PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationships among occupational identity, social support, posttraumatic growth, and health-related quality of life regarding firefighters.METHODS: The study was conducted with 149 firefighters working at two fire stations in South Gyeongsang Province. Data were collected between August and September 2018. There were four research instruments in the structured survey, including the occupational identity scale, social support scale, Korea Posttraumatic Growth Inventory and World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Instrument.RESULTS: As a result, the quality of life of firefighters was positively correlated with social support, occupational identity, and posttraumatic growth. The factors associated with the quality of life of firefighters were social support (β=.36, p < .001), and occupational identity (β=.31, p < .001). The total explanatory power of these variables was 53.1%.CONCLUSION: To improve the health-related quality of life of firefighters based on the results of this study, it is necessary to develop support programs to strengthen social support and occupational identity.
Firefighters ; Fires ; Humans ; Korea ; Occupations ; Quality of Life ; Social Identification ; World Health Organization

This study examined the effects of social identity (cognitive, affective, and evaluative social identity) on affective commitment and behavioral intention in premium food markets. Data were collected from customers who had visited the premium food markets within three months prior to the time of the survey. A total of 247 responses were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 for Windows. The three attributes of social identity (cognitive, affective, and evaluative social identity) had a significant positive effect on the affective commitment, while affective commitment had a positive effect on the behavioral intention in premium food markets. On the other hand, only evaluative social identity had a significant positive effect on the behavioral intention in premium food markets. These results revealed the mediating effect of affective commitment in the relationship between social identity and customers' behavioral intention. This suggests a positive affective commitment as a key factor for customers in premium food markets. The results would be applied to marketing strategies based on the attributes of premium food market customers.
Hand ; Intention ; Marketing ; Negotiating ; Social Identification

BACKGROUND: This study investigated characteristics according to demographic, occupational factors of Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS) and related scales to MBI-GS. METHODS: The subjects of the study were 3,331 workers in 3 different workplaces of one electronics company. They filled in demographic factors surveys, occupational factors surveys, MBI-GS, Korean Occupational Stress Scale-Short Form (KOSS-SF), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and World Health Organization Quality Of Life-Abbreviated version (WHOQOL-BREF). The correlations between sub-scales of MBI-GS and KOSS-SF, PHQ-9, WHOQOL-BREF were analyzed respectively. And KOSS-SF, PHQ-9, and WHOQOL-BREF were categorized; mean scores of sub-scales of MBI-GS were compared; and the quartiles of sub-scales of MBI-GS were presented. RESULTS: A comparison of mean scores of MBI-GS according to demographic and occupational factors showed a significant difference according to age, problem drinking behavior, working time, and working duration in exhaustion regardless of sex. In professional efficacy, a significant difference was observed in age, marital status, working type, and working duration. And as a result of correlation analysis, the correlation coefficient between exhaustion and PHQ-9 was the highest regardless of sex. In addition, regardless of sex, exhaustion and cynicism scores tended to increase and professional efficacy score tended to decrease as the work stress level rose. Same tendency is shown in case of the more severe the symptom of depression and the lower quality of life. When the quartile for sub-scales' score of MBI-GS were investigated, the burnout was more pronounced in female than in male. CONCLUSIONS: Many demographic and occupational factors affect burnout were identified in one electronics company, and we investigated which sub-scales of MBI-GS were affected. Through this study, burnout characteristics were identified in a few population group of Korea, and the results are expected to be useful for burnout risk group identification, counseling, etc.
Counseling ; Demography ; Depression ; Drinking Behavior ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Marital Status ; Population Groups ; Quality of Life ; Social Identification ; Weights and Measures ; World Health Organization

