OBJECTIVE: To assess the level and accuracy of understanding of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection among female public health personnel in Chonbuk province. METHODS: Nine hundred ninety-one female public health personnel were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing HPV awareness and specific knowledge about the virus. The questionnaire contained 11 demographic informations and nine true-false questions on knowledge about HPV infection. RESULTS: Questionnaires were completed by 546 women, of whom 145 (37.6%) had heard of HPV. Married women (P=0.019), those with a history of candida, genital warts (P<0.001), or an abnormal smear result (P=0.001), annually visitor for a Pap smear (P=0.023) were more likely to have heard of human papilloma virus. Medical doctor (38.6%) was the most common source of hearing of HPV. Overall percentage of knowledge among those who had heard of HPV was 56.3%. Responses indicated than more than 70% had up-to-date knowledge about several issues: HPV is the main cause of cervical cancer, HPV is sexually transmitted, The pill protects against HPV, and Men can carry HPV. Fewer than 50% knowledge of HPV infection were as follows: HPV viruses are divided to low-risk and high-risk type, HPV infections persist forever, condoms protect against HPV. CONCLUSION: In this well educated samples, awareness of HPV infection was poor. And also, knowledge about HPV infection was relatively low. We recommend that more educational effort is needed for improving women's knowledge and awareness of HPV infection.
Candida ; Condoms ; Condylomata Acuminata ; Female ; Hearing ; Humans ; Male ; Papilloma ; Papillomavirus Infections ; Public Health ; Surveys and Questionnaire ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; Viruses

OBJECTIVE: According to an analysis of data from the Korean Red Cross in 2007, the blood deficiency rate in Korea is approximately 22%, which is the highest level worldwide. To overcome a deficiency in the blood supply, we performed education about directed blood donation and transfusion. METHODS: We provided education about direct blood donation and transfusion to 64 high-risk pregnancies of all deliveries in our hospital between March 2008 and September 2008. After providing education, we administered a questionnaire about the recognition of direct blood donation and transfusion. We surveyed 50 cases of our obstetricians, gynecologists, and nurses about satisfaction of directed blood donation. RESULTS: The mean age was 31.5+/-4.4 years (range, 24~42 years; median, 30 years), the mean gravidity was 2.3+/-1.5, and the mean gestational age was 37.4+/-2.9 weeks. Eleven gravidas performed direct blood donation, and six women received direct blood donations. Thirteen units of directed blood donations remained after transfer to other patients. After providing education, we administered a questionnaire to gravidas, doctors and nurses; 52.8% and 71.0% were generally satisfied based on questions about recognition of direct blood donation, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our data demonstrates that education about direct blood donation is cost effective and helpful in supplying blood in high-risk pregnancies.
Blood Donors ; Blood Transfusion ; Compliance ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Gravidity ; Humans ; Korea ; Pregnancy, High-Risk ; Surveys and Questionnaire ; Red Cross

OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to assess agreements among screening tests, to estimate prevalence, and to identify related factors with postpartum depression. METHODS: For 323 women at 7 days postpartum, self-administered questionnaires were given including postpartum depression screening test such as EPDS, QIDS-SR16, BDI and questionnaires for their demographic and psycho-social information. Obstetric information were collected from medical records. Simultaneous positive cases in EPDS and BDI were defined as gold standard and used to estimate the prevalence of postpartum depression and agreements between 3 kind of screening test and gold standard. Related factors of postpartum depression were analysed by using SPSS. RESULTS: The prevalence of postpartum depression was 19.8% and the Kappa indices were 0.711 in BDI, 0.803 in EPDS, and 0.395 in QIDS-SR16. Feeding method, smoking history, antenatal anxiety/depression symptoms, residence status, marital satisfaction, relationship with husband's parents, and postpartum care method in univariate analysis and premature delivery (odds ratio: 2.9), formulated feeding (odds ratio: 3.8), marital dissatisfaction (odds ratio: 4.3), professional husband's occupation (odds ratio: 4.4), and antenatal anxiety/ depression symptoms (odds ratio: 4.4) in the logistic regression analysis were significantly related to postpartum depression (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Simultaneous test of BDI and EPDS was effective to evaluate postpartum depression prevalence at 1-week postpartum and highly agree with EPDS. Significant related factors were defined and further prospective community-based studies are warranted.
Depression ; Depression, Postpartum ; Feeding Methods ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Marital Status ; Mass Screening ; Medical Records ; Occupations ; Parents ; Postnatal Care ; Postpartum Period ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaire ; Smoke ; Smoking

