COVID-19 In South Korea Research Articles

정보습득 경로가 정부 코로나19 대응평가에 미치는 영향: 소셜미디어를 중심으로

정보습득 경로가 정부 코로나19 대응평가에 미치는 영향: 소셜미디어를 중심으로

K-Track-Covid: interactive web-based dashboard for analyzing geographical and temporal spread of COVID-19 in South Korea.

The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the development of robust tools for tracking and modeling the spread of the virus. We present 'K-Track-Covid,' an interactive web-based dashboard developed using the R Shiny framework, to offer users an intuitive dashboard for analyzing the geographical and temporal spread of COVID-19 in South Korea. Our dashboard employs dynamic user interface elements, employs validated epidemiological models, and integrates regional data to offer tailored visual displays. The dashboard allows users to customize their data views by selecting specific time frames, geographic regions, and demographic groups. This customization enables the generation of charts and statistical summaries pertinent to both daily fluctuations and cumulative counts of COVID-19 cases, as well as mortality statistics. Additionally, the dashboard offers a simulation model based on mathematical models, enabling users to make predictions under various parameter settings. The dashboard is designed to assist researchers, policymakers, and the public in understanding the spread and impact of COVID-19, thereby facilitating informed decision-making. All data and resources related to this study are publicly available to ensure transparency and facilitate further research.

Variability in the serial interval of COVID-19 in South Korea: a comprehensive analysis of age and regional influences.

Quantifying the transmissibility over time, particularly by region and age, using parameters such as serial interval and time-varying reproduction number, helps in formulating targeted interventions. Moreover, considering the impact of geographical factors on transmission provides valuable insights into the effectiveness of control measures. Drawing on a comprehensive dataset of COVID-19 cases in South Korea, we analyzed transmission dynamics with a focus on age and regional variations. The dataset, compiled through the efforts of dedicated epidemiologists, includes information on symptom onset dates, enabling detailed investigations. The pandemic was divided into distinct phases, aligning with changes in policies, emergence of variants, and vaccination efforts. We analyzed various interventions such as social distancing, vaccination rates, school closures, and population density. Key parameters like serial interval, heatmaps, and time-varying reproduction numbers were used to quantify age and region-specific transmission trends. Analysis of transmission pairs within age groups highlighted the significant impact of school closure policies on the spread among individuals aged 0-19. This analysis also shed light on transmission dynamics within familial and educational settings. Changes in confirmed cases over time revealed a decrease in spread among individuals aged 65 and older, attributed to higher vaccination rates. Conversely, densely populated metropolitan areas experienced an increase in confirmed cases. Examination of time-varying reproduction numbers by region uncovered heterogeneity in transmission patterns, with regions implementing strict social distancing measures showing both increased confirmed cases and delayed spread, indicating the effectiveness of these policies. Our findings underscore the importance of evaluating and tailoring epidemic control policies based on key COVID-19 parameters. The analysis of social distancing measures, school closures, and vaccine impact provides valuable insights into controlling transmission. By quantifying the impact of these interventions on different age groups and regions, we contribute to the ongoing efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic effectively.

Sparse Bayesian Inference on Gamma-Distributed Observations Using Shape-Scale Inverse-Gamma Mixtures

In various applications, we deal with high-dimensional positive-valued data that often exhibits sparsity. This paper develops a new class of continuous global-local shrinkage priors tailored to analyzing gamma-distributed observations where most of the underlying means are concentrated around a certain value. Unlike existing shrinkage priors, our new prior is a shape-scale mixture of inverse-gamma distributions, which has a desirable interpretation of the form of posterior mean and admits flexible shrinkage. We show that the proposed prior has two desirable theoretical properties; Kullback-Leibler super-efficiency under sparsity and robust shrinkage rules for large observations. We propose an efficient sampling algorithm for posterior inference. The performance of the proposed method is illustrated through simulation and two real data examples, the average length of hospital stay for COVID-19 in South Korea and adaptive variance estimation of gene expression data.

Long-Term Particulate Matter Exposure and Mortality in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19 in South Korea.

