• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.294-303
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• 2008

The purpose of this study was to investigate middle school students` perceptions on foodborne illness prevention in relation to their personal hygiene practices. The survey was administered in July, 2007 at one middle school, with a total of 390 students participating. The self-completed questionnaire consisted of several questions regarding the students` awareness of foodborne illness, perceptions of foodborne illness prevention, and personal hygiene practices. T-tests were used to identify the differences in their perceptions of foodborne illness prevention based on gender and Chi square tests were used to identify the relationships between their perceptions of foodborne illness prevention and personal hygiene practices. Eight percent of the respondents experienced foodborne illness at least once a year and 33.8% of them have stopped eating certain foods due to anxiety towards foodborne illness. The students perceived school foods (26.0%) and street foods(17.9%) as the main sources of foodborne illness, and dairy products(20.0%) and fresh fish (19.7%) were considered foods having the greatest potential for causing foodborne illness. Many students were aware of Escherichia coli O157(43.1%) and Hepatitis A(23.3%), but only a few recognized Clostridium botulinum(4.1%) and Salmonella(7.9%), even though these are major foodborne illness-causing pathogens. The students considered foodborne illness prevention very important(mean = 4.33); also, the results showed that many washed their hands 3-4 times (34.1%) and 5-6 times(29.2%) per day. Hand washing frequency was significantly related to the perceived importance of personal hygiene practice as well as to education on safety and sanitation. However, the students` perception on the importance of personal hygiene practices were not significantly different based on having received safety and sanitation education. Ultimately, these results will be used to develop guidelines for effective education on safety and sanitation.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.149-160
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• 2001

The purpose of this study was to explore the health and illness concepts of hospitalized children. The subjects were 129 hospitalized children from 3 to 12 years old in one general hospital. Data were collected through semistructured interviews by authors. This study was conducted from Jun. 1, 2000 to Dec. 31, 2000. Data were coded and categorized by content analysis. The results were as follows : 1. Perceived health concept were physical well-being, food, exercise, powerfulness, emotional stability, obeidence, cleanliness, sleep and ability of social adaptation. 2. Perceived health behavior to maintain health were food, treatment, exercise, cleanliness, obeidence, sleep, emotional stability, power-fulness and psychological stability, physical well-being. 3. Perceived prevention of illness were food, cleanliness, treatment, exercise, obedience, sleep, powerfulness, psychological stability, emotional stability, recreation and ability of social adaptation. 4. Perceived causes of illness were illness, trauma and food. 5. Perceived treatment of illness were treatment, sleep, rest, food, obedience, emotional stability, psychological stability, cleanliness, exercise and powerfulness.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.63-73
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• 2003

Occupational illness analyses are used to identify common factors contributing to occupational illness and to give recommendations for illness prevention. We discuss safety and health management policies based on the present status of MSDS(Musculoskeletal Disorders) characteristics and the actual safety and health problems. These results can be used to develop more effective occupational safety and health management policies for the prevention of MSDS.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.3293-3298
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• 2013

Background: The study investigated the influence of culturally-based health beliefs on engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviour. Specifically, the study compared levels of engagement between Western and Chinese youth in Australia and assessed the extent to which culture-specific attributions about the causes of illness, and health beliefs, predict engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviour. Materials and Methods: Ninety-four Western and 95 Chinese (N=189; Mean Age=20.8 years, SD=3 years) young adults completed an online questionnaire. Predictor variables were cultural health beliefs measured by the Chinese Cultural Views on Health and Illness scale (CCVH, Liang et al., 2008), and illness attributions beliefs measured by the Cause of Illness Questionnaire (CIQ, Armstrong and Swartzman, 1999). Outcomes variables were levels of engagement in healthy lifestyle behaviour. Results: Results indicated that Chinese participants have a significantly lower exercising rate and healthy dietary habits compared to the Western sample. Moreover, Chinese participants were found to believe more strongly than Westerners that cancer was associated with factors measured by the Traditional-Chinese-Model (TCM). Finally, the observed relationship between cultural health beliefs and physical inactivity was mediated by attributions of illness, in particular to the supernatural subscale, with the Sobel Test showing a significant mediation (z=-2.63, p=0.004). Conclusions: Mainstream approaches to encourage healthy lifestyles are unlikely to be effective when educating Chinese youth. Instead, health promotion programs should attempt to address the illness attribution beliefs and educate Chinese youth about the role of diet and exercise in prevention of diseases such as cancer.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.145-152
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• 1987

