• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.431-438
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• 2007

Objectives : The aim of this study is to summarize the current conditions and implications of health inequalities in South Korea. Methods : Through a literature review of empirical studies and supplementary analysis of the data presented in the 1998, 2001, and 2005 KNHANEs, we evaluated the extent and trends of socioeconomic inequalities in both health risk factors, such as smoking, physical activity, and obesity, and outcomes, such as total mortality, subjective poor health status by self-reports and metabolic syndrome. Relative risks and odds ratios were used to measure differences across socioeconomic groups, and the relative index of inequality was used to evaluate the changes in inequalities over time. Results : We found clear inequalities to various degrees?in most health indicators. While little change was observed in mortality differences over time, the socioeconomic gaps in risk factors and morbidity have been widening, with much larger differences among the younger population. Conclusions : Socioeconomic inequalities are pervasive across various health indicators, and some of them are increasing. The trends in socioeconomic inequalities in health should be carefully monitored, and comprehensive measures to alleviate health inequalities are needed, especially for young populations.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.5123-5125
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• 2013

Background: Breast cancer is one the most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide. The aims of this study were to investigate the impact of dietary factors and health status indicators on breast cancer (BC) incidence. Materials and Methods: Risk factor data (RFD) of 89,404 individuals (15-64 years old) were gathered by questionnaire and laboratory examinations through a cross sectional study from the Non-Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre (NCDSC) of Iran. BC incidences of all provinces through 2001-2006 segregated by age and gender were obtained from the Cancer Registry Ministry of Health (CRMH). Results: a significant positive relationship was seen between diabetes mellitus, fish comsupmption, percent of academic education and non-consumption of fruit, and breast cancer in women. However, non fish consumption, percent age illiteracy and taking fruit showed a significant negative relationship with the incidence of breast cancer. In addition, multiple linear regression analysis showed associations among percentage with academic education, fruit consumption and diabetes. Conclusions: We conclude that dietary factors such as fish and furit consumption, dairy products, health status indicators, academic education, and some diseases like diabetes mellitus can affect the BC incidence, although the results of ecologic studies like this must naturally be interpreted with caution.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.39-47
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• 2001

The study was conducted to assess the association or physical activity, television watching and energy intake with body fat in 514 adolescents(218 boys, 296 girls) aged 14-17 years. Comparison of the weight status evaluated according to some indicators based on weight and stature was made. The quantitative food frequency was used to determine intakes of total energy and energy from each macronutrient. Television-watching time was used as an index of inactivity and time spent performing extra-curricular physical exercise or playing was used a index of activity, BMI(body mass index) was used as index of body fat. Weight status varied by the indicators used. Using BMI, Broca and Rohrer index, 54-59% of boys and 38-57% of girls were underweight decreased(23% of boys and 26% of girls) and the of overweight increased (9.3% of boys and 7.8% girls), when adolescents whose BMI are<=15th percentiles for age and sex, and >= 85th percentiles of standard growth charts of Korean Children and aldosescents(1998) were classified as underweight and overweight, respectively, Girls tended to get fatter compared to boys who showed greater skeletal development. There were no significant correlations between BMI and total energy intake, energy intakes from macronutrient and physical activity level. These lack of association seems to be related to indication that BMI reflects total body mass rather than fatness. Mpreover, the effect of growth may interact with diet intake or physical activity level. Although BMI was not related to physical activity, television-watching time was negatively correlated with physical activity. Television-watching time was positiviely correlated with energy intake in girls. In adolescents, criteria for weigh status based on weight and stature must be age- and sex-specific in that weight status varied by indicators whether gender and higher were taken into consideration or not. If follows that each hourly increment of television watching may be related to fatness of adolescents, because hours certainly reduce the opportunity to be active and increase th energy intake.(Korean J Nutrition 34(1):39-47, 2001)

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.821-828
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• 2006

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine anger-expression patterns and their association with state and trait anger and physical and psychological health status in health care workers. Method: Four hundred and forty eight nurses, physicians and technicians from a large medical center completed standardized questionnaires of anger, anger-expression patterns and mood. They also had blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose and body mass index measured during their annual physical examinations. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, chi-square and ANOVA. Results: Subjects showed two major clusters of anger-expression patterns: anger-control and anger-in/out. Subjects with the anger-in/out pattern reported higher state and trait anger and more anxiety, depression and fatigue than subjects with the anger-control pattern. Physical health indicators, however, were not significantly different between the two clusters of anger-expression patterns. Conclusion: Anger-expression patterns are associated with psychological health status but not with physical health status. Anger-expression patterns, however, need to be examined over time to assess their long-term effects on the physical and psychological health status in future studies.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.23-34
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• 2020

