OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the mediation effect of stress between the experience of discrimination and life satisfaction among North Korean refugees who resettled in South Korea. The findings of the current study provide empirical evidence for the need of social interventions to mitigate adverse effects of stress on North Korean refugees who are subject to social discrimination on a daily basis. METHODS: In this study, we included 500 subjects among 2,138 North Korean refugees who took refuge in South Korea in 2007. The interview started from April 6th 2009 and finished on May 25th 2009. We conducted moderator effect analysis with Path analysis was conducted because we confirm the experience of discrimination was affected by life satisfaction and stress can affected life satisfaction as a moderator. RESULTS: The experience of discrimination significantly affects stress and stress significantly affects life satisfaction. However, the experience of discrimination was not directly related to life satisfaction. The more stress the study respondents experienced, the lower the life satisfaction they reported. CONCLUSION: The present finding suggests that the effects of discriminating experiences on the life satisfaction of North Korean refugees in South Korea were mediated by their own perceived stress.
Discrimination (Psychology) ; Humans ; Korea ; Negotiating ; Refugees ; Social Discrimination ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The goal of treatment for schizophrenia has been changed since the atypical antipsychotics have been introduced. In the past, control of psychiatric symptoms of schizophrenia was the main issue in the treatment of schizophrenia. Recently, however, reintegration into society is the final goal of treatment for patients with schizophrenia and the definitions of remission and recovery are discussed among experts group and newly introduced. For this goal, the factors which affect social dysfunctions of schizophrenia have been explored and the intervention which have been known to be helpful for improvement of social dysfunction of the patients with schizophrenia have been suggested. In this article, recent findings about social dysfunction and treatment programs for social dysfunction of schizophrenia are reviewed and introduced. Cognitive dysfunction, partial or noncompliance to treatment, social stigma and discrimination are major factors contributing social dysfunction of the patients with schizophrenia. In this regard, cognitive enhancement therapy, long-acting injectable atypical antipsychotic drugs, and psychosocial interventions which enhance treatment adherence and empower the patients in the society have been known to be helpful for social dysfunction of the patients with schizophrenia. Further biological and psychoscial studies and efforts should be made for achieving the final goal of treatment for schizophrenia-'reintegration into society'.
Antipsychotic Agents ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Humans ; Schizophrenia* ; Social Stigma

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to observe the factors that influence the development of national identity of North Korean refugees who have resettled in South Korea. METHODS: The study population was comprised of 500 North Korean refugees who immigrated to South Korea in 2007. The variables measured national identity as South Korean, a scale for discrimination perceived during daily life, a social for supporting social network, a for childhood trauma experience, traumatic experiences in North Korea, and traumatic experiences during the escape process. Factor analysis was conducted on the result from the scale for national identity as South Korean which produced 4 factors including national consciousness, positive emotions, positive values, and negative values. Multiple regression was done to identify how variables such as demographic data, discrimination, social network, and past trauma had influenced each of 4 factors. RESULTS: National identity was negatively related by traumatic experience during childhood, perceived discrimination, and positively influenced by social networks. Positive emotion was related negatively to education level in North Korea and perceived discrimination, but positively related to traumatic experiences in North Korea. Negative value was related positively age and perceived discrimination but negatively related to supporting social network. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggests that promoting social networks, decreasing discrimination and healing past traumas were important factors for North Korean refugees in South Korea to facilitate a new national identity as a South Korean.
Consciousness ; Democratic People's Republic of Korea ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Humans ; Refugees ; Republic of Korea ; Social Discrimination ; United Nations

BACKGROUND: Clinical trials are widely used to approve the efficacy and discover adverse reactions of new drugs. However, there has been much concern about the unjustified exclusion of the older adults in clinical trials. The purpose of this study was to assess ageism in clinical trials and to find solution to any discovered discrimination. METHODS: An online questionnaire was completed by 1,650 experts including doctors, pharmaceutical staff, and contract research organization members. An offline inquiry was conducted by 250 experienced professors from a single tertiary hospital and other allied professions. The questions covered the current state of elderly participation, possible reasons for under-representation, and plans for its solution. RESULTS: Among 1,900 subjects, 246 (12.9%) individuals completed the survey. We excluded the six subjects who did not answer more than 10 questions, and analyzed the remaining 240 respondents. They agreed that there are tendencies to exclude the aged from clinical trials (69.2%), and that under-representation would cause difficulties for doctors and geriatric patients. Most people (84.6%) thought that treating older adults with the results from trials which exclude aged participants is inappropriate. Because respondents had difficulties explaining the trial process and obtaining informed consent, they thought establishing a geriatric clinical trial team would be highly effective. Experts also believed that financial inducements and legal regulations are required to increase elderly enrollment. CONCLUSION: Because the elderly have a unique physiology, the participation of older adults in clinical research is indispensable for verifying efficacy and determining potential adverse reactions. Consequently, clinical research professionals should be concerned about the participation of older subjects, and the authorities must begin to care about age discrimination in research fields.
Adult ; Aged* ; Ageism ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Drug Approval ; Ethics Committees ; Humans ; Informed Consent ; Physiology ; Social Control, Formal ; Tertiary Care Centers