The problem addressed by this study was to reveal what people of Korean rural villages think about the cause, treatment and prevention of illness. The purpose was to contribute to the building of a concept of health toward the development of Korean Nursing Theory. Subjects were residents of five districts among four counties in a farming area of Chonbuk province recommended by health workers as appropriate informants. They were interviewed in their homes, using ethnoscientific methods developed in anthropology. The research tool consisted of open questions developed through the literature and preliminary exploratory interviews. Data were analyzed by classifying each concepts of cause, treatment and prevention of illness or illness symptoms collated by frequency and percentage. The causes of illness are conceived as primarily concrete physical and natural, for examples, overeating, lack of energy, changes in the season and extreme temperatures. Compared to others studies, few supernatural causes related to traditional view of illness were identified. Concepts of the treatment of illness included formal treatments used by modern western or oriental physicians and traditional therapists. But folk medicine used by traditional healers or by the family in the home was most prevalent. The concept of illness prevention originated in the concept of the cause of illness, thus primarily physical and natural, for examples, nutritious food, limiting the amount of food, avoiding becoming cold. When the concept of illness of rural Korean is researched from a sociocultural aspect, the traditional views of an evil cause of ill health and treatment by supernatural methods is not found to be prevalent but folk medicine still occupies a large place in treatment which si often a complex mixture from many mysterious sources. The significance of this study lies in the fact that ethnonursing research can contribute basic data toward the development of Korean nursing theories. Modern western medical concepts have not been accepted unconditionally: traditional concepts are alive and dynamic in Korea and must be recognized in Korean nursing.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.507-511
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• 2022

Law enforcement officers (LEOs) often encounter rapidly changing and uncontrolled situations that expose them to various hazards. A law enforcement agency requested an evaluation by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) when multiple LEOs reported illness after executing a search warrant and taking a suspect into custody. NIOSH investigators interviewed LEOs and reviewed medical records, forensic laboratory results for collected evidence, and environmental testing results of samples taken after the operation. Two-thirds (25 of 38) of LEOs who participated in the operation reported ≥1 symptom. Eleven LEOs met a case definition for influenza-like illness (ILI). Members of one unit were more likely to have ILI than non-members (prevalence ratio (PR), 4.1; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.3-13.0; p = 0.01). Influenza vaccination was associated with a lower prevalence of ILI (PR, 0.2; 95% CI, 0.1-0.9; p = 0.02). Preventing employees from working while ill and annual influenza vaccination might prevent similar occurrences.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.3247-3251
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• 2015

Background: The attendance rates for cancer screening are low in Japan. Little is actually known about how the Japanese perceive cancer. Since beliefs about illness affect individuals' health care practice, the aim of this study was to explore beliefs about cancer and factors associated with those beliefs, focusing on representative cancer sites. Materials and Methods: Japanese adults (${\geq}20$ years old) who had not been diagnosed with any cancers and were not health care professionals were recruited, using a convenience sampling approach. A total of 91 participants completed questionnaires including open-ended questions. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the responses. Results: Five themes were suggested: (i) a threatening illness that might greatly change one's future life; (ii) basic cancer knowledge; (iii) a curable illness with early detection and adequate treatment; (iv) causes of cancer; and (v) anyone can develop cancer. Families or friends' negative consequences of cancer were associated with negative beliefs about the disease. Gestational cancer was the most representative site of most themes. Conclusions: A threatening illness (e.g., death or incurable illness) was the most common belief among the Japanese laypeople. Importance of early detection and treatments should be more emphasized, and future screening programs should include strategies modifying negative cancer beliefs among Japanese laypeople.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.845-852
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• 2015

