• Title/Summary/Keyword: US health system

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Policy Supports for Informal Caregivers: Focusing on Policy Changes in the United States and United Kingdom (비공식 돌봄자를 위한 정책 지원 비교 연구: 미국과 영국 최근 정책 동향 고찰 중심으로)

  • Rhee, YongJoo
    • Journal of Digital Convergence
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    • v.18 no.12
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    • pp.389-399
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    • 2020
  • Diverse official policies in community are available for caregivers to take care of the elderly in the US and the UK. This study aims to examine the recent changes in government supports based on The Recognize, Assist, Include Support and Engage (RAISE) in the US, and those by Carer Act 2014 in the UK, to take any good lessons for Korean policy. Caregivers will play a new role to develop innovative treatment for patient-centered care. The UK strengthens to provide various efforts for working carers while assuring economic efficiency in labor market with empirical evidence. The major four ways to support carers were developed agreed with the acknowledge of caregiving value and their human right; financial support, direct services for carers, flexible work time, and advocacy. Korean supports policies for carers in long-term care and social welfare will be more effective in community care system if more evidence based policies are prepared.

Characteristics of Fish Communities and Length-weight Relationships of Dominant Species (Zacco platypus) in Seomjin River (섬진강 수계 어류군집 특성과 우점종 피라미(Zacco platypus)의 전장 - 체중 관계 분석)

  • Lee, Sun Ho;Kim, Hyo Gyeom;Jo, Hyunbin;Kwak, Ihn-Sil
    • Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.54 no.1
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    • pp.12-23
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    • 2021
  • As fish communities are sensitive to natural environmental changes as well as anthropogenic pressures, their composition and characteristics help us to assess the aquatic ecosystem health. The fish fauna and the length-weight relationship of Zacco platypus in the Seomjin River system were investigated from July 2018 to May 2019. The collected species during the survey period were 49 species belong to 14 families including 19 Korean endemic and two endangered species. According to Bray-Curtis similarities, 14 sites were divided into four groups based on the fish community composition; two groups(group A, B) and two uncategorized sites(group C, D). There were significant differences between groups A and B(analysis of similarities, R=0.722, p=0.002). A similarity percentage analysis revealed that Z. koreanus(8.55%), Micropterus salmoides(6.90%), and Lepomis macrochirus (4.90%) contributed to these differences of fish assemblages between group A and B. Group A showed higher relative abundances of exotic species such as M. salmoides and L. macrochirus, while Z. platypus and Z. koreanus which are the common species in Korea, were the most dominant species in group B. Based on the length-weight relationship of Z. platypus, b values were varied from 2.82 to 3.80, indicating that growth patterns of the species were spatially different. This study could be served as baseline data for understanding fish fauna, assessing habitat characteristics based on the fauna, and identifying health conditions of Z. platypus in the Seomjin River system.

GIS Database and Google Map of the Population at Risk of Cholangiocarcinoma in Mueang Yang District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province of Thailand

  • Kaewpitoon, Soraya J;Rujirakul, Ratana;Joosiri, Apinya;Jantakate, Sirinun;Sangkudloa, Amnat;Kaewthani, Sarochinee;Chimplee, Kanokporn;Khemplila, Kritsakorn;Kaewpitoon, Natthawut
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.17 no.3
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    • pp.1293-1297
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    • 2016
  • Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a serious problem in Thailand, particularly in the northeastern and northern regions. Database of population at risk are need required for monitoring, surveillance, home health care, and home visit. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a geographic information system (GIS) database and Google map of the population at risk of CCA in Mueang Yang district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, northeastern Thailand during June to October 2015. Populations at risk were screened using the Korat CCA verbal screening test (KCVST). Software included Microsoft Excel, ArcGIS, and Google Maps. The secondary data included the point of villages, sub-district boundaries, district boundaries, point of hospital in Mueang Yang district, used for created the spatial databese. The populations at risk for CCA and opisthorchiasis were used to create an arttribute database. Data were tranfered to WGS84 UTM ZONE 48. After the conversion, all of the data were imported into Google Earth using online web pages www.earthpoint.us. Some 222 from a 4,800 population at risk for CCA constituted a high risk group. Geo-visual display available at following www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=zPxtcHv_iDLo.kvPpxl5mAs90&hl=th. Geo-visual display 5 layers including: layer 1, village location and number of the population at risk for CCA; layer 2, sub-district health promotion hospital in Mueang Yang district and number of opisthorchiasis; layer 3, sub-district district and the number of population at risk for CCA; layer 4, district hospital and the number of population at risk for CCA and number of opisthorchiasis; and layer 5, district and the number of population at risk for CCA and number of opisthorchiasis. This GIS database and Google map production process is suitable for further monitoring, surveillance, and home health care for CCA sufferers.

