• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.259-268
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• 2016

Purpose: Zinc deficiency can induce serious clinical problems in the gastrointestinal (GI) system and immune system and can affect growth and development. It is more severe in younger patients. Chronic zinc deficiency is reflected more precisely in hair than in serum. We studied hair zinc levels and other hair and serum micronutrients in chronic malnourished children to identify which micronutrients are affected or correlated with the other ones. Methods: Hair mineral analyses were performed in 56 children (age, 1-15 years) presenting with malnutrition, poor growth, poor appetite, anorexia, with/without other GI symptoms (diarrhea, abdominal pain, constipation) from August 2012 to March 2015. Biochemical studies for macronutrients and major micronutrients were also conducted. Results: Hair zinc deficiency was diagnosed in 88%, and serum zinc deficiency was diagnosed in 55% of the children. There was no statistical correlation between serum and tissue zinc level. Hair zinc levels were highly correlated with serum vitamin D (r=-0.479, p=0.001), which also showed correlation with hair levels of magnesium and calcium. (r=0.564, 0.339, p=0.001, 0.011). Hair calcium level was correlated with serum pre-albumin (r=0.423, p=0.001). These correlations may explain the phenomenon that the major clinical manifestation of zinc deficiency is poor body growth. Clinical symptoms were resolved in most children after zinc supplementation. Conclusion: Hair zinc and mineral analyses are useful as a therapeutic guide in the clinical investigation of children with malnutrition and poor growth.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.195-206
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• 1996

The purpose of this study was to observe differences in peer competence by children's personality and to investigate the relationship between peer competence and characteristics of children from poor families. The subjects were 79 parents and their 4- to 6-year-old children at a kindergarten in Seoul. The instruments were Iannotti's facial drawings cards, vignettes, "roster and rating" the Family Environment Scale (FES) and the Family Expressiveness Questionnaire (FEQ). The main results of this study were that girls from poor families had higher levels of peer competence than boys. There was a significant correlation between the peer competence of the children in poverty and family characteristics. The children's gender, knowledge of emotion, and mother's negatively dominant conduct were the factors that indicated children's behavior in peer competence. Family conflict and mother's emotional conduct did not relate to children's knowledge of emotion.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.100-106
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• 2008

We examined dietary habits, food intakes, health status, and school and community life of meal skipping children, and investigated factors predicting meal skipping of children. A sample was composed of 944 children in low-income families who were provided with public meal service. The sample was obtained from the Survey of Meal Service for Poor Children conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs in 2007. Meal skipping was significantly associated with a lower nutrition and health status, and poor school performance of children, as hypothesized. The school age of child, family structure, region, job of caretaker, concern about diet, and the child's visit to welfare center significantly predicted frequency of meal skipping. We suggested a few implications for community practice to reduce meal skipping of children.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.45-55
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• 2017

This study analyzes diverse factors in time poverty and quality of life in dual-earner families with preschool children that pertain to the individual, family, and occupation. Data were taken from the 17th edition of the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study developed by the Korea Labor Institute in 2014. The sample consists of 826 households who are dual-earner families with preschool children. The major findings are as follows. First, this study identified inadequacies in personal care time for dual-earner families with preschool children. Second, the results show that gender, recognition of gender role, and overall satisfaction of occupation are related to the time poverty of dual-earner families. Men are more likely to experience time poverty than women, and equal recognition of gender role and satisfaction of occupation indicate a negative relation on the time poverty of dual-earner families with preschool children. Last, quality of life in non-time-poor groups is higher than for groups who experience time poverty. Also, health state, earned income, work-family life conflict, and overall satisfaction of occupation are commonly related to quality of life in both groups. The results suggest implications for comprehensive policies to address family time issues.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.137-148
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• 1999

The necessity of school health promoting projects is well known to many researchers, however, there is a lack of research on the development of strategies for school health programs and the evaluation of the effectiveness of the programs. The results of our previous study in 1996 identified poor eyesight as one of the several health problems among elementary school children in urban areas. The main objective of this study is to develop, implement, and evaluate vision care for elementary school children. The research method utilized a quasi experimental design using non-equivalent group, pre-post comparison. The sample consisted of all second grade children in two elementary schools in Kyung-giProvince. In order to prevent a contamination effect of the vision care program, one school was selected as a control and the other school was selected as a treatment group. The experimental school had 467 children and the control school had 402 children. The visual acuity of children in both group was measured and a survey questionnaire was sent out to parents on the knowledge, attitude, and behavior related to vision care before the program was implemented. The children of the experimental school received the following programs; separate education on proper nutrition and care of eyesight for children and parents, daily eye exercises using video tape, and an essay and poster contest on healthy eyesight. The eye exercise program lasted from March, 1997 to November, 1997. On November, 1997, visual acuity was measured again from children in both schools. The data was analyzed by using SAS statistical package. The results indicate that the children in the experimental group had significantly (p〈0.001) better eyesight than the children in the control group. Also, some of the behavior highly related to the poor eyesight are poor maternal eyesight and watching TV from a short distance. In conclusion, one of the significance of this project is that the vision care program was developed after the need assessment. It will be encouraged in the future that more school health program should be developed after a need assessment. Also, inclusion of family members was important in health promoting projects within a school setting since healthy behavior needs to be reinforced at horne as well as at school.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.31-60
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• 2012

