• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.83-103
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• 2012

This thesis is based on an in-depth interview on participation experience of ten immigrants who reside in S Multi-cultural Family Support Center that is located in Gyeonggi-do in Korea Immigration & Integration Program(KIIP). The purpose of this research is to present through it's basic data for improvement in the operation of KIIP in the future by grasping participation process in KIIP that the immigrants have experienced, problems involved in their operation, and related requirements. Major results of the research are as follows: First, the motive for the immigrants' participation in KIIP was to acquire Korean nationality, learn Korean, and prepare for their future in Korea. Second, as a difficulty in participation in KIIP, access to educational institutions loomed large. Third, regarding improvements in the operation of KIIP, marriage immigrants needed to continue Korean language education, whereas other immigrants revealed a demand for opening evening classes or weekend classes. In the final analysis, it seems that for KIIP to provide an opportunity for the immigrants to have a vision for their life in the future, as well as for its realization in Korean society, policy-oriented institutional support that pays attention to their life situation and demands is badly needed.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.269-277
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to capture how marriage migrant women, who are burdened with the luggage of the social, cultural, and historical 'past,' reconstruct their own 'experiences in reality' as subjective agents after their immigration into a new space. By applying a phenomenological method, this study analyzes the world of life in which marriage migrant women come to have experiences in the dimensions of bodilihood, spatiality, temporality, and relatedness. As a result of the analysis, marriage migrant women never think of their bodiliness as the subject of discrimination though they have some differences in skin colors and cultural aspects, and make efforts to overcome prejudices in reality withtheir pride of body. As for the spatiality, marriage migrant women attempts at a spatial turn in which they reconstruct a novel sociocultural space. With respect to the temporality, marriage migrant women recognize themselves not as passive subjects who only resent reality but as being prepared for future actively. As for the relatedness, marriage migrant women show life in which they pioneer their own areas on the basis of extended personal relations.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.865-872
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• 2015

Objectives: The purpose of the study is to investigate the oral health characteristics of the multicultural international marriage women in Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk in Korea. Methods: The subjects were 73 multicultural international marriage women in Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk in Korea. The study methods consisted of direct interview with the subjects and oral examination through dental mirror and head lamp by one dentist and two dental hygienists. The questionnaire included the use of medical services, oral health education experience, subjective oral health awareness, toothbrushing, and sociodemographical characteristics of the subjects. Results: There were significant correlations between the subjective oral health awareness, oral health behavior and DMFT index. The subjective oral health awareness significantly changed after the international marriage in Korea. The recognition of subjective oral health status significantly improved after the oral health education by the dentist and the dental hygienist. Conclusions: The subjective oral health status of the international marriage women improved significantly after immigration into Korea. Therefore, Korean government should try to provide the better medical services to the international marriage women and protect their human rights as Korean immigrants on the basis of the Law.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.253-266
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• 2015

The purpose of this study, regarding the effect of the marriage immigrant women's marriage adaptation living in urban and rural areas on their quality of the life, is to analyze whether there are any differences in the moderating effect of support from spouses and families for different areas of residence. This is in order to serve as the preliminary data for preparing intervention strategies that are suited to different areas of residence, so that the quality of life of marriage immigrant women may be improved. This study is a correlational research that targeted 304 marriage immigrant women living in urban and rural areas (148 in urban areas, 156 in rural areas). The study revealed that the support from spouses and families, marriage adaption, and the quality of life were lower in rural than in urban areas and that support from spouses and families, and marriage adaptation had a significant positive correlation for all areas of residence. Also, there was a moderating effect of support from spouses and families in the effect relationship between marriage adaptation and the quality of life. Also, it appeared that this moderating effect was more important in rural than in urban areas. On the basis of the results of this study, we propose that customized intervention strategies for each area of residence be developed so that regardless of the area, migrant women will be able to lead a marriage well and live a fulfilling life.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.66-74
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• 2011

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity and diet and to identify sociodemographic factors related with health behaviors among Asian immigrant women in Korea by ethnicity. Methods: A cross-sectional study using structured questionnaires was conducted in 396 immigrant women from China, Vietnam, and the Philippines to Korea through international marriage. The associations between health behaviors and sociodemographic characteristics were assessed using multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results: The prevalence of current smoking, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, and abnormal diet were 4.2%, 7.6%, 49.3%, and 31.9%, respectively. The prevalence of current smoking (7.6%) and physical inactivity (56.7%) was highest in Chinese immigrant women. However, the prevalence of current smoking (2.7%) and alcohol consumption (3.8%) were lowest in Vietnamese immigrant women. Immigrant women who had been living in Korea for a long time since immigration (${\geq}$ 5 years) had a higher prevalence of alcohol consumption compared to those of who had been living in Korea for a short time since immigration (< 5 years) (OR=2.95, 95% CI=1.74-5.01). Conclusion: Health promotion programs for immigrant women should be differentiated based on health behaviors and their related factors by ethnicity.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.70-75
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• 2017

BACKGROUND: Immigration to South Korea from neighboring Asian countries has risen dramatically, primarily due to marriage between Korean men and foreign women. Although Filipino women rank fourth among married immigrant women, little is known about the health condition of this population. This manuscript focuses on the design and methods of Filipino women's diet and health study (FiLWHEL). SUBJECTS/METHODS: FiLWHEL is a cohort of Filipino women married to Korean men, aged 19 years old or over. The data collection comprised three parts: questionnaire, physical examination, and biospecimen collection. Questionnaires focused on demographic factors, diet, other health-related behaviors, acculturation and immigration-related factors, medical history, quality of life, and children's health information. Participants visited the recruitment site and answered the structured questionnaires through a face-to-face interview. We also measured their anthropometric features and collected fasting blood samples, toenails, and DNA samples. Recruitment started in 2014. RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS: Collection of data is ongoing, and we plan to prospectively follow our cohort participants. We expect that our study, which is focused on married Filipino women immigrants, can elucidate nutritional/health status and the effects of transitional experiences from several lifestyle factors.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.174-186
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• 2011

