Primary care is essential among the strategies for expansion of healthy life expectancy and quality of life. The purpose of this study was to suggest strategies for improvement of primary care in Korea, in light of the current Korean condition. Data and reports related to primary care and medical were collected and analyzed, applying the structure-process-outcome frame, taking into consideration current medical care delivery system. Current primary care system is considered inappropriate and inefficient from many perspectives. In particular, continuous and comprehensive management of chronic disease is needed. To effectively carry out the function of primary care, an incentive system for patients' and physicians' motivation is needed. Also, support for improvement of the capability to manage patients and monitor health outcomes has to be considered. It is hoped that the government will develop a long-term vision and make ongoing investments.
Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Investments ; Korea ; Life Expectancy ; Light ; Motivation ; Organothiophosphorus Compounds ; Primary Health Care ; Quality of Life ; Vision, Ocular

BACKGROUND: Through the control of tuberculosis at 22 public health centers under the National Tuberculosis Control Program, this study is purposed to examine the situation of the tuberculous patients and the characteristics of the therapeutic regimens. METHODS: The data was obtained from 8091 medical records of pulmonary tuberculous patients who were registered for treatment at public health center in Seoul during the year of 1993. It was comparatively analysed by the general characteristics(gender, age, chest X-ray findings, sputum results, treatment results, side effects, combined diseases and accompanied extra-pulmonary tuberculosis) according to various regimens of the tuberculosis. RESULTS: The male patients were 5144, the female were 2947. 34.1% of patients were between 21 and 30years of age. Short course regimen was 97.1% and long course regimen was 2.9%. According to chest X-ray findings minimal 53.5%, moderately advanced 41.2%, far advanced 5.3%. Sputum AFB negative was 52.2% and positive was 47.8%. Therapeutic efficiency was high in short course regimen. Among the side effects, dermatologic problems was high and at the regimen of EHRZ side effects were developed highly. Combined diseases were liver diseases(5.2%), DM(4.2%). Accompanied extrapulmonary tuberculosis were pleurisy(5.4% ), superficial lymphadenitis(0.4% ). CONCLUSIONS: There was great effects in the treatment of tuberculosis with short course regimen in the National Tuberculosis Control Program. But only 38% among the expected patients were treated in this country. So the greater efforts were needed to find and treat more patients effectively.
Female ; Humans ; Liver ; Male ; Medical Records ; Public Health* ; Seoul* ; Sputum ; Thorax ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary*

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to examine (1) the patterns of online health information search with respect to seeking and scanning, and (2) how online search, along with eHealth literacy, predicts perceived information usefulness in the context of diet and weight control. METHODS: Online survey was conducted with 299 adults from the consumer panel recruited for the purpose of quality assessment of the Korean National Health Information Portal in 2016. We conducted paired sample t-test and multiple logistic regression to address the research questions. Data analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics ver. 24.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) and SAS ver. 9.3 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). RESULTS: Of the respondents, 38.8% were ‘high seek-high scanners,’ 35.8% were ‘low seek-low scanners,’ 13.0% were ‘high seek-low scanners,’ and 12.4% were ‘low seek-high scanners.’ eHealth literacy was a significant, positive predictor of online information scanning (odds ratio [OR], 2.46; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.41–4.29), but not for online information seeking (OR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.00–3.05). With respect to perceived usefulness of online information seeking, online seeking (OR, 4.90; 95% CI, 2.19–11.00) and eHealth literacy (OR, 2.30; 95% CI, 1.11–4.75) were significant predictors. Perceived usefulness of online scanning had a significant association with online scanning (OR, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.08–5.22), but not with eHealth literacy. CONCLUSION: To increase the effectiveness of the health policy for online information search and related outcomes in the context of diet and weight control, it is important to develop education programs promoting eHealth literacy.
Adult ; Diet ; Education ; Health Policy ; Humans ; Information Seeking Behavior ; Literacy ; Logistic Models ; Statistics as Topic ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Telemedicine ; Weight Loss

