• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.75-90
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• 2016

Objectives: This study measures the level of cognition of employee's patient safety culture and evaluates the current level through comparing the results to external levels. Ultimately it is performed to construct a strategic improvement plan through the basic database for patient's safety culture. Methods: A questionnaire survey of self reporting type was carried out using structured questionnaire of the patient's safety culture for employees currently employed in a hospital. Total responders was 1,129 and a response rate was 54.6%. The survey results were calculated with a percent positive response, and the current level was evaluated by comparing with the survey results of a hospital (2009 and 2014) and the survey result of The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality(2014). Results: Sub-dimension of high percent positive response for each area were 'teamwork within hospital units' (80%), 'feedback & communication about error' (73%) and 'supervisor/manager expectations & actions promoting safety' (67%). Meanwhile, 'teamwork across hospital units' (31%), 'hospital management support for patient safety' (29%), 'staffing' (27%) and 'non-punitive response to error' (17%) were relatively low percent positive response. Compared to the survey results of AHRQ (2014) for each area, 'teamwork within hospital units' (80%), 'feedback & communication about error' (73%), 'frequency of event reporting' (66%) were at the top 50% percentile level and the remaining sub-dimensions showed a very low level in the lower 10% percentile area. Conclusion: In order to establish a system for patient safety culture within the hospital and evaluate the effect on this, it is necessary to periodically evaluate the patient's safety culture and establish regulations on hospital safety culture to comply with this.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.139-161
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• 2015

The number of Healthy Family Support Centers has increased and the services for enhancement of family strength have extended during the past ten years since the Framework Act on Healthy Families was enacted. It is time to pay attention to the empowerment for Healthy Family Specialist because their capability is directly linked to improve the quality of services, which means the satisfaction of family services and the quality of family policy. In this context, this study investigate organizational experience of Healthy Family Specialists and suggest the empowerment plan to enhance their capability. We conducted in-depth interviews for 9 Healthy Family Specialists who is currently working at Healthy Family Support Centers as a manager status during June 2014. We analyzed organizational experiences through job commitment and job satisfaction and empowerment plans through their strength and weakness. Our findings revealed that job commitment and job satisfaction of Healthy Family Specialist are relatively low due to a poor working condition and a low brand awareness. Also, the capability of Healthy Family Specialists is an important factor to determine their job commitment and job satisfaction, and it can impact on the long service. These results suggest that the payroll system, increment of salary, career recognition, employee benefit, systematic operation, and motivation are needed to improve their job satisfaction. There are various ways to improve professional capability of Healthy Family Specialists besides education program. This study contributes to make the plan of empowerment for Healthy Family Specialists and it also contributes to improve the service quality of family policy.

• Korean Journal of Digital Imaging in Medicine
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.21-28
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• 2008

Diagnostic display monitor QA according to AAPM TG18 is usually performed by PACS administrator, product manager and reading doctor, and for acceptance testing and periodic quality control evaluation, a combination of visual and quantitative tests can be used, as outlined in sections 5 and 6 of 'assessment of display performance for medical imaging systems'. Although many display tests can be performed visually, a more objective and quantitative evaluation of display performance requires special test tools. The required instruments vary in their complexity and cost, depending on the context of the evaluation(research, acceptance testing, or quality control) and how thorough the evaluation needs to be. Objective and reliable assessment of many display characteristics can be performed with relatively inexpensive equipment, So, we made 'AAPM TG18 guiding instrument' to ues variable purpose of the evaluation of 'geometrical distortions(quantitative"', 'veiling glare(visual)' and 'sensor calibration'. The spatial measurements for the quantitative evaluation of geometric distortions, and the measurement of the veling-glare ring response function which provides information regarding the spatial extent of the luminance spread, can be performed using the TG18 guiding instrument can be used to sensor calibration to standardize the basic rate of 0% luminance when periodic calibration.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.110-121
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• 2021

