PURPOSE: The purpose of this research was to address the working conditions of home health nurses through a nationwide home health agency survey conducted at hospitals. METHOD: The mail surveys were sent to 303 home health nurses nation wide and returned with a response rate of 71.8%. RESULT: (a) Seventy-five percent of home health agencies were established within the past5 years and half of home health nurses are over 40 years old. (b) Working conditions were considered as follows: Seventy-one percent of respondents were full-time employees, sixty-sixpercent of home health nurses had unscheduled visits on a regular day of duty and forty-eight percent were on vacation. Fifty-one percent of home health nurses have experienced traffic accidents and paid penalties (65.9%). Self-reported monthly income level per year was an average of 28,364,000 won. (c) Rates were significantly higher for shoulder pain (61.5%), lower back pain (54.1%), knee pain (39.4%), and gastrointestinal problems (33.0%). CONCLUSION: These baseline results show the importance of improving home health nursing working conditions, a comprehensive prevention system and safeguards from physical discomfort.
Middle Aged ; Korea ; Humans ; Home Care Services, Hospital-Based ; *Home Care Services ; Home Care Agencies ; Female ; Data Collection ; *Community Health Nursing ; Adult

This study was conducted to characterize well-being menus and to examine the service frequency and profitability of those served in the contract-managed workplace foodservice. In-depth interviews were conducted with six persons who were in charge of menu management in the headquarters of six different foodservice management companies during March, 2007. In addition, 122 set menus consisting of 777 menu items, which were on one month menus served during January to April, 2007, were collected from three workplace operations managed by three different foodservice management companies. As a result of the in-depth interviews, four categories of well-being menu items were extracted: 'medicinal, functional menu item', 'environmentally- friendly menu item', 'natural food menu item', and 'harmful components-limiting menu item'. Accordingly, a well-being menu item was defined as 'a menu item with increased nutrition value or decreased health risk by changing food material or cooking method'. When the menu items (n=777) were analyzed by applying the definition and categories, approximately 14% of the items were identified as well-being menu items and most of them were either medicinal, functional (65%) or natural food menu items (33%). Approximately 59% of the 122 set menus included at least one well-being menu item, and therefore they were named the well-being set menus. These well-being set menus, however, were not significantly different from the rest set menus in terms of profitability as measured by the contribution margin. The results of this study could be useful for foodservice management companies to develop and plan well-being menus targeting workplace foodservice operations.
Cooking ; Fees and Charges ; Humans ; Nutritive Value

This study was conducted to characterize changes in the meal structure of Korean children in terms of temporal and spatial dimensions. The data of 1,891 and 1,627 school-aged children and adolescents extracted respectively from the 1998 and 2009 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys were analyzed by gender, age group, and residential area. From 1998 to 2009, the total eating events increased from 4.3 to 4.6 (p = 0.001); the average number of meal intake decreased from 2.8 to 2.7 (p < 0.001) while that of snack intake increased from 1.5 to 1.9 (p < 0.001). The prevalence of "3 meals a day" pattern tended to decrease while that of "2 meals a day" pattern increased over the years. Especially, the "2 meals a day" pattern with "lunch + dinner" increased from 13% in 1998 to 20% in 2009. The percentage of eating breakfast or dinner at home decreased over the years. These results indicate that over the last decade, "destructuration" occurred in Korean children's meal structure in terms of temporal and spatial dimensions. Especially, such alteration was more distinctive in male than female and in the high school-aged group than the elementary or middle school-aged groups. Overall, the difference of meal structure between genders and residential areas became smaller while the difference among age groups became larger over the years.
Adolescent ; Breakfast ; Child ; Eating ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Meals ; Prevalence ; Snacks

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the foodservice management support program focusing on menu management in community child centers. The support program provided reference menus, staff training, and field consulting to 10 community child centers in the Jeollanam-do province for one month, August in 2010. One month menus were developed, based on children's preference for menu items, foodservice personnel's preference for food materials, and availability of local specialty foods, and offered as reference menus. In addition, staff training and field consulting focusing on menu management were conducted before and during the pilot period, respectively. To evaluate the support program, menus, foodservice personnel's knowledge level and perceived performance in foodservice management, and children's level of satisfaction for foodservice were analyzed before and after the support program. As a result of analysis of 222 and 210 menus of before and after the support program, respectively, the number of dishes per meal increased from five to six on average, and the proportion of meals including five food groups, which were grain, meat, vegetable, fruit, and milk and dairy product, rose from 2% to 24%. Foodservice personnel's knowledge level regarding foodservice management increased significantly (p = 0.007), however, their perceived performance in foodservice management did not show any significant changes. Children were more satisfied with 'food' (p = 0.001), 'sanitation' (p = 0.001), and 'environment' (p < 0.008) of foodservice in community child centers after the support program. In conclusion, the foodservice management support program focusing on menu management in this study was effective for improving menu quality of and children's satisfaction with foodservice in community child centers.
Edible Grain ; Child ; Dairy Products ; Fruit ; Humans ; Korea ; Meals ; Meat ; Milk ; Vegetables