Public attitudes and awareness toward epilepsy were surveyed in Kwang-ju area. A representative population of 587 persons aged over 18 years was selected in a systematic sampling procedure from the Kwang-ju telephone directory published in 1991. The social background of the respondents did not deviated significantly from that of the general population in this age range. The questionnaire consisted of 34 guestions designed to determine the respondent's social background, acquaintance with epileptic patients, awareness of epilepsy, and opinions and attitudes about the disorder. The result from this survey was as follows; 1) The prejudice and misunderstanding toward epilepsy in our society were much more serious than those in other societies reviewed in this study, which may be due to our own peculiar cultural background. 2) Although social discrimination against persons with epilepsy was due mainly to social stigma on epilepsy based on extra-ordinary misunderstanding of people, a very passive and pessimistic attitude of the patient himself may be contributed to it considerably. 3) Even if the epileptic seizure was well controlled with appropriate antiepileptic drugs, the social attitude toward occupational activity of persons with epilepsy was very negative. 4) The negative attitude toward epilepsy in our society was closely correlated to the level of education and age of respondents; the older or less educated they were, the more objections they had.
Anticonvulsants ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Education ; Epilepsy* ; Gwangju* ; Humans ; Prejudice ; Social Discrimination ; Social Stigma ; Telephone

OBJECTIVE

To determine the perceptions of persons with tuberculosis (TB) and health workers on Care TB – a mobile application for the community-led monitoring (CLM) of TB services.

We used a qualitative research method. Six people with tuberculosis and ten health workers were chosen through purposive sampling for semi-structured interviews. The narrative data produced from the interviews were subjected to qualitative content analysis in order to uncover salient themes and patterns.

The community-led monitoring mobile application was shown to be acceptable both to TB healthcare providers and patients. It enhances information access and streamlines the process of reporting care barriers. The application also allows persons with TB to interact with one another, potentially eliminating stigma and discrimination. Potential challenges to implementing the CLM program include issues with internet connectivity, costs, and human resources.

This study provides preliminary evidence of the acceptability and perceived feasibility of a mobile application for the community-led monitoring of TB services. For the CLM initiative to be scaled up across the country, more financial and technical support is required.

PURPOSE: This study aims to examine the relationships among social discrimination, subjective health, and personal satisfaction based on the country of origin. METHODS: The analysis was based on 16,958 immigrants who participated in the National Survey of Multicultural Family 2015 in Korea. This study conducted stratified cross-analysis of social discrimination for the differences in subjective health and personal satisfaction. Multivariate-adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the relationships among social discrimination, subjective health, and personal satisfaction were examined with multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: There were differences in experience of social discrimination, subjective health status, and personal satisfaction according to the country of origin. Groups without the experience of social discrimination had better subjective health and personal satisfaction than the other groups. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that a discrimination prevention program needs to be developed based on a cultural approach.
Diagnostic Self Evaluation* ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Emigrants and Immigrants* ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Odds Ratio ; Personal Satisfaction* ; Social Discrimination*

