• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.75-89
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• 2024

The objective of this study was to conduct research and analysis using Group Focus Interview to survey the between construction site workers and managers implementing for the Severe Accident Punishment Act. Focused on measures to improve safety management effectiveness for the effectiveness of establishing a safety management system. A plan to improve the efficient safety management system was presented to 50 construction industrial managers and workers. In order to ensure the industrial accident prevention policies appropriately, it is necessary to be aware of safety obligations for workers as well as business operators. In addition, despite the existence of a commentary on the Serious Accident Punishment Act, confusion in the field still persists, so in the event of a major accidents, the obligation to take safety and health education is strengthened, and effective case education is proposed by teaching actual accident cases suitable for actual working sites. It is necessary to make all training mandatory, and it is necessary to reconsider awareness through writing a daily safety log, awareness of risk factors, etc., and writing down risk information. Above all, at the construction ordering stage, it is necessary to keep the construction safety, request corrections and supplements for problems issues that arise, and consult between the orderer and the construction company about the problems issues. Rather than having only the construction company correct or supplement the safety management plan, the contents should be shared with supervisors and workers to establish a more practical solution. Results of this study will contribute to improving the effectiveness of the serious accident and construction safety management system.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.71-88
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• 2001

The purpose of this study is to analyze the cost-effectiveness of four medications for treating and preventing osteoporosis -HRT therapy(conjugated equine estrogen 0.625mg for 25 days and medroxyprogesterone acetate 5mg for 01112 days), Alendronate(10mg and 5mg), Active Vitamin D(Calcitriol), and Calcium. Total costs include the direct medical cost -examination fee, consultation fee, prescription fee, fee for preparing medications, and the price of pharmaceuticals- and the indirect cost of patients such as traffic expenses and time cost. In addition, the costs of monitoring in adverse reactions are added. The effects of four medications are expressed as BMD(Bone Mineral Density) percent change measured by DEXA(Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) in lumbar spine(L2-L4) and femoral neck site. A mixed model based on meta analysis provides the estimates of effectiveness, which are then appled to the hypothetical cohort consisting of postmenopausal women at the age of 50-59. HRT therapy is the most cost-effective medication at 172,433.64 won (lumbar spine site) and 546,328.28 won (femoral neck site) per BMD percent change for osteoporosis. Alendronate 10mg is more cost-effective than Alendronate 5mg as 345,971.23 won and 378,441.63 won per lumbar BMD percent change at 0.991ｇ/$cm^2$, respectively. Alendronate 10mg is more cost-effective than Alendronate 5mg as 1,329,257.89 won and 1,467,291.23 won per femoral neck BMD percent change at 0.834ｇ/$cm^2$, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.30-40
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• 2022

The death rate in the construction industry, which is more than twice that of other industries, increases the need to solve chronic safety problems. In a situation in which the safety management measures that have been maintained thus far are unable to reduce construction accidents, the introduction of smart construction safety technology (SCST) that reflects the 4th industrial technology is required for the safety management of workers. Large corporations or public institutions have introduced SCST and are operating pilot sites, but SCST is still in its infancy and there have yet to exist field data regarding necessity and effectiveness. In this study, the concept of SCST, which has still to be established, is defined, and the actual condition of SCST was analyzed through a survey. Through the analysis of the necessity of SCST introduction, convenience, and effectiveness before and after its application, problems such as problems from the field point of view as well as other factors hindering the introduction of such technology are derived in detail. In addition, an effective combination of technologies for safety management at the current level is determined and an activation plan is presented.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.7757-7759
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• 2013

