Korean Pediatric Society Research Articles

Child sexual abuse and pediatricians

Child sexual abuse is not a rarely encountered problem. Child sexual abuse is a pediatric disease entity with lifelong impact. Child sexual abuse, different from sexual assault, is not always accompanied by violent force and usually repeated over a period of time. Child sexual abuse should be approached by multidisciplinary team experts. Every pediatrician should know the child protection network in his district and be competent in the child sexual abuse medical evaluation and treatment as a primary doctor. In order to accomplish that goal, the Korean Pediatric Society should change the pediatric residency training curriculum and foster child sexual abuse experts. Pediatricians have responsibilities to do their active role in response to children at risk. Language: ko

The Subspecialty Certification for Critical Care Medicine in Korea

The Korean Society of Critical Care Medicine (KSCCM) has introduced the Subspecialty System for Critical Care Medicine in Korea under the auspices of the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences (KAMS) in March 2008. Nine medical societies that included the Korean Association of Internal Medicine, the Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases, the Korean Society of Anesthesiology, the Korean Neurological Association, the Korean Neurosurgical Society, the Korean Surgical Society, the Korean Society of Emergency Medicine, the Korean Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and the Korean Pediatric Society participated to the new critical care subspecialty. The Board of Critical Care should be certified again every 5 year after achieving the required qualification by the KSCCM. This paper summarizes the Subspecialty Certification System for Critical Care Medicine in Korea.

Immunization schedule recommended by Korean pediatric society, 2008

Immunization schedule recommended by Korean pediatric society, 2008

Analysis of online breast-feeding consultation on the website of the Korean Pediatric Society

Purpose : Since the infant formula milk has been produced in Korea, it has faced a low rate of breast milk feeding, though breast milk feeding is a little increasing. Therefore, the Korean Pediatric Society launched its website for breast-feeding consultation to provide information to the general public and enhance the health of growing infants. The consultation results were analyzed to identify the problems that mothers encounter during breast-feeding. Methods : From August 1, 2004 to July 31, 2007, 1001 mothers who visited the online consultation webpage (www. pediatrics.or.kr) of the Korean Pediatric Society asked 1,021 questions. The questions were divided into 3 major categories and 14 specific categories. Interesting questions asked more than 100 times were retrospectively analyzed. Results : The results for the major categories were as follows: 413 questions (40.3%) were on how to breast-feed, 315 (30.8%) on problems of feeding mothers, and 293 (28.8%) on problems of the fed babies. In the specific categories, 22.2% of the questions were on how to breast-feed. With the increasing number of working couples and working mothers, many questions were asked on the problems of breast-feeding after returning from work. Conclusion : The author expects that analyses of these consultations will contribute to the enhancement of information on the consultation website, thus enabling to provide clearer answers to people's increased interest in and concerns on breast-feeding. Furthermore, this research will help to establish correct breast-feeding practice.

The relationships among perception of physique, self-esteem, sociality, and behavioral characteristics in children

This study was to examine the relations of perception of physique with self-esteem, sociality and problematic behaviors in children. Methods: Four hundred sixty five (231 boys and 234 girls) children were divided into three groups according to their height or body mass index according to the physical growth standard table had been presented in 2007 by the Korean Pediatric Society. The group 1, 2, and 3 was short, borderline and normal or obese, overweight and normal, respectively. Their perception and satisfaction of height and weight were investigated, and their self esteem and behavior styles were examined with Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI) and Korean Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL). We compared the numbers of appropriate perception, satisfaction, self-esteem and problematic behaviors in each group, and analyzed the relationship among perception of physique, self-esteem, sociality, and behavioral characteristics. The collected data were analyzed with chi-square test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient used with SPSS (ver. 12.0). Results : There were significant mismatches among their real physique perception and satisfaction (P Conclusion : The children who considered themselves have short stature or obesity had problematic behaviors or low self- esteem. Therefore, children should be educated to have the appropriate perception of their own body image.

