• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.45-50
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• 2000

Objectives : This study was undertaken to evaluate correlation between the levels of hippuric acid in blood plasma (HAP) and those of toluene concentration in the workplace air. Methods : Study subjects were composed of two groups; 21 workers who were occupationally exposed to toluene and 25 rural-area residents who were not exposed to any known occupational toluene source, as an exposed group and a reference group, respectively. Mean age and work duration of the exposed was 42 years and five years, respectively. Mean age of the reference was 42 years. To determine toluene concentrations in the workplace air, air sampling has been conducted for more than six hours using a personal sampler, and analyzed by a gas chromatography-flame ionization detector. Concentrations of hippuric acid in biological samples were determined by a high performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detector. Results : Geometric mean(geometric standard deviation) of HAP and hippuric acid in urine(HAU) for the exposed was 1.39(2.21) mg/L and 2.77(1.46) g/L, respectively, which were significantly different from those of the reference [HAP, 9.45(2.94); HAU, 0.37(0.45)]. Teluene concentration in the workplace air was 86.92(range: $45.18\sim151.23$)ppm. The level of HAP or HAU was significantly correlated (r=0.70 and r=0.63, respectively) with that of toluene in the workplace air. The estimated regression equation was logHAP(mg/L)=-3.60+1.93 log(toluene, ppm) or logHAU(g/L)=-0.85+0.67 log(toluene, ppm). The magnitude of correlation was further enhanced when analyzing relationship between toluene concentrations lower than 100 ppm and its corresponding HAP levels. Conclusion : Overall, plasma hippuric acid levels were well correlated with toluene concentrations in the workplace air, and a statistically significant correlation was observed for the samples with toluene concentration lower than 100 ppm.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.102 no.1
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• pp.15-23
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• 2013

This study aims to analyze factors affecting villagers' participation in conservation of village woodlands. We postulated that socio-economic characteristics such as gender, age, place of birth, wealth level, frequency of use and leader experience could contribute to decision-making of participation in the village woodland conservation. Data were collected by interviewing 52 villagers in village A and 41 villagers in village B and were used to estimate the probability function of villager's participation in village woodland conservation using ordered logit model. The results indicate that frequent use of village woodlands increases the probability of villagers' participation in conservation of village woodlands in the case of village A. In the case of village B, people who were born in the village and have experiences of serving the village as a village leader are more likely to participate in the village woodland conservation activities. Considering the fact that the village woodland of village A is owned by the community as a village common, and that cultural activities remain in the village woodland of village A, the utility of village woodlands to the residents and their common understanding of village woodlands seem to influence the likelihood of villagers' participation in conservation of village woodlands. In order to induce villagers' participation in the village woodland conservation, it is necessary to recognize the right of villager's access and provide villagers with common understanding of village woodlands through cultural activities and education programs.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.115-123
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• 2024

Background: The population of Gangneung City in South Korea has shown a gradual increase in the proportion of individuals aged 65 years and older, and the most frequently reported diseases for several years have consistently been periodontal diseases, including gingivitis and periodontitis. The regional imbalance in the distribution of dental personnel and resources has emerged as a problem of inequality in the use of dental care. It has been advocated to identify areas with disadvantages in dental care and develop public dental policies based on that. This study aimed to develop a customized oral healthcare program for local seniors based on a Public-Private-Academic Partnership, and to evaluate the oral health status of older adults in Gangneung City. Methods: The participants were residents aged 60 years and above in Gangneung City. A questionnaire including general information, systemic health status, and oral health status was administered to the participants. In addition, oral healthcare and education tailored to each individual's health status were provided once or twice based on their oral health status. The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25 for descriptive statistical analysis. Results: Among the older adults in Gangneung City, 75% had at least one prosthesis and exhibited symptoms of gingivitis or periodontitis. Additionally, the modified sulcus bleeding index decreased among participants who underwent the program twice. Over 90% of the participants expressed satisfaction with the program. Conclusion: The program appeared to contribute positively to the oral health promotion among local seniors. Further oral healthcare programs should focus on seniors in rural and old urban areas to reduce disparities in oral health across regions.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.1764-1772
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of social capital on Goendang(relatives) culture, which is a traditional local community culture, and local development as a positive factor. In order to evaluate the effect of social capital, a survey targeting 600 Jeju residents was conducted and 594 returned questionnaires were interpreted for the final analysis. Descriptive analysis, T-test, ANOVA analysis, and multiple regression analysis were conducted on the collected data, using SPSS 18.0. As a result, firstly, the levels of social capital of the surveyed appear as follows: network (average score 4.01), trust (average score 3.80), norms (average score 3.43), cooperation (average score 3.00), and participation (average score 2.80). Secondly, there are differences in social capital among the surveyed groups based on urban-rural areas, administrative districts, and average monthly income. Finally, among the dimensions of social capital, as the relative importance of network and participation increases, the surveyed think that they need Goendang culture more. Also, i t turns out that as the relative importance of norms and participation increases, Goendang culture can exert influence on local development as an important influence factor. Therefore, based on the analysis, this study shows that nurturing social capital can allow people to utilize Goendang culture for local development as a positive community culture.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.441-448
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• 2000

