The Trends in Research on the Health of North Korean Refugees.
10.12799/jkachn.2017.28.2.144
- Author:
Hyun Ju LIM
1
;
Guna LEE
;
Sook Ja YANG
Author Information
1. Graduate School, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea.
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Democratic people's republic of Korea;
Health;
Review
- MeSH:
Democratic People's Republic of Korea;
Ethics Committees, Research;
Humans;
Methods;
Publications;
Qualitative Research;
Refugees*
- From:Journal of Korean Academy of Community Health Nursing
2017;28(2):144-155
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
PURPOSE: This study aims to identify the general characteristics, subjects, and methods of research on the health of North Korean refugees through a systematic literature review. METHODS: A total of 140 studies on health were reviewed using the analytical framework developed by the researchers. RESULTS: The quantitative research comprised 90.7% of the studies, whereas the qualitative research were 7.9% of them. Approximately 81.4% of those reviewed have publication dates spanning 2006 to 2015. Only 13.6% of the studies were conducted with the approval of an institutional review board. The subjects of studies were psycho-social health (151.8%), behavioral health (28.5%), cognitive health (15.0%), physical health (12.2%), integrated health (7.8%), and spiritual health (2.8%). Within the quantitative studies reviewed, the most commonly used study design was survey research (86.0%). The two sampling methods used most often were convenience sampling (53.5%) and snowball sampling (19.4%), and the most commonly used data-collection method were questionnaires (94.6%). As for the qualitative studies, the most commonly used study design was phenomenology. CONCLUSION: The results suggested that the reviewed studies focused on physical health more than psycho-social health, and physiological measurement more than questionnaires. Ethical considerations need to be expanded.
