• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.438-444
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• 2023

Background: To examine the influences of psychosocial work conditions on mental health risk and intention to leave the public sector among workers of public health agencies in Taiwan. Methods: We surveyed 492 public health workers in March 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Information on job demands, job control, workplace justice, experiences of workplace violence and its type and origin, and mental health status (assessed by the 5-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale, BSRS-5) was obtained. Of them, 192 participated in a follow-up survey conducted in May 2023 that assessed mental health status, employment changes, and intention to leave. Results: In the initial survey, 32.93% of participants reported poor mental health status, defined by having a score of BSRS-5 ≧ 10, and 48.17% experienced some form of workplace violence over the past year. Notably, high psychosocial job demands (OR = 3.64, 95% CI = 1.93-6.87), low workplace justice (OR = 2.58, 95% CI = 1.45-4.58), and workplace violence (OR = 2.38, 95% CI = 1.51-3.77) were significantly associated with increased risk of mental disorders. Among those who participated in the followup survey, 22.40% had persistent poor mental health, and 30.73% considered leaving or have left the public sector. Longitudinal analyses indicated that job demands predicted persistent mental disorders and intention to leave the public sector, and the experience of workplace violence added additional mental health risks. Conclusion: The public health workforce is crucial for effective and resilient public health systems. Our findings that public health workers were at high mental health risk and had a high intention to leave the job warrant attention and policy interventions.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.297-303
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship of self-differentiation, family function and mental health among adolescents. Methods: The data were collected from 967 adolescents and analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Scheffe's test, Pearson correlation coefficient and Stepwise multiple regression with the SPSS program. Results: Mental health differed according to grades, sibling position, father's education and mother's education. Self-differentiation and family function had a significant negative correlation with mental health. Multiple regression analysis showed recognition.emotional function, emotional cutoff and family projection as influencing self-differentiation. Grades, affective responsiveness in family function, and sibling position explained 20.8% of the total variance in mental health. Conclusion: The findings show that self-differentiation and family function influence mental health, indicating a need to develop nursing intervention programs to enhance adolescents' mental health and prevent negative outcomes. For these programs, the family must be included.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.117-126
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• 2018

Purpose: The leading cause of death among teenagers in Korea is suicide. Also, it is known that mental health of Korean adolescents identified based on the levels of perceived stress or depression is very poor. The purpose of this study was to examine the current status of student mental health programs in Korea and the associated problems and to explore ways to make the programs more effective. Methods: The subjects of the study were a total of 115 school nurses and school counselors in elementary, middle and high schools. The study examined the current status and the associated problems of school mental health programs as well as the needs for teacher training programs related to student mental health. Results: Few mental health programs other than counseling for at-risk students were being carried out. The problems associated with student mental health management were, in terms of management, 'accountability in case of incidents such as student suicide' and 'parents uncooperative in their kid's mental health management (visit to hospital, etc.)' and, in terms of manpower, 'unclear R&R between school nurses and school counselors' and, more fundamentally, 'the lack of human resources.' The needs for teacher training programs related to student mental health were very high and the content required most was 'ways to manage stress of students and teachers themselves,' followed by 'interpersonal conflicts management & conservational skills,' and 'ways to manage student mental illness.' Conclusion: In conclusion, to increase the effectiveness of student mental health programs, we should move on from the current system which focuses only on early discovery and intervention to a more comprehensive system that includes preventive approaches, while having clearer R&R and more workforce dedicated to student mental health programs and attracting more parental cooperation and support.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.93-99
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• 2023

Background: Effort-reward imbalance (ERI) and overcommitment at work have been associated poorer mental health. However, nonlinear and nonadditive effects have not been investigated previously. Methods: The association between effort, reward, and overcommitment with odds of poorer mental health was examined among a sample of 68 formal United States waste workers (87% male). Traditional, logistic regression and Bayesian Kernel machine regression (BKMR) modeling was conducted. Models controlled for age, education level, race, gender, union status, and physical health status. Results: The traditional, logistic regression found only overcommitment was significantly associated with poorer mental health (IQR increase: OR = 6.7; 95% CI: 1.7 to 25.5) when controlling for effort and reward (or ERI alone). Results from the BKMR showed that a simultaneous IQR increase in higher effort, lower reward, and higher overcommitment was associated with 6.6 (95% CI: 1.7 to 33.4) times significantly higher odds of poorer mental health. An IQR increase in overcommitment was associated with 5.6 (95% CI: 1.6 to 24.9) times significantly higher odds of poorer mental health when controlling for effort and reward. Higher effort and lower reward at work may not always be associated with poorer mental health but rather they may have an inverse, U-shaped relationship with mental health. No interaction between effort, reward, or overcommitment was observed. Conclusion: When taking into the consideration the relationship between effort, reward, and overcommitment, overcommitment may be most indicative of poorer mental health. Organizations should assess their workers' perceptions of overcommitment to target potential areas of improvement to enhance mental health outcomes.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.269-278
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• 2008

= ABSTRACT = Objectives: This study was carried out to identify the relationships of family burden and mental health service needs of chronic mental patients in community. Methods: Objects of the study were 153 chronic mental patients in community of P. city in korea. Data were collected from December, 2007 to February, 2008 using structured questionnaire. Research tools of this study were family burden tool developed by Pai & Kapur (1981) and mental health service needs tool developed by Kim (2003). Results: The average grades for family burden was 1.62 points. And the biggest part of family burden was economic burden(1.74), followed by interrupt of daily life(1.67), interrupt of family relationship(1.64), interrupt of family leisure (1.57), effects of mental health(1.50), and effects of physical health(1.43). The average grades for mental health service needs was 2.72 points. And the biggest part of mental health service needs was rehabilitation service(3.09), followed by social service(2.87), and Psychiatric medical service(2.21). Positive correlation showed between all parts of family burden. And, positive correlation showed between psychiatric medical service and interrupt of daily life(r=.281, p<.01), psychiatric medical service and effects of physical health(r=.355,p<.01), social service and effects of mental health(r=.213,p<.01). Conclusion: The family burden for care giver of mental patients was related with all parts of family burden and mental health service needs of family. Thus, these results should be considered to reduce family burden for care giver of mental patients in community.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Health Science
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.390-398
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• 2015