Cancer illness representations and screening history among residents of Kolkata, India, were investigated along with socio-demographic characteristics in an effort to understand possible motivations for health behavior. A total of 106 participants were recruited from community locations in Kolkata, India and completed surveys including demographics, the illness perception questionnaire-revised (IPQ-R), and previous experience with cancer and screening practices. Participants were 51.5% college educated, 57% female, 51.5% full-time employed with average age of 32.7 years (R: 18-60 years). Descriptive statistics were generated for the subscales of the IPQ-R, cancer-screening practices and cancer experience. Correlation analyses were conducted to investigate associations between cancer representations and socio-demographic variables. Univariate ANOVAs were calculated to determine gender differences in IPQ-R subscales and differences between participants who knew someone diagnosed with cancer versus those who did not. While 76% of participants knew someone with cancer, only 5% of the sample engaged in cancer screening. Participants perceived cancer as a serious illness with negative emotional valence. Younger age (r(100)=-.36, p<0.001) and male gender (F(1, 98)=5.22, p=0.01, ${\eta}_2$=0.05) were associated with better illness coherence. Males also reported greater personal control (F(1, 98)=5.34, p=0.02, ${\eta}_2$=0.05) were associated with better illness coherence. Low screening rates precluded analyses of the relationship between illness representations and cancer screening. Cancer was viewed as a threatening and uncontrollable disease among this sample of educated, middle class Kolkata residents. This view may act as a barrier to seeking cancer screening. Public awareness campaigns aimed at improving understanding of the causes, symptoms and consequences of cancer might reduce misunderstandings and fear, especially among women and older populations, who report less comprehension of cancer.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.13-28
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• 2005

Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to describe the role for public education in mental health promotion, prevention of mental illness and treatment of mental disorders in Canada. Results: A brief history of the changing nature of the way we treat mental disorders in Canada argues for an increasingly critical role for public education. Furthermore, the new understanding of the role of social determinants in prevention of mental illness again necessitates a vital role for public education as the shift in focus moves from exclusively individual-focused health care treatments to creating supportive environments. The roles for mental health public education then become: advocacy for the social determinants of health approach, better understanding of the nature of mental health problems, useful information for self-management, and more knowledge about appropriate treatments. A brief discussion of the structure of the response in Canada provides an overview of national and provincial responsibilities in mental health care with a case study highlighting one community's response to addressing mental disorders. Conclusion : Finally, challenges regarding the most effective educators and the issue of professional expertise embedded in the status quo are discussed.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.291-304
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• 2000

The purpose of this study was to explore the health and illness concepts of hospitalized preschoolers. The subjects were 52 hospitalized preschoolers from 3 to 6 grade in one general hospital. Data were collected through semistructured interviews by author. this study was conducted from Mar 2, 2000 to Jun. 30, 2000. Data were coded and categorized by content analysis. The results were as follows : 1. Hospitalized preschoolers's answers about health concepts were coded and then classificated to 7 categories(physical well-being, food, powerfulness, exercise, obedience to authority, cleanliness, sleep.) 2. Hospitalized preschoolers's answers about health behavior to maintenance health were coded and then classificated to 8 categories (food, obedience to authority, treatment, exercise, cleanliness, powerfulness, sleep, psychological stability). 3. Hospitalized preschoolers's answers about prevention of illness were coded and then classificated to 9 categories(food, treatment, obedience to authority, powerfulness, emotional stability, psychological stability, exercise, physical well-being, ability of social adaption). 4. Hospitalized preschoolers's answers about cause of illness were coded and then classificated to 3 categories(illness, trauma, food). 5. Hospitalized preschoolers's answers about treatments of illness were coded and then classificated to 9 categories(treatment, rest, emotional stability, sleep, psychological stability, food, obedience, exercise, powerfulness). 6. The levels of health and illness concepts in this sample were higher than those of the physical causality.