Publications by authors named "Hae Kweun Nam"

Article Synopsis
  • Social prescribing is gaining worldwide attention, highlighting its importance in improving community health and well-being.
  • A recent study involved 48 experts from 26 countries to create a unified definition of social prescribing.
  • The reflection on this study emphasizes its practical applications and discusses future directions for social prescribing initiatives.
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Background: eHealth literacy is an essential skill for pursuing electronic health information, particularly for older people whose health needs increase with age. South Korea is now at the intersection of a rapidly digitalizing society and an increasingly aged population. eHealth literacy enables older people to maximize the effective use of emerging digital technology for their health and quality of life.

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Purpose: We investigated the association between social support, metabolic syndrome, and incident cardio-cerebrovascular disease (CCVD) in rural Koreans aged ≥50 years.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a prospective study using the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study on Atherosclerosis Risk of Rural Areas in the Korean General Population (KoGES-ARIRANG) dataset. From the baseline of 5169 adults, 1682 participants were finally included according to the exclusion criteria.

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Objective: This study aimed to identify the correlation between digital capacity, health promotion participation, and active aging of older people living in rural areas in South Korea to assess the factors influencing participation in programs for health promotion and active aging.

Methods: Data were collected through a 1:1 face-to-face survey using a structured questionnaire from 13 February to 24 February 2023 during the older individuals' visits in the senior citizen welfare centers and senior citizen centers in the region. The Measuring Digital Skills questionnaire used to assess the digital competence of South Korean individuals was employed in this study.

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Background: The UK National Health Service (NHS) has introduced a digital social prescribing (DSP) system to improve the mental health of the aging population. In Korea, an ongoing pilot social prescribing project has been implemented for older individuals in rural areas since 2019.

Objective: This research aims to develop a DSP program and to evaluate the effectiveness of the digital platform in rural areas of Korea.

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Background: Social loneliness is a prevalent issue in industrialized countries that can lead to adverse health outcomes, including a 26% increased risk of premature mortality, coronary heart disease, stroke, depression, cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer disease. The United Kingdom has implemented a strategy to address loneliness, including social prescribing-a health care model where physicians prescribe nonpharmacological interventions to tackle social loneliness. However, there is a need for evidence-based plans for global social prescribing dissemination.

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In South Korea, digital literacy education programs are expected to help its older population participate in online welfare services to increase their social support, self-esteem and well-being. This quasi-experimental study assesses the effects of digital literacy education on digital device usage among rural-dwelling adults aged 65 and above and evaluates the positive effects of digital literacy education on depression, happiness, quality of life, self-efficacy and cognitive function. A digital literacy education program and a customized questionnaire survey were conducted to evaluate smartphone use competency and the program's effects, respectively.

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Social prescribing is an approach that aims to improve health and well-being. It connects individuals to non-clinical services and supports that address social needs, such as those related to loneliness, housing instability and mental health. At the person level, social prescribing can give individuals the knowledge, skills, motivation and confidence to manage their own health and well-being.

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Background: The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization emphasized vaccination against COVID-19 because physical distancing proved inadequate to mitigate death, illness, and massive economic loss.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate Korean citizens' perceptions of vaccines by examining their views on COVID-19 vaccines, their positive and negative perceptions of each vaccine, and ways to enhance policies to increase vaccine acceptance.

Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed posts on NAVER and Instagram to examine Korean citizens' perception of COVID-19 vaccines.

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Background: Since the supply of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines will be limited worldwide, it is essential to prioritize vaccination based on scientific evidence. Although several frameworks and studies on vaccine distribution have been published, no published systematic review has evaluated the prioritization of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Materials And Methods: We searched 4 different databases, PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and EMBASE for articles published between January 2019 and December 31, 2020.

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Cycling has proven to be an important strategy in decreasing the risk of non-communicable diseases. This study aimed to discover barriers and enabling factors influencing satisfaction and safety perceptions towards the use of bicycle roads in the Seoul metropolitan area, South Korea. A cross-sectional survey of 190 youth and adult individuals was conducted.

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