• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.55-65
• /
• 2024

Purpose: This study was intended to gain an in-depth understanding of and explored the experiences and meanings of participating in care services among community-dwelling older adults. Methods: A focus group interview approach was adopted. Twenty older adults were interviewed from November to December 2021 using semi-structured interview questions. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Three main themes and seven sub-themes emerged for the elderly people living alone. One main theme was "ambivalence of elderly care services," the second was "desperate need for care services," and the third was "positive changes and expectations experienced with care services." For the elderly people living with their families, two main themes and four sub-themes were identified. One main theme was "care services met within the family system," the second was "needs for care services outside the family system." Conclusion: We aim to provide a basis for strengthening the quality of elderly community care services in the mid- to long-term and establish a system of close linkages between necessary services by understanding the needs of elderly people who live alone or with their families.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.11-18
• /
• 2017

Objectives : In an effort to suggest a developmental plan of Traditional Korean Medicine health promotion project(TKM-HPP), this study was conducted to identify the problems experienced by public health Traditional Korean Medicine(PH-TKM) doctors in duty and to analyze successful cases of the health promotion project. Methods : Two PH-TKM doctors in duty at the Public Health Centre branch and Public Health Centre respectively, and one TKM doctor in charge of Public Health Centre participated in the in-depth interview. The research procedure was as follows; 1) inform study objectives and interview questions to participants, 2) in-depth interview with semi-structured questions, and 3) post-confirmation and verification. The interview was recorded and transcripted. In-depth interview was composed of 6 subsections: 1) Introducing participants and share purpose of interview, 2) Confirmation of the job status and difficulty of public health centre, 3) Reflecting and sharing experiences of public health clinic job performance cases, 4) Current status and improvement needs of TKM-HPP, 5) Discussions on improvement of TKM-HPP in public health center, 6) Sharing and reconfirmation of interview results. Thematic analysis was conducted from the narratives. Results : The study showed that; 1) the support from the local government was critical for the successful TKM-HPP and participation of the PH-TKMs; 2) the major problems experienced by PH-TKMs were lack of training for TKM-HPP in the field and lack of knowledge at local government level; 3) the suggestions to provide PH-TKMs with manual to educate residents effectively and redefine roles of PH-TKMs in the project. It also suggests that TKM-HPP model should be developed by the district in a way of reflecting regional characteristics. Conclusions : Firstly, more efforts should be made on the projects rather than medical treatment in public health centers, except for areas where medical institutions are scarce. Secondly, in order to facilitate participation of PH-TKM doctors, each local office should reduce medical care and increase efforts related with projects. Thirdly, the institution has to develop feasible TKM-HPP plans that can be carried out by PH-TKMs by the manual. Lastly, pre-training should be provided to PH-TKMs to understand contents of TKM-HPP related to public health centre work before the placement.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.19 no.6
• /
• pp.419-427
• /
• 2021

The purpose of this study is to identify the recognition and utilization of health information by acquisition channels for preliminary and elderly people. For the survey data of 200 people aged 55 to 64 and 200 seniors aged 65 or older, the chi-square test and Fisher's precision test were performed using MINITAB17. Although the two age groups were similar in obtaining health information through health professionals, preliminary elderly were more likely to obtain health information through mass media and Internet sites. In particular, the collection of health information through internet sites was more than four times higher than that of the elderly. While the preliminary people focused on searching the information on the health care and prevention, older people explored comprehensive information on health, including disease prevention and treatment, through each channel. Both groups showed positive recognition about the acquired health information. The results of this study confirmed that all channels, including internet sites, can be usefully used in the delivery of health-related information to the elderly in the future. In addition, it is suggested to consider age characteristics and health information utilized by each channel in the development of various contents for the improvement of self-health management of the elderly.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.29-34
• /
• 2010

