• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2022

Background: In Japan, new regulations that revise the dose limit for the lens of the eye (hereafter the lens), operational quantities, and measurement positions for the lens dose were enforced in April 2021. Based on the international safety standards, national guidelines, the results of the Radiation Safety Research Promotion Fund of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, and other studies, the Working Group of Radiation Protection Standardization Committee, the Japan Health Physics Society (JHPS) developed a guideline for radiation dose monitoring for the lens. Materials and Methods: The Working Group of the JHPS discussed the criteria of non-uniform exposure and the management criteria set not to exceed the dose limit for the lens. Results and Discussion: In July 2020, the JHPS guideline was published. The guideline consists of three parts: main text, explanations, and 26 examples. In the questions, the corresponding answers were prepared, and specific examples were provided to enable similar cases to be addressed. Conclusion: With the development of the guideline on radiation dose monitoring of the lens, radiation managers and workers will be able to smoothly comply with revised regulations and optimize radiation protection.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.51-56
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• 2022

Global efforts to identify groups at high risk for schistosomiasis have mainly concentrated on identifying their geographical distribution. Investigations on the socioeconomic characteristics of high-risk groups are relatively scarce. This study aimed to explore the associations between schistosomiasis among students and their parents' occupations. A nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted targeting 105,167 students in 1,772 primary schools across Sudan in 2017. From these students, 100,726 urine and 96,634 stool samples were collected to test for Schistosoma haematobium and S. mansoni infection. A multi-level mixed effect analysis was used with age and sex as fixed factors, and school as a random factor. The odd ratios (ORs) of practicing open defecation among farmers' children were almost 5 times higher than their counterparts whose parents were government officials (OR=4.97, 95% confidence intervals (CIs): 4.57-5.42, P<0.001). The ORs of contacting water bodies for watering livestock among farmers' children were more than 4 times higher than those of children whose parents were government officials (OR=4.59, 95% CIs: 4.02-5.24, P<0.001). This study shows that schistosomiasis represents a disease of poverty and that farmers' children constituted a high-risk group.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.418-428
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• 2011

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the cross-sectional relationship between low blood lead levels and increasing blood pressure among Korean adults using a nationally representative sample of the Korean population: the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2008. Methods: A total of 918 subjects aged 40 and older and not currently being treated for hypertension participated in this study. Information about age, gender, smoking status, alcohol consumption, education level, and the use of anti-hypertensive medication was collected. The blood pressure was defined as the mean of the second and the third measurements after three time measurements. Lead levels were determined by an analysis of blood samples. Multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were implemented after adjusting for covariates including age, gender, educational level, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and BMI. Results: This study showed that the average differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure comparing the lowest to highest quintile of blood lead were 4.33 mmHg (95% CI, 0.66-8.00; p for trend = 0.027) and 2.66 mmHg (95% CI, 0.26-5.06; p for trend = 0.021), respectively. After multivariate adjustment for covariates, the prevalence odds ratio (POR) of subjects in the highest quintile was associated with a 1.70-fold increase in the risks of hypertension (95% CI, 0.83-3.49; p for trend test = 0.112) over those in the lowest quintile of blood lead concentration, However, it was not statistically significant. Conclusions: This study provided evidence for an association between low- levels of blood lead and elevations in blood pressure and risk for hypertension in the general population of Korea.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.18-25
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• 2010

Objectives: Prehypertension is associated with a higher risk of developing hypertension compared with normotension. Yet, factors predicting the development of hypertension among prehypertensive people are ill-understood. This prospective cohort study was performed to examine if serum gamma-glutamyltrasferase (GGT) within a normal range can predict the future risk of hypertension among prehypertensive adults. Methods: Study subjects were 293 prehypertensive persons >30-years-of-age who participated in a community-based health survey in 2003 and who were followed up in 2008. Sex-specific quartiles of baseline serum GGT were used to examine association with 5-year hypertension incidence. Results: Baseline serum GGT within normal range predicted the risk of developing hypertension for 5 years only in prehypertensive women. Adjusted relative risks were 1.0, 3.7, 3.6, and 6.0 according to quartiles of baseline serum GGT (P for trend <0.01). This pattern was similarly observed in non-drinkers. However, serum GGT was not associated with incident hypertension in men. Different from serum GGT, baseline serum alanine aminotransferase, another well-known liver enzyme, did not predict the risk of incident hypertension in both genders. Conclusions: Even though baseline serum GGT within normal range strongly predicted the future risk of hypertension, it was observed only in women, Although underlying mechanisms of this association are currently unclear, serum GGT can be used to select a high risk group of hypertension in prehypertensive women.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.64 no.7
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• pp.341-346
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• 2021

