A nationwide survey on the management of the COVID-19 pandemic and respiratory disease in South Korea
A nationwide survey on the management of the COVID-19 pandemic and respiratory disease in South Korea
Background: this study aimed to explore individual prevalence of respiratory symptoms and to describe the Korean population's treatment approaches, preventive health behaviors, and mental health conditions during the pandemic.
Methods: we analyzed responses from an online nationwide survey, conducted between February 2021 to May 2021, about people's experiences during the pandemic. Statistical analysis was also performed to see if there were any significant differences in treatment and prevention strategies between different groups of respondents (between those had respiratory symptoms, compared with those who did not, and between those tested positive for COVID-19, compared with those who did not).
Results: a total of 2,177 survey respondents completed the survey and, of these, only 142 had experienced symptoms. The most frequently reported respiratory infections related symptoms were runny or blocked nose (47.6%), cough (45.5%), fever (44.1%), sore throat (42.0%), and fatigue (30.1%). More than half of the respondents (53.1%) used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) approaches as means of preventive measures. In terms of preventive behaviors, the more emphasized behaviors were mask-wearing (58.9%) and hand-washing after coming home (42.7%). The majority of the respondents (64.9%) did not show signs of mental health issues.
Conclusion: in South Korea, conventional medicine was mainly used for COVID-19 treatment whereas CAM was commonly used as preventive measures. COVID-19 was also found to have less impact on the general population's mental health. The findings of this study may shed light on how the pandemic impacted the general population.
behavior, COVID-19, health care, public health, social measures, wellbeing
Ang, Lin
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Yim, Mi Hong
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Song, Eunhye
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Lee, Hye Won
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Lee, Hyangsook
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Kim, Tae Hun
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Willcox, Merlin
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Hu, Xiao Yang
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Houriet, Joelle
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Graz, Bertrand
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Lee, Je Won
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Jang, Yunho
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Kim, Jung Tae
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Kim, Eunsop
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Park, Yong Hee
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Lee, Myeong Soo
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23 September 2022
Ang, Lin
f80f6eda-0591-4e3a-b2b0-c05ba557f3d3
Yim, Mi Hong
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Song, Eunhye
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Lee, Hye Won
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Lee, Hyangsook
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Kim, Tae Hun
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Willcox, Merlin
dad5b622-9ac2-417d-9b2e-aad41b64ffea
Hu, Xiao Yang
65904b24-3775-4b14-9532-eb703a056655
Houriet, Joelle
910acbdb-9dde-4eb7-b90c-e2344c9325a3
Graz, Bertrand
33383bb4-8763-40bc-8e09-a045934a536e
Lee, Je Won
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Jang, Yunho
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Kim, Jung Tae
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Kim, Eunsop
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Park, Yong Hee
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Lee, Myeong Soo
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Ang, Lin, Yim, Mi Hong, Song, Eunhye, Lee, Hye Won, Lee, Hyangsook, Kim, Tae Hun, Willcox, Merlin, Hu, Xiao Yang, Houriet, Joelle, Graz, Bertrand, Lee, Je Won, Jang, Yunho, Kim, Jung Tae, Kim, Eunsop, Park, Yong Hee and Lee, Myeong Soo
(2022)
A nationwide survey on the management of the COVID-19 pandemic and respiratory disease in South Korea.
Frontiers in Medicine, 9, [965651].
(doi:10.3389/fmed.2022.965651).
Abstract
Background: this study aimed to explore individual prevalence of respiratory symptoms and to describe the Korean population's treatment approaches, preventive health behaviors, and mental health conditions during the pandemic.
Methods: we analyzed responses from an online nationwide survey, conducted between February 2021 to May 2021, about people's experiences during the pandemic. Statistical analysis was also performed to see if there were any significant differences in treatment and prevention strategies between different groups of respondents (between those had respiratory symptoms, compared with those who did not, and between those tested positive for COVID-19, compared with those who did not).
Results: a total of 2,177 survey respondents completed the survey and, of these, only 142 had experienced symptoms. The most frequently reported respiratory infections related symptoms were runny or blocked nose (47.6%), cough (45.5%), fever (44.1%), sore throat (42.0%), and fatigue (30.1%). More than half of the respondents (53.1%) used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) approaches as means of preventive measures. In terms of preventive behaviors, the more emphasized behaviors were mask-wearing (58.9%) and hand-washing after coming home (42.7%). The majority of the respondents (64.9%) did not show signs of mental health issues.
Conclusion: in South Korea, conventional medicine was mainly used for COVID-19 treatment whereas CAM was commonly used as preventive measures. COVID-19 was also found to have less impact on the general population's mental health. The findings of this study may shed light on how the pandemic impacted the general population.
Text
fmed-09-965651
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 29 August 2022
Published date: 23 September 2022
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
We would like to thank the research team from University of Southampton and the University of Geneva for providing the original survey questions and all technical support. This study was part of an international retrospective survey on the prevention, treatment, occurrence and outcomes of COVID-19 in the community (RTO-COVID-19) involving 14 countries.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine (KSN20224112). This funding source did not participate in the design of this study or play any role during its execution, analyses, interpretation of the data, manuscript drafting, or decision to submit results.
Keywords:
behavior, COVID-19, health care, public health, social measures, wellbeing
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 472831
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/472831
ISSN: 2296-858X
PURE UUID: 6ea8cdc2-c930-4f19-8fdc-aa5738fa7bd9
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Date deposited: 20 Dec 2022 17:30
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 03:39
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Contributors
Author:
Lin Ang
Author:
Mi Hong Yim
Author:
Eunhye Song
Author:
Hye Won Lee
Author:
Hyangsook Lee
Author:
Tae Hun Kim
Author:
Joelle Houriet
Author:
Bertrand Graz
Author:
Je Won Lee
Author:
Yunho Jang
Author:
Jung Tae Kim
Author:
Eunsop Kim
Author:
Yong Hee Park
Author:
Myeong Soo Lee
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