Correction: The association between the risk perceptions of COVID-19, trust in the government, political ideologies, and socio-demographic factors: A year-long cross-sectional study in South Korea.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Association Between Risk Perceptions of COVID-19, Political Ideology, and Mask-Wearing Behavior After the Outbreak: A Cross-Sectional Survey in South Korea.

Purpose: After the declaration by the World Health Organization signaling the conclusion of the COVID-19 pandemic, most countries lifted mandatory mask-wearing regulations. This study aimed to investigate factors such as risk perception and political ideology associated with continued adherence to mask-wearing among specific populations, particularly when it is no longer deemed necessary.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study including a sample of 1001 respondents stratified by sex, age (≥ 18 years), and region from January 31 to February 2, 2023, after the mandatory mask regulation was lifted in South Korea.

Effect of the Presence of Emergency Departments With 300 or More Hospital Beds in Health Service Areas on 30-Day Mortality in Korea: A Nationwide Retrospective Cross-sectional Study.

Background: Disparities in emergency care accessibility exist between health service areas (HSAs). There is limited evidence on whether the presence of an emergency department (ED) that exceeds a certain hospital bed capacity is associated with emergency patient outcomes at the regional level. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of HSAs with or without of regional or local emergency centers with 300 or more hospital beds (EC300 or nEC300, respectively) by comparing the 30-day mortality of patients with severe emergency diseases (SEDs) admitted to the hospital through the ED.

Lessons from health insurance responses in counteracting COVID-19: a qualitative comparative analysis of South Korea and three influential countries.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused delays and restrictions in providing medical services. In response to the medical surge, countries with social insurance systems provided financial incentives to medical institutions. This study aimed to present the directions for health insurance support by comparing countries in terms of the domains and contents of COVID-19 health insurance support to ensure timely support in case of future pandemics.

Weekend effect on 30-day mortality for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke analyzed using severity index and staffing level.

Background And Purpose: Previous studies on the weekend effect-a phenomenon where stroke outcomes differ depending on whether the stroke occurred on a weekend-mostly targeted ischemic stroke and showed inconsistent results. Thus, we investigated the weekend effect on 30-day mortality in patients with ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke considering the confounding effect of stroke severity and staffing level.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data of patients hospitalized for ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2018, which were extracted from the claims database of the National Health Insurance System and the Medical Resource Report by the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service.

The association between the risk perceptions of COVID-19, trust in the government, political ideologies, and socio-demographic factors: A year-long cross-sectional study in South Korea.

Risk perception research, targeting the general public, necessitates the study of the multi-faceted aspects of perceived risk through a holistic approach. This study aimed to investigate the association between the two dimensions of risk perception of COVID-19, i.e.

Changes in the Hospital Standardized Mortality Ratio Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Disaggregated Analysis by Region and Hospital Type in Korea.

Objectives: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a global shortage of medical resources; therefore, we investigated whether COVID-19 impacted the quality of non-COVID-19 hospital care in Korea by comparing hospital standardized mortality rates (HSMRs) before and during the pandemic.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed Korean National Health Insurance discharge claim data obtained from January to June in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. Patients' in-hospital deaths were classified according to the most responsible diagnosis categories.

Expanding Medical Surge Capacity to Counteract COVID-19: South Korea's Medical Fee Adjustment Through the National Health Insurance System.

Background: South Korea has utilized its National Health Insurance (NHI) system to adjust the medical fees payable for healthcare services, to financially support the frontline healthcare providers combating COVID-19. This study evaluated the composition of such adjustments to the medical fees-made to secure resource surge capacity against the pandemic-in South Korea.

Methods: Descriptive statistics and schematization were employed to analyze 3,612,640 COVID-19-related NHI claims from January 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021.

Intratumoral Budding in Pretreatment Biopsies, among Tumor Microenvironmental Components, Can Predict Prognosis and Neoadjuvant Therapy Response in Colorectal Adenocarcinoma.

The prediction of the prognosis and effect of neoadjuvant therapy is vital for patients with advanced or unresectable colorectal carcinoma (CRC). : We investigated several tumor microenvironment factors, such as intratumoral budding (ITB), desmoplastic reaction (DR), and Klintrup-Mäkinen (KM) inflammation grade, and the tumor-stroma ratio (TSR) in pretreatment biopsy samples (PBSs) collected from patients with advanced or unresectable CRC. A total of 85 patients with 74 rectal carcinomas and 11 colon cancers treated at our hospital were enrolled; 66 patients had curative surgery and 19 patients received palliative treatment.

Association Between Self-Rated Political Orientation and Attitude Toward the Cash Transfer Policy During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Survey Conducted in South Korea.

Objective: This study assessed the relationship between self-rated political orientation and attitude toward the cash transfer policy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: This cross-sectional study conducted in South Korea during the pandemic included a stratified sample of 1,004 respondents (aged 19 years and older). We tested the hypotheses that political orientation shapes attitudes toward social policies and that other socioeconomic factors might have relatively minor importance.

Political Ideologies, Government Trust, and COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in South Korea: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

This study aimed to assess the correlation between political ideologies, government trust, and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in South Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among South Korea's general population and 1000 respondents (aged 18 years and older) were included. We used multivariate logistic regression models to identify the factors associated with vaccine hesitancy.

Estimation of Excess All-cause Mortality during COVID-19 Pandemic in Korea.

