• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.57-65
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• 2021

School closures during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have been outlined in studies from different disciplines, including economics, sociology, mathematical modeling, epidemiology, and public health. In this review, we discuss the implications of school closures in the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic. Modeling studies of the effects of school closures, largely derived from the pandemic influenza model, on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 produced conflicting results. Earlier studies assessed the risk of school reopening by modeling transmission across schools and communities; however, it remains unclear whether the risk is due to increased transmission in adults or children. The empirical findings of the impact of school closures on COVID-19 outbreaks suggest no clear effect, likely because of heterogeneity in community infection pressure, differences in school closure strategies, or the use of multiple interventions. The benefits of school closings are unclear and not readily quantifiable; however, they must be weighed against the potential high social costs, which can also negatively affect the health of this generation.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.26-38
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• 2022

Purposes: We analyzed the profitability determinants of regional public hospitals during the entire period between 2010 and 2020 and the period before and after COVID-19. We intended to provide fundamental data for developing publicness evaluation index and task of establishing and expanding regional public hospitals. Methodology: The financial and non-financial information of the regional public hospitals were used as the main analysis data; The financial data was established by the Center for Public Healthcare Policy of National Medical Center, and the non-financial data by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. T-test and regression analysis were used. Findings: The results can be summarized in two. First, the main determinants of profitability of the regional public hospitals were appeared to be the total asset turnover rate and the labor cost rate. Second, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the regional public hospitals, the number of sickbeds, the number of isolation rooms, the total asset turnover rate and the labor cost rate appeared to be the factor worsening the profitability. Practical Implication: The results of this study suggests that the management of the regional public hospitals is not aiming for the profit making, but it performs the functions as the community healthcare safety net such as controlling infectious diseases.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.213-225
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• 2022

Objectives: The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate how members of the general public in Korea interpret the concept of health, and which dimensions of health are most important to them. We also explored their perceptions of the EuroQoL 5-Dimension (EQ-5D), including the EuroQoL visual analogue scale (EQ-VAS). Methods: We conducted face-to-face, in-depth interviews with 20 individuals from the general population, using a semi-structured interview guide. Content analysis was performed with verbatim transcripts and field notes to identify codes and categorize them according to their similarities and associations. Results: In total, 734 different codes were derived and classified into 4 categories. Participants cited the importance of both the mental and physical aspects of health, although they emphasized that the physical aspects appeared to play a larger role in their conceptualization of health. Participants noted that the EQ-5D has the advantage of being composed of 5 dimensions that are simple and contain both physical and mental areas necessary to describe health. However, some of them mentioned the need to add more dimensions of mental health and social health. Participants showed great satisfaction with the visually well-presented EQ-VAS. However, participants opined that the EQ-VAS scores might not be comparable across respondents because of different ways of responding to the scale. Conclusions: While physical health is a fundamental aspect of health, mental and social aspects are also important to Koreans. The content of the EQ-5D broadly matched the attributes of health considered important by Koreans.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.2159-2165
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• 2013

Cancer registries help to establish and maintain cancer incidence reporting system, serve as a resource for investigation of cancer and its causes, and provide information for planning and evaluation of preventive and control programs. However, their wider role in directly enhancing oncology drug access has not been fully explored. We examined the value of cancer registries in oncology drug access in the Asia-Pacific region on three levels: (1) specific registry variable types; (2) macroscopic strategies on the national level; and (3) a regional cancer registry network. Using literature search and proceedings from an expert forum, this paper covers recent cancer registry developments in eight economies in the Asia-Pacific region - Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand - and the ways they can contribute to oncology drug access. Specific registry variables relating to demographics, tumor characteristics, initial treatment plans, prognostic markers, risk factors, and mortality help to anticipate drug needs, identify high-priority research area and design access programs. On a national level, linking registry data with clinical, drug safety, financial, or drug utilization databases allows analyses of associations between utilization and outcomes. Concurrent efforts should also be channeled into developing and implementing data integrity and stewardship policies, and providing clear avenues to make data available. Less mature registry systems can employ modeling techniques and ad-hoc surveys while increasing coverage. Beyond local settings, a cancer registry network for the Asia-Pacific region would offer cross-learning and research opportunities that can exert leverage through the experiences and capabilities of a highly diverse region.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.479-487
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• 1995

