The purposes of this study were to investigate the perception of community nutrition programs and the conditions to carry them out, for 32 directors of health centers where public health nutritionists are not employed. The results of this study can be summarized as follows. Nutrition intervention programs were not carried out actively except those for infants but the health center directors strongly felt the necessity of carrying out various nutrition programs. The factors that affect the selecting and priotizing of nutrition programs were the need of community residents, the perception of the local congressmen, and the head of the local government. The most urgent and important problem to be solved in order to intervene nutrition programs was employing public health nutritionists on a tenure basis. Other were securing necessary revenue, precise guidance, political support, hardwares, etc. These results showed the importance of employing public health nutritionists for intervening appropriate nutrition programs and improving the perception of nutrition services for health center directors, local congressmen and personnels in charge of formulating nutrition policies.
Head ; Humans ; Infant ; Local Government ; Nutrition Policy ; Nutritionists* ; Public Health*

No abstract available.
Hydronephrosis* ; Turner Syndrome*

The purpose of this study is to estimate cesarean section rate in Korea and analyze the socioeconomic variables and health resources which affect regional variation in the rate. Samples were drawn from the record of vaginal and cesarean section deliveries based upon insurance claim bills which have been submitted to the National Federation of Medical Insurance for the first three months, January through March, 1991. The results are obtained as follows: It was found that, cesarean section rate was increasing rapidly up to 23.1% in 1991. Cesarean section per 10 thousand insured people was 4.8 and the number of cesarean section per 10 thousand insured eligible(15-49 years old) female was 7.6. The fee for normal delivery was 109,489 won and that for cesarean section was 390,024 won. The average days of hospitalization in normal delivery was 2.3 days, and those in cesarean section was 7.6 days. On the average cesarean section has a longer of stay as much as by 4.3 days and cost 3.6 times more than normal deliveries. Cesarean section rates vary among medical facilities: 19.8% at clinics 37.6% in small-scale hospitals, and 29.1% in general hospitals. The regional variation of cesarean section rates was also fairly prominent. The South Cheju Gun has the highest rate of cesarean section, 56.2%. Meanwhile no cesarean section cases has been reported in Sunchang Gun during the period of this study. The variation is noted among provinces. The rate for Cheju province has been 3.4 times higher than that for Chunnam. The number of cesarean section per 10 thousand insured people vary greatly among regions, too. This study has found that there exists significant regional variations among various geographic units in terms of average length of stay, average cost, number of obsretricians and number of beds. Multiple regression analysis was done to identify factors explaining the regional variance of various cesarean section rates: In the urban areas, no significant explaining variables were noted except the number of beds for the dependent variable of cesarean section cases per 10 thousand insured eligible females. The smaller the number of bed, the more cases of cesarean section was noted for an urban area. The is mostly because the rate of cesarean section is higher in medium-size hospitals than in large general hospitals. In the rural areas, the factor of education has been found significant for all three dependent variables. The higher the educational level, the rate of cesarean section is most likely to rise. An income variable measured by the amount of monthly insurance contribution has been identified a powerful predictor in explaining the variance of cesarean section rates. The same has been noted for the number of obstetricians. Similar findings are observed for the country as a whole. The income level has been found as the most powerful explaining factor in the regional variance of cesarean section rates. In general the rate is higher in the urban areas, and lower in the area with more small hospitals. As this is the initial attempt to identify the factors relevant to the regional difference in the rates of cesarean section, more elaborated study is urgently required.
Cesarean Section* ; Education ; Fees and Charges ; Female ; Health Resources ; Hospitalization ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Insurance ; Jeju-do ; Korea* ; Length of Stay ; Pregnancy

No abstract available.
Female ; Humans ; Hysterosalpingography*

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of public officials working for the Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) response in community health centers in South Korea. Methods: A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted using data collected from three focus groups and two individual interviews. Results: The participants performed quarantine tasks in a poor working environment with several problems, such as significant workload, lack of manpower, and inappropriate compensation system. Participants experienced obstacles in performing quarantine works, which had the lack of the detailed quarantine guidelines, work support and cooperation system. Participants suffered from civil complaints. Participants endured sacrifices in their personal lives while partaking in COVID-19 response work without holidays, and subsequently experienced health problems. And also participants said that it was necessary to secure expertise and effective communication for infectious disease management. Conclusion The study results suggest that policies are required that are aimed to improve the working environment and the recruitment of experts in infectious diseases. In addition, the job stress related to the COVID-19 response by public officials in community health centers must be evaluated, and the relation of their job stress to physical and mental problems, as well as psychosocial stress, must be examined.

