• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.215-221
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• 2018

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of malnutrition among hospitalized children ranges between 12% and 24%. Although the consequences of hospital malnutrition are enormous, it is often unrecognized and untreated. The aim of this study was to identify the current status of in-hospital nutrition support for children in South Korea by carrying out a nationwide hospital-based survey. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Out of 345 general and tertiary hospitals in South Korea, a total of 53 institutes with pediatric gastroenterologists and more than 10 pediatric inpatients were selected. A questionnaire was developed by the nutrition committee of the Korean Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. The questionnaires were sent to pediatric gastroenterologists in each hospital. Survey was performed by e-mails. RESULTS: Forty hospitals (75.5%) responded to the survey; 23 of them were tertiary hospitals, and 17 of them were general hospitals. Only 21 hospitals (52.5%) had all the required nutritional support personnel (including pediatrician, nutritionist, pharmacist, and nurse) assigned to pediatric patients. Routine nutritional screening was performed in 22 (55.0%) hospitals on admission, which was lower than that in adult patients (65.8%). Nutritional screening tools varied among hospitals; 33 of 40 (82.5%) hospitals used their own screening tools. The most frequently used nutritional assessment parameters were weight, height, hemoglobin, and serum albumin levels. In our nationwide hospital-based survey, the most frequently reported main barriers of nutritional support in hospitals were lack of manpower and excessive workload, followed by insufficient knowledge and experience. CONCLUSIONS: Although this nationwide hospital-based survey targeted general and tertiary hospitals with pediatric gastroenterologists, manpower and medical resources for nutritional support were still insufficient for hospitalized children, and nutritional screening was not routinely performed in many hospitals. More attention to hospital malnutrition and additional national policies for nutritional support in hospitals are required to ensure appropriate nutritional management of hospitalized pediatric patients.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.527-536
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• 2022

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: South Korea is representative of countries experiencing rapid societal aging. This study aimed to understand the current status of foodservice nutrition management provided to welfare facilities for the elderly and to understand improvements after support from "the Center for Social Welfare Foodservice Management (CSWFM)" in Cheongju City. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The status of foodservice nutrition management was assessed by dietitians and hired by the CSWFM, who visited 40 welfare facilities (registered members of the CSWFM) for the elderly in Cheongju City. After visiting each facility three times from July to December 2019, the results of inspections on four areas, that is, 'menu', 'meal provision', 'cooking', and 'distribution' management for 2nd and 3rd visits (support visits) were compared with results obtained at initial visits. RESULTS: Before support as determined during 1st visits, compliance rates with 'menu', 'meal provision', 'cooking', and 'distribution' requirements were 72.1%, 75.5%, 58.3%, and 77.5%, respectively. The mean compliance rate for all 15 items on the questionnaire used was 70.8%. Items with low compliance rates were 'Is the soup provided by foodservice at the recommended salinity?' (compliance rate 37.5%) and 'Is the foodservice cooking conducted by referring to a recipe?' (42.5%). At the two support visits, mean compliance rates increased significantly (P < 0.01, P < 0.001), mean total score had significantly increased from 71.80 to 90.26 (P < 0.001), and mean soup salinity decreased significantly from 0.82% at 1st visits to 0.68% (P < 0.001) and 0.56% (P < 0.001) at the 1st and second follow-up visits. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that the status of nutrition management at welfare facilities for the elderly was much improved by CSWFM involvement, and indicate the CSWFM should continuously provide nutrition management support to facilities and that finances and opportunities for more welfare facilities for the elderly be expanded.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.240-247
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• 2014

