• Journal of the Society of Disaster Information
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.383-394
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• 2023

Purpose : This study focuses on improvements in cell broadcast service(CBS) with consideration of socially vulnerable groups, and identifies service factors necessary for elderly people in particular. Method : Multiple regression analysis was applied to test overall satisfaction with cell broadcast service as the dependent variable and each of the service factors as the independent variable. Result : The results showed that fast delivery had the greatest effect on overall satisfaction with cell broadcast service in both groups, followed by the delivery of sufficient content for the elderly group and system quality for the non-elderly group. The results demonstrated that the elderly group cared more about information content, while the non-elderly group considered functions such as system quality and text message transmission criteria more important. Conclusion : Elderly people consider the delivery of sufficient information important as well as fast delivery, which suggests that it is necessary when sending cell broadcast service to give consideration to the characteristics of elderly people, as they tend to have weaker understanding and thinking abilities than the non-elderly.

• Journal of Applied Reliability
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.181-191
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• 2015

Change in labor time is affecting occupational safety and health. Recently reduction in labor time brought innovational operation method, investment in plant and equipment, and flexible labor time in some companies, thereby affecting working conditions for labourers. However, working conditions for some vulnerable social groups have deteriorated. As a result, they are becoming more exposed to risk factors such as injury and emotional stress. In this study we use 2014 KWCS data in order to find the social and demographic characteristics in Korean working conditions. To this end, we use exploratory data analysis approach to find the relationship between some of the important variables in the KWCS data. We also use Press-State-Response model to find which group of people are vulnerable to Press and State. We find that women, people over age 50 and business owners are more vulnerable to Press and State than men, people below age 50 and wage workers.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.3-20
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• 2019

This review aimed to identify risk factors for occupational accidents and illnesses among young workers in the Nordic countries and to attain knowledge on specific vulnerable groups within the young working force that may need special attention. We conducted a systematic review from 1994 to 2014 using five online databases. Of the 12,528 retrieved articles, 54 met the review criteria and were quality assessed, in which data were extracted focusing on identifying occupational safety, health risk factors, and vulnerable groups among the young workers. The review shows that mechanical factors such as heavy lifting, psychosocial factors such as low control over work pace, and organizational factors such as safety climate are all associated with increased injury risk for young Nordic workers. Results show that exposures to chemical substances were associated with skin reactions, e.g., hand eczema. Heavy lifting and awkward postures were risk factors for low back pain, and high job demands were risk factors for mental health outcomes. The review identified young unskilled workers including school drop-out workers as particularly vulnerable groups when it comes to occupational accidents. In addition, apprentices and young skilled workers were found to be vulnerable to work-related illnesses. It is essential to avoid stereotyping young Nordic workers into one group using only age as a factor, as young workers are a heterogeneous group and their vulnerabilities to occupational safety and health risks are contextual. Politicians, researchers, and practitioners should account for this complexity in the education, training and organization of work, and workplace health and safety culture.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.587-597
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• 2003

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to estimate the demand and supply of visiting nursing services provided by health centers in urban area, aiming at strengthening infrastructure, which may improved the quality of life and health status of vulnerable population in the community. Methods: This study was conducted through nominal group discussion, focus group study. The demand and supply of visiting nursing were estimated by health economists based on the secondary analysis data from 25 health centers in Seoul. Result: Primary targets for the visiting nursing must be people who are homebound in the community. They can be classified into: a group of Level I: chronic patients who need visiting nursing care at least once a week: and a group of Level II: vulnerable families that need management periodically e. g. twice a month. Based on the estimation of demand for visiting nursing services in the community, the estimated supply required was $651{\sim}770$ visiting nurses including home health nurses in visiting nursing programs based on health centers in Seoul. Conclusions: The estimated demand and supply of visiting nursing are expected to provide basic data for establishing alternative policies on visiting nursing infrastructure that might be accomplished through demand-based visiting nursing programs by districts.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.848-857
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• 2016

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate factors affecting frailty by age groups among vulnerable elders in Korea. Methods: In this secondary analysis, data were collected from records for 22,868 elders registered in the Visiting Health Management program of Public Health Centers in 2012. Health behaviors, clinically diagnosed disease, frailty, depression and cognitive condition were assessed. Data were analyzed using stepwise regression to determine the associated factors of frailty by age group. Results: Alcohol consumption, physical activity, number of diseases, DM, CVA, arthritis, urinary incontinence, depression and cognitive condition were found to be factors significantly associated with frailty among the elders aged 65~74 (F=135.66, p <.001). Alcohol consumption, physical activity, CVA, arthritis, urinary incontinence, depression and cognitive condition were found to be factors associated with frailty in the elders aged 75~84 (F=245.40, p <.001). Physical activity, CVA, arthritis, depression and cognitive condition were factors associated with frailty in the elders over 85 years of age (F=96.48, p <.001). Conclusion: The findings show that frailty of elders and associated factors were different by age group, and common factors affecting frailty were physical activity, CVA, arthritis, depression and cognitive condition. Thus, these factors should be considered in the development of intervention program for care and prevention of frailty and program should be modified according to age group.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Rural Health Nursing
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.13-27
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify health-related factors, especially for the elderly who are subject to visiting health care at vulnerable populations. Methods: Tools were Guide to Community Integrated Health Promotion Project 2016, Visit Health Care Health Interview Survey, measures of physical function, motor skills, composite mobility, BMI, and subjective fitness levels. Depression was measured with the Short Results: Older elders living alone were more vulnerable than those with living others. Elders with less education showed greater weakness but the difference was not significant. Average scores for frailty were 2.21 (healthy group), 7.66 (high-risk group) and 15.69 (frail group). Scores based on weakness level differed significantly with the exception of nutrition. Nine out of 10 elders in disadvantaged areas were in the frail group or at high risk. Conclusion: Results support the goal to maintain/improve physical/mental functions through individual management of high-risk/frail older adults at risk of becoming infirm. It is imperative to implement a public health care delivery system to ensure programs are operated effectively and personalized.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.315-323
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• 2022

