The development of a comprehensive needs assessment tool for cancer-caregivers in patient-caregiver dyads.

Objective: The assessment of a caregiver's needs is a critical step for determining appropriate support services, providing high quality care, and achieving caregiver satisfaction. However, a systematic assessment of family caregiver's needs is rarely practiced. This study reports the development and validation of a comprehensive needs assessment tool for cancer caregivers (CNAT-C).

Disparities in utilization of high-volume hospitals for cancer surgery: results of a Korean population-based study.

Background: Referral to high-volume hospitals has been recommended for cancer procedures with a demonstrated volume-outcome relationship. However, little is known about the factors associated with use of high-volume hospitals for cancer procedures. The purpose of this study was to determine patient characteristics associated with receipt of oncologic surgery at high-volume hospitals.

[Analysis of the factors related to the needs of patients with cancer].

Objectives: Limited research has investigated the specific needs of patients with cancer. This study was performed to explore patients needs and the related factors.

Methods: The data were collected by 1 National Cancer Center and 9 regional cancer centers in Korea.

Changes in employment status and experience of discrimination among cancer patients: findings from a nationwide survey in Korea.

Background: As the number of working cancer patients increases, workplace discrimination and its relationship to changes in employment status among cancer patients is becoming an increasingly important social concern. The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive overview of the relationship between changes in employment status and discrimination following a diagnosis of cancer.

Methods: A total of 748 cancer patients, aged 18 years and older, who were employed before receiving a diagnosis of cancer, were enrolled in this study.

Antihypertensive medication adherence in cancer survivors and its affecting factors: results of a Korean population-based study.

Purpose: Cancer survivors have been reported to receive less care for other conditions than the general population; however, it is not clear whether patients' behavior also contribute to this. The present study was performed to examine cancer survivors' adherence to antihypertensive medication and factors associated with it, compared to the general population.

Methods: We used pharmacy claims and enrollment data from the National Health Insurance, which covers 97% of the Korean population.

[Costs of initial cancer care and its affecting factors].

Objectives: The purposes of this study is to estimate the cost of cancer care after its diagnosis and to identify factors that can influence the cost of cancer care.

Methods: The study subjects were patients with an initial diagnosis one of four selected tumors and had their first two-years of cancer care at a national cancer center. The data were obtained from medical records and patient surveys.

[Economic burden of cancer in South Korea for the year 2005].

Objectives: The objective of this study is to estimate the economic costs of cancer on society.

Methods: We estimated the economic burden of people with cancer in South Korea. To perform the analysis, we reviewed the records of people who were cancer patients and those who were newly diagnosed with cancer.

Effect of cancer diagnosis on patient employment status: a nationwide longitudinal study in Korea.

Background: Cancer diagnosis may adversely affect employment status. Our aim was to investigate whether cancer diagnosis effects employment status by comparing employment status changes in cancer patients with to that of cancer-free workers over a 5-6-year period.

Methods: All 25-55-year-old, non-self-employed, Korean workers who were diagnosed with cancer for the first time in 2001 were identified as first baseline study subjects (n=4991).

Job loss and re-employment of cancer patients in Korean employees: a nationwide retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate whether a diagnosis of cancer has an impact on the cancer patients' job loss and re-employment and to identify the factors affecting job loss and re-employment during 6 years of follow-up of Korean employees with cancer.

Patients And Methods: All employees except for the self-employed in Korea who were diagnosed with cancer during the 2001 calendar year (n = 5,396) were identified as the first baseline patients and were followed every 3 months over 6 years to estimate the time taken to job loss. Patients who lost their job within the first year after a diagnosis of cancer (n = 1,398) were identified as the second baseline patients and were followed up over 5 years to estimate the time taken to re-employment using the National Health Insurance claims data.

Initiation and discontinuation of complementary therapy among cancer patients.

Purpose: To identify the initiation or discontinuation of complementary therapy (CT) and determine the impact of sociodemographic and clinical factors on CT use among cancer patients.

Patients And Methods: Eligible patients were age 20 or older; newly diagnosed with stomach, liver, or colorectal cancer; and started their initial treatment at the National Cancer Center, Korea, between April 1, 2001, and April 30, 2003. In total, 541 cancer patients were surveyed in face-to-face interviews at baseline, and telephone follow-up interviews were performed every 3 months for 3 years.

[Effects of private health insurance on health care utilization and expenditures in Korean cancer patients: focused on 5 major cancers in one cancer center].

Objectives: To identify the effects of supplemental private health insurance on health care utilization and expenditure under the mandatory National Health Insurance(NHI) system in Korea.

Methods: The data were collected by the National Cancer Center in Korea. Cancer patients who were newly diagnosed with stomach (ICD code, C16), lung(C33-C34), liver (C22), colorectal cancer(C18-C20) or breast(C50) cancer were included as study subjects.

[The determinants of purchasing private health insurance in Korean cancer patients].

Objectives: The aim of this study is to identify factors determining the purchase of private health insurance under the mandatory National Health Insurance(NHI) system in Korea.

Methods: The data were collected by the National Cancer Center in Korea. It includes cancer patients who were newly diagnosed with stomach (ICD code, C16), lung(C33-C34), liver (C22), colorectal cancer(C18-C20) or breast(C50) cancer.

Job loss and reemployment after a cancer diagnosis in Koreans - a prospective cohort study.

Patients undergoing treatment for cancer have reported a variety of work-related problems. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a cancer diagnosis on employment status, and to identify relevant associated factors. This prospective cohort study was conducted at the National Cancer Center in Korea.

[Out-of-pocket health expenditures by non-elderly and elderly persons in Korea].

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the sociodemographic and health characteristics on the out-of-pocket health spending of the individuals aged 20 and older in Korea.

Methods: We used the data from the 2001 National Public Health and Nutrition Survey. The final sample size was 26,154 persons.