• The Journal of the Society of Stroke on Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.25-40
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• 2022

■Objectives This study aimed to collect and analyze clinical studies on the significance of acupuncture in the treatment of hypertension among Korean patients. ■Methods Among Korean patients with a blood pressure (BP) of 120 mmHg or higher and a diastolic BP of 80 mmHg or higher, those, treated with acupuncture only, were included. A literature search was conducted through 'Embase', 'Medline', 'Science and Technology Information Integration Service (NDSL)', 'Traditional Korean Knowledge Portal (OASIS)', 'PubMed', and 'Scopus'. The search keywords were (hypertension OR 'blood pressure') AND acupuncture. The papers, published before the day of the search (02. January 2022), were included in this study. ■Results Among the 12 selected papers, seven involved randomized controlled trial (RCT), four before-and-after studies, and one case series. The number of RCTs has increased yearly. The treatment methods used in the studies included needle acupuncture in eight studies, auricular acupuncture in two, pharmacopuncture in one, and si-acupuncture in one. The average numbers of patients enrolled in RCTs, before-and-after studies, and case series were 21.1, 30, and 23 respectively. Six studies were conducted on prehypertensive patients, two on stage 1 hypertension patients, and four on stage 2 hypertension patients. The involved acupoints have been reported to be ST36 in eight papers, LI11 in four papers, and PC6 in three papers. The treatment period lasted for < 1 week in eight studies and 8 weeks in four studies. Acupuncture successfully lowered blood pressure in nine out of 12 studies ■Conclusions Acupuncture is a viable alternative treatment option for prehypertensive patients, who are not taking medications. Additionally, it is also useful in further lowering the BP of patients with stage 1 and stage 2 hypertension in the short term. Large-scale and long-term studies on acupuncture for hypertension should be conducted.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.188-196
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was to investigate pediatric emergency department visits patterns and characteristics of children and adolescents under the age of 20 in South Korea from 2002 to 2015 due to dental conditions. This study used a stratified sample of approximately 1 million people from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service Database. The age, region, household income, and treatment cost were included for the patient characteristic analysis. Pediatric patients were compared to the adult group (over 20 years old). In children and adolescents, the rate of emergency department visits due to dental conditions was higher for traumatic conditions than for non-traumatic conditions. Children and adolescents with higher household income visited the emergency department more often than those with lower household income. The region with the highest number of children and adolescents visiting the emergency department for dental conditions was Busan (per 100,000 population). Although this study could not confirm the annual trend of children and adolescents' dental emergency visits due to the sample size limitation, the characteristics of children and adolescents' dental emergency visits were compared with those of adults using a stratified sample.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.23-36
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• 2022

Objectives : This study aimed to provide basic data on intervention strategies that occupational therapists can access by systematically analyzing the intervention and effectiveness for youth with disabilities. Methods : The RISS, PubMed, and Web of Science databases were used to search for papers published between 2006 and 2021. The keywords were "Disability AND Adolescents OR Young adult AND Transition education OR Transition program". Seven papers were selected for analysis, and the full text was reviewed. The keywords and national relations were analyzed and visualized using the WoS (Web of Science) and VOSviewer programs. Results : The participants were classified into five types (ASD or ADHD, ID, DD, and physical disability). The areas used for the intervention were mixed into three categories: occupation (academic), self-management (time), and interaction (personal relations and communication). Sociality and adaptation, quality of life, and at least one of the three categories of daily life activities showed significant improvement. Conclusions : This study can be used as basic data to expand the area where only OTs can contribute while grasping the research trend of the conversion program and presenting the direction of exchange with various experts by organizing the application and its effects.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.5
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• pp.741-750
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• 2022