The purpose of this study was to investigate school dietitians' satisfaction with and needs for School Meal Service Support Centers. A web-based on-line survey was conducted with 1,102 nutrition teachers or school dietitians using four School Meal Service Support Centers during the summer of 2011. The data from 578 respondents (52.5%), consisting of 165 (44.4%), 334 (53.4%), 41 (67.2%), and 38 (86.4%) dietitians using Seoul, Gyeonggi, Suncheon and Gyeongju centers, respectively, were analyzed. The main reason for using the centers was subsidies from local governments. The dietitians using the metropolitan centers, which were Seoul and Gyeonggi centers, tended to buy agricultural products through the centers only, and those using local centers, which were Suncehon and Gyeongju centers, bought those products from the private suppliers as well as from the centers. The dietitians' overall level of satisfaction with the centers was not high showing 3.3 out of 5 points; it was significantly associated with the operating system and services of the centers such as system efficiency, delivery accuracy, communication, and information provision rather than the agricultural products provided by the centers. The dietitians preferred joint operation of the centers by local governments and producers' groups. They wanted School Meal Service Support Centers to be evaluated every year. It was suggested that efforts should be made to improve the operation system and service of School Meal Service Support Centers for improving dietitians' satisfaction with the centers. In addition, an evaluation system for School Meal Service Support Centers should be implemented soon based on school dietitians' needs.
Surveys and Questionnaires ; Humans ; Joints ; Meals

The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of food service management in the restaurants participating in the government-funded children's meal program during summer vacation. A mail survey was conducted with individuals who worked in the restaurants participating in the government-funded children's meal program in Seoul during the summer vacation in 2010. A total of 600 questionnaires were distributed to 274 Chinese, 235 Bunsik and 91 Korean restaurants, which were selected using proportionate stratified sampling by regions and types of operations. A total of 138 usable questionnaires (23.0%) were returned and analyzed. The results showed that over half (57.2%) of the restaurants did not employ any certified cooks. Most of the restaurants (97.8%) provided side dishes; among them, only 42% planned menus for side dishes in advance and only a half changed side dish menus periodically. The suggested reasonable reimbursement rate per meal for children using restaurants differed by types of restaurants; the percentage of restaurants having responded 5,000 won or higher was the highest in Chinese restaurants. This study revealed that food service in the restaurants participating in the government-funded children's meal program was not properly managed during summer vacation, especially in terms of menu and food production. This study also showed that the suggested reasonable reimbursement rate of meals for children using restaurants differed by types of restaurants, implying that adjusting the reimbursement rate according to types of restaurants should be considered in the government-funded children's meal program.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Child ; Food Services ; Humans ; Korea ; Meals ; Postal Service ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Restaurants

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to design optimized food intake patterns that meet the nutritional recommendations with minimal changes from the current food intake patterns among Korean adults using linear programming. METHODS: Data of a one day 24-hour dietary recall from the 2010~2014 Korea National Health and Nutrition Survey were used to quantify the food items that Korean adults usually consumed. These food items were categorized into seven groups and 24 subgroups. The mean intakes and intake distributions of the food groups and the food subgroups were calculated for eight age (19~29, 30~49, 50~64, and over 65 years old) and gender (male and female) groups. A linear programming model was constructed to minimize the difference between the optimized and mean intakes of the food subgroups while meeting the Dietary Reference Intakes for Koreans (KDRIs) for energy and 13 nutrients, and not exceeding the typical quantities of each food subgroup consumed by the respective age and gender groups. RESULTS: The optimized food intake patterns, which were a set of quantities of 24 food subgroups, were obtained mathematically for eight age and gender groups. Overall, major modifications of current diet were required to increase the intake of vegetables and milk/dairy products and decrease the Kimchi intake. The optimized intake of seasonings, including salt, was calculated to be 0 g for all the age and gender groups. CONCLUSION: The optimized food intake patterns designed using linear programming in this study lack feasibility because they suggest a seasoning consumption of 0 g. Modification of intake goal for sodium is needed to obtain optimized food intake patterns with improved feasibility.
Adult ; Diet ; Eating ; Humans ; Korea ; Nutrition Surveys ; Nutritional Requirements ; Programming, Linear ; Recommended Dietary Allowances ; Seasons ; Sodium ; Vegetables