This study was performed to investigate the prevalence and its related factors on the Clonorchis sinensis(C.S.) of inhabitants at Goksung-gun, Chollanam-do. After the population was stratified by gender, age, resident area, 651 residents living in eight villages were sampled by cluster sampling method. We interviewed the subjects to survey the various characteristics using the questionnaire, and examined stools to confirm the infection of C.S. from November to December, 1998. The prevalence of C.S. was 19.0%. The factors related with the infection of C.S. were male(adjusted odds ratio, of female=1.71, 95% confidence interval=1.07-2.72), 45-64 year old group(aOR of under 45 year old group=2.16. 95% CI=1.21-3.85), above 65 year old group(aOR of under 45 year old group=2.34, 95% CI=1.31-4.15), basin villagers(aOR of inland villagers=2.34, 95% CI=1.31-4.15), current drinker(aOR of nondrinker=1.83, 95% CI=1.12-2.98), those who took raw fish(aOR of persons who didn't it or take cooked fish=2.09, 95% CI=1.21-3.88) and persons who know the infection status(aQR of the persons who didn't know it=0.57, 95% CI=0.37-0.89). In conclusion, these results suggest that several life styles such as ingestion of raw fish, drinking habit. So we think that it is necessary to set up the efficient management programs for the treatment and prevention of C.S. infection.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.29-36
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• 2018

This study aims at suggesting directions to make children's parks considering the actual groups using them by comparative analysis of age distribution in residents within area of use and locations of children's parks with regards to changes in population structure of low birth rate and aging. Cheongju was selected for the study, and the current status of children's parks and population structure were categorized into six stages and the investigation and analysis were conducted by statistics by population group and by using Arc GIS Program. As a result of the analysis, children under 13 were 13.1% of the entire population in Cheongju and share of middle-aged and aged group including middle-aged was 31.3%. Park area per one children under 13 was 5.9㎡ and based on walking use area(250m), average number of parks available by autonomous district was eight. As a result of the analysis of characteristics of distribution of children's parks, they are densely located in old downtowns or the distribution density was relatively high in newly developed areas such as Osong-eup or Ochang-eup. However, outer rural areas have no children's parks or relatively low rate. As a result of the analysis on population structure and co-efficient of park location, in nine autonomous districts, aged group is increasing, leading to decrease use of children's parks. If resident rate aged group is higher in the region where a children's park is located, it is necessary to re-compose the existing one to different one or to change purposes of parks to be planned. Also, in the area with similar rates in both children's group and aged group, composing complex parks for both of them could be considered. This study has limitations by not conducting field studies about the current status of use of children's parks in areas where the population structure has been changing and not suggesting specifically new types of parks according to changes in population structure. It is necessary to conduct the following studies about relationship between children's parks and policies for composing parks responding to changes in population structure in neighboring regions in future.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.67-77
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• 2021

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the vaccination rate for pneumococcus among aged 65 or older, and at the same time to determine the reasons for vaccination or non-vaccination. Methods: The population of this study was aged 65 or older, with a total of 1,150 subjects to be analyzed and a computer assisted telephone interviewing was used. The survey included pneumococcal vaccination status, reasons of vaccination, sources of information on vaccination, reasons for not vaccination, and other related factors. Results: The vaccination rate for pneumococcus among aged 65 or older was 56.2 percent, lower than 69.0 percent in the U.S. (2017), and 69.2 percent in the U.K. (2019). Among the factors related to the pneumococcal vaccination, the groups with the high vaccination rate were women, low age groups, residents of urban areas, people without a job, people with high education, medical insurance subscribers, married people, and people who have family members. In addition, the groups with high vaccination rates were those with high awareness, those who received recommendations from doctors, those who had vaccination records, those who believed in vaccination effects, and those who saw public service advertisements. Conclusions: In the future, it is necessary to develop alternatives to accurately manage vaccination records for adults who are not eligible for state support, and regular adult vaccination rates should be calculated so that they can be used as evidence for the country's infection control policy.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.225-232
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• 1999

