OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to identify the difference between consumer vocabulary and medical vocabulary in terms of health information; to understand the features of consumer vocabulary; and to contribute by building a system that is able to link consumer vocabulary with medical vocabulary. METHODS: Data collection was conducted using articles in the knowledge corner of a portal web-site. A total of 43,304 health-related terms (total terms extracted) were collected as objects of this study and these terms were analyzed for their mapping rate and frequency of use (the repeated number of a term). RESULTS: The rate of mapping between the consumer vocabulary for health information and the medical vocabulary was not high. However, the number of "unmapped terms" was decreased by linking terms having similar forms to "preferred terms" and by extending synonyms. CONCLUSION: Linking with preferred terms and extending synonyms are, thus, required to increase the mapping rate between consumer vocabulary for health information and medical vocabulary, and the terms that consumers use are essential to further be researched in order to understand their morphology and features; hence, increasing consumer accessibility to the medical field.
Data Collection ; Vocabulary*

OBJECTIVE: This study determines the usability of the experimental u-Healthcare services program by examining the prior experience of COPD patients. METHODS: A qualitative content analysis and in-depth interviews were conducted. A total of eight COPD patients with prior experience in u-Healthcare services were interviewed between August 12, 2009 and September 10, 2009. RESULTS: The participants were asked open questions on u-Healthcare services, including their general experience, major attributes, service expectations, future usage intentions, and education and training needs. The participants were also asked to indicate current healthcare inconveniences that u-Healthcare services might solve. CONCLUSION: The results of this study based on patient experience suggest the potential viability of u-Healthcare services.
Delivery of Health Care ; Humans ; Intention ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive

No abstract available.
Chickenpox* ; Herpes Zoster* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Myelitis*

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Dietary guidelines for Korean children were released in 2009. The goal of the present study was to examine diet quality in terms of adherence to these dietary guidelines as well as explore the association between guideline adherence and risk of obesity in Korean children. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Children aged 5-11 years (mean age = 8.9 years old, n = 191, 80.6% girls) were recruited from a university hospital in Seoul, Korea. Adherence to dietary guidelines for Korean children was calculated using the Likert scale (1-5), and children were then categorized into low, moderate, and high groups based on adherence scores. Obesity or being overweight was determined based on an age- and gender- specific percentile for body mass index (BMI) of the 2007 Korean National Growth Charts. Diet quality was evaluated from 3 days of dietary intake data. RESULTS: Children in the high adherence group were characterized by significantly lower BMI percentiles and paternal BMIs as well as higher percentages of fathers with a high level of education and higher household incomes compared to those in the low or moderate group. Children in the high adherence group consumed significantly higher amounts of milk and dairy products, were less likely to consume lower than the EAR of phosphorus and iron, and had higher NARs for calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and MAR than those in low groups. The ORs for obesity (BMI > or = 95th percentile) or being overweight including obesity (BMI > or = 85th percentile) were significantly lower in the high adherence group compared to the low adherence group (OR: 0.33, 95% CI = 0.13-0.82, P for trend = 0.019; OR: 0.26, 95% CI: 0.11-0.61 P for trend = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Korean children who adhered to dietary guidelines displayed better diet quality and a reduced risk of obesity.
Body Mass Index ; Calcium ; Child* ; Dairy Products ; Diet ; Ear ; Education ; Family Characteristics ; Fathers ; Growth Charts ; Guideline Adherence ; Humans ; Iron ; Korea ; Milk ; Nutrition Policy* ; Obesity* ; Overweight ; Phosphorus ; Seoul ; Zinc

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine differences in nutrient intake and food consumption by the presence of metabolic syndrome in Korean adults. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Study subjects in this cross-sectional study were recruited from four outpatient clinics in and near the Seoul metropolitan area of South Korea between 2006 and 2012. A total of 668 subjects (413 men and 255 women) aged > or = 30 y were included in the final data analyses. For each subject, daily nutrient intake and food consumption were calculated using three days of dietary intake data obtained from a combination of 24-hour recalls and dietary records. To evaluate food consumption, mean number of servings consumed per day and percentages of recommended number of servings for six food groups were calculated. Metabolic syndrome was defined using the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria. The general linear model was performed to examine differences in nutrient intake and food consumption by sex and the presence of metabolic syndrome after adjustment for potential confounding variables. RESULTS: Nutrient intake did not differ by the presence of metabolic syndrome in both men and women. Men with metabolic syndrome had lower consumption and percentage of the recommendation for fruits compared with those without metabolic syndrome (1.6 vs. 1.1 servings/day, P-value = 0.001; 63.5 vs. 49.5%, P-value = 0.013). Women with metabolic syndrome showed lower consumption and percentage of the recommendation for dairy foods than those without metabolic syndrome (0.8 vs. 0.5 servings/day, P-value = 0.001; 78.6 vs. 48.9%, P-value = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Low intakes of fruits and dairy foods might be associated with the risk of having metabolic syndrome among Korean adults. Dietary advice on increasing consumption of these foods is needed to prevent and attenuate the risk of metabolic syndrome.
Adult* ; Ambulatory Care Facilities* ; Cholesterol ; Confounding Factors (Epidemiology) ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diet Records ; Education ; Female ; Fruit* ; Humans ; Korea ; Linear Models ; Male ; Outpatients* ; Seoul* ; Statistics as Topic