Perceptions of Married Women on Childbirth and Sex Preference and Related Factors in Gyeongju, Korea / 農村醫學 地域保健

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of married Korean women regarding marriage and childbirth, and their awareness of childbirth-related issues such as low birth rates, sex preferences and sex imbalances in Korea. METHODS: A total of 453 married women aged 20 or older were randomly selected from four urban districts and five rural districts out of 25 districts in Gyeongju, a consolidated city located in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, South Korea. The survey was conducted from December 2005 to February 2006. A total of 392 out of 453 questionnaires(86.5% response rate) were collected, and 44 incomplete questionnaires were excluded, leaving 348 completed questionnaires to be used for data analysis. Age was divided into three groups as below 49, 50-69, 70 or older. RESULTS: Women's perceptions of marriage were associated with age(p<0.01). Perceptions about childbirth were also significantly related to age(p<0.01), type of residential area (p<0.01) and education level(p<0.05). Sex preferences were significantly related to age(p<0.05) and occupation(p<0.01). Of the respondents aged 49 or younger, 34.8% indicated that the ideal number of children is two, while 25.5% of respondents aged 50 to 69 and 15.3% of respondents aged 70 and 33.7% of respondents aged 70 or older considered four children to be the ideal number. Perceptions of sex imbalance were significantly related to socioeconomic status(p<0.01) and occupation(p<0.01). The largest number of respondents cited "economic burden" as the main reason for low birth rates. Multiple logistic regressions were performed for all three age groups using male sex preference as the dependent variable under the assumption that respondents can have only a single child. Socioeconomic status (p<0.01) and residential area (p<0.05) were significant variables for those aged 49 or below. Education level(p<0.05) and residential area (p<0.01) were statistically significant variables on preferring son in case of having only one child for respondents aged 50 to 69. We did not detect any significant independent variables in respondents who were 70 or older. CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight the necessity of developing policies and public education programs to explain the consequences of low birth rates and sex imbalances in Korea. As increasing numbers of women work outside the home, it is important for the government and employers to provide social and working environments where women do not consider marriage and childbirth to be obstacles to social and business activities.

Farmers'Syndrome and its Risk Factors of Vinylhouse and Non-vinylhouse Farmers in Gyeongbuk Province Rural Area / 대한산업의학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to estimate the risk factors affecting the farmers'syndrome of vinylhouse and non-vinylhouse farmers in the Gyeongbuk Province rural area. METHODS: As a cross-sectional study, a questionnaire survey was conducted from 2003 to 2005. Data was collected from 243 vinylhouse farmers and 236 non-vinylhouse farmers. The data from 394 subjects were used for the final analysis. We surveyed their lifestyle, 8 components of farmers'syndrome and characteristics of farm work. RESULTS: For the vinylhouse and non-vinylhouse workers, 32.0% and 34.0% were positive for farmers syndrome, while 48.3% and 43.5% were suspicious, respectively. The differences between the two groups were not significant. For both groups, the most frequent symptom of farmers'syndrome was lumbago, followed by paresthesia of hand or foot, and shoulder stiffness. Among the vinylhouse workers, the rates of wearing protective equipment and washing the skin after spraying pesticide were significantly lower than among the non-vinylhouse workers. From multiple logistic regression analysis, the risk factors significantly associated with farmers'syndrome were sex {odds ratio (OR)=3.12, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.42-6.89} and hours of farming per day (OR=2.63, 95%CI=1.22-5.65) among vinylhouse workers. However, sex (OR=4.24, 95%CI=1.87-9.65) was the only the risk factor significantly associated with farmers'syndrome among the non-vinylhouse workers. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, educational programs and attention to the female farmers were needed in particular. In addition, it was recommended that the farmers wear protective equipment continuously from opening the coverlets of the pesticide container to the completion of pesticide spraying, and wash the skin immediately after contact with pesticides.