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INTRODUCTION Heated tobacco products (HTPs) and nicotine vaping products (NVPs) both are legal consumer products in the Republic of Korea. Little is known about perceptions of harmfulness of HTPs and NVPs relative to cigarettes in South Korea among adults who smoke, and how exposure to marketing may be associated with harmfulness perceptions. METHODS This study used data from the 2020 International Tobacco Control (ITC) Korea Survey, and included 3713 adult (aged 19 years) cigarette smokers who were: 1) exclusive smokers (n=1845); 2) dual HTP + cigarette consumers (n=1130); 3) dual NVP + cigarette consumers (n=224); and 4) triple consumers (all three products, n=514). Weighted multinomial regression models were conducted to estimate smokers' perceptions of harmfulness of HTPs and NVPs compared to cigarettes, NVPs to HTPs, and self-reported exposure to HTP/NVP advertising. Analyses compared the perceptions of harmfulness between the four different consumer groups, and tested whether exposure to HTP/NVP advertising was associated with perceptions of lower relative harm. RESULTS Among all respondents, 27.5% believe that HTPs are less harmful than cigarettes and 23.4% believe that NVPs are less harmful than cigarettes. Exclusive cigarettes smokers were significantly less likely to perceive that HTPs and NVPs are less harmful than cigarettes compared to dual HTP + cigarette consumers, dual NVP + cigarette consumers, and triple consumers (all p<0.001). Half of respondents perceive NVPs as equally harmful as HTPs (14.1% perceive NVPs as more harmful than HTPs). Exposure to HTP/NVP advertising was associated with perceiving these products as less harmful than cigarettes. CONCLUSIONS About one-quarter of Korean cigarette smokers perceive HTPs and NVPs as less harmful than cigarettes. Further investigation is required to understand how harm perceptions and HTP/NVP advertising are related to changes in product use, such as switching between products, using multiple products, or discontinuing all product use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of the study is to examine the differences in family caregivers' burden based on the usage of caring device such as bed for preventing bedsore, wheelchair, electric wheelchair etc., and the predictive factors (caregiver age, educational level, daily care time, satisfaction on interactive relationship between caregiver and care-recipient, and perceived stress) of care burden in informal caregivers of people with disability in Korea. Methods A cross-sectional survey study design was used through either telephone interview or self-report using Google form with family caregivers of people with severe disability. Data were collected from December, 2021 to Feb. 2022. A convenience sample of 103 family caregivers were included if they were giving care to people with severe disability who were older than 19 years old and had disability level 1-3, and needed lots of help from others, demonstrating difficulties in performing ADLs by themselves. Measurements were included Zarit Burden Interview- Korean version (Lee et al., 2004; Zarit et al., 1980), Barthel ADL Index (Collin et al., 1988, Kim et al., 2004), and Korean version of perceived stress scale (Hong et al., 2016). Data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation and hierarchical moderated regression analysis. Results and Discussion Mean age and educational level of the participants were 51.39 years old (SD = 8.64, range = 19 - 72) and 14.37 year (SD = 2.52, range = 6 - 20), respectively. Family members using care objects were significantly low on care burden (t = 3.32, p = .001). Longer daily care time (r=.37, p<.001), lower satisfaction on interactive relationship (r=-.28, p<.001), and higher stress (r=.58, p<.001) were related to higher care burden. With hierarchical multiple regression, perceived stress (Beta = .49, p = .000) was the strongest predictor on caregiver burden, followed by satisfaction on interactive relationship (Beta = -.19, p = .000). Although the variable of usage care device predicted on care burden significantly, it was not that strong predictor on care burden. Future research is suggested to increase sample size, and use detail questions on types of care device and care technology including care robot. Considering in increases in number of disabled older adults, it would be necessary to develop and apply technologies in caring based on personal needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Formal care providers who take care of the growing elderly population are also getting older, so the role of caring robots in care field is highly anticipated. However, we still do not know which caring area has the most difficulty when the caregivers provide care in the older adults and disabled. It is intended to suggest the direction of caring robot development by figuring out what the burden of care is. At present, Korean government and private companies are trying to develop several types of caring robot and caring objects. The purpose of the study was to examine the level of difficulty in activities of daily living (ADLs) care and the functional level of care recipient's ADL in formal caregivers of older adults and disabled in Korea. Methods A cross-sectional survey study design was used through either telephone interview or self-report using Google form with formal direct care-helper of older adults and disabled. Data were collected from July, 2021 to Feb. 2022 at care facilities located in Seoul, KyungKi-do, ChungChungBook-do and Jeollanam-do. A convenience sample of 444 direct care-helpers were included if they were giving care to older adults or disabled who were admitted to the facilities more than 1 month or were residing in community, and needed lots of help from others, demonstrating difficulties in performing ADLs by themselves. Barthel ADL Index (Collin et al., 1988, Kim et al., 2004) was used to measure ADLs. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation. Results and Discussion Mean age and education of the participants were 57.10 (SD 10.22) and 12.37 (SD 2.99), respectively. Top three order of caring difficulty in ADLs were followed: bathing, bowel and bladder care, and bed/chair transfer. Furthermore, among ten ADL items, mean score of bathing was the most dependent in all groups. In older adults residing in nursing homes and geriatirc hospitals, eating food was the most independent, and ed/chair transfer was in disabled residing in facilities and community. Longer daily care time (r=.19, p<.01), higher physical burden (r=.47, p<.01), higher stress (r=.50, p<.01) were related to higher care burden. Direction for future suggestion should be focused on developing in bathing care robot. In this sense, multi-disciplinary team approach including nurses, physical therapists, rehabilitation engineers, policy makers, social worker, and economist must be practiced and discussed together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participants: GRS. Hong, K. Park. MJ. Kim, W.J. Choi. Care providers who take care of the growing elderly population are also getting older, so the role of caring robots in care field is highly anticipated. To maintain good care to older adults and disabled, care burden of care providers and social value of care robots must be understood. CONTENT Our symposium is designed to bring together multidisciplinary perspectives, such as nursing, physical therapy, and economics, to understand the areas of care difficulty in ADLs, social value of care robot, and care burden using both in lab and care settings. STRUCTURE Hong and her colleagues first examine the level of difficulty in activities of daily living (ADLs) care and the functional level of care recipient's ADL in formal caregivers of older adults and disabled. Park and her colleagues investigate the social value of care robots, including publicity value for the older adults and persons with disability, through qualitative research. Kim and Shin present the effects of transfer assistive robots on care burden, burnout, and self-esteem in caregivers caring for the mobility-impaired older adults and severely disabled people. Finally, Choi and his colleagues present the biomechanical effects of a mechanical lift on the risk of low back injury during transfers from bed to wheelchair. CONCLUSION With multidisciplinary perspective, the knowledge related to care burden and social value of care robot will guide to the direction in developing the types of care robot, making policies at local and national level, furthermore sharing the ethical issues in care robots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traces of long-lived fallout-derived radioisotopes (134Cs and 137Cs) were found in wet and dry deposition samples collected from the west and east coasts of South Korea from March to May 2011 following the release of radionuclides from the damaged nuclear power plants in Fukushima, Japan. The analysis of air mass back trajectory and atmospheric pressure systems indicated that the Fukushima-derived radiocaesium had predominantly reached South Korea from the west by surface westerlies from 11 March to 5 April; however, after 6 April, air masses arrived from Japan directly due to a high pressure system that developed to the east of Japan. Spatial variation of deposition fluxes of radiocaesium in South Korea was partly attributed to the presence of local longitudinal orography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]