• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.49-61
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of the use of external breast prostheses among breast cancer survivors in Korea. Methods: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted, using focus groups. Data were collected from breast cancer survivors who were patients of C women's hospital in Seoul, Korea. Data were analyzed using content analysis in order to identify significant themes. Results: Participants included forty breast cancer survivors who had mastectomy as a surgical treatment. Four themes emerged from the collected data were: 1) concern over the high price of external breast prosthesis, 2) irregular use of external breast prosthesis, 3) unsatisfied with mastectomy bra, and 4) wanting to hide or not to talk about using breast prosthesis openly. Conclusion: Since most participants reported irregular use and negative experiences related to external breast prosthesis or mastectomy bra use, healthcare workers should allow more time for proper fitting and counseling and consulting with breast cancer survivors. In addition, health care providers as well as family and friends should keep in mind that cancer survivors need support that can help them cope by using positive reframing. Furthermore, improvements in the coverage of costs and services are needed for these women. This would be helpful for breast prosthesis users.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.4977-4982
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• 2013

Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate perceived inhibiting and facilitating factors concerning cervical cancer early diagnosis behavior in Turkish women over the age of 40. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out by qualitative focus group interview with 35 participating women, in the period between April-June 2010. A semi-structured interview questionnaire based on the Health Belief Model and the Health Promotion Model was used. Content analysis was applied to the study data. Results: Barriers such as lack of knowledge of women as regards to the cervical cancer and early detection, lack of sensitivity-negligence, forgetting, fear, inadequacy of health insurance and transportation, financial problems, inability to get an appointment, lack of female doctors, embarassment, fatalist approach were frequently addressed. As for facilitating factors, these included provision of information, health professionals showing interest and tolerance, free services, provision of transportation means and reminding telephone calls. Conclusions: Focus group interviews were found to be effective in determining inhibiting and facilitating factors concerning cervical cancer early diagnosis behavior. In line with the results of the study, preparation of structured national and regional education programs and their addition to curriculum programs may be effective in realizing and maintaining positive early detection behavior.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.46
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• pp.319-348
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• 2001

The primary purpose of this study is to examine the buffering effect of social welfare services on the relationship between the level of older persons' impairment and burden experienced by the family caregivers. It also assessed the level of caregiving burden as well as the effect of both older person's impairment and the characteristics of the caregivers on burden. The survey data collected from 150 community residing family caregivers was used for analyses. Findings are as follows. First, the caregivers are more burdened in the deterioration of mental health, scarce time for oneself, and the suffering of social life than in other areas of burden. Second, the more severe the physical and the mental impairment of the elder, the more burden the caregivers experience. The caregivers' characteristics such as the worse mental health, the lower level of attachment to the elder, the longer caregiving hours are also related to the higher level of caregiving burden. Third, the caregivers' use of adult day care and respite care services buffer the relationship between the level of impairment of older persons and the caregiving burden. However, social work counselling, visiting nurse, homemaker services do not have such buffering effects. Among informal support, instrumental support buffers the relationship between the elder's physical impairment and burden, while emotional support buffers the relationship between the elder's mental impairment and burden. According to the results, implication for social welfare services and practice methods for the family caregivers was discussed.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.343-351
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• 2000

The Korean government enacted the National Health Promotion Act in January, 1995 and proclaimed its regulations and rules in September 1995, which became the basis of the national health policy. The health promotion programs consist of education for health, prevention of diseases, improvement of nutrition, and practice of healthy life style as defined in that Act. The Community Health Act was amended in 1995, which included implementing nutrition services in community health centers. The purpose of this report is to summerize the nutrition services conducted in 32 community health centers. the main nutritional activities were as follows : 1) nutritional guidance by counseling and education for pregnant or lactating women, infants, preschool children, and those with chronic diseases, 2) collection, analysis, and interpretation of data collected from the community, on background conditions and target population for the assessment of community needs, 3) evaluation of nutritional status of population in the community 4) nutritional guidance for mass feeding in different institution including schools and welfare institutions. In order to meet the government's expectations and desires, the community health centers have made continuous efforts to put nutritional activities into practice in the community. However, there are constraints, such as relative staff shortages, lack of funds, and information which hampers the nutritional activities.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.77-88
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• 2017

Objectives : To examine the factors associated with the use of the prenatal care services provided by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family by married migrant women in Korea. Methods : We employed data from the 2015 Nationwide Multiculturale Family Survey. We selected 19- to 39-year-old married immigrant women with children aged 5 years or less for the study (N=1,579). We included four predisposing factors, six enabling factors, and two need factors based on the Andersen's Health-care Utilization Model. Results : Only one third of married immigrant women(31.6%) used prenatal care service and 45.9% of them reported prenatal care service needs. Area of residence, country of birth, and Korean language proficiency were significantly associated with prenatal care service use. Further, age, country of birth, length of time in Korea, household income, and discrimination experience were significantly associated. Conclusions : Findings suggest the need to develop strategies to improve accessibility to prenatal care service use especially for married immigrant women from developing countries, low-income families, having poor Korean language proficiency or having discrimination experience.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.10 no.8
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• pp.308-316
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• 2010