OBJECTIVE: To examine the incidence of the depressive symptoms during pregnancy and the socio-demographic and obstetric factors associated with depression. METHODS: Two hundred five women who had received antenatal care at Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital from March 2008 to May 2008 completed the questionnaire related to socio-demographic characteristics and Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Statistics were performed using chi-square test and Fisher's extract test (SPSS 12.0). Results were considered statistically significant for P-values<0.05. RESULTS: Of 205 pregnant women, the mean score of EPDS was 7.3+/-4.2.54 of 205 women (26.5%) scored more than 10 point which is the cutoff value to define depressive symptoms. The incidences of depressive symptoms were not significantly different by the trimester (25.7% vs. 29.0% vs. 25.0%, P<0.844). There were no significant socio-geographic factors associated with depressive symptoms. In cases of unexpected pregnancies, the incidence of depressive symptoms was significantly high (34.6% vs. 21.0%, P=0.036), and the women who have problems of previous pregnancies scored significantly higher EPDS (56.3% vs. 23.8%, P=0.014). CONCLUSION: This study was the first report about the depression symptoms during pregnancy. Based on this study, we have to focus on and manage depression symptoms related to pregnancy.
Depression ; Depression, Postpartum ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Surveys and Questionnaire

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to estimate socioeconomic burden of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) during the reproductive life span using current definitions and prevalence or incidence data. METHODS: Questionnaires were given to 8,588 reproductive women reviewed at Ewha Womans University Mokdong hospital. The PCOS affected approximately 10.4% of reproductive-aged women (11 million women in Korea, prevalence rate according to 1990 National Institutes of Health PCOS diagnosis criteria). We tied general societal cost data for the different health consequences to reproductive-age PCOS costs, using prevalence data. RESULTS: We estimated the mean annual cost of the initial evaluation to be 76 hundred million won, that of hormonally treating menstrual dysfunction, providing infertility care, diagnosis/treatment of endometrial hyperplasia, GDM, type 2 DM, and hypertension to be 280 billion won. The total annual socioeconomic cost of evaluating and providing care to reproductive-aged PCOS women in Korea is 350 billion won. CONCLUSION: Because the cost of the diagnostic evaluation accounted for a relatively minor part of the total socioeconomic costs, more widespread screening for PCOS appears be a cost-effective strategy, leading to earlier diagnosis and intervention and possibly the amelioration and prevention of serious sequelae.
Endometrial Hyperplasia ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Incidence ; Infertility ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; National Institutes of Health (U.S.) ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaire

OBJECTIVE: Myoma is the most frequent benign tumor in women's pelvic cavity. Myoma causes a lot of symptoms that degrade the life quality of the patients. If the patient with leiomyoma does not require the treatment, regular follow-up is recommended. However, there is no definite method to predict the clinical outcome of leiomyoma patients. So we evaluate if the hormone receptors and vascular viability can predict the clinical outcomes in leiomyoma patients. METHODS: We perform the leiomyoma biopsy and ultrasonogram in leiomyoma patients who are symptomatic, premenopaused, and unnecessary to receive treatment. The patients were grouped into two as the results of progesterone receptor status of leiomyoma ; strong positive (> or = 75% positive to progesterone receptor), trace and negative (<25% positive to progesterone receptor). Also, we evaluates the vascular state and the resistance index (RI) of feeding arteries of myoma with doppler ultrasonogram. The severities of clinical symptoms are interpreted by using Uterine fibroid symptom and health-related quality of life questionnaire (UFS-QOL). RESULTS: After 8 months, the strong positive group shows the greater increasement of myoma volume than the trace and negative group. Also, the patient's symptoms and scores of life-quality decrease in strong positive group. In contrast, the trace and negative group show the improvement in clinical symptoms and life-quality. CONCLUSION: As a result, we concluded the status of hormonal receptor and feeding arteries can predict the clinical change of leiomyoma.
Arteries ; Biopsy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Leiomyoma ; Myoma ; Progesterone ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaire ; Receptors, Progesterone