Rationale: Particulate matter (PM) exposure exacerbates health outcomes by causing lung damage. Objectives: To investigate whether prior exposure to particulate matter ⩽10 μm and ⩽2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10 and PM2.5) was associated with clinical outcomes among patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Methods: Data from the nationwide registration database of the National Health Insurance and Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency in South Korea were used. The study included adult patients who were admitted to monitoring centers or hospitals between October 8, 2020 and December 31, 2021, after COVID-19 confirmation. AirKOREA database, which compiles air pollutant data from 642 stations in 162 cities and counties across South Korea, was used to extract data on PM levels. Average values of monthly exposure to PM10 and PM2.5 from the year previous to hospital admission because of COVID-19 to the date of confirmation of COVID-19 were calculated and used to define PM exposures of patients with COVID-19. Results: In total, 322,289 patients with COVID-19 were included, and 4,633 (1.4%) died during hospitalization. After adjusting for covariates, a 1-μg/m3 increase in PM10 and PM2.5 exposure was associated with 4% (odds ratio [OR], 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-1.05; P < 0.001) and 6% (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.04-1.07; P < 0.001) increase in the risk of in-hospital mortality, respectively. In addition, a 1-μg/m3 increase in PM10 and PM2.5 was associated with 5% (OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.04-1.07; P < 0.001) and 8% (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.06-1.10; P < 0.001) increase in the risks of requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission and mechanical ventilation, respectively. Conclusions: PM10 and PM2.5 exposure was associated with increased in-hospital mortality and the need for ICU admission and mechanical ventilation among patients with COVID-19 in South Korea.

Effect of perceived crowding on risk perception in leisure sports: an analysis based on Edward T Hall’s concept of ‘proxemics’

This study investigates the social distancing measures necessary for participants to safely engage in leisure sports activities and comply with social distancing requirements during epidemics. Based on crowding and risk perception in public spaces in this context of an epidemic, this investigation was conducted in terms of distance in Edward T. Hall’s concept of ‘proxemics’. The participants were males aged 20–65 who used spaces for leisure sports during COVID-19 in South Korea. An online survey was conducted from September 20 to October 20, 2021, and data from 391 participants were used for the final analysis. Measures of perceived crowding, risk perception, and Hall’s proxemics were used as tools after they were modified and validated. The results show that perceived crowding according to space for leisure sports activities during COVID-19 affected individual risk perception in indoor leisure sports and social risk perception in outdoor leisure activities. Perceived crowding, according to proxemics, influenced (1) personal, social, and public distances in individual risk perception and (2) public and social distances in social risk perception. Therefore, it is necessary to re-examine the scope of social distance in developing risk perception and reducing the perceived crowding of participants in leisure sports to prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Moreover, individuals must make efforts to maintain a minimum distance from one another. Further, media education and warning messages must be disseminated to reduce crowding and prevent infection spread.

Deepening regional disparities in primary health care during COVID-19 in South Korea

Deepening regional disparities in primary health care during COVID-19 in South Korea

Factors influencing psychological concerns about COVID-19 in South Korea: direct and indirect damage during the early stages of pandemic

BackgroundCOVID-19 pandemic has led to psychological concerns, the distribution of which across populations may differ depending on whether pandemic-related damage is direct or indirect. This study aims to investigate concerns associated with direct and indirect damage according to population characteristics, and identify relatively vulnerable groups that are particularly affected by concerns.MethodThis cross-sectional study used data from the 2020 Korea Community Health Survey, which collected data based on a complex sampling design. A total of 208,106 responses from individuals aged ≥ 19 were collected via in-person interviews. The items related to COVID-19 concerns were measured by Likert scales ranging from 1 to 5 and categorized into two types: direct concerns, which pertained to infection or death, and indirect concerns, which pertained to criticism, vulnerability, and economic damage, through factor analysis. We compared the means and effect size of direct concerns, indirect concerns, and overall concerns using weighted mean, ANOVA, and multiple regression analysis.ResultsExploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a two-factor structure for psychological concerns about COVID-19 (CFI = 0.99, TLI = 0.97, SRMR = 0.02, RMSEA = 0.06), which were divided into direct and indirect concerns. Mean scores were 3.62 for direct concerns and 4.07 for indirect concerns. Direct concerns were higher in females (B = .26); the elderly (B = .15); those diagnosed with hypertension or diabetes (B = .04; B = .06); those with few assistants during quarantine (B = .15); and those whose neighbors responded inappropriately to COVID-19 (B = .07). Indirect concerns were lower among the elderly (B = -.04), and higher among young; married (B = .25); pink- or blue-collar workers (B = .08; B = .06); and those who felt that the city responded inappropriately to COVID-19 (B = .02).ConclusionThe prevalence of concerns regarding direct and indirect damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic differed according to population characteristics. Some factors had a marked influence on direct and indirect concerns. Our findings could inform psychological interventions and policies for future pandemics. Customized interventions are needed to prevent negative psychological concerns and improve mental health.

