• Health Policy and Management
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.1-17
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• 2008

The measurement and management of patient satisfaction has become one of the key issues in the last two decades. Hospitals must thoroughly understand the needs of their customers and design products and health services that meet and exceed their expectations. The importance-performance analysis(IPA) is a widely used analytical technique that yields strategies for managing customer satisfaction in a variety of applications. IP A is a two-dimensional grid based on customer-perceived importance of quality attributes and attribute performance. Depending on the interplay of these two dimensions, four strategies can be derived. The aim of this study is to develop the management strategies for improving patient satisfaction in university hospitals using the I-P analysis. The attributes on inpatient service quality in 4 university hospitals was investigated using the Martilla and James(l977)' s a mean adjusted I-P grid where the axes of the grid cross at the average rating point of all items. The patient satisfaction questionnaires were completed by 600 hospital inpatients. The main statistical methods are path analysis and IPA with SPSS 12.0 and AMOS 4.0 statistical softwares. The two attributes, physician and medical service, administrative staff kindness attributes position in first quadrant(Keep Up the Good domain). The nurse and nursing service attributes position in second quadrant(Possible Overkill domain). The two attributes, convenience of check-in service, facilities and physical environment position in third quadrant(Low Priority domain). Finally the quality of inpatient service(food etc.) attributes position in fourth quadrant(Concentrate Here domain). These findings show various implications on the development of strategies in university hospitals in the future. It was determined that quality of inpatient service(food etc.) need to concentrate more on investments. These investments include a taste, price, proper provision of food service and quick response of pain management. A low priority was given to investment in streamlining the check-in process of inpatient and hospital facilities and physical environment in the long run.

• 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.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.116-133
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• 2002

Background : It is very common in Korea to take care of non-acute patients in an acute setting, due to the lack of long-term facilities. Long term hospitalization increase medical expenses and decreases the bed utilization, which can affect the urgent and emergent admissions, and eventually jeopardize the hospital financially. In this study, strategies for effective transfers to the lower levels of care, and to decrease the length of stay were presented by surveying and analyzing the patient's knowledge of the transfer needs, and the willingness to transfer those whose hospital length of stay was more than 30days. Method : The survey is subject to a group of 251 patients who have been hospitalized over 30 days in a general hospital in Seoul. Excluding those that were in the Intensive Care Unit and psychiatric ward, 214 in-patients were used as participants. They were surveyed from April 9, 2002 to April 17, 2002. One hundred and thirty seven out of 214 were responded which made the response rate 64%. Data were analyzed by SAS and SPSS. Result : Multi-variable Logistic Regression Analysis showed a significant effect in medical expenses, knowledge of referral system and the information of the receiving hospital. The financial burden in medical expenses made the patient 10.7 times more willing to be transferred, knowledge of the referral system made them 5 times more willing to be transferred, and the information of receiving hospital makes 6.5 times more willing to be transferred. Reasons for willing to be transferred to a lower level of care were the phase of physical therapy, the distance from home, the attending physician's advice and being unable to be treated as an out patient. Reasons for refusing to be transferred were the following. The attending physician's competency, not being ready to be discharged, not trusting the receiving hospital's competency due to the lack of information, or never hearing about the referring system by the attending physician. Conclusion : Based on this, strategies for the effective transfer to the lower levels of care were suggested. It is desirable for the attending physician to be actively involved by making an effort to explain the transfer need, and referring to the Healthcare Coordinating Center, which can help the patient make the right decision. Nationwide networking for the referral system is the another key factor that may need to be suggested as an alternative to decrease the medical expenses. Collaborating with the Home Health Agency for the early discharge planning and the Social Service Department for financial aid are also needed. It is recommended that the hospital should expedite the transfer process by prioritizing the cost and the information as medical expenses, knowledge of referring system and the information of the receiving hospital, are the most important factors to the willingness to transfer to a lower level of care.

• Korean Journal of Hospice Care
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.29-45
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• 2007

