• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.10-26
• /
• 2011

This study attempted to develop the directions for developing customized health tourism programs of Gangwon province. The data was collected by telephone surveys for 500 citizens in a metropolitan and regional cities in Korea in 2009. In conclusion, the province has many advantages to develop health tourism industries because the image of Gangwon health tour was represented to be generally positive and more than 65% of respondents were interested in participating health tourism of the province. The respondents also considered that the purpose of the tour is for relaxation rather than medical treatments. However, it requires flexible seasonal employment, scientific investigations of the natural environmental treatments and connectionwithleisureactivities, also need to collaborated with health and hospital services.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
• /
• v.23 no.5
• /
• pp.29-46
• /
• 2006

Purpose: Since 1994, Asian Health Services, the Korean American Community Advisory Board, and the Center for Family and Community Health (University of California at Berkeley) have conducted periodic, population-based surveys on Korean American community health in Alameda County, California. The present study examines changes in health care access and utilization between 1994 and 2002 among Korean American adults in Alameda County, California. Method: We reanalyzed data from the 1994 and 2002 Korean Health Surveys. The primary variables of interest, health care access and utilization, were operationalized in terms of health insurance coverage, routine check-ups, a usual source of health care and reported barriers to health care. The frequency distribution of each indicator was calculated and its standard error was estimated using SUDAAN. The differences between 1994 and 2002 were examined with chi-square test. Results: Compared to 1994, Korean Americans in Alameda County were more likely to have health insurance coverage in 2002 (74.0% vs. 82.7%). Korean Americans in Alameda County were more likely to have received a recent (prior two years) routine health checkup in 2002 (50.4% vs. 57.2%). Health checkups increased over time for males, for adults with more than 12 years of education, and for employed adults. Also, compared to 1994, employed adults were more likely to have a usual source of health care in 2002 (66.5% vs. 78.4%). In both 1994 and 2002, high cost (58.0% vs. 47.8%) was the most commonly cited barrier to health care, and the next most frequently cited barriers were language (29.2% vs. 27.7%) and no time (29.2% vs. 30.3%). Conclusion: To improve health care utilization and health conditions, it is important to investigate factors related to health care and to monitor changing trends. Ongoing surveillance of health-related factors can contribute to the development of health education programs to reduce morbidity and mortality due to chronic disease, and thereby lead to improvements in health status among Korean Americans.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.46 no.5
• /
• pp.513-524
• /
• 2020

Objective: The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the environmental and biological exposure of local residents who consumed arsenic-contaminated drinking water for less than one year. Methods: As a part of water quality inspections for small-scale water supply facilities, surveys were conducted of residents of two villages that exceeded the arsenic threshold for drinking water. The environmental impact survey consisted of surveys on water quality, soil, and crops in the surveyed area. Biological monitoring was performed by measuring the separation of arsenic species in urine and total arsenic in hair. Results: In the results of biological monitoring, the concentrations of AsIII and AsV were 0.08 and 0.16 ㎍/L, respectively. MMA and DMA were 0.87 and 36.19 ㎍/L. There was no statistically significant difference between the group who drank arsenic-removed groundwater or water from the small-scale supply facility and the group who drank tap water, purified water, or commercial bottled water. Some of the water samples exceeded the arsenic threshold for drinking water. There were no samples in the soil or rice that exceeded the acceptable threshold. Conclusion: In the case of short-term exposure to arsenic-contaminated drinking water for less than one year, there were no significant problems of concern from the evaluation of biological monitoring after arsenic was removed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.16 no.18
• /
• pp.8541-8551
• /
• 2016

Background: The coverage of breast and cervical cancer screening has only slightly increased in the past decade in Thailand, and these cancers remain leading causes of death among women. This study identified socioeconomic and contextual factors contributing to the variation in screening uptake and coverage. Materials and Methods: Secondary data from two nationally representative household surveys, the Health and Welfare Survey (HWS) 2007 and the Reproductive Health Survey (RHS) 2009 conducted by the National Statistical Office were used. The study samples comprised 26,951 women aged 30-59 in the 2009 RHS, and 14,619 women aged 35 years and older in the 2007 HWS were analyzed. Households of women were grouped into wealth quintiles, by asset index derived from Principal components analysis. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: Screening rates for cervical and breast cancers increased between 2007 and 2009. Education and health insurance coverage including wealth were factors contributing to screening uptake. Lower or non-educated and poor women had lower uptake of screenings, as were young, unmarried, and non-Buddhist women. Coverage of the Civil Servant Medical Benefit Scheme increased the propensity of having both screenings, while the universal coverage scheme increased the probability of cervical screening among the poor. Lack of awareness and knowledge contributed to non-use of both screenings. Women were put off from screening, especially Muslim women on cervical screening, because of embarrassment, fear of pain and other reasons. Conclusions: Although cervical screening is covered by the benefit package of three main public health insurance schemes, free of charge to all eligible women, the low coverage of cervical screening should be addressed by increasing awareness and strengthening the supply side. As mammography was not cost effective and not covered by any scheme, awareness and practice of breast self examination and effective clinical breast examination are recommended. Removal of cultural barriers is essential.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.1313-1323
• /
• 2016

