Female Heads of Household in Low-Income Korean Families under the IMF Economic Crisis

This research analyzes the emotional and economic situation faced by low-income, female heads of households at the time of the IMF crisis. We examined two groups of women, those who became the primary wage earners in their families as a direct result of the IMF crisis and those who did so before the crisis, and investigated the differences between the two groups. According to the results of this research, the two groups showed numerous differences on many levels. Those who became primary wage earners after the IMF crisis were high school or university graduates, with a higher proportion of them in their 30s, followed by those in their 40s, and half were still living with their spouses. The reasons behind their becoming the chief breadwinners of their families included divorce, the husbands sudden lay-offs or financial incompetence for supporting the family, and separation from their spouses. Female heads of household after the IMF crisis typically experienced severe financial difficulties due to the lower wages they earned through part-time work. They were also more likely to be living in apartments on temporary leases. It is shown that there was no significant difference between the two groups on the grounds that they received support from their natal families. However, while pre-IMF female heads of household were most likely to turn to family members first for support, post-IMF family heads were just as likely to look to their friends for support. Nevertheless, among post-IMF female breadwinners, siblings were also likely to offer help. These results can be interpreted as meaning female heads of household felt more at ease with their natal family members. The need for governmental support for these women is made apparent in their children, who were forced to stay in welfare facilities, and it was the presence of their mothers, rather than the fathers, that was most vital for the children

Effect of alcohol use on emergency department length of stay among minimally injured patients based on mechanism of injury: multicenter observational study

Objective This study aimed to evaluate the effect of alcohol use on emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS) among minimally injured patients by mechanism of injury. Methods This was a retrospective study of injury surveillance data for injured patients (except poisoning), aged over 18 years, discharged home from the ED, and treated at seven academic EDs in Korea during 2008 to 2012. Patients were divided into alcohol-related and alcohol-unrelated groups based on self-report. We used multivariable quantile regression models for the analysis and adjusted covariates including age, sex, consciousness status, severity of injury, emergency medical service use, the season, day and time of visit, and hospital. To determine if there were different effects of alcohol use across mechanism of injury, all analyses were stratified by each mechanism. Results Among 192,200 patients, 95,807 patients were analyzed. The number of participants in the alcohol-related group was 16,249 (17.0%). In the multivariable quantile regression model, the alcohol-related group had significantly longer ED LOS at the 10th (7 minutes; 95% confidence interval [CI], 6 to 8), 50th (21 minutes; 95% CI, 19 to 23), and 90th (81 minutes; 95% CI, 74 to 87) percentiles when compared to the alcohol-unrelated group. The effect of alcohol use on increased ED LOS was most prominent in motor vehicle injuries. Conclusion We found that alcohol use was associated with increased emergency ED LOS. Furthermore, if we limited our attention to the effect of alcohol use on the number of patients, the burden of alcohol use on the ED would have been underestimated