• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.274-276
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• 2015

Since the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak in the Republic of Korea (hereafter Korea) began on May 11, 2015, a total of 186 persons have been infected by the MERS coronavirus, 38 of whom have died. With this number, Korea becomes second only to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the ranking of cumulative MERS cases. In this paper Korea's unique experience of an outbreak of MERS will be summarized and discussed briefly.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.335-347
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• 2015

Objectives This study aims to overview traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment guidelines for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in order to facilitate the use of Korean medicine (KM) treatment in pandemic diseases. Methods We compared the characteristics between SARS and MERS, and overviewed the Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment guidelines for SARS and MERS. We assessed the efficacy of simultaneous administration of herbal medicine and Western medicine on SARS by studying Cochranes 2012's Systematic Review Studies. Results and Conclusions Based on wen bing (warm diseases) of KM as well as TCM, KM treatment can be an alternative for pandemic diseases such as SARS and MERS considering the Korean's characteristic environment.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.18-22
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• 2016

Ethical considerations are essential in planning for and responding to outbreaks of infectious diseases. During the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the Republic of Korea in 2015, serious challenges emerged regarding important ethical issues, such as transparency and the protection of privacy. The development of bioethics in Korea has been influenced by individualistic perspectives applied in clinical contexts, leading to a paucity of ethical perspectives relevant to population-level phenomena such as outbreaks. Alternative theories of public health ethics include the perspectives of relational autonomy and the patient as victim and vector. Public health actions need to incorporate clear and systematic procedures founded upon ethical principles. The MERS-CoV epidemic in Korea created significant public support for more aggressive early interventions in future outbreaks. This trend makes it all the more imperative for ethical principles and procedures to be implemented in future planning and responses to outbreaks in order to promote perceptions of legitimacy and civic participation.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.111-119
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• 2017

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of stress on psychosocial wellbeing at the time of an outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome(MERS) and to investigate the effect of resilience as a mediator on the relationship between stress and psychosocial wellbeing. Methods : Perceived Stress Scale, Psychosocial Wellbeing Index Short Form, and the Conner-Davidson Resilience Scale was implemented for 156 medical persons who worked at the hospital in which exposure to MERS cases had been confirmed and 127 ordinary people. We conducted a Pearson correlation coefficient and a hierarchical multiple regression to confirm the effect of stress on psychosocial wellbeing and the mediating effect of resilience between stress and psychosocial wellbeing. Results : The higher the perceived stress, the lower the psychosocial wellbeing in both healthcare workers and the public. The higher the perceived stress, the lower the resilience and the research results showed that there was a partially mediating effect of resilience in the relationship between stress and psychosocial wellbeing. Conclusions : This study demonstrated that the degree of individual resilience can indirectly give a positive effect on the psychosocial wellbeing when people under the stress by MERS shows adverse effects on psychosocial wellbeing. This suggests that clinical intervention and psychosocial approach aiming at strengthening resilience is important to maintain mental health during crisis development.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.277-279
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• 2015

Contact monitoring is an essential component of the public health response to a Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus outbreak, and is required for an effective quarantine to contain the epidemic. The timeliness of a quarantine is associated with its effectiveness. This paper provides a conceptual framework to describe the process of contact monitoring, and proposes a new measure called the "timely quarantined proportion" as a tool to assess the adequacy of a public health response.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.136-142
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• 2015

The Korean Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases (KSPID) has participated in the task force team consisting of government authorities as well as civil medical experts and facilities to block the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in 2015. KSPID posted the "Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) Pop-up" in the homepage of The Korean Pediatric Society and The Korean Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. KSPID also released the "Guidelines for testing for MERS in children and adolescents" and the "Instructions for the Operation of National Safe Hospital" for children and adolescents in a timely manner. Such actions were aimed to prevent unnecessary anxieties, studies and isolation of pediatric patients with respiratory symptoms and signs caused by other common microbial etiologies as being suspected for MERS patients. This strategy relieved the doctors and parents from unnecessary fear and prevented the loss of unnecessary health care costs, and has proven to be a well-judged guideline and management protocol as evaluated after the final end of MERS outbreak. KSPID and its members should support the presence of pediatric infectious disease (PID) specialists in every medium size hospitals in Korea by developing the need for consultation fees for PID consultation in the hospital based practice and promoting the potential for cost savings related to prevention of health care associated infections and optimal prescription of antimicrobial agents. KSPID and its members need to approach and develop a communication plan to political decision makers to demonstrate and convince them of the importance of a PID specialist service.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.402-410
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• 2016