To study the full health effects of parental radiation exposure on the children of the atomic bomb survivors, the Radiation Effects Research Foundation developed a cohort of 76,814 children born to atomic bomb survivors (F1 generation) to assess cancer incidence and mortality from common adult diseases. In analyzing radiation-associated health information, it is important to be able to adjust for sociodemographic and lifestyle variations that may affect health. In order to gain this and other background information on the F1 cohort and to determine willingness to participate in a related clinical study, the F1 Mail Survey Questionnaire was designed with questions corresponding to relevant health, sociodemographic, and lifestyle indicators. Between the years 2000 and 2006, the survey was sent to a subset of the F1 Mortality Cohort. A total of 16,183 surveys were completed and returned: 10,980 surveys from Hiroshima residents and 5,203 from Nagasaki residents. The response rate was 65.6%, varying somewhat across parental exposure category, city, gender, and year of birth. Differences in health and lifestyle were noted in several variables on comparison across city and gender. No major differences in health, lifestyle, sociodemographics, or disease were seen across parental exposure categories, though statistically significant tests for heterogeneity and linear trend revealed some possible changes with dose. The data described herein provide a foundation for studies in the future.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.352-364
• /
• 2018

Objective: The Korean Industrial Hygiene Association(KIHA) held a forum on "Improvement of Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) regulations for enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency in the field" at its 2018 Winter Conference(February 2, 2018). This article summarized the major consensus opinions developed at the forum. Methods: Since the initial implementation of the MSDS system, the contents of the system have changed and related studies have been reviewed. Before the forum, online questionnaires were developed and opinions on the effectiveness of MSDS program were collected from various strata of the occupational health field. We also summarized the key opinions of companies, trade unions, experts, and government officials as discussed at the forums. Results: A total of 265 opinions were gathered through online questionnaire surveys from safety and health managers, trade unions, government officials, and health professionals. The results of online surveys and discussions showed some differences of opinion, but it was a common perception that the current MSDS system is not working effectively in the workplace. It was considered necessary to strengthen MSDS education and to make it easier for workers to understand and deliver the necessary information. In addition, it was confirmed that the supply of and education on MSDS to small- and medium-sized enterprise workers is not being well executed. In particular, MSDS training for subcontract workers should be carried out under the responsibility of the contracting employer. Conclusions: In order for the MSDS system to serve more effectively in the field in the future, it needs to be improved in terms of the effective education and training considering the type of industry and employment.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.933-946
• /
• 2018

Objectives: This study analyzed smoking trends by year in the relationship between smoking and oral health. Methods: This study targeted adults older than 19 years. To investigate the relationship between smoking and oral health status, composite sample Chi-square analysis and composite sample logistic regression analysis were performed using the fifth and sixth Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys. Results: Higher percentages of smokers were males in their 30s, high school graduates, single, with annual drinking habits, and higher stress perception. Analysis of smokers by year showed that smokers' rates decreased in all groups. Conclusions: This study suggests that smoking and sociodemographic factors are relevant to oral health status. The findings may be useful for informing the development of a personalized oral health promotion program for smokers.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.176-190
• /
• 2017

This study aimed to investigate the roles of three health-oriented personal factors-health technology innovativeness (HTI), health consciousness (HC), and health information orientation (HIO)-in determining Koreans' perceptions about telemedicine. Based on an extended version of the technology acceptance model (TAM), two perceptual components-perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU)-of telemedicine were considered for this investigation. Data from 699 usable surveys were analyzed using path analysis. The results from the path analysis indicated that while HTI and HC had no or limited effects on the PU and PEOU of telemedicine, the effects of HIO on those two perceptual components of telemedicine were statistically significant. Moreover, the results from the path analysis showed that there were significant regional differences in the effects of HTI and HC on the PU and PEOU of telemedicine. In general, these effects were greater among the metropolitan residents than they were among the rural residents.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.35-44
• /
• 2011

The aim of this study is to review the literature addressed the methodology to measure and evaluate the health outcomes as evidences for health benefits through the study on the healing environment, garden, therapeutic garden and viewing landscape and so forth. The research methods and measures used to assess health effects in the reviewed studies have applied in a different way ranged from quantitative methods (physical measures or quantitative observations) to qualitative methods (qualitative observations and surveys). In a literature review of research articles on the health outcomes have been found various research methods and measures used to assess health effects. This study will be concentrated mainly on methodological considerations in order to find the significant evidences related to evidence-based design (EBD). Future research should build the body of methodological knowledge to find more empirical evidences as sound scientific data and to improve the effectiveness of design interventions.

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