Background: The results differ among published studies regarding exposure to meconium and the risk of developing autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Purpose: The present study pooled all of the epidemiologic studies retrieved from broader databases on the association between meconium exposure and risk of developing ASD in children. Methods: The Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases were searched without language restrictions for articles published between their inception to February 20, 2020, using relevant keywords. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated as random-effect estimates of the associations among studies. A subgroup analysis was conducted to explore any potential sources of heterogeneity among studies. Results: The pooled estimate of OR reported a weakly significant association between meconium exposure and ASD development in children (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.03-1.24). There was low heterogeneity among the articles reporting risk for ASD among children (I²=19.3%; P=0.259). The results of subgroup analysis based on meconium exposure showed a significant association between a meconium-stained neonate and ASD development (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.11-1.24). Couclusion: Meconium exposure was weakly associated with an increased risk of ASD. However, more evidence based on large prospective cohort studies is required to provide conclusive evidence about whether meconium exposure is associated with an increased risk of ASD development.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.26-40
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• 1988

This survey was conducted to find out the present status of health education program being provided in primary schools focusing its planning, operation, contents and attitude of school nurses in September, 1988. Total 413 school nurses who are presently working in Seoul city was surveyed by mail and 167 school nurses who responded to the questionnaire were finally ana lysed. The following results were obtained. 1. The general charcteristics of the school nurses′ surveyed. As for age distribution, 30-40 age group was 60.4％ the highest and the mean age was 30. 13. As for educational attainment, junior nursing college was 71.9％. 68.3％ of the surveyed was married and 43.1％ of them has 5-10 years of working experiences. As for schools where school nurses are presently working, 31.7％ has 2,000-3,000 students, 22.8％ has 50-60 classes and 5 schools have more than 80 classes. 2. Planning of a school health education School health education was planned every semester in 55.7％, which was the highest. As for utilization status of the materials for planning of a school health education as a referance, 86.8％ of the total respondants utilized the guidelines published by Seoul city School nurses′ Association, and the administrative guidelines for school health, textbooks, school health statistics and articles related to school health in order. It was tried whether the number of referances being utilized was related to the working experiences. It was found that the shorter the experiances, the more materials were utilized. It was answered that teaching plan for health education was prepared by school-nurses themselves (95.2％), and was differentiated as three levels as the first and second grades, the third and fourth grades, and the fifth and sixth grades 3. The contents of the school health education 16 subjects offered to 6 grades of students were surveyed as follows. As for fifth and sixth grades, contents on growth and development was most widely provided as 54.5％, and 68.9％, respectively. And the next to this subject, dental health education was also frequently offered to the second, third and fourth grades as 50.9％, 68.9％, and 47.3％, respctively. 4. The operation of school health education Health education provided by school nurses was conducted formallu in 36.6％, and formally of informally accordin to grades in 43.9％. It was answered that 50.3％ of the surveyed school had started health education from 1987, when the plan for activation of school health was ordered from. Educational Committee. Teaching hours of school nurses was 6 in 32.9％, which was the highest. The lesson was provided for class unit in 77.2％, and sex education was sometimes offered to male and female students separately. As for support of health personnels out of school for health education, 79.0％ did not receive any support. If there were any aids out of school, 62.9％ received them from other related agencies and 74.3％ anwered that it was once in a semester. As for expenses for health education, 57.3％ did not input any expenses alloted to school health program as a whole. As audio-visual materials, slides were utulized most frequently and models, and charts in order. 5. Awareness of school nurses on the operation of school health education School nurses evaluated their educational quality as a health educator subjectively, 60-70％ of them answered to be average in 4 domains such as knowledge, educational skill, ability to prepare teaching plan, and cooperation. As for the awareness on the support and cooperation of the higher institutions, 46.4％ -61.8％ answered that "so and so" toward Ministry of Education and Ministry of Affairs, and 13-37％ "not supportive" Teachers of the corresponding schools were answered to be "so and so" in 55.9％-56.7％, and "very supportive" in 33.34％. There was a significant difference in formality of the lesson according to the support of the superintendent.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.7-13
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• 2015

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to examine the prescription intention of Korean medicine doctors on botanical drug.Methods : The subjects in this study were 340 Korean medicine doctors in Korean medical institutions, on whom a survey was conducted from July 1 to August 31, 2014.Results : The factors that affected the prescription decision making of the Korean medicine doctors were drug superiority, level of Interest, Recognition, marketing of sales associates of pharmaceutical companies and satisfaction with information provided by those companies. When the internal consistency of the variables was measured, that was above 0.8.Conclusions : Accordingly, well-planned education and promotion efforts are required to encourage Korean medicine doctors to put more prescription intention in botanical drug. This study had some limitations : First, the subjects were selected in a manner to allow for the convenience of this researcher, and the findings might not be generalizable. Second, there was a problem with the time for the study in that there were quite fierce disputes on botanical drug at that time. Third, the majority of the subjects run their own hospitals, and the number of them was small. So it's not possible for them to represent every Korean medicine doctor.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.553-565
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• 2016