Objective : In March 2020, World Health Organization declared a global pandemic caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). The disease caused by this virus is called COVID-19. Due to its high contagiousness, many changes have occurred in overall areas of our daily life including hospital use by patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on volume of spine surgery in South Korea using the National Health Insurance database and compare it with the volume of a homologous period before the pandemic. Methods : Data of related to spine surgery from January 2019 to April 2021 were obtained from the National Health Insurance and Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database. Primary outcomes were total number of patients, rate of patients per 100000 population, and total number of procedures. The number of patients by hospital size was also analyzed. Results : COVID-19 outbreaks occurred in South Korea in March, August, and December of 2020. Compared to the previous year, the total number of patients who underwent spinal surgery showed a decrease for 2-3 months after the first and second outbreaks. However, it showed an increasing trend after the third outbreak. The same pattern was observed in terms of the ratio of the number of patients per 100000 population. Between 2019 and 2021, the mean number of spine surgeries per month tended to increase. Mean annual medical expenses increased over the years (p=0.001). When the number of spine surgeries was analyzed by hospital size, proportion of tertiary general hospital in 2021 increased compared to those in 2019 and 2020 (vs. 2019, p=0.012; vs. 2020, p=0.016). The proportion of general hospital was significantly decreased in 2020 compared to that in 2019 (p=0.037). Conclusion : After the COVID-19 outbreak, patients tended to postpone spinal surgery temporarily. The number of spinal surgeries decreased for 2-3 months after the first and second outbreaks. However, as the ability to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic at the hospital and society-wide level gradually increased, the number of spine surgeries did not decrease after the third outbreak in December 2020. In addition, the annual number of spine surgeries continued to increase. However, it should be noted that patients tend to be increasingly concentrated in tertiary hospitals for spinal surgery.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.55-67
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• 2022

Objectives : This study is aimed to survey Korean Medicine Doctors's perceptions in Korean Medicine Clinical Practice Guideline and Standard Korean Medicine Clinical Pathways for its spread(to increase utilization in clinical sites). Methods : The research population was set at 14,831 Korean medical institutions registered with the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service for sampling representative of Korean Medicine Doctors, and the final 2,007 subjects were selected in consideration of the research period and budget. This survey was conducted based on a telephone survey, and in some cases, a fax or e-mail survey was also conducted together. Six questions were asked about the perception of 'Korean Medicine Clinical Practice Guideline and Standard Korean Medicine Clinical Pathways', and three questions about the characteristics of the respondent. Results : The rate of recognizing Korean Medicine Clinical Practice Guideline was 36.1%. Those who worked at Korean medicine hospitals, were under 39 years of age, and had less than 11-20 years of experience as an Korean medical doctor were more likely to be aware of it. Regarding the experience of using Korean Medicine Clinical Practice Guideline, the rate of 'not used in the past and not used now' was very high at 82.9%, but the intention to use it in the future was high at 60.7%. About the Korean Medicine Clinical Pathways, 79.9% of respondents answered that they did not know. 80.6% of respondents recognized the need for the development of clinical manuals such as Korean Medicine Clinical Practice Guideline and Standard Korean Medicine Clinical Pathways. Conclusion : Their low awareness of Korean Medicine Clinical Practice Guideline seems to affect its low utilization. Therefore, active education and public relations are required in the future.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.136-153
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• 2022

Objectives: The aim of this study was to find out whether east asian herbal medicine (EAHM) treatment alone is effective in improving pregnancy-related indicators compared to conventional medicine in women with Diminished Ovarian Reserve (DOR). Methods: We searched eligible studies from PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, CiNii, Korean Medical Database, Korean Studies Information Service System, Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System, ScienceOn. GRADE pro was used to evaluate the current evidence of the study. Result: A total of 5 studies, 325 women with DOR were included. EAHM showed a significant effect on improvement of pregnancy rate (n=270, RR 2.13 [95% CI 1.44 to 3.15], Z=3.78, p=0.0002, I2=0%) and Anti-Mullerian Hormone (AMH) level (n=211, SMD 0.82 [95% CI 0.40 to 1.25], Z=3.80, p=0.0001) compared to conventional medicine. In ovulation rate (n=156, RR 0.86 [95% CI 0.70 to 1.06], Z=1.43, p=0.15, I2=0%), Antral Follicle Count (n=245, SMD 0.27 [95% CI -0.25 to 0.79], Z=1.01, p=0.31), and follicle stimulating hormone (n=245, SMD 0.29 [95% CI -0.13 to 0.70], Z=1.36, p=0.17) level, EAHM showed similar effects to conventional medicine. In this study, the most frequently used herbal medicines were Cuscutae Semen, Dipsaci Radix, and Angelicae Gigantis Radix. Conclusion: This meta-analysis showed that EAHM could improve pregnancy rates and AMH levels in women with DOR. However, more well-designed RCTs will have to be performed further in the future.

