Seung Sup Kim

Perceived Discrimination and Self-Rated Health in South Korea: A Nationally Representative Survey

Background There is mounting evidence that discriminatory experiences can harm health. However, previous research has mainly focused on the health effects of racial discrimination in U.S. or European countries although there is pervasive discrimination by gender, age, education and other factors in Asian countries. Methods We analyzed the data from the 7th wave of Korean Labor and Income Panel Study to investigate the association between perceived discriminatory experience and poor self-rated health in South Korea. Perceived discriminatory experiences were measured in eight situations through a modified Experience of Discrimination questionnaire. In each of eight situations, the lifetime prevalence of perceived discriminatory experience was compared between men and women and the main causes of those experiences were identified separately by gender. After adjusting for potential confounders, we examined the association between perceived discriminatory experience and poor self-rated health in each of eight social situations and also checked the association using the number of situations of perceived discriminatory experiences. Results For both men and women, education level and age were the main sources of work-related perceived discriminatory experiences. Gender was one of the main causes among women across eight situations and more than 90% of women reported their gender as a main cause of discriminatory experience in getting higher education and at home. Discriminatory experiences in four situations were positively associated with poor self-rated health. The odds ratio for poor self-rated health for those exposed to one, two, three or four or more social situations of perceived discrimination were respectively 1.06 (95% CI : 0.87–1.29), 1.15 (95% CI : 0.96–1.55), 1.59 (95% CI : 1.19–2.14), and 1.78 (95% CI :1.26–2.51). Conclusion There is consistent association between perceived discriminatory experience and poor self-rated health across eight social situations in South Korea.

Association Between Interpersonal Trust, Reciprocity, and Depression in South Korea: A Prospective Analysis

Background A growing body of empirical evidence indicates that low-level social capital is related to poor mental health outcomes. However, the prospective association between social capital and depression remains unclear, and no published studies have investigated the association with longitudinal data in East-Asian countries. Methods We analyzed data from the ongoing Korean Welfare Panel Study to prospectively investigate association between social capital and depression. Social capital was measured at the individual level by two items specific to interpersonal trust and reciprocity. Depression was annually assessed as a dichotomous variable using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. After excluding participants who had depression in 2006, logistic regression models were applied to estimate the association between each social capital indicator and new-onset depression developed in 2007 or long-term depression in both 2007 and 2008. We also examined the association in a subpopulation restricted to healthy participants after excluding individuals with any pre-existing disability, chronic disease, or poor self-rated health condition. Results Compared to the high interpersonal trust group, the odds ratios of developing new-onset and long-term depression among the low interpersonal trust group were 1.22 (95% CI: 1.08∼1.38) and 1.23 (95% CI: 1.03∼1.50), respectively, and increased to 1.32 (95% CI: 1.10∼1.57) and 1.47 (95% CI: 1.05∼2.08) in the subpopulation analyses restricted to healthy individuals. Although the low and intermediate reciprocity group also had significantly higher odds of developing new-onset depression compared to the high reciprocity group, the effects were attenuated and statistically non-significant in the subpopulation analyses. Conclusion Low interpersonal trust appears to be an independent risk factor for new-onset and long-term depression in South Korea.

An Analysis of Water Collection Labor among Women and Children in 24 Sub-Saharan African Countries.

Background It is estimated that more than two-thirds of the population in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) must leave their home to collect water, putting them at risk for a variety of negative health outcomes. There is little research, however, quantifying who is most affected by long water collection times. Objectives This study aims to a) describe gender differences in water collection labor among both adults and children (< 15 years of age) in the households (HHs) that report spending more than 30 minutes collecting water, disaggregated by urban and rural residence; and b) estimate the absolute number of adults and children affected by water collection times greater than 30 minutes in 24 SSA countries. Methods We analyzed data from the Demographic Health Survey (DHS) and the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) (2005–2012) to describe water collection labor in 24 SSA countries. Results Among households spending more than 30 minutes collecting water, adult females were the primary collectors of water across all 24 countries, ranging from 46% in Liberia (17,412 HHs) to 90% in Cote d’Ivoire (224,808 HHs). Across all countries, female children were more likely to be responsible for water collection than male children (62% vs. 38%, respectively). Six countries had more than 100,000 households (HHs) where children were reported to be responsible for water collection (greater than 30 minutes): Burundi (181,702 HHs), Cameroon (154,453 HHs), Ethiopia (1,321,424 HHs), Mozambique (129,544 HHs), Niger (171,305 HHs), and Nigeria (1,045,647 HHs). Conclusion In the 24 SSA countries studied, an estimated 3.36 million children and 13.54 million adult females were responsible for water collection in households with collection times greater than 30 minutes. We suggest that accessibility to water, water collection by children, and gender ratios for water collection, especially when collection times are great, should be considered as key indicators for measuring progress in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector.