The rise of e-commerce and generational consumption inequality: Evidence from COVID-19 in South Korea

This paper investigates how the local COVID-19 outbreak, acting as a sudden negative shock to mobility and accessibility, led to a significant generational disparity, with younger people benefiting disproportionately from the ability to transition to online consumption. Employing credit card transaction data linked to cardholders’ demographic characteristics, we construct online spending shares by age group to study the generational disparity in online consumption when consumer mobility was constrained. We estimate a difference-in-difference model based on an exogenous regional outbreak of COVID-19 in South Korea. Our results show that when the mobility costs to offline stores unexpectedly increased due to the pandemic, middle-aged and older adults (aged 45 and above) were less likely to shift their spending online than younger adults (aged 20–44). The limited shift to the online consumption of older people resulted in decreases in their total consumption, while that of younger ones changed little, thereby increasing generational consumption inequality. With the rising trend in e-commerce, our findings emphasize the growing importance of generational differences in adapting to new shopping technologies.

Who Seeks and Shares Fact-Checking Information? Within the Context of COVID-19 in South Korea

Abstract Fact-checking information (FCI) serves in the fight against the infodemic and as an information service that helps people use their discretion in judging information in a post-truth era. Therefore, we investigated personal factors influencing users’ decisions in using and sharing COVID-19-related FCI in South Korea. The study took three steps to build hypotheses and collect data: a theoretical approach; an empirical approach through in-depth interviews; and an online survey amongst 304 information users who reside in Korea. More strictly, the interview data were analyzed through content analysis, and the online survey data were statistically analyzed using a SPSS 25.0 program. In conclusion, the study revealed that previous political FCI user research ignored health belief variables (health consciousness, perceived severity, and perceived susceptibility), which also influenced FCI usage. Moreover, critical prosuming literacy, a key predictor of sharing and disseminating misinformation, has a strong causal relationship with FCI seeking and sharing. The findings expand the notion of fact-checking from a type of journalism to “information” and “information services” and suggest that fact-checking has the potential to become an expanded information service in which experts in broader areas can participate.

Geographically Weighted Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial Regression: A general case for count data

Poisson and Negative Binomial Regression Models are often used to describe the relationship between a count dependent variable and a set of independent variables. However, these models fail to analyze data with an excess of zeros, being Zero-Inflated Poisson (ZIP) and Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial (ZINB) models the most appropriate to fit this kind of data. To Incorporate the spatial dimension into the count data models, Geographically Weighted Poisson Regression (GWPR), Geographically Weighted Negative Binomial Regression (GWNBR) and Geographically Weighted Zero-Inflated Poisson Regression (GWZIPR) have been developed, but the zero-inflation part of the negative binomial distribution is undeveloped in order to incorporate the overdispersion and the excess of zeros, as was at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas some places were having an outbreak of cases and in others places, there were no cases yet. Therefore, we propose a Geographically Weighted Zero-Inflated Negative Binomial Regression (GWZINBR) model which can be considered a general case for count data, since locally it can become a GWZIPR, GWNBR or a GWPR model. We applied this model to simulated data and to the cases of COVID-19 in South Korea at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 and the results showed a better understanding of the phenomenon compared to the GWNBR model.

The Politics of Quarantine: The Political Implications of Negative Social Affects in the Early Stage of COVID-19 in South Korea

We analyze the interrelationships between quarantine-related events and negative social affects during COVID-19 in South Korea. We explain the impact of these relationships on the political nature of quarantine. We conducted a discourse analysis of YouTube comments posted on COVID-19-related videos during 2020. We analyzed these affects and their social and cognitive triggers using cognition-emotion theory and affect theory. Contingent COVID-19 outbreaks in South Korea and ambiguous information contributed to fear and anger. Social disgust combined with anger as mass infection events occurred over time, influencing the attitudes of South Korean citizens who support the country’s social distancing policy. We find that social disgust realized through exclusion and purification is associated with the politics of quarantine. Consequently, we show that the political disgust surrounding quarantine was embedded within social disgust. This study paves the path for further research on the governmentality of affects and mobility in the context of epidemics.

Association between smoking status and death from COVID-19 in South Korea: A nationwide cohort study.

