• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.9 no.5
• /
• pp.19-27
• /
• 2022

The size of the government is one of the most fundamental debates of open economies. In any economy, government plays an important role, but a pertinent level of economic prosperity has never been obtained in history without government. Therefore, the objective of this paper investigates the association of government size, economic volatility, and institutional quality for 182 economies from the time period 1996-2016 is collected from the World Bank database. GE is defined as the General government's final consumption expenditure. Health expenditure is represented by HE. Government expenditure on education is denoted by EDUEXP. The economic volatility is measured by the rolling standard deviation of GDP per capita growth rate, Population growth, Trade openness, GINI represented Gini index which measures the degree to which the income distributed or consumption expenses among citizens deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. The results proposed that economic volatility has a significant effect on government size and institutional qualities. Moreover, the paper extends the investigation by finding the link between economic volatility with government health and education expenditure separately. The policy implication drawn from this analysis is that controlling economic volatility may reduce the size of government and also significantly affect health and education expenditures.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.262-271
• /
• 2016

Purpose: Using food labels has been related to healthy eating habits and positive health outcomes. The purpose of this study is to describe the prevalence of food labels utilization and the association between food label use and obesity related factors. Methods: We conducted a self-reported population-based survey including health behaviors, 24-hour recalls, measurements of body mass indices with 6,266 Koreans aged 10 or older. ${\chi}^2$-test and ANOVA examined differences in demographic factors, health behavioral factors, and nutrition factors in tandem with food label use categories. Multivariates logistic regression was used to estimate association between food label use and obesity factors. Results: The percentages of food label users and non-users who perceive food labels were 21.8% and 48.5% respectively. In the multivariate logistic regression, food label use had significant positive associations with women, age, income, education attainment, and subjective obesity. After adjusting for socioeconomic factors and dietetic treatments, the positive associations between food label use and subjective obesity, weight control, and subjective obesity with objective normal weight remained. Conclusion: In order to improve eating habits and weight management, the obesity population that does not use food labels needs to receive proper nutrition education including food choice and body image correction.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.152-161
• /
• 2013

Korea has a single National Health Insurance program and all citizens are covered under this program, accounting 97% of the population, approximately 50 million people. Claims submitted by Health care providers are reviewed by Health Insurance Review and Assessment (HIRA) for the reimbursement. HIRA database contains not only individual beneficiary's information, but also healthcare service information such as diagnosis, procedures, prescriptions and tests for them. HRA database has gained attention as importance source for research due to its rich healthcare information and the demand of HIRA database has increased. Due to its tremendous size, however, researchers have had problems in accessing the database to conduct research. To meet this demand, we conducted a study to develop the inpatient sample data from HIRA database for research. This study has two purposes: 1) to determine a needed sample size; 2) to test reliability and validity of the sample data. We determined an adequate sample size to ensure representativeness and generality with additional consideration for convenience of calculation. The minimum sample size was 729,904 for the generality, and 488,861 for representativeness. After considering the convenience of calculation, our final sample size was 13% of the population, which was about 7.7 million beneficiaries. Age (5 years interval) and gender were used as stratification variables for sampling. In order to examine whether this sample data appropriately reflect population, we tested the reliability and validity of the sample data. From the sample data, we computed average expenditure of total claims per inpatient for 2011, frequency of top 30 disease, estimation of the number of stroke patients from the sample data, and then compared them to those from the population. Results confirmed reliability and validity of the sample data.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.75-80
• /
• 2008

This profile presents a brief overview of the past and current primary health care of Saje PHCP in Wonju Si, Kangwon-Do, Korea. Because of the increasing in the proportion of the elderly in the population and the vulnerability among groups, they are one of the main targets of the PHC through programs such as chronic disease management, health promotion activities (exercise, diet, smoking and alcohol control). Curative services have been decreased and preventive services have been increased.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.130-156
• /
• 2008

This review paper is to provide theoretical background and empirical evidence for gender sensitive health policy in Korea. We explore how sex and gender are implicated in health disparities. After reviewing major concepts regarding sex, gender, and health, the study moves on to describe the ways in which gender interacts with other social determinants (socioeconomic position, workplace, stress, social support, and violation) to show disparate health outcomes. Next, suggested health models considering gender and social process are introduced. The article concludes by suggesting the necessity of gender sensitive policy consorted with social programs in tackling health equity.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.56-68
• /
• 2000