People in the end of life and their families suffer in their physical disease and other aspects as a whole person. They need hospice care to palliate their total suffering in physical, emotional, social and also spiritual aspect through professional hospice team. To care their whole personal needs, hospice team must be a multi-discipline team which consists of medical doctors, nurses, social workers, pastors and volunteers. Recently those who die in hospice palliative care unit have trend to increase more than in home year by year. So it is necessary to develop the nursing intervention program to be performed by multi-discipline team approach for in-patient of hospice palliative care unit. The purposes of this study were to develop of wholistic hospice nursing intervention program for inpatient of hospice palliative care unit. The subjects of study were collected from 30 patients those who were over 18 years old and admitted in hospice palliative care unit of S hospital in P city with agreement in hospice palliative care in their terminal disease. The period of data collection was from December 15, 2003 to March 15, 2004. The result were as follows : 1. The result of Wholistic Hospice Nursing Program's development was as follow : A Wholistic Hospice Nursing Program was developed by me in this study is one of the service program for hospice palliative care unit. It was named as ‘Rainbow Program’ to be approached easily by hospice patients. The purposes of it are to improve the quality of life of the terminal patients with their dignity, to help them live in abundant and meaningful in their lives, to care them in peaceful in dying process with understanding them in whole personal, and also to palliate the grief and suffering of the bereaved. It was provided by hospice professionals(nurses, medical doctors, social worker, pastors, art therapists) and volunteers those who were educated in hospice for multi-diciplinary team approach to collaborate with each role play I 20-30 minuters of each through visiting their rooms individually and a place of hospice palliative care unit of S hospital in P city. The subjects of it were the terminal patients those who admitted hospice palliative care unit and their familes. with agreement in hospice palliative care in their terminal disease. The characteristics of it were multi-disciplinary team approach, whole personal care, individual care and total care according to their needs in their condition. The contents of it were pain control, symptom control, counseling patient, counseling family, hair cutting, hair shampooing, bed bath, recreation, taking a walk, event of culture(screen, recital, festival of praises, exhibition and so on), pastoral counseling, ritual service in bed, praying, service in bed, sing a worship praise, listening to the music, sharing remembrance of life, individual visiting music service(sing and praying), meditation Bible, art therapies(dance and drawing), social worker's counselling, confessing and sharing love and thanksgiving. The experimental group subjects participated in Wholistic Hospice Nursing Program which takes 120 minutes per session, total 10 sessions(total 1,200 minutes) altogether. In conclusion, this Wholistic Hospice Nursing Intervention can be used actively for whole personal well-being of the patients in hospice palliative in hospice palliative care unit and also applied in hospice practice as an useful model of multi-disciplinary team approach by hospice professionals.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.74-89
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• 1996

It hasbeen individual and social problems that mattoids, alcohols and old people alienated from their families have wandered about the streets for rapid urbanzation, industrialization and nuclear families. In our country, measures for proper guidance for the tramps under the supports of government in 1982 have been carried out. But it has been difficult that we protected without Welfare Acts for them. According to those the study has aimed to provide for the fundamental data to advance public utilities as needs of an administrative organ with focus on contents of nursing records charts, furthermore general traits of subjects perceived details related to diseases. Medical record service has been a 'D' municipal hospital. All the subjects were a total of 4,855 persons, 2.436 in 1992, 2.419 in 1994. 1. Social Traits They mainly have attended a hospital, especially Thursday and Friday from a week and winter from the seasons. They equally have attended a hospital in the beginning, middle and end of the month. They equally have attended a hospital in the months. Government and public offices such as police stations and district offices have trusted them to a hospital. After they left a hospital. their residence has been their home confirmed in the ratio of $59.2\%$. 2. Controling Characteristics of a Medical Institution The proportion of males to females was 7 to 1. In the ages, the adults at the first of adulthood from 25 years to 44 years were $52.6\%$ mostly entered a hospital. In the observations the percentage of patients should be entered total was $8.8\%$. In general. the proportion of changes by fee was about $4\%$. Then the number of patients were on an average from 30. 76 to 32, 55 persons in 1992. It was from 25. 63 to 26. 87 in 1994. But the numbers were 5 to 6. It showed that the number was decreased. 3. Medical Traits The number of days by measured and the number of days which have been entered to a hospital have not made differences. The kinds of diseases were 1.11 in 1992. but were 1. 16 in 1994. In terms of 17 kinds of international diseases divided. the diseases recorded probably have been accidents. poisoning and violence( XVII). digestive trouble(IX). endoctrin disoders. metabolism and dystrophy(III) in orders, then they have been measured $51.0\%,\; 12.7\%,\; 6.8\%$. All patients who have been entered to a hospital severly have been drinking. As the seriousness of drinking and the kinds of diseases have indicated positively correlated. It have indicated that the more serious drinking have been. the more the number of diseases have been. As we have known according to abover results. the Acts for Homeless People related to special medical problems been have revised. furthemore they need to support the basic medical adds in order to maintaim their lives.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.211-219
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• 2015

Objectives : The aim of this study is to suggest a direction for sexual education suitable for the aged by analyzing senior citizens' perception level and analyzing the demand for sexual education among the elderly, such as their feelings on the necessity of sexual education and the patterns of sex education. Methods : The population of this survey targeted elderly residents aged over 60 who are taking lectures at 4 university lifelong education centers that are located in Busan. The period of data collection was from May 10, 2013 to May 30, 2013. The methods of analyzing data were frequency analysis, t-test, and correlation analysis. Results : The general characteristic of the survey were that it included 60 men (41.1%) and 86 women(58.9%). As a result of the comparison of sexual perceptions and sexual-education demand according to gender, it was found that men had greater sexual perception and greater need for sexual education than did women. A correlation according to sexual-life perception and sexual-education demand showed a positive relationship and was statistically significant as well. Conclusions : This study will form a basis for formation of a direction for the development of sexual education programs.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.15-23
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• 2016

