• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.56-67
• /
• 2021

Background: Regular doctor visits are vital for hypertension patients, especially for who have never received hypertension medication or non-pharmacologic therapy. This study purposed to study factors affecting outpatient visits for patients diagnosed with hypertension. Methods: This study included 59,009 respondents with hypertension over 30 from 2019 Community Health Survey data. Outpatient visits were defined by having hypertension treatments such as medication or non-pharmacologic therapy. Logistic regression was used to examine the factors affecting outpatient visits using SAS ver. 9.3. Results: 57,081(96.73%) patients with hypertension were identified as those having a outpatient visit for hypertension treatments, whereas 1,928(3.27%) patients did not have visits. Patient's characteristics such as gender, age, periods of hypertension, education level, perception of the blood pressure, hypertension management education, place of living, body mass index, depression and diabetes were found to have statistically significant relationship with the outpatient visits. Practical Implications: There is a need to select patients with high blood pressure who are unlikely to visit for hypertension treatments based on the study results. For those, establishing a personalized management plan such as health education and counseling programs will be helpful for the successful implementation of national chronic disease management program.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.52 no.4
• /
• pp.310-316
• /
• 2020

Microarray technology represents a critical new advance in molecular cytogenetics. The development of this approach has provided fundamental insights into the molecular pathogenesis in clinical cytogenetics and has provided a clue to many unidentified or unexplained diseases. The approach allows a comprehensive investigation of thousands and millions of genomic loci simultaneously and enables the efficient detection of copy number alterations. The application of this technology has shown tremendous fluidity and complexity of the human genome, and has provided accurate diagnosis and appropriate clinical management in a timely and efficient manner for identifying genomic alterations. The clinical impact of the genomic alterations identified by microarrays is evolving into a diagnostic tool to identify high-risk patients better and predict patient outcomes from their genomic profiles. The transformation of conventional cytogenetics into an automated discipline will improve diagnostic yield significantly, leading to accurate diagnosis and genetic counseling. This article reviews cytogenetic technologies used to identify human chromosome alterations and highlights the potential utility of present and future genome microarray technology in the diagnosis.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.187-199
• /
• 2020

Background: Korean dental hygienists perform various tasks under the supervision of dentists in addition to the tasks listed in the law. Many meaningful studies have been conducted to determine the actual tasks of dental hygienists, but these studies did not show common results due to the differences in research methods or designs. Hence, this study aimed to review the reported data on the tasks of dental hygienists in Korea and to clarify them based on a systematic literature review. Methods: For the literature search, the COre, Standard, and Ideal model presented by the National Library of Medicine was referenced. Seven databases were searched for literatures published in Korea, including PubMed, and Google Scholar. Of the 352 studies found using key words, titles, and abstracts, 46 were finally extracted based on the first and second exclusion criteria. After confirming the tasks of Korean dental hygienists in 46 literatures, 136 tasks were listed and calculated as appearance rate in the literature. Results: The most common tasks in 46 studies were fluoride application (67.2%), radiography (65.4%), scaling (65.4%), sealant (60.7%), patient management and counseling (56.7%), tooth-brushing education (52.2%), impression taking with alginate (50.1%), and making temporary crowns (47.9%). The most mentioned tasks of dental hygienists in public health centers were fluoride application (100%), sealant (100%), oral health education (71.4%), public oral health program evaluation (71.4%), school fluoride mouth-rinsing program (71.4%), water fluoridation (57.1%), tooth-brushing education (57.1%), school oral health programs (57.1%), and public elderly oral health programs (57.1%). Conclusion: This study showed that Korean dental hygienists had 136 tasks by reviewing 46 related studies and that the main job of Korean dental hygienists was oral disease prevention including scaling, sealant, and fluoride application.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Dental Administration
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2019