Purpose. This study was to identify mental health in nursing students. Methods. Participants were 575 nursing students who studied in 3 nursing colleges in B city and Gyeongsangnam-do. The period of data collection was from October 21 to 30, 2013. The data ware analyzed by frequencies, t-test, one way ANOVA, and multiple regression analysis using the SPSS 19.0 program. Results. The results are as followed : First, the average of mental health was $1.77{\pm}0.58$ points. Second, mental health was significantly different according to age, housing style, pocket money, adaption of environment, health status, and grade point average. Third, the influencing factor in mental health of participants was age, pocket money, health status, and housing style, $R^2=.163$. Conclusions. Development of guidance program to improve mental health of nursing students in recommended.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.43-50
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• 2008

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between self-concept and mental health of physical therapy students. Methods: We recruited 179 currently enrolled college freshman, sophomores, and juniors studying physical therapy. The instruments used for this study were Rosenberg's Self-esteem Scale, Choi Chung Hoon's Perceeptual Orientation Scale, and the Mental Health Test modified by Lee. Results: The mean self-concept score was 3.97, a positive self concept, and the mean mental health score was 1.04. The mean dimension score for mental health ranged from: r=0.79$\sim$r=1.29. The relationship between self-concept and the mental health showed a negative correlation (r=-0.693, p<0.01). Conclusion: Modifications to the current program may improve self-concept and the mental health of physical therapy students.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.43
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• pp.131-156
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• 2000

It is recognized that one of the major issues in jail management is responding to the needs of a growing number of inmates with mental health problems. The purpose of this study was to assess the nature and severity of mental health problems among inmate population. The mental health status of 1,500 (1,337 responded) inmates of the 30 prisons located in nationwide area was examined using Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). And the scores on MMPI were examined in relation to some offender characteristics such as type of offence, treatment classification, frequence of discipline. The result indicates that the percentage of inmate population with scores over 70 on every sub-categories of the scale is higher than that of general populations reflecting high rate of deviation from average normal mental health. It seems likely that many of inmates are in need of specific mental health treatment services. The nature and severity of mental health problems varies depending on offender characteristics above mentioned. It is also notable that the inmates are heterogeneous in terms of mental health status, and that severe offences such as robbery, assault, and rape or sexual assault are highly related to the scores on 'antisocial' sub category. The study also reveals that there is a relation, if not causal, between mental health problem and frequency of discipline while in prison. Under basis of these findings, this study concludes that a number of inmates in our prison have mental health problems requiring mental health treatment services and suggests five key steps to effectively respond to the prevalence of mental health problems in prison at both the level of the clinical interventions and at the level of system structure and organization. Specially, the importance of collaborative service strategies of the correctional system with mental health systems are underlined.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.100-108
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• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the Students' Mental Health School-Community Cooperative Model on the school mental health awareness of the participants (school administrators, teachers, students). Methods: Data were collected from 140 schools that participated in the project. The questionnaires were composed of items about the school mental health policy, climate and capacity. The data was analyzed through paired t-tests between pre and post, and a comparison was made between the 1st and 2nd phase regions. Results: The total scores of the teacher and student groups increased significantly, whereas those of the school administrators did not. The awareness of the teachers showed more changes in the 1st phase regions, while those of the students changed more at the 2nd phase. Conclusion: Based on the results, the expansion of the Students' Mental Health School-Community Cooperative Model was proposed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.33-48
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to find the strategies of mental health screening in school. Based on the literature review, we discuss the importance of screening students in schools for mental health problems. Methods: Data from the 2008 Korean Mental Health Screening in Schools(2008-KMHSS) are used to estimate the outline of this screening. We administered the questionnaire for satisfaction of 2008-KMHSS for students(N=1,280), parents(N=2,672), school nurses(N=75), teachers(N=685), district personnels(N=6), and mental health center staffs(N=37). Also we interviewed a part of them by telephone and e-mail. And we reviewed the tools and methods for screening students for emotional/behavioral problems. Results: Mental health screening in schools is a very important, yet worrisome, agenda that is in its very early stages. From the 2008 Korean Mental Health Screening in Schools, 9,588 students(12.9%) needed more evaluation in the first stage. Of these, 6,910(72.1%) completed the second stage screening. In this sample, 1,975(28.6%) utilized the mental health services in school or community. 38.3% of students and 43.7% of their parents notified the 2008-KMHSS. But only 12.1% of students and 10.9% of their parents dissatisfied with the screening. 9.9% of teachers and 22.7% of school nurses dissatisfied with the screening. Among them the school nurses were mostly dissatisfied, and they complained work burden from KMHSS. Mental health center staffs complained similar issues. The Children's Problem-behavior Screening Questionnaire(CPSQ) and Adolescents' Mental-health & Problem-behavior Screening Questionnaire(AMPQ) were compatible to screen students in schools for mental health problems in first stage. Conclusion: Mental health screening in schools needs careful planning and implementation. For successful mental health screening in schools, several elements need to be considered: careful planning, collaboration, staff training, and integrative mental health programs and services in community or schools.