Purpose: This qualitative study was conducted to examine the current status and problems concerning the collection of present on admission (POA) indicators and determine how to use these indicators for evaluating the quality of care and degree of patient safety. Methods: A total of 11 health information managers were divided into two groups according to the size of their hospitals. Two focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted, one for each group, which followed a pre-developed semi-structured guideline. The verbatim transcriptions of the FGDs were analyzed. Results: The majority of participants were concerned about entering POA flags honestly because they did not know how future POA indicators would be used. In particular, for some participants, POA N was a burden that could imply a signal of mismanagement within the medical institution. In addition, the lack of awareness and indifference of physicians regarding POA indicators were some of the difficulties for POA flag entry. Although medical institutions are making efforts to improve the accuracy of POA flagging, many participants mentioned the need to develop real case-oriented POA entry guidelines to improve the accuracy of POA flagging. Conclusion: To increase the validity of POA indicators, it is necessary to increase the level of awareness of POA indicators in physicians and other medical professionals. Furthermore, efforts related to POA indicators by individual medical institutions need to be reflected in the process evaluation.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.315-323
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to establish the selection of indicators for estimating and factors affecting the requirement of vitamin B6. There has been a need to establish the human requirements of vitamin $B_6$ since vitamin $B_6$ is thought to be involved in more than one hundred biochemical reactions as a coenzyme in the metabolism of amino acids, glucose, and lipid, and the synthesis of neurotransmitters. For the review of the literature, this study included from early findings of the sixties to studies of 2009. This study suggests that plasma pyridoxal 5' phosphate (PLP) is the best single indicator of vitamin $B_6$ status for the healthy but not for the non-healthy. Erythrocyte aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase activation by PLP as an indirect measure and urinary 4-pyridoxic acid excretion as a direct measure are useful as supporting indicators. Bioavailability, nutrient interaction, physiological need, and chronic diseases may increase the requirement for vitamin $B_6$. However, these effects can not be quantified due to insufficient evidences.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.342-356
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• 2019

Background: The objectives of the study are to find out the effect of the implementing reform in three Central Asian countries, identify its impact on health status and health care delivery systems. This study address to identify strong and weak points of the health systems and provide a recommendation for further health care organization. Methods: A comparative analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects of implemented policy on health care system efficiency and equity. Secondary data were collected on selected health indicators using information from the World Health Organization Global Health Expenditure Database, European Health Information Platform, and World Bank Open Data. Results: In terms of population status, countries achieved relatively good results. Infant mortality and under-5 mortality rate decreased in all countries; also, life expectancy increased, and it was more than 70 years. Regulations of the health systems are still highly centralized, and the Ministry of Health is the main organ responsible for national health policy developing and implementation. Among the three countries, only Kyrgyzstan was successful in introducing a national health system. Distribution of health expenditure between public expenditure and out-of-pocket payments was decreased, and out-of-pocket payments were less the 50% of total health expenditure in all countries, in 2014. Conclusion: After independent, all three countries implemented a certain number of the policy reform, mostly it was directed to move away from the old the Soviet system. Subsequent reform should be focused on evidence-based decision making and strengthening of primary health care in terms of new public health concepts.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.122-130
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• 2008

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the associated factors of the perceived health status of the elderly in Korea and to provide basic data for developing nursing interventions for the elderly's health management. Methods: This study used a descriptive correlational research design. The subjects of this study were 335 elderly people over 60 yr living in an urban city. Data were collected through personal interviews using questionnaires from September 2006 to March 2007. Empirical indicators of perceived health status were measured by SF-36, nutritional screening initiative (NSI), activities of daily living (ADL) Index, and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) scale. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, and hierarchical regression. Results: The mean age of the subjects was 72.8 and 57.0% of subjects were female. 41.5% of variance in physical health was explained by nutrition, ADL, IADL, and the number of years attending school. Among them the most important factor was ADL. 13.2% of variance in mental health was explained the number of family, nutrition, and IADL. Among them the most important factor was nutrition. Conclusion: It is necessary to develop supportive interventions for improving the perceived health status of elderly people by considering the most important factors shown in this study.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.11-20
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• 2006

Purpose: To compare of health inequalities between rural and urban areas in term of health status, health behaviors and medical care utilization by using national-wide data. Method: The data came from the 2000 and 2005 census data, 2004 death certification statistics and 2001 national health and nutrition survey. The health indicators used in this study were mortality, perceived health status, health related behaviors, morbidity, accidents and suicides, mental health-related factors, health care accessibility. Korean rural areas have been experiencing a rapid aging process and there are demographic differences between rural and urban populations. Thus, both of crude rates and age-adjusted rates were compared. Result: Although the degrees decreased after adjustment for age, health inequalities between areas still existed. The people who lived in rural areas suffer from higher mortality, morbidity and unhealthy behavior compared to people in urban areas. Especially, regional health inequalities for women were significant. Health care accessibility in rural areas was also lower and medical indirect costs for rural residents were higher than those of urban residents. Conclusion: To reduce health inequalities between geographical areas, political efforts to tackle health inequalities in the rural areas are required.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.355-363
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• 2008

Objectives : Most studies about multiple roles and women's health suggested that combining with paid job, being married and having children was more likely to improve health status than in case of single or traditional roles. We investigated whether there was better health outcome in multiple roles among Korean women coinciding with previous studies of other nations. Methods : Data were from the 2005 Korea National Health & Nutritional Examination Survey, a subsample of women aged 25-59 years (N=2,943). Health status was assessed for self-rated poor health, perceived stress and depression, respectively based on one questionnaire item. The age-standardized prevalence of all health outcomes were calculated by role categories and socioeconomic status. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the association of self rated health, perceived stress, and depression with multiple roles adjusted for age, education, household income, number of children and age of children. Results : Having multiple roles with working role was not associated with better health and psychological wellbeing. Compared to those with traditional roles, employed women more frequently experienced perceived stress, with marital and/or parental roles. Non-working single mothers suffered depression more often than women with traditional roles or other role occupancy. Socioeconomic status indicators were potent independent correlates of self-rated health and perceived stress. Conclusions : Employment of women with other roles did not confer additional health benefit to traditional family responsibility. Juggling of work and family responsibility appeared more stressful than traditional unemployed parental and marital role in Korean women.