• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.12-26
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• 2022

Objectives: This paper aimed to provide an in-depth analysis of the factors influencing the dietary habits of male and female workers at a facility in Gwangju and their awareness of the same. Methods: A total of 32 workers were divided into eight groups based on work type, gender, and age, and focus group interviews (FGIs) were conducted. The FGIs included cognitive, behavioral, and environmental questionnaires based on dietary habits and the social cognitive theory. The interviews were analyzed by subject and sub-subject using audio recordings and transcriptions. Results: Male workers in the concerned company favored meat while female workers preferred vegetables, yet by and large, the preferences were irregular. Male workers living alone frequently ate ready meals and female workers often skipped meals. An analysis of the factors influencing the study subjects' dietary habits from the cognitive, behavioral, and environmental perspectives showed that the main factors negatively affecting their dietary habits were shiftwork, living alone, and drinking. Workers were unaware of these factors and their poor eating habits. Instead, male workers complained of poor cooking skills, while female workers complained of loneliness. Workers thus appeared to need the support of nutrition education and a counseling assistant to cope with this situation. Conclusions: The study identified the fact that the absence of nutrition education left the workers unaware of their poor eating habits. The workers would need counseling and support to help them build healthy dietary habits. It would also be necessary to focus on raising the workers' cognitive awareness of dietary habits and enhancing their behavioral ability to cope with bad eating habits through nutrition education that reflects the reality of their situation.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.31-49
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• 2008

This study has been performed to explore verbal and behavioral expression of sexual desires among male elderly residents who have been living in long tenn care facilities. There are three topics covered in this study; first, in what situations and how seriously do care workers encounter expression of sexual desires of the elderly residents? Second, what kind of negative consequences do they believe those sexual behaviors will lead to? Third, how can we implement defensive measures against the sexual behaviors? In this study, twenty three care workers working full time in five retirement and care facilities were asked about their experience and perception of the above study agendas, and answers of the qualitative interview were drawn as follow; first, the elderly residents apparently show a variety of sexual harassment and provoking behaviors such as sticking to specific women, physically touching and attacking, and induce obscenely activities against female residents, care workers, and volunteer visitors. Second, their sexual behaviors are often influenced by their isolated and abandoned emotionality as well as living situation in rural areas. Third, their sexual behaviors often critically affect care work plan and facility managements by severely discouraging female care givers and community supporters. Therefore in this study, suggestions and defensive measures were made as follows: first, education and counselling programs toward female workers and volunteers need to be developed, and the programs should cover psychological and behavioral mechanism of sexuality in later life. Second, self control plans need to be empowered toward the elderly residents; in the plans, the elderly residents shall be encouraged to evaluate primary cause and proper solutions of sexual behaviors of their peering residents. Third, combination of healthy housing and care facilities for frail elderly need to be integrated in a neighboring location, so that when residents and workers encounter extreme episodes of sexuality of healthy residents in a housing facility, the problematic sexual residents are partially transferred into a neighboring care facility and thereafter other residents and cafe givers are relieved from stressful contacts with the extremely sexual residents.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.138-148
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• 2017

Objectives: Sleep quality is directly related to the health, quality of life and working capacity and is affected by age, gender, exercise, life habits. Gender dissimilarities in sleep quality are acknowledged. However, the gender difference in the quality of sleep in shift workers was not well known. Our aim was to study the less known gender differences in the quality of sleep of shift workers. Methods: 1,008 study subjects aged between 21 and 57 years among these, 637(525 male and 112 female workers) were daytime workers and 371(253 males and 118 female workers) were shift workers. Sleep quality was measured by self-report through the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index(PSQI) and fatigue was measured by using the Chalder Fatigue Scale(CFS). All data was analyzed using SPSS version 19.0 program. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute. Results: Overall, sleep quality was found to be worse in shift workers than in daytime workers and in female than in male. Fatigue in shift female workers was significantly higher than in daytime female workers and shift male workers. In Spearman correlation analysis results, fatigue were significantly associated with gender, drink habit, regular exercise, working hours and sleep quality. With group male workers as the reference, the odds ratio(OR) for having a CFS was 2.115(${\beta}$ value=0.749, p<0.01), and subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, daytime dysfunction and PSQI were 1.541(${\beta}$ value=0.432, p<0.05), 2.297(${\beta}$ value=0.831, p<0.001), 1.798(${\beta}$ value=0.587, p<0.01) and 2.224(${\beta}$ value=0.799, p<0.01), respectively. Conclusions: Shift work played an important role in lowering the quality of sleep, and the effect was more pronounced in female workers than in male workers. Sleep quality was related to fatigue, especially sleep quality, sleep duration, sleep disturbances and daytime dysfunction were significantly related. Therefore, to improve fatigue and sleep quality of shift worker, it is necessary to improve healthy habits such as regular exercise, smoking cessation, and limited drinking. In particular, it is urgent to develop and implement a regular exercise program to reduce fatigue and improve the quality of sleep in workplace.

