• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.319-326
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• 2014

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The immigrant population has grown considerably in South Korea since the early 1990s due to international marriages. Dietary changes in immigrants are an important issue, because they are related to health and disease patterns. This study was conducted to compare changes in dietary intake between baseline and follow-up periods. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Two hundreds thirty three Vietnamese female married immigrants. Baseline data were collected during 2006-2009, and the follow-up data were collected during 2008 and 2010. Food consumption was assessed using a 1-day 24-hour recall. RESULTS: The amount of the total food consumed (P < 0.001) including that of cereals (P = 0.004), vegetables (P = 0.003), and fruits (P = 0.002) decreased at follow-up compared to that at baseline, whereas consumption of milk and dairy products increased (P = 0.004). Accordingly, the overall energy and nutrient intake decreased at follow-up, including carbohydrates (P = 0.012), protein (P = 0.021), fiber (P = 0.008), iron (P = 0.009), zinc (P = 0.006), and folate (P = 0.002). Among various anthropometric and biochemical variables, mean skeletal muscle mass decreased (P = 0.012), plasma high density lipoprotein-cholesterol increased, (P = 0.020) and high sensitivity C-reactive protein decreased at follow-up (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A long-term follow-up study is needed to investigate the association between changes in food and nutrient intake and anthropometric and biochemical variables in these Vietnamese female marriage immigrants.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.18-26
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• 2008

Purpose: To assess the health status and health behavior characteristics of immigrant women married to Koreans. Method: A descriptive research design was employed. Fifty female marriage immigrants who were clients of the visiting health program at W public health center were recruited. After full consent, direct interview with a structured questionnaire and physical measurements were conducted by visiting health nurses. Descriptive statistics were utilized. Results: All of the subjects showed normal blood sugar. 25.7% of them exhibited extreme body weight condition of either obesity or low body weight by BMI. 36.4% had pre-hypertension stage and 15.9% had first stage of hypertension. Only two of the women had been diagnosed with hypertension and treated by a doctor. Almost all (95%) of them perceived their general health status as good or moderate. Most of them did not exercise, smoke or drink. Regarding dental care, no subject brushed before lunch. and only one did between meals. About 30$\sim$60% of subjects had undergone health screening. Conclusion: Health education is needed for immigrant women married to Koreans to enhance their health behavior, prevent life style disease and improve their health.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.894-901
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to examine obstetrical & gynecological health status and body composition for married female immigrants. The participants were 154 immigrant women living in Busan. Data were collected from July 2008 to July 2009 using a questionnaire and a bioelectrical impedance analysis tool (Inbody 720) for analysis of body composition. Most subjects were in the normal range for body composition, but some of those who answered the questionnaire had experienced some gynecological problems such as dysmenorrhea, or irregular menstruation. There was a significant difference in experiences with in vitro fertilization, pregnancy and abortion according to age and in premensturaion syndrome, as well as differences in regulation of menstruation during the past year, leukorrhea odor, experiences in in vitro fertilization, and delivery and breastfeeding according to nationality. There were significant differences in body mass index and waist-hip ratio according to age, as well as differences in percent body fat, body mass index and waist-hip ratio according to nationality. There were also significant differences in body mass index and waist-hip ratio according to period of stay in Korea. Procreative care protocols concerning married female immigrants' characteristics should be developed.

• Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.30-42
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to provide basic materials and assistance for developing a nutritional education program targeting marriage immigrant women, and it was carried out on 86 female marriage immigrants living in the Gyeongbuk region. An average age of the female marriage immigrants who participated in this survey were 28.6 years, and their home countries were the Philippines (32.6%), Vietnam (29.1%), and so on. Exactly 59.3% of subjects had been married for 1~5 years, and 40.7% of the subjects had an education status of less than middle school graduation. The majority of them (65.1%) had one more children, and 51.2% of subjects were a part of a nuclear-family, with the husband's age between 40~49 years old (58.1%). Concern for nutrition label was significantly different according to number of children (P<0.01), period of marriage (P<0.001), and education level (P<0.05). It was demonstrated that a higher level of education was associated with a higher need to learn about nutritional information. Understanding nutritional facts and knowledge was significantly higher among the women with two children than no child (P<0.05), period of marriage >10 years than <1 year (P<0.01), and education level of college & university graduation than less than middle school (P<0.05). Sixty percent of the women surveyed participated in the education program of 'Korean language' as they were in their country, and the most preferred education program was 'Korean dietary life and culture' (39.5%). Regarding participation and educational method, the majority of subjects responded that they wanted to learn nutritional education in a cooking academy or school (52.9%) and public health center (34.1%).

