• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.478-489
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• 2007

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a Health Maintenance Program on physical functions and mental health of the elderly in nursing homes. Method: Sixty elderly(over 65 years old) in a randomized control study participated in a 16-week group-based intervention including functional exercises and health education. The participants were divided into 3 groups(Health Maintenance Program Group, Supportive Music Exercise Group, and Control Group) of 20 elderly each. Data was collected from Dec. 1st, 2005 to Mar, 30th, 2006. Physical function of lower body strength was assessed using a 30-second chair test, flexibility was assessed using a sit-and-reach test, and static balance was assessed by the ability to balance on one leg with open and closed eyes. Depression was assessed using the Korean Form of the Geriatric Depression Scale and self esteem was assessed using Rosenberg's Self Esteem Questionnaire. Data was analyzed by Chi-square test, One-way ANOVA, and Repeated measure two factor analysis. Results: A Health Maintenance Program significantly increased muscle strength, flexibility and static balance, but depression and self-esteem scores were not significantly changed. Conclusion: Findings demonstrated that a Health Maintenance Program was more effective on physical function than mental health of the elderly in nursing homes.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.43-54
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• 2008

Background : We aimed to determine the effect of a mental practice on the electromyography (EMG) activity of the quadriceps femoris muscle of the affected side in a hemiplegic patient during sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit tasks. Methods : We recruited a male patient who had suffered from right hemiplegia. A single-subject experimental A-B-A design was used. The reliability of visual analysis, which was primarily employed in this study design, was supported by using the "2- standard-deviation band" method. The target motions consisted of two activities: sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit. The EMG measurements of the quadriceps femoris muscles of the affected and unaffected sides were made in 8 sessions in the baseline (A), mental-practice (B), and follow-up (A) phases. During the mental practice phase, the 10-min mental practice was performed, and the mental practice was withdrawn in the follow-up phase in order to identify the carry-over effects of the treatment. Data was calculated as the percentage of the ratio of the quadriceps EMG activity values of the affected side on unaffected side. Result : The percentage EMG-activity ratio showed a greater increase in the mental-practice phase than in the baseline, and it was maintained during the follow-up phase. Most of the data points in the mental-practice and follow-up phases were positioned above the "2-standard-deviation band." Conclusion : These findings suggest that mental practice can be used to improve the physical function of hemiplegic patients.

• Therapeutic Science for Rehabilitation
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.53-65
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• 2023

Objective : This study aimed to identify the experiences and practices of occupational therapists in mental health and provide interventions for improving body function in individuals with mental illness. Methods : Data were collected from mental health therapists between November 7 and November 14, 2022. A survey was distributed via email and 46 responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlations. Results : The majority were female (58.7%), aged 20-30 years (84.8%), working in mental health centers (41.3%), and undergoing mental health occupational therapy training (91.3%). They had 1-3 years of mental health experience (65.2%) and were commonly involved in programs (71.1%), case management (62.2%), and administration (57.8%). Interventions for physical functioning were common (73.9%), including group interventions (41.2%), such as stretching, aerobic exercise, and walk training, and individual interventions (38.1%), such as walking, stretching, and aerobic exercise. Conclusion : Occupational therapists play a crucial role in enabling individuals with mental illness to engage in daily life activities. However, relevant studies in this field are lacking. This study emphasizes the importance of mental health occupational therapy and the need for evidence-based services for physical function improvement interventions to provide more effective treatments for mental illnesses.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.206-226
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of eating with family or alone on the self-rated mental or physical health and then work out strategies of making people recognize the importance of eating with family and its practice. Study subjects were 610 primary school 5th- and 6th-grade students in Daejeon Area. A questionnaire survey was carried out. 57.9% of students had working mothers. The frequency of meal in a day was $2.90{\pm}0.42$ and this frequency was lower in students who had working mothers (p < 0.05). The frequency of skipping breakfast (times/week) was $1.02{\pm}1.77$. The frequencies of eating alone (times/week) were $1.04{\pm}1.65$ for breakfast and $0.97{\pm}1.52$ for dinner. Also, the frequency of eating alone for dinner was higher in students who had working mothers (p < 0.001). When the frequency of eating alone for breakfast or dinner was higher, the frequencies of skipping breakfast and dinner were also higher (for all, p <0.01). When the frequency of eating alone for breakfast or dinner was higher, the self-rated positive mental health were lower (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 respectively) and the self-rated negative mental health (for dinner, p < 0.05) and the self-rated negative physical health was higher (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 respectively), thus presenting negative health. The frequencies of eating with family (times/week) were $3.37{\pm}2.50$ for breakfast and $4.14{\pm}2.19$ for dinner. Also, the frequency of eating with family for dinner was lower in students who had working mothers (p < 0.01). When the frequency of eating with family for breakfast was higher, the frequency of skipping breakfast was lower (p < 0.01). When the frequency of eating with family for dinner was higher, the frequency of skipping dinner was lower (p <0.01). In addition, when the frequency of eating with family for breakfast or dinner was higher, the self-rated positive mental health were higher (for both, p <0.01) and the self-rated negative mental health was lower (for breakfast, p < 0.01) and self-rated negative physical health were lower (for both, p <0.01), thus presenting positive health. Therefore, in order to maintain positive health, it is necessary to recognize the importance of eating with family at home and educate people to carry out a systematic and continuous dietary life, thus increasing eating with family and reducing eating alone and skipping a meal.

