• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.185-202
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• 2000

Uncertainty and variability in Life Cycle Assessment(LCA) have been significant key issues in LCA methodology with techniques in other research area such as social and political science. Variability is understood as stemming from inherent variations in the real world, while uncertainty comes from inaccurate measurements, lack of data, model assumptions, etc. Related articles in this issues were reviewed for classification, distinguish and elaboration of probabilistic/stochastic health risk analysis application in LCA. Concept of focal zone, streamlining technique, scenario modelling and Monte Carlo/Latin Hypercube risk analysis were applied to the uncertainty/variability analysis of health risk in LCA. These results show that this general framework of multi-disciplinary methodology between probabilistic health risk assessment and LCA was of benefit to decision making process by suppling information about input/output data sensitivity, health effect priority and health risk distribution. There should be further research needs for case study using this methodology.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.8-13
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• 2012

Objectives: Recently injury has become a major world-wide health problem. But studies in Korea about injuries were very few. Thus, this study was conducted to analyze the trend of major injuries from 1991 to 2006 and to provide basic data for preventing injuries. Methods: This study was based on the National Statistical Office data from 1991 to 2006 and calculated to estimate the burden of major injuries by using the standard expected years of life lost (SEYLL) and total lost earnings equation. Results: For transport accidents, mortality, SEYLL and total lost earnings were increased from 1991 to 1996 and decreased from 2000 to 2006. On the other hand, for suicides, these were increased gradually. Since 2003, falls were included in ten leading causes of death. This study showed that injury causes major social and economical losses. Conclusions: We could reduce injury related premature death through active interest in injury prevention program.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.47-58
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• 2023

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 in Chungju City from July to December 2021. Methods: The authors processed and analyzed the epidemiological analysis report written by researcher. The estimated reproduction rate was analyzed using web-based software that calculates time-varying reproduction numbers. The results were analyzed through univariate multiple regression analysis, with a maximum significance level set at 0.05. Results: During the study period, a total of 1,188 patients were identified, with 7.9% of them progressing to a severe status. The maximum reproduction rate recorded was 3.48. Factors associated with the transition to a severe status included the presence of symptoms at the time of diagnosis, lack of vaccination, and belonging to the age group over 40. Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, it can be strongly supported that the measures implemented in Chungju City, such as social distancing, vaccination, and preemptive diagnostic tests, were appropriate. Furthermore, it demonstrates that Chungju City effectively managed the impact of COVID-19. Korean Medicine Doctors made significant contributions to the epidemiological investigations of COVID-19. To comprehensively manage infectious diseases, it is crucial to provide administrative and legal support and encourage active research to expand the role of Korean Medicine Doctors in this area.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.22
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• pp.9753-9757
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• 2014

Purpose: To study the quality of life and to identify associated factors among breast cancer patients undergoing treatment in national cancer centers in Nepal. Materials and Methods: One hundred breast cancer patients were selected and interviewed using a structured questionnaire. European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer EORTC-QLQ-C30 and EORTC-QLQ-BR23 were used to assess quality of life and modified Medical Outcome Study -Social Support survey(mMOS-SS) was used to assess social support. Only multi-item scales of EORTC C30 and BR23 were analyzed for relationships. Independent sample T-tests and ANOVA were applied to analyze differences in mean scores. Results: The score of global health status/quality of life (GHS/GQoL) was marginally above average (mean=52.8). The worst performed scales in C-30 were emotional and social function while best performed scales were physical and role function. In BR-23, most of the patients fell into the problematic group regarding sexual function and enjoyment. Almost 90% had financial difficulties. Symptom scales did not demonstrate many problems. Older individuals, patients with stage I breast cancer and thosewith good social support were found to have good GHS/GQoL. Of all the influencing factors, social support was established to have strong statistical associations with most of the functional scales: GHS/GQoL (0.003), emotional function (<0.001), cognitive function (0.020), social function (<0.001) and body image function (0.011). Body image was significantly associated with most of the influencing factors: monthly family income (0.003), type of treatment (<0.001), type of surgery (<0.001), stage of cancer (0.017) and social support (0.011). Conclusions: Strategies to improve social support of the patients undergoing treatment should be given priority and financial difficulties faced by breast cancer patients should be well addressed from a policy making level by initiating health financing system.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.sup3
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• pp.311-316
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• 2016

Breast cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer mortality in Iran. Social determinants of health are among the key factors affecting the pathogenesis of diseases. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the social determinants of breast cancer survival time with parametric and semi-parametric regression models. It was conducted on male and female patients diagnosed with breast cancer presenting to the Cancer Research Center of Shohada-E-Tajrish Hospital from 2006 to 2010. The Cox proportional hazard model and parametric models including the Weibull, log normal and log-logistic models were applied to determine the social determinants of survival time of breast cancer patients. The Akaike information criterion (AIC) was used to assess the best fit. Statistical analysis was performed with STATA (version 11) software. This study was performed on 797 breast cancer patients, aged 25-93 years with a mean age of 54.7 (${\pm}11.9$) years. In both semi-parametric and parametric models, the three-year survival was related to level of education and municipal district of residence (P<0.05). The AIC suggested that log normal distribution was the best fit for the three-year survival time of breast cancer patients. Social determinants of health such as level of education and municipal district of residence affect the survival of breast cancer cases. Future studies must focus on the effect of childhood social class on the survival times of cancers, which have hitherto only been paid limited attention.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.123-129
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• 2009