Physicians, in order to study the causes of cancer, detect cancer earlier, prevent or determine the effectiveness of treatment, and specify the reasons for the treatment ineffectiveness, need to access accurate, comprehensive, and timely cancer data. The cancer care environment has become more complex because of the need for coordination and communication among health care professionals with different skills in a variety of roles and the existence of large amounts of data with various formats. The goals of health care systems in such a complex environment are correct health data management, providing appropriate information needs of users to enhance the integrity and quality of health care, timely access to accurate information and reducing medical errors. These roles in new systems with use of agents efficiently perform well. Because of the potential capability of agent systems to solve complex and dynamic health problems, health care system, in order to gain full advantage of E- health, steps must be taken to make use of this technology. Multi-agent systems have effective roles in health service quality improvement especially in telemedicine, emergency situations and management of chronic diseases such as cancer. In the design and implementation of agent based systems, planning items such as information confidentiality and privacy, architecture, communication standards, ethical and legal aspects, identification opportunities and barriers should be considered. It should be noted that usage of agent systems only with a technical view is associated with many problems such as lack of user acceptance. The aim of this commentary is to survey applications, opportunities and barriers of this new artificial intelligence tool for cancer care information as an approach to improve cancer care management.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.384-393
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of Participatory Action-Oriented Training (PAOT) programs in korean manufacture workers with metabolic syndrome for three years. Methods: A total of 890 workers with risks of metabolic syndrome were recruited from one workplace. The experimental group (n=51) received PAOT program for the preventive management on metabolic syndrome, while the control group (n=51) received conventional program. Results: In the experimental group who participated in PAOT program, percentage of achieved action plans was 73.4% at three months, 75.8% at six months, 82.8% at three years. After three years, the rate of risk factor in the experimental group has significantly decreased from $1.94{\pm}1.77$ to $0.76{\pm}1.25$ for moderate exercise, and from $1.72{\pm}2.01$ to $1.04{\pm}1.59$ for the strenuous exercise. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure has significantly decreased from $125.06{\pm}11.83$ to $117.65{\pm}19.94$, from $83.45{\pm}13.38$ to $76.39{\pm}8.09$ mmHg. In addition, risk factor score also decreased from $3.31{\pm}0.61$ to $1.41{\pm}0.89$. Conclusion: To improve the effectiveness of PAOT program for the management of risk factors of metabolic syndrome, there is a need to continue implement programs and analyze the long-term effects are required in the workplace.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.1249-1259
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• 2023

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for osteoporosis screening. Materials and Methods: Eligible patients who had and had not undergone DXA screening were identified from among those aged 50 years or older at Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan. Age, sex, screening year (index year), and Charlson comorbidity index of the DXA and non-DXA groups were matched using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) for propensity score analysis. For cost-effectiveness analysis, a societal perspective, 1-year cycle length, 20-year time horizon, and discount rate of 2% per year for both effectiveness and costs were adopted in the incremental cost-effectiveness (ICER) model. Results: The outcome analysis included 10337 patients (female:male, 63.8%:36.2%) who were screened for osteoporosis in southern Taiwan between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2021. The DXA group had significantly better outcomes than the non-DXA group in terms of fragility fractures (7.6% vs. 12.5%, P < 0.001) and mortality (0.6% vs. 4.3%, P < 0.001). The DXA screening strategy gained an ICER of US$ -2794 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) relative to the non-DXA at the willingness-to-pay threshold of US$ 33004 (Taiwan's per capita gross domestic product). The ICER after stratifying by ages of 50-59, 60-69, 70-79, and ≥ 80 years were US$ -17815, US$ -26862, US$ -28981, and US$ -34816 per QALY, respectively. Conclusion: Using DXA to screen adults aged 50 years or older for osteoporosis resulted in a reduced incidence of fragility fractures, lower mortality rate, and reduced total costs. Screening for osteoporosis is a cost-saving strategy and its effectiveness increases with age. However, caution is needed when generalizing these cost-effectiveness results to all older populations because the study population consisted mainly of women.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.14
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• pp.5613-5618
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• 2015

Clinicians should looking for techniques that helps to early diagnosis of cancer, because early cancer detection is critical to increase survival and cost effectiveness of treatment, and as a result decrease mortality rate. Medical images are the most important tools to provide assistance. However, medical images have some limitations for optimal detection of some neoplasias, originating either from the imaging techniques themselves, or from human visual or intellectual capacity. Image processing techniques are allowing earlier detection of abnormalities and treatment monitoring. Because the time is a very important factor in cancer treatment, especially in cancers such as the lung and breast, imaging techniques are used to accelerate diagnosis more than with other cancers. In this paper, we outline experience in use of image processing techniques for lung and breast cancer diagnosis. Looking at the experience gained will help specialists to choose the appropriate technique for optimization of diagnosis through medical imaging.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.4961-4964
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• 2013