The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review and network meta-analysis to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of various types of acupuncture for menopausal hot flashes (HF). Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were retrieved from 8 electronic databases, and the risk of bias was evaluated for the included studies. Pairwise meta-analysis and network meta-analysis were performed using Review Manager and R software for indirect comparison and ranking, respectively. In total, 23 RCTs (2,302 patients) were eligible for systematic review, of which 10 were included in network meta-analysis. Network meta-analysis showed manual acupuncture (MA) had the highest probability of reducing HF frequency and severity, followed by sham acupuncture (SA), electroacupuncture, usual care, or no treatment; furthermore, warm acupuncture significantly improved menopause-specific quality of life compared with MA or electroacupuncture. Compared with hormone replacement therapy, acupuncture had less efficacy in reducing HF frequency but enhanced menopause-specific quality of life. There was no significant difference between MA and SA in mitigating HF. The existing evidence showed that MA could be used for alleviating menopausal HF. However, it is recommended that more high-quality RCTs should be performed.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.385-402
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• 2021

Objective: This study confirms the safety and efficacy of Banhasasim-tang (BST) against cough through systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane, ScienceDirect, Wiley online library, OASIS, KISS, NDSL, RISS, Science and Technology Society Village, DBpia, CNKI, J-STAGE, and CiNii were used as search engines. The search period was from the start of search engine support to June 30. 2020. And search language was not limited. Cochrane's risk of bias (RoB) tool was used to evaluate the quality of the studies. A meta-analysis of the total effective rate (TER), cough symptom score, and spirometry results was performed using the Review Manager program. Results: 6 studies were finally selected. The group using BST showed significant symptom relief, as the odds ratio (OR) value of TER was 5.56 times higher (95% CI: 3.50, 8.82, P<0.0001) compared to the control groups. The reported adverse effects did not occur in the intervention group. In addition, the cough symptom score and spirometry results showed that BST was more effective than Western medicine alone. Conclusion: BST can be expected to relieve cough, and it can be applied to chronic cough that is not treated with existing treatments. However, due to the low quality of the selected articles, additional high-quality RCTs will be required in the future.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.340-355
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• 2022

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effects of non-pharmacological sleep intervention programs in improving sleep quality among older adults in long-term care facilities. Methods: A literature search and selection was performed on nine different databases using the guidelines of PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses). Overall, 14 studies met the inclusion criteria and were systematically reviewed. For the meta-analysis, the effect size was estimated using the random-effects model in Review Manager (RevMan) desktop version 5.4 of the Cochrane Library. Results: The meta-analysis of overall non-pharmacological interventions obtained a total effect size of 1.0 (standardized mean difference [SMD]=1.0, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.64~1.35), which was statistically significant (Z=5.55, p<.001). The most frequently studied non-pharmacological intervention was aroma therapy, with an effect size of 0.61 (SMD=0.61, 95% CI: 0.14~1.08), which was statistically significant (Z=2.55, p=.010). In the subgroup analysis, group-based interventions, interventions for >4 weeks, and untreated control studies were more effective. Conclusion: This study confirms that non-pharmacological interventions are effective in improving sleep quality among older adults in long-term care facilities. However, the sample size was small and the risk of bias in assessing the interventions of individual studies was unclear or high, thereby limiting the generalizability of the results. Further reviews that evaluate randomized control trials, evidence-based interventions that consider older adult participants' physical activity levels, different intervention methods and durations, and different control group intervention types are needed to obtain more conclusive evidence.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.29-52
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• 2024

The aim of this review is to consolidate findings from clinical investigations spanning the past decade regarding the impact of acupuncture on Parkinson's disease (PD). The objective is to assess the efficacy of acupuncture as a therapeutic approach to PD, with the intention of informing future clinical practices and advancing the foundation for subsequent research endeavors in this area. A comprehensive literature search was conducted to identify clinical trials exploring the effects of acupuncture on PD between January 2014 and August 2023. Databases search included PubMed, EMBASE, CNKI, OASIS, KISS, KMBASE, RISS, and ScienceON. Quantitative evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was systematically reviewed, and the methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using Cochrane's risk of bias tool. Meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager (RevMan) 5.4.1 software. The systematic review encompassed a total of 38 RCTs involving 2,786 participants. Meta-analysis of 12 studies revealed that individuals treated with a combination of acupuncture and Western medicine exhibited notable improvements compared to those receiving Western medicine alone or sham acupuncture alongside Western medicine. However, the overall quality of the RCTs was deemed low, and no serious adverse events were reported. Across clinical investigations conducted in the past decade, acupuncture appears to hold promise as a complementary treatment for PD patients when administered alongside Western medicine. Nevertheless, this study identifies certain limitations that warrant consideration in future research endeavors. Enhanced emphasis on conducting high-quality RCTs is imperative to comprehensively evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture in managing PD.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.232-237
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• 2013