The purposes of this study were to: 1) measure the levels of job satisfaction with five facets of a job: the work itself, promotion, pay, supervision and co-workers, 2) investigate the degree of job characteristics inventory which employees perceived, 3) investigate relationships between job characteristics and job satisfaction levels of the employees in hospital foodservice, 4) measure the levels of organizational commitment and investigate its relationships between job satisfaction and job characteristics, 5) investigate the relationships between job performance and job satisfaction, job characteristics of the employees in hospital foodservice. The questionnaire was developed based on modifying Job Descriptive Index developed by Smith, Kendall, Hulin and Job Characteristics Inventory developed by Sims, Szilagyi, Keller and Affective commitment Scale developed by Meyer and Allen. Subjects consisted of 76 employees in hospital foodservice. Data were analyzed for frequency, means, ANOVA, Duncan multiple range test, and pearson correlation using SAS PC Package. The results of this study were as follows. 1) Most of the respondents were 41 years up(39.5%) and married (92%). High school graduates were 59.2%. 10 years working experienced employees were 35%. 2) A majority of the respondents(44.7%) ranked work itself as the most important aspect. 3) They were the most satisfied with co-workers. 4) Satisfaction with work itself, wage, and supervision were found significantly related to age(p<0.05). 5) Task identify was the most prevalent job characteristics and then task identity. 6) Satisfaction with co-workers were found significantly related to job variety(p<0.05). Satisfaction with supervision and promotion were found significantly related to friendship(p<0.05). 7) Job satisfaction have not correlation with job performance. Satisfaction with supervision, co-workers were positively correlated with organizational commitment(p<0.01). 8) Job characteristics of dealing with others were positively correlated with job performance (p<0.05). Job characteristics of variety, autonomy, task identity were positively correlated with organizational commitment(p<0.05, p<0.01).

• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.531-550
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• 2023

Purpose: The unique nature of life-and-death healthcare services sets them apart from other service industries. While many studies exist on the relationship between healthcare services and customer satisfaction, most of them focus on mildly ill patients, ignoring the differences between critically ill and non-seriously ill patients. This study discusses the actual quality of healthcare services for patients who are facing life-threatening illnesses and are on life support, as well as their right to protection and dignity. Methods: The survey conducted to 149 patients with the four major illnesses: cancer, heart disease, brain disease and rare and incurable disease, those who have experiences with senior general hospitals. Results: The basic statistics of this study are adequate to represent the four major critical illnesses, and the reliability and validity of this study's hypotheses, which were measured by multiple items, were analyzed, and the internal consistency was judged to be high. In addition, it was found that the convergent validity was good and the discriminant validity was also secured. When examining the goodness of fit of the hypotheses, the SRMR, which is the standardized root mean square of residuals that measures the difference between the covariance matrix of the data variables and the theoretical covariance matrix structure of the model, met the optimal criteria. Conclusion: The academic implications of this study are differentiated from other studies by moving away from evaluating the quality of healthcare services for mildly ill patients and focusing on the rights and dignity of patients with life-threatening illnesses in four senior general hospitals. In terms of academic implications, this study enriches the depth of related studies by demonstrating the right to protection and dignity as a factor of patient-centeredness based on physical environment quality, interaction quality, and outcome quality, which are presented as sub-factors of healthcare quality. We found that the three quality factors classified by Brady and Cronin (2001) are optimized for healthcare quality assessment and management, and that the results of patients' interaction quality assessment can be used to provide a comprehensive quality rating for hospitals. Health and human rights are inextricably linked, so assessing the degree to which rights and dignity are protected can be a superior and more comprehensive measurement tool than traditional health level measures for healthcare organizations. Practical implications: Improving the quality of the physical environment and the quality of outcomes is an important challenge for hospital managers who attract patients with life and death conditions, but given the scale and economics of time, money, and human inputs, improving the quality of interactions and defining them as performance indicators in hospital quality management is an efficient way to create maximum value in the short term.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.12
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• pp.995-1004
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• 2020