Exploring changes in open defecation prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa based on national level indices

BackgroundIn sub-Saharan Africa, it is estimated that 215 million people continue to engage in open defecation. This practice facilitates the transmission of diarrheal diseases – one of the leading causes of mortality in children under 5 in sub-Saharan Africa. The main purpose of this study is to: estimate changes in open defecation prevalence between 2005 and 2010 across countries in sub-Saharan Africa; examine the association between national level indices and changes in open defecation prevalence; and assess how many countries can achieve ‘open defecation free status’ by 2015.MethodsAfter applying selection criteria, this study analyzed country-level data for 34 sub-Saharan African countries. Seven country-level indices were collected: 1) presence of a national sanitation policy; 2) budget line for sanitation; 3) budget allocated to sanitation; 4) annual per capita GDP; 5) GDP growth; 6) implementation of total sanitation approaches; and 7) per capita aid disbursement for water supply and sanitation. The relationships between these country-level indices and the change in open defecation from 2005 to 2010 were investigated using Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test and Spearmans rank correlation test.ResultsOnly 3 countries (i.e. Ethiopia, Angola and Sao Tome and Principe) decreased open defecation by 10% or more between 2005 and 2010. No significant associations were observed between the change in open defecation prevalence and all of national level indices except per capita aid disbursement. Per capita aid disbursement for water and sanitation was positively associated with a reduction in open defecation (p-value = 0.02) for a subset of 29 low-income countries from 2005 to 2010. Only one country in our analysis, Angola, is on track to end open defecation by 2015 based on their performance between 2000 and 2010.ConclusionsMost of the national level indices, including a country’s economic status, were not associated with the change in the open defecation prevalence. Based on current trends, the goal of ending open defecation in the majority of sub-Saharan African countries by 2015 will not be achieved. Our findings may be limited by the exploratory nature of this analysis, and future research is required to identify and characterize national level factors specific to reducing open defecation in sub-Saharan Africa.

Occupational injury among hospital patient-care workers: what is the association with workplace verbal abuse?

OBJECTIVE To test the association between workplace abuse exposure and injury risk among hospital workers. We hypothesized that exposed workers would have higher injury rates than unexposed workers. METHODS Survey of direct-care workers (n = 1,497) in two hospitals. Exposure to workplace abuse was assessed through self-report; occupational injury reports were extracted from employee records. We tested associations between non-physical workplace violence and injury using log-binomial regression and multilevel modeling. RESULTS Adjusted prevalence ratio (PR) for injury associated with being yelled at was 1.52 (95% CI 1.19, 1.95); for experiencing hostile/offensive gestures 1.43 (1.11, 1.82); and for being sworn at 1.41 (1.09, 1.81). In analyses by injury subtypes, musculoskeletal injuries were more strongly associated with abuse than were acute traumatic injuries. Associations operated on group and individual levels and were most consistently associated with abuse perpetrated by patients. CONCLUSION Exposure to workplace abuse may be a risk factor for injuries among hospital workers.

Gain of employment and depressive symptoms among previously unemployed workers: A longitudinal cohort study in South Korea

BACKGROUND The goal of this study is to examine the association between gain of employment and depressive symptoms among previously unemployed workers in South Korea. METHODS Using data from the on-going Korean Welfare Panel Study, we determined four different employment statuses (i.e., unemployment, part-time precarious, full-time precarious, full-time permanent employment) at follow up (2008 or 2010) among the unemployed at baseline (2007 or 2009) and examined their association with depressive symptoms after excluding the people with depressive symptoms at baseline (N = 308). Depressive symptoms were assessed annually using the 11-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. RESULTS After adjusting for covariates including health-related variables, unemployed individuals who gained full-time permanent employment (RR: 0.38, 95% CI: 0.18, 0.83) and those who gained full-time precarious employment (RR: 0.26, 95% CI: 0.11, 0.63) were less likely to have depressive symptoms compared to those with persistent unemployment. In a subpopulation analysis conducted after additionally excluding the people with depressive symptoms 1 year before baseline, only the association between gaining full-time permanent employment and depressive symptoms was significant (RR: 0.27, 95% CI: 0.08, 0.86). CONCLUSIONS Our findings highlight the benefits of full-time permanent employment on workers mental health.