The Study of Scattering Dust and Radiation Dose in Pedestrian Tunnels in Metropolitan Area (수도권 보행터널 내부에 존재하는 비산 먼지와 방사선량의 연구)

  • Jung, Hongmoon
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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    • v.14 no.4
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    • pp.385-390
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    • 2020
  • In the present, external environmental factors affect human health. In particular, the most important issue is fine dust in these days. Because fine dust is inhaled through the human respiratory system is known to be harmful to health. Tunnels for cars and people can also be easily seen around us. This study, the amount of scattering radiation was measured for walkable tunnels about dust. For the measurement method, dust and radiation dose in the tunnel were measured on good weather (fine dust level: 0 ~ 30 ㎍/㎥) and normal day (fine dust level: 0 ~ 80 ㎍/㎥). The measurement resulted in an increase of 10~20 % of dust in the center of the tunnel on a good weather day and an increase of 20~30 % of dust in the center of the tunnel on normal weather. On the other hand, the results of tunnel measurement of radiation dose increased by 10~20 % at the center of the tunnel non-depending on the weather. As a result, pedestrians should pay attention to scattering dust and scattered radiation while moving through the tunnel. Therefore, it is recommended to wear a filter mask of PM2.5 or less during frequent tunnel walking.

Color therapy and application of color to oriental medical science (색채치료(色彩治療)와 한의학(漢醫學)에서의 색(色)의 적용(適用))

  • Park, Seung Lim;Kang, Jung Soo
    • Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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    • v.12 no.1
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    • pp.79-102
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    • 2003
  • It has been believed that the human body can be effected by color, sound, smell, and taste - each of them is based on the original character. Out of these elements, the color can be a mediation that absorbs energy into human body and adapts it to the creatures whose life are definitely based on the solar energy. This thesis makes a study of the possibility of applying the color to the oriental medical science by researching the color psychology and therapy which are studied in the west medical science, the recognition and application of color developed from orientalism, and the opinion of color in the oriental medical science. Color therapy is one of the psychological treatment techniques that are able to recover and maintain the health with the rays of the sun rays and the color. The light and the color have its energy that may relax, harmonize, encourage, or excite a human being. This is because the wavelength and the vibration of each color will take effects to human body. The core energy of absorbing and distributing the color vibration is made in the 7 "chakras" in the body, which are the pith and marrow of bio-energy directly connected with the center of the nervous system. There are several methods in the color therapy - the treatment of solar ray, the color-bath, the water-therapy using color energy, the inducement of the solar energy into the body, the acupuncture, the therapy of crystal and jewel, and the self-suggestion dependent upon the color. The color therapy can help us to keep our balance by changing the emotion into the positive energy that will cure the disease with color. As a result, this method not only must be useful to cure physical disease, or develop into good health but also will be used in conforming itself to the mental disease. The color therapy mainly uses the eight colors, which are made by mixing Red, Yellow and Blue basic colors in the field. They are never used in the treatment, but they will go along with complementary colors. This rule is closely connected with the theory of yin and yang which lies at the root of oriental philosophy, and with the treatment principle of oriental medical science whose field is focused on the balancing the body mentally as well as physically. In the East, it is the Obangsaek - the color of blue, red, yellow, white, and black in the theory of yin and yang and the five elements that have been used in helping people having trouble with their health for a long time. In the view of the oriental medical science, these five colors attached the theory of five-elements have been very useful to the physiology, the pathology, or the diagnosis, and been applied to the medical treatment, combining themselves with a five-taste in medicinal herbs. Since the study of color and human physiology has been made in some different interest and fields these days, it goes to prove that the different function of color we couldn't have got before becomes very useful to the medical science. The color must be worth researching the diversity for applying itself to the oriental medical science.

