• 한국노년학
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.593-609
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• 2012

The study was performed to identify the functional status change of beneficiaries of Long-Term Care Insurance and its related factors. We conducted the logistic regression with 17,652 beneficiaries during August and September in 2008. As a result, activities of daily living(ADL), behavioral changes, rehab, instrumental activities of daily living(IADL) and cognitive function, followed by nursing care area were improved in a greater degree. For the institutional service, level-1 beneficiaries was significantly improved in rehab area and level-2 beneficiaries was improved in ADL. For the home-visit care service of in-home services, level-1 beneficiaries was improved in ADL, level-2 beneficiaries was improved in ADL and rehab area, level-3 beneficiaries was improved in ADL, cognitive function and behavioral changes. For the day-and-night care service, level-1 beneficiaries was improved in ADL, IADL, behavioral changes and rehab area, level-2 beneficiaries was improved in behavioral changes, level-3 beneficiaries was improved in cognitive function and behavioral changes. For the short-stay service, level-3 beneficiaries was improved in behavioral changes. By the above results, there was a difference in a functional improvement by level and used services. Therefore, government need to provide the personalized service system based on the objective and comprehensive understanding for health and functional status of beneficiaries.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.67 no.3
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• pp.203-225
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• 2015

Social care service has grown much with the introduction of Long-Term Care Insurance, but it remains difficult to answer in the affirmative to the question: are we providing sufficiently good care? This study has its purpose in figuring out what conditions are necessary to realize good care in our society. The study has used focus group interview (FGI) as a way to acquire realistic knowledge on the conditions that create good care and its deterring factors. The focus group interview, which targeted long-term care workers and facility heads, was conducted three times from January through March 2014, with each session taking about 3 hours. The analysis showed that the components of good care were mutual understanding and recognition through active interaction, making a good relationship based on mutual trust and respect, professionalism of care worker with flexible judgment that provides customized services, professionalism of center manager with appropriate intermediation, and the tripartite partnership among family, elderly, and care worker. Meanwhile, the deterring factors of good care were identified as devaluation of care labor, ambiguous job description and abuse, unprofessionalism of care worker and manager, inappropriate interference and indifference of family, and the structural constraints on long-term care environment.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.387-398
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• 2021

Moon Jae-in Care can be seen as a 2.0 version of Roh Moo-Hyun Care. Just as Roh Care failed to achieve its coverage rate goal and 30% share of public beds, Moon Care also failed to achieve its expected goal. The reason is that it followed Roh Care's failed strategy. Failure to control non-covered services has led to a long way to achieve a 70% coverage rate and induced the expansion of voluntary indemnity insurance, resulting in increased public burden. The universal coverage of non-covered services caused an immediate backlash from doctors. And Moon government also failed to control the private insurance market. The expansion of publicly owned beds has not become realized and has not obtained public support. Above all, it failed to overcome the resistance of doctors and failed to obtain consent from budget power groups in the cabinet for public investment. It was also insufficient to win the support of civic groups. Communication with interested groups failed and the role of private health care providers was neglected. The next government should also continue to strengthen health care coverage, but it should prioritize preventing medical poor and create a consensus with both medical providers and consumers for the control of non-covered services. Ahead of the super-aged society, the establishment of linkage between medical services and long-term care and visiting health care or welfare services is an important task. All public and private provisions and resources should be utilized in the view of a comprehensive public health perspective, and public investment should be input in sectors where public medical institutions can perform more effective functions. The next government, which will be launched in 2022, should design a new paradigm for health care in the face of a period of transformation, such as the coming super-aged society in 2026 and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and recognize that the capabilities of the health care system represent the nation's overall capacity.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.41-50
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• 2006