Background: Excess all-cause mortality is helpful to assess the full extent of the health impact, including direct and indirect deaths of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The study aimed to estimate overall and regional excess all-cause mortality during the pandemic in Korea.

Methods: We obtained all-cause death data and population statistics from January 2010 to December 2020.

Modified Tumor Budding as a Better Predictor of Lymph Node Metastasis in Early Gastric Cancer: Possible Real-World Applications.

Endoscopic resection (ER) is a minimally invasive treatment for early gastric cancer (EGC) with a low risk of lymph node metastasis (LNM). Recently, tumor budding (TB) has emerged as a potential predictor of LNM in EGC. We assessed the clinical significance of modified TB (mTB) that excludes the signet ring cell component and compared several TB assessment methods.

Travel time to emergency care not by geographic time, but by optimal time: A nationwide cross-sectional study for establishing optimal hospital access time to emergency medical care in South Korea.

Increase in travel time, beyond a critical point, to emergency care may lead to a residential disparity in the outcome of patients with acute conditions. However, few studies have evaluated the evidence of travel time benchmarks in view of the association between travel time and outcome. Thus, this study aimed to establish the optimal hospital access time (OHAT) for emergency care in South Korea.

New Obligations of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service: Taking Full-fledged Action Against the COVID-19 Pandemic.

In 2020, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused unprecedented disruptions to global health systems. The Korea has taken full-fledged actions against this novel infectious disease, swiftly implementing a testing-tracing-treatment strategy. New obligations have therefore been given to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) to devote the utmost effort towards tackling this global health crisis.

Social Distancing and Transmission-reducing Practices during the 2019 Coronavirus Disease and 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Outbreaks in Korea.

Background: The absence of effective antiviral medications and vaccines increased the focus on non-pharmaceutical preventive behaviors for mitigating against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. To examine the current status of non-pharmaceutical preventive behaviors practiced during the COVID-19 outbreak and factors affecting behavioral activities, we compared to the 2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak in Korea.

Methods: This was a serial cross-sectional population-based study in Korea with four surveys conducted on June 2 and 25, 2015 (MERS-CoV surveys), and February 4, and April 2, 2020 (COVID-19 surveys).

Influence of trust on two different risk perceptions as an affective and cognitive dimension during Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak in South Korea: serial cross-sectional surveys.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the affective and cognitive risk perceptions in the general population of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) during the 2015 MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak in South Korea and the influencing factors.

Design: Serial cross-sectional design with four consecutive surveys.

Setting: Nationwide general population in South Korea.

How far is too far? A nationwide cross-sectional study for establishing optimal hospital access time for Korean pregnant women.

Objectives: Access to a delivery unit is a major factor in determining maternal morbidity and mortality. However, there is little information about the optimal access time to a delivery unit. This study aimed to establish the optimal hospital access time (OHAT) for pregnant women in South Korea.

Chasms in Achievement of Recommended Diabetes Care among Geographic Regions in Korea.

Background: Although effective care for type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is well known, considerable inadequate care has been still existed. Variations in achievement of the recommended quality indicators inT2DM care among small areas are not well known in Korea. This study examined the quality of care T2DM care and its geographical variations.

Preventive Behavioral Responses to the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Outbreak in Korea.

This study examined the public's preventive behavioral responses during the 2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak in Korea and the influencing factors. Two cross-sectional telephone surveys were conducted by Gallup Korea using random digit dialing in June 2015 ( = 2004). The main outcome variables were nonpharmaceutical preventive measures (survey (1): Measures for reducing transmission (handwashing, face masks); and survey (2): Measures for avoiding contact with others).

General Public's Perspectives on Medical Doctors and Local Clinics in South Korea.

As patients in South Korea play the main role in choosing healthcare providers, understanding their attitudes and beliefs toward medical institutions is essential. This study evaluated the public's perspectives on doctors and local clinics. A face-to-face interview survey was conducted with 1000 participants who represent the South Korean adult population.

Improving the performance of risk-adjusted mortality modeling for colorectal cancer surgery by combining claims data and clinical data.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of risk-adjusted mortality models for colorectal cancer surgery.

Methods: We investigated patients (n=652) who had undergone colorectal cancer surgery (colectomy, colectomy of the rectum and sigmoid colon, total colectomy, total proctectomy) at five teaching hospitals during 2008. Mortality was defined as 30-day or in-hospital surgical mortality.

Alcohol consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: effect modification by hypercholesterolemia: the Third Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2005).

Objective: While the protective nature of moderate alcohol consumption against diabetes mellitus is well known, inconsistent findings continue to be reported. The possibility of different mixes of effect modifiers has been raised as a reason for those inconsistent findings. Our study aim was to examine potential effect modifiers that can change the effect of alcohol consumption on type 2 diabetes.

Korean National Health Insurance value incentive program: achievements and future directions.

Since the reformation of the National Health Insurance Act in 2000, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) in the Republic of Korea has performed quality assessments for healthcare providers. The HIRA Value Incentive Program (VIP), established in July 2007, provides incentives for excellent-quality institutions and disincentives for poor-quality ones. The program is implemented based on data collected between July 2007 and December 2009.

Effect of repeated public releases on cesarean section rates.

Objectives: Public release of and feedback (here after public release) on institutional (clinics and hospitals) cesarean section rates has had the effect of reducing cesarean section rates. However, compared to the isolated intervention, there was scant evidence of the effect of repeated public releases (RPR) on cesarean section rates. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of RPR for reducing cesarean section rates.