• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.87-94
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• 2013

Background: In times of continuous change and volatile markets, organizations are increasingly characterized by downsizing, work intensification, and resource rationalization. This has resulted in diversification, and the emergence of newrisks within the field of occupational health and safety, with an important impact. This paper focuses on one such type of risk in the modern workplace-psychosocial risks. The current study aimed to explore stakeholder perspectives, regarding the extent to which psychosocial risks are incorporated into strategic risk management practices, at both the business and policy level. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 professionals, representing employer, expert, policy maker, and trade union stakeholder perspectives. Results: It was found that the majority of organizations do not sufficiently, if at all, understand and incorporate psychosocial risks into strategic decision making, whereby the key barrier related to practical difficulties of not knowing how to manage psychosocial risks adequately. Conclusion: The study found that there is a need to close the gap between policy and practice on a number of levels. Future recommendations comprise a policy framework and infrastructure underpinned by educational initiatives, partnerships, and networks to drive a shift in attitudes toward recognizing the duality of the concept of risk (including both potential negative and positive outcomes) and moving beyond simple regulatory compliance.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.143-150
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• 2006

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to identify the actual conditions and needs of the health care utilization and health information in deafs. Methods: Forty-one deaf volunteers were interviewed by suwha nursing students. The semi-structured interviews were conducted in sign language at homes and community centers. The instrument developed by researchers consisted of 22 items including demographic information, health care utilization, and open-ended questions. Data were analyzed using content analysis, frequency and percentage. Results: The most discomfort problems were communication difficulty and expression of symptom. The deaf people wanted to learn about diseases and symptoms. The deaf wanted to get information about cancer. Conclusions: Further studies focusing on educational intervention are needed to increase the knowledge level on disease of deaf. The sign language translators are needed to help communication for deaf in health care facilities.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.415-426
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• 2018

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the essentials of psychiatric and mental health nursing by identifying the care experience of the psychiatric nurses. Methods: Eleven psychiatric nurses were recruited across five geographical areas in the Korea. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews from two focus groups, which were analyzed with an inductive content analysis. Results: Participants constructed two categories including 'nursing tasks for the client' and 'nursing tasks for the organization'. Subcategories of nursing tasks for the client are 'staying alert on crisis prevention', 'leading them to be real with eager and persistent will', 'nursing beyond role boundaries', 'tuning the needs of clients' family', 'taking journey with clients' personal life history', and 'doing invisible but recognizable nursing'. Subcategories of nursing tasks for the organization are 'working as a responsible team member', 'integrating team competencies at the center of team', and 'balancing protection and control'. Conclusion: Psychiatric nurses played professional and holistic care roles for the clients, and managerial roles for the organizations. This study provides essential data for defining psychiatric nursing and estimating the appropriate ratio of psychiatric nursing staffing.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.4339-4345
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• 2015

Occupational exposure to wood dust is one cause of nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC); however, assessing this exposure remains problematic. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop a semi-quantitative exposure assessment method and then utilize it to evaluate the association between occupational exposure to wood dust and the development of NPC. In addition, variations in risk by histology were examined. A case-control study was conducted with 327 newly diagnosed cases of NPC at the National Cancer Institute and regional cancer centers in Thailand with 1:1 controls matched for age, gender and geographical residence. Occupational information was obtained through personal interviews. The potential probability, frequency and intensity of exposure to wood dust were assessed on a job-by-job basis by experienced experts. Analysis was performed by conditional logistic regression and presented in odds ratio (ORs) estimates and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Overall, a non significant relationship between occupational wood dust exposure and NPC risk for all subjects was observed (ORs=1.61, 95%CI 0.99-2.59); however, the risk became significant when analyses focused on types 2 and 3 of NPC (ORs=1.62, 95%CI 1.03-2.74). The significant association was stronger for those exposed to wood dust for > 10 year (ORs=2.26, 95%CI 1.10-4.63), for those with first-time exposure at age > 25 year (ORs=2.07, 95%CI 1.08-3.94), and for those who had a high cumulative exposure (ORs=2.17, 95%CI 1.03-4.58) when compared with those considered unexposed. In conclusion, wood dust is likely to be associated with an increased risk of type 2 or 3 NPC in the Thai population. The results of this study show that semi-quantitative exposure assessment is suitable for occupational exposure assessment in a case control study and complements the information from self-reporting.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.273-278
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• 2018

Due to the lack of water in arid and semi-arid areas, reuse of wastewater can be a suitable way to compensate for water scarcity. Therefore, in this research, evaluation of the quality of wastewater of Kashan Treatment Plant to use for irrigation was studied. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016. pH, TSS, TDS, turbidity, COD, BOD5, Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus, Total Coliform, fecal coliform, nematode eggs of inlet and outlet of wastewater treatment plant in Kashan were studied. Mean and standard deviation and wastewater quality parameters before and after treatment were tested with SPSS 22 (2014) software. The mean wastewater output of COD, BOD5, TSS, TDS and turbidity were respectively 86.6, 41.2, 11.11, 1095 mgL-1 and 17.5 NTU and the pH was equal to 7.22. Also, the average of Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen and phosphorus were 22.4 and 2.2 mgL-1 respectively. The mean of Total Coliform and fecal coliform were 225, 161 MPN / 100 ml respectively. In addition, no nematode eggs were found in final effluent. The results indicated that the treatment plants had a significant role in the control of microbial and organic pollution load of wastewater. Also, it is concluded that all parameters were in accordance with the standards of Iran's Department of Environment, so, it can be used for unrestricted irrigation.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.353-361
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• 2020