This study examined the opinions of dentists on dental hygienists' practice and attempted to use it as the basis for the revision and modification of the legal system associated with dental hygienists. The subjects of this study were a total 15 dentists, including two from Gyeonggi, two from Gangwon, two from Gyeongsang, two from Jeolla, two from Chungcheong, and two from Seoul, who were surveyed face-to-face. This study revealed that from the perspective of dentists, the most important job of dental hygienists was scaling, and the most difficult job was patient counseling and response. From the perspective of dentists, there is a difference between what the dental hygienists actually perform and what is legal, and there is a high need for change. The inclusion of dental hygienists in the category of medical personnel should be accomplished to cover the practice of dental care support, and dentists opinionated that it is appropriate for dental hygienists to be included in the category of medical personnel because they directly perform oral health-related procedures. A careful review of the dental hygienists' scope of work should be performed to ensure that revisions to the law are made in accordance with the dental hygienists' actual practice. Further, it is necessary to revise the Medical Law and include dental hygienists among the medical personnel and simultaneously revise the scope of work of dental hygienists to reflect the actual dental practice.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.443-454
• /
• 2020

This study aims to develop one-stop support service for the ALS. To achieve the purpose, the cases of Korea and Japan were researched. The data used in the multiple-case study mainly referred to diaries, blogs, social networking sites, Youtube, and interviews of the disabled with ALS disease in Korea and Japan, and analyzed support services of both countries. The result of the study showed that, in the onset stage of ALS disease, a fellow counselor should be assigned by family member or person who experienced the disease from KALSA or other organizations to which a patient belongs. Also, it need a counseling by fellow counselor in the stage of softening disability. And after the gastrointestinal procedure, the number of home visits by visiting nurses should increase, and other services by OT and PT are required. In the stage of wearing a respirator, it needs to train and dispatch volunteers for ALS exclusive activities. And it is necessary to set up a family rest area or a respite service for the mentally and physically exhausted primary caregiver by long-term care. Most of all, these services should be one-stop support with linking step by step, not fragmentary support.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.55 no.2
• /
• pp.108-117
• /
• 2022

Background: The efficacy of telemedicine among cancer survivors is uncertain. The Smart After-Care Program (SAP), which is an interactive, smartphone-based remote health monitoring system, was developed to help patients manage their health after leaving the hospital. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of our remote health care program for lung cancer patients. Methods: We enrolled 50 patients with lung cancer. Self-monitoring devices were supplied to all patients, who were instructed to enter their daily vital signs and subjective symptoms to the Smart After-Care app. The app also provided information about rehabilitation exercises and a healthy diet for lung cancer patients. All patients received health counseling via telephone once a week and visited an outpatient clinic during weeks 6 and 12 to assess satisfaction with the SAP and changes in quality of life and physical performance. Results: Overall satisfaction with the SAP was very high (very good, 61.9%; good, 26.2%). In the multivariate analysis to identify factors affecting satisfaction, the distance between the patient's residence and the hospital was the only significant independent factor (p=0.013). Quality of life improved along all functional scales (p<0.05). Muscle strength significantly improved in the lower limbs (p=0.012). Two-minute walk distance also significantly improved (p=0.028). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that the SAP was acceptable for and supportive of patients with reduced pulmonary function after lung cancer treatment. The SAP was found to be particularly useful for patients living far from the hospital.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.1-12
• /
• 2023

Background: This study aimed to identify the present level and needs of clinical dental hygienists and to present the Borich needs assessment and the locus for focus model as integrated priorities. Methods: The participants of this study were dental hygienists working in dental clinics (hospitals). The final data of the 194 participants were analyzed using frequency analysis and a paired sample t-test. To analyze the need for clinical dental hygienists to perform work, the Borich priority determination formula was used. The x-y plane consisting of four quadrants was used to analyze the need using the locus for focus model, which helps to determine the priority while showing visual effects. Results: "Scaling" was the highest required level for clinical dental hygienists, and "panorama taking" was the highest present level. The priorities of educational needs were systematically and visually derived from dental hygienists who were currently working through the Borich needs assessment and the locus for focus model for each task performed in the clinical field. Through the priorities of these two models, a total of 13 items appeared in the common high-level area; "oral health care (disability)," "oral health care (systemic disease)," "applying a rubber dam," "professional mechanical tooth cleaning," "root planing," "taking vital signs," "medication counseling," "wire cutting," "removing cement after removing band/bracket," "delivering bracket," "preparing mini-screw implantation," "dental insurance claim," and "patient reception." Conclusion: Based on the results, the department of dental hygiene should maintain and improve the standardized clinical practice curriculum and clinical dental hygienists' practical skills and contribute to the realization of the legal scope of dental hygienists, reflecting the requirements of clinical fields.