Objectives : This study aimed to examine the association between public social expenditure(PSE) and suicides in the 27 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD) from 1980 to 2003. Methods : The age-standardized suicide rates and their annual change(%) were obtained from the OECD Health Data 2007. As a measure of social protection, the PSE(% GDP) was used. The covariates included the annual divorce rate(/100,000 population), fertility rate(number of children/woman aged 15 to 49 years), GDP per capita(US$ PPP), male unemployment rate(%), life expectancy(years) and alcohol consumption(liter/capita) for each country, which were all obtained from the OECD Health Data 2007 and the OECD Social Indicators 2006. Using hierarchical linear models that included these covariates, the effects of PSE on suicides(Model 1) and the annual percent change (Model 2) were examined(Model 3). Also, sub-sample analyses were done for six countries that experienced political/economic transition. Results : We could not find significant effects of PSE on suicides(Model 1), but we observed significantly negative effects on the annual percent change for men and women(Model 2). Such findings were replicated in the sub-sample analysis, and moreover, the effect size was much larger(Model 3). Conclusions : Our finding suggests that social welfare protection can be a pivotal factor for suicide epidemiology, and especially in countries experiencing a social crisis or transition.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.224-233
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• 2019

Objectives: In women, breast cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death. Screening tests are the basis for early diagnosis. In Iranian women, the mortality rate of breast cancer is high due to insufficient screening examinations and delayed visits for care. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the factors affecting breast self-examinations among Iranian women employed in medical careers. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 501 women working in the medical professions at Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in western Iran in 2018. The subjects were selected by stratified random sampling. Data were collected using a researcher-developed, self-report questionnaire that contained demographic information and questions based on protection motivation theory and social support theory. Descriptive data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 23 and model fitting with PLS version 2. Results: The mean age of the participants was $37.1{\pm}8.3years$, and most of the women (80.4%) were married. Most women had a bachelor's degree (67.5%). The findings of this study showed that the coping appraisal construct was a predictor of protection motivation (${\beta}=0.380$, p<0.05), and protection motivation (${\beta}=0.604$, p<0.05) was a predictor of breast self-examination behavior. Additionally, social support theory (${\beta}=0.202$, p<0.05) had a significant positive effect on breast self-examination behavior. Conclusions: The frequency of practicing self-examinations among women employees in the medical sector was low; considering the influence of social support as a factor promoting screening, it is necessary to pay attention to influential people in women's lives when designing educational interventions.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.113-121
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• 2012

Objectives: This study examined the trends in gender disparity in the self-rated health of people aged 25 to 64 in South Korea, a rapidly changing society, with specific attention to socio-structural inequality. Methods: Representative sample data were obtained from six successive, nationwide Social Statistics Surveys of the Korean National Statistical Office performed during 1992 to 2010. Results: The results showed a convergent trend in poor self-rated health between genders since 1992, with a sharper decline in gender disparity observed in younger adults (aged 25 to 44) than in older adults (aged 45 to 64). The diminishing gender gap seemed to be attributable to an increase in women;s educational attainment levels and to their higher status in the labor market. Conclusions: The study indicated the importance of equitable social opportunities for both genders for understanding the historical trends in the gender gap in the self-reported health data from South Korea.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.1477-1479
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• 2014

The objective of this study was to investigate the recent incidence and mortality trends for breast cancer in Mexican females. Data between 2000 and 2010 from the Department of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Health, and International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) were analyzed. Age-standardized rates (ASRs) and annual percent changes (APCs) were calculated. The absolute incidence and mortality rates of breast cancer increased: 3,726 and 4,615 in 2000 to 8,545 and 4,966 in 2010, respectively. Incidence increased over time in all age groups tested, the 60-64 age group had the highest ASR (57.4 per 100,000 women in 2010), while the 20-44 age group had the lowest ASR (12.3 in 2010). The results show that incidence of breast cancer has increased in Mexico during last one decade, especially among older women, while the downturn observed in mortality mainly reflects improved survival as a result of earlier diagnosis and better cancer treatment.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.20
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• pp.8689-8692
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• 2014

Purpose: To evaluate the recent incidence and mortality of and scientific research trends in cervical cancer in Mexican females. Materials and Methods: Data between 2000 and 2010 from the Department of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Health, and International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of World Health Organization were analyzed, and age-standardized rates (ASRs) were calculated. In addition, scientific research data were retrieved from the Web of Science database from 2003 to 2012, using different terms related to cervical cancer. Results: The incidence rate decreased during last five years, while mortality rates showed an annual decrease of 4.93%. A total of 780 articles were retrieved, and the institutions with the majority of publications were National Autonomous University of Mexico (34.87%), Social Security Mexican Institute (16.02%), and National Institute of Cancerology (15%). The main types of research were treatment, diagnosis, and prevention. Conclusions: The above results show that incidence of cervical cancer decreased over time in Mexico during last five years; similarly, the downturn observed in mortality mainly reflects improved survival as a result of earlier diagnosis and cancer treatment. Also, this article demonstrates the usefulness of bibliometrics to address key evaluation questions and to establish priorities, define future areas of research, and develop cervical cancer control strategies in Mexico.