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Structural Relationships Among Factors to Adoption of Telehealth Service (원격의료서비스 수용요인의 구조적 관계 실증연구)

  • Kim, Sung-Soo;Ryu, See-Won
    • Asia pacific journal of information systems
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    • v.21 no.3
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    • pp.71-96
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    • 2011
  • Within the traditional medical delivery system, patients residing in medically vulnerable areas, those with body movement difficulties, and nursing facility residents have had limited access to good healthcare services. However, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) provides us with a convenient and useful means of overcoming distance and time constraints. ICT is integrated with biomedical science and technology in a way that offers a new high-quality medical service. As a result, rapid technological advancement is expected to play a pivotal role bringing about innovation in a wide range of medical service areas, such as medical management, testing, diagnosis, and treatment; offering new and improved healthcare services; and effecting dramatic changes in current medical services. The increase in aging population and chronic diseases has caused an increase in medical expenses. In response to the increasing demand for efficient healthcare services, a telehealth service based on ICT is being emphasized on a global level. Telehealth services have been implemented especially in pilot projects and system development and technological research. With the service about to be implemented in earnest, it is necessary to study its overall acceptance by consumers, which is expected to contribute to the development and activation of a variety of services. In this sense, the study aims at positively examining the structural relationship among the acceptance factors for telehealth services based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Data were collected by showing audiovisual material on telehealth services to online panels and requesting them to respond to a structured questionnaire sheet, which is known as the information acceleration method. Among the 1,165 adult respondents, 608 valid samples were finally chosen, while the remaining were excluded because of incomplete answers or allotted time overrun. In order to test the reliability and validity of the assessment scale items, we carried out reliability and factor analyses, and in order to explore the causal relation among potential variables, we conducted a structural equation modeling analysis using AMOS 7.0 and SPSS 17.0. The research outcomes are as follows. First, service quality, innovativeness of medical technology, and social influence were shown to affect perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of the telehealth service, which was statistically significant, and the two factors had a positive impact on willingness to accept the telehealth service. In addition, social influence had a direct, significant effect on intention to use, which is paralleled by the TAM used in previous research on technology acceptance. This shows that the research model proposed in the study effectively explains the acceptance of the telehealth service. Second, the research model reveals that information privacy concerns had a insignificant impact on perceived ease of use of the telehealth service. From this, it can be gathered that the concerns over information protection and security are reduced further due to advancements in information technology compared to the initial period in the information technology industry, and thus the improvement in quality of medical services appeared to ensure that information privacy concerns did not act as a prohibiting factor in the acceptance of the telehealth service. Thus, if other factors have an enormous impact on ease of use and usefulness, concerns over these results in the initial period of technology acceptance may become irrelevant. However, it is clear that users' information privacy concerns, as other studies have revealed, is a major factor affecting technology acceptance. Thus, caution must be exercised while interpreting the result, and further study is required on the issue. Numerous information technologies with outstanding performance and innovativeness often attract few consumers. A revised bill for those urgently in need of telehealth services is about to be approved in the national assembly. As telemedicine is implemented between doctors and patients, a wide range of systems that will improve the quality of healthcare services will be designed. In this sense, the study on the consumer acceptance of telehealth services is meaningful and offers strong academic evidence. Based on the implications, it can be expected to contribute to the activation of telehealth services. Further study is needed to assess the acceptance factors for telehealth services, such as motivation to remain healthy, health care involvement, knowledge on health, and control of health-related behavior, in order to develop unique services according to the categorization of customers based on health factors. In addition, further study may focus on various theoretical cognitive behavior models other than the TAM, such as the health belief model.