Follicular cystic ovary (FCO) is one of the major causes of reproductive failure in cattle. Genetic alterations affect the function of diverse cells and/or tissues, which could be present in cystic ovaries. A microarray analysis was performed to screen differential gene expressions in follicular cystic follicles of cattle. In this study, we hypothesized that follicular cysts may be induced by changes in ion- and transporter-related gene expression. Microarray data showed that fibrinogen-gamma (FGG) and low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 8 (LRP8) were up-regulated, while choline transporter-like protein 4 (SLC44A4), very long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase homolog 2 (SLC27A5), annexin 8 (ANXA8), and aquaporin 4 were down-regulated in follicular cystic follicles. A semi-quantitative RT-PCR was carried out to validate DEGs altered in follicular cystic follicles. Of six DEGs, three DEGs (FGG, SLC44A4, and aquaporin 4) showed a positive correlation between microarray and semi-quantitative PCR data. We focused on FGG, among three DEGs, which was highly up-regulated in follicular cystic follicles. The FGG mRNA was upregulated by 8.4-fold and by 1.7-fold in the bovine follicular cystic follicles as judged by microarray and RT-PCR analysis, respectively. However, there was no significant changes in the expression level of FGG protein in both follicular cystic follicles and granulosa cells isolated from follicular cystic follicles by Western blot analysis. Although this study does not reveal a positive correlation between the mRNA and protein level, FGG appears to be an important biomarker in the discrimination of follicular cyst from normal ovary.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.925-935
• /
• 2020

This study aims to provide guidelines for the activities of workplace health managers by identifying their excellent health promotion activities and motivations. For this, consent for the study was obtained from 21 workplace health managers who had worked at the same company for more than five years, and a semi-structured questionnaire was sent via email to collect and qualitatively analyze the data. As a result, 17 categories and three topics were drawn. The derived topics included a sense of reward and accomplishment as workplace health managers, difficulties encountered as workplace health managers, and how to solve the difficulties. The survey respondents answered that they feel a sense of reward and accomplishment when workers open their mind, change their daily life, express gratitude, and pioneer new fields. On the other hand, they feel difficulties with unpredictable health, changes in the organizational culture, secrecy of disease, and people who think their job is easy. As a way of overcoming such difficulties, the research subjects said that it is necessary to read the minds of workers, let them know by themselves, use existing programs, have the most difficult people on their side, and spread their achievements. The results of this study revealed that it is required for workplace health managers to develop professional skills and emphasize the importance of health management to the policy-makers and employees of their workplace by continuously reporting health management performance. In addition, they need to actively benchmark the success strategies of exemplary workplace health managers.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.18-25
• /
• 2024

Objectives: The primary aim of this study is to create an Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) guide for high-risk maintenance tasks, specifically one designed for maintenance work (MW) in the electronics industry. Methods: The methodology involved a literature review, field investigations, and discussions. An initial draft of the OSH guide was created and then refined through consultations with experts possessing extensive experience in MW for electronic processes. Results: Specific MW tasks within electronics processing facilities identified as high-risk by the research were selected. A comprehensive OSH guide for these tasks was developed consisting of approximately 11 to 12 components and encompassing about 20-25 pages. Implementing safety and health measures before, during, and after MW is crucial for the protection of maintenance personnel. The guide is enriched with real-case scenarios of industrial accidents and occupational diseases to enhance maintenance workers' comprehension of the OSH principles. For a clearer understanding of and adherence to the safety protocols, the guide incorporates visual aids, including cartoons and photographs. Conclusions: This OSH guide is designed to ensure the protection of workers involved in maintenance activities in the electronics industry. It aligns with global standards set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Semiconductor Equipment and Material International (SEMI) to ensure a high level of safety and compliance.

• Child Health Nursing Research
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.179-188
• /
• 2005

Purpose: This study was conducted to analyze the discourse of puberty in the early teenage girls. Method: The participants were 24, 11-15years old girls who were interviewed in face-to-face using a semi-structured questionnaire. The interviews were done between October 29 and December 27 2003. Analysis of the qualitative data was done in 2 steps. Results: First, the theme of the girls' puberty discourse was identifying normality and consisted of 5 categories : i) defining puberty as experiencing changes, ⅱ) acknowledging their own puberty connecting it with their definitions of puberty, ⅲ) selectively excluding/recognizing the actual pubertal changes by seeing themselves as nonsexual and negative beings, ⅳ) recognizing the pubertal changes as becoming women and making them not peculiar but normal, and ⅴ) sharing the knowledge and experience of change inactively and exclusively and resisting the dominant discourse. Three main discourse frames, marking off sexual/nonsexual, man/women, and major/minor were revealed in the second step of the analysis. They were intricately woven with each other and converged on sex. Conclusion: The girls posited themselves as being asexual, unstable, and marginal. So there is a need to help them recognize their pubertal state as physical and mental paradigmatic changes and assure their pubertal changes as positive.