The aim of this study is to structuralize a model of the factors determining the quality of nursing care perceived by the director or manager of a long-term care facilities (hospitalization of patients) using FSM(Fuzzy Structural Modeling), employed in structuralizing social systems. The results were as follows: first, quality in the top tier was shown to be connected with job commitment, commitment to the organization, work experience, care skills, knowledge about the elderly, training and education, which are factors in the middle tier; and second, the structure of the middle tier (job commitment, commitment to the organization, work experience, care skills, knowledge about the elderly, training and education) either showed a connection with the lower tier, which includes employment type, job satisfaction, leadership, relationship with users and workplace relationships, or showed a connection among the factors within. These results confirmed the following: first, care skills and knowledge about the elderly, which demonstrate the job expertise of caregivers, showed a connection with service quality based on work experience; second, job commitment in the middle tier was observed to affect various factors in the same tier such as care skills, knowledge about the elderly, training and education amongst others, and it was determined that it is an important determining factor in service quality. Lastly, a meaningful result was shown in relation to leadership. The leadership skills of the director of the facilities had a connection with the care caregivers' commitment to the organization, which had a connection with service quality. This structure showed the kind of role the director must play in order to improve service quality.

• Journal of Applied Tourism Food and Beverage Management and Research
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• v.7
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• pp.231-266
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• 1997

TQM is a whole process of systemizing, documenting and measuring of service quality scientifically to achieve zero defects in product quality and to continue to improve the body of the product quality by itself. To have this process be improved continuously, first of all it needs to prepare an ideal environment to understand and to conform to its internal and external customers', that is every guests' and employees' expectations and demands. Then it has to be followed by the next step removing some negative aspects that could be derived from the first mentioned process The third step is to cut the cost be suitable compensation rather than an attitude trying to solve the problems in an easy way. The last essential factor for setting up TQM system is to make good use of the outstanding feature or process as it is reviewed against the superior benchmark. The purpose of this study is meet the customers' expectations and to maximize the hotel's profits by searching TQM(total quality management) strategy in hotels. To attain this research's objective, it follows these three details. Firstly, it defines TQM and its contents. Secondly, it provides the standard of hotel TQM throughout some case studies. Thirdly, it suggests TQM strategic plan in tourism hotel as one of professional management strategies. Two useful methods are used together to achieve the goal of this study. To confirm its theoretical consideration, descriptive studies by the research documents its theoretical consideration, descriptive studies by the research documents published in and out of the country is used. The other is case studies of TQM execution in real hospitality industry, which present the cases of the airline, Jefferson Memorial and the hotel. This research is targeting to demonstrate the successful TQM's exercise in a hotel industry by completing the theoretical studies and case studies on service product quality with an understanding of its importance. As it is said earlier, to lead to the successful TQM's practice, it is necessary to maintain a constant training of the employees. Secondly, it also must identify where it has to focus on to deliver a professional quality management. Thirdly, effective quality management organization needs to be build up. The manager's strong will to accomplish and the employee' active participations are the last condition to be succeed. Once again this study places an emphasis on the fact that TQM is critical to maximize the customers' satisfaction and the hotel's profitability. It is also very worthwhile to have every people working on front line recognize why the TQM is important and further more how they can contribute to improve their service quality by a positive participation and a careful observation of TQM's operating in their property.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.59-67
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• 2017

At the completion of the construction, various finishing processes are concentrated. This imposes a burden on the on-site manager and imposes on experience based quality control, thereby causing deviations in the quality of construction depending on supervisor or worker's individual competence. In addition, the information related to quality control is frequently scattered in various types of documents such as specifications and drawings, and checkpoints are frequently omitted. It is necessary to provide a tool that can effectively provide the practitioner before or during the inspection work by systematically storing the information related to the defect prevention and linking them in a mutually referential state. This paper proposes an quality inspection support model that can systematically store necessary information on activity or room basis for the quality check of the apartment house finishing work. Establish a defect prevention information base and a information nexus by linking specifications, design standards, checklists, regulations, defect cases, and drawings to the finishing process and the rooms. Based on this, information registration and search interface are presented. It can contribute to securing a certain level of construction quality or more by suggesting a frame that can be utilized by linking various defects prevention information with the focus on closing activity and room.