Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare parenting stress in preterm mothers with that in fullterm infant mothers according to the developmental stages of their children. Methods: This study used the secondary data analysis approach. Ninety-one preterm infant mothers and 364 full-term infant mothers were selected from the Panel Study on Korean Children using the propensity score matching method. Parenting stress measured at the infancy, toddler, preschool, and early schoolage stages were collected with the characteristics of mothers and children such as age, education level, employment, gender, and gestational age of children. A linear mixed model was used to analyze the effect of developmental stages of children on mothers’ parenting stress. Results: Parenting stress was higher in preterm infant mothers at each developmental stage than in fullterm infant mothers. Parenting stress in preterm infant mothers increased from the infancy stage to the toddler stage but decreased afterward, while parenting stress in full-term infant mothers gradually de creased from the infancy stage to the school-age stage. The changes in parenting stress by developmental stage in preterm and full-term infant mothers were significantly different at the infancy and toddler stages (t=2.32, p=0.020). Conclusion Parenting stress showed a different pattern between preterm infant mothers and full-term infant mothers. Special consideration should be given to develop an educational intervention to assist preterm infant mothers to manage their parenting stress effectively.

No abstract available.

PURPOSE: (a) To examine geographical distribution of childhood allergic diseases in Korea and (b) to identify geographical and sociodemographic risk factors for allergic diseases. METHODS: Data on doctor-diagnosed asthma during lifetime and allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis during the past 12 months of 8,631 children (< or = 18 years) were obtained from the Third Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, along with information on housing type and presence of an indoor smoker. The SaTScan program identified geographical case clusters of allergic diseases, and multiple logistic regression determined risk factors, including geographical case clusters, for each allergic disease. RESULTS: Prevalence of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis was 3.2%, 13.2%, and 15.5%, respectively. Older children (10-18 years) were more likely to have allergic rhinitis whereas younger children were more likely to have atopic dermatitis. It is noteworthy that children living in areas of geographical risk for asthma and atopic dermatitis were more likely to develop the respective allergic disease than children living in other areas (odds ratio [OR] = 3.47 for asthma, and OR = 9.74 for atopic dermatitis). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that the areas in which children live may influence the development of certain allergic diseases. Implications include the need to assess geographical location of children with allergic diseases and to develop community-based preventive programs for children with allergic diseases.
Asthma ; Child ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Geography ; Housing ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Nutrition Surveys ; Prevalence ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to identify a gap between consumer characteristics and utilization of health information on the Internet. METHODS: A telephone survey of nationally representative samples was conducted using structured questionnaires, and 1,000 of the 1,189 responses obtained were included in our analysis. The following variables were included in the analysis as potential predictors of health information use on the Internet: predisposing factors such as gender, age, and education status; enabling factors such as region and monthly household income; consumer need for health information; and attitude to health. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between utilization rate and the potential predictors. RESULTS: Thirty-nine percent of consumers had obtained health information on the Internet over a one-year period. The utilization rates were higher for consumers who were young, educated, worked in the office setting, had higher incomes, wanted health information, and were able to use the Internet. The utilization rate was 5.35 times higher in the younger group (20-30 years) than in the elderly group (95% CI=2.21-12.97); 2.21 times higher for office workers than for manual workers (95% CI=1.16-4.20); 3.61 times higher for college graduates than for middle school graduates and below (95% CI=1.07-11.59); 1.99 times higher for people with monthly household incomes over 3,000,000 won than for those with monthly household incomes below 1,500,000 won (95% CI=1.01-3.92). CONCLUSIONS: There needs to be a paradigm shift, with consideration of not only Internet accessibility in the digital age, but also consumer ability and attitudes toward utilization of health information.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Consumer Health Information/*methods ; Female ; Health Status ; Humans ; Internet/*utilization ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Residence Characteristics ; Sex Factors ; Socioeconomic Factors

PURPOSE: This study aimed to examine the factors related to the bone mineral density (BMD) in male and female adults aged 50 years or older. The factors included were socio-demographics, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, blood lipids, and health habits. METHODS: As a secondary data analysis, this study used raw data from the 5th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and selected 2,295 adults aged over 50 years who participated in the survey and had BMD values. The T-score of the femoral neck was evaluated for BMD. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA and multiple regression. RESULTS: The factors influencing the BMD in men were age (β=−.029, p<.001), BMI (β=.100, p<.001), triglyceride (β=−.001, p=.001), and calcium (β=.001, p=.003), and the suggested regression equation explained 25.6% of the variance in BMD (F=16.32, p<.001). The factors related to BMD in women were age (β=−.060, p<.001), BMI (β=.091, p<.001), total cholesterol (β=−.002, p=.028), HDL cholesterol (β=.009, p=.001), and calcium (β=.001, p=.004), and the suggested regression equation explained 47.0% of the variance in BMD (F=61.72, p<.001). CONCLUSION: Based on the findings of this study, the modifiable factors, such as BMI, blood cholesterol, and calcium, should be targeted to improve the BMD in both men and women.
Adult* ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Bone Density ; Calcium ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Female ; Femur Neck ; Humans ; Male ; Miners* ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Osteoporosis ; Sex Characteristics ; Statistics as Topic ; Triglycerides

