To examine the result of the government Medical Aid Program which began in January, 1977 as a part of social security policy implementation, all the medical records of the clients and official statistics in the year were analyzed. The specific objectives this study pursues include the magnitudes and patterns of morbidity and utilization, and the characteristics of clients. One Korean rural area, Koje county was selected as the study area and subsequently all the clinics and hospitals assigned to work out the Aid Program are the subjects for the survey. A brief summary of the study results as follows: a. The clients of Koje county are 6.4% of the total population in the area, more than the average percentage of the clients in Korea. It reflects on low level of economic status of the residents of the area. b. The population structure of the clients indicates that the large proportions of young and old age group are overwhelming, while the middle age group share very small portions. 3c. The utilization rates for primary care are 2.0 persons, 11.6 visits and 22.6 treatment days per 100 persons per months. Annual hospitalization is rated as 13.7 cases and 164 days per 1,000 persons. The utilization rates are slightly lower than those expected rates during planning period but eventually become higher than those of general population in rural Korea. d. The factors which influence the utilization rates are identified with client group(low income vs indigent), age and sex. e. The utilization pattern for primary care demonstrates seasonal variation similar to the pattern of general rural population in the low income group, but none in the indigent group. f. The most common diseases revealed at the primary care clinics are the acute respiratory infection (26.9%), acute gastritis (10.8%), skin and subcutaneous infection (6.8%). The cases of acute conditions are outnumbered than the cases of chronic condition. g. The clinics, hospitals and other related health institutions are well cooperated in dealing health care services in their own capacities. Considering the above results Medical Aid Program generated satisfactory results at least in the utilization aspect.
Delivery of Health Care ; Gastritis ; Gyeongsangnam-do ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Korea* ; Medical Records ; Middle Aged ; Poverty ; Primary Health Care ; Rural Population ; Seasons ; Skin ; Social Security

No abstract available.
Health Personnel* ; Humans ; Korea

No abstract available.
Periodicals*

No abstract available.
Health Policy*

No abstract available.

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No abstract available.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases*

No abstract available.
Animals ; Lipid A* ; Macrophages* ; Mice* ; Phagocytosis* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha*

No abstract available.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome disrupts normal sleep. However, there were few studies to evaluate the asymmetric distribution, the one of the important factors of normal sleep in OSA subjects. We hypothesized that asymmetry would be broken in OSA patients. 49 male subjects with the complaint of heavy snoring were studied with polysomnography. We divided them into two groups based on the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) fifteen: 13 simple snoring group (SSN, average AHI 5.9+/-4.4) and 32 OSA group (average AHI 47.3+/-23.9). We compared split sleep variables between the first half and the second half of sleep within each group with paired t-test for the evaluation of asymmetry. Changes of sleep architecture of OSA were higher stage 1 sleep% (S1), total arousal index (TAI), AHI, and mean heart rate (HR) and lower stage 2 sleep% (S2), REM sleep%, and mean arterial O2 saturation (SaO2) than SSN subjects. SWS and wake time after sleep onset (WASO) were not different between two groups. In split-night analysis, OSA subjects showed higher S2, slow wave sleep% (SWS), spontaneous arousal index (SAI), and mean HR in the first half, and higher REM sleep% and mean SaO2 in the second half. Those were same pattern as in SSN subjects. Mean apnea duration and longest apnea duration were higher in the second half only in the OSA. No differences of AHI, ODI, WASO, and S1 were found between the first and the second half of sleep in both groups. TAI was higher in the first half only in the SSN. SWS and WASO seemed to be influenced sensitively by simple snoring as well as OSA. Unlike our hypothesis, asymmetric distributions of major sleep architecture variables were preserved in OSA group. Losing asymmetry of TAI might be related to pathophysiology of OSA. We need more studies that include large number of subjects in the future.
Apnea ; Arousal ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Male ; Polysomnography ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive* ; Snoring