School violence, depressive symptoms, and help-seeking behavior: a gender-stratified analysis of biethnic adolescents in South Korea

Objectives: In South Korea (hereafter Korea), the number of adolescent offspring of immigrants has rapidly increased since the early 1990s, mainly due to international marriage. This research sought to examine the association between the experience of school violence and mental health outcomes, and the role of help-seeking behaviors in the association, among biethnic adolescents in Korea. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data of 3627 biethnic adolescents in Korea from the 2012 National Survey of Multicultural Families. Based on the victim’s help-seeking behavior, adolescents who experienced school violence were classified into three groups: ‘seeking help’ group; ‘feeling nothing’ group; ‘not seeking help’ group. Multivariate logistic regression was applied to examine the associations between the experience of school violence and depressive symptoms for males and females separately. Results: In the gender-stratified analysis, school violence was associated with depressive symptoms in the ‘not seeking help’ (odds ratio [OR], 7.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.76 to 13.23) and the ‘seeking help’ group (OR, 2.77; 95% CI, 1.73 to 4.44) among male adolescents after adjusting for potential confounders, including the nationality of the immigrant parent and Korean language fluency. Similar associations were observed in the female groups. However, in the ‘feeling nothing’ group, the association was only significant for males (OR, 8.34; 95% CI, 2.82 to 24.69), but not females (OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.18 to 3.28). Conclusions: This study suggests that experience of school violence is associated with depressive symptoms and that the role of victims’ help-seeking behaviors in the association may differ by gender among biethnic adolescents in Korea.

Perceived discrimination from management and musculoskeletal symptoms among New York City restaurant workers.

Abstract Background: Compared with other restaurant hazards, organizational stressors are an understudied topic. Among organizational stressors, discrimination from management (DFM) appears widespread. Objective: Objectives were to assess the prevalence and links between musculoskeletal symptoms (MSSs) in three anatomical regions and five sources of DFM. Methods: A cross-sectional, interviewer-administered survey among restaurant workers was used. Participants were randomly selected by type and geographic distribution. Results: Eighty-four percent of workers reported having MSSs in at least one anatomical region. The prevalence of severe MSSs was 24·9%. The strongest association between DFM and frequency of MSSs was “upper extremities.” The strongest association between DFM and severity of MSSs was “any anatomical location.” Thirty-four percent of restaurant workers reported DFM; age was the most prevalent source of DFM. Conclusions: In general, associations between DFM and MSSs were stronger by frequency than severity. The largest number of significant associations by sources of DFM was language and age.

Association between childhood adversities and adulthood depressive symptoms in South Korea: results from a nationally representative longitudinal study.

Objective To examine how childhood adversity (ie, parental death, parental divorce, suspension of school education due to financial strain or being raised in a relatives house due to financial strain) is associated with prevalence and incidence of adulthood depressive symptoms and whether this association differs by gender and by age in South Korea. Design Prospective cohort design. Setting Nationally representative longitudinal survey in South Korea. Participants 11 526 participants in South Korea. Outcome measure Prevalence and incidence of adulthood depressive symptoms were assessed as a dichotomous variable using the Centers for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale in 2006 and 2007. Results In the prevalence analysis, each of the four childhood adversities was significantly associated with a higher prevalence of adulthood depressive symptoms. The higher incidence of depressive symptoms was associated with suspension of school education (OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.32 to 1.82) and parental divorce (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.00 to 2.71). In the age-stratified analyses, prevalence of depressive symptoms was associated with all CAs across different adulthoods, except for parental divorce and late adulthood depressive symptoms. After being stratified by gender, the association was significant for parental divorce (OR 3.76, 95% CI 2.34 to 6.03) in the prevalence analysis and for being raised in a relative’s house (OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.21 to 2.94) in the incidence analysis only among women. Conclusions This study suggests that childhood adversity may increase prevalence and incidence of adulthood depressive symptoms, and the impact of parental divorce or being raised in a relatives house due to financial strain on adulthood depressive symptoms may differ by gender.

Partitioning of neodymium and americium in the liquid radioactive waste by oxalate precipitation

The partitioning of americium and neodymium by precipitation with oxalic acid was investigated in the simulated radwaste, which was composed of 10 elements of alkali, akaline earth, and transition metals in nitric acid solution. The effect of concentrations of oxalic acid and nitric acid in the simulated waste on the precipitation yield and purity of Nd and Am was examined in this study. As a result, the precipitated fraction of each element was increased with increasing concentration of oxalic acid and decreasing concentration of nitric acid. At an initial concentration of 0.5 M nitric acid and 0.5 M oxalic acid, both Am3 and Nd3+ were precipitated over 99% and other elements almost remained in the simulated solution. It was also found that Am was completely coprecipitated with Nd-oxalate precipitates, and Zr4- caused the coprecipitation of Cs2, Sr2+, and Pd2+.