Examining Physical and Social Environments of Korean American Family Caregivers of Persons Living with Dementia

Introduction East Asian Americans are considered a hard-to-reach population in the field. Existing resources are not inclusive of Korean family caregivers, and therefore, a community support system may be required for this ethnic group. Methods We conducted a telephone-based survey and in-depth interview with Korean family caregivers of persons with dementia (N=36; Mean age: 63.3) to examine their physical and social environments. Results Most caregivers (58%) co-resided with their care recipients. Those providing care with limited assistance from others showed greater financial hardship (p=0.03) and interference with employment (p=0.03). Job interference was further related to higher levels of caregiving burdens (p=0.01). The services used most were senior center services (25%) and in-home care services (17%), while desired services included health promotion and disease prevention services (50%) and culturally appropriate or medically tailored home-delivered meals services (31%). Caregivers socialized with others using a multi-messaging app (i.e., KakaoTalk) with others. About 74% of them addressed they used KakaoTalk always (52%) or often (22%), and nearly half of them (47%) said they searched for caregiving information online. Findings from our qualitative interviews confirmed positive attitude toward the use of technology. Korean family caregivers showed a lack of knowledge of not only existing community-based resources but also the disease-related information, particularly regarding early-stage support and home safety. Conclusion It is critical to develop a community education program that reflects their unique physical and social environment conditions, potentially through technologically delivered interventions, for outreach and engagement for Korean family caregivers of persons with dementia.

Defining Essential Topics and Procedures for Korean Family Medicine Residency Training

Background: This study aims to create a comprehensive list of essential topics and procedural skills for family medicine residency training in Korea.Methods: Three e-mailed surveys were conducted. The first and second surveys were sent to all board-certified family physicians in the Korean Academy of Family Medicine (KAFM) database via e-mail. Participants were asked to rate each of the topics (117 in survey 1, 36 in survey 2) and procedures (65 in survey 1, 19 in survey 2) based on how necessary it was to teach it and personal experience of utilizing it in clinical practice. Agreement rates of the responses were calculated and then sent to the 32 KAFM board members in survey 3. Opinions on potential cut-off points to divide the items into three categories and the minimum achievement requirements needed to graduate for each category were solicited.Results: Of 6,588 physicians, 256 responded to the first survey (3.89% response rate), 209 out of 6,669 to the second survey (3.13%), and 100% responded to the third survey. The final list included 153 topics and 81 procedures, which were organized into three categories: mandatory, recommended, and optional (112/38/3, 27/33/21). For each category of topics and procedures, the minimum requirement for 3-year residency training was set at 90%/60%/30% and 80%/60%/30%, respectively.Conclusion: This national survey was the first investigation to define essential topics and procedures for residency training in Korean family medicine. The lists obtained represent the opinions of Korean family physicians and are expected to aid in the improvement of family medicine training programs in the new competency-based curriculum.

Feminist Critiques of the Multiculturalism and the Case of South Korea: Marriage Migrants, Patriarchy, and Nation-Building

<p>Feminist critiques of multiculturalism have largely focused on group rights by looking at multicultural societies that are based on pluralism. However, in some countries of new immigration, such as South Korea, multiculturalism does not necessarily have a pluralist form, but instead pursues assimilation. Thus South Korea provides an opportunity to explore gendered aspects of multiculturalism in a different context from that upon which the existing feminist critiques are largely based. What are the gendered aspects of South Korean multiculturalism? In this study I address this question by looking at policies designed particularly for female marriage migrants. I argue that the aim of these policies is to make such migrants contribute to South Korea’s multicultural nation-building process through their reproductive, care-giving, and symbolic functions in the idealized Korean family and that patriarchy is reinforced in the implementation of these policies. This reinforcement of patriarchy has resulted in a perpetuation of gender inequality. Looking at the ways in which the South Korean government uses female marriage migrants as instruments in its nation-building process expands the current scope of feminist critiques of multiculturalism.</p>

Feminist Critiques of the Multiculturalism and the Case of South Korea: Marriage Migrants, Patriarchy, and Nation-Building

<p>Feminist critiques of multiculturalism have largely focused on group rights by looking at multicultural societies that are based on pluralism. However, in some countries of new immigration, such as South Korea, multiculturalism does not necessarily have a pluralist form, but instead pursues assimilation. Thus South Korea provides an opportunity to explore gendered aspects of multiculturalism in a different context from that upon which the existing feminist critiques are largely based. What are the gendered aspects of South Korean multiculturalism? In this study I address this question by looking at policies designed particularly for female marriage migrants. I argue that the aim of these policies is to make such migrants contribute to South Korea’s multicultural nation-building process through their reproductive, care-giving, and symbolic functions in the idealized Korean family and that patriarchy is reinforced in the implementation of these policies. This reinforcement of patriarchy has resulted in a perpetuation of gender inequality. Looking at the ways in which the South Korean government uses female marriage migrants as instruments in its nation-building process expands the current scope of feminist critiques of multiculturalism.</p>

Economic policy uncertainty and overinvestment: evidence from Korea

The authors show that there is a negative relationship between economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and firm overinvestment using Korean data from 2007 to 2016. Since Jensen (1986) shows that a firm's free cash flow is an important factor of overinvestment, the authors examine how free cash flow influences the sensitivity of overinvestment to EPU. The authors find that a high level of free cash flow attenuates the negative effect of EPU on overinvestment. The authors find that there is no significant difference in the effect of EPU on overinvestment between Chaebol (Korean family-run conglomerates) and non-Chaebol firms, which is consistent with the literature that the features of Chaebol are weakening.