Objectives: An inadequate understanding of infertility can affect individuals' self-efficacy and ability to perform self-care; thus, reproductive health education is an important part of infertility treatment. The present qualitative study aimed to explore the experiences and educational needs of infertile women with regard to reproductive health. Methods: In this qualitative study, we utilized a content analysis approach. Purposive sampling was performed to ensure maximum diversity. In total, 23 individual interviews were conducted with 20 Iranian women with infertility and 3 key informants between July 2018 and February 2019 in northern Iran. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was performed using a conventional content analysis approach. Results: Reproductive health education needs were identified by analyzing interview data from 4 main categories: familiarity with the fertility process and preparation for pregnancy, recognition of infertility and expectations around seeking treatment, recognition of preventive actions associated with reproductive health, and correction of false beliefs. Recognizing the causes of infertility and understanding the different approaches to infertility treatment are among the most important educational needs of infertile women. The potential for neglect of health-related issues due to concerns about fertility and the maternal experience necessitates education about preventive measures for cervical cancer, breast cancer, and sexually transmitted infections. Correcting misconceptions, including those related to contraceptives and traditional medicine, can also help promote reproductive health. Conclusions: In infertile women, the educational needs associated with reproductive health are multifaceted. Satisfying these needs can help achieve optimal treatment results and promote reproductive health.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.291-298
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• 2000

Objective : Use of Internet for health related information is rapidly increasing. There is, however, no consensus as to which information is correct and reliable. This study was conducted to develop an evaluation standards for health related information on the Internet for the purpose of delivering correct information to internet users. Methods : A Delphi technique, which involved a panel of 65 experts, was used as the research design for this study. In the first round, the initial evaluation criteria which consisted of 12 items was developed through a literature review by the researcher and the items represented 2 categories, structure and function. In the second round, a semi-structured questionnaire was sent to the experts with the initial evaluation tool and the respondents identified 55 items. In the third round, these 55 items were analyzed for content validity by the experts and a total of 35 items were included in the model; 11 items in the structural area, 24 in the functional area. Conclusions : Development of indicators for the evaluation of internet site for health information is crucial to provide correct and reliable information. For evaluation to be effective further evaluation programs need to be developed so that users can be sure that the information they received is accurate.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.125-133
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to understand and explore the experiences and meanings of life changes and loneliness caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) among older people living in rural areas. Methods: This study adopted an individual interview approach. A total of 33 older adults were interviewed using semi-structured questions between October and December; 2020. The collected data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Four main themes and ten sub-themes emerged. One main theme was "the never-ending anxiety of a changed world", the second theme was "disconnecting from the world through social distancing", the third theme was "working to overcome COVID-19", and forth "health is the most important thing in life." Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, we confirmed the urgent need for psycho-social support to relieve loneliness and social isolation of older people in rural areas during the spread of infectious diseases.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.213-225
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• 2022

Objectives: The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate how members of the general public in Korea interpret the concept of health, and which dimensions of health are most important to them. We also explored their perceptions of the EuroQoL 5-Dimension (EQ-5D), including the EuroQoL visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS). Methods: We conducted face-to-face, in-depth interviews with 20 individuals from the general population, using a semi-structured interview guide. Content analysis was performed with verbatim transcripts and field notes to identify codes and categorize them according to their similarities and associations. Results: In total, 734 different codes were derived and classified into 4 categories. Participants cited the importance of both the mental and physical aspects of health, although they emphasized that the physical aspects appeared to play a larger role in their conceptualization of health. Participants noted that the EQ-5D has the advantage of being composed of 5 dimensions that are simple and contain both physical and mental areas necessary to describe health. However, some of them mentioned the need to add more dimensions of mental health and social health. Participants showed great satisfaction with the visually well-presented EQ-VAS. However, participants opined that the EQ-VAS scores might not be comparable across respondents because of different ways of responding to the scale. Conclusions: While physical health is a fundamental aspect of health, mental and social aspects are also important to Koreans. The content of the EQ-5D broadly matched the attributes of health considered important by Koreans.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.351-360
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• 2023

Objectives: This study is based on a visiting oral health care intervention program in the community care. This qualitative study was conducted through in-depth interviews to identify awareness and attitudes regarding intervention program among older adults. Methods: The research team visited the homes of the target older adults and conducted in-depth interviews for approximately an hour using a semi-structured questionnaire. The collected voice recordings were transcribed using Clova Note, and AI program by Naver. Using the 'Word Cloud Generator 3.7' program, words of high importance and interest from interview answers were extracted, visualized, and analyzed. Results: Participating older adults acknowledged that their quality of life related to oral health could be improved by increasing the level of oral health awareness and oral health knowledge through the intervention program. In addition, the older adults indicated that their oral hygiene management ability improved compared to before the intervention through expert oral hygiene management and oral health education. Further, as the level of oral health knowledge increased, so too did satisfaction with the intervention program increase. Conclusions: The intervention program for visiting oral health care showed a positive effect on the awareness and attitude of older adults. Thus, it is suggested that education for continuous competency enhancement of dental hygienists and multidisciplinary education for the improvement of general health and quality of life of older adults should be promoted.