Objective: Undernutrition is common amongst esophageal cancer patients and therefore appropriate nutrition support is critical. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of enteral nutrition (EN) versus parenteral nutrition (PN) is still controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of EN and PN on the nutritional state and the length of hospital stay for patients who underwent an Ivor-Lewis (IL) esophagectomy. Method: A retrospective clinical analysis was performed that utilized the electronic medical records of patients who underwent IL esophagectomy during a 3-year period between January 2010 and December 2012 at a tertiary teaching hospital located in Seoul, Korea. The EN group and PN group were analyzed by comparing the nutrition supply, postoperative complications, length of hospital stay, and weight variation. Results: After an IL esophagectomy, the complication rate between the EN group and PN group was insignificant and the length of hospital stay was significantly shorter for the PN group compared to the EN group (14 vs. 16 days, respectively; p<0.001). At the time of discharge, those in the PN group lost less weight postoperatively (p=0.003). Conclusion: PN may be considered as safe nutrition support for esophageal cancer patients who underwent an esophagectomy.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.506-515
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• 2018

Objectives: We investigated the operation needs of school meal support centers (SMSC) in Chungnam-do based on analysis of nutrition teachers' perception of them. Methods: The Chungnam government established the first SMSC in 2012. Thirteen SMSCs are currently being operated in Chungnam-do. To analyze the results quantitatively, we investigated nutrition teachers opinions regarding the necessity for SMSCs as a dependent variable and derived the independent variables based on the causal relationships with dependent variables using the ordered logit model. Those independent variables included region, school type, number of students, attitude regarding free meal policy, satisfaction with school meal policy, and preference for local food. Results: Briefly, teachers in the region in which the SMSC was located more strongly supported the SMSC. In addition, teachers in public schools with a smaller number of students believed that having a SMSC is more beneficial, and that other variables also affected the necessity for SMSCs. Moreover, nutrition teachers preferred local foods rather than organic foods because of the unstable supply of organic foods. Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, it was recommended that the local government implement the policy consistently. Moreover, it was recommended that the government operate the SMSC more efficiently, enhance the roles of the SMSC as the local organization responsible for student nutritional planing and expand the coverage of agricultural products.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.114-123
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• 2023

Objectives: Current social norms in the United States do not favor breastfeeding in public. This study examined associations between college students' explicit and implicit emotions of breastfeeding in public and their intention to support public breastfeeding. Methods: Twenty-two student participants viewed images of a breastfeeding woman with a fully-covered, fully-exposed, or partially-exposed breast in a public setting. After viewing each image, participants' explicit emotions (self-reported) of the image were measured using a questionnaire and their implicit emotions (facial expression) were measured using FaceReader technology. We examined if a relationship exists between both emotions [toward images] and intention to support breastfeeding in public using correlation techniques. We determined the relative influence of two emotions on the intention to support breastfeeding in public using regression analyses. Results: The nursing images depicting a fully-covered breast (r = 0.425, P = 0.049 vs. r = 0.271, P = 0.222) and fully-exposed breast (r = 0.437, P = 0.042 vs. r = 0.317, P = 0.150) had stronger associations with explicit emotions and intention to support breastfeeding in public compared to implicit emotions and intention. Breastfeeding knowledge was associated with a positive explicit emotion for images with partial- (β = 0.60, P = 0.003) and full-breast exposure (β = 0.65, P = 0.002). Conclusions: Explicit emotions appear to drive stated intentions to support public breastfeeding. Further research is needed to understand the disconnect between explicit and implicit emotions, the factors that influence these emotions, and whether stated intentions lead to consistent behavior.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.12 no.sup1
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• pp.37-40
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• 2009

Nutritional support team (NST) is a multidisciplinary group of nutrition professionals with interest and expertise in the evaluation and management of malnutrition and nutrition-related problems in hospital. The goal of NST is providing optimal nutrition to patients who need enteral and parenteral nutrition. Recently, NST is set up in some hospitals in Korea. However, until now, pediatric NST is not established in most hospitals. Because children admitted to hospital are at risk of malnutrition, NST is required to provide effective nutritional management for pediatric patients.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.202-209
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• 2004