• The Journal of Churna Manual Medicine for Spine and Nerves
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.1-12
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• 2009

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between pain and psychological state in female office workers with neck pain. Methods : Experimental group of 31 healthy subjects complained of neck and arm discomfort related to computer use which lasted more than 3 months in the past year and was present in the past 7 days as well as on the day of test. Outcomes were assessed by meridian-electromyography(MEMG), Neck Disability Index(NDI), Visual Analog Scale(VAS), Beck Depression Inventory(BDI), Stress Reaction Inventory(SRI), Holmes & Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale(SRRS). Results : The NDI score and BDI score had a correlationship(r=0.48), and the NDI score and SRI score also had a correlationship(r=0.48), significantly. The NDI score and contraction power of upper trapezius by MEMG had a correlationship significantly, but with the other muscles the NDI score didn't have correlationships. The NDI score and the SRI score were significantly higher in depression group(BDI score ${\circ}{\surd}$14). The contraction power of trapezius by MEMG was significantly lower in depression group. Conclusions : The results suggest that mental stress can be a major risk factor of neck pain in female office workers.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.22-33
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• 1989

Rapid socio-cultural and economic changes in the country has brought with it changes in the society's value system. For a traditional society that is increasingly being exposed to modernization but where sex norms are still very restrictive, the adolescent sexual mores takes on added significance. Adolescents are caught between two opposing forces, the changing environment that allows for freer and liberal mores and the traditional society that cannot keep pace with the changing environment and therefore demands resistance to changes. This paper focuses on problems of adolescent sexuality in this country and considers the countermeasures for the existing problems. Amongst the problems are: (a) increasingly younger age of the adolescents who start sexual intercourse (b) non-use of contraception, (c) unwanted pregnancies, (d) increase in the number of induced abortion and (e) increase in the number of unwanted children and unmarried mothers. The Korean adolescent's sexual behavior seems to follow that of the developed countries. In other words, many western modes of life and sexual values seem to bave been copied in Korea and yet Korean adolescents lack in their knowledge of sex related matters such as reproductive physiology and contraception. Among middle and high school students, female students are reported to have less knowledge on sex than male students according to a 1988 survey by KIPH. Even among the unmarried famale factory workers, only 42.5 percent replied they know of the condom, and 25.1 percent and 23.1 percent said they had knowledge of spermicide and menstrual regulation respectively. However, 14.9 percent and 13.9 percent reported that they had a knowledge of the loop and female sterilization respectively according to the 1984 study by KIPH. Among the middle school students 0.8 percent said they had experience in sexual intercourse, while 7.3 percent of the high school students reported having had sexual intercourse. The sexual intercourse experience rate among the unmarried female factory workers is 37.8 percent. Among those female factory workers with sexual experience, 46.7 percent had more than one sex partners. Only 39.1 percent of male students and 18.9 percent of female students among those with sexual intercourse experience have used contraceptives. mostly condoms and oral pills 45.1 percent of female factory workers with sexual intercourse experience used contraceptives such as pills, condoms and rhythm methods. The pregnancy experience rate among the female factory workers who had experience in sexual intercourse is 29.5 percent, which is 11.1 percent among the total respondents. Out of the 102 pregnant female workers, 98 workers(96.1 percent) terminated their pregnancy by induced abortion and 2 workders(2 percent) in natural abortion, while 1 worker(1 percent) was in pregnancy and another 1 worker had normal birth that was subsequently sent to orphanage. In order to cope with the problem of adolescent sexuality, a drastic and strong policy measures should be taken by the government. The most effective countermeasure to the adolescent sexual problems appears to the education. The sex and population education in the school is very much in need. In addition, sex education program through mass media and at the job sit-should be promoted for a healthy development of adolescents' sexual behavior. Also, the existing national family planning program, which has focused on the married couples, should be extended to the unmarried people in its scope and contents of the program.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.108-114
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• 2008

Objectives : To estimate the normal range of blood and urine cadmium levels using data from occupationally non-exposed office workers to cadmium in selected Korean women. Methods : A total of 437 women from healthy office workers were analyzed. To analyze blood and urine cadmium levels, blood and urine samples of study subjects were collected carefully and analyzed. Using a structured questionnaire, characteristics of the study subjects were investigated by well trained interviewers. Results : Mean blood cadmium concentration (CdB) was $0.46\;{\mu}g/{\ell}$ (GM; 0.16), whereas mean urine cadmium concentration (CdU) was $0.94\;{\mu}g/g$ creatinine (GM; 0.37). A significant increase of cadmium levels in blood and urine was observed by the rise of age (p=0.007; p=0.002, respectively). In the analysis of smoking state, blood and urine cadmium levels were higher in current smokers than in nonsmokers. In the multiple regression analysis, the rise of age and currently smoking were observed as a significant factor associated with cadmium level. Conclusion : These findings suggest that mean cadmium level in blood and urine indicated a relatively low level, although the rise of age and currently smoking were observed as a significant factor related to cadmium level. It can be used for the basic data to prevent harmful effects of cadmium exposure among female workers occupationally exposed to cadmium.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.20-34
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• 2016