By November 2013, a total of 125 clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have been developed in Korea. However, despite the high burden of diseases and the clinical importance of CPGs, most chronic diseases do not have available CPGs. Merely 83 CPGs are related to chronic diseases, and only 40 guidelines had been developed in the last 5 yr. Considering the rate of the production of new evidence in medicine and the worsening burden from chronic diseases, the need for developing CPGs for more chronic diseases is becoming increasingly pressing. Since 2011, the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been jointly developing CPGs for chronic diseases. However, priorities have to be set and resources need to be allocated within the constraint of a limited funding. This study identifies the chronic diseases that should be prioritized for the development of CPGs in Korea. Through an objective assessment by using the analytic hierarchy process and a subjective assessment with a survey of expert opinion, high priorities were placed on ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, osteoarthritis, neck pain, chronic kidney disease, and cirrhosis of the liver.
Chronic Disease ; *Disease Management ; Expert Testimony ; Female ; Health Priorities ; Humans ; Male ; *Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Primary Health Care ; Republic of Korea ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: In Korea, the effort to control the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has succeeded, but we have to maintain vigilance against SARS and other infectious diseases, because many experts warn that SARS may return or that other infectious agents could spread globally. The purpose of this study is to describe the degree of knowledge of hospital employees, assuming full responsibility for treating and attending to SARS suspected case, and to elucidate the attitude to SARS using questionnaires. METHOD: All employees of Kangwon university hospital were eligible for this study. We used validated questionnaires to survey demographic characteristics, the degree of knowledge of SARS, intention of treating and attending suspected cases, influence and effects of SARS on the community, and acquisition of information about SARS. RESULT: Based on the 251 completed surveys, out of 280 returned the score for knowledge about SARS was 72.0+/-13.7, 50.6% responded positively about joining a SARS team, and 23.1% were opposed to the designation for quarantining. There was no relationship between the degree of knowledge of SARS and the attitudes to it. Most employees wanted to know how to manage SARS patients and how to prevent SARS. CONCLUSION: The attitudes to SARS were not affected by the level of knowledge of SARS. We suggest that national policies about SARS and other infectious diseases should be promulgated using the mass media and internet to provide information on rapidly spreading infectious agents, especially about the proper protocol for treating suspected cases and the appropriate steps to prevent or reduce the risk.
Communicable Diseases ; Gangwon-do ; Humans ; Intention ; Internet ; Korea ; Mass Media ; Quarantine ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the health information such as the general health information, the health product information, and the hospital information, and we wanted to identify the association between internet health information and the health related behavior by analyzing the process after people search the Internet. METHODS: A telephone survey with structured questionnaire was performed by trained surveyors. The respondents were sampled proportionate to the Korean demographic distribution with considering the city size and the populations' ages and gender. The survey was conducted from October 2006 to November 2006. RESULTS: Out of 3,758 successfully connected persons of age 20 or more, 871(23.2%) respondents had used Internet health information during the last year. The purposes of searching the Internet for health was, 1) to get general health information (717 cases, 81.0%), 2) shopping for health product (109 cases, 12.3%) and 3) seeking information about hospital selection (59 cases, 6.7%). Our research showed that the process after searching the Internet for health information depends on the purpose of the search. 68.8% of the searchers for general health information, 67% of the searchers for health product shopping and 64.4% of the searchers seeking information to guide hospital selection were satisfied with their Internet search. However one third of the respondents reported not being satisfied with the result of the search. CONCLUSIONS: Unsatisfied consumers with internet health information tended to ask lay referrals from others or they gave up seeking health information. The health information system should be improved to increase the accessibility and to provide reliable and effective information. Also, a more user-centric community is needed in order to strengthen the effective role of lay referrals among the internet users.
Adult ; Consumer Health Information/*methods ; *Consumer Satisfaction ; Educational Status ; Female ; *Health Behavior ; Health Status ; Humans ; *Internet ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Residence Characteristics

With the increasing use of the internet and the spread of smartphones, health information seekers obtain considerable information through the internet. As the amount of online health information increases, the need for quality management of health information has been emphasized. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the intention of using accredited online health information by applying the extended technology acceptance model (Extended-TAM). An online survey was conducted from September 15, 2016 to October 3, 2016, on 500 men and women aged 19–69 years. The results showed that the greatest factor influencing the acceptance of the accredited health information was perceived usefulness, and the expectation for the quality of the accreditation system was the most important mediator variable. In order to establish the health information accreditation system as a means to provide easy and useful information to the consumers, it is necessary to carry out quality management and promote the system through the continuous monitoring of the accreditation system.
Accreditation ; Female ; Humans ; Intention ; Internet ; Male ; Smartphone

