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Objectives: The purpose of this study was to classify unmet healthcare needs due to healthcare cost burden into four types and to analyze the differences and associated factors of each type provide policy implications. Methods: Data from 9,737 participants of the 2024 Medical Service Experience Survey were analyzed using frequency analysis, chi-squared tests, and logistic regression. Results: Forgone medical care, treatment, and diagnostic testing were associated with rural residence, low household income, lack of private health insurance, lack of current economic activity, chronic diseases, and poor subjective health status. Forgone prescription or medication purchase was significantly associated with being a Medical Aid beneficiary and having a poor subjective health status. Conclusions: Unmet healthcare needs due to healthcare cost burdens vary across stages of healthcare utilization. These findings suggest the need for differentiated policy interventions tailored to each type with priority support for socioeconomically and medically vulnerable groups.

Objectives: This study evaluates the effects of a reform in a specialist performance-incentive program at a university dental hospital, which shifted from a mixed (50% individual + 50% department) to a fully individual-based scheme. Methods: A physician-month panel of 29 dental specialists (January 2023 to December 2024; 696 observations) was analyzed using a two-way fixed-effects difference-in-differences model. Outcomes included medical revenue, number of patients, and incentive pay. Results: The reform did not significantly affect medical revenue or patient volume. However, incentive pay increased for the individual performance–dominant group (β=0.457, p=.021). Department-level analyses revealed heterogeneous effects. Conclusions: Strengthening individual performance evaluation primarily affects compensation distribution rather than overall productivity, highlighting the need to consider departmental heterogeneity in system design.

Objectives: This study explores the determinants of medical AI adoption by analyzing 12 global cases (2010–2026) and comparing IBM Watson with Doctronic AI using Rogers' DOI theory. Methods: Cases were selected via a PRISMA review on a two-axis matrix (clinical risk × doctor intervention). The IMDRF SaMD N12 classified risk and FDA intended-use language set interventions; DOI attributes were rated H/M/L from peer-reviewed and regulatory evidence. Results: Performance alone does not explain adoption. The matrix was U-shaped: Gen 1 (high-risk/autonomous) faced barriers, Gen 2 (low-risk/mandatory) entered the market, Gen 3 (high-risk/autonomous) re-entered via institutional support. Trialability (sandboxes, First-N rule) and Observability were decisive, with domain selection as an adoption strategy. Conclusions: Adoption depends on Trialability and Compatibility over performance. Extending Topol's Deep Medicine, it proposes AI Autonomous Delegation consisting of low-risk entry before high-risk scaling.

Objectives: We examined how institutional and service factors relate to inpatient satisfaction. Methods: Using 2022 Korea Health Panel data (v2.2), we analyzed 2,584 hospitalized adults (≥19). Six satisfaction dimensions (5-point; higher = lower) were compared by gender, institutional type, treatment type, and perceived overtreatment via t-tests (SPSS 18; Cronbach's α = .914; p < .05). Results: Satisfaction did not differ by gender. Public hospitals showed lower satisfaction in four dimensions (p < .05). Surgical/procedural patients showed lower satisfaction in five of six dimensions (p < .001) but higher with physician selection. Patients perceiving overtreatment showed lower satisfaction in all six dimensions (p < .05). Conclusions: Process aspects—explanation adequacy and treatment appropriateness—mattered more than sociodemographic traits. Hospitals should strengthen communication and shared decision-making; quality assessment should weight patient-experience indicators.

Objectives: This study analyzed inpatients′perceptions of regarding their experiences with overtreatment using data from the 2023 Korea Medical Panel Survey, involving 2,701 participants. Methods: Logistic regression analysis was performed using(SPSS 29.0) to analyze sociodemographic characteristics, medical utilization characteristics, and factors influencing the perception of overtreatment. Results: The results revealed that economic activity(OR=1.998), disability(OR=2.323), type of medical institution(OR=1.888), and non-covered medical expenses(OR=3.736) were significant influencing factors on the perception of overtreatment experiences. Conclusions: The concept of overtreatment should be expanded from focusing on medical utilization to focusing on cost structure and patient experience.

Objectives: This study examined the relationship between utilization of regional health care institutions and regional structural characteristics across 16 districts in Busan. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2024 Community Health Survey (CHS), the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS), and the Statistical Geographic Information Service (SGIS). Structural variables (aging rate, population growth, accessibility) and socioeconomic vulnerability indicators were analyzed using Spearman correlation, regression, and K-means clustering. Results: Structural variables were not significantly associated with utilization. In contrast, basic livelihood recipients and elderly living alone showed positive associations, whereas population growth showed a negative association. Cluster analysis identified three types, with no significant differences in utilization. Conclusions: These findings suggest that in a super-aged metropolitan setting, utilization is more closely related to socioeconomic vulnerability than to structural factors. Resource allocation for regional health care institutions should prioritize the spatial distribution of vulnerable populations rather than spatial balance.