A case-control study was conducted in order to examine dietary behavioral factors associated with colorectal cancer risks. Data were collected from 128 cases with either colorectal cancer or large bowl adenomatous polyps and 129 controls regarding stages of dietary behavioral change, perceived barrier, self efficacy, nutrition knowledge, social support and food availability as well as body mass index and overall dietary quality. Cases showed less desirable behaviors with respect to fat reduction and vegetable intake compared with controls based on the analyses of the stages of dietary change. After adjustment of relevant covariates (age, gender and smoking), significant trends of increasing risk with higher level emerged for perceived barriers resulted from environmental conditions (OR = 1.6 - 2.0) and self-efficacy (OR = 2.2-2.3). No such relationships were found for nutrition knowledge and social support. The risk of colorectal cancer was associated with the kinds of foods available at home showing a borderline protective relation with milk (OR = 0.6) and respective significant and borderline direct associations for fresh meat (OR = 2.1) and soft drinks (OR = 0.6 when reversely scored). Within-group analyses presented best predictors of overall dietary quality as food availability for the case and self-efficacy and social support for the control. The findings of this study suggested a need for focusing on motivational and reinforcing factors in the development of nutrition education programs for colorectal cancer prevention.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.621-629
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the nutritional support, gastric residual volume, and nutritional status of the intensive care unit (ICU) patients on enteral feeding. Methods: A descriptive longitudinal design was used to collect 5 day data on enteral nutrition of 52 ICU patients in an university hospital. Nutritional support was calculated with actual caloric intake compared to individual caloric requirement. Residual volumes were measured prior to routine feedings, and the serum albumin levels and the total lymphocyte counts were checked to evaluate nutritional status. The data were analyzed using one group repeated measures ANOVA, paired t-test, and Spearman's bivariate correlation analysis. Results: The subjects received their first enteral feeding on the $5.75^{th}$ day of ICU admission. The mean nutritional support rate was 49.1% of the requirement, however prescription rate and support rate were increased as time goes by. Gastric residual volumes were less than 10 cc in 95% cases. A significant negative correlation was found between nutritional support and nutritional status. Conclusion: The nutritional support for ICU patient was low compared to the requirement, and their nutritional status was worse than at the time of ICU admission. Further studies are necessary to develop nursing interventions for improving nutritional support for ICU patients.

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.108-119
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• 2018

Purpose : This study evaluated the nutritional status and effect of nutritional support team (NST) management in critically ill patients. Methods : From January 2015 to August 2017, the study retrospectively investigated 128 patients aged above 19 years admitted to a medical intensive care unit (MICU). The patients were divided into two groups: NST (n=65) and non-NST (n=63) groups. Nutritional status, classification of bedsore risks, incidence rate of bedsore and clinical outcomes were compared. Results : The study found a higher rate of the use of enteral nutrition in the NST group (${\chi}^2=45.60$, p < .001). The prescription rate of parenteral nutrition (PN) was found to be lower in the NST group (4.6%) compared to the non-NST group (60.3%). There was a higher PN of total delivered/required caloric ratio in the NST, compared to the non-NST, group (${\chi}^2=3.33$, p=.025). There were significant differences for higher albumin levels (t=2.50, p=.014), higher total protein levels (t=2.94, p=.004), and higher proportion of discharge with survival rates (${\chi}^2=18.26$, p < .001) in the NST group. Conclusions : Providing NST management to critically ill patients showed an increase in the nutrition support. Further, to achieve effective clinical outcomes, measures such as nutrition education and continuous monitoring and management for the provision of nutritional support by the systemic administration of a nutritional support team should be considered.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.165-172
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• 2023

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic, incurable and relapsing disease involving any part of the gastrointestinal tract and exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) is first-line therapy. Few studies have examined the patient experience of EEN. The aim of this study was to assess the child's experiences of EEN, to identify problematic themes and understand the child's mindset. Children with CD who previously completed EEN were recruited to complete a survey. All data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and reported as N (%). Forty-four children (mean age 11.3 years) consented to participate. Sixty-eight percent of children reported limited formula flavors as the most challenging aspect and 68% of children identified 'support' to be important. This study highlights the psychological impact of chronic disease and its therapies on children. Providing adequate support is essential to insure EEN is successful. Further studies are required to determine psychological support strategies for children taking EEN.