Background: Socioeconomical disadvantaged communities are more vulnerable to environmental chemical exposure and associated health effects. However, there is limited information on chemical exposure among vulnerable populations in Korea. Objectives: This study investigated chemical exposure among underprivileged populations. We measured urinary metabolites of phthalates in urban disadvantaged communities and investigated their correlations with residential environment factors and relative socioeconomic vulnerability. Methods: Urine samples were collected from 64 residents in a disadvantaged community in Seoul. A total of eight phthalate metabolites were analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy. Analytical method used by the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNEHS) was employed. Covariate variance analysis and general linear regression adjusted with age, sex and smoking were performed. Results: Several phthalate metabolites, namely monomethyl phthalate (MMP), monoethyl phthalate (MEP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP), and mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP) had higher levels than those reported in the adults of 4th KoNEHS. Notably, the MnBP level was higher in the lower socioeconomic group (geometric mean [GM]=47.3 ㎍/g creatinine) compared to non-recipients (GM=31.9 ㎍/g creatinine) and the national reference level (GM=22.0, 28.2 and 32.2 ㎍/g creatinine for adults, 60's and 70's, respectively.). When age, sex and smoking were adjusted, MEP and MnBP were significantly increased the lower socioeconomic group than non-recipients (p=0.014, p=0.023). The lower socioeconomic group's age of flooring were higher than non-recipients, not statistically significant. Conclusions: These results suggest that a relatively low income and aged flooring could be considered as risk factors for increased levels of phthalate metabolites in socioeconomic vulnerable populations.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.435-445
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• 2018

This study was conducted to develop and apply the health conversation program to determine its effectiveness. The study employed a pretest-posttest nonequivalent control group design. There were 25 subjects in one intervention group and 22 subjects in the control group. The program included a 4-week, 12-session education program in health conversation for professionally retired elderly mentors and an 8-week, 24-session program for vulnerable elderly diabetics provided by mentors who were older persons trained in diabetes management. Data were collected from December 2015 to May 2016 and subsequently analyzed by an independent t-test using SPSS 20.0. Biochemical variables and physical variables were assessed by blood test and Inbody 230 (Biospace). Psychosocial variables were assessed by questionnaires. The health conservation program led to significantly decreased FBS (p<0.01), TC (p<0.01), TG (p=0.04), SBP (p=0.03), waist (p<0.01) and symptoms of depression (p=0.01), and significantly increased social support (p=0.02). These results indicated that the health conservation program is effective at increasing social support and decreasing FBS, TC, TG, SBP, waist, and symptoms of depression in community-dwelling vulnerable diabetic elderly; accordingly, health conservation programs should be applied to improve quality of life of vulnerable diabetic elderly.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.34
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• pp.24.1-24.13
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• 2022

Background: In modern society, depression is serious issue that causes socioeconomic and family burden. To decrease the incidence of depression, risk factors should be identified and managed. Among many risk factors for depression, this study examined socioeconomic risk factors for depression. Methods: We utilized first (2006), second (2008), and third (2010)-wave data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (KLoSA). Depressive symptom was measured with the 10-item Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, Short Form (CES-D-10) in the survey in 2008 and 2010. Three risk factors including job security, employment type and monthly income were measured in the survey in 2006. The association between risk factors and depressive symptom was analyzed by Cox proportional-hazard model. Results: We analyzed data from 1,105 workers and hazard ratios (HRs) for 3 risk factors were significant entirely. In addition, regular worker with high income group is the most vulnerable group of poor job insecurity on depression among male workers (HR: 1.73; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07-2.81). Finally, HRs for 7 groups who had at least 1 risk factor had higher HRs compared to groups who had no risk factors after stratifying 3 risk factors. In the analysis, significantly vulnerable groups were total 5 groups and the group who had highest HR was temporary/daily workers with poor job security (HR: 2.51; 95% CI: 1.36-4.64). The results concerning women, regardless of job type, were non-significant. Conclusions: This study presented one or more risk factors among poor job security, low income, temporary/daily employment type increase hazard for depressive symptom in 2 or 4 years after the exposure. These results inform policy to screen for and protect against the risk of depression in vulnerable groups.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.99-118
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• 2007

There are little program and services that have been developed to address the health and health care needs of vulnerable women. The access for their timely and appropriate health care and health promotion services have been a increasing concern. The purpose of this study was to suggest health promotion program for vulnerable women with collaboration of women's NGOs. At the first part of this study, we reviewed a conceptual framework for identifying vulnerable population, and issues regarding health problems, unmet needs, policies and programs that have been developed to address their need. In second part, we focused on investigating the role, subjects and activities of women's NGOs and their capacity for health promotion program. The last part of this study proposed health promotion programme with integrating above two parts of study. In describing what type of health promotion program available in women's NCOs, eight major programs and services were summarized. 1. Direct health promotion program and collaborating program with other services. 2. Education and training for empowerment of vulnerable women 3. Organizing mutual support system such as self-help group 4. Community supports. Vulnerable women living at home may benefit from linkage to community services as much as women living in facility 5. Organizing collaboration system with program for economic support and job training, social rehabilitation 6. Trainer's training for practitioners in NGOs 7. Technical, informational support from professional groups 8. A national coordinating policies for vulnerable population should be established at the central level. National support for NGOs' health promotion program are needed hi solving unmet needs of vulnerable women.