Objectives : To describe health behaviors related to hypertension in rural population of Korea and focused to identify inappropriate awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension. Methods : We surveyed 5,517 adults (2,288 males, 3,229 females) older than 30 years in 58 rural areas, purposely sampled nationwide from December 1996 to February 1997. Blood Pressure was checked twice af the time of the first visit. For those who showed high blood pressure using the JNC-6 criteria at their initial visit, we followed up their blood pressure one week later. Also information on the health behavior related to hypertension was collected through the person-to-person interview using structured questionnaire at the first visit. Results : For the past one year, females had more experiences of checking their blood pressure than males (77.3% versus 69.5%, p=0.001). Through the results of consecutively checked blood pressure, only 51.7% of the hypertensives were aware of their condition. Of the hypertensives who aware of their condition, 44.4% did not receive any medication and/or recommendation. And 50.4% of the hypertensives who had anti-hypertensive medication were classified as still having hypertensive blood pressure by 160/95 mmHg criteria. Of the medicated, 54.8% were found to take medication regularly for the past six months. Among the medicated, only 11.4% knew the name of anti-hypertensive drug they had. Conclusions : 'Rule of halves', which works in the situation of no special efforts for hypertension control, was identified. This study showed that much efforts to control hypertension would be required in the rural population of Korea.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.49 no.4
• /
• pp.230-239
• /
• 2016

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the effect of geographic units of analysis on measuring geographic variation in medical services utilization. For this purpose, we compared geographic variations in the rates of eight major procedures in administrative units (districts) and new areal units organized based on the actual health care use of the population in Korea. Methods: To compare geographic variation in geographic units of analysis, we calculated the age-sex standardized rates of eight major procedures (coronary artery bypass graft surgery, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, surgery after hip fracture, knee-replacement surgery, caesarean section, hysterectomy, computed tomography scan, and magnetic resonance imaging scan) from the National Health Insurance database in Korea for the 2013 period. Using the coefficient of variation, the extremal quotient, and the systematic component of variation, we measured geographic variation for these eight procedures in districts and new areal units. Results: Compared with districts, new areal units showed a reduction in geographic variation. Extremal quotients and inter-decile ratios for the eight procedures were lower in new areal units. While the coefficient of variation was lower for most procedures in new areal units, the pattern of change of the systematic component of variation between districts and new areal units differed among procedures. Conclusions: Geographic variation in medical service utilization could vary according to the geographic unit of analysis. To determine how geographic characteristics such as population size and number of geographic units affect geographic variation, further studies are needed.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.38 no.3
• /
• pp.241-250
• /
• 2012

Objectives: This study was performed to investigate hygienic behavior of food handlers and general population focusing on awareness of hand-washing and the microbial load of their hands. Methods: A questionnaire survey and microbiological analysis were carried out for sixty-four people each. Samples for microbiological analysis were collected through the glove-juice method from the hands, and were analyzed for the presence of aerobic plate counts, total coliform, fecal coliform, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella spp. according to the Food Code of Korea. Results: In the survey, significant differences between the food handlers and general population (p < 0.01) were found in hand-washing frequency, duration, use of hand-washing agents, washing parts of hands, hand-drying method, and method of turning off water. In eight different situations among the ten particular situations in their daily life, more food handlers responded to wash their hands than general population (p < 0.05). Bacterial load on hands with general population was consistently higher than with food handlers (p < 0.05), however, percentages of positive hands of S. aureus and Salmonella spp. were not. Conclusions: Poor hand hygiene practices were indicated by the positive results for E. coli, S. aureus, and Salmonella spp. on the hands of some respondents in both groups. This study reveals that there is the need for programs or campaigns to increase hand-washing practices of both groups.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.27-35
• /
• 2018

Diabetes and depression are serious chronic conditions. As a result of their increasing prevalence, diabetes and depression, together with population growth and aging, are public health issues. The rate of depression in adults with either type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes is high relative to the general population. The coexistence of diabetes and depression has attracted much interest. Although it is unclear whether diabetes and depression are causally linked, most studies have shown that the association between diabetes and depression might be bidirectional. Currently, emotional well-being is becoming an increasingly important aspect of diabetes care and self-management. Psychiatric disorders and diabetic distress among people with diabetes may increase the risk of diabetes complication and mortality. Thus, assessment and appropriate management of depression in people with diabetes should be considered to achieve psychological well-being and optimize medical outcomes.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.89-93
• /
• 2017

Background: Rates of overweight and obese Australians are high and continue to rise, putting a large proportion of the population at risk of chronic illness. Examining characteristics associated with preference for a work-based weight-loss program will enable employers to better target programs to increase enrolment and benefit employees' health and fitness for work. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was undertaken at two Australian mining sites. The survey collected information on employee demographics, health characteristics, work characteristics, stages of behavior change, and preference for workplace assistance with reaching a healthy weight. Results: A total of 897 employees participated; 73.7% were male, and 68% had a body mass index in the overweight or obese range. Employees at risk of developing obesity-related chronic illnesses (based on high body mass index) were more likely to report preference for weight management assistance than lower risk employees. This indicates that, even in the absence of workplace promotion for weight management, some at risk employees want workplace assistance. Employees who were not aware of a need to change their current nutrition or physical activity behaviors were less likely to seek assistance. This indicates that practitioners need to communicate the negative effects of excess weight and promote the benefits of a healthy lifestyle to increase the likelihood of weight management. Conclusion: Weight management programs should provide information, motivation. and trouble-shooting assistance to meet the needs of at-risk mining employees, including those who are attempting to change and maintain behaviors to achieve a healthy weight and be suitably fit for work.