This study examined the association between smoking status and death from COVID-19. This study used nationwide cohort data collected from the Korean National Health Insurance Service, linking to information on all individuals who tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The smoking status of subjects who participated twice in national health screenings between 2015 and 2018 was measured. This study investigated death from COVID-19 among those who tested positive from 1 January to 30 May 2020. This study included 4259 patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in Korea. After adjusting for all potential confounding factors, current smokers (adjusted odds ratio, AOR=3.75; 95% CI: 1.23-11.36) and recent quitters (AOR=3.74; 95% CI: 1.12-12.53) were associated with an increased risk of death from COVID-19 compared to never smokers. Compared with current smokers, long-term quitters (AOR=0.33; 95% CI: 0.11-0.95) and never smokers (AOR=0.27; 95% CI: 0.09-0.81) were associated with a reduced risk of death from COVID-19. Smoking was associated with an increased risk of death among patients with COVID-19. Given the lower possibility of death in long-term quitters with COVID-19, continuous smoking cessation among smokers or recent quitters is needed.

The Impact of Social Media on Preventive Behavior During the COVID-19 Outbreak in South Korea: The Roles of Social Norms and Self-Efficacy.

Social media are important channels to propagate health information and influence preventive behavior during a public health crisis, as witnessed during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). This study explored the association between social media use and preventive behavior during the outbreak of COVID-19 in South Korea. Using the national survey data (N = 1,500), the study examined the mediating role of social norms in the association between social media use for news and information about COVID-19 and preventive behavior. In addition, the study tested the moderating effect of self-efficacy on the mediating path of social media use for preventive behavior via social norms. Conducting a moderated mediation analysis method, this study found that social norms mediated the relationship between social media use and preventive behavior (b = 0.046). Moreover, the study revealed that the indirect relationship between social media use and preventive behavior through social norms becomes stronger as an individual's level of self-efficacy decreases (low: b = 0.044, middle: b = 0.036, and high: b = 0.030). The study provides empirical evidence of the beneficial impact of social media use on preventive behavior. The findings of the study recommend promoting messages on social norms through social media for facilitating preventive behavior.

Law-abiding citizens in the age of social distancing: religion and COVID-19 in South Korea

ABSTRACT COVID-19 made social distancing a necessity in the contemporary world, which helped the states establish a justification not only to frame good citizenship but also to define the “anti-social” behaviors of the faithful. South Korea provides a compelling example that demonstrates how the religious are required to be law-abiding citizens in the age of social distancing. This study examines the media’s influence in framing public discourse on pandemic, religion, and citizenship, which enabled the state to initiate a new code of conduct to instruct “how to behave” in Korea. Analyzing Big Data on Shincheonji Church and Sarangjeil Church, which, it is argued, caused the first and second periods of COVID-19 rampancy in Korea, this article claims that the media’s COVID-19 coverage creates the brand-new perception that religion is the most responsible for the spread of COVID-19. The legislation of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Law vested the government with excessive authority to limit freedom of religion in the name of the public good. In brief, the year 2020 marked the first year for Koreans to define the faithful who comply with the government's instructions on COVID-19 restrictions as law-abiding citizens and those who oppose as anti-social citizens or criminal offenders.

Factors Influencing Physical Activity and Exercise in Older Adults during COVID-19 in South Korea

Physical activity and exercise participation among older adults have decreased dramatically because of the physical distancing measures implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, even in the face of unforeseen environmental changes, physical activity and exercise for older adults must be sustainable. This study aimed to identify the influencing physical activity and exercise participation among older adults in 2020 when varying levels of quarantine were in place as a protective measure against the COVID-19 pandemic to build a foundation for sustainable older adult health strategies. We utilized a large-scale dataset from the 2020 National Survey of Older Koreans conducted in 2020. Twenty survey questions were used as predictors, and logistic regression and decision tree analyses were utilized to identify influencing factors. Through a logistic regression analysis, 16 factors influencing exercise participation were identified. Additionally, through a decision tree analysis, 7 factors that influence exercise participation and 8 rules were derived through a combination of these factors. According to the results of this study, the use of ICT technologies, such as ‘smartphone or tablet PC’, can be a useful tool to maintain or promote physical activity and exercise by older adults in a situation like the COVID-19 pandemic. In conclusion, physical activity and exercise intervention strategies should be developed with comprehensive consideration of the influencing factors to ensure that physical activity and exercise among older adults can be sustained uninterrupted in the face of unforeseen circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The effect of resource loss on depression and peritraumatic distress during the early period of the COVID-19: considering the pandemic-situational and social context

BackgroundThe public experienced loss of resources, including their health and property during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Conservation of Resources (COR) theory is a useful tool to explain the effect of resource loss on mental health. This paper examines the effect of resource loss on depression and peritraumatic distress considering the situational and social context of the COVID-19 pandemic applying COR theory.MethodsAn online survey was conducted for Gyeonggi residents when the second wave of COVID-19 in South Korea declined (5 October to 13 October 2020); 2,548 subjects were included in the hierarchical linear regression analysis.ResultsCOVID-19 infection-related experiences, resource losses (e.g., financial burden, deterioration of health, and decline of self-esteem), and fear of stigma were related to elevated levels of peritraumatic distress and depression. Risk perception was associated with peritraumatic distress. Reduced income or job loss were related to depression. Social support was a protective factor for mental health.ConclusionsThis study suggests that we need to focus on COVID-19 infection-related experiences and loss of daily resources in order to understand mental health deterioration during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, it is important to monitor the mental health of medically and socially vulnerable groups and those who have lost resources due to the pandemic and to provide them with social support services.