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical features of myoma, treatment options, patient preference and to identify the clinical features which affect the management of myoma. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed medical records of 577 patients who were diagnosed as uterine myoma on ultrasound exam between January 2006 and December 2006. Patients' characteristics, treatment methods and questionnaires for patient preference were evaluated. RESULTS: The mean age was 42.3 years and 90.8% of the patients were premenopausal status. Common symptoms were pain (58.6%), bleeding (51.3%) and compression symptom (30.2%). In our study, 183 of 577 patients (31.7%) planned to have regular follow-up without treatment. Non-hormonal medical treatment was used in 27.1% and hormonal treatment was used in 41.9% of the patients. One hundred eighty-two patients underwent surgical treatment, including myomectomy (57.1%), subtotal hysterectomy (19.8%) and total hysterectomy (23.1%). Among the patients who underwent surgery, 50.6% of patients (88/174) had surgery due to compression symptom, 42.6% (126/296) due to bleeding, and 34.6% (117/338) due to pain. According to the 100 patients who answered the questionnaires, 78 patients preferred medical therapy initially, but 22 patients chose surgical treatment. When the patient was asked to choose between myomectomy and hysterectomy, 94 patients wanted myomectomy, but only 6 patients chose hysterectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Many patients diagnosed as myoma prefer medical treatment initially. Medical treatment for myoma may be considered as the first line treatment for pain and bleeding symptoms before proceeding to surgical treatment.
Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Medical Records ; Myoma ; Patient Preference ; Surveys and Questionnaire ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: To analyze menstrual problems, as well as various factors that affect the PMS (premenstrual syndrome) and dysmenorrhea on Korean female teenagers. METHODS: We analyzed menstrual problems, PMS, and dysmenorrhea based on the survey answered by 400 high school girls (17~18 years old) from randomly chosen schools in Seoul. Final respondents to a questionnaire were 327 students. RESULTS: The prevalence of PMS was reported by 63.0 % (206 people), and dysmenorrhea by 78.3 % (256 people). PMS was strongly linked to dysmenorrhea (P=0.000). The severity of PMS was correlated with normality of menstrual duration (P=0.034) and familial history (P=0.012). In the case of dysmenorrhea, the presence of dysmenorrhea was significantly high among the group with two years after menarche (P=0.003). Also the severity was positively correlated with normality of menstrual duration (P=0.017) and familial history (P=0.000). PMS and dysmenorrhea have no correlation with body mass index. Although PMS had a correlation with depression (P=0.020), it was not related to dysmenorrhea. CONCLUSIONS: There was a correlation between PMS and dysmenorrhea. For PMS, it had a correlation with menstrual duration, familial history and depression. Dysmenorrhea was highly frequent among the group with two years after menarche. Though it was correlated with normal menstrual duration and familial history, it did not have any correlation with depression.
Adolescent ; Body Mass Index ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Depression ; Dysmenorrhea ; Female ; Humans ; Menarche ; Premenstrual Syndrome ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaire

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this report is to review the safety and short-term efficacy of non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) on uterine myomas in Korean women. METHODS: A total of 29 outpatient Korean women, whose mean age was 39.1+/-5.8 years, were treated using the MRgFUS system for their symptomatic uterine myomas. Patients??symptoms were recorded using a validated symptom-specific questionnaire on treatment day, and at follow-up visits, 3 and 6 months post treatment. Data on adverse events was recorded on each follow up period. RESULTS: Symptom improvement was experienced by 83% of the patients at the three months follow-up, and 90% of the patients reported on improved quality of life by the six months follow-up. There were no serious adverse events during the treatments or the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: MRgFUS appears to be a safe and effective treatment for symptoms relief of uterine fibroids. Additional reports on longer follow up should verify long-term durability.
Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Leiomyoma ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Magnetics ; Magnets ; Myoma ; Outpatients ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaire

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study is to describe the experience of delivery training for medical students by using a birth simulator as an educational tool during obstetrical clinical clerkship. METHODS: Study participants were 35 third year medical students of K medical school in Seoul. We have developed birth simulation courses using the robot birth simulator (S555 Noelle(TM). Maternal Neonatal Simulation System. Gaumard scientific, Coral Gables, FL.). During 4 weeks clinical clerkship, clinical teacher gave 90 minutes delivery practice session to students by one-to-one basis with birth simulator. After 4 weeks clinical experience, clinical teacher assessed students' delivery performance using birth simulator. Also students completed self-reported questionnaires to assess satisfaction with the teaching process and their perceptions of the effectiveness of simulation practice. RESULTS: Most students ranked delivery training with birth simulator as an interesting and useful way of understanding labor process and getting skills in obstetrics. And they assessed that they had more confidence to perform a vaginal delivery after the training. CONCLUSION: Simulation training with birth simulator during obstetrical clinical clerkship is an effective way to bridge the gap between the theory and the practice and augment clinical experience.
Anthozoa ; Clinical Clerkship ; Humans ; Obstetrics ; Parturition ; Surveys and Questionnaire ; Schools, Medical ; Students, Medical