This study was undertaken to identify dietary patterns of Korean elderly people living alone, and to compare the quality of diet consumed. Data of 821 elderly people aged 65 years or older who were living alone, was obtained from the 2016∼2018 National Health and Nutrition Survey. The percentage energy intake from 24 food groups was calculated, and a cluster analysis was applied to identify dietary patterns. General characteristics, energy and nutrient intake, nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR), mean adequacy ratio (MAR), and index of nutritional quality (INQ) were analyzed. Dietary variety score (DVS) and dietary diversity score (DDS) were subsequently calculated. The rice-centered diet group and mixed diet group were characterized as consuming higher intake of rice and a wider variety of food groups, respectively. The mean age and percentage of participants living in rural areas were higher, whereas education level and monthly income were lower, in the rice-centered diet group (P＜0.001 for all). Intakes of energy and all other nutrients (except carbohydrate and thiamine) were lower in the rice-centered diet group (P＜0.001 for all). The NAR for all nutrients (except thiamine), MAR, and INQs (except thiamine and iron) were significantly lower in the rice-centered diet group (P＜0.001 for all). The rice-centered diet group had significantly lower DVS (P＜0.001) and DDS (P＜0.001), as compared with the mixed diet group (P＜0.001). Due to the insufficient energy and nutrient intake in the rice-centered diet group, it is necessary to develop nutritional monitoring and customized nutrition policies for these individuals.

This study was undertaken to identify dietary patterns of Korean elderly people living alone, and to compare the quality of diet consumed. Data of 821 elderly people aged 65 years or older who were living alone, was obtained from the 2016∼2018 National Health and Nutrition Survey. The percentage energy intake from 24 food groups was calculated, and a cluster analysis was applied to identify dietary patterns. General characteristics, energy and nutrient intake, nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR), mean adequacy ratio (MAR), and index of nutritional quality (INQ) were analyzed. Dietary variety score (DVS) and dietary diversity score (DDS) were subsequently calculated. The rice-centered diet group and mixed diet group were characterized as consuming higher intake of rice and a wider variety of food groups, respectively. The mean age and percentage of participants living in rural areas were higher, whereas education level and monthly income were lower, in the rice-centered diet group (P＜0.001 for all). Intakes of energy and all other nutrients (except carbohydrate and thiamine) were lower in the rice-centered diet group (P＜0.001 for all). The NAR for all nutrients (except thiamine), MAR, and INQs (except thiamine and iron) were significantly lower in the rice-centered diet group (P＜0.001 for all). The rice-centered diet group had significantly lower DVS (P＜0.001) and DDS (P＜0.001), as compared with the mixed diet group (P＜0.001). Due to the insufficient energy and nutrient intake in the rice-centered diet group, it is necessary to develop nutritional monitoring and customized nutrition policies for these individuals.

This study was conducted to analyze traditional aspects of school lunch menus in Korea. We conducted a content analysis of menu-related contents included in guidelines for school lunch programs provided by 16 city and provincial education offices. In addition, the data of 10,495 menus for the third week of December 2010 and March, July, October 2011 from 557 elementary, middle, and high school were analyzed by school grade, area, and province. The results showed that there were no specific and detailed guidelines for menu planning in terms of traditional food culture in most of the guidelines for school lunch programs. However, the basic traditional menu composition was maintained in school lunch menus. The percentage of menus including rice and Kimchi was 97% and 95%, respectively, and that including Korean soup was about 72%. However, the frequency of serving Namul, Korean seasoned vegetable dish, accounted for only about 52% of the menus. The percentage of the menus following the traditional food group pattern including such five food groups as rice, Korean soup, Kimchi, Namul, and optional Korean side dish was only about 35%. The percentage of the menus following the traditional food group pattern excluding Namul from the five food groups accounted for about 30%. The traditional food group score, calculated by allocating 1 point to each of the five food groups was 4.06 out of 5 points on average. Elementary schools and schools in rural area and in Jeolla-do province served traditional menus more frequently. In conclusion, school lunch programs need to consider establishing traditional foods-based standards and relevant guidelines for school lunch, particularly for high schools and schools in urban areas and in some provinces.
Humans ; Korea ; Lunch ; Menu Planning ; Seasons ; Vegetables