BACKGROUND: The balance between self- and social identity on job value of Korean dance artists, considered as performing artists, was measured to investigate the relationship between balance and depressive symptoms. METHODS: Data of 139 dance artists were analyzed for depressive symptoms assessed by their responses to questionnaires from the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CESD) translated into Korean. The balance score of each aspect of social identity compared to that of self-identity on job value was measured and classified as lower, equal, or higher. Following a graphical approach, we performed locally weighted scatterplot smoothing algorithm, simple linear regression, and quadric equation regression. RESULTS: The mean of CESD was highest in the higher balance group and lowest in the lower balance group. There was a linear relationship between balance score and CESD regarding specific audience, unspecified audience, and unspecified public. Balance score showed no association with other aspects of social identity. In the balance score range of 1 or higher, it was associated with CESD with respect to artist colleague, unspecified audience, and unspecified public. CONCLUSIONS: Dance artists should maintain a balance between self- and social identity in job value to prevent depressive symptoms.
Dancing ; Depression ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Korea ; Linear Models ; Social Identification

PURPOSE: Following legal reform in 2013, the annual number of asylum seekers entering South Korea has increased from 1,143 in 2012 to 5,711 in 2015. We interviewed six African refugee mothers of young children regarding their health needs and barriers to access maternal child health services. METHODS: We recruited mothers who had visited a clinic for immigrants between July 2013 and August 2015. Participants were African refugee women, aged over 18 years, who had given birth in Korea within the previous 5 years and had come to Korea over a year before recruitment. Interview questions examined participants' experiences in pregnancy and childbirth and concerns regarding their child's health status. Initial data analysis involved all researchers' immersion in the entire collection of transcripts. We then noted recurrent topics and themes and identified similar issues. RESULTS: At the time of giving birth, 5 participants were asylum seekers and one had undocumented status. The following barriers impeded their access to maternal child healthcare: socioeconomic factors (unstable social identity, low economic status, difficulty obtaining health insurance), language barriers (lack of linguistically appropriate health information, limited access to translation services), and cultural barriers (religious and cultural differences). Weak social support also hindered access to healthcare soon after migration; however, social links with the community emerged as a key coping strategy following settlement. CONCLUSION: We identified barriers to maternal and child healthcare and coping strategies among African refugee mothers in Korea. Future research should assess refugees' health status and improve health access and literacy among refugee mothers.
Child ; Communication Barriers ; Delivery of Health Care* ; Emigrants and Immigrants ; Female ; Health Services Accessibility ; Humans ; Immersion ; Infant ; Korea* ; Literacy ; Maternal-Child Health Services ; Mothers* ; Parturition ; Pregnancy ; Refugees* ; Social Identification ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Statistics as Topic

Urban transit (bus and rail) operators, totaling nearly 700,000 persons, are one of the heaviest occupational groups in the United States (US). Little is known about occupational risk factors for weight gain and obesity and their interrelationship with health-related behaviors, particularly among female minority (African Americans and Hispanics) transit operators who are at greater risk for obesity. As a step towards developing successful obesity interventions among urban transit operators, this paper aims to present a new socioecological framework for studying working conditions, chronic strain, health-related behaviors, weight gain/obesity, and obesity disparity in diverse urban transit operators based on gender, race, and ethnicity. Our framework is a synthesis of several different theories and disciplines: the resource-work load model (work stress), occupational ergonomics, the theory of intersectionality, and worksite health promotion. The framework was developed utilizing an extensive literature review, results from our on-going research on obesity, input from focus groups conducted with Los Angeles transit operators as well as interviews and meetings with transit operator stakeholders (management, unions, and worksite transit wellness program), and ride-along observations. Our hypotheses highlighted in the framework (see Fig. 1) are that adverse working conditions, largely characterized as a combination of high demands and low resources, will increase the risk for weight gain/obesity among transit operators directly through chronic strain and hypothalamic dysfunction (hyper-and hypo-activations), and indirectly through health-related behaviors and injuries/chronic severe pain. We also hypothesize that the observed increase in adiposity among female minority operators is due to their greater exposure to adverse occupational and non-occupational conditions that reflect their intersecting social identities of lower social class and being a minority woman in the US. Our proposed framework could greatly facilitate future transit worksite obesity studies by clarifying the complex and important roles of adverse working conditions in the etiology of weight gain/obesity and obesity disparity among transit operators and other working populations.
Adiposity ; Continental Population Groups* ; Female ; Focus Groups ; Health Behavior ; Health Promotion ; Human Engineering ; Humans ; Obesity* ; Occupational Groups ; Risk Factors ; Social Class ; Social Identification ; United States ; Weight Gain ; Workplace