Purpose: This study is descriptive research to investigate the influence of emotional intelligence and clinical competency on organizational socialization of new graduate nurses. Methods: The subjects were 202 new graduate nurses in a tertiary general hospital in Seoul. The data were collected from February 18 to April 1, 2021, using a self-reported structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis. Results: There were significant positive correlations between emotional intelligence and clinical competency (r=.50, p<.001), emotional intelligence and organizational socialization (r=.45, p<.001), and clinical competency and organizational socialization (r=.36, p<.001) in new graduate nurses. The factors affecting the organizational socialization of new graduate nurses were emotional intelligence (β=.35, p<.001), clinical competency (β=.15, p=.034), desired department (β=.13, p=.031), and nursing value and vocational aptitude among motivation for selecting the nursing (β=.17, p=.014), and explained 25.0% of the variance in organizational socialization of new graduate nurses. Conclusion The results of this study indicated the relationship between emotional intelligence, clinical competency, and organizational socialization, and the factors affecting organizational socialization of new graduate nurses. To improve nurses’ clinical competency in the medical field, a systematic education and support system is essential for new graduate nurses entering the profession. Therefore, nursing organizations should help new graduate nurses develop their work capabilities and adapt to the organization.

No abstract available.
Female ; Ovulation*

PURPOSE: To report a case of endogenous Nocardia endophthalmitis developed in an immunocompromized patient. METHODS: Case report. RESULTS: A 25 year-old man with terminal stage renal disease who was treated with renal transplantation and immunosuppressive medications, presented with reduced vision in his right eye. Ocular examination showed inflammation of anterior chamber, vitreous opacity and subretinal abscess. Prior to ocular symptom, he had been diagnosed to have Nocarida abscess in the lung, brain and soft tissue. He was treated with systemic antibiotics (Imipenam, TMP/SMX). Retinal lesion was improved to achieve 20/200 vision. CONCLUSIONS: We experienced a case of endogenous endophthalmitis due to systemic Nocardia infection in an immunocompromised patient. To our knowledge, this case was the first report of endogenous Nocardia endophthalmitis in Korea.
Abscess ; Adult ; Anterior Chamber ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Brain ; Endophthalmitis* ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Inflammation ; Kidney Transplantation ; Korea ; Lung ; Nocardia ; Nocardia Infections ; Retinaldehyde ; Transplantation* ; Vision, Low

It has been reported that ischernia causes changes in the concentration and tumover of monoamine neurotransmitters in brain. For the mechanism of cellular death in brain ischernia it is suggested that accumulation of intracellular calcium during ischemia is one of the main causes. Present study was undertaken to investigate the influence of ischemia on the contents and tumover of the biogenic anines in rat brain and further to investigate the effects of nimodipine, a calcium channel blocker, and cromakalim, a potassium channel opener, on them. Brain ischemia was induced by partial ligation of bilateral common carotid artery. Nimodipine (36 ,ug/kg, I.p.) or cromakalim (0.5mg/kg, I.p.) was administered 20 minutes before ligation. Nimodipine was administered every 4 hours in 24-hour ischemic group. Rats were sacrificed by decapitation 3 or 24 hours after induction of ischemia and whole brains were excised. The brain was divided into follow ing regions; cerebral cortex, corpus striatum, hippocampus, thalamus, hypothalamus, substantia nigra and cerebellum. The concentrations of biogenic amines and their metabolites were measured by high performance liquid chromatography-electrochemical detector (HPLC-ECD).
Animals ; Biogenic Amines* ; Brain Ischemia ; Brain* ; Calcium ; Calcium Channels ; Carotid Artery, Common ; Cerebellum ; Cerebral Cortex ; Corpus Striatum ; Cromakalim ; Decapitation ; Hippocampus ; Hypothalamus ; Ischemia ; Ligation ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; Nimodipine* ; Potassium Channels ; Rats* ; Substantia Nigra ; Thalamus

Vernet syndrome involves the IX, X, and XI cranial nerves and is most often attributable to malignancy, aneurysm or skull base fracture. Although there have been several reports on Vernet's syndrome caused by fracture and inflammation, cases related to varicella-zoster virus are rare and have not yet been reported in South Korea. A 32-year-old man, who complained of left ear pain, hoarse voice and swallowing difficulty for 5 days, presented at the emergency room. He showed vesicular skin lesions on the left auricle. On neurologic examination, his uvula was deviated to the right side, and weakness was detected in his left shoulder. Left vocal cord palsy was noted on laryngoscopy. Antibody levels to varicella-zoster virus were elevated in the serum. Electrodiagnostic studies showed findings compatible with left spinal accessory neuropathy. Based on these findings, he was diagnosed with Vernet syndrome, involving left cranial nerves, attributable to varicella-zoster virus.
Aneurysm ; Cranial Nerves ; Deglutition ; Ear ; Emergencies ; Herpesvirus 3, Human ; Inflammation ; Laryngoscopy ; Neurologic Examination ; Republic of Korea ; Shoulder ; Skin ; Skull Base ; Uvula ; Vocal Cord Paralysis ; Voice