Introduction of new longterm care policy for elderly in Korea would change many aspects of elderly care service facilities. Especially elderly home care services like adult daycare centers will expand drastically after beginning of longterm care insurance. The purpose of this study is to estimate demand of adult daycare centers by comparing with the U.S and Japanese cases. Korean government is expecting that adult daycare centers will expand ten times within 4 years. This estimate is exceeding the facility demand estimate of the U.S. and Japan. The results of population study and expecting growth rate of adult daycare centers in Seoul indicate that more than 300 centers, 4 times of the number of existing centers, are in need based on Seoul elderly population in 2004. To supply these numbers of facilities in short period, more in depth study should be followed. Existing adult daycare facilities' in Seoul were analyzed by their building and management types. Interior spaces of adult daycare centers in Korea are similar to the U.S. and Japan in space arrangements but much smaller in size. In depth study of space programming as well as overall demand survey of adult daycare centers is urgently in need for more realistic expansion of adult daycare centers.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.100-111
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• 2020

Background: Few studies have examined the performance of the public long-term care insurance (LTCI) from the perspective of geographic equity. This study investigated regional variations and associated factors in the supply and utilization of nursing home care within and also between Japan and Korea. Methods: A comparative dataset was developed by extracting data from 2013-2015 LTCI statistics yearbooks and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development regional statistics, as well as other comparable data in Japan and Korea. The unit of analysis was the prefecture in Japan and the province in Korea. We computed variation indices and conducted regression analyses for regional variations within each country and decomposition analyses to examine the variations between the countries. Results: The overall regional supply and use of nursing home care were higher in Japan, but the regional variations in Korea were larger than in Japan. In both countries, the nursing home supply was negatively associated with the proportion of older people with independent living. Nursing home use was also negatively associated with the supply of hospital beds and home care agencies in Korea; the relationship was the opposite in Japan, however. The country-based differences were more likely to be explained by differences in the distributions of the variables included in the analytical model than country-specific characteristics. Conclusion: Regional-level nursing home supply and use were unequal in both countries, and the contributing factors were not the same. Policy efforts are needed to advance regional equality in long-term care (LTC) and collaboration between health and LTC institutions for frail older people, especially in Korea.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.99-104
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• 2019

On May 1, 2019, the Minister of Health and Welfare announced publicly the first Comprehensive Plan of National Health Insurance (NHI). The Comprehensive Plan which is the 5-year plan including expenditure and revenue aspect of NHI, is desirable in 42 years of introduction of NHI and 30 years of universal coverage of NHI, though the Plan was late and had some conflict process. The Comprehensive Plan was established without evaluation of Moon's Care Plan, did not included to relationship with NHI and other health security systems, and did not have the blue print of NHI. The Plan was not sufficient in content of adequate health care utilization and relationship with service benefit and cash benefit. The Comprehensive Plan should be modified in considering the blue print of NHI and national healthcare system with participating stakeholder in turbulent environment-low fertility, rapid ageing, low economic growth rate, era of non-communicable diseases, unification of the Korean Peninsula, and 4th industrial revolution. Therefore, I suggest to establish the President's Committee of Improving Healthcare System for the blue print of health care and NHI.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.138-175
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• 1994

The objectives of this study are (i) to review current situations and problems of the occupational health care system with emphasis on reforming the organizations and services, (ii) to find out a disirable occupational health system model based on integration of the occupational health system and the general health system, and finally, (iii) to suggest policy implications in occupational health services in the light of objectives of the newly emerging national health insurance reform in Korea. The major policy implications of this study are as follows: 1. In the long-run, within the occupational health system, preventive occupational health services such as employees' physical check-up, working environment examination, etc should financially be integrated with industrial accident compensation insurance. Currently separately paying expenses for each different category of services by the owner of an enterprise should be disbursed once through the payment of contributions of industrial accident compensation insurance. And then, it is necessary to strengthen and expand the role and function of industrial accident compensation insurance to cover preventive occupational health services. 2. The occupational health system should be integrated with general health system for its effective management. For the short-term policy, it is necessary to eliminate fiscal and access barrier between industrial accident compensation insurance and national health insurance by means of ex post facto settlement of accounts. The duplication of employees' physical check- ups between under the health insurance program and under the industrial health services must be coordinated in a manner either through mutual authorization by the two parties concerned or through merge into the health insurance. 3. The intent of current employees' physical check-up system focused on detection of occupational diseases, should be converted to an idea of medical surveillance system or biological moritoring system. The introduction of medical surveillance or biological monitoring system is a necessary condition to build a positive, effective and inexpensive occupational health care system.

