational performance, member competence and hospital business management competence significantly had a positive (+) effect on internal performance, and marketing management competence significantly had a positive (+) effect on external performance, which partially supported this research hypothesis. Moreover, according to the results of survey on the special hospital system, the policy thought to be the most important by special hospitals was reasonable fee system reform, followed by granting incentives.

• The Journal of Korean society of community based occupational therapy
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.23-30
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• 2015

Objective : The aim of this study is to analyze the telemedicine in Japan and discuss the role of the community-based occupational therapy. Methods : This study was collected and analyzed data on telemedicine status in Japan. It examined the definition and forms of telemedicine and analyzed for the appearance to the background telemedicine in Japan. Thus, we discussed the role of the community-based occupational therapy. Results : Due to increased medical costs, low fertility rate and aging in Japan, it had provided the telemedicine as a more efficient form of health care services. Also, telemedicine emerged due to the lack of doctors, development of medical technology, and regional deviation between rural and urban area. In the case of Korea, similar to Japan, therefore, there is a demand for the telemedicine. Conclusion : With regard to telemedicine, occupational therapy in community-based rehabilitation is expected to be able to treat for patients as health care professionals. Therefore the reform of the educational system is needed for this.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.167-175
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• 2010

Purpose: This study investigated nursing care delivery systems in 44 university affiliated hospitals and satisfactions with the systems perceived by 226 unit managers (head nurses) of general medical surgical wards. Methods: Data were collected with questionnaires consisting of checklists asking the unit managers their nursing care delivery systems and their satisfactions with the systems. Results: Four models of nursing care delivery systems (primary, modified primary, team, and functional models) were drawn from the participants' responses. Among the four key models 35% of the units adopted team model whereas 24.3% adopted primary model and 22.6% adopted modified primary model. In spite of 35% of team model being under use, 60.6% (n=137) of the unit managers answered the nursing delivery system of their units as team model and only 6.2% (n=14) answered their units having primary or modified primary models, instead of 46.9% combining both. In regard to the satisfaction, critical thinking ability of staff nurses (members in their units) was the most dissatisfactory area regardless of models of service delivery. Conclusion: Introducing team model supplemented with core concepts of primary model (primary team delivery model) into nursing practice will reform the workplace and therefore deliver safe health care services to patients.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.53-64
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• 2014

This research is designed to analyze the professionalism of administrators working in Korean hospitals as a way to make them a better expertise in the industry. For this purpose, we conducted a survey of 105 administrative professionals working in hospitals nationwide and statistical analysis was performed with the SPSS Windows version 15.0. The survey questions were developed based on the Spencer & Spencer's results of research in expertise variables. The results showed that the current Korean hospital administrator do have short of expertise required for their job position. Therefore, the curriculum reform is required for healthcare management programs in college and the Korean College of Hospital Administrators (KCHA) is required to change the contents of license exam based on the results of the study.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.10 no.6
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• pp.1073-1081
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• 2010

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to examine the oral health awareness and practice of workers. Methods : The subjects in this study were 200 workers in a working place located in Taean-gun, Chung-Nam Province. The data for this study was obtained by means of a self-administered questionnaire. Results : 1. An average of awareness for the oral health of workers was $2.60{\pm}0.44$ points out of 4. They were most aware of the item that toothbrushing should be done after meals($3.06{\pm}0.42$), and the second most widely recognized item was that toothbrushing should be done before bedtime($2.73{\pm}0.60$). 2. An average of practice for the oral health of workers was $2.54{\pm}0.32$ points out of 4. They did the best was brushing their teeth after meals($2.97{\pm}0.33$), followed by cleaning the tongue during toothbrushing($2.91{\pm}0.45$). 3. Awareness of oral health was significantly higher in such groups, including the female, college graduates, unmarried(p<0.05). 4. Practice of oral health was significantly higher in such groups, including the female, college graduates(p<0.05). Conclusions : To reform and improve of the system, incremental oral health care system for workers is needed. and oral health education is needed to increase the motivation of workers to control their basic dental disease.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.203-210
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• 2018

The UK is famous for being the first country in Europe to adopt the policies of marketisation regarding social welfare. Numerous other countries, including social democratic countries, have followed suit, and South Korea has also adopted the marketisation of care through the introduction of long-term care insurance. The aim of this study is to examine recent reforms concerning adult social care market in the UK, and to determine policy recommendations to further develop the Korean long-term care insurance market. Findings show that the UK has actively regulated and managed the care market. In particular, after the sudden bankruptcy of nursing homes, the CQC systematically analyzes the risks of bankruptcy of big service providers in terms of financial conditions and quality of services according to the six steps detailed in the Care Act 2014. If some service providers experience high levels of risk, the CQC reports results to local authorities in order to manage the risk of bankruptcy of these service providers. Such reforms in the UK suggest a number of policy measures for South Korea in which the problems of long-term care market are prevalent, including increased system management, introduction of a new inspection system, the expansion of public-based inspection organizations, and disclosure of information by the National Health Insurance Corporation.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.118-128
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• 2016

Objectives: The purposes of this study were to examine the status of children and adolescents with regard to enrollment in private medical insurance (PMI) and to investigate its influence on their utilization of medical services. Methods: The present study assessed 2973 subjects younger than 19 years of age who participated in five consecutive Korea Health Panel surveys from 2009 to 2012. Results: At the initial assessment, less than 20% of the study population had not enrolled in any PMI program, but this proportion decreased over time. Additionally, the number of subjects with more than two policies increased, the proportions of holders of indemnity-type only ('I'-only) and of fixed amount+indemnity-type ('F+I') increased, whereas the proportion of holders with fixed amount-type only ('F'-only) decreased. Compared with subjects without private insurance, PMI policyholders were more likely to use outpatient and emergency services, and the number of policies was proportionately related to inpatient service utilization. Regarding outpatient care, subjects with 'F'-only PMI used these services more often than did uninsured subjects (odds ratio [OR], 1.69), whereas subjects with 'I'-only PMI or 'F+I' PMI utilized a broad range of inpatient, outpatient, and emergency services relative to uninsured subjects (ORs for 'I'-only: 1.39, 1.63, and 1.38, respectively; ORs for 'F+I': 1.67, 2.09, and 1.37, respectively). Conclusions: The findings suggest public policy approaches to standardizing PMI contracts, reform in calculation of premiums in PMI, re-examination regarding indemnity insurance products, and mutual control mechanisms to mediate between national health insurance services and private insurers are required.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.218-238
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• 2013

The objective of my paper is to investigate historical change in concepts of medical geography and to present its historical vision. Modern medical geography was established in the name of medical topography in Europe where it had to control tropical diseases in the course of exploration and voyages for colonial interests. England developed medical geography in the name of sanitary reform, France did so for civilizing mission, and geomedicine prevailed in Germany. The twentieth century witnessed two traditions of medical geography, with focus on disease ecology and medical care system, respectively. In addition, the paper emphasizes the significance of cartography of disease as knowledge as power. As the identity of place becomes increasingly important in relation to health at the around of the twenty-first century, geography of health has emerged as a new promising discipline independently of medical and public health geography.