BACKGROUND: As Koreans adopt more Westernized diets, consumer demands for processed food products are growing. The Korean government implemented a food labeling system to help people reasonably choose processed foods. This study investigated the utilization of these food labels among Koreans, as well as demographic differences between users and non-users of food labels, ultimately presenting foundational data for strategies to enhance dietary lifestyles by facilitating the use of food labeling. METHODS: Data from the 2014–2017 Community Health Survey were used. The Cochran-Armitage trend test was performed to investigate whether food labeling awareness and utilization increase over time; a data mining technique called decision tree analysis was then used to examine the effects of sociodemographic factors on the use of food labeling for each of the 4 years. RESULTS: Food labeling awareness increased by 4.5% over 4 years; the Cochran–Armitage trend test showed that this increase was statistically significant (χ2 = 1,068.21; P < 0.001). Food labeling utilization increased significantly but marginally, by 0.3%, over 4 years (χ2 = 20.154; P < 0.001). Decision tree analysis showed that food labeling users comprised mainly women in their 30s–50s currently in graduate school or with a graduate degree; the non-user group comprised mainly divorced/widowed/separated people in their 70s who were elementary school grads or below. CONCLUSION: Education level, which could be related to health literacy, substantially affected the use of food labeling. Education level is a typical socioeconomic index, and if people who are less educated tend not to use food labeling, it can lead to health inequity. Thus, food labeling should be reformed with consideration of health literacy among the less-educated social classes. From a health communication perspective, images and pictures can boost consumers' understanding, which should be considered to improve comprehensibility of food labeling.
Data Mining ; Decision Trees ; Diet ; Education ; Female ; Food Labeling ; Health Communication ; Health Literacy ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Style ; Social Class

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to evaluate the effect of navigator education program for cancer screening, which is designed for improvement in knowledge of cancer, perceived self efficacy and communication skill of the breast and cervical cancer screening for middle-aged and aged women in urban areas. Cancer screening navigator is lay health advisor who are educated for providing information, emotional support about cancer screening at the community. METHODS: The subjects were 33 women at the age of 40-69 and educated for 12 hours through the education program. The control group subjects were 30 women. For statistical analysis, descriptive statistics and paired t-test were used with SPSS WIN 14.0. RESULTS: Contents of education program were case of cancer early detection, benefit of breast cancer screening, benefit of cervical cancer screening, health care system for cancer screening, role of cancer screening navigator, communication skill, transtheoretical model and role play. Knowledge of cancer(t=4.267, p=0.000) and communication skill(t=4.947, p=0.000) of the women increased significantly after implementing the 12 hours education program. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that navigator education for cancer screening has an effect in increasing knowledge of cancer, and communication skill scores.
Aged ; Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Delivery of Health Care ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Female ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Self Efficacy ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

Objectives: This study explored the direct and indirect effects of knowledge of new technology (e.g., artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution), attitudes towards technology use, and smartphone utilization skills on older adults’ willingness to use home-based information and communication technology (ICT) for self-health management. Methods: A phone survey was conducted among 300 older adults aged 65 or older in Gangwon Province, Republic of Korea. A path analysis was performed to identify the direct and indirect effects of knowledge of new technology, attitudes towards technology use, and smartphone utilization skills on willingness to use home-based healthcare ICT. Socioeconomic variables were used as control variables. Results: Knowledge of new technology, but not attitudes towards technology use, had a direct impact on smartphone utilization skills. Attitude towards technology use and smartphone utilization skills showed significant effects on willingness to use home-based healthcare ICT. One standard unit change in attitudes towards technology use contributed to a 0.172 unit change in willingness (p = 0.001), and one standard unit change in smartphone utilization skills changed willingness by 0.246 units (p < 0.001). In addition, older adults with a higher education level and economic status, and lower self-related health status, were more willing to use home-based healthcare ICT. Conclusions These findings underscore the necessity of enhancing the smartphone utilization skills of older adults and attitudes towards technology use. Providing more user-friendly services and increasing smartphone utilization skills among older adults would contribute to willingness to use home-based ICT for healthcare management.