Purpose: Personal protective equipment (PPE) is critical to protect healthcare workers from pandemic outbreaks. This study was designed to identify nurses' knowledge, attitude and perceptions on PPE. Methods: Data were collected from 154 nurses working at a tertiary general hospital, where positively diagnosed and suspected patients were accepted and admitted during the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus outbreak in 2015. The PPE tool consists of 20 items for knowledge, and 5 each for attitudes and perceptions. Results: Overall, knowledge for PPE was higher than moderate (76.95/100), but there was a lack for items related to powered air purifying respirator (PAPR). For attitudes, willingness to work in pandemic outbreaks was the most positive (4.04/5.00). Goggles and PAPR were perceived as the most uncomfortable barriers to work. There was no correlation between knowledge, attitude and perceptions, despite a strong positive correlation between attitude and perceptions. PPE training was identified as a factor to improve knowledge and attitudes on PPE. Conclusion: To respond to pandemic influenza, nurses need to expand their knowledge on PPE up to Level C, and be updated through regular training. Study findings suggest that repetitive studies targeting nurses and other healthcare workers at various hospital settings are necessary.

• Korean Journal of Occupational Health Nursing
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2016

Purpose: The 2015 Korean Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreaks resulted in 186 cases, with 8% (15 persons) of these being nurses. This study aimed to examine MERS-CoV infection status of clinical nurses and to evaluate perception for infection control. Methods: We investigated the MERS-CoV infection status of nurses using MERS-CoV press release data. We examined and analysed perception for Infection control of 121 nurses of the three MERS intensive therapeutic hospitals in July 2015. Results: One to six nurses per hospital in total 8 health care facilities were infected with MERS-CoV. They mainly had short clinical careers and were unaware of infection possibility. The personal and organizational infection control levels that nurses perceive were low and the relationship between two levels was statistically significant. Conclusion: For promoting health protection and infectious disease management competency of nurses, it is necessary to prepare institutional system for controlling infectious disease.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.265-270
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• 2015

The recent Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak has originated from a failure in the national quarantine system in the Republic of Korea as most basic role of protecting the safety and lives of its citizens. Furthermore, a number of the Korean healthcare system's weaknesses seem to have been completely exposed. The MERS-CoV outbreak can be considered a typical public health crisis in that the public was not only greatly terrorized by the actual fear of the disease, but also experienced a great impact to their daily lives, all in a short period of time. Preparedness for and an appropriate response to a public health crisis require comprehensive systematic public healthcare measures to address risks comprehensively with an all-hazards approach. Consequently, discussion regarding establishment of post-MERS-CoV improvement measures must focus on the total reform of the national quarantine system and strengthening of the public health infrastructure. In addition, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must implement specific strategies of action including taking on the role of "control tower" in a public health emergency, training of Field Epidemic Intelligence Service officers, establishment of collaborative governance between central and local governments for infection prevention and control, strengthening the roles and capabilities of community-based public hospitals, and development of nationwide crisis communication methods.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.179-188
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• 2017

Purpose: This study examined post-traumatic stress (PTS) and the factors affecting it among general hospital nurses after the MERS(Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) epidemic. Methods: Data were collected from 170 nurses who worked at general hospitals since the first reported MERS outbreak. The IES-R-K assessed PTS. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Results: The mean PTS level was 7.80 points (range: 0~88); 7.1% of the participants were at a high risk. Nurses who had been in contact with patients suspected or diagnosed with MERS had high post-traumatic levels; those who had been quarantined during the MERS outbreak had relatively higher PTS levels. Shift-work nurses had higher PTS levels than those with fixed working hours. Above charge' nurses stress levels were higher than staff nurses' stress levels. The results showed that factors including contact with an MERS-suspected or diagnosed patient, position at work, and working status of MERS-affected nurses explained 16% of the PTS. Among the main variables, nurses' above charge position was the greatest factor affecting PTS. Discussion: It is necessary to develop intervention studies and programs considering these variables. Furthermore, development and implementation of differentiated programs should be done considering the position of above charge nurses.