Ever since baby boomers started turning 65 years old in 2020, Korea is set to become a super-aged society by 2025. This makes it the world’s fastest-aging society. Aging in place (AIP) has become a policy direction to prepare for an aging society and improve older adults’ quality of life. It refers to the ability of older adults to remain in their homes and communities as they age, allowing them to reside in their place of preference and access the services they require to promote their quality of life. A cross-sectional study design was employed using data sampled from the 2020 National Survey of Older Koreans. In total, 9930 older adults (aged between 65 and 99 years old) participated. The results confirmed that the intention to pursue AIP is related to personal factors (education, income, house ownership, smoking, exercise, depression), interpersonal and communal factors (unmet healthcare needs, need for home care services, family contact), and policy level factors (basic pension beneficiary, long-term care services) using an ecological model. The findings may promote individual health behaviors and help fill the gap between unmet healthcare needs and community care services that positively influence older adults’ AIP.

The purpose of this study was to verify the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the ConCom Safety Management Scale (K-CCSMS). This study consisted of two phases. First, in accordance with the guidelines of the World Health Organization, the Korean version of the scale was developed in five stages. Second, data from 206 general and tertiary hospital nurses were analyzed to confirm the validity and reliability of the K-CCSMS; thus, the construct validity, criterion-related validity, and reliability were confirmed. In total, 21 items divided across four factors (i.e., stressing the importance of safety rules and monitoring, providing employees with feedback, showing role modeling behavior, and creating safety awareness) were identified through exploratory factor analysis. Three items were deleted through confirmatory factor analysis, and the model fit was as follows: normed χ² = 2.80, normed fit index = 0.87, Tucker–Lewis index = 0.90, comparative fit index = 0.92, and standardized root mean square residual = 0.05. The correlation coefficient between the K-CCSMS and patient safety culture was 0.76 (p < 0.001), and internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach’s α = 0.95). For patient safety, an appropriate combination of control- and commitment-based management is required, and the 18-item K-CCSMS showed usefulness and reliability in determining such a balance and evaluating the leadership styles of Korean nursing managers.

The closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic has forced adolescents to stay home. These disruptions, as well as a significant decrease in social access, have impacted smoking behavior. This study identified the association between the adolescents’ type of residence and tobacco product use. A cross-sectional study (using data from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey) examined 3774 students in 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2575 students in 2020 (during the pandemic). The participants were South Korean middle and high school students aged 13–19 years. Using multinomial logistic regression, it was shown that adolescents who lived alone or in a boarding house had a higher risk of being an e-cigarette smoker compared with those who lived with family or relatives (OR = 6.49, CI = 2.06–20.45). Living in a dormitory or orphanage also increased the risk of dual tobacco use compared with living with family (OR = 2.09, 95% CI = 1.13–3.84). With the advent and continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, this effect became more significant in 2020 than in 2019. Our findings support the theory that residential differences affect adolescent smoking behavior and highlight the importance of integrated smoking bans and educational programs to control adolescent smoking.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to compare alcohol drinking behaviors between living alone and living together women in Korea. Methods: 6∼7th National Heath and Nutrition Examination Survey(2013∼2016) data were analyzed using SPSS statistics complex samples. 9,373 Korean Women, aged 19-65 years were included in this study. Among them, 560 participants(5.1%) was living alone women and analyzed between characteristics of drinking behaviors of living alone and living together women. Results: Adjusted confounding variables were analyzed and the risk of light drinking behavior was not significant between the groups. However the group of living alone women showed in higher risk of binge drinking(OR=1.57, 95%CI=1.19-2.07) than those of living together women. Conclusions: Living alone women were associated with binge drinking behaviors compared to living together women. Thus, living alone women are needed to concern on social behaviors including alcohol drinking.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify factors related increased smoking time among male workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea. Methods: Cross-sectional exploratory study based on data collected from Data from the 23th Korean Labor and Income Panel Study in 2020 were performed in this study. 2,249 male workers were selected to participate in this study. Logistic regression models were used to examine personal, occupational and impact of COVID-19 on human life associated with increased smoking time. Results: Of all participants, 2,055 responded with ‘no changed smoking time’ and 194 responded with ‘increased smoking time’ regarding changed the time of smoking during COVID-19. Increased smoking time was associated with having physical disability, employment type(temporary job, daily contract job), types of occupation(unpaid family worker, skilledㆍunskilled worker, and serviceㆍsales worker), and impact of COVID-19 on human life (health, contact with friends and acquaintance, recruitmentㆍjob searchㆍstart-up, change in sleeping time, decreased income). Conclusion: This evidence suggests an association between increased smoking time and impact of COVID-19 and implies that smoking cessation programmes may benefit from taking into account the modification of impact of COVID-19 on life change for male workers and work environment.