Greater use of mobile phone devices seems inevitable because the health industry and cancer care are facing challenges such as resource constraints, rising care costs, the need for immediate access to healthcare data of types such as audio video texts for early detection and treatment of patients and increasing remote aids in telemedicine. Physicians, in order to study the causes of cancer, detect cancer earlier, act in prevention measures, determine the effectiveness of treatment and specify the reasons for the treatment ineffectiveness, need to access accurate, comprehensive and timely cancer data. Mobile devices provide opportunities and can play an important role in consulting, diagnosis, treatment, and quick access to health information. There easy carriage make them perfect tools for healthcare providers in cancer care management. Key factors in cancer care management systems through a mobile phone health approach must be considered such as human resources, confidentiality and privacy, legal and ethical issues, appropriate ICT and provider infrastructure and costs in general aspects and interoperability, human relationships, types of mobile devices and telecommunication related points in specific aspects. The successful implementation of mobile-based systems in cancer care management will constantly face many challenges. Hence, in applying mobile cancer care, involvement of users and considering their needs in all phases of project, providing adequate bandwidth, preparation of standard tools that provide maximum mobility and flexibility for users, decreasing obstacles to interrupt network communications, and using suitable communication protocols are essential. It is obvious that identifying and reducing barriers and strengthening the positive points will have a significant role in appropriate planning and promoting the achievements of mobile cancer care systems. The aim of this article is to explain key points which should be considered in designing appropriate mobile health systems in cancer care as an approach for improving cancer care management.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.27-38
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• 2018

Background: Related to escalating health care costs and the questionable effectiveness of multiple interventions including lumbar facet joint interventions, cost effectiveness or cost utility analysis has become the cornerstone of evidence-based medicine influencing coverage decisions. Methods: Cost utility of therapeutic lumbar facet joint nerve blocks in managing chronic low back pain was performed utilizing data from a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial with a 2-year follow-up, with direct payment data from 2016. Based on the data from surgical interventions, utilizing the lowest proportion of direct procedural costs of 60%, total cost utility per quality adjusted life year (QALY) was determined by multiplying the derived direct cost at 1.67. Results: Patients in this trial on average received $5.6{\pm}2.6$ procedures over a period of 2 years, with average relief over a period of 2 years of $82.8{\pm}29.6$ weeks with $19{\pm}18.77$ weeks of improvement per procedure. Procedural cost for one-year improvement in quality of life showed USD $2,654.08. Estimated total costs, including indirect costs and drugs with multiplication of direct costs at 1.67, showed a cost of USD $4,432 per QALY. Conclusions: The analysis of therapeutic lumbar facet joint nerve blocks in the treatment of chronic low back pain shows clinical effectiveness and cost utility at USD $2,654.08 for the direct costs of the procedures, and USD $4,432 for the estimated overall cost per one year of QALY, in chronic persistent low back pain non-responsive to conservative management.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.63-81
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• 2006

This study was conducted to evaluate needs and intention of hospitals and clinics to join network with private health insurance, and to discover obstacles of participation of the networks. We carried out the questionnaire survey of the network managers of 236 medical institutions between December 27th, 2005 and January 25th, 2006. The result showed that the participation intention of network were different to the type of hospitals. Primary care clinics answered that participation intention and possibility were low. Secondary care hospitals was relatively affirmative regarding a network participation. Tertiary hospitals responded that they need the network with private health insurance, but participation possibility was lower than needs. The reason is that they worried about the side effect of the network with private health insurance. Depending on the type of hospitals, expected benefits from networking with private health insurance were different. We found that hospitals which already had affiliation with other hospitals answered in the affirmative regarding the network with private health insurance. In conclusion, to increase the effectiveness of network systems between hospital and private health insurance, the network is expected to consider different needs of the each hospital.