This case study tried to explore the food insecurity experiences of poor households with children, since 'food insecurity experiences' of poor households represents economic inequality and social deprivation in the midst of a affluent society. Interviewees in this reports reported that they have found difficulties with buying right or enough food materials due to short of income. As well, they have usually experienced the selection and use of only low-grade foods, substitution for more cheap food materials, limitation of available food materials(especially, meats and fruits), and monotonous diets in their everyday lives. Sometimes, their children skipped their meals due to their monotonous diets. To sum up, I could identify that they(poor households with children) had experienced many components of 'food insecurity' constructs in their daily lives. In spite of, there are some distinction between reports through food insecurity scale and records of interviews and the various foods-supply programs have supplemented their food insecure situation. Therefore, we should give consideration to these in the use and interpretation of the results of food insecurity scales.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.328-335
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• 2017

Objectives: The prevalence of underweight in children under 5 years of age is anomalously high in Konawe District, Southeast Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. This state of affairs may be related to poor housing conditions, such as limited access to clean water, the absence of a sanitary latrine, and the use of poor housing materials. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effect of housing conditions on underweight in under-5 children in Konawe District. Methods: This study was conducted in 2013 in 5 health centres in Konawe District, Southeast Sulawesi Province, and used a case-control study design. The study recruited 400 under-5 children, including 100 of whom were cases and 300 of whom were age-matched controls (1:3). Cases were underweight children, while the controls were children with a normal nutritional status. The independent variables were the availability and types of water and latrine facilities and housing materials (roof, wall, and floor). The statistical analysis used Cox regression. Results: A lack of water availability (odds ratio [OR], 5.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.7 to 9.5; p<0.001), a lack of latrine availability in the home (OR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.5 to 4.0; p<0.001), and poor-quality roofing materials (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.7; p<0.02) significantly contributed to underweight in children. In contrast, the walls and the floors did not contribute to under-5 year children being underweight (p=0.09 and p=0.71, respectively). Conclusions: Sanitation facilities and roofing were identified as important factors to address in order to improve children's nutritional status. Children's health status was directly impacted by food intake via their nutritional status.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.169-182
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• 2000

In children, the poor intelligence and failing of study from it raise problems in mentality, character and society. The poor intelligence and failing of study are closely connected with brain, Xin(心), Shen(神), Jing(精), Qi(氣). In this paper, studying causes of the poor intelligence and failing of study, through documents, I can obstain such conclusions. 1. Xin(心) takes charge of brain and manages life, mind and mentality. 2. Shen(神) controls mind and Jing(精) is the origin of life. So Shen and Jing must be built up for increase of memory and study. 3. For increase of intelligence and study, Qi(氣) must go round smoothly. 4. Causes of the poor intelligence and failing of study are the lack of blood, damage of Shen(腎), huo(火), phlegm etc.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.167-173
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• 2003

Purpose: To find out the differences in eating habits between poor feeding and non-poor feeding children. Methods: We performed questionnaires on 504 children under four years of age who visited hospitals in Gwangju city and JaollaNamdo from May to August, 2002. Results: 138 (27.4%) children were included in poor feeding group, and 366 (72.%) children were in non-poor feeding group. Breast feeding rate was 18.8% in the poor feeding group and 20.3% in the non-poor feeding group. Duration of breast feeding for less than six months were noted in 70.5% of poor feeding group, and 58.5% of non-poor feeding group. The time at starting solid food in the poor feeding group was as follows; 15.9% of infants started on solid food when they were 2~4 months old, 32.7% during 4~6 months, 38.1% during 6~8 months and 18.8% over one year of age. Solid food was given in wrongly manners in both groups by nursing bottles, including 80.4% in poor feeding group and 66.6% in non-poor feeding group. Conclusion: This study demonstrated close relationships among poor feeding children under four years of age with history of low rate and short duration of breast feeding, inappropriate time to start on solid food, less interest in food during mealtime, and unbalanced diet. Pediatricians should make an effort to play an important role in nutritional education and treatment in children.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.49-58
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• 2012

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of Mindfulness-based concentration qigong for children (MBCQ-C) in healthy children with subjective poor attention. Methods : This study examined the effects of MBCQ-C on healthy children with subjective poor attention, who vistied Korean medicine hospital neuropsychiatry outpatient clinic. The MBCQ-C was practiced with 11 participants, 2 of them quit in the middle of the program, and hence, they were excluded for data analysis. MBCQ-C consisted of 8 sessions, and each session took about 60 minutes. The outcome measurement was Frankfurter Aufmerksamkeits-Inventar (FAIR), which measured selective attention, self-control and sustained attention. Results : The results of this study showed that selective attention, and sustained attention were significantly improved. Self-control also improved, but without any statistical significance. These results indicate MBCQ-C was effective for the improvement of attention abilities, but self-control, including upper cognition area needs more consistent exercise. Conclusions : The MBCQ-C consisting of 8 sessions were shown to be an effective intervention in improving the attention abilities of healthy children with subjective poor attention.