Improving nurse staffing, reducing the frequency of night shifts and assessing risk factors in specific intensive care unit specialties are suggested to decrease back pain prevalence.

Adequate staffing must be assured to achieve better quality of care and job outcomes.

This study compared the changes in health behaviors, motivation, and functional status between motivation enhancement exercise-program participants and program dropouts over 6 months. A total of 73 older adults living in residential homes participated in the study. Face-to-face interviews were conducted at pretest and then at 10 weeks and 6 months in the program. The participants exercised using traditional Korean dance movements for 50 min, 4 times per week, for 6 months. The subjects were classified as participants or dropouts by using a cutoff attendance rate of 80%. Repeated ANOVA revealed the following results over 6 months: 1 The motivation to perform health behaviors, especially for perceived benefits, improved significantly for the participants than for the dropouts. 2 Significant differences in the performance of overall health behaviors and exercise-related behaviors were found between the participants and the dropouts. 3 The sickness impact profile (SIP) of the participants improved significantly, compared with the dropouts. Significant group differences were found for total SIP, physical dimensions, and enjoyment of recreation and pastimes. In conclusion, the study found that the 6-month motivation enhancement program was effective in motivating older adults to perform health behaviors and to improve their functional status.

We found an association between long working hours and depressive symptomatology. The full-time employees who worked long hours showed higher prevalence of depressive symptomatology after the data were adjusted for individual characteristics, socioeconomic factors, health behaviors, and work schedules. Affiliation 515Original article Scand J Work Environ Health. 2013;39(5):515-520. doi:10.5271/sjweh.3356 Working hours and depressive symptomatology among full-time employees: Results from the fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007Survey ( -2009 Objective This study aimed to examine the distribution of working hours and the association between working hours and depressive symptomatology using representative data from a national, population-based survey. Method Data came from the fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007-2009),which employed a systematic, stratified cluster-sampling method. We used logistic regression procedures to estimate the importance of weekly working hours as a predictor of depressive symptomatology. ResultsThe prevalence of depressive symptomatology was 10.2%. The work week, which averaged 48.3 hours for the sample as a whole, was longer for men (49.8 hours) than women (45.3 hours), and 12.1% of respondents were engaged in shift work. In logistic regression analyses, compared to those working <52 hours per week, the odds ratios (OR) of working hours as a predictor of depressive symptomatology were 1.19 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.77-1.85] for those working 52-59 hours per week and 1.62 (95% CI 1.20-2.18) for those working ≥60 hours per week, after adjustment for demographic characteristics, health behaviors, socioeconomic status, employment status, and work schedules. It showed a positive dose-response relationship between working hours and depressive symptomatology (P=0.0059).Conclusions Working hours in Korea are long. There is an association between working hours and depressive symptomatology, and there seems be a trend in working hours and depressive symptomatology.

Contrary to the findings of previous studies conducted in countries with ageing populations, our findings indicate that in South Korea home care agencies, rather than nursing homes, provide care for severely impaired patients. This may be due to differences between countries in their long-term care systems and cultural attitudes toward end-of-life care. Our results will contribute to the development or reformation of long-term care systems in countries with ageing populations, and to the development of strategies for increasing access to these services.

Objectives:Clonorchiasis is an infectious disease caused by the Chinese liver fluke Clonorchis sinensis. In this study, we investigated the prevalence and risk factors of clonorchiasis among the populations served by primary healthcare posts along five major rivers in South Korea.Methods:Forty primary healthcare posts that are located less than 5 km from one of the five rivers were selected from 26 counties. For the purpose of the survey, community health practitioners selected the nearest villages from the riversides in their own catchment area. From January to May 2009, a total of 2788 stool samples were collected and examined using the formalin–ether sedimentation technique. Village inhabitants were also interviewed by means of questionnaires in order to obtain information on potential risk factors.Results:The prevalence rates of clonorchiasis at various river basins were as follows: Seomjin River, 21.3%; Nakdong River, 13.5%; Geum River, 9.2%; Han River, 7.6%; and Yeongsan River, 4.9%. The total number of people infected with C. sinensis was 329 (11.3%). By gender, 14.3% of males and 7.6% of females were infected. In case of both males and females, the prevalence rate was highest in those in their 40s. Consumption of raw freshwater fish was confirmed as a risk factor based on a logistic regression analysis.Conclusion:The present findings suggest that clonorchiasis is still highly prevalent among the inhabitants of riverside areas in southern Korea, and, accordingly, it is necessary to implement a systematic control program in the endemic areas.

전경자1) ․손신영 2) ․소애영 3) ․이꽃메 4) ․박선희 5)1) 순천향대학교 간호학과 교수, 2) 순천향대학교 간호학과 시간강사 3) 강릉대학교 간호학과 교수, 4) 상지대학교 간호학과 부교수, 5) 경희대학교 간호학과 전임강사 Chonan-si, Korea Tel: 82-41-570-2495 Fax :82-41-575-9347 E-mail: angel6484@naver.com Abstract Purpose: This study aimed at exploring relationships among Internet addiction, smoking, and drinking and examining the effect factors on Internet addiction, smoking and drinking. Methods: By using stratified sampling, 1,529 participants representing high school students in the Kangwon province were selected. Data was analyzed by SPSS 12.0. using χ 2 , Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression. Results: One-fifth of the total participants were at the mild or moderate stage of Internet addiction. Regarding smoking, 22.7% of male subjects and 4.5% of female subjects were current smokers. Regarding drinking, the percentages of subjects who drank alcohol once or twice per month were 53.5% of male students and 40.7% of female students. Internet addiction positively correlated with depression, novelty seeking, harm avoidance and reward dependence, Internet addiction negatively correlated with persistence, self-directness, cooperativeness, and self-transcendence. Significant factors affecting Internet addiction were depression, gender, novelty seeking, and self-transcendence. Important factors influencing smoking were drinking, gender, school type, satisfaction with school, novelty seeking, and reward dependence. Significant factors affecting drinking were smoking, novelty seeking, school type and ages. Conclusion: This study shows the necessity of developing and implementing effective intervention programs in order to prevent adolescents from experiencing Internet addiction and health risk behaviors.

Purpose:The purpose of this study was to describe the status of the functional health literacy of the elderly living in a rural community and to identify the influencing factors on the functional health literacy. Methods: Subjects (n=238) aged over 60 years were selected for data collection. Functional health literacy was measured by Korean Health Literacy, which consisted of 15 items including eight numeracy and seven comprehension items. Descriptive statistics, t test, ANOVA with Scheffe test, and stepwise multiple regression were used to analyze -the data. Results: The mean score of total functional health literacy was 6.66±3.31, numeracy was 3.52±1.76, and comprehension was 3.41±2.10. Of the subjects, 39.1% showed a low score below the median split. In the results of stepwise multiple regression, the factors affecting functional health literacy were basic literacy, age, number of chronic diseases, self reported health status, and gender. These factors accounted for 33.0% of -functional health literacy. Conclusion: These results suggest that interventions for improving functional health literacy are necessary to enhance elders' ability of self care management. In addition, it is needed to take into -account the individual characteristics of the subjects depending on their gender, age, and health status.