• CELLMED
• /
• v.3 no.4
• /
• pp.31.1-31.8
• /
• 2013

This study has been geared to document primary information on common complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) used to treat and/or manage common dermatological disorders in Mauritius, a tropical multicultural island in the Indian Ocean. Data from 355 key informants was collected via a semi-structured questionnaire. Pearson correlation and Chi-squared test were performed to delineate any association. Quantitative indexes including the Importance Value (IV) and fidelity value were calculated. Results tend to indicate that cultural reasons were behind the use of CAM among Mauritians and traditional knowledge was mainly acquired either from parents/relatives or from self-experience. Among the medicinal plants mentioned, Aziadiracta indica (IV = 0.78) and Paederia tomentosa (IV = 0.70) were found to be most used plants. Calendula officinalis (IV = 0.15), Centella asiatica (IV = 0.22) and Agauria salicifolia (IV = 0.11) were also recorded to be used for common dermatological disorders though greatly under-utilised. Animal products were mentioned by 38.0% respondents and cow ghee was found to be commonly used in the management of measles (IV = 0.88). Spiritual healing was found to be used mainly for measles and warts. Given the plethora of novel information documented from the present survey, it can be suggested that the Mauritian population still relies to a great extent on CAM which needs to be preserved and used sustainably. Nonetheless, further investigation is required to probe the possible active constituents that could be the basis of an evidence based investigation to discover new drugs.

• Women's Health Nursing
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.166-180
• /
• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to have an in-depth understanding of delivery room nurses' experiences of caring for stillborn babies and their parents. Methods: After obtaining approval from the Institutional Review Board, data were collected from March 1 to August 30, 2016. A total of six nurses participated in the study. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted and the data subsequently analyzed. Results: Using thematic analysis, six themes were defined and refined: Emotional distress as a result of encountering stillborn babies; Caring for the deceased baby; Concerns for the mother's pain; Consideration for the father; Conflicts between accepting and dismissing parents' requests; and Strong mindset for the stillborn babies and their parents. Conclusion: The results showed that the nurses' experiences of caring for stillborn babies and their parents might be a difficult and lonely process. However, it could also be a process of attaining maturity by finding meaning and value in one's work. It would be helpful for the delivery room nurses to share examples of effective communication, train through simulation, and learn useful strategies that each nurse can use.

• Women's Health Nursing
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.257-267
• /
• 2012

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify the caring experience of the mothers of childhood burn patients. Methods: Data were collected from 28 mothers of childhood burn patients, through semi-structured in-depth interviews. Data were categorized and coded by using content analysis. Results: 27 categories and 102 statements were drawn from 4 domains. The analyzed domains were psychological sufferings, confronted harsh reality, coping method, and future concerns. Psychological sufferings were categorized heartache, sense of guilt, confusion, regret, depression, sorriness, getting hurt, frustration and upset feeling. Confronted harsh nature were categorized economic difficulty, physical burn-out, lack of caring other children and family troubles. Coping method were categorized positive thinking, having hope, ventilating feelings, accepting the situations, demanding help from family members, changing patterns of the burned child rearing, collecting information for burn treatment, refusing accept the condition of burned child, avoiding personal and social relationship, and reliance on religion. Concerns were categorized concerns of growth and adaptation of the burned child, anxiety for scar, concerns of adapting school life and vague future concerns. Conclusion: The nursing interventions for early assessing psychological problems and providing social supports for caring both burn patients and other siblings should be provided to the mothers of childhood burn patients.