No abstract available.
Korea* ; Social Class*

No abstract available.
Korea* ; Social Class*

The investigation was conducted in one rural commune. Information was gathered about socio-economic status (SES) and food consumption from 544 households with 3 categories of SES. The results showed that the energy intake of household increased with increase of socio-economic conditions. Rice, fat/oil, nut and sesame were most consumed in households of the average socio-economic status. The consumption of meat, fish, eggs and fruits tend to increase with better higher SES. Vegetable consumption was low at all studied households
Social Class ; Rural Health

No abstract available.
Asthma* ; Social Class*

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted in order to investigate professional job perception, job stress and job satisfaction in doctors. METHOD: The authors conducted a survey using a self-administered questionnaire, conducted between August and September, 2001. The study subjects were 457 doctors practicing at local clinics in Daegu City. RESULTS: For the professionalism scale, the score for 'sense of calling to field' and 'feeling of autonomy' were relatively high. Age, working hours per day, and perception of socioeconomic status significantly influenced the professionalism scale scores (p< 0.01). For the job stress scale, the scores for 'clinical responsibility/ decision' factor were the highest of all the surveyed factors. Working hours per day significantly influenced the job stress scores (p< 0.01). To investigate the overall relationship between the variables, the authors conducted a linear structural equation model analysis. The equation was statistically appropriate and a good fit. The job stress, and the professionalism factors, respectively influenced job satisfaction negatively and positively (T> 2.0). The working hours per day and status perception also influenced their job satisfaction (T> 2.0). CONCLUSION: To promote the job satisfaction of doctors, the development of coping tools and other intervention methods are needed to increase doctor's professional job perception and reduce their job stress. Further studies are required to understand the characteristics of job satisfaction and for its promotion with doctors.
Daegu* ; Job Satisfaction* ; Methods ; Professionalism ; Social Class

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the sources, extent and related factors in South Korean doctors. METHODS: The study subjects were 934 doctors in Taegu, Kyungpook Province, Korea(540 independent practitioners, 105 employed at hospitals and 289 residents in training). Information concerning job stress was obtained using a 9-item questionnaire. Information regarding related factors such as demographic characteristics(age, sex, marital status), perceptions on the socioeconomic status of doctors and working conditions(work time, on-call days per week) was also obtained by self-administered questionnaire during April and May, 2000. RESULTS: Major sources of job stress included clnical responsibility/judgement factor, patient factor and work loading factor. The job stress score of residents was the highest among three groups. The score was lower in older doctors. The score was low among those who thought doctors socioeconomic status was not good. The longer the work time, the higher the job stress score was. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to control for the mutual influence of independent variables. In regression analysis, the score of residents was higher than practitioners. Work time and socioeconomic status perception had negative effects on job stress score. CONCLUSION: The average job stress score of the doctors was high. Age, work type, working conditions and perceptions of socioeconomic status were found to besignificantly related to job stress score. Although the job stress of doctors is somewhat inevitable due to the nature of the doctor's job, control of work time, development of coping tools and other intervention methods are needed to reduce job stress of doctors. Further studies are required to understand the characteristics of job stress and reduce the job stress of doctors.
Daegu ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Humans ; Questionnaires ; Social Class

There have been several studies supporting a possible relationship between high suicide rate and high altitude. However socioeconomic status may confound this association because low socioeconomic status, which is known to be related to a high suicide rate, is also associated with living at high altitude. This study aims to explore whether the relationship between high altitude and high suicide rate remains after adjusting for socioeconomic status in South Korea. We collected demographic data of completed suicides, the mean altitude of the district where each suicide took place, and the mean income of each district. We analyzed the data using regression analysis before and after adjustment for mean income. We found that there is a positive correlation between altitude and suicide rate, even after adjustment for mean income. Thus, altitude appears to be an independent risk factor for suicide.
Altitude* ; Korea ; Risk Factors ; Social Class* ; Suicide*

Empathy ; Humans ; Policy Making ; Singapore ; Social Class ; Social Justice ; Social Responsibility

OBJECTIVES: Socioeconomic position (SEP) refers to the socioeconomic factors that influence which position an individual or group of people will hold within the structure of a society. In this study, we provide a comprehensive review of various indicators of SEP, including education level, occupation-based SEP, income and wealth, area SEP, lifecourse SEP, and SEP indicators for women, elderly and youth. METHODS AND RESULTS: This report provides a brief theoretical background and discusses the measurement, interpretation issues, advantages and limitations associated with the use of each SEP indicator. We also describe some problems that arise when selecting SEP indicators and highlight the indicators that appear to be appropriate for health inequality research. Some practical information for use in health inequality research in South Korea is also presented. CONCLUSIONS: Investigation into the associations between various SEP indicators and health outcomes can provide a more complete understanding of mechanisms between SEP and health. The relationship between specific SEP indicators and specific health outcomes can vary by country due to the differences in the historical, socioeconomic, and cultural contexts of the SEP indicators.
*Health Status Disparities ; Humans ; Korea ; *Research ; *Social Class

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationships of occupational class, educational level and deprivation with mortality in Korea. METHODS: This study used existing South Korean national data on occupation, educational level, and deprivation and death. Mortality was investigated using registered death data from 1993 to 1997 obtained from the Korean National Statistics Office (NSO) with denominators drawn from the 1995 Census. Statistical analysis consisted of poisson regression modeling and multilevel analysis. RESULTS: The lower occupational class (manual workers) group had a higher mortality rate than the higher occupational class (non-manual workers) group. Educational level, and deprivation were both inversely related withand mortality. Occupation was strongly associated with education. Area-based deprivation indicators and individual indices for social class made an independent contribution to the mortality risk. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggests that the relationships of occupational class, educational level and deprivation with mortality appears to be stronger in Korea than in European countries.
Censuses ; Education ; Korea* ; Mortality* ; Multilevel Analysis ; Occupations ; Social Class