Background: It is necessary to find and develop the effective way of intervention for patients with neck pain, since the neck pain is becoming increasingly common throughout the world. To identify the altered motor control in patient with neck pain would be informative to find and develop the effective way of intervention. Objects: The aim of this study was to review literature regarding the altered motor control in patients with neck pain, measured by using surface electromyography (sEMG), ultrasonography, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and to suggest prospective research work on neck pain. Methods: Case-control (neck pain/healthy) studies published between 2004 and 2015 that investigated neck muscle activation, thickness, cross-sectional area, and fat infiltrate were searched in Scopus, PubMed, and ScienceDirect. Twenty-eight articles were included in this study. Results: sEMG, ultrasonography, and fMRI were used complementarily to investigate the altered superficial and deep neck muscle activation, thickness, cross-sectional area, and fat infiltrate in patients with neck pain. They showed the following altered motor control when compared retrospectively with healthy subjects or during specific functional tasks: (1) increased superficial muscle activation, (2) lesser deep muscle thickness, (3) smaller cross-sectional area of the deep muscle, and (4) greater fat infiltrate in deep muscles. In particular, among the women, the office workers showed higher muscle activation of superficial neck muscles during functional tasks, although they did not have neck pain, than those who were not office workers. Conclusion: Studies revealed that patients with neck pain showed an altered motor control when compared with healthy subjects by using various assessment modalities. Understanding this phenomenon would help researchers design an effective intervention for alleviating neck pain or to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. In addition, we recommend that female office workers take measures to care for their necks before developing neck pain.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.37-48
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• 1997

It is very common for women wear shoes with a high heel. It has been known that the high heel could disfigure the foot shape and cause various joint problems including back pain. However, few quantitative studies have been conducted. Therefore, in this study, the low back muscle has been investigated in order to find fatifue effect due to different heights of the heel. In particular, 0, 4, 6 and 8cm heel and two different shapes of heel have been used for an experiment. Ten healthy female subjects volunteered for the study. Isometric Trunk Exertion Frame(ITEF) and Electromyography were used to measure tha Median Frequency via Spectral analysis. The results indicated that the heel height significantly affected the local muscle fatigue of the back. After post hoc analysis, it was found that a proper heel height ougth to be lower than 5cm not to have severely fatigued back muscle after a casual walk for an hour. Such results could be applies to female industrial workers in order to prevent a cumulative trauma disorder of the back, and also to design a female dress shoes minimizing low back fatigue.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.284-298
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the quality (understandability and actionability) of health education materials for Korean-Chinese (KC) female migrant workers, using Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Printable Materials (PEMAT-P). Methods: Educational needs assessment was conducted with 3 focus groups with 20 KC women and a focus group with 4 community stakeholders. The quality of the educational materials was evaluated by 3 experts and a community stakeholder, followed by a survey with 15 KC women using 17 items for understandability and 7 items for actionability by means of a Korean version PEMAT-P. Results: The health educational calendar consists of 12 subjects out of 9 topics related to healthy lifestyles for preventing cardiovascular diseases. The overall mean understandability score was 98.8% and the overall mean actionability was 100%. Conclusion: Involvement of KC women and community stakeholders in the development of educational materials was found to be an effective strategy for increasing understandability and actionability of educational materials for KC female migrant workers. This study also demonstrates the PEMAT-P is a useful evaluation tool, emphasizing the actionability of educational materials.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.24 no.3 s.35
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• pp.314-327
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• 1991

To evaluate the effects on health by exposure to mixed organic solvents, the author analyzed some labortory findings of blood (hemoglobin, hematocrit RBC, WBC, SGOT, SGPT) and urine (protein, blood, sugar) that were obtained from 722 workers (male:446, female:276) who worked in plywood, painting and shoes factories in Pusan area from January to December, 1990. The result were as follows ; 1. The mean values of each hematologic findings were all within normal limit but there were significant differences at hematocrit, RBC, WBC, SGOT in male and at WBC, SGPT in female at the comparison of the mean values and the distribution according to the normal criteria by type of work. 2. There were no differences in urinalysis(protein, blood, sugar) by type of work. 3. In stepwise multiple regression, analysis of hematologic findings on age, working duration and type of work, regression coefficients on age and type of work were relatively high in male and female sub1, respectively. As a result of this study, it is considered that the measurement of WBC with morphology is significant in hematologic findings and instead of spot urine and urinstix, 24 hours urine and quantitative analysis is required in urinalysis in screening test for healthy status of workers who deal with the organic solvents.