Purpose: The study examined the correlation of perceived health status, health behaviors, and marital satisfaction in women who have immigrated to Korea through marriage. Method: Data were collected via questionnaires that investigated health status, health behaviors, Korean language ability, characteristics of couple, and marital satisfaction. Three hundred four subjects were selected for a 4-month period. The data of 300 subjects were analyzed using descriptive analysis, t-test, ANOVA, and correlation, after four questionnaires were excluded due to incomplete data. Results: Perceived health status varied significantly according to nationality, existence of religion, and period of immigration. The scores for perceived health status among women who had lived in Korea for more than 5 years were lower than for women who had resided for 1-3 years. There was a significant positive correlation between health status and health behavior, and health status and Korean language ability, but a negative correlation between health status and age. Conclusion: A program for the improvement of health in immigrant women should include communication assistance as their mother language and should provide periodic health screening.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.38-47
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• 2020

Purposes: The problem in the recent immigration policy and social policy changes for foreigners is that the preliminary analysis or research on the actual impact of the influx of foreigners has not been done enough in Korea yet.. This study is to examine the impact of the Korean health insurance finances on the influx of foreigners. Approach: This study analyzed the health insurance statistics for foreigners and overseas Koreans of the Health Insurance Corporation from 2013 to 2017. The data is the "Status of Health Insurance Premiums for Nationals, Foreigners, and Overseas Koreans from 2013 to 2017" submitted by the National Health Insurance Service to the Health and Welfare Committee during the 2018 National Audit Period. Findings: To summarize the analysis, first, the proportion of foreigners was only 1% of all subscribers (1.7% at work, 1.9% in regions) until 2017. Second, employees at work have a lower pay-to-pay ratio, and local subscribers have a higher pay-to-pay rate, regardless of nationality. Third, as immigrants are mostly concentrated in younger ages, they are healthy and use of hospitals is relatively low. Fourth, in terms of gender distribution, there are many women of childbearing age due to marriage immigration among foreign local subscribers, and more men use hospitals than workers who have a high proportion of males due to childbirth. In conclusion, the impact of immigration on health insurance finances is not large, and has a positive effect on finances. Practical Implications: If we simply consider the financial aspect, encouraging foreigners to subscribe to health insurance has a positive effect on finances. In particular, the more foreign workers are enrolled, the greater the financial gain. In particular, increasing the employment of foreign women through language education, vocational training, and employment support will help finance health insurance. One of the reasons foreign subscribers have a positive impact on health insurance finance is the low medical utilization rate. It can be said that young and healthy foreigners use fewer hospitals and clinics, but another aspect means that foreigners have difficulty using health insurance for various reasons. Therefore, various supports must be accompanied so that foreign subscribers can use medical services when necessary.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.221-235
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• 2013

By identifying the effects of support from spouse and family on the mental health of marriage immigrant women, this study was proposed in obtaining basic data for a mental health intervention program. This study is a descriptive correlation study conducted on 129 marriage immigrant women as subjects. The result of the study showed differences in the following: for anxiety, depending on their country of origin, length of marriage, family structure, marriage structure, visit back home, and Korean language skill; for depression, depending on their spouse's education level, providing financial support for family back home, and Korean language skill; for somatization disorder, depending on their spouses' education level, area of residence, and occupation. Also, anxiety and depression showed a negative correlation with support from spouse and family, and somatization disorder showed a negative correlation with support from family. The main variable for mental health was support from family; for anxiety, the main variables were country of origin, length of marriage, and marriage structure; for somatization disorder, the main variables were spouse's education level, area or residence, and occupation. Based on the results of this study, a variety of mental health programs helpful for immigrant women in adapting to their multi-faceted and complex life in a different culture and nursing interventions for improving support from family would need to be developed.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.144-150
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• 2013

Objectives The number of marriage immigrant women has been increasing in the past several years in Korea and their adaptations to the new environment have been an important social issue. The aims of this study were to evaluate the psychosocial and mental health statuses of Vietnamese marriage immigrant women (VMIW). We intended to compare the mental health of VMIW with married Vietnamese women living in Vietnam and reveal the demographic or psychosocial factors affecting their mental health. Method Subjects comprised one-hundred-forty-three VMIW who enrolled in multiculture family support centers in Chungbuk Province and forty-eight women from Vinh Phuc province in Vietnam. Marital satisfaction, domestic violence and social support were evaluated as psychosocial factors, and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) were used to evaluate mental health. Results VMIW had a larger age gap with their husbands but better psychosocial statuses. BDI (p = 0.20), BAI (p = 0.08), GHQ (p = 0.13) scores of VMIW were not significantly different compared to Vietnamese residents. Marriage duration of VMIW affects significantly their marital satisfaction, social support and depressive levels (p < 0.01). The level of domestic violence showed a significant difference according to the educational levels of their husbands, composition of family members and marriage process (p < 0.05). VMIW with older husbands and jobless VMIW had low levels of anxiety (p < 0.01). Conclusion The results suggest that VMIW have no difference in mental health compared to Vietnamese women living in Vietnam which is contrary to general expectations. However, various environmental factors, such as marriage duration, have an effect on the mental health of VMIW. As marriage duration is proven to be important factor on mental health of VMIW, more extended duration of care and interventions are needed to maintain good mental health. Networking system connecting mental health screenings by the multiculture family support center to the local mental healthcare center is needed to care those with poor screening outcomes.