To determine the cause of death of prisoners of war during the Korean War (1950-1953), death certificates or medical records were analyzed. Out of 7,614 deaths, 5,013 (65.8%) were due to infectious diseases. Although dysentery and tuberculosis were the most common infectious diseases, parasitic diseases had caused 14 deaths: paragonimiasis in 5, malaria in 3, amoebiasis in 2, intestinal parasitosis in 2, ascariasis in 1, and schistosomiasis in 1. These results showed that paragonimiasis, malaria, and amoebiasis were the most fatal parasitic diseases during the early 1950s in the Korean Peninsula. Since schistosomiasis is not endemic to Korea, it is likely that the infected private soldier moved from China or Japan to Korea.
Cause of Death ; China ; Human Migration ; Humans ; Japan ; Korea ; Korean War ; Parasitic Diseases/*mortality ; Prisoners of War

Austria ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Nobel Prize ; Philately ; Physiology ; history ; Prisoners ; Sweden ; World War I

Study of some risk factors of HIV infection prisoners in Quang Ninh Prison-Ministry of Public Security in 2004. Drug addiction is the shortest way resulting in criminal and HIV infection. Drug abuse criminals with HIV who were arrested and sent to prisons are increasing more and more. The results of cross-sectional study on 174 subjects showed that the percentage of HIV infection among prisoners in Quang Ninh was 21.4%; good knowledge of HIV/AIDS was at low level (9.2-59.8%); the percentage of prisoners who have ever used drugs was rather high (39.3%), heroin is the most common drug to be abused and the means of using drug is mixed (smoke, inhale, injection). Behaviors such as making sexual intercourse before the age of 20, drug injections, sharing syringe-needle significantly increased the risk of HIV injection
HIV ; Risk Factors ; Prisoners

PURPOSE: This study aimed at analyzing the causes of death of prisoners of war (POWs) during the Korean War (1950-1953) who fought for the Communist side (North Korea and the People's Republic of China). In 1998, the United States Department of Defense released new information about the prisoners including, 7,614 deaths of the POW during the Korean War. The data on the causes of death of the POWs during the Korean War provides valuable information on the both the public health and history of the conflict. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To analyze the causes of death of the POWs, we classified the clinical diagnosis and findings on 7,614 deaths into 22 chapters, as outlined in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems-10th Revision (ICD-10). Second, we traced changes in the monthly death totals of POWs as well as deaths caused by common infectious diseases and external causes of death including injury over time from August 1950 to September 1953. RESULTS: The most common category of causes of deaths of POWs was infectious disease, 5,013 (65.8%) out of 7,614 deaths, followed by external causes including injury, 817 (10.7%). Overall, tuberculosis and dysentery/diarrhea were the most common causes of death. Deaths caused by acute and chronic infection, or external causes showed different patterns of increases and decline over time during the Korean War. CONCLUSION: The information and data on POWs' deaths during the Korean War reflects the critical impact of the POWs' living conditions and the effect of public health measures implemented in POW camps during the war.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; *Cause of Death ; Child ; China/epidemiology ; Communicable Diseases/epidemiology ; Democratic People's Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Korean War ; Middle Aged ; Prisoners of War/*history

A cross-sectional study was performed on 536 people on July 2003. The percentage of HIV knowledge of both groups was 95%, information receiving source was mainly from television (92-97%). Besides, there were some other information receiving sources (newspaper, radio, friends); this rate was high in superintendents and was low in prisoners. The exact knowledge rate about 3 mainly infected routes was 90% in both groups, 85% thinking that need encouraging and consoling infected people, 73-89% believing that using condom from the start could prevent HIV infection and using condom could prevent HIV infection about 95%, 10-13% of people in both groups did not understand about preventing HIV infection by intravenous drugs
Knowledge ; attitude ; Culture ; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; Prisoners ; Prisons

Humans ; Acetabulum/surgery* ; Fractures, Compression ; Osteotomy ; Spinal Nerve Roots ; Prisoners

A human skull was discovered at the 16th-century drainage channel of market district ruins, one of the busiest streets in the capital of Joseon kingdom. By anthropological examination, we noticed the cut mark at the right occipital part of the cranium. Judging from the wound property, it might have been caused by a strong strike using a sharp-edged weapon. As no periosteal reaction or healing signs were observed at the cut mark, he might have died shortly after the skull wound was made. We speculated that this might have been of a civilian or soldier victim who died in a battle or the decapitated head of prisoner. This is the first report about the discovery of the skull damaged by sharp-edged weapon at the archaeological sites in the capital city of Joseon Kingdom.
Drainage ; Head ; Humans ; Korea* ; Military Personnel ; Prisoners ; Prisons ; Seoul* ; Skull* ; Strikes, Employee ; Weapons* ; Wounds and Injuries

The features of crimes, their causes and backgrounds of 70 army delinquents, comparing with the controls, were studied from Nov. 1st, 1976 to Nov. 20, 1976. The results were as follows : 1. Most of the delinquents were from the a diverse circumstances i.e. low education level, poor economic status, farmers and had got married. 2. The majority of the delinquents occurred within the first 2 years of the enlistment. 3. The rate of the parent-loss of the criminals was definitely higher than that of the controls. (48.6%) 4. Escapers from military service were over the half of them, and violence, steal and embezzlement were followed, The motivations of the escape from the military service was mostly domestic problem and illness ; but a lot of the criminals also escaped for amusement and pleasure. 5. The prognosis of them was relatively favorable and constructive.
Crime ; Criminals ; Education ; Humans ; Military Personnel ; Pleasure ; Prisoners* ; Prisons* ; Prognosis ; United Nations ; Violence

In this thesis, Korean prisoners' health behavior and the characteristics of their medical utilization were surveyed and analysed. Because prisoners are inclined to be mediators of communicable diseases or unhealthy behaviors between prison institution and the outside world, health care for prisoners is directly related to the national population. Data were collected through a self-administered survey of 5 Korean prisons out of a total of 38 correctional facilities and analysed in accordance with a causal model based on a path frame, by serial multiple regressions on health behavior, health status, and medical utilization, etc. According to the survey analysis, while prisoners were generally concerned with their health much more than they were before imprisonment, they perceived that their health status had deteriorated after imprisonment, and that their need for health services was increasing gradually during their time in prison. In the path analysis on the causal relations among variables related to the prisoners' health status and medical utilization, the prisoners' characteristics affected their health concern and health behavior, and subsequently affected their health status and medical utilization, respectively. To sum up these exploratory studies on prisoners' health behavior and health service utilization, some efforts to organize a health care system embracing the correctional institution and health care administration should be made on the level of establishing a health care delivery system for special social groups like prisoners.
Adult ; Female ; Health Services/utilization* ; Human ; Korea ; Male ; Patient Acceptance of Health Care* ; Prisoners*

In 2002 the introduction of a telemedicine clause into the Medical Law allowed telemedicine consults between physicians and health care providers. The Korean government decided to launch a pilot program to provide online health services for people who resided in rural or remote areas such as island dwellers, prisoners, soldiers, and the crew of a pelagic trawler in 2014. However, since the accessibility to medical facilities has been well-established in South Korea, it was hard to determine whether the pilot programs, in terms of safety, were successful or not. The majority of people argue that telemedicine should be performed by medical professionals only for achieving accessibility. Nonetheless, if telemedicine were proven to be useful with respect to safety and validity, then broadening the application of telemedicine between physicians and patients may need reconsideration.
Health Personnel ; Health Services ; Humans ; Jurisprudence ; Korea* ; Military Personnel ; Prisoners ; Prisons ; Telemedicine*