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to evaluate the productivity changes of 18 public health centers in Gangwon-do from 2006 to 2013 using the Malmquist Productivity Index(MPI). Methods : Data were collected from Statistics Korea from 2006 to 2013. The input variables were the numbers of medical, nursing and administrative personnels. The output variables were the performances of health promotion programs. Along with the traditional input-oriented DEA analysis, the MPI was calculated. Results : First, among the 18 public health centers, the productivity index of 14 public health centers was increased. Second, the annual productivity showed a 6% increase. Third, the productivity improvements were mainly caused by Scale Efficiency Change. Conclusions : Improving the productivity of public health centers requires the support and external policies of the national and local government. Internally, public health centers need to maintain scale optimization of the center. Additionally, efforts should be made to effectively use limited resources.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.256-263
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• 2015

Background: Initial treatment of acute upper respiratory infection (AURI) should not include antibiotics because most AURIs are caused by virus. However, the prescription rate of antibiotics in Korea is higher than in any other countries. Inappropriate use of antibiotics in Korea accelerated the emergence of antibiotics resistance and increased the social and economic burden. The objective of this study was to investigate the factors related to antibiotics use for the AURI among children-adolescents and adults. Methods: This study analyzed the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service-National Patient Sample data which was nationally representative sampling stratified by sex and age. Results: The influencing factors of antibiotics use for AURI are gender, age, types of medical security, primary disease, existence of concomitant disease, treatment seasons, first visit or revisit, indicated specialty, types of medical institution, and location of medical institution. Conclusion: The results showed health policy makers are required to place more efforts to resolve inappropriate antibiotics use. Especially they need to establish a health policy to reduce the gap between areas and specialties and recommend standardized clinical guidelines according to the subgroup code of AURI and the age group of patients.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.958-969
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• 1998

In this study, we attempted to investigate the needs and problems of the terminal cancer patients and their family caregivers to provide them with nursing information to improve their quality of life and prepare for a peaceful death. Data was collected from August 1, 1995 to July 31, 1996 at the internal medicine unit of S hospital in Seoul area with the two groups of participants who were family members of terminal cancer patients seventy four of them were in-patients and 34 were out-patients who were discharged from the same hospital for home care. The research tool used in this study has been developed by selecting the questionnaires from various references, modifying them for our purpose and refining them based on the results of preliminary study. While general background information about the patients was obtained by reviewing their medical records, all other information was collected by interviewing the primary family caregivers of the patients using the questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed with the SPSS PC/sup +/ program. The results of this study are summarized as follows ; 1) Most frequently complained symptoms of the terminal cancer patients were in the order of pain(87%), weakness(86.1%), anorexia(83.3%) and fatigue (80.6%). 2) Main therapies for the terminal cancer patients were pain control (58.3%), hyperalimentation(47.2%) and antibiotics(21.3%). 3) Special medical devices that terminal cancer patients used most were oxygen device (11.1%), and feeding tube(5.6%). Other devices were used by less than 5% of the patients. 4) The mobility of 70.4% of the patients was worse than ECOG 3 level, they had to stay in bed more than 50% of a day. 5) Patients wanted their medical staffs to help relieve pain(45.4%), various physical symptoms(29.6%), and problems associated with their emotion(11.1%). 6) 16.7% of the family caregivers hoped for full recovery of the patients, refusing to admit the status of the patients. Also, 37% wished for the extension of the patient's life at least for 6 months. 7) Only 38.9% of the family members was preparing for the patient's funeral. 8) 45.4% of family caregivers prefer hospital as the place for the patient's death, 39.8% their own home, and 14.8% undetermined. 9) Caregivers of the patients were mostly close family members, i.e., spouse(62%), and sons and daughters or daughter-in-laws(21.3%). 10) 43.5% of the family caregivers were aware of hospice care. 46.8% of them learned about the hospice care from the mass media, 27.7% from health professionals, and the rest from books and other sources. 11) Caregivers were asked about the most difficult problems they encounter in home care, 41 of them pointed out the lack of health professionals they can contact, counsel and get help from in case of emergency, 17 identified the difficulty of finding appropriate transportation to hospital, and 13 stated the difficulty of admission in hospital as needed. 12) 93.6% of family caregivers demanded 24-hour hot line, 80% the visiting nurses and doctors, and 69.4% the volunteer's help. The above results indicate that terminal patients and their family caregivers demand help from qualified health professionals whenever necessary. Hospice care system led by well-trained medical and nursing staffs is one of the viable answers for such demands.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.248-258
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• 2014

Purpose: This study was conducted to explore the nursing needs and satisfaction of patients who are hospitalized at hospice palliative care institutions. Methods: This study included 80 hospice patients who were in-patients of the hospice department of two general hospitals in S city. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation coefficients using the IBM SPSS 20.0 program. Results: The mean score of nursing needs and satisfaction were 3.58 (${\pm}0.31$) and 3.25 (${\pm}0.20$) respectively. Significant differences in hospice nursing needs and satisfaction were observed in terms of general characteristics including gender, education level, occupation, religion, support for medical expense and functional status. Significant positive correlation was found between the overall nursing needs and nursing satisfaction. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, in order to improve the quality of hospice service, further study is necessary in a comprehensive manner to develop nursing intervention to meet physical, psychological/social, spiritual, and educational/referral nursing needs of hospice in-patients.