Psychometric evaluation of Korean version of COVID-19 fear scale (K-FS-8): A population based cross-sectional study.

COVID-19-related fear negatively affects the public's psychological well-being and health behaviours. Although psychological distress including depression and anxiety under COVID-19 is well-established in literature, research scarcely evaluated the fear of COVID-19 with a large sample using validated scale. This study aimed to validate a Korean version of fear scale(K-FS-8) using an existing fear scale(Breast Cancer Fear Scale; 8 items) and to measure the fear of COVID-19 in South Korea. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 2235 Korean adults from August to September 2020. The Breast Cancer Fear Scale was translated from English into Korean using forward-backward translation, and then face validity was assessed. Patient Health Questionnaire-4 and Primary Care Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Screen for DSM-5 were used for assessing convergent validity of K-FS-8, and item response theory analysis was also conducted to further validate the K-FS-8. This study confirmed the validity and reliability of the K-FS-8. The validity of the scale was confirmed by convergent validity, known-group validity and item response theory analysis, and internal consistency was also examined(Cronbach's α coefficient = 0.92). This study also identified that 84.6% participants had high COVID-19 fear; whilst 26.3%, 23.2% and 13.4% participants had high risk of post-traumatic stress disorder, depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively. The K-FS-8 showed the acceptability measuring the fear of COVID-19 in the Korean population. The K-FS-8 can be applied to screen for fear of COVID-19 and related major public health crises identifying individuals with high levels of fear in primary care settings who will benefit from psychological support.

The Perceptions and Use of Urban Neighborhood Parks Since the Outbreak of COVID-19: A Case Study in South Korea.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the stress of city dwellers is increasing, and some adapt to the pandemic by pursuing physical and psychological well-being in neighborhood parks. To improve the resilience of the social-ecological system against COVID-19, it is important to understand the mechanism of adaptation by examining the perception and use of neighborhood parks. The purpose of this study is to investigate users' perceptions and use of urban neighborhood parks since the outbreak of COVID-19 in South Korea using systems thinking. To verify the hypotheses about the relationship between variables involved in COVID-19 adaptive feedback, two research objectives were set. First, this study determined the causal structure leading to park visits using systems thinking. Second, the relationship between stress, motivation, and the frequency of visits to neighborhood parks was empirically verified. To conduct the research, the system of use and perceptions of parks were analyzed through a causal loop diagram to determine the feedback between psychological variables. Then, a survey was conducted to verify the relationship between stress, motivation for visits, and visit frequency, which are the major variables derived from the causal structure. A total of three feedback loops were derived in the first step, including a loop in which COVID-19 stress was relieved by visits to parks and a loop in which COVID-19 stress worsened due to crowding in parks. Finally, the relationship of stress leading to park visits was confirmed, and the empirical analysis showed that anger about contagion and social disconnection were linked as motives for park visits, and that park visits were mainly motivated by the desire to go out. The neighborhood park functions as an adaptive space for the stress of COVID-19 and will maintain its role as social distancing becomes more important to various socio-ecological changes. The strategies driven by the pandemic can be adapted in park planning to recover from stress and improve resilience.

Social Networks of COVID-19 in South Korea

This study explores social networks of COVID-19 in South Korea according to a multitude of geographical scales, regions, and topics. This study finds that key players play a different role in social networks according to the national level, regional level, and topic level. For example, politicians play the most important role in communications of COVID-19 in the South Korea networks, whereas no politicians exert a significant impact on the Shincheonji networks. Second, newspaper and politicians exert a strong impact on social networks for COVID 19. Among 40 key players for COVID 19, newspapers have the highest proportion (35%), followed by politicians (25%), broadcasts (17.5%), institutes for government (10%), online platforms (7.5%), and others (5%). Third, key players have different characteristics in the cluster analyses. For example, all politicians except one politician belong to the largest group in the South Korea networks, while the top 10 players in other social networks do not belong to the largest group. The results show that governments and policymakers should analyze social networks based on geographical scales, regions, and topics and understand the characteristics of key players in communication networks.