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.121-145
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to understand married female immigrants' life adjustment process in Korea by explaining the resources to which they have access and how they use them. The data were collected through in-depth interviews with ten female participants who have more than one child, have participated in programs of the multicultural family support center, have work experience, can communicate with Koreans, and live in Daegu. The major findings are as follows. The participants' personal resources differed. English language skills were very useful resources for making money and for earning the respect of family members and others. However, the participants without English language skills had sincerely and actively tried to learn the Korean language and gain bilingual competence. The participants obtained diverse family resources from their husbands and parents-in-law after adapting themselves to perform their gender role. Further, the participants used the social resources offered by public support systems as a starting point for learning the Korean language in their early adaptation process, and formed personal networks with staff members at the multicultural family support center. The results show that the participants used many kinds of resources for acculturation by interacting positively with their environment. Moreover, the resources from diverse levels of their environments affected their acculturation process.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.383-393
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to investigate the infant feeding and weaning practices in multicultural families. We surveyed 159 married female immigrants in Jeonbuk province from April 2010 to April 2011. They are from Vietnam (49.7%), China (25.8%), Cambodia (8.8%), Japan (8.2%), and the Philippines (7.5%). The average rate of colostrum feeding of all the subjects was 91% and there were significant differences between nationalities (p<.05), family types (p<.01), and delivery methods (p<.001). 41.5% of those answered did breast feeding, while 49.1% combined breast and bottle feeding, and 9.4% did bottle feeding only. The reason for bottle feeding is either because they are unable to produce enough breast milk or because they think the formula is better than breast milk. Average period of breast feeding was 10.3 months. There were significant differences of breast feeding duration between maternal age (p<.05) and economic level (p<.001). The mean onset time of weaning was 7.8 months, and there were significant differences between nationalities (p<.05), family types (p<.05), and feeding methods (p<.05). There was no significant difference in methods of supplementary food preparation between nationalities, family types, jobs, and education levels. The mean onset time of commercial milk was 12.8 months, and there were significant differences between nationalities (p<.05), the duration of marriages (p<.05), education levels (p<.05) and feeding methods (p<.001).

• Journal of Agricultural Extension & Community Development
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.157-170
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• 2023

This study aims to identify factors that affect the quality of life of rural residents. Data were collected from 4,000 rural residents living in rural areas. Raw data was procured from the 'Survey on Rural Well-being in 2022 in Rural Development Administration'. The main results of the ordinal logit regression analysis are as follows. First, in the case of non-farm households, female, immigrants, more educated, more healthy are more likely to be highly perceived quality of life. In the case of full-time farm households, more healthy are more likely to be highly perceived quality of life. In the case of part-time farm households, younger, married, more healthy are more likely to be highly perceived quality of life. Second, for all rural housholds(non-farmers, full-time farmers, and part-time farmers), local amenities and safety also had positive impact on perception of quality of life.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.197-206
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• 2014

This research intends to explore services, programs or policies for supporting married immigrant women to qualify themselves for being employed from the professional point of view on the assumption that their desire to get a job is high. To achieve this purpose, a delphi survey was conducted with a panel of 13 experts related to multi cultural family support in three sessions from December 20, 2013 to June 5, 2014. To analyze the collected data, descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, the mean, and standard deviation, were implemented, and Kendall's W for the internal reliability test on the survey instrument was carried out for statistical processing. The results are as follows : from the first session, services, programs, and policies in the level of married immigrant women themselves, children, parents in law and/or husband, organizations, and government were suggested. The highest item in average is systematization of levelwise Korean teaching program. The next higher items in average are daycare service during job training, parents in law and/or husband's consideration, parenting support services, program development of the organizations, linkage and integration system among the government ministries. As a result of the Kendall's W performed for the internal reliability test of the Delphi research, it has been concluded that the professionals' view on the supportive measures' important contents was statistically identical. According to the results of the Delphi research, systematization of levelwise Korean teaching program most required for the furtherance of the married immigrant women's entering the workforce, followed by provision of the services to draw family support, a grounding teaching of Korean corporate culture, and reconsideration of the policies.

• The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.116-127
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• 2015

The phenomenon of international migration since the 1980s comes to be born 'multi-cultural families support law' due to the foreign workers' inflow into labor market and to a rise in married female immigrants caused by globalization and diversification. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to examine who are participants? given being led to the enactment of 'multi-cultural families support law' by which the social issue called multi-cultural family is highlighted as the public agenda. Also, the mobilization will be selected and explained among three types in mobilization model, outside initiative model, and inside access model in the process of driving by confirming it as the government's formal agenda out of social issues. With having the case characteristics in mind, the aim is to research by choosing a case analysis method that uses research theses & books, newspaper, daily newspaper, election pledges, civic group, internet, and seminar data based on the existing theory and model. The temporal scope is limited to the one from the time as saying "revise the Overseas Korean Act of opposing the banishment of migrant workers" in November 2003 to February 2008 when 'multi-cultural families support bill(alternative plan)' is legislated with agreement by the 7th plenary session for the 271th provisional session of the National Assembly.