• Korean Association of Arts Management
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• no.54
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• pp.59-93
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• 2020

The development of digital technology has made consumers more knowledgeable about products than ever before. In this regard, experts have defined consumers in the digital age as knowledge seekers and pointed out that they are proficient in acquiring and sharing product knowledge prior to purchase. For service goods such as musicals, product prior knowledge executes strong effect due to such characteristics as intangibility, inseparabilit y,and heterogeneity. Prior studies in the field of performing arts, including musicals, have revealed that the prior knowledge of the audience has a positive effect on the satisfaction of the audience and WOM(word-of-mouth) intention. However, studies in the marketing field argue that consumers' high prior knowledge may have a negative impact on customer satisfaction and product evaluation depending on conditions, as they are more likely to compare, review, and expect products more closely. Therefore, in this study, we tried to identify under what conditions the musical prior knowledge enhances audience satisfaction and WOM intention. According to the results of previous studies, a mediating effect model was established in which the musical prior knowledge enhances the WOM intention through the mediation of the audience satisfaction. Then, Transportation was introduced as a mediation variable and it was verified whether the level changed the audience satisfaction and WOM intention. The reason for the introduction of the transportation construct reflects the results of previous research that the story is important component of musical. The results showed that the musical prior knowledge has a significant effect on WOM intention through the mediation of audience satisfaction. The moderating effect of transport was also significant on the relationship between musical prior knowledge and audience satisfaction. Lastly, through moderated-mediation analysis, it was confirmed that transportation moderates the mediating effect that prior knowledge affects on the WOM intention through audience satisfaction. Based on the results, we demonstrated that a musical story is fairly important to satisfy audiences with high prior knowledge. This study could contribute to the related filed in that it introduced the transportation construct for the first time, thereby broadening the understanding of the musical audiences in the era of smart consumers.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.9
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• pp.179-193
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• 2022

Amid the explosive growth of various metaverse platforms, there is no unified indicator to measure, analyze, and evaluate based on customer experience. Therefore, the usability evaluation factors in metaverse were identified through a heuristic methodology and literature review, to evaluate the metaverse, a two-to three-dimensional virtual world platform. A measurable system was established by subdividing 20 items in 5 fields, including user control, information structure, design and content, and usage environment, derived through Delphi technique. Based on this, after experiencing the actual contents of major metaverse platforms such as Roblox and Zepeto, usability was evaluated and comparative verification was conducted. As a result, it was estimated that metaverse user experience could be improved as its utility was derived relatively high in terms of user control and content. This study constitutes a theoretical contribution by extending the usability evaluation system, which has been widely used in the field of service design, to the fields of extended reality and mixed reality. At the same time, it has practical key findings of providing basic judgment standards to stakeholders in the metaverse field, as well as policy implications for digital capability enhancement and industry revitalization.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.127-133
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• 2022

In the wake of COVID-19, more consumers prefer non-face-to-face services and the explosion in the use of delivery apps is shaping a new delivery culture. Meanwhile, in order to solve social problems such as platform monopoly of private delivery apps and increased brokerage fees, many municipalities are launching public delivery apps from 2020 onwards. However, consumers who are used for the existing private delivery apps are not aware of the public delivery apps and the utilization rate is low. In this study, we will look at the impact of sense of community and service quality (information quality, delivery quality) on the intend to use public delivery apps. Studies have shown that SOC and information quality have a significant impact on the attitude of using public delivery apps, but not delivery quality. In addition, the attitude of using public delivery apps has been shown to have a mediating effect on the relationship between SOC, information quality and public delivery app use intentions respectively. Therefore, to activate the public delivery apps, it was found that it is necessary not only to promote, but also to improve user convenience, such as product search and user review inquiry to improve information quality, along with efforts to strengthen the sense of local community.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.144-148
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• 2021

Purpose: Nonpharmaceutical measures, such as social distancing, have resulted in unintended consequences, including a decrease in the incidence of childhood diseases. This study aimed to estimate the impact of social distancing on the incidence of febrile seizure (FS) in Korea using nationally representative data. Methods: We used claims data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, a single-payer database capturing >95% of the Korean population. The database included any inpatient encounter with a FS diagnosis from January 2010 to September 2020 for those aged 0-5 years old. We aggregated the monthly number of cases to estimate the incidence per 100,000 patient-years in 2020 (January 1 to September 30) for the same periods in 2010-2019. Results: The incidence of FS in 2020 ranged from 113 per 100,000 (95% confidence interval [CI], 108-118 per 100,000) in January to 27 per 100,000 (95% CI, 25-30 per 100,000) in September, whereas the average FS incidence in 2010-2019 ranged from 116 per 100,000 (95% CI, 112-121 per 100,000) in January to 101 per 100,000 (95% CI, 97-106 per 100,000) in September. Conclusions: The incidence of FS decreased by -38% in 2020, suggesting that social distancing contributed towards decreasing the incidence of FS.