The Change of the Maximal Isometric Contracture of the Normal and Spastic Muscles in Voluntary Exercise (수의적 운동에 의한 정상근과 경직근의 최대 등척성 수축력 변화)

  • Lim, Sang-Wan;Choi, Eun-Young
    • Journal of the Korean Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology
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    • v.3 no.1
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    • pp.1-12
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    • 2005
  • This study aimed at examining the maximal isometric contraction caused by voluntary exercise and at comparing its aspects of decrease and restoration in their different repeated application, as to the quadriceps muscles of thigh in the subjects composed of patients with spastic hemiplegia and normal adults. Using isokinetic exercise analyser(Biodex Medical Systems Inc., Biodex System 3PRO, U.S.A.), experiment was conducted as to the normal group composed of fifteen adults and the patient group composed of fifteen patients with spastic hemiplegia. As to each group, MVIC(maximal voluntary isometric contraction) of the quadriceps muscle of thigh caused by voluntary exercise and the aspects of decrease and restoration of the isometric contraction were examined with the method to induce isometric exercise, and their SDI(strength decrement index) and SRI(strength recovery index) were also calculated. The results can be summarized as follows: 1. As for decrease of maximal isometric contraction, both groups showed slow decrease in voluntary exercise, but the normal group showed rapid decrease later phase. 2. As for SDI, no significant differences could be observed in comparison between groups. 3. As for restoration of maximal isometric contraction, both groups showed slow restoration in voluntary exercise, but the normal group showed rapid restoration early phase. 4. As for SRI, comparison between groups showed significant differences in voluntary exercise. These results lead us to the conclusions that spastic muscle is characterized by slow decrease and restoration of MVIC in comparison with normal muscle in voluntary exercise.

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A Study of Literature of the Hospital Infection Control. (병원감염관리에 대한 문헌적 고찰)

  • Shon Young-Hee
    • Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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    • v.2 no.2
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    • pp.213-227
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    • 1995
  • Today, although hospital infectious diseases are readily diagnosed, are treatable and preventable, many of these continues to be a major health problem in the developing countries, as well as the advanced nations. In the advanced countries efforts for hospital infection control has been presented but in Korea. The importance of being knowledgeble concerning hospital infection control is not much recognized yet. Presently in Korea good quality of care and services in the hospital is a main issue of discussion, therefore the subject of hospital infection control can't be over emphasized. Hospital infection control measures ranged from almost non existent to none when the pathogen transmission were not fully understood. As the knowledge of the transmission and contraction of the diseases expanded, newer and more effective procedures evolved. To be vital it is required to have good system for hospital infection control and inspection, rules and regulations and many numbers of persons with dedication. The strategy has been applied for hospital infection control standards as outlined by the centers for disease control and prevention(CDC). The hospital infection control committee is the factor to be well managed. Especially nurses are the important part of any hospital infection control program because they are the one who makes function properly. It is also required the responsibility of every employer who has employees who are exposed to blood, blood products or other potentially hospital infectious materials. Laws enacted by agencies of the federal government but the emphasis, and the demands for initiating and maintaining these control measures should be practiced on a routine and daily basis. The forgoing facts and requirements will assist us in assuring our hospital infection control program is successful.