The present study set out to explore the acculturative stress and mental health(depression) of Korean women living in Britain according to socio-demographic factors, social relations and social supports level. 152 Korean women's data were collected and analyzed with frequency, correlation, ANOVA. Analysis revealed that women's acculturative stress and depression level was 2.50(moderate) and 1.66(slightly low) respectively. Acculturative stress level showed correlation with depression level. Among demographic variables, acculturative stress was significantly different from residence period in Britain, marriage and economic state and the level of depression was also different from job and economic state. The group which has frequent relationships with British and high level of social supports showed low acculturative stress. The group has high level of social supports also showed low depression. These findings highlight the importance of concerns and interventions about acculturation and mental health of Korean immigrant women and community services for the new immigrant women to improve their acculturation and mental health.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.327-337
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to identify the current state of paid care services and to identify the factors that affect the utilization of private nursing services. This study constructed and utilized the Korean Health Panel data (2011-2014) in the form of panel data, and selected 5,110 patients who had experience using one or more hospitalization services per year. STATA 12.0 SE was used for data processing and analysis of this study. Frequency analysis was performed to confirm basic characteristics of hospitalized patients. Cross-analysis and t-test were conducted to confirm the status of paid care services according to characteristics. Respectively. Finally, panel logistic regression was performed by applying a hierarchical method to stepwise modeling the three categories of Andersen's Behavioral Model to identify factors affecting the use of paid care services for inpatients. The results showed that the use of paid nursing services was higher in women, elderly, long - term hospitalized and disabled. On the other hand, significant household income variables in private employment did not show significant results. The results of this study are expected to be used as basic data for the selection of the nursing care integrated services under discussion. In addition, detailed discussions on the selection of subjects should be made in the future.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.91-96
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• 2012

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of HPV and cervical neoplasia among HIV-infected women in southwestern China. Methods: Cervical cytology, HPV detection by Hybrid Capture-$2^{TM}$ assay, and diagnostic colposcopy were followed by cervical biopsy if indicated. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze associations between HPV co-infection and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), and HIV-related clinical and laboratory parameters. Results: Colposcopic-histopathologically proven CIN2+ lesions were present in 7/83 (8.4%) HIV-infected women. Nearly half (41/83, 43%) were co-infected with carcinogenic HPV genotypes. HPV co-infection was higher in women with colposcopic-histopathologically proven CIN2+ lesions than women with $cells/{\mu}L$ had higher CIN2+ prevalence after adjusting for current ART status and age (adjusted OR: 6.3, 95% CI: 1.1, 36.5). Conclusions: HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs should integrate effective cervical cancer prevention services to mitigate the risk of invasive cervical cancer among HIV-infected women in China.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.283-290
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• 2004

Purpose: This study elicited Korean women's perceptions of the life situations that contribute to Hwabyung, a culture.bound psychiatric illness in Korea, and delineated a typology of the perceived causative factors for this illness. Method: A purposive sample of 21 Korean women was recruited from a church, a senior center in Seoul and a clinic that provides traditional Korean and westernized medical services to patients in the Gyeonggi area. Inclusion criteria were: 1) the diagnosis of Hwabyung by a traditional doctor or "stress reaction and depression" by a westernized doctor; and 2) a score greater than 40 on the Hwabyung Self.Report Instrument. Surveys using the HSRI and individual interviews using Qmethodology were used. Result: The average age of the participants was 53.7 years(range 35-84). The mean score on the HSRI was 46.2(range = 42-52). Data analysis showed that participants perceived three life situations to cause Hwabyung: vulnerable situation, lowered self.esteem, and negative life events. Conclusions: Korean women, suffering from Hwabyung, perceived at least three different causal patterns for this illness. Nursing care plans should be tailored to meet these differences.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.8
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• pp.3759-3762
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• 2016

Background: Breast cancer risk assessment is a helpful method for estimating development of breast cancer at the population level. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, participants consisted of a group of 3,847 volunteers ($mean{\pm}SD$ age: $463{\pm}7.59$ years) in a convenience sample of women referred to health centers affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran. The risk of breast cancer was estimated by applying the National Cancer Institute's online version of the Gail Risk Assessment Tool. Results: Some 24.9% of women reported having one first-degree female relative with breast cancer, with 8.05% of them having two or more first-degree relatives with breast cancer. The mean five-year risk of breast cancer for all participants was $1.61{\pm}0.73%$, and 9.36% of them had a five-year risk of breast cancer >1.66%. The mean lifetime risk of breast cancer was $11.7{\pm}3.91%$. Conclusions: The Gail model is useful for assessing probability of breast cancer in Iranian women. Based on the their breast cancer risk, women may decide to accept further screening services.