PURPOSE: Metastatic biliary tract cancer (mBTC) has a dismal prognosis. In this study, an independent dataset of patients with mBTC was used to implement and validate a routine clinico-laboratory parameter-based scoring model for risk group identification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From September 2006 to February 2015, 482 patients with mBTC were assigned randomly (ratio, 7:3) into investigational (n=340) and validation datasets (n=142). The continuous variables were dichotomized using a normal range or the best cutoff values determined using the Contal and O'Quigley statistical methods. Following a Cox’s proportional hazard model, the scoring model was derived by summing the rounded chi-square scores for the factors identified by multivariate analysis. RESULTS: The performance status (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group 3-4), hypoalbuminemia (< 3.4 mg/dL), carcinoembryonic antigen (≥ 9 ng/mL), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (≥ 3.0), and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (≥ 120 U/mL) were identified as independent prognosticators (Harrell’s C index, 0.682; integrated area under the curve, 0.653). Survival was clearly correlated with the risk groups (low, intermediate, and high, 14.0, 7.3, and 2.3 months, respectively; p < 0.001). The prognosis was also discriminative in the validation data set (median survival, 16.7, 7.5, and 1.9 months, respectively; p < 0.001). Chemotherapy did not offer any survival benefits for high-risk patients. CONCLUSION: These proposed prognostic criteria for mBTC can facilitate accurate patient risk stratification and treatment-related decision-making.
Biliary Tract Neoplasms* ; Biliary Tract* ; Carcinoembryonic Antigen ; Dataset ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Hypoalbuminemia ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prognosis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Reference Values ; Social Identification

This study aimed to develop a measure of professional identity for Korean dental hygienists and to analyze the factors and characteristics of professional identity of these dental hygienists. In this study, 890 dental hygienists completed a self-administered survey. The final analysis was conducted with a total of 880 responses, excluding 10 questionnaires with unreliable responses and partial responses. A systematic literature review was conducted to establish the definition of professional identity, while content validity, exploratory factor, confirmatory factor, and reliability analysis were conducted to establish the constructive factors. Descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, and one-way ANOVA were used to identify the level of each factor. Authors conceptualized the professional identity for Korean dental hygienists and item generation, item reduction, and questionnaire formatting. The developed measure of professional identity for dental hygienists consisted of five factors, with 15 items. “Sense of calling,”“need for academic capacity building,”“performance of delegated authority,”“compliance of code of ethics,” and “usage of professional organizations” were the constituent factors. Based on these factors, the level of professional identity was the highest in the “performance of delegated authority” and lowest in the “usage of professional organizations.” These finding indicated that dental hygienists with higher education levels have higher professional identity levels. The dental hygienists working at the general/university hospital had the highest level of professional identity. Thus, further research is needed to establish a model that consists of factors affecting and influencing the professional identity of dental hygienists.
Dental Hygienists* ; Education ; Humans ; Professional Competence ; Reproducibility of Results* ; Social Identification

For the last half-century, interprofessional education (IPE) has been identified and discussed as a critical educational process to facilitate collaboration in order to improve healthcare outcomes for healthcare participants. While the concept is not new, outcome-based research has provided few valid and reliable explanations of whether and how IPE can be effective in healthcare quality improvement. This challenge stems from the struggle to understand the epistemological meaning of IPE. The purpose of this literature review paper is to provide a synthesized understanding of IPE, its meaning, and to provide practical guidance for medical educators. The paper reviewed several key aspects of IPE. Professionalility was discussed to understand the historical background of IPE, followed by an explanation of the international trend of embracing the complexity of health care practice and the need for interprofessional collaboration. Additionally, several theoretical perspectives, such as general systems theory, social identity theory, and community of practice were reviewed to pinpoint what constitutes IPE. Several existing definitions were discussed with similar concepts (i.e., disciplinary vs. professional, and multi-, inter-, vs. trans-) to clarify the nature of knowledge and collaboration in IPE. Three concepts, including practice, authenticity of context, and socialization were proposed as key constructs of IPE, followed by appropriate timing of IPE, outcome research, directions for future research, and guidance for implementation. Community-based medical education practice, professional socialization within a community, and longitudinal system-based outcome research are recommended as future directions for research and practice.
Cooperative Behavior ; Delivery of Health Care ; Education ; Education, Medical ; Education, Professional ; Interprofessional Relations ; Professional Practice ; Quality of Health Care ; Social Identification ; Socialization ; Systems Theory