Population aging has been an increasing social issue and the elderly health has become one of the most urgent public attentions in Korea. The aims of this paper are to compare the subjective health status according to the personal characteristics, social networks, and daily leisure activities of the urban-rural elderly, and to analyze the influencing factors of their subjective health status. Using 2011 elderly survey data, ordered logit Model was established to extract influencing factors of the elderly health status. The results show that socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of individual as well as frequent social contacts and daily activities within neighborhood environments influence the level of health status of the elderly. The most significant factors affecting the elderly health are personal economic conditions such as the education achievement level and household income. The elderly who visit an elderly welfare center in Seoul has almost 1.82 times higher odds of increasing health status level than not to visit an elderly welfare center. This study may give some important policy implications of the elderly health promotion strategy in urban-rural communities.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.361-383
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• 1996

This study analyze and find problems in the 4-year and 3-year college nursing curriculum through comparison and analysis of each college curriculum according to the Nursing Education Standards Criteria from the Korean Nurse Association, 1994. Analyzed areas and results are as follows : 1. Nursing education philosophy To analyze Nursing Education philosophy, we reviewed the categaries of Person, Health, Nursing, Environment. In of 4-year colleges, 50% of them were presenting definitions of Person that were the same as the Nursing Education Standards. But in the definitions of Environment and Health, they presented limited contents. In the 3-year college, we could not find any statement of Nursing Education Philosophy similar to Nursing Education Standards. 2. Nursing education purpose In 4-year colleges, they stated aboict only 3 aspects and others werelacking in correspondance with Nursing Education Standards. In 3-year colleges, some aspects were sincere, but when they were compared to the standards they were very limited. 3. Nursing education curriculum As we analyzed 4-year and 3-year college nursing curriculum, We found that 3-year colleges use curriculum from 4-year colleges in a modified and condensed form. Thus, it is considered that 3-year colleges have considerable burdens because they have to teach all the credits within 3-years that is normally taught in the 4-year college. Therefore, we can suppose that 3-year colleges have more problems in the quality. And, the majority of 4-year and 3-year college curriculums don't include recent concepts such as health promotion, prevention, and rehabilitation.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.309-321
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• 1998

The purpose of this study was to analyze the contents related to health in the three major monthly women's magazine that was printed from March, 1997 to February, 1998. The unit of analysis was the section of health, living life, and reaing child. The total number of related story of health was 317. The analysis was done according to the target, health management, topics and the informer by using frequency and number. The findings are as follows : 1. The contents were categorized by target people. The number of items for women was 113(35.6%), child(17.4%), family(15.5), husband(4.7%) and others(26.8%). Others were the contents that are impossible to classify. 2. The number of items of contents by health management was the related to health maintenance and promotion 120(47.8%), health care when they were deviated from health 26(10.3%), and those of both attributes 105(41.8%). 3. The number of items of contents by topics was the related to the occurrence, prevention and treatment of various kinds of disease 41(12..9%), diet 37(11.7%), academic information 11.3%, women's disease 10.4%, the effect of foods 6.0%, child's growth & development and child care 5.75, various kinds of therapy for health care 5.7%, sexual life 5.4% and exercise 4.7%. 4. The number of items of contents by informer was medical doctor 215(49%), lay person's case report or report of a struggle against a disease 12.3%, relevant organization of a related story(eg. family therapy research institute, physical therapist's or teacher's) 11.2%, and the contents of existing books or lecture 8.9%. Among those contents, only the one case from nurse or Korean nurses association as informer was founded, which is related to "skinship child care." In conclusion, this finding showed that women's magazine took a role as a important resource providing informations of health to women. it provides a challenge to the health professionals to have concerns on women's needs, and the content, source, and accuracy of the health related information and take part in the process producing information through such as screening and examining so as to give accurate information to women. Then women's magazine can take a role as a major resource for maintaining and promoting women's health. Finally, nurses's, who are professional health care providers, important and active role as informers toward the lay persons, especially for the women who are non-professional care givers at the family unit should be stressed. More active and continual monitoring and analyzing the contents related health in the mass media including magazine and Internet network in detail, and participating in establishing the system of adequate and precise information for women and lay persons from the nursing profession are required absolutely.