• Korean Journal of Culture and Social Issue
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.147-164
• /
• 2010

In this paper, we reviewed the community-based approaches to suicide prevention and national strategies for the decrement of suicide rate, and made some suggestions to decrease the suicide rate in South Korea. Until now, efforts to understand and prevent suicide have been pursued singularly by specialized interest groups such as psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health practitioners, and private organizations with little interaction between them, resulting in narrow approaches toward suicide that existed in relative isolation to one another and that have been largely ineffective. To decline the suicide rate in South Korea, the people lived in Korea community ought to have enough knowledge related to suicide and have to cooperate with other people. Through these efforts, Korea community would have established social safety networks to improve the community 's mental health. The most important factor in suicide prevention and declining the suicide rate is reducing the stigma and increase the self-help seeking behaviors associated with suicide and mental health. Therefore, suicide is not an individual problem solved by suicidal patient, but a community's problem solved by community in recognizing, managing and preventing suicide.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.45 no.1
• /
• pp.100-113
• /
• 2024

Objectives: Following the global COVID-19 pandemic, with the escalation of remote medical care formalization in Korea, there is a pressing need for objective data in the Korean medicine field to respond to remote treatment medical care policies. This study aims to investigate the perceptions and acceptance of remote treatments among Korean Medicine Doctors (KMDs). Methods: After expert reviews and pilot testing, the 31-question survey covered participant characteristics, experiences, forms, intentions, and perceptions related to Remote Treatments. The survey was electronically distributed to members of the Association of Korean Medicine, and 662 clinical KMDs provided valid responses. Results: Among respondents, 76.1% engaged in remote treatments, utilizing various platforms. Those with experience in Remote Treatments showed a significantly higher willingness to continue participating during the institutionalization process (p<0.001). 49.7% of respondents stated that traditional Korean medicine is competitive in remote treatments, with the main reasons being the ability for regular management after herbal medication(26.1%) and increased patient satisfaction due to sufficient counseling compared to Western medicine(25.2%). Respondents preferred Remote Treatment conditions with a treatment time of less than 10 minutes(47.6%) and equivalent fees to in-person visits(45.6%). Regarding suitable intervention tools during Remote Treatment, respondents favored non-covered herbal prescriptions(39.0%), covered herbal granules(24.6%), and non-covered herbal granules(23.0%). Conclusion: This study investigated the perceptions and acceptance of KMDs regarding remote treatments. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers aiming to establish effective policies for Remote Treatments suitable for the Korean medicine healthcare environment.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.57 no.3
• /
• pp.212-222
• /
• 2024

Objectives: Epilepsy is a chronic disease that requires long-term treatment and intervention from health workers. Medication adherence is a factor that influences the success of therapy for patients with epilepsy. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the role of pharmacists in improving the clinical outcomes of epilepsy patients, focusing on medication adherence. Methods: A scoping literature search was conducted through the ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases. The literature search included all original articles published in English until August 2023 for which the full text was available. This scoping review was carried out by a team consisting of pharmacists and neurologists following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Extension for Scoping Reviews and the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines, including 5 steps: identifying research questions, finding relevant articles, selecting articles, presenting data, and compiling the results. Results: The literature search yielded 10 studies that discussed pharmacist interventions for patients with epilepsy. Five articles described educational interventions involving drug-related counseling with pharmacists. Two articles focused on similar pharmacist interventions through patient education, both verbal and written. Three articles discussed an epilepsy review service, a multidisciplinary intervention program involving pharmacists and other health workers, and a mixed intervention combining education and training with therapy-based behavioral interventions. Conclusions: Pharmacist interventions have been shown to be effective in improving medication adherence in patients with epilepsy. Furthermore, these interventions play a crucial role in improving other therapeutic outcomes, including patients' knowledge of self-management, perceptions of illness, the efficacy of antiepileptic drugs in controlling seizures, and overall quality of life.