2007 Korean National Growth Charts: review of developmental process and an outlook

Purpose : Since 1967, The Korean Pediatric Society and Korean Government have developed Korean Growth Standards every 10 years. Last version was published in 1998. During past 40 years, Korean Growth Standards were mainly descriptive charts without any systematic nor statistical standardization. With the global epidemic of obesity, many authorities such as World Health Organization (WHO) and United States' Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have been changed their principles of growth charts to cope with the situations like ours. This article summarizes and reviews the whole developmental process of new 2007 Korean Growth Charts with discussion. Methods : With the initiative of Division of Chronic Disease Surveillance in Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we have performed new national survey for the development of new Standards in 2005 and identified marked increase of childhood obesity and plateau of secular increment of final height in late adolescents. We have developed new Growth Standards via adapting several innovative methods, including standardization of all available raw data, which were acquired in 1997 and 2005 national survey and full application of LMS method. Results : We could get new standardized charts; weight-for-age, length/height-for-age, weight-for- height, head circumference-for-age and BMI-for-age. Other non-standardized charts based on 2005 survey data were also published; waist circumference-for-age, mid-arm circumference-for-age, chest circumference-for-age and skinfold-for-age. Clinical guideline was also developed. Conclusion : Developmental process and results of new Korean Growth Charts are comparable with other internationally well-known Growth Standards, WHO 2006 Growth Standards and CDC Growth Charts. 2007 Korean Growth Charts are relevant especially in Korea and Korean ethnic groups.

Classification of Vaccination and Immunization Schedule Recommended by the Korean Pediatric Society, 2008

Classification of Vaccination and Immunization Schedule Recommended by the Korean Pediatric Society, 2008

About the new edition of child and adolescent health record book

Recently we published new edition of 'child & Adolescent health record book' considering easy usability and introduction of new vaccines. This record book has essential and important contents for caring our children and adolescents. Currently many people use various vaccination record books with wrong and poor contents. We suggest the campaign that every pediatrician must give our well made record book to these people. This campaign can give their children an opportunity for proper vaccination and medical checkup. Ultimately through this campaign, the role and importance of pediatrician in the fields of vac cination and bring up children and adolescents will be recognized. We trust that the better record book can be made with continuous interest and active advice of all Korean Pediatric Society members about the contents and usability of this book. (Korean J Pediatr 2008;51:907-910)

An overview and the future of pediatric subspecialty board certification of the Korean Pediatric Society

Committee for pediatric subspecialty board certification of the Korean Pediatric Society (KPA) was established for the subspecialty certification and formal training programs in 2005. Pediatric allergy and pulmonology was the first pediatric subspecialty among 9 subdivisions of KPA to petition for the certification in 2006, and 7 additional subdivisions of KPA, pediatric cardiology, pediatric endocrinology, pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition, pediatric infectious diseases, neonatology, pediatric nephrology, pediatric neurology, respectively, were followed in 2007. Finally, pediatric hemato-oncology joined this program in 2008. An overview and the future of Korean pediatric subspecialties are described.

Assessment of modifiable lifestyle factors for obese children and adolescents through questionnaires

Purpose : The identification of specific behaviors conducive to overeating or inactivity is the cornerstone of obesity management. The Committee on Nutrition of the Korean Pediatric Society developed parent and self-reporting questionnaires about eating behavior and physical activity in 2006. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of the questionnaires in assessing modifiable lifestyle factors related to obesity. Methods : A retrospective chart review was performed for 177 children (6-11 years old) and 134 adolescents (12-16 years old) from 10 hospitals between May 2006 and January 2007 who had completed parent or self-reporting questionnaires. Cases were divided into normal and overweight groups at or above the age-gender-specific 85th percentile based on 2007 Korean national growth charts. Results : Compared to children, the adolescents tended to have a significantly more sedentary lifestvle and inappropriate dietary behaviors significantly (P

A review of the contents about childhood health care in middle & high school textbooks

Purpose : The purpose of this study is to investigate the material in middle school and high school textbooks covering child care and children's health for medically inaccurate content and to make sure that the correct information is given to students. Methods : We have examined 47 kinds of textbooks on the subjects 'Home economics' and 'Technology and home economics' published in 2007 to find out how much importance is placed on children's health and childcare and to search for incorrect definitions, inaccurate facts or insufficient explanations. We have also analyzed the credentials of the writers of these textbooks. Results : Textbooks of middle school cover psychological and physical changes during adolescence and nutrition, and those of high school cover marriage and childcare. These materials covering health made up 27.5%, 11.7% of middle & high school texts. Age definitions of neonate and infant were incorrect. Inaccurate facts were mostly about fontanelles, primitive reflexes, breastfeeding and weaning. There also were wrong informations on the umbilical cord care and developmental milestones during infancy. The childhood immunization schedules and the growth curves were not up to date. Most of the authors major in home economics and the others were school teachers. There was no evidence of any review by a medical society or an expert. Conclusions : When writing about children's health and childcare in textbooks, a board-certified pediatrician or The Korean Pediatric Society should be consulted to provide accurate medical information to middle and high school students.

The Last Fifty Years of Western Medicine in Korea: Korean Pediatric Society

The Last Fifty Years of Western Medicine in Korea: Korean Pediatric Society