This study aims to analyze the effect of transformational leadership (TL), procedural justice (PJ), and training (T) on employee performance (EP) mediated by self-efficacy (SE). The object of this research is Rumah Sakit Umum Daerah (RSUD) M.Th. Djaman, a hospital in Sanggau Regency, while the subjects are the institution's staff. Data collection search uses purposive sampling with a total of 120 samples. Data are obtained through questionnaires distributed directly to respondents using the Google Form application. Data analysis techniques used in this study include standard error of mean (SEM) with AMOS software version 24.00. Methods use to test validity and reliability of data include Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), Construct Reliability (CR) and VE. The results of the analysis show that only training has a significant effect on self-efficacy, and self-efficacy has a significant effect on employee performance. Also, self-efficacy is proven to mediate the role of training on employee performance; the other hypotheses are not significant. Training is the most prominent positive factor affecting self-efficacy and self-efficacy has a significant effect on employee performance at RSUD M.Th. Djaman. The results of this study can be used as a reference by management in determining what policy priorities should take precedence.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.287-296
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• 2020

The study investigates the relationship and influence between religiosity, reward, and engagement in the public administration sector, both directly and causally via moderation. This study involved one hundred and twenty-three respondents in three local government organizations in Malang City, East Java Province, Indonesia, namely, the Malang City General Hospital, the Population and Civil Registry Office, and the Investment Office. The sampling method uses stratified random sampling from the total population of civil servants in Malang in the three institutions. The data analysis model of this study uses a quantitative approach with a unit of data analysis using the path analysis method. The analytical tools used are smart-PLS and SPSS. The results reveal that the direct combined effect of reward and religiosity has a positive and significant influence on the engagement. However, moderation between reward and commitment, which is bridged by religiosity, does not show positive and significant results. The non-positive relationship shown by testing moderation concludes that there is a separation of purpose between the portion of religiosity in the world of work, where religiosity in this study is only described as part of the concept of worship, and the relationship between the person and his God.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.23-35
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• 2017

Objectives : This study analyzed the trends of patient costs in 7diagnosis-related groups(DRG) since July 2013 when the government made it mandatory for all hospitals and clinics. Methods : Data were collected from the 7DRG score chart published by the Ministry of Health and Welfare(MoHW) from July 2013 to January 2017. The average value of the weekday relative value scale was multiplied by unit price, referred to as'- "patient costs by disease group"-' and they were analyzed by time series. Results : Patient costs had increased among all patients with a comprehensive disease. Small and medium-sized hospitals (hospitals and clinics) showed a slight increase in patient costs. Conclusions : Enforcement of the Korean diagnosis-related groups has led to management crisis in small and medium-sized hospitals and deterioration medical service quality. To solve this problem, The weekday relative value scale of small and medium-sized hospitals should be increased significantly.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.311-322
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• 2020

This study aims to examine curvilinearly moderating effects of task interdependence on the relationship between demographic faultlines and group performance. It posits that the degree of task interdependence has an impact on the effects of demographic faultlines. It was conducted in six organizations in Korea, their industries including heavy industries, hospital, construction, petrochemical, fine chemicals, and system integration. The survey was distributed to 1330 individuals in 162 teams and 1082 individuals in 137 teams responded to the questionnaire. To test the hypotheses including nonlinear interactions, we conducted a hierarchical regression analysis to the survey data from 82 groups within six firms in Korea. The results show that for groups that experience a high level of task interdependence, the slope for the regression of demographic faultlines on group performance is comparatively low and, at the low level of task interdependence, insignificant. However, at intermediate levels of task interdependence, the association was strongly negative and significant. This study finds that the negative relationship between demographic faultlines and group performance is stronger when task interdependence is moderate than when task interdependence is high or low. Therefore, managers should pay attention to optimal group design by carefully assigning tasks in diverse and divided groups.