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BACKGROUND: Avoiding causative allergens is important for controlling the clinical course of allergic diseases. Allergen sensitization is influenced by many factors including the environment and lifestyle. The socioeconomic development, climate, and lifestyle changes have increased the prevalence of allergic diseases worldwide. However, there is little information about changes in the trend of the common allergens over time. OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed at identifying the trends of the common allergens in Korea over a 10-year period based on the results of the multiple allergosorbent test chemiluminescent assay (MAST-CLA). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 5,760 patients aged ≥18 years who visited the Dermatology Department at a tertiary hospital over a period of 10 years. The serum total immunoglobulin (Ig) E and specific IgE levels to 41 allergens were determined using MAST-CLA, along with the clinical diagnosis, duration of illness, white blood cell count and eosinophil percentage. RESULTS: Dermatophagoides farinae, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, and house dust were the most prevalent allergens during the 10 years period, but the percentage of higher class responses has decreased in recent years. The number of patients sensitized to house dust (p<0.001), dogs (p=0.005), and cats (p<0.001) increased while that of patients sensitized to cockroaches (p<0.001) and storage mites (p<0.001) decreased over time. There were no significant changes in the total number of sensitizing allergens over time. CONCLUSION: The common allergens have changed over time. Based on the findings of this study, physicians and patients should consider changing their strategies for disease prevention and management.

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OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to evaluate whether a "smoking cessation intervention" education program based on blended learning, was effective in improving nursing students' perceived competence and motivation to perform a smoking cessation intervention for smokers. METHODS: A quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest design was conducted. The smoking cessation intervention education program based on blended learning, was administered to the experimental group (n = 23) in 5 sessions, consisting of 2 courses of an e-learning program and 1 course of a face-to-face learning program per session. The control group (n = 21) received the opportunity to participate in an e-learning program as well as receiving material of a face-to-face learning program, after completion of the smoking cessation intervention education program. RESULTS: The experimental group showed significant differences in autonomous motivation (t = -6.982, p < 0.001), controlled motivation (t = -3.729, p = 0.001), and perceived competence compared to the control group (t = -3.801, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study showed that a smoking cessation intervention education program adopting blended learning, was significantly effective in enhancing nursing students' autonomous motivation and perceived competence to conduct a smoking cessation intervention. Further studies are needed to confirm longitudinal effects of this program.

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Obesity is a global phenomenon affecting all socioeconomic groups, irrespective of age, gender or ethnicity. In many countries, obesity trends are causing serious public health concerns threatening the viability of basic health care delivery. In this article, we examine the trends of adolescent obesity at the national level in South Korea introducing a new approach for visualising data at the local level based on linked micromap plots. Our analysis shows that the obesity rates for 2013 have only increased slightly since 2006 for South Korean adolescents of both genders in various age groups. However, considerable increases could be observed for the subgroup of adolescent males and adolescent females living in rural areas. Trends at the local level show a slight increase of the prevalence of obesity in most regions of the country, with the highest obesity prevalence found in the Northeast.

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OBJECTIVES: Nurses have been identified as an instrumental partner in tobacco reduction. This study aimed to examine factors affecting Korean nurses' intention to implement smoking cessation intervention in Busan, Korea. METHODS: The participants were a total of 215 Korean registered nurses. A self-administered questionnaire evaluated predisposing factors, motivational factors (attitude, social influence, and self-efficacy) and intention to implement smoking cessation intervention. Data were analyzed by t tests, Pearson's correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression. RESULTS: The mean age of the participants was 28.12 ± 5.72 years. The majority of the participants were staff nurses (85.6%), and 64.2% of the sample had < 5 years of work experience. Significant predictors of intention to implement smoking cessation intervention included perceived barrier of smoking cessation intervention (ß = -0.128, p = 0.023), willingness to receive smoking cessation training (ß = 0.123, p = 0.034), more positive attitude (ß = 0.203, p = 0.002), higher social influence (ß = 0.292, p < 0.001), and higher self-efficacy toward smoking cessation intervention (ß = 0.151, p = 0.021), which explained 45% of the total variance of intention to implement smoking cessation intervention. CONCLUSION: Attitude, social influence, and self-efficacy towards smoking cessation intervention had a significant positive influence in determining the intention to implement smoking cessation intervention. These findings can be used to develop evidence-based smoking cessation training programs for nurses in Korea. The programs should aim for positive attitude, higher social influence, and higher self-efficacy in hospital settings.

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BACKGROUND: Medical professionalism is a core aspect of medical education and practice worldwide. Medical professionalism must be reinterpreted to adapt to different social/cultural/historical contexts. We conducted a survey to examine the current understanding and perceived value of medical professionalism among Korean physicians. METHODS: The survey was distributed to 950 physicians nationwide; 721 (75.89%) completed surveys were returned between 1 April and 31 July 2011. RESULTS: In their practice, Korean physicians prioritized the values and virtues of medical professionalism in the following (descending) order: veracity, respect for patient autonomy, integrity, responsibility, altruism, and honesty. Approximately two-thirds of physicians responded that medical professionalism is an element of their vocation. When asked to choose the most important sets of attributes or virtues of medical professionalism from a provided list, the top three sets (in descending order of frequency) were: "responsibility and duty," "veracity, integrity, and honesty," and "rapport with patients and conversational skill." CONCLUSIONS: Korean physicians value moral duties, such as responsibility and veracity, more than they do moral virtues, such as altruism and honesty with patients. It is presumed that physicians are under pressure due to governmental regulation of the national healthcare system and have difficulty exercising their autonomy.

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PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to identify the prevalence, risk factors and clinical meanings of geriatric foot problems and to suggest implications for the future. METHODS: One hundred eighty nine elderly aged 60 and over from institution as well as community were investigated for their foot conditions by means of a questionnaire including general characteristics, self care capacity, risk factors, foot problem checklist, X-ray, podoscopy and foot scan. Descriptive statistics and X(2)-test was performed as appropriate utilizing SPSS version 14. Less than .05 of p-value was adopted as statistical significance level. RESULTS: All subjects had at least one kind of foot problem and the most prevalent ones were nail problems, foot deformities in order. Prevalence of foot pain and edema was relatively low. CONCLUSION: Foot problem in elderly is prevalent and geriatric foot is expected to emerge as one of the most important problems in the geriatric field. Therefore strategies to deal with geriatric foot should be developed and practiced for better quality of life in later life.

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