A survey of an endemic locality at Songjung Ri, Ogok Myun, Goksung County, South Cholla Province for the prevalence of Clonorchis sinensis and Metagonimus yokogawai was primarily done on 53 residence before medication using formalin-ether concentration method of stool examination. After praziquantel medication of all the clonorchiasis patients, 64 humans consisting 82.1% of total inhibitants and including 84.9% of primarily surveyed residents were secondly surveyed after 2-year post-treatment to evaluate the prevalence and reinfection. The prevalence of clonorchiasis was decreased from 35.8% before medication to 10.9% after medication(P<0.01), indicating this disease was not satisfactorily controlled although the rate was significantly lowered. The prevalence of metagonimiasis was dropped from 17.0% to 6.3% on post-treatment. In clonorchiasis cases, sex ratio showed no difference in both pre- and post-treatment, and mean age was the sixties after medication from the forties and fifties before medication, suggesting more aged people of both sexes were infected with this fluke. The reinfection of clonorchiasis and metagonimiasis following 2-year post-treatment was 15.8% and 25.0%, respectively. The proportion of reinfection among the egg positive cases was 50.0% in clonorchiasis and 100% in metagonimiasis. These findings mean that a high fraction of clonorchiasis and metagonimiasis was reinfected with these trematodes. In conclusion, to eradicate the C. sinensis and M. yokogawai in an endemic area, it should be preceded to control the reinfection of these parasites.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.10
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• pp.4523-4530
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• 2011

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of stretching management on musculoskeletal joint pain in community indwelling elderly farmers. The study included 28 residents who lived in a rural community. All participants were assigned randomly to either the stretching group (n=13, $59.67{\pm}4.77$ year-old) or the control group (n=15, $61.44{\pm}10.41$ year-old). Respondents were interviewed by means of a structured questionnaire. Pain severity of 6 body areas caused by symptoms of work-related musculoskeletal disorders and pain severity on day time variations were measured by the visual analogue scale on a self-assessed questionnaire. The stretching group was administered stretching therapy (45 min, 2 sets, warming up and cool down, main exercise; total 19 stretching kinds of subset 5 fields) for 12 times for 4 weeks. There were no significant difference between the two groups in general social and pain characteristics. After 4 weeks of stretching, the stretching group showed significant improvements at almost all joint pain scores except arm/elbow, and day time variation scores of pain compared to both baseline scores, and with control group scores. These results showed that stretching therapy is one of the most useful modalities to manage musculoskeletal pain in community-based elderly farmers.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.3981-3990
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• 2015

Background: Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in Jordan. Current efforts are focused on annual campaigns aimed at increasing awareness about breast cancer and encouraging women to conduct mammogram screening. In the absence of regular systematic screening for breast cancer in Jordan, there is a need to evaluate current mammography screening uptake and its predictors, assess women's knowledge and attitudes towards breast cancer and screening mammograms and to identify barriers to this preventive service. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in six governorates in Jordan through face-to-face interviews on a random sample of women aged 40 to 69 years. Results: A total of 507 participants with mean age of $46.8{\pm}7.8$ years were interviewed. There was low participation rate in early detection of breast cancer practices. Breast self-examination, doctor examination and periodic mammography screening were reported by 34.9%, 16.8% and 8.6% of study participants, respectively. Additionally 3.8% underwent breast cancer screening at least once but not periodically, while 87.6% had never undergone mammography screening. Reported reasons for conducting the screening were: perceived benefit (50%); family history of breast cancer (23.1%); perceived severity (21.2%); and advice from friend or family member (5.8%). City residents have shown higher probability of undergoing mammogram than those who live in towns or villages. Results revealed negative perceptions and limited knowledge of study participants on breast cancer and breast cancer screening. The most commonly reported barriers for women who never underwent screening were: fear of results (63.8%); no support from surrounding environment (59.7); cost of the test (53.4%); and religious belief, i.e. Qadaa Wa Qadar (51.1%). Conclusions: In the absence of regular systematic screening for breast cancer in Jordan, the uptake of this preventive service is very low. It is essential for the country of Jordan to work on applying regular systematic mammography screening for breast cancer. Additionally, there is a need for improvement in the current health promotion programmes targeting breast cancer screening. Other areas that could be targeted in future initiatives in this field include access to screening in rural areas and removal of current barriers.