OBJECTIVETo investigate gay identity status of men who have sex with men(MSM) in Xinjiang, and analyze its association with sexual behaviors.

METHODSFrom May to August in 2013, an anonymous questionnaire survey with convenience sampling was conducted among MSM in Urumqi, Kashgar, Aksu and Yining cities of Xinjiang. Those who were ≥ 16 years of age and claimed to have male-to-male sex behaviors were eligible for the survey. A total of 1 467 participants were recruited. Chi square analysis was performed for examining the association between ego-identity, social-identity and relevant sexual behaviors. Selected variables associated with ego-identity, social-identity in the univariate analysis were subsequently assessed in a multivariate analysis using logistic regression.

RESULTSThe MSM with positive ego-identity accounted for 44.7% (656/1 467), and positive social-identity accounted for 29.1% (427/1 467). For ego-identity, Uyghur MSM were less positive than Han MSM (OR (95%CI) was 0.43 (0.32-0.58) ) ; those who were over 20 years of age when accepting their sexual orientation were less positive than those who were younger than 20 years of age when accepting their sexual orientation (OR (95%CI) was 0.61 (0.47-0.80) );and homosexuals were more positive than bisexuals (OR (95%CI) was 1.98 (1.50-2.61) ). For social-identity, Hui MSM were less positive than Han MSM (OR (95%CI) was 0.61 (0.42-0.88) ); those whose education level was higher than college were less positive than those with junior high education (OR (95%CI) was 0.60 (0.40-0.89) ); famers/herdsmen were more positive than students (OR (95%CI) was 4.17 (2.13-8.17) ); the divorced/widowed were more positive than the singles (OR (95%CI) was 2.40 (1.34-4.29) ); those who were over 20 years of age when accepting their sexual orientation were less positive than those who were younger than 20 years of age when accepting their sexual orientation (OR (95%CI) was 0.59 (0.44-0.81) ). Among the MSM with negative ego-identity and negative social-identity, the proportion of planning to get married with women was 66.8% (267/400) and 76.5% (306/400), respectively, which were higher than those with positive ego-identity (33.2% (133/400)) and positive social-identity (23.5% (94/400)) ; their proportion of intending to have offspring was 62.0% (287/463) and 73.4% (340/463), respectively, which were higher than those with positive ego-identity and social-identity (38.0% (176/463), 26.6% (123/463)) (χ(2) = 39.61 and 7.90, respectively, both P values were <0.05). Among the MSM with negative social-identity, the proportion of looking for male sexual partners in toilets or parks was 18.1% (188/1 040), in bathhouse or sauna was 17.3% (180/1 040), and through internet was 82.0% (853/1 040), which were higher than those with positive social-identity (8.9% (38/427), 9.8% (42/427) and 61.6% (263/427)) (χ(2) = 66.78, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONIn 2013, the gay identity of MSM in Xinjiang was relatively poor, and the factors associated with it included ethnicity, occupation, marital status and education level. The MSM with negative identity tended to involve in risk sexual behaviors, and had increased risk of HIV infection.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Bisexuality ; China ; Data Collection ; Demography ; Female ; HIV Infections ; Homosexuality, Male ; Humans ; Male ; Risk Factors ; Risk-Taking ; Self Concept ; Sexual Behavior ; Sexual Partners ; Social Identification ; Surveys and Questionnaires