• 한국노년학
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.1345-1357
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• 2010

This research, with the participants of the female elderly using a home-visit bath among long-term care services, made an in-depth analysis of what they experience while getting a home-visit bath. We conducted in-depth interviews with 8 elderly people. According to the result, the female elderly experienced the absence of a caregiver, difficulty in carrying out daily life due to physical diseases, getting what they need by themselves, getting comfortable in body and mind, accepting their given situation though feeling shame at getting a bath, and expressing their desires. In addition, they had a close relationship with a care helper. On the basis of the results, a systematic training system which could intensify the professionalism of care helpers was suggested. For the enhancement of the elderly's emotional stability in a long-term care, an integrated case management system was also suggested, which supports the family by organizing an integrated network by region between a long-term care service, home-visit care service, welfare center, and the National Health Insurance Corporation.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.63 no.6
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• pp.219-225
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• 2020

Background: There is increasing concern that moderate preterm (32-33 weeks' gestation) and late preterm (34-36 weeks' gestation) birth may be associated with minor neurodevelopmental problems affecting poor school performance. Purpose: We explored the cognitive function, cognitive visual function, executive function, and behavioral problems at school age in moderate to late preterm infants. Methods: Children aged 7-10 years who were born at 32⁺⁰ to 36⁺⁶ weeks of gestation and admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit from August 2006 to July 2011 at the National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital were included. We excluded children with severe neurologic impairments, congenital malformations, or chromosomal abnormalities. Neuropsychological assessments consisted of 5 neuropsychological tests and 3 questionnaires. Results: A total of 37 children (mean age, 9.1±1.2 years) participated. The mean gestational age at birth was 34.6±7.5 weeks, while the mean birth weight was 2,229.2±472.8 g. The mean full-scale intelligence quotient was 92.89±11.90; 24.3% scored between 70 and 85 (borderline intelligence functioning). An abnormal score was noted for at least one of the variables on the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder diagnostic system for 65% of the children. Scores below borderline function for executive quotient and memory quotient were 32.4% and 24.3%, respectively. Borderline or clinically relevant internalizing problems were noted in 13.5% on the Child Behavior Check List. There were no significant associations between perinatal factors or socioeconomic status and cognitive, visual perception, executive function, or behavior outcomes. Conclusion: Moderate to late preterm infants are at risk of developing borderline intelligence functioning and attention problems at early school age. Cognitive and executive functions that are important for academic performance must be carefully monitored and continuously followed up in moderate to late preterm infants.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.77-90
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• 2015

Objective : The purpose of this study is to discuss the role and ways to improve the position and rights of Korean Medicine Doctors (KMDs) working at long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) through survey analysis. Method : (1) The legal and institutional position of KMDs is studied using current law and related papers. (2) The online survey was conducted through KMD community websites, targeted at KMDs working at LTCHs. Results : (1) Whereas there is perceived added benefit for the eight specializations for a specialist of Western medicine at LTCHs, in the case of a specialist of Korean Medicine, their value is not institutionally recognized at all. (2) A Western inpatient's medical fee is more than a Korean inpatient's medical fee, and the individual fee for the same medical treatment is also higher in Western hospitalization. So, Korean medical hospitalization actually cannot be made. Because of that, Korean Medicine Doctors find it difficult to be primary care physicians. (3) Musculoskeletal diseases and the aftereffects of cerebrovascular diseases were the most common chief complaints addressed in Korean medical consultations. Conclusion : This study shows that KMDs working at LTCHs have suffered many kinds of inequality. That is because of the limited medical scope of the current medical system and real constraints from the gap in Korean-Western medical fees by the National Health Insurance Corporation. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate these variations along with revising the statute with continuous research.