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An Analysis of Call Demands of Two Squads In Kyonggi Provincial fire and Disaster Headquarters (경기도 소방재난본부에 소속된 두 구급대의 출동수요 분석)

  • Uhm, Tai-Hwan
    • The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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    • v.6 no.1
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    • pp.77-86
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    • 2002
  • The purposes of this research which was conducted by surveying lost/added unit hours reports, unit hour demand analysis worksheets from prehospital care reports of two squads in Kyonggi Provincial Fire and Disaster Headquarters for 20 weeks (January 1, 2002 - May 20, 2002) are to get Unit Hour Utilizations. Call Demands such as Unit Hour Demand, Simple Average Demand, High Average Demand, Peak Average Demand, the High Actual Demand. The conclusions from this analysis were summarized as follows: (1) By revealing Unit Hour Produced 3223.9, Call Volume 964, Unit Hour Utilization 0.299 at the Squad A and Unit Hour Produced 3328.4, Call Volume 901, Unit Hour Utilization 0.271 at the Squad B induced Korean Squads to chance identification, definition, direction of Unit Hour Utilization. (2) By revealing Simple Average Demand 7.4 on Monday Tuesday, High Average Demand 9.6 on Tuesday Friday. Peak Average Demand 11.5 on Tuesday, the High Actual Demand 12 on Tuesday Wednesday at the Squad A and Simple Average Demand 6.8 on Sunday, High Average Demand 10.4 on Monday, Peak Average Demand 11.5 on Monday, the High Actual Demand 13 on Monday at the Squad B enabled Korean Squads to utilize System Status Management. (3) The Maximum Calls per Unit Hour were 115 for 23:00~23:59, the Minimum Calls per Unit Hour were 46 for 05:00~05:49 in two squads. The Maximum Calls per Unit Hour were 7.4 on Tuesday Saturday, the Minimum Calls per Unit Hour were 6.1 on Thursday at the Squad A. The Maximum Calls per Unit Hour were 7.3 on Monday Saturday, the Minimum Calls per Unit Hour were 5.6 on Thursday at the Squad B. (4) Analyzing demand for EMTs in the optimum emergency medical service of Korea, we have been able to utilize this Unit Hour Utilization in company with the established estimation methods such as international comparisons or the number of ambulances for scientific reasonable estimation. (5) These Call Demands which were limited to the demand time in this study will make us expect some following studies including demand time, demand time, demand map for Strategic Deployment.

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Utilization of Google Earth for Distribution Mapping of Cholangiocarcinoma: a Case Study in Satuek District, Buriram, Thailand

  • Rattanasing, Wannaporn;Kaewpitoon, Soraya J;Loyd, Ryan A;Rujirakul, Ratana;Yodkaw, Eakachai;Kaewpitoon, Natthawut
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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    • v.16 no.14
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    • pp.5903-5906
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    • 2015
  • Background: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a serious public health problem in the Northeast of Thailand. CCA is considered to be an incurable and rapidly lethal disease. Knowledge of the distribution of CCA patients is necessary for management strategies. Objectives: This study aimed to utilize the Geographic Information System and Google $Earth^{TM}$ for distribution mapping of cholangiocarcinoma in Satuek District, Buriram, Thailand, during a 5-year period (2008-2012). Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study data were collected and reviewed from the OPD cards, definitive cases of CCA were patients who were treated in Satuek hospital and were diagnosed with CCA or ICD-10 code C22.1. CCA cases were used to analyze and calculate with ArcGIS 9.2, all of data were imported into Google Earth using the online web page www.earthpoint.us. Data were displayed at village points. Results: A total of 53 cases were diagnosed and identified as CCA. The incidence was 53.57 per 100,000 population (65.5 for males and 30.8 for females) and the majority of CCA cases were in stages IV and IIA. The average age was 67 years old. The highest attack rate was observed in Thung Wang sub-district (161.4 per 100,000 population). The map display at village points for CCA patients based on Google Earth gave a clear visual deistribution. Conclusions: CCA is still a major problem in Satuek district, Buriram province of Thailand. The Google Earth production process is very simple and easy to learn. It is suitable for the use in further development of CCA management strategies.