OBJECTIVES: In this study we performed an analysis of the stress associated with the working conditions of 6,764 workers based on 'A survey of healthy condition of workers on 1999'by the Korean Occupational Safety and Health Agency. The Purpose of this study was to provide basic data for health education and management for industrial workers'health promotion. METHODS: Collected data were analyzed using the t-test, ANOVA and multiple regression analysis, using the SPSS 10.0 program. RESULTS: When the degrees of stress were analyzed according to demographic characteristics, females were found to have higher levels of stress than males (p<0.001). Furthermore, as age was lowered and as the work space became larger, the degrees of a stress were also found to be higher (p<0.001 and p<0.01, respectively). When the degrees of stress were analyzed according to working conditions, longer working hours (p<0.001) and reduced break times (p<0.05), gave rise to higher degrees of stress. Also, as the work space was reduced in size and as the work intensity was augmented, the degrees of a stress were made higher (p<0.01). In terms of physical working conditions, humidity and a lack of sense of security resulted in higher degrees of stress (p<0.01). When the workers sense that their environment is noisy or dusty has poor lighting or ventilation or that the rest room and cafeteria facilities are inadequate, the degrees of stress are found to be higher. As regards the social environment, when the workers sensed that the degree of job demand or job control was higher or that the degree of social support was lower, the degrees of stress were increased (p<0.001). Among those factors which influenced physical stress in the stepwise multiple regression analysis, the primary factor was found to be the safety of the working place (5.1 %). Other factors which influenced physical stress were degree of job demand, age, work intensity, humidity, sexual discrimination, length of working hours, size of work space and the existence or not of a regular break time in this order. Total R2 due to these factors was 12%. Among those factors which influenced mental stress in the stepwise multiple regression analysis, the primary factor was the degree of job demand (4.8 %). Other factors which influenced mental stress were humidity, age, sexual discrimination, the degree of a job control, safety of the working place, degree of social support, a working site, size of the work space, quality of lighting, the existence or not of a regular break time and length of working hours in this order. Total R2 due to these factors was 13.1 %. CONCLUSIONS: The above results shows that working conditions are strongly related to stress. Furthermore, when both physical and social working conditions are continuously managed and improved, workers may not only reduce their levels of stress but also maximize their working efficiency.
Analysis of Variance ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Female ; Health Education ; Humans ; Humidity ; Male ; Occupational Health ; Social Environment ; Social Work ; Ventilation

BACKGROUND:The incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the Philippines is increasing. HIV-related stigma in the health care setting is a known barrier to healthcare access for people living with HIV (PLHIV).

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to identify stigmatizing attitudes and practices towards PLHIV among healthcare workers in Philippine General Hospital.

METHODS: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 375 healthcare workers were recruited via convenience sampling. A standardized questionnaire developed by the Health Policy Project was used.

RESULTS: The study demonstrated concerns regarding transmission, particularly during drawing blood (87.1%),assisting in labor and delivery (82%), and dressing wounds (80.4%). Use of special infection-control measures (76.1%),wearing double gloves (72.8%), additional infection-control procedures during labor and delivery (72.2%), and wearing gloves during all aspects of patient care (70.2%) were reported as well. Perceptions such as the belief that pregnant women who are HIV positive must inform their families of their HIV status (82.1%), and that PLHIV engage in irresponsible behaviors (69.1%) and are promiscuous (66.4%) were also detected.

CONCLUSION: The study confirmed the presence of HIV-related stigma among healthcare workers in Philippine General Hospital.This finding could potentially catalyze the development of stigma-reducing measures which could hopefully translate to improved healthcare for PLHIV.

BACKGROUND: Negative public attitude toward epilepsy is a common phenomenon all over the world and one of the major factors causing social discrimination against people with epilepsy. In general, those with epilepsy have considerable limitations in their interaction with and adaptation to their surroundings, and some of them find social attitudes more devastating than the disorder itself. METHODS: In order to indicate folk medicines known as an epilepsy treatment among Korean rural residents and to deduce the background of the negative attitudes from analysis of the estimated effect of the folk medicine, a survey was conducted in a Korean rural area. RESULTS: Of 713 persons contacted in the survey, 22% of respondents replied that they knew at least one folk medicine as an epilepsy treatment. About 55% of the folk medicines were superstitious or incantational one such as eating the organs of animals or humans, or soup boiled with the branches of a tree struck by lightening, or with a rope used in a suicidal hanging. From the results, we can deduce the fact that the understanding of epilepsy by the Korean respondents base on the supernatural or superstitious thinking that seem to be attributed to our own unique culture. CONCLUSION: In order to ameliorate prejudices against epilepsy and allow epileptic persons to interact with and adapt to their surrounding properly, not only continuous and repetitive educational efforts but also the sympathy of professional and lay societies regarding epilepsy would be needed.
Animals ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Eating ; Epilepsy* ; Humans ; Medicine, Traditional* ; Prejudice ; Social Discrimination ; Superstitions ; Thinking ; Trees