Objectives: This study examined relationships among pain, uncertainty, sleep quality, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and identified factors associated with HRQoL. Methods: Data were collected from 143 RA outpatients at a general hospital from August to October 2020. Pain (VAS), uncertainty (MUIS-C), sleep quality (Korean Sleep Scale A), and HRQoL (WHOQOL-BREF) were measured. Multiple regression was performed. Results: HRQoL was negatively correlated with pain (r=-.28) and uncertainty (r=-.61), and positively correlated with sleep quality (r=.60; all p<.001). Uncertainty (β=-.40) and sleep quality (β=.38) were significant predictors, explaining 54% of variance (adjusted R²=.54). Pain was not significant when other variables were controlled. Conclusions: Uncertainty and sleep quality were key factors associated with HRQoL in RA patients. Nursing interventions targeting uncertainty reduction and sleep improvement are recommended.

Objectives: This study examined the predictors of retention intention among male nurses in general hospitals, focusing on perceived value of work, nursing organizational culture, and organizational communication satisfaction. Methods: Data were collected from 146 male nurses working at general hospitals between July 1 and July 30, 2025. Using SPSS Statistics 31.0, data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests, and multiple regression analyses. Results: The mean score for retention intention among male nurses was 5.78 out of a possible 8 points. Factors associated with retention intention were perceived value of work (β=.389, p<.001) and a charge nurse (β=.208, p=.003). These variables expanded the variance in retention intention by 35.8% in the regression model (F=17.14, p<.001). Conclusions: Strategic interventions based on these factors are needed to enhance retention intention among male nurses.

Objectives: This study explore how resilience, perceived spousal support, and self-esteem affect pregnant women and their relationship with flourishing. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 132 pregnant women receiving antenatal care at three women’s hospitals in Daegu, South Korea. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and stepwise multiple regression. Results: The mean flourishing score was 7.25 out of 10. Flourishing was significantly and positive correlated with resilience (r=.72), perceived spousal support (r=.50), and self-esteem (r=.75) (p<.001). Self-esteem (β=.42), resilience (β=.36), and perceived spousal support (β=.17) were significant predictors, explaining 67.0% of the variance. Conclusions: These findings indicate that flourishing during pregnancy is closely associated with psychological resources and spousal support. Interventions should help strengthen self-esteem, resilience, and supportive spousal involvement.

Objectives: This study aimed to clarify the concept of calling among nurses and to identify its attributes, antecedents, and consequences within the healthcare context. Methods: A concept analysis was conducted using Walker and Avant’s eight-step method. Literature published between January 2015 and February 2025 was searched in domestic and international databases. A total of 13 studies were included in the final analysis. Results: Four defining attributes were identified: meaning- and purpose-orientation, intrinsic motivation–based self-direction, prosocial commitment, and professional identity-based persistence. Antecedents included personal values, positive psychological resources, professional socialization, and supportive organizational environments. Consequences encompassed increased job satisfaction, organizational commitment, work engagement, and career commitment, along with decreased turnover intention and enhanced patient safety activities. Conclusions: Calling among nurses is a multidimensional construct characterized by the integration of meaning and purpose orientation, intrinsic motivation–based self-direction, prosocial commitment, and professional identity–based persistence. These findings provide a basis for understanding calling in nursing and may inform workforce management and professional development in healthcare organizations.

Objectives: This study analyzed demand and perceptions regarding a Korea–Vietnam international collaborative education program in medical tourism and wellness, proposing an effective and feasible operational model. Methods: A survey was conducted among 386 students and 41 faculty members at Da Nang University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy. Descriptive statistics and independent t-tests were performed using SPSS. Key issues were ranked and compared using a rank-difference format and classified by importance and group-specificity. Results: Both groups positively recognized medical tourism importance and most preferred the 2+2 double-degree model. Foreign language proficiency and financial burden were identified as major barriers. Rank-difference analysis revealed the largest intergroup gap in graduate studies pursuit (students: 5th vs. faculty: 3rd; 16.8% vs. 53.7%). Issues were classified into core, emerging, and group-specific categories. Conclusions: International collaborative programs should adopt a phased model integrating language preparation, practical training, and industry-oriented competencies. Core issues—language barriers and financial burden—require sustained institutional responses, while emerging issues such as faculty capacity demand strategic investment.

Objectives: This study is conducted to explore the lived experiences of undocumented migrant women in South Korea, who are excluded from legal protection, and to identify the essential structure of those experiences. Methods: Data were collected through in-depth interviews conducted between February and March 2026 with eight undocumented migrant women living in G-City. The collected data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. Results: The lived experiences of undocumented migrant women were categorized into four theme clusters: “Constant Fear of Deportation and Imprisonment of Daily Space”, “Bodies Unable to be Sick and Medical Isolation”, '“The Weight of an Erased Existence and Social Extinction”, and “Motherhood as the Sole Support and Existential Guilt”. The essential feature their lived experience was identified as an “existential struggle at the margins,” in which a body engulfed in fear and a will to endure through love collide. Conclusions: This study’s findings serve as foundational data for establishing a humanitarian healthcare guarantee system for undocumented migrant women and strengthening the role of nurses as human rights advocates.