• 한국노년학
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.329-347
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to see if we can predict the health of seniors of community by analyzing the connection between social network degree and mental and physical health of old people who live in the areas of Gangwha Island. The subjects of the study were men and women aged 65 or over, a total of 643 that resided in Ganghwa A-county. The survey was conducted on Korean Social Life, Health and Aging Project from the year 2011 to 2012. Regression analysis was carried out using the data. The analysis results were as follows. First, it showed the relationships between income, gender, age out of demographic variables used as control variable and old persons'physical health. The research results showed that physical health was better in case of the higher incomes, men, and lower age. Second, out of demographic variables, educational background, income, age was shown to correlate with mental health. The research results showed that mental health was better in case of the higher incomes, higher educational background, and lower age. Third, in social network including direction, both out-degree and in-degree were shown to predict old people's physical and mental health. The results of this study suggest that not only out-degree but also in-degree should be considered in predicting the health of elderly persons by a person's human relationship. Also, two indicators of degree are meaningful in the dimension of health promotion and welfare of the old in that they can be used for finding isolated individuals that can be physically and mentally vulnerable.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.43-53
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• 2023

Objectives: We developed an integrated cognitive function improvement program comprising cognitive, emotional, and physical domains, and remotely applied it to middle-aged adults to investigate its effects on oral health, cognitive function, and mental health improvement. Methods: The experimental group underwent the program remotely, using the Zoom platform. A total of 24 participants were recruited and divided into 12 experimental and 12 control groups. The program comprised cognitive, emotional, and physical activities. The sessions lasted 90 min and were performed twice a week for 6 weeks from April to May 2022. Results: Cognitive function, arousal, physical, and mental stress were significantly improved in the experimental group after the intervention than at the baseline (p<0.05). Regarding oral health, tongue plaque decreased 1.34-fold (p<0.01) and saliva increased 1.04-fold (p<0.05) in the experimental group after the intervention than at the baseline. Moreover, the experimental group showed significant improvements in tongue plaque and saliva than the control group (p<0.05 for tongue plaque and p<0.01 for saliva). Regarding mental health, social support significantly increased 11.67-fold (p<0.05) in the experimental group than at the baseline. The experimental group also showed significantly improved social support than the control group (p<0.01). Conclusions: The non-face-to-face integrated cognitive function improvement program for middle-aged adults improved their cognitive function and oral and mental health. Based on these findings, this program may be a useful health program tool for middle-aged individuals.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.274-282
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• 2020

This study examined the effect of job stress and mental health factors on the oral symptoms of caring service workers in Seoul. For the research method, a survey was conducted from July 24 to August 6, targeting 150 caring service workers. The survey items were job stress, mental health (physical symptoms, anxiety, and insomnia), and self-diagnosed oral symptoms. The results of the study were as follows. Job stress (p=0.001) had a significant effect on the oral symptoms. In addition, physical symptoms (p<0.001), anxiety symptoms (p<0.001), and insomnia symptoms (p<0.001) all had significant effects on the oral symptoms. Among the risk factors, physical symptoms had the greatest influence on oral symptoms. In addition, according to the correlation result of job stress, anxiety symptoms, insomnia symptoms, oral symptoms, as job stress increases, physical symptoms (p<0.001), anxiety symptoms (p<0.001), insomnia symptoms (p<0.001), oral symptoms (p<0.01) showed an increasing positive correlation and a statistically significant difference. Physical and psychological labor power is greatly exhausted by care service workers performing tasks that require physical and mental care for those who are being cared for. Therefore, there is a need for systematic expansion measures for the mental health of workers and the introduction of customized oral health education programs to improve oral health because improved health and oral health conditions can increase work performance.

• Korean Journal of Family Social Work
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• no.55
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• pp.157-188
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of self-care activities on physical and mental health of primary caregivers of functionally impaired elderly. Data were collected from 185 primary caregivers who were caring for their spouses or parents with functional impairment at home in Daejon. SPSS 21.0 software was used for descriptive analysis and hierarchical regression analysis. The results showed that (1) primary caregivers reported their physical health status as poor (2) the domains of health responsibility, physical activity in their self-care activities were significant predictors of their physical health level (3) primary caregivers reported very high level of depression (4) their mental health was significantly influenced by spiritual growth among self-care activities. Based on these findings, social work intervention and policy suggestions were discussed.

• 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.

• Journal of Industrial Convergence
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• v.20 no.10
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• pp.71-77
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was to identify factors affecting the mental health of female middle school students living in rural areas. The study period was from March 14 to 25, 2022, and was conducted with 239 female middle school students attending three middle schools located in G district. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, Pearson's correlation, and multiple regression. As a result of the study, significant influencing factors on the subject's mental health were living with both parents (β=.12, t=2.50, p =.013), past subjective mental health status (β=.15, t=2.83, p=.005), subjective physical health status (β=-.21, t=-3.94, p<.001), loneliness (β=.22, t=4.23, p<.001), and severity of insomnia (β=.36, t=6.55, p<.001), and these variables showed 46% explanatory power for mental health. Through this study, further research is needed to specify the causal relationship between living with both parents, past mental health status, physical health status, loneliness, and severity of insomnia and intervention strategies for the mental health of female middle school students considering these variables.