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the knowledge of and attitude toward breastfeeding among medicalstaff working in the neonatal intensive care unit and obstetric unit. Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was used. The questionnaire focused on participants’ knowledgeof and attitude toward breastfeeding and their characteristics. A total of 123 participants, including nursesand physicians working in the neonatal intensive care unit and obstetric unit, completed the questionnaire.Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square test, Fisher exact test, and Spearman correlationcoefficient. Results: One-third the of participants reported that they had obtained formal education related to breastfeedingwithin the last year, 44% of participants obtained information related to breastfeeding from books,while 30.9% of participants learned from coworkers. Over 93% of the participants reported a need forformal breastfeeding education. The rate of correct answers for breastfeeding knowledge was 59.2%, andthere were no significant differences between the nurse and physician groups. Breastfeeding attitude waspositive with a score of 60.0, and nurses working in the obstetric unit scored higher than other nurse orphysician groups (p=0.014). A significant correlation between knowledge of and attitude toward breastfeedingwas found in medical staff attending to preterm infant mothers (p<0.001). Conclusion Consistent information and positive support regarding breastfeeding need to be provided tomedical staff so that they can help preterm mothers initiate and continue breastfeeding. Further study isneeded to develop an interprofessional education program to increase breastfeeding knowledge and enhancepositive attitude of medical staff attending to preterm mothers.

Objectives: E-detailing methods have steadily evolved toward more contactless and interactive channels, which have received considerable attention during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis. Based on the technology acceptance model, this study attempted to identify medical representatives’ perceptions and attitudes towards individual innovativeness that affected users’ intentions to adopt new e-detailing devices utilizing information and communication technology. Methods: The subjects of the current study were medical representatives at three major multinational or domestic pharmaceutical companies that operate in South Korea. In total, 300 questionnaires were distributed and 221 were returned. The survey elicited information on respondents’ perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), personal innovativeness (PI), and user acceptance (UA) of remote e-detailing technology, in addition to demographic information and occupational characteristics. Structural equation models were fitted to the data. Separate analyses were conducted for different platform types, PCs and mobile devices. Results: PEOU showed a statistically significant positive association with PU. PEOU, PU, and PI were associated with UA, and PI was a statistically significant moderator. On average, PEOU explained up to approximately 45% of the total variation in UA of remote e-detailing. Conclusions The analysis supports the framework of the technology acceptance model. PEOU was a substantially strong direct predictor of UA, and PI had a statistically significant, positive moderating effect between PU and UA. Medical representatives with pro-innovative attitudes are more likely to play the role of early adopters of remote e-detailing if they find this technology to be more useful.

Purpose: Discharge readiness for parents of high-risk infants is an important predictor of successful transitions from hospital to home, however its assessments criteria require further refining in Korea. The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of the measures available for assessing the discharge readiness for parents of high-risk infant and to evaluate the measurement properties of each instrument. Methods: A literature search for discharge readiness for parents of high-risk infants was performed using 8 electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, KoreaMED, RISS, KISS), using preferred reporting items as per the systematic reviews guidelines. For the quality evaluations of the articles, the COSMIN checklist including content validity, internal structure, and the remaining measurement properties was used. Results: Among the 23 studies selected, 8 studies were excluded due to lack of information on their instrument’s measurement properties while remaining 15 studies were evaluated for the quality of measurement attributes. Overall information on the properties of the instruments was lacking in all studies. Conclusion None of the instruments evaluated all the relevant measurement properties. The results of this review suggest that it is necessary to develop a discharge readiness instrument that considers the necessary and relevant characteristics required for successful hospital to home transition for parents of high-risk infants.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe characteristics of colleges implementing the accelerated second-degree bachelor of science in nursing program in South Korea and provide insight into strategies to improve the program outcomes. Methods: An on-line questionnaire developed for this study was emailed to deans of nursing colleges who were members of the Korean Association of College of Nursing. Questions included items related to nursing college, students, curriculum, and anticipated difficulty in relation to an increase of the number of second-degree students. Results: Out of 117 nursing schools, 33 schools (28.2%) participated in the on-line survey. The actual number of second-degree students and their ratio (about 10%) to regular students significantly increased in 2019. Male students were enrolled nearly twice as many times as regular students. Among the anticipated difficulties, clinical practice institutions (3.94) and clinical practice instructors (3.73) showed relatively higher scores than other difficulties such as teaching (3.58) and education facilities (3.30). Conclusion In order to improve the quality of nursing education for second-degree students, more nursing faculties and innovative clinical practice support systems are needed. Future study is warranted to investigate the educational experience of second-degree students and graduates.

With the rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a particularly sharp increase in the number of confirmed cases in Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions at the end of February, Korea faced an unprecedented shortage of medical resources, including hospital beds. To cope with this shortage, the government introduced a severity scoring system for patients with COVID-19 and designed a new type of quarantine facility for treating and isolating patients with mild symptoms out of the hospital, namely, the Residential Treatment Center (RTC). A patient with mild symptoms was immediately isolated in the RTC and continuously monitored to detect changes in symptoms. If the symptoms aggravate, the patient was transferred to a hospital. RTCs were designed by creating a quarantine environment in existing lodging facilities capable of accommodating > 100 individuals. The facilities were entirely divided into a clean zone (working area) and contaminated zone (patient zone), separating the space, air, and movement routes, and the staff wore level D personal protective equipment (PPE) in the contaminated zone. The staffs consisted of medical personnel, police officers, soldiers, and operation personnel, and worked in two or three shifts per day.Their duty was mainly to monitor the health conditions of quarantined patients, provide accommodations, and regularly collect specimens to determine if they can be released.For the past two months, RTCs secured approximately 4,000 isolation rooms and treated approximately 3,000 patients with mild symptoms and operated stably without additional spread of the disease in and out of the centers. Based on these experience, we would like to suggest the utilization of RTCs as strategic quarantine facilities in pandemic situations.