Effectiveness of proactive Quitline service and predictors of successful smoking cessation: findings from a preliminary study of Quitline service for smoking cessation in Korea.

This study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the first proactive Quitline service for smoking cessation in Korea and determine the predictors of successful smoking cessation. Smoking participants were voluntarily recruited from 18 community health centers. The participants were proactively counseled for smoking cessation via 7 sessions conducted for 30 days from November 1, 2005 to January 31, 2006.

Impact of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment on work-related life and factors affecting them.

We investigated the impacts of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment on employment status and the ability to perform occupational and housekeeping tasks. We performed a cross-sectional study to compare Korean breast cancer survivors (n = 1,594) who had been working before cancer diagnosis with a group of 20 to 60-year-old women from the general Korean population (n = 415). Employment decreased from 47.

[Measuring workload of home visit care activities using relative values].

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to measure the workload of home visit care activities and their relative values. This study examined also factors that affect the workload of home visit care activities.

Methods: The participants of this study were 126 home-helpers of 50 home visit care agencies at the 2nd Longterm Care Insurance Demonstration Project.

Effectiveness of an organized cervical cancer screening program in Korea: results from a cohort study.

Although the value of cervical cancer screening is widely acknowledged, the effectiveness of an organized cervical cancer screening program in Korea has never been evaluated. We investigated the associations of the frequency of cervical cancer screening with cervical cancer incidence using data from a large prospective cohort study. In this analysis, 253,472 women without a hysterectomy or previous cancer diagnosis were included.

Personal background and cognitive factors as predictors of the intention to be screened for stomach cancer.

Although stomach cancer screening is effective for reducing mortality, it is underutilized in Korea. By applying an extended theory of planned behavior model, our objective was to determine how personal background factors influence a patient's inclination to be screened for stomach cancer. The study population was derived from the 2006 Korean National Cancer Screening Survey, which was done to investigate the participation of the general population in cancer screening.

Comorbidity in disease-free survivors of cervical cancer compared with the general female population.

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the prevalence of comorbidities in cervical cancer survivors compared with the general population and to identify risk factors and impact on their quality of life (QoL).

Methods: 860 female cervical cancer survivors enrolled at six tertiary hospitals and 994 women from the general population were surveyed on current comorbidities and QoL (EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-CX24).

Results: Compared with the general female population, the cervical cancer survivors reported higher prevalence of comorbidities (0.

[The relationship between optimistic bias about health crisis and health behavior].

Purpose: This study was performed to identify the relationship between optimistic bias about health crisis and health behavior of Korean adults in a crisis of health, and to prepare baseline data for developing a health education and promotion program.

Methods: Study subjects were 595 adults aged from 19 to 64 who live in Korea. Data were collected through questionnaires administered by one interviewer.

Nutrient intake risk factors of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.

This study was conducted to assess the association between dietary nutrient intake and osteoporosis risk in post-menopausal women. Bone mineral density was measured at the lumbar spine by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and a structured questionnaire was administered by a trained interviewer, which included information on sociodemographics, medical and reproductive history, and dietary intake. The study sample included 134 osteoporotic and 137 non-osteoporotic subjects between the ages of 52 and 68.

Fatigue in the general Korean population: application and normative data of the Brief Fatigue Inventory.

The purpose of this study was to provide normative data for the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) in the general Korean population so that the results for the general population could be compared with those for patients. We constructed a questionnaire that included the BFI and items on demographic characteristics and conducted a population-based, cross-sectional survey in 1,000 individuals. We used multivariate logistic analysis to investigate factors associated with "usual" and "worst" fatigue.

Fatigue and depression in disease-free breast cancer survivors: prevalence, correlates, and association with quality of life.

We performed this study to examine the prevalence and correlates of fatigue and depression, and their relevance to health-related quality of life in disease-free breast cancer survivors. A total of 1,933 breast cancer survivors recruited from five large hospitals in Korea completed a mailed survey, which included the Brief Fatigue Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30, and QLQ-BR23. With a framework that included sociodemographic, clinical, and symptom characteristics, multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with fatigue and depression.

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.

Job satisfaction and trust in Health Insurance Review Agency among Korean physicians.

Objectives: To measure Korean physicians' job satisfaction and to examine the relationship between trust in Health Insurance Review Agency (HIRA) and job satisfaction.

Methods: Stratified sampling was used. The sample was representative of Korean office-based physicians; 1593 office-based physicians in Korea were surveyed by mail over a 4-week period using a self-administered questionnaire.

The economic burden of cancer in Korea in 2002.

Cancer is the leading cause of death and one of the most significant healthcare expenses in Korea. The purpose of this study was to estimate the economic burden of cancer on Korean society. We studied the medical, non-medical, morbidity and mortality costs related to cancer treatment, lost productivity and premature death.

[Comparison of cancer survival by age group for 1997 and for 2002: application of period analysis using the National Cancer Incidence Database].

Objectives: Period analysis estimates up-to-date survival rates of cancer patients. In this approach, analysis is restricted to recent time period by left-truncating all observations at the beginning of the period and right-censoring at its end. Here, we applied period analysis to examine changes in 5-year relative survival (RS) by age group for 1997 and for 2002.

Cancer survival in Korea 1993-2002: a population-based study.

Population-based survival reflect the average prognosis of unselected patients with a variety of natural histories as well as treatment patterns and are also useful for evaluating effectiveness and efficiency of cancer-directed health services in a given region. Although survival data have been reported based on hospital data, the survival data from population-based registry have been rarely reported in Korea. Based on the Korea National Cancer Incidence Database, we report the results from survival analysis for cancer patients diagnosed during 1993-2002 and followed up until 31 December 2005 at primary cancer sites.

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.

Smoking, alcohol and gastric cancer risk in Korean men: the National Health Insurance Corporation Study.

We investigated the risk of gastric cancer by subsite in relation to cigarette smoking and alcohol in a large population-based cohort of 669 570 Korean men in an insurance plan followed for an average 6.5 years, yielding 3452 new cases of gastric cancer, of which 127 were cardia and upper-third gastric cancer, 2409 were distal gastric cancer and 1007 were unclassified. A moderate association